top dawg

Strong has issues just like everyone else. And, his issues certainly won't overcome a bad line--maybe even not an average line. From PFN: Young quarterbacks always have flaws, and Strong is no different. He’s farther along than his age would suggest, but he’s also not a finished product. Most notably, pressure can create trouble for Strong. The Nevada QB can plant his feet prematurely at times and make himself vulnerable. He also tries to force the ball under pressure occasionally, leading to volatility and inaccuracy. He doesn’t always detect pressure on the backside, and creating for himself isn’t a natural strength. Furthermore, Strong sometimes fades away as he throws, limiting downfield distance. He can be easily forced backward by blitzing players, and he tends to fade back on rollouts at times, limiting his leverage as a thrower. Strong isn’t afraid to take risks even in high-pressure situations, but he can sometimes lead the ball into dangerous areas. https://www.profootballnetwork.com/carson-strong-nevada-qb-nfl-draft-scouting-report-2022/

Let's not just skip over his knee like it's a footnote. https://steelersdepot.com/2022/02/the-doctor-is-in-what-to-make-of-carson-strongs-knee-issue/

Dude, everything I've pretty much read says that he is an AVERAGE athlete. In today's NFL, that's not going to cut it. He's virtually a statue. I would like someone who, when the script breaks down, can ad lib and make things happen off schedule. His knee is a HUGE question mark that I don't want to have to deal with on any given Sunday. It could start swelling again, and then what? No thanks! I like how you are trying to intimate that Corral will only be successful in an RPO-based offense. Like any QB coming out of college, Corral will need to grow and develop. He can do what Strong can and so much more. Plus, he's more accurate.

I don't care about Minny, Michigan or anything else because I saw what Harbaugh did with the 49ers as an actual NFL head coach. Getting to the Super Bowl and coming damn close to winning did not happen by mistake. I am not taking that for granted. Is he quirky with a big ego? Probably. Does he rub people the wrong way? Maybe. Was he a successful coach on the professional level. Yes! Would I take a chance that he's learned some lessons from his past stint in the league? Hell yeah!

Pun was intended. I agree. No way we're tanking with Rhule at the helm. Too much is on the line for him. I'm thinking that Tepper's rolling the dice and legitimately hopes Rhule and company turn it around. It would be nice to know where the firing line is... I'm not worried about if and when Rhule has to be replaced. Tepper is learning from his mistakes, doesn't want to be a loser (much less a perennial one), and has deep pockets. I just don't like the thought of simply setting a season on fire...No one knows how many more that we'll be able to see.

I guess Tepper decided to give it the ol' college try one last time...

I just refuse to believe that Tepper is going to accept being a loser. I'm not going to fret about the rough start.

It's in his contract.

Yes, picking an inferior player simply because it's a position of need is only realistic on a message board. IRL that's never going to happen. I think most mature football fans know that to be true. Once the top tackles are gone, they're gone!

Go Dawgs! Go Stafford! I like Kupp and OBJ as well. But, if the Bengals win l, I won't cry about it. I'm going to give you the obligatory, "If it ain't the Panthers, you can fug 'em both!"

Well, honestly, Scot, did anyone strike you as special? If they did, I don't know it. I mean, you probably bought into the hype of Luck or Lawrence, but I don't remember you going out on any limbs for any QB.

