kungfoodude

Says the guy stalking me thread to thread? Speaking of mirrors....

Yeah, I am not sure how people can forget that fiasco. It was a hot topic here that entire offseason. Remember how badly his stock tanked after the combine too? It was rough.

Still got that room for me up there? Hell yeah. Might set up an AirBnB.

Probably hard to concentrate with all that angsty teenager emotion welling up in you, eh?

Yeah, it would be different had he had even the background a guy like Trubisky did(who had an 11-3 season and a Pro Bowl). Almost all of Sam's time in the NFL has been failing. He isn't any different than our current whipping boy, Greg Little. Eventually all the potential and hope become, "What have you done for us?" That's why this is likely a do or die year for Darnold. He has to show something from what made him a top 10 pick. He is in a better situation overall, although sadly I don't think our offensive line is going to be a big upgrade. But, eventually you just have to be better than your circumstances if you want to be an elite player in the NFL.

He's a "Jets fan" that left the team because Darnold left. Pretty standard player surfer. We get them every offseason and they disappear as quickly as the Teddy simps did. I never have understood that portion of fans that really doesn't have any allegiance to any team but latches onto a player like a newborn on a teat.

I mean....you did actually watch him play, right? I sometimes question that. He was consistently in the discussion of being the worst starting QB in the NFL, so why wouldn't I have that opinion? And you dodged the question, which isn't surprising. Better than Teddy in what regard? Specific statistics? Overall statistics? Wins? What?

I think he has to conclusively show he is "the guy" or at least can be "the guy." That may not be as simple as wins on paper. If he starts looking like, say, the good version of Mitch Trubisky(2018) then I could see them deciding to stick with him.

I mean, clearly to you it is since you are stalking me from one thread to the next seething with anger. Not that I am complaining. It's free entertainment for me.

You seem to be just randomly shifting your position to suit your support of Little. What are you actually trying to accomplish? Little was a pretty polarizing prospect with a pretty wide variety of grades because he had so many flaws as a prospect. That's pretty much the point we are making. He was not some home run prospect that was a head scratching bust. He was acknowledged to be a guy that needed a lot of development and had a lot of downsides. He just simply didn't develop.

@SBBlue This is not a negative thing for them to be cutting bait on Little after he is clearly a bust. Remember how reticent we were to admit those mistakes and cut bait prior to this new coaching staff. Can you imagine how quickly they would have pulled the rip cord on the Matt Kalil signing??? I for one am actually glad this staff is ready to move on from players that just don't have what it takes to be an NFL player.

We lost Samuels and replaced him with unknown commodities. Until those unknown commodities prove they are better than Samuels(or equal), I can understand the reason to doubt. Regardless, I don't think we will be outside the top 15 even if we aren't able to get the same production out of our guys behind Robby and DJ.

Thanks for the rent free space in your head.

