LinvilleGorge

If Darnold busts and Fields looks promising, it's going to put a big bullseye on this current staff as to whether or not they have any clue on how to effectively evaluate QBs. To have that situation happen right on the heels of the failed Teddy experiment... oh wee mayne. People who think that Rhule's seat wouldn't at least be starting to warm up in that scenario just aren't being realistic IMO. Honestly, depending on how the rest of the team is performing and what the W-L record looks like, Rhule's seat could be red hot in that scenario. If Darnold busts, IMO I think Rhule and company are probably down to their last swing at solving . the QB position. That's why I think we'll swing big if Darnold does bust. We'll just have to wait and see. We'll have a pretty good indication in a couple of months.

Pitts went #4 because QB >>>>> TE in terms of importance. Three QBs were drafted in front of Pitts. He was the first non-QB selected. No, the Jags would not have selected Lawrence in that situation. Primarily because that #1 overall pick would've been part of the package to get Watson. In the event they still held that pick, they would've put it on the auction block and shipped it off to the highest bidder for a king's ransom. We could be very high on Darnold... or we may have just not been all that high on Fields.

Some people just get irrationally upset by the reality that opinions can and do vary.

That's what we have to wait to find out.

Yep. When you have a room full of people, opinions are inevitably going to vary.

It's going to take a few regular season games for opposing DCs to get relevant film to study and start being able to tailor their game plans. It's why a lot of backup QBs can step in and look good in brief stretches. Not having film on a guy to study in a particular system is a pretty big handicap for opposing DCs. If Darnold is looking good 5-6 games into the season, we have legit reason to think he could potentially be the guy.

I honestly think it's that simple. There were reasons to think that we would take Fields if he was there. There were "reports". Those reports were just incorrect. There are lots of reports leading up to every draft and a lot of them prove to be incorrect in hindsight. It is what it is. It's still fun to follow and discuss. To argue that we would've taken Fields at #3 overall and chose to pass on him at #8 because of the trade for Darnold is essentially arguing that the Panthers' front office is dumb and incompetent. I really hope that's not the case. If Fields turns out to be great, I'm going to chalk it up as poor QB evaluation.

Agreed. The rubber will meet the road once opposing DCs start to get some film of him in our system to study and game plan against. I expect him to look pretty good early on like Teddy did. If he doesn't, UH OH.

TC coverage has been so sparse that I honestly have no idea how anyone is truly looking. I'm usually pretty indifferent about preseason, but I'll be a lot more tuned in this year simply because I have no good impression of how guys/units are looking in camp.

I still wanna know if Manziel would've translated if he wasn't such an idiot. He never gave himself a shot. You can be a wild child getting by on sheer talent in college but no one is good enough to pull that off in the NFL at QB.

You know how we've joked about cheap, high quality jerseys for years? Well, there's a lot of cheap, high quality streams out there too. I lived in CO for 14 years and never bought Sunday Ticket once.

No, not at all. Honestly, Smitty wasn't either. Dude was built like a RB. He was a short WR, not a small WR. DJ is built the same way. He's basically built like a 6' tall Smitty. And while 6' might not be a "big" WR it's not a small one either.

Wow. Honestly didn't expect him to be in that company in passing yardage. Dude was a stud. Wish we had managed his career and our roster smarter.

I'll be surprised if it's not a two man class. This draft is all about Howell and Rattler. The rest of these dudes are pretenders who dropped out of last year's class because it was so stacked.

Agreed. If Darnold flops Rhule is probably down to his last swing to find a QB.

It's all a potential path to disaster, but the high draft picks - even though plenty of them bust - have a lot higher success rate than vet retreads.

A highly drafted rookie probably buys you another two years, maybe even three if he's showing promise. Another vet flop might only get you one.

I think Tepper's patience might start wearing thin if Darnold flops.

fug a Jimmy G. If Sam flops and Watson is untouchable, it's gonna be Rattler or Howell. We're going all in.

Yep, we'll see how it plays out. I do think that if Darnold flops we're gonna swing BIG next year. Enough half stepping. Identify a QB and go get him.

Really hard to get excited about the upcoming season when you have no clue what to expect because TC is setup like an undercover CIA meeting.

Seriously. TC is basically uncoverable right now. We get maybe a dozen tweets and a few pictures from the grassy knoll each practice and that's pretty much it.

It's still the off-season. It's a borderline miracle it's still even vaguely football related.

Yeah, I'm giving us the benefit of the doubt and assuming we simply weren't that high on Fields. Because if we would've drafted him at #3 and made the trade for Darnold because we didn't think Fields would be there then passed on Fields when he did end up being there at #8... wow. We'd be really dumb.

I wouldn't be holding my breath. Hopefully he can provide decent depth.