I think I see the direction....

[PNW_PantherMan]

5 minutes ago, LinvilleGorge said:

The only reason we weren't getting blasted every Sunday last year is because our D was at least decent enough to keep us from getting utterly embarrassed every week. It looks like we're about to be like Vandy in the SEC this season. Just hopeless and everybody knows it.

Given the situation, I agree with the approach though.  Invest in the offense to see if you have anything at QB.  And if you don't,  you have a much better situation for the next QB to walk into.  It's kind of worthless to spend money on defense in today's game if you don't have a functional offense as a prerequisite.

I mean what are your options?

1. Extend Burns, Luvu, Chinn etc and run it back next year.

2. Panic bandaid the QB position with someone like Kirk Cousins or Justin Fields.

3. Do what they did.

[SOJA]

Rashid Shaeed is the guy I really would like for us to look at as a speedy WR. I'd love to re-sign Curtco but sounds like he is going to the Chiefs. 

Have a strong feeling that WR and C will be the picks at 33 and 39, some combination of Ladd/Keon Coleman/Leggette and JPJ/Zach Frazier 

[rayzor]

Our ceiling is the Superbowl and our basement is winless, just like every team....every year.

And just like all but one or two teams, we'll fall in between those two points somewhere and I don't have enough info to go on to get a good accurate gauge of where that might be because it's only the beginning of free agency and there a lot of off-season and then regular season stuff to happen.

As far as the direction...it looks like they taking the OL seriously in a way that I've never seen here. That tells me they are serious about protecting the QB and serious about running the ball.  Because they are serious about running the ball, you could also probably guess that they will also work to get a good strong workhorse RB or two in here... hopefully though the draft.

In working to protect the QB, you could also probably be moved to think that it's all about making it easier for the QB. If that's the case, then you might be moved to think that we're also going to be adding a couple pass catchers. Probably one more through FA and then maybe a couple in the draft.

Focus, though, is going to be on offense. 2nd focus will be on giving Evero the parts he needs to make something work on defense.

We lost a few parts, but the good news is there is a LOT of time to get good (not elite, but definitely good) players. Good for us in getting those players is not only do we have a great defensive couple of minds running the D.

We also have someone who was a great MLB for us who knows defense and knows how to spot talent based on work he has done elsewhere.

Blame for the clusterfug we had last couple years falls on Fitt who made the calls...not Morgan. And just because those two were friends doesn't mean there's hive think going on.

I have some brilliant friends who aren't made dumber by me being around and I have idiot friends who aren't made smarter by me being around. I do my own thing. They, the brilliant and the morons, do their own thing.

Fitt fugged up and made some bad decisions that hurt us and put us in some horrible situations that crippled our ability to do things without feeling like we got fugged.

I just hope that Morgan can take the chicken poo Fitt left us with and throw it in a casserole dish with a few items from dollar general that I can add some old bay and Tabasco on and eat without puking.

[jamos14]

1 minute ago, SOJA said:

Rashid Shaeed is the guy I really would like for us to look at as a speedy WR. I'd love to re-sign Curtco but sounds like he is going to the Chiefs. 

Have a strong feeling that WR and C will be the picks at 33 and 39, some combination of Ladd/Keon Coleman/Leggette and JPJ/Zach Frazier 

 

JPJ is going in the 1st round.  Probably top 20.  I really wish he'd fall to 33 but seems highly unlikely.

[LinvilleGorge]

2 minutes ago, PNW_PantherMan said:

Given the situation, I agree with the approach though.  Invest in the offense to see if you have anything at QB.  And if you don't,  you have a much better situation for the next QB to walk into.  It's kind of worthless to spend money on defense in today's game if you don't have a functional offense as a prerequisite.

I mean what are your options?

1. Extend Burns, Luvu, Chinn etc and run it back next year.

2. Panic bandaid the QB position with someone like Kirk Cousins or Justin Fields.

3. Do what they did.

There's no way I pull the trigger on that Burns trade this early for that little in return. Do them like the Jets did us with Darnold. You know they want him, make them sweat. Make them negotiate against themselves. You're not gonna end up coming away with LESS than a 2nd and 5th.

Honestly, Tepper's quick trigger finger on firings hurts us strategically. Everyone is thinking about NOW because there's no guarantee you have a job tomorrow much less next year. Oh, you're offering me a 1st next year? Hell, I'd rather have a 5th this year. I think I'll at least be able to make that pick.

[SOJA]

2 minutes ago, jamos14 said:

 

JPJ is going in the 1st round.  Probably top 20.  I really wish he'd fall to 33 but seems highly unlikely.

you're probably right, but every year people fall lower than people think. I should have also included Graham Barton in my OP he can play C too

[Jay Roosevelt]

5 minutes ago, LinvilleGorge said:

The only reason we weren't getting blasted every Sunday last year is because our D was at least decent enough to keep us from getting utterly embarrassed every week. It looks like we're about to be like Vandy in the SEC this season. Just hopeless and everybody knows it.

You're not wrong, but the end result was still 2 wins. The strategy seems to be to sacrifice some of our defensive strength in order to build the offense up around Bryce - or for whoever we draft in '25 if Bryce doesn't take a big step forward this year.

And honestly, it's about all we can do right now. We're dead in the water until we get QB figured out so why bother trying to field a top-10 defense if the end result is still going to be 2 wins?

Remember the infamous Tepper interview after the draft last year where he talked about not having to spend a bunch on receivers because Bryce is a point guard and can move the ball "with routes" so we could spend more on defense?