Probably because you are cherry picking. They all list the red flags. Walterfootball "In the passing-driven NFL, teams are always looking for potential elite left tackles. It can be very difficult to find left tackles with Little's natural size and athleticism, so those things make him an intriguing prospect for the next level, even with his inconsistent play. There are a lot of natural strengths to Little. He has ideal height, length, weight, quickness and athleticism. Little displays quick feet that allow him to get depth in his drop and neutralize speed rushers. He should be an asset to take on the fast edge rushers because he can get off the corner and prevent them from running the loop around the edge. With his quick feet and an ability to bend at the knee, Little doesn't have to reach after rushers and is not a waist bender. For the NFL, Little could be a very valuable to protect his quarterback against fast edge rushers. As a run blocker, Little is quick to the second level and is able to swallow up linebackers or defensive backs with ease. Right now, he would be better off in a zone-blocking system to use his athleticism due to not packing a serious punch at the point of attack. Little is not a bull in the ground game to knock defenders off the ball, even though he has the potential to be that if he works at developing his skill set. He has the size for a power-man scheme, but his shortcomings make him a poor fit for that kind of scheme at this time. Little is too much of a finesse blocker. He has to get more nasty and show something of a mean streak. Adding more strength would help him to do that. Little is poor at firing off the ball and engaging defensive ends. Too often, he is waiting to catch them rather than starting the contact and attacking defenders. As a pass protector, Little definitely has to block with better leverage. He allows too many pressures to the inside, and that comes from his leverage issues, along with waiting on defenders rather than getting into their chests. Little had some bad beats on rushes to the inside in 2017 and 2018 that should not have happened given his athleticism. There were also plays during which Little would be bull rushed into the pocket - see versus Alabama in 2018. Little needs to improve his ability to anchor against powerful bull rushes. In speaking to team sources, they aren't super excited about Little because he never played up to his potential consistently. They also said his combine interviews were just okay as he needs development of his football I.Q. They feel he has the capacity to learn, but he still has a lot to learn for the NFL. Everybody acknowledges his skill set, but being an underachiever leaves a sour taste for a lot of evaluators. As a result, multiple team sources have told me they had given Little a late first-round grade. A few sources are higher on him. Little has enough fans alongside a good skill set and upside that he looks likely to be a first-round pick. He probably will go in the back half of the first round, and if he slips to the second round, he should be selected quickly. " TheDraftNetwork "Crabbs Greg Little projects as a boom or bust prospect at the NFL level. Little shows flashes of natural athleticism, particularly for his size. Furthermore, Little's deep pass sets are effective with his length and foot quickness. But Little is super raw in his framing of blocks and footwork, he takes false steps and fails to roll through contact to create forward push with consistency in the run game. Little's effort is also of concern, he will need to be coached/motivated if he's going to be a starter. Marino A five-star recruit, Little started early in his career at Ole Miss and it culminated with All-SEC First Team honors in 2018. While Little was an effective college blocker, there are some notable deficiencies in terms of balance and technique that Little must overcome to find success in the NFL. With that said, his blend of size, length and functional mobility serve as a strong foundation for him to develop. I don’t see an early starter in Little, but he has some upside to develop if he can improve. Round Grade - Mid Day Three Ledyard Greg Little’s Ole Miss career can best be summed up by one phrase: it didn’t always (or even often) look pretty, but he got the job done. Despite footwork concerns, significant issues with strike timing/placement and below average functional strength, Little used athleticism, size and length to allow a limited number of sacks and quarterback hits on tape. The problem is that Little’s process is so clearly flawed on tape that it is hard to imagine him having the same level of success in the NFL, where the opposing talent is far superior to even what he faced in the SEC. He’s also a get-in-the-way run blocker who shows little physical dominance on tape, an issue that can’t even be traced back to his effort, as Little plays plenty hard. The junior has impressive physical and athletic tools, but that will mean little if his technique does not improve significantly at his next stop. The NFL will take some solace in the fact that Ole Miss didn’t really develop much of anyone in their offense, but Little should still be seen as a decent project at the position and not someone who is ready to start without considerable help in year one. Round Grade: Late 3rd" NFL.com " Weaknesses Needs to work on core power and upper body development Lacks force and power in down block Too many inefficiencies in movements as run blocker Initial hand strike as run blocker lacks tempo and pace Waist bend with nose past toes at point of attack Leaves feet behind after contact Hand strength is very average Races to predetermined set points Impatient and chases rushers rather than waiting back Gets bounced back into pocket by early rush charge Below-average body control in recovery movements" ProFootballNetwork " Weaknesses Although Little is aggressive, sometimes he gets too aggressive. Little is a little grabby if he thinks he is getting beat or if he over pursues his defender. Multiple times he would have to have to try and stop his defender by holding him. He also had to make sure that he did not run past him. He also gets beat on the edge occasionally but if he improves his technique and/or gets quicker this issue will be a thing of the past. His technique, as just stated is also not the best. When Little tries to run block at times he gets stood up by the defender causing him to lose his block. If an offensive lineman gets stood up by the defender, then the defender has all the control. Little’s biggest weakness is his inconsistency. At times, Little looks like a top tackle prospect in this years draft, at other times, he looks like a late day two or early day three pick. " https://walterfootball.com/ws2019glittle.php "Under former head coach Hugh Freeze, the Ole Miss Rebels put together a lot of strong recruiting classes that produced a lot of early-round NFL talent. Among those players were Laremy Tunsil, Evan Engram, Laquon Treadwell, Robert Nkemdiche, Breeland Speaks and more. After Freeze was fired amid scandal, some of his talented recruits who interested NFL teams remained at Ole Miss. Greg Little was one of those players, and he looked like he could be a star as the replacement for Tunsil. Immediately in college football, Little showed he had a great combination of size, quickness and athleticism. With the skill set of a franchise left tackle, Little broke into the starting lineup as a freshman and played really well while making the jump into college football's toughest conference. His sophomore and junior years were solid, but not dominant, and he remained the Rebels starter through three seasons before declaring for the 2019 NFL Draft. In the passing-driven NFL, left tackles with Little's skill set are hard to find, and that had Little being projected as a future first-round pick for a lot of his collegiate career. In speaking to team sources, there was a combination of factors that led to Little sliding. One of those problems was concern over his consistency. Some teams felt that Little was not as consistent as he should have been in college. From the tape, some evaluators also felt they did not see enough nastiness out of Little, and that was also reflected in his pre-draft interviews, where he came across as a nice kid but not a fighter and bully as a football player. Sources at other teams said Little has everything you look for as a player, but those issues of personality and consistency suppressed their enthusiasm." Like I said, plenty of the exact same weaknesses being listed over and over and mentions of why teams were generally down on him. Keep in mind this was a guy that was considered a top 5 draft prospect the year prior to leaving for the draft. Little isn't drastically different than most prospects with warts in that you have to see past those to see the potential. The BIG difference was that the warts just seemed to unbelievably clear for Little and he hasn't shown ANYTHING in the NFL to disprove those concerns. Furthermore, we are now two coaching staffs into attempting to develop him and it hasn't happened. Frankly, the fact that he was pushed so far down the depth chart last year should really tell the whole story. I am not sure why you want to argue this so much precisely BECAUSE we actually do have hindsight here. All those obvious red flags which led to him being passed over(in a weak LT draft, mind you) have essentially come to fruition in Carolina.

