MHS831

Cant cut Linville. Part of a government program for special people. Gets federal funding and all.

I hate to say that I was right about Young, because I wasn't. I stayed loyal through the offseason, but after the second game, I wanted him released or traded for a conditional seventh rounder. If this continues, I will admit that I have no ability to gauge a QBs expectations in the NFL. None.

I don't recall Coker dropping any passes, fwiw--To be honest, XL is a long way from being an Alpha--I don't think he will--body catcher, has poor familiarity with where he is on the field, etc. If the lights all come on at the same time, watch out.

Love him--and in this system, he would be very effective.

In the draft, Bond and Felton are my top 2--I see Burden more of a slot, and I see AT and Coker holding down the slot next year--my sleeper who would be there in round 2? Elic Ayomanor from Stanford. He is smooth and has not been on a good team with a good QB. I am just starting to research WR, so this will change when I get less dumb about them.

Special teams? But we have Hekker and JJ Jansen.

Same thought. I am hoping we can salvage Farley--

I'd run into Vita Vae and change my emotions quickly.

Almost the tortoise and the hare. Wax on, Wax off. Did the humility of getting benched work? I think the light came on and they have limited him to first read, check down. Instead of having him progress through two or more reads. I think he learned to adjust the offense to protect him by motioning TEs or moving RBs. He is getting to the LOS sooner--able to read the defenses and anticipate the blitz--that is the area where he has improved the most--before he was going into the fetal position when he saw a blitz. Now he is navigating the pocket--his movements remind me of Brees or Wilson--and I did not see that before.

I had a run of people who contribute to a discussion board and if your contributions differ from their pearls of wisdom, they attack you personally. I usually try to be a contrarian at times because most people on here enjoy banter and differing opinions--I learn a lot by participating--so maybe I did not read your comment in the spirit in which it was intended. I love Graham--in my view, we have 3 holes to fill that are essential and two (if handled in the draft) necessitate a first round selection (#1 WR, Edge)--but Graham is on another level--a top 10 talent--so not taking him is a compromise--no doubt. If we really like him, maybe we will address the needs before the draft. Have a good day

Brown is a DE. Wonnum is not a DE. Perhaps you should learn the roles and responsibilities--or the nomenclature--of the 3-4 defense before you call others out for expressing omniscient condemnation of a widely held opinion about the needs of the team.

So you are under the impression that your logic is all that matters. Interesting. Learn to consider alternative opinions without taking it personally. You will be much better off and less of a dick.

Think about this--Johnson, Thielen, and Mingo--our entire fleet of veterans--went down or left at some point during the season. XL is getting #1 WR attention from defensive coordinators and secondaries and he is very raw--as advertised. He needs to be the Z WR, Coker and Thielen need to man the slot, and we need a #1. I am happy to see our TEs step up to be offensive threats in the pass game. XL gets better when you bring in a #1 WR.

I think Canales is using this season to develop talent and not put them in situations that may be too big for them. He wants to win, sure, but he is developing the future this season. Mays has improved and could be the starting center moving forward. Ekwonu is much improved at LT. He is slowly bringing Brooks along. Smith-Wade had a good game. Bryce had his second consecutive good game. Moore has been surprising, and so has our rookie TE and LB. If you think his play calling was a bit conservative, it probably was. But on offense, Brooks, Sanders (not yesterday), XL, Coker seem to be on track. You can criticize him and your points may be valid, but the bottom line: This team has been blown out all season (except the Raiders) by double-digit losses until they beat the Saints week 9, the Giants week 10, and then took the Chiefs to the last play of the game, followed by the Bucs in overtime--considering we had a bye during the last 4 games, for 5 weeks this team has been competitive. Winning right now is not as important as developing, and I think Canales has shown that his patience, positivity, and game management have paid off--the tea leaves say we are trending up. I am OK with that--not going to bitch about the run game when our QB is playing toe-to-toe with Mahomes and then has 300 yards vs Tampa.

