LinvilleGorge

Sam Howell is gonna be well versed in running for his life after playing behind UNC's OL this year.

Translation: Matt Rhule says, "Alright Damn it. We accept it. We fuged up at QB. Again."

Quite possibly both. We've already picked up his 5th year option. We could draft a rookie and still have Darnold here so that we weren't forced to play the rookie until he's ready.

We're gonna have a lot of cap space. I just hope we shop smarter on the OL next year compared to this year. Hopefully Christensen and Brown can develop too. I REALLY wish we'd bite the bullet and give Moton a legit fulltime look at LT.

I'm just throwing out possible potential names. I haven't really thought through the viability of any of them.

I think Tepper will force Rhule and Fitts to go all in on a big splash QB this off-season but largely leave the details up to them whether it's a trade (Watson, Wilson, Rodgers, etc), a high level FA (Derek Carr type), or a 1st round draft pick. But he knows the value of the QB position and I think he's going to get tired of watching us try to bargain shop there. Those items are in the bargain bin for a reason.

Darnold is ass too. I honestly don't feel bad for him. How many people can say they've gotten wealthy from a job they're terrible at?

I'm sure he did, but what were his other choices? It just doesn't feel like we were ready or willing to make a big investment at QB. We bowed out of the Stafford talks. We bowed out of the Watson talks even before the allegations. We had obviously rules out Fields and Mac Jones. I just think this staff felt like they could find a serviceable answer at QB without making a big investment and now they're seeing what you're likely to get with second tier vets.

They made a HUGE trade up signed off on by Nagy to get Trubisky an Trubisky looked like a completely different QB in preseason with the Bills under a different staff. Fields is another top 10 pick identified by Nagy. Don't forget about SB winning QB Nick Foles who also looked like trash under Nagy. Very few coaches have ever gotten as many high level swings at QBs as Nagy has. Your attempt at playing gotcha was weak as fug.

About the same IMO. Both looked decent until CMC went down and then... oh wee mayne.

The Bears have to fire Nagy. He's every bit as bad as Gase ever was.

I'd be fine with Fields sitting and learning while Darnold takes this pounding. I just think this staff believed they could fast forward the rebuild by focusing on the rest of the roster while dumpster diving at QB. It just doesn't work that way in today's NFL. They keep tweaking the rules to benefit offense to give the casual fans the high flying high scoring games they want to see. In response, you better build a roster capable of putting up points in bunches.

I just don't think you have the luxury to pick and choose your timing. You have to jump when given the opportunity. I thought we had that opportunity this year with Justin Fields but we decided he wasn't the answer. We'll see how that decision ultimately plays out.

There's more to it than JUST the QB but having a legit franchise QB is pretty much a prerequisite.

I give him a lot of credit for the final drive. As we were taking the field I told my dad, "There's literally zero chance Darnold doesn't throw an INT here." His response was, "Well, I don't know... he might fumble instead."

The last two games have been the same story. You simply can't win in the NFL while making THAT many mistakes. You've self inflicted too much damage to overcome.

I can't agree. That franchise QB puzzle piece is the hardest one to find. Either way, right now we need that piece and at least 2-3 starting OL and we don't have a 2nd or 3rd round pick. We better make a helluva lot better decisions in OL free agency next year, that's all I can say about that.

Shocker. Lose the face of your franchise and become a perennial bottom feeder and folks find something better to do with their Sunday afternoons.

It's hard though. Like you've been banging a dime piece for years, break up thinking you can do even better and you've been stuck with bridge troll after bridge troll at last call ever since.

I don't think that's at all clear. If anything, it may be getting clearer that he's not the future. I know this staff is adverse to rookie QBs but they might find themselves in survival mode this off-season. Drafting a first round rookie QB might be their best survival strategy. Sam's fifth year option is already picked up, so let him play wet nurse next year and you've essentially bought yourself two more years barring disaster.

We should. They're truly terrible. But that definitely doesn't mean that we will.

Meanwhile, Andy Reid has been a high level NFL coach for years while empty Gatorade cups have orbited his fat ass on the sidelines.

Sad, but true. We have a coaching staff that has proven little at the NFL level. A QB who has proven virtually nothing at the NFL level. A shoddy, patchwork OL. A talented, but pretty inexperienced D. Looks like the writing is on the wall. Barring a miraculous turnaround, we're in for another year of talking draft by mid-season.

Maybe you should break it down for us why the Appaloosa Model has been producing such shitty ass results in the NFL thusfar because this "Appaloosa" looks more like a three legged blind donkey.

Keep in mind, it was reported that Tepper was part of a minority faction in Pittsburgh that wanted Mike Tomlin fired. A coach who has won a SB and literally never had a losing record. I think Tepper bought into Rhule's and program and culture building philosophy, but I don't know how much patience he's going to have if we don't start seeing better results on the field.