As dumb as Tepper sounded saying that it's clear that was a strategy that he was sold on by someone - probably Scott Fitterer - and it was a flawed plan to begin with. 

This seems like the opposite; get your offense right and find a good DC who can get more out of less. It's the approach most good teams are using these days.

 

We'll see if it works here.

[jamos14]

1 minute ago, LinvilleGorge said:

There's no way I pull the trigger on that Burns trade this early for that little in return. Do them like the Jets did us with Darnold. You know they want him, make them sweat. Make them negotiate against themselves. You're not gonna end up coming away with LESS than a 2nd and 5th.

Honestly, Tepper's quick trigger finger on firings hurts us strategically. Everyone is thinking about NOW because there's no guarantee you have a job tomorrow much less next year. Oh, you're offering me a 1st next year? Hell, I'd rather have a 5th this year. I think I'll at least be able to make that pick.

You also lose the valuable cap space that they were planning to use during the opening of FA.

With Burns contract still on the books as franchise tag, they can't sign the OL they did or whatever other moves they are looking at.

 

[PNW_PantherMan]

2 minutes ago, LinvilleGorge said:

There's no way I pull the trigger on that Burns trade this early for that little in return. Do them like the Jets did us with Darnold. You know they want him, make them sweat. Make them negotiate against themselves. You're not gonna end up coming away with LESS than a 2nd and 5th.

Honestly, Tepper's quick trigger finger on firings hurts us strategically. Everyone is thinking about NOW because there's no guarantee you have a job tomorrow much less next year. Oh, you're offering me a 1st next year? Hell, I'd rather have a 5th this year. I think I'll at least be able to make that pick.

The 2nd part is honestly the most concerning thing.  Pretty much all GMs have a bias for the present, but how much more are we discounting the future because Tepper is impatient?

[JawnyBlaze]

I know different people say different things so one can’t be attributed to the same people as the other, but jfc for years we’ve whined as a collective that we haven’t provided our QBs with a sufficient OL (at least as far back as Cam’s first couple years), and now we are investing heavily in the OL and some are still whining? Did you think we were going to get top tier Gs for cheap? Did you think we have enough draft picks to ensure that at least two of them turn into top tier Gs? Corbett to C is risky, sure, but he’s a good player. Two rock solid Gs will improve the play of all 5 guys on the OL. These two investments could easily pay dividends on putting Icky back on the right track he was on his rookie year, extending Moton’s career as a good RT and making it easier for Corbett to transition to C. We MAY have just fixed the OL issue. And with that, we may have fixed any potential need for a RB. Average RBs can put up great numbers behind a great OL. And with THAT we may have given Bryce (or whoever we get next year) a chance to play not terrible by having a run game the defense has to consider and an OL that gives him even more time to make his decisions since it takes him so long. Another solid WR or two and we’re looking at an actual functional offense. 
 

Defense lost a couple good players in Burns and Luvu, but Shaq will be back next year (not that he’s as good as Luvu) so Luvu’s loss isn’t a 100% subtraction from the defense.  YGM was just a warm body, easily replaceable. The defense isn’t gutted and hopefully these moves have given them the money to resign Brown because he’s our real star on defense, with Horn if he can stay healthy. 

[rayzor]

12 minutes ago, Jay Roosevelt said:

You're not wrong, but the end result was still 2 wins. The strategy seems to be to sacrifice some of our defensive strength in order to build the offense up around Bryce - or for whoever we draft in '25 if Bryce doesn't take a big step forward this year.

And honestly, it's about all we can do right now. We're dead in the water until we get QB figured out so why bother trying to field a top-10 defense if the end result is still going to be 2 wins?

Remember the infamous Tepper interview after the draft last year where he talked about not having to spend a bunch on receivers because Bryce is a point guard and can move the ball "with routes" so we could spend more on defense?

As dumb as Tepper sounded saying that it's clear that was a strategy that he was sold on by someone - probably Scott Fitterer - and it was a flawed plan to begin with. 

This seems like the opposite; get your offense right and find a good DC who can get more out of less. It's the approach most good teams are using these days.

 

We'll see if it works here.

[Panthero]

15 minutes ago, Jay Roosevelt said:

You're not wrong, but the end result was still 2 wins. The strategy seems to be to sacrifice some of our defensive strength in order to build the offense up around Bryce - or for whoever we draft in '25 if Bryce doesn't take a big step forward this year.

And honestly, it's about all we can do right now. We're dead in the water until we get QB figured out so why bother trying to field a top-10 defense if the end result is still going to be 2 wins?

Remember the infamous Tepper interview after the draft last year where he talked about not having to spend a bunch on receivers because Bryce is a point guard and can move the ball "with routes" so we could spend more on defense?

As dumb as Tepper sounded saying that it's clear that was a strategy that he was sold on by someone - probably Scott Fitterer - and it was a flawed plan to begin with. 

This seems like the opposite; get your offense right and find a good DC who can get more out of less. It's the approach most good teams are using these days.

 

We'll see if it works here.

a voice of reason in these mad times. 

[CarolinaNCSU]

Upgrade the offense at the sake of the defense and see if Bryce has *anything*

If yes, continue on building the team. If BY still can't play QB, you just tanked the year and have a top pick for Canales to draft his own QB while you've shored up other pieces. The BY prove it year/soft tank is on. 

[CanadianCat]

Actually some intelligent conversation here. I am 100% with going all in on the offence to find out if Bryce is the man or not. Defense be dammed, we need to know that answer.