top dawg

You really don't know what Fitterer has been involved in, or more importantly what he knows. Fitterer is very well-respected across the league, and he's very well-connected. He knows his stuff, and he's likely a driving force behind why Reich and others are here right now.

To me, these staff hires just go to show that Tepper's not the fool that many of you thought that he was. I tried to tell you guys that it was a process. He was a brand new owner that needed time to learn. Who knew?

Y'all can give Reich all the credit if you want to. This is a collaboration. Don't downplay Fitterer or Dan Morgan.

There is zero possibility that Lamar flops. Come on, man. You can't credibly compare a former MVP who really hasn't even hit his prime with a college prospect that could very well flop. As for injury, that's always a concern, but he really hasn't had anything too major. Stroud looks like starter material, but people are weighting the UGA game way too much IMO. I'll take a wait-and-see approach, and trust that our guys know how to evaluate.

You've started a "Carr Watch" thread and are trying to clown me? Come on, dude.

He got to the playoffs with trash then. Still impressive.

I'd rather watch paint dry

No, you don't keep repeating the same miatake year after year after year.

Yeah, Gruden knows his stuff. As you know, he wasn't let go for football reasons. McDaniels made The Golden Calf of Bristol look competent. Yeah, if they don't want Carr, I don't either. This is a new time with a "new" league and new rules. Old thinking isn't necessarily going to get you where you want to go. You assemble smart minds together and come up with your own smart ways to get to where you want to go. You become that which everyone else wants to try and emulate.

I think that it's being built to groom and/or support any QB.

That's simply pure speculation, but I get it.

Sure, but that's actually more than two decades which is what I thought that we were talking about. It's been awhile. Perhaps ironically, they paid Flacco, but refuse to pay Jackson. They should've let Flacco walk.

ONLY if you think that he is a legit franchise QB. If we trade all that and he flops, the QB teeadwill will continue and we won't have the draft capital to do anything for two to three years. He (or Young) would just have to be the guy, especially with what will likely be a superior '24 class.

And yet, they have only one championship. They have their way of doing things that works for them. It just doesn't work for me as a fan as I look at today's NFL.

Drive away talent? Who was driven away? A-Rod is known for being an A-hole. He makes it about him with his little off-season games of stringing the Packers along. The Packers gave Adams essentially the same type of contract financially. If A-Rod hadn't been A-Rod, the Packers would've been a legit contender had Adams stayed. Lamar Jackson is not an asshole by all reports. He just wants to be paid what he feels he is worth. Cleveland didn't lose anyone irreplaceable because they signed Watson. A a matter of fact, it's still way to early to even be alluding to any type of failure at this point. The jury is still out. Denver has talent. Who did they lose? And the fact is that Wilson's contract ain't even in the class of Watson's or whatever people think that Jackson may get. Wilson's contract surely didn't stop another talented a-hole with a huge ego in Sean Payton. I think we're all going to find out what a difference time actually makes in the form of better coaching and chemistry.

Jackson's biggest concern is injury, point blank and simple. And, yes, I have mentioned that in relation to his contractual expectations (if not in this thread, then the other one). Carr is Carr. He's had good coaches (or at least ones that know QBs in particular), and he's had weapons, especially this past season. He's 32 years old and seems to have a limited ceiling. I believe his ceiling is good, but not great. I don't believe that he can put a team on his shoulders and will them to victory like a true franchise QB can. If he could do it, he'd have probably done it already, especially this past year when he had the best receiver in the game, a top three TE, a top RB, and others. His career passer rating is 91.8. No one is going to mistake Carr for being on Lamar Jackson's level (no one serioa anyway). The Ravens would sign Lamar Jackson in a heartbeat if they could get to the right number (provided that Jackson still wants to be there). The Raiders dumped Carr like yesterday's leftovers. It's not that hard to figure out why someone would be excited about Jackson and not so excited about Carr. If your goal is "maybe getting into the playoffs," then Carr is your man. If your goal is to try and actually compete for Super Bowls, then Jackson is your guy hands down.

See that's your problem? You're the one trying to assign fault. The Ravens haven't been the best team, and mostly any NFL type will tell you that. Blame it on Jackson all you like, but if you do you're simply being disingenuous.

Which is why Jackson is superior. I don't think anyone is going to credibly argue that Jackson has superior weapons than Vick, much less most teams in the NFL, including ours. They're not who anyone wants. Save for the TE of course. Catch or no catch.

The 50 mil mark won't either

And Vick's career passer rating was 80.4 while Jackson's is 96.7 (since you're the one alluding to the comparison).

Each team's situation is different. The Ravens haven't won a damned thing in ten years and only one in the last 20. To hell with the Ravens! I mean, they have one of the best coaches in the league. They have a former MVP at QB, and yet they've squandered all the years of his rookie contract by just refusing to put any players of note at skill positions, save for Mark Andrews. We have a newly formed brain trust. If they think they can obtain Jackson and still run a successful team, I'm going to believe that they can do it until proven otherwise. Mind you, I don't believe that this marriage would ever come together, but poor-mouthing is becoming a thing of the past pertaining to winning championships. The Ravens could likely have avoided this if they had paid Jackson from the get-go. They waited and are now going to have to pay the price one way or another. That was NOT a smart move on their part. On an off note, the relationship between the Ravens and Jackson may be a bigger part than this than anyone knows.

If you get a star franchise QB, at some point you're going to have to pay that star franchise QB. I don't care if you draft him or you acquire him in free agency. If you do draft him, you're lucky, but the clock starts ticking just as soon as there is a realization that he is one. At some point, he's going to want the top money of the day. The smart franchises just know how to manipulate that cap reality and their personnel better than others.

I'd say that a dumb team is one that pays Carr north of 40 mil per. That's likely a dumb team.

I mean, I've already said it in so many words, that we don't exactly know what the number is. We are just hearing noise at this point. The devil is in the details. The two firsts are the cost of doing business. That part of the deal means basically nothing in the acquisition of a franchise QB.

Depends on the team. It doesn't scare me to pay a QB that's worth paying (or trading for one worth trading for). 50 mil per is going to be commonplace relatively soon because franchises are making more money than ever. Key said that it's going to hit 60 in the foreseeable future. The real issue is how much QBs will be receiving in guarantees. My issue with Lamar is that he has to be more realistic given his injury history. There has to be a compromise---a give and take. He should also be looking at what he's gaining in weapons and all that. I think that their is a real point where a franchise becomes cash strapped, but I don't necessarily know that 50 mil per is that point. Everyone wants to save a dollar, but you have to look at your own budget and situation and see if you can develop a plan for you that affords you that which you desire. If the numbers don't add up, you go to another plan. There is more than one way to skin a cat.