I would understand it--especially if DJ Johnson, Barno, and Wonnum finish strong. Graham, however, might not be the best fit for Carolina with Brown back. Our DTs have underperformed (Tuttle, Robinson) and they can be cut and save about $13m, or one can be cut and save $6.5m. Who might be a better fit than Graham? Maybe the guy beside him--Graham's sidekick, Kenneth Grant, is also a beast. You could argue that he benefited by playing with Graham, just as he would in Carolina beside Brown. However, teams like to double the big NT/3 tech, and if you do that, you get Browned. Grant is a 340 lb DT who has 3 sacks this year--against Ohio State, Saturday, he had 5 QB pressures--and he has been doing that all year. They could not block him. If you want a player who compliments Brown (as opposed to rotating in with him) I would take a long look at Grant--in round two if he is there--after drafting an Edge in round 1. In my view, THAT would solve the running game issues and give us pocket collapsing pressure up the A gap. There is also a DT from Kentucky I like in this role, but Graham is good.

This makes perfect sense. However, some are focused on DT and others are focused on the big picture--what do you NOT do to do the think you do? In my view, I go by something I call position rarity--first, a franchise qb--and next, Left Tackle--after that, Edge. You never pass on Edge and take a DT when DTs are easier to find. So that is the only reason I would not take this "dawg." He is a beast and I would love to have him, but if it costs me an elite WR or a Edge, I have to painfully pass. The bigger question, in my view--what do we do if Bryce continues to play at his current level and Ward and/or Sanders is sitting there?

Right. We want hungry dog, not mad dog.

There is an edge from Mississippi that I like, and the big guy from Tex AM (Scourton) has an unreal spin move. I think we need to draft one in the first round (maybe to his point) because they will be gone by pick 50 or so. If there is an elite WR sitting there in the first round, depending on what we did in free agency, that could get interesting. I sorta think the WR group is down, but my favorite in round 2 or so is that WR from Stanford. A dark horse.

I get your logic and appreciate the level of frustration behind this post--next season, we will have Brown back. That makes everyone on the DL better. In my view, A'shawn Robinson and Shy Tutttle have underperformed their contracts and one will be released if not both. Both will be 30 in 2025. Cutting them saves us about $13m--and I am not sure we can replace them for that. I think we need a big, 350 lb run stuffer inside. If you are drafting early and you need a QB, you almost half to take a QB. If you need an Edge, you have to take the edge. While I love the player you mention, I think we get an upgrade vs. the run when we get Brown back. I also think you draft a DT in round 2 or 3. Depending, of course, on what we do in free agency. Last year, Evero got screwed when all efforts went into the offense. I was not a huge fan of the Legette pick, but give him time. I think we got the best RB and second best TE along with a very good (potentially) WR--that is not bad. This year, we need to address the defense and find a stud WR and mid round QB to develop.

He is a good special team player, but he makes a lot of undisciplined mistakes. This is just one of them. One of Rhule's boys.

Thanks, bro. I think the one area of our pass rush that we tend to forget is up the middle. In the past, when we had players like Jenkins, Buckner, etc. our edge players get more pressure. Brown has improved but he can't play the number of snaps he has been playing--we need a rotation, and we need pass rushing DTs who can stop the run and run stopping DTs who can push the pocket. We need a stud edge for sure. At ILB, we are not solid--I doubt Thompson comes back, and I think his body is done. One thing I am noticing in the 12 games or so we have played under Canales. He seems to be developing players--Smith-Wade had a great game, Sanders (TE) has improved, Coker, Wallace, Bryce, Mays at C, Ekwonu, and Tremble come to mind--that is a large group of players who have visibly improved. As a result, we are no longer talking about TE, C, LT-allowing us, this year, to focus on the D.

