Gapanthersfan

1000%. XL never felt like a Dan pick. Same with Brooks. This last draft felt like a draft orchestrated by a former NFL star. XL and Brooks felt like the same Mickey Mouse ish we had seen for years. I know we’ll never know for sure, though.

Thielen extends drives and gives the offense another set of downs. I think he had something like 5 3rd/4th down conversions in the Eagles game. Without that, they blow us out and we probably don’t score 10 points. Not a yac guy, but he’s still a good medium range option. As other receivers come on I expect his snap count to decrease but guys like Thielen are so valuable. Teaching The intricacies of taking the game to the next level to the young guys.

Ideally my top 4 as well, but XL needs to prove himself to be a reliable target. I genuinely like the dude. His ceiling is stupid high.

I take the T Mac, Horn Jr, and Renfrow additions as a direct shot over the bow when discussing XL. 1 year of dropsies and he finds himself automatically downgraded to WR2, at best, with the t Mac selection. I really hope he understands the gravity of this. Barring unforeseen circumstances, T Mac will play all but a handful of snaps at WR1. Thielen will be on the field on all third downs, at least. guarantee. Coker will get a ton of snaps. He is just too good to be parked on the bench. JHJ will make the final 53. They will like him returning punts and kicks. He’s has good hands and elite game speed. Dan still can’t bring himself to watch the SB from 22 years ago. How well do y’all think XL’s 3 drops on the final drive of the Eagles game went over? Dan is as serious as a heart attack when it comes to winning and losing. I don’t see him waiting patiently with developing XL if he is killing drives and/or costing the team games. Look no further than Ginn’s career to see what happens to first rounders with suspect hands. I’m crazy, yes, but I do think that if Coker comes on, T Mac is who we hope he is and XL has another year of dropsies, he may end up as trade bait. Coker is going to continue to up his already impressive game. I don’t think anyone will argue that. He has a chip. JHJ has a chip. Thielen is Mr first down. XL better show growth. I just don’t see Dan as the type who is patient with projects.

I’ve turned from a staunch detractor to him now having my 100% support. 1. He turned the worst o line in the league in to a top 10 unit in 1 offseason. Incredible. 2. Contracts to Horn and Hubbard. Reward your ride or die homegrown talent. Neither contract was way out of line for market value. 3. All of the talent he has added are intelligent, high floor types who love competing. 4. He understands that an org lives and dies off of the draft. This was the very first draft that I can remember since… ever where the franchise didn’t make a boneheaded trade and/or waste a high pick on a project tweener. No. It was Tepper sitting by almost completely mum, watching Dan orchestrate Dan’s draft…. picking intelligent high floor dudes from big name schools who showed up to play every Saturday and loved competing. It just felt right. 5. He has shown no reservation in cutting bait on guys that he sees as not having what it takes. This is really big one. It’s what the good teams do. Without it, you get the ‘coach’s guys’. Complacency. Stagnation. All these dudes needs to watch their backs. I see him building a young core who have displayed NFL level ability. For the first time in a really long time it feels like the captain of the ship actually knows what he is doing.

It’s all about the money. If the coach is an a hole but the team makes the finals more often than not, he’ll be called a great motivator and knows how to get the most out of his players If the coach is an a hole on a losing franchise, he’s a borderline criminal.

Didn’t catch that one. Hmmmm… From just a couple videos, Dan seems to be big on nuance. In the draft video, he commented when Tmac said he “would get the chance to play here.” How he said what he said made an impression on Dan. He comes off as a pretty deep dude in these videos, in true southpaw style.

I remember that game, vividly. I dare argue 2003 was the most talent stacked team our franchise has ever seen. HOF level talent: Dan, Peppers, Jenkins, Steve. Undeniable. Think about it. He had the chance to be the MVP of the Cinderella team that took down the goat in his prime. I don’t want to derail the original topic, but some fans just are too young to appreciate the caliber player Dan was. I hope some of the younger fans have watched some his game tape. If there is anyone who can spot a baller from a mile away, it’s Dan. There’s no questioning what this franchise means to him

He was a top 5 pick talent wise. He had 3 speeds. On, off and then everyone run for your life. His kraken moniker was spot on. Landing here with the veteran leadership gave him a chance but his mental issues cost him over $100 million.

Dan still can’t watch the 2003 SB tape. Can’t blame him. He’s definitely not ok with losing.

Legit take a game over ability, and he was just starting to show what he could be on the field. Unreal ceiling on that dude.

Agreed.

I don’t see it taking very long before Coker supplants himself as the firm #2 option in the WR room. It’s a crowded WR room, but he’s easily capable (IMHO) of a 700 yd 8+ TD type season.

Discussing the initial player interviews, Dan said: “And how did you first come to love football?” I am really loving Dan’s approach. He wants to know if these dudes have heart. I can’t recall that ever being a stated point of emphasis. Edit: Never realized that Dan is a lefty.

