t96

cool, not expecting a huge jump from him as he turns 30 this year somehow (doesn't feel like he's been in the league more than like 3 years but he's been here 5 and was old in the draft), but it would be sweet for him to break out.

I wouldn't call myself a "diehard" Hornets fan but I've probably watched 30-40 full games the past 2 years despite the team sucking and bits and pieces of others despite being out of market, so maybe I qualify... My thoughts are you take Scoot and see if it can work with the two of them (I think it can). LaMelo is an RFA in a year and we should be able to keep him on the next contract without issues the way the NBA cba is set up, so you keep him and try to make it work for a couple years. If they just can't work together then you can trade one of them, which one depends on so many different things that we just don't know right now. I don't worry too much about LaMelo wanting out IF the team can get to a point where they're a legit playoff team. The next 1-2 years are especially critical in that regard. Having 2nd overall pick and a chance to take an elite prospect in Scoot, getting LaMelo's buddy Miles back (likely on a relative bargain because of the legal issues), and having a healthy Melo and some of the other young guys developing could have this team in the playoffs as soon as this year. But we also have to see what plays out with a potential sale of the team and from there any changes to the front office/coaching staff. I really hate that we hired Clifford last year as he's not the guy to lead this team out of the gutter and having him here next year could cost us. But we shall see.

And the Aints were true contenders for how many of those years while having an elite hall of fame iron man QB (which Allen is not)? About 3 years around when they won the Super Bowl (similar to the last 3 years Bills but they didn't win it all) Then about 2-3 years following their 2017 draft which could be argued as one of the best drafts by any team in league history and the main reason for their status as contenders the following years. As I said in my last post, "they will have some serious work cut out for them to stay a contender the next several years." I'd say that type of draft qualifies as "serious work cut out for them," getting an elite cornerback, OT, RB and above average starting safety & pass rusher all in the same draft to have on rookie deals for 4 years. Hey, maybe the Bills can do that too!

everybody panic

Just one picture but Bryce actually looks more stout than Corral and Dalton, obviously quite a bit shorter but I think his build won't be nearly the issue many thought it would be.

https://www.spotrac.com/nfl/buffalo-bills/josh-allen-25102/ Allen's style of play (reliance on running to be truly elite) along with contract kicking in next year (and them coming up short the last several years against Chiefs/Bengals who both are better now and still likely will continue to be in the next few years/going forward) will make it tough for them to be as legit of contenders as they have been the past 3 years. Also the division is tougher. Window definitely isn't closing but they will have some serious work cut out for them to stay a contender the next several years.

to be clear I wasn't suggesting we would or should be involved, this is an NFL news thread so that's why I added it

Don't overthink this, just take Scoot 2nd. To trade with NO it would have to be Zion+ coming back and that seems unlikely and is a huge risk for the Hornets with his health (would need to do some serious due diligence and be convinced he will change his off court habits).

Lewan has had a bunch of injuries lately but could be very solid tackle depth if he'd come cheap. Also, our old buddy McD is apparently very concerned about Diggs skipping mandatory minicamp, wonder if he winds up forcing a trade...

https://www.espn.com/nba/player/gamelog/_/id/6430/jimmy-butler Look at his Bucks series... And his shooting % in the past few series. Jimmy has been great overall and yes their best player, but he is not carrying the team. They play great team defense, move the ball well and several guys have been shooting lights out. He carried the team against the Bucks for sure but not really since then.

seriously thinking about it but have some other away games that are going to take priority and not sure how many I can make it to this year. Aiming for 3.

obviously his series against the celtics was an outlier but worth noting in the Finals he's been limited by illness. he's a solid all around player who has been pretty clutch in big games this year. Spo deserves credit and Jimmy for the first few series but he hasn't been carrying anything the past couple series, other guys like Caleb have just been stepping up.

If Corral wins the backup job that'd be great, but also disappointing to pay Dalton $10M to be a third stringer. I will say I'm loving Corral's attitude so far this offseason, will be interesting to see how he does in camp/preseason.