This time last year, I was driving the Lance locomotive. This year, I'm at least going to say that I'll jump on the Corral Caboose. Trey Lance had the prototypical size, great arm, intangibles, played in a pro-style offense, and eventually won a 'ship and flashed while doing it. He rightfully stood out and was highly drafted amid champions and highly talented guys at the collegiate level. This year, the QB class simply doesn't appear to be as outstanding, and there are more questions about whether the Picketts, Howells & Willises of the world are truly starting material or backups at the NFL level. So, yes, there are questions. The main question about Matt Corral--other than the standard fare--at least as far as I'm concerned is his size and durability. There's no way to downplay that. He's not Goldilocks or Justin Herbert, but adding 10-15 pounds of muscle and tweaking his take-hits run style will hopefully help a lot and get him to a point where the issue of durability is minimized. Now the good part is that Corral can make any and every throw. He's accurate, can put zip on the ball and throw passes with touch. Corral also has a cannon. It my not be a Lance cannon, but it's a cannon. He wouldn't know a noodle-arm if it dared to slap him in the face. His arm talent is legit, and Corral can use it off-script. He may not look like Pat Mahomes or last year's boy wonder, Zach Wilson, with the almost awkward looking accurate ropes, but his athleticism is enough to get him out of trouble and make the necessary throws that you need when plays are breaking down. Now another thing that he was getting knocked for was interceptions, but he cleaned that up in a major way this past season, and honestly it shows that he is coachable, able to develop, and serious about his craft. Sure, he was in a system, but, at least to me, his talent is such, and mentality seems as such, that he can play in any system. Now, there aren't any extensive recent draft profiles that I could find that reflected his 2021 season, but here are some excepts from Daniel Jeremiah's in July: What I liked: Corral has a very intriguing skill set. He's an excellent athlete and a versatile thrower. He's capable of driving the ball into small windows, layering the ball over linebackers/under safeties and dropping the deep ball into the bucket. His overall touch is outstanding. He has tremendous quickness and awareness inside the pocket to avoid the free rusher. He is effective on designed QB runs because of his suddenness and ability to elude defenders. He is very competitive to fight for extra yards. Where he needs to improve: Turnovers are the main problem and they came in bunches during the 2020 campaign. He threw 11 of his 14 interceptions in two games (vs. Arkansas and LSU). His primary issues were locking onto his initial read, failing to identify underneath defenders and forcing the ball into non-existent windows. I believe he can clean this up. I've seen him maneuver and manipulate safeties with his eyes in the games I studied. There's one more thing for him to work on: His eyes get ahead of his feet when scanning from one side of the field to the other on occasion. He doesn't let his feet catch up and he releases the ball with an unaligned base, which impacts his accuracy. Biggest takeaway: I've been asked which college QB could emerge this fall, similar to the way Jets first-round pick Zach Wilson popped on the scene last year at BYU. Corral would be my answer. He doesn't quite have the same arm talent as Wilson, but he has similar instincts, creativity and playmaking ability. Wilson had ball security issues in 2019 and he cleaned them up in 2020. I'm hopeful Corral will have similar results in 2021 https://www.nfl.com/news/scouting-matt-corral-ole-miss-qb-a-top-contender-for-zach-wilson-like-ascent Now, like alluded to before, Corral's 2021 season answered some of Jeremiah's and others' questions. Corral told you why he improved in the podcast. Whenever I see someone saying something that Corral isn't worth it, they always seem to make a general statement that doesn't really speak to anything, especially his 2021 season. As for me, I'm liking what I'm seeing and hearing. Is it enough to pick him at 6? I don't know, especially if one of the three top tackles are sitting on the board. I do absolutely believe that it's intriguing enough to consider him at 6. If Corral does well at his interviews and performs well during the Combine, pro day and individual team workouts, don't be surprised if he becomes the number one QB on many people's boards.

I like it (if not in that order because it's early) but if I'm going BPA, then exit Linderbaum and enter Sauce Gardner.

OK, I've made up my mind. If I were to take a chance on a QB at 6--just from looking, mind you--it would be Matt Corral. I am concerned about his size and bit of an injury history, but he's the only one I'm getting the it-factor vibes from. He may be too small to handle a full NFL season, especially the way he plays (which would have to be modified towards getting down and not taking hard hits), but I don't get an undercurrent of mediocrity or a backup vibe from Corral.

Even though Lance was raw and less experienced overall, he had experience in a pro-style offense and repeatedly flashed on his way to winning a championship. Willis is simply way more raw than Lance was, and that's the biggest difference as to why no one is going to divvy an equal amount of picks for Willis.

No, it's not the same. USA Today is a well-regarded national publication. It's a legit operation owned by one of the largest media companies in the world. Just saying.

https://www.nfl.com/news/larry-fitzgerald-on-kyler-murray-s-social-media-cleanse-i-just-hope-everything-w

Yeah, the week wasn't promising. I gotta say that I'm more intrigued by Corral now. He is just so injury prone.

"He no longer follows the Arizona Cardinals on Instagram or Twitter and there is no reference to the team on either of his profiles on the platforms. What does this mean? Since he hasn’t said anything, we can only speculate, but this is often the sort of move a player moves when he is unhappy with the team." https://www.google.com/amp/s/sports.yahoo.com/amphtml/kyler-murray-scrubs-social-media-121530643.html

I highly doubt that. If one draft pick fugs you up for five years, you have some deep-seated issues.

I'm admitting my mistakes, and advising Tepper that the learning curve has been real. I'd tell him that we knew it wasn't going to be easy but it's going to take a couple of more seasons to get into the playoffs because the rush job didn't work out. I'd thank him for his patience and believing in me.

Well that's the thing: nobody really knows for sure how most QBs are going to do anyway. We've all seen plenty of day 1 & 2 busts. We've also seen QB hits on day 3. At this point, I think we're going to need a miracle anyway, otherwise we'll be doing some major renovations in 2023, and maybe even QB like @Jon Snow said. Basically, I have low expectations and don't think the world ending hinges on our 2022 draft picks.

Some of these responses. I have an open mind. Not my first choice, but...Gotta take a swing to hit or miss.

I'm not trying to be contentious, but, honestly, do receivers really make their teammates better in the sense that a QB "makes his receivers better" (like we like to say)? I think that the best way that a WR can make his team better--and quite naturally his fellow receivers--is to do his job. Smitty required a double team pretty much, and that opened it up for everyone else. I think that's undeniable. He's not a coach. It's the coaches job to "make the receiver better" in a sense, but the player has to be willing to put in the work to really make themselves better, as that's what pros are expected to do.

I appreciate your post, but you really need to put the name of the prospect in the title.