Thielen will get fewer snaps when the other WRs can beat him out of his spot. dude is still a gamer who knows how to get open, find a first down and doesn’t drop anything, ever. If the other WRs don’t like it, beat him out of his spot.

Broski is a Florida native. He’ll get that Colorado climate out of his system. He back in the south now.

What does say a 6th/7th rounder contract look like? I would see this as the ceiling on contracts he could splash at UDFAs before it’s disrespectful to your late round drafted guys. that said, I’m all for any way there is to retain all good talent.

Winning culture trumps ALL. Here’s my way to long take: Last season this team started out breaking the sports books and being the lead pipe lock of the week. They finished by being a tough out for both SB teams. I don’t think they’ll pick up right where they left off, but for the first time in years they’re on the legitimate upswing. Honest to God NFL talent has been infused. Offense is already going to be good for 2-3 more 3rd down conversions (I don’t think anyone will argue that) a game over last year so I’ll go (very optimistically) 5-6 more points better than last year’s team. ADDED: A legit backup RB and a money WR who catches everything, along with 2 promising rooks. No significant losses (sorry Miles). KEYS: Can Dave bob and weave play calling if things aren’t working? Does protection continue to hold for Bryce. Did this team pick up dudes who know how to find the end zone or will the struggle of 3rd and goal continue. Defense. If they can force even 2 (hopefully 3) more stops a game on third down (not asking a lot, hopefully more), that’s good for -4 (optimistic) points for opposing teams. ADDED: legit run stuffers. Legit (appearing) edge guys. LOST: Clowney. Question: With legit 3-4 talent can Evero finally show what we have been VERY patiently waiting on? To me, EVERYTHING on defense hinges on Evero. Everything. Every position group was upgraded (still not good enough, but certainly improved). Losing Brown early and Luvu… completely and utterly devastated the run defense. Luvu put up one of the best seasons at LB this team has ever seen. His under appreciation by some fans was criminal. He alone was our 3 down stop machine. Brown was pretty much it up front. Those 2 held RBs in check long enough for safety help to arrive. Coaching: Halftime adjustments and no prevent defense. In a nutshell, that’s pretty much it. No cutesy offense to show off WRs/Bryce when it’s not working. Use your sledgehammers, Dave. There is finally veteran leadership and legit NFL talent. It’s going in the right direction (I couldn’t have been more wrong last offseason) to build a winning culture, but teams have to learn how to win, especially the games where nothing is going right (this team has NEVER been able to do that). They will still lose more close games than they win, and that alone is where it all hinges.

This. Weird stuff moves like this means there’s always money involved.

Very similar, but I think Ted’s ‘football speed’ was far superior. If Ted got the ball in his hands in stride and a defender wasn’t within 5 yards… wrap. His game speed was just special. Tyreek and Vick like. I can remember the perfect bombs Cam would chuck his way, and, well, feast or famine. He would be 10 yards ahead of whoever was covering. Im not saying XL isn’t a burner, I just haven’t seen that level… yet.

2 outcomes: 1. he learns how to not drop a football and turns in to a very solid player for us. 2. He’s a poor man’s Ted Ginn w/o the speed. I really think his drops are mental. He’ll make some really tough grabs but miss on the routine. It’s a good time to have the best pass catcher in team history in Thielen.

There have been other lines assembled in NFL history every bit as good as what the Eagles, but very few have had a RB perform like Barkley. Barkley was a threat to put 6 on the board every time he touched the ball. An RB touches the ball 20+ times a game. It changes the entire complexion of the game. 3rd downs are easier, drives are extended, defense stays rested and opponents play from behind all game. Barkley and that line is what got them there. Defense is the icing. Let the defense play 40 minutes and see how good they look. Hurts tried his best to give us the game last season. I can’t drink his cool aide.

Barkley? He literally drug the Eagles offense to the SB. Miles Garrett would be top 3 on my list.

He better start the season strong. I like the guy, and I do think he will improve but I would think patience only goes so far on a team that is very serious about winning. Coker, Thielen, Renfro. NFL proven Clutch dudes who flat out don’t drop passes and run sick routes. TMac: beast Horn: Watch out If your boss tells you that you’re doing a pretty decent job but could use some improvement, then over the course of the next few months hires 3 more guys who can do your job, just in case…. Just sayin’

Bryce and Dave will determine how many games this team wins next year. It’s not on the WRs. The RBs. LBs. This is about 2 things: 1. Can Bryce continue to come up big in the few key downs that decide most games? 2. Can Canales evolve his play calling to counter punch like the big boys do. Half time adjustments. teams that score 30+ points on the regular win more games than not. That’s on Bryce and Dave. The offense is top 10 at every position group, save for TE and QB. A baller TE is gravy but not crucial when the receivers are dudes. The defense is the defense. It’ll be better this season, hopefully by a large margin, but Dave/Bryce is really where it’s at.