XL about to turn the corner

[LinvilleGorge]

I didn't want the guy and I think he's almost certainly a bust but I'm rooting for him. Seems like a really likeable guy. I wish if we were gonna draft busts that we'd draft assholes that bust. It's a lot easier to deal with a bust like Josh Rosen where it's like "yeah, fug that prick" versus likeable guys like XL and Bryce.

[kungfoodude]

32 minutes ago, d-dave said:

Oh yeah, the draft has been a poo show.  You are 100% right there.

I was thinking about Darnold and Baker.  Two guys we traded assets for (would have missed on those picks I bet), sucked while here, and then went on to revive their careers.

Since 2018:

DJ Moore has had continued and greater (???) success in Chicago.

Brian Burns got paid, and seems to be a big deal in NY?  

Go back a bit:

CMC - duh, incredible part time player sadly

Curtis Samuel - same ish?

James Bradbury - Got paid and played well for several years after Carolina

So I don't think we drafted anyone who left and lit the world on fire.  More like FA mis-fires.

Yeah, Darnold I still believe will be a career backup and he is trending that direction.

I was a Baker fan before he came here and never really bought the line about him being washed. Nor do I buy the line about him being some big turnaround. He is performing the best of his career but it isn't insanely better than with Cleveland. He was always a good NFL QB. I think it's more his progression/experience as an NFL player that is leading to the improvements.

But you see why I harp so much on evaluation failures. This is the most critical flaw in our attempts to build anything cohesive here. You gotta be able to identify actual NFL caliber talent.

[kungfoodude]

40 minutes ago, mav1234 said:

I think a lot of this stems from how well some of our FA acquisitions / trades played after leaving us. But there's a lot of important caveats there, and I think in Mayfield's case he needed to hit rock bottom (yes, we are rock bottom) to bounce back. He seems much less arrogant in TB. Darnold was, for Darnold, playing well here when we moved on from him too. 

I think you are right.

I also think we can't wait another 3 years to see if the offense turns around. XL needs to start his turn around this year. And Bryce needs to at least return to how he played the last half of his 2nd year.  Or, imo, we move on from both.

We seem slightly more prone as a franchise than most to the sunk cost fallacy. If you realize your mistake, pivot ASAP and recoup what assets you can. Holding onto these guys for dear life in the hopes they will eventually pan out is tying up valuable resources spent developing better assets(hopefully).

[mav1234]

4 minutes ago, kungfoodude said:

Yeah, Darnold I still believe will be a career backup and he is trending that direction.

I was a Baker fan before he came here and never really bought the line about him being washed. Nor do I buy the line about him being some big turnaround. He is performing the best of his career but it isn't insanely better than with Cleveland. He was always a good NFL QB. I think it's more his progression/experience as an NFL player that is leading to the improvements.

But you see why I harp so much on evaluation failures. This is the most critical flaw in our attempts to build anything cohesive here. You gotta be able to identify actual NFL caliber talent.

I firmly believe Baker was broken on arrival. It's possible he ends up fixed if we hold onto him for another year or so, but I'm not so sure. I don't think he was washed up, just damaged. The Cleveland ordeal would get in anyone's head. Ridiculous what they did.

[The NFL Shield At Midfield]

Yeah, turning the corner to the bench once Coker is healthy again.

[mav1234]

Just now, kungfoodude said:

We seem slightly more prone as a franchise than most to the sunk cost fallacy. If you realize your mistake, pivot ASAP and recoup what assets you can. Holding onto these guys for dear life in the hopes they will eventually pan out is tying up valuable resources spent developing better assets(hopefully).

One thing I'll say is that stuff like the Mingo trade and Bryce benching last year bodes well for this. I think we need to balance patience with the player with needed growth/development for these guys. So far I think we've been ok the last couple years with that.

[LinvilleGorge]

14 minutes ago, kungfoodude said:

Yeah, Darnold I still believe will be a career backup and he is trending that direction.

I was a Baker fan before he came here and never really bought the line about him being washed. Nor do I buy the line about him being some big turnaround. He is performing the best of his career but it isn't insanely better than with Cleveland. He was always a good NFL QB. I think it's more his progression/experience as an NFL player that is leading to the improvements.

But you see why I harp so much on evaluation failures. This is the most critical flaw in our attempts to build anything cohesive here. You gotta be able to identify actual NFL caliber talent.

Baker reminds me a lot of Jake. Good QB but he's got a dawg in him that carries him above and beyond what he should be and makes his teammates and fans love him. I really wish this shitty organization hadn't dropped the ball on that one. We actually made the smart move for once and we still fuged it up. That's impressive. Impressive for all the wrong reasons but still impressive.

[kungfoodude]

2 minutes ago, LinvilleGorge said:

Baker reminds me a lot of Jake. Good QB but he's got a dawg in him that carries him above and beyond what he should be and makes his teammates and fans love him. I really wish this shitty organization hadn't dropped the ball on that one. We actually made the smart move for once and we still fuged it up. That's impressive. Impressive for all the wrong reasons but still impressive.

Tepper your expectations, my son.

[KSpan]

Unfortunately, corners can be vertical in nature as well.

[CRA]

XL listed as questionable today

[Tr3ach]

3 hours ago, cvlngnir said:

I believe I have to disagree with this. Effort is 100% mental toughness. When the body is tired and hurting, and the emotions are down due to bad outcomes, it is the mind that tells them to gather those hidden resources and push through the next play. Same applies to the last set at the end of a brutal workout, the last hour of a long day on the job or any one of multiple other situations where you have to tell your body to push through and ignore the pain.

He wasnt giving effort in week 1 of the season.  If all these things are true then hes just too soft to be a big factor in the NFL.  

[electro's horse]

3 minutes ago, CRA said:

XL listed as questionable today

He did look a little gimpy from practice clips. 

[flagfootballcoach28]

Lol. I’ll believe it when I see it. 

[WhoKnows]

3 hours ago, CarolinaRideorDie said:

Cam Newton recently talked about XL's poor performance. He talks about XL not being focused on the right things and training wrong. He needs to get away from Glorilla, focus on football, and stop posting tik tok vids of his workouts per Cam. What's the purpose of posting your workout vids online? Are you trying to show the public how hard you are working behind the scenes? Cam says Davante Adams never posts his work out videos for likes, he just works on his craft in private and shows up in games when it matters. 

I think XL works hard, but he is just not working on the right stuff of being a WR. In example, not getting your feet in bounds. That's basic stuff bud. 

It’s our fault for continually drafting these guys. He’s an old 2nd year guy and he had one season in college. If he’s not already set on the mental game, don’t move up to draft him in the first over Coleman and McConkey and De Jean and Frazier, all of whom we needed and are vastly superior players already.

Again, to the dolts in here that backed the FO guys religiously, there’s a bunch of huddlers, including me, that would have been better GMs and the team would be a lot more talented if the huddle drafted the team.

It’s honestly ridiculous how bad we’ve been in the draft for since 2021. Truly comical. Us fans have to just laugh at how bad it’s been. Even Hurney and Gettleman got something in their drafts so we were competitive and had chances at the playoffs and SBs. It hurts to think about how many years it will be before we sniff another SB or even feel like a SB is possible. Right now it’s just delusional to think that.