Historically I've generally been very for starting young QBs on the bench, citing examples like Rodgers, Mahomes recently, etc. But then there are guys like Cam, Luck, Burrow, Herbert who start right away and dominate from the get go (yes I know Herbert was initially behind Tyrod but he didn't sit long at all and basically started from day 1 in all practicality). So I don't have any strong preference. I think generally the idea behind sitting a QB is to help him with the mental aspect and getting used to the processing, fully grasp the offense and defenses and not get shell shock right from the start. I still think David Carr could've been an incredible QB in a better situation but he was really set up to fail from the start. Sam Darnold is another possible example of that as he has the talent but the damage was done early in his career with the Jets. An elite OL, run game, WRs, scheme, etc. can all help with that and I think we've got the OL part and hopefully the coaching. But most importantly Bryce came out of college about as well prepared as any QB ever could be in the mental aspects of the game as his processing is unparalleled at his age. So despite my previous tendency to lean towards easing a young QB in, I'm 100% for starting Bryce from day 1 and excited as hell. Also as a 1st overall pick with the context surrounding the team these past several years you just cannot start Dalton day 1 if Bryce is even close to ready, what a terrible look that'd be. And I have no concerns about Bryce being ready.

Last year's Captains were Christian McCaffrey, Baker Mayfield, Taylor Moton, Shaq Thompson, Jeremy Chinn, Brian Burns, Donte Jackson and J.J. Jansen I would think those returning keep their Cs. McCaffrey and Mayfield are the only ones gone and I would bet $ on them being replaced by Young and Thielen.

The movie Moneyball was on tv a few days ago and I was watching it and all I could think of during the scenes about replacing guys' production was our WR group and losing DJ. Don't need to replace the player just the production, and the guys we've signed/drafted can do just that. We are definitely "fine" at receiver. Amazing/not needing to upgrade at all in the next few years? No of course not. But it's not a weakness that will hold this team back, it can be worked around with coaching, OL and Bryce's play. The Chiefs aren't a perfect example for us as they have Kelce and arguably the best QB to ever play the game and an elite offensive HC but our receivers this season are no worse than the Chiefs' were last year as champs. I'd love to get a bonafide #1 WR like a Jefferson or Chase but there was no need to force the issue right now, let it come in time if the opportunity presents itself. Hopkins is an interesting target worthy of due diligence in theory, but $, health and age are all considerations as well as the interest being a 2 way street. All indications are he wants to sign with a contender and proven elite QB, so we may have called and gotten a quick and easy thanks but no thanks...

McCaffrey is wayyyyyyy better than Cook ever has been. Granted his injury issues were even worse than Cook's but still the talent gap is huge.

umm no lol why would we want him he wouldn't fit any role in our offense that Sanders doesn't already do better. he's gonna go to Miami

Outside of his time here all I can think of is his postgame from his time in Arizona when he went nuts lol not surprised the dude is a bit unhinged but he was a great steady backup here for a long time

Cotchery caught it

We shall see my friend. I’ll take our combo of weapons/OL/coaching over the Jets’ and Rodgers was quite bad last year with great coaching and OL. Everyone thought Russell Wilson would dominate last year with the Broncos’ “weapons…”

Bryce will have a better season than Rodgers this year too. Rodgers gonna be like Favre in NY but then have one last great run with the Vikings to finish the parallel.

And as great as Reddick has been when he was here we got absolutely run over on the ground. Of course I'd take Reddick back, esp. in a 3-4 but there's something to be said for having a balance of skills along the DL/pass rush. A big reason why our D was so dominant in 2013 was CJ and Hardy being elite top 5-10 all around DEs who excelled against the pass and the run. That and Luke and TD being absolute monsters and Star eating space but you do need guys who can set the edge against the run and Burns is notably not good at that.

well they beat us by just 4 goals and they also beat the bruins and leafs, they were on a hot run with a hot goalie. We were missing 2 top line goal scorers. It's disappointing but not really embarrassing. Their luck was gonna run out at some point, it's just too bad for us it came so late

Bryce then Reich, agree with 3 and 4, though 5 could be a few others like Thielen, Shaq restructure, etc.