We suddenly have Cade Mays fans? I think he is coming along, personally. Before today, I might have added TE to the list, but Tremble showed me that we will have 2 good ones. I don't like WR in this draft, but if we could add a quality player in free agency, maybe that is how it will be addressed. Here is how I see it: 1. Edge. You have to draft an edge because there are only 2-3 players I'd call elite--and they drop off considerably after that, based on the information I have reviewed. Carter (PSU) is who I would target. 2. #1 WR. I do not see XL ever becoming a true #1, but a good #2. Thielen has a year left in the tank, Coker, and maybe one more would make us solid. I think Coker will become a solid Slot, XL will become the Z, and if we can draft a stud, we should be good at WR. 3. In round 2 of the draft, I would definitely draft a DT. There are some good NT types who are rather athletic. 4. CB--try to sign Mike Jackson if you can. Smith-Wade had a good game today--love to see him step up--but we need 4-5. 5. QB--we need to develop a QB at all times--injury, competition, etc. 6. ILB--I am not a huge Jewell fan, and Wallace is only decent at this point. This draft should be solid at ILB in the middle rounds. 7. S--I am not saying that we need to draft these positions in this order, but I am saying that these are the order of the needs as I see them now...I have not looked to see who is leaving (free agency) or coming in because we don't know. 8. OT--I am curious about BC--what is the plan for him? With Mays doing fairly well at C, BC is the quintessential NFL backup OL. Still, Moton is expensive and probably has 2 years left here--I think we always need a third OT if BC is not in the cards. Now, if I had to prioritize three positions, I would do this: 1. Edge 2. WR 3. DT (we get Brown back, but it takes two to stuff the run and move the pocket back to help our edge rushers. If we had 2 stud lines, we would tough to beat.)

I think that is the only way to be good with the cap.

That is my point. I think teams make a huge mistake when they pay their decent to average QBs top QB money because they feel that they have to match the market or lose their investment--There is no way, for example, that Tua or Prescott or Murray should all be making more than Mahomes--I mean, Dak makes $15m per season more than Mahomes. People say, "Well, when its his turn...." But that is not how it should be--so my point was that Bryce can be doing mediocre to good enough in 2 years, but the way it is going, you have to pay him at the starting QB rate--currently $60m. So even if you think he will continue to improve, at $60 m, he would eliminate any chance for a ring---so my view is, if he is not elite, you cut him. So you draft QBs now and see what you can make of them.

Personally, I am not sold on Bryce yet--and I do not think anyone is saying they are, but I don't think Ward is on table when we draft anyway. Not even sure if I would rather have him than one of the later QBs. I see a lot of potential in Allar, Nussmeire, Rourke, and even Hamilton from Ohio State--Milroe is intriguing, but I am not sure he is an NFL QB. Ewers is that sleeper who falls and becomes a solid starter. I think that we sign a veteran who has played and we draft one of these project QBs. To your point: With that in mind, I think you have to take QB off the table in round 1, and if Bryce can string 4-5 games like KC together, we still need to draft a QB in round three or so---I really think Rourke is a great fit for this offense--he is accurate and gets the ball out quickly---he impressed me vs OSU. Reason? I think we may have a tough decision to make about Bryce in 2 years--will he be worth $60m? That decision is a lot easier if you have been grooming a backup for 2 years who can play. In round 1: I am hoping for PSU's edge Abdul Carter In round 2: I would like to see us grab a DT who can rush the passer. Walter Nolen of Ole Miss is versatile and a bit raw. I think he could be an excellent complement to Brown. In round 3: I would love ILB Danny Stutsman from Oklahoma. He is a beast. With 11 picks, I would package our 4th rounders to move up into the third round and take a QB. At the moment, I think Rourke is trending upward and he has the skills Canales seems to want in a QB. Quick processor, quick release. I would use the fifth rounders on OL. I know that I left out WR--however, we are getting Thielen back, XL will be improved, Coker will be improved, and Moore has been surprisingly good. Sanders (TE) has been more than expected in the passing game. I think we need D more than WR, and maybe we can get a veteran WR to sign or find a hidden gem late.