It doesn't take that much Googling to find the critical comments about him. Walterfootball had them, PFN had them, NFL.com had them. Those are just the ones off the top of my head. If anyone is still waiting for him to pan out.....I wouldn't hold my breath. If you think our opinion of him is low, I can't imagine how you would likely react to the actual coaching staff opinion of him.

Well, I am not a hyper emotional teenager, so why would I recall some grievance you are in tears about? Not to mention that your take is almost certainly hyperbole if not an outright fabrication.

I don't keep a perpetual scorecard of discussions in here because I don't care that much. Obviously this weighs heavily on you. I pity you in that regard.

Better in what regard? I don't doubt he will struggle to eclipse some of Teddy's statistics because he is a completely different type of QB. I would be shocked and appalled if he doesn't outperform other statistics that Teddy put up in 2020. If we get down to the nitty gritty, it should come down to winning actual games. IMO, he should perform better than Teddy because Teddy mustered only 4 victories as a starter here. Even with the extremely low opinion of Darnold that I have, this team should win more than that even if it is literally in spite of him.

Yeah, and had we selected him in the 3rd round or later without any trade up(and he likely would have been available) then I wouldn't even have an issue with him being a bust now. After the third round, I fully expect most players will not be successful. That is literally the history of those picks. Any time you nail a 4th round or lower guy, that is a huge victory.

I believe we have reached the pinnacle of irony with that response. Bravo, sir.

Yeah, I don't think you saw the same kind of cons for Little. He was widely viewed as a project player and a college underachiever. When you pile on his abysmal showing in the workouts and his spotty film, he had the kind of red flags that you would normally associate with a 4th round or later prospect. Hence why some teams had him as a late round prospect. Hurney, in typical fashion, got blinded by what could be and lost sight of what actually was. Fairly standard move for him.

He was basically a complete locker room cancer. He was allowed to do things in Seattle that didn't hurt the team because he had better players around him on that defense. Then he got more and more full of himself and basically became a cancerous player. It is a shame because his work ethic at one time was considered exceptional. Something happened in his psyche that eventually made him a guy no one wanted to play with anymore.. I wouldn't touch him with a ten foot pole after reading that. Not to mention he is 32 now. I doubt he has anything left in the tank.

Everyone has opinions on players and they will differ widely. That is no different than what happens in the NFL amongst the professionals. It is difficult to justify that trade up when draftniks, media types and league sources all had a laundry list of cons to go with his pros. To me, that isn't a guy you trade up for. Especially with some of the work ethic concerns that he had and the poor showings at the workouts.

That is the media versus the scouts/league. That kind of thing happens every draft. Even a lot of media sources stated he is a boom or bust prospect and a lot of teams had him graded as a late round/Day 3 prospect. We were one of the teams fooled by that potential.