Sgt Schultz

OK, let's play his way: It wasn't a facemask. But it certainly was OPI. And for his own reference, I believe "grab and twist" are only two of the criteria. The whole thing is: No player shall grasp and control, twist, turn, push, or pull the facemask of an opponent in any direction. If they missed it, they missed it. I can see how they missed it because the play got behind the official on that side, so he was looking at their backs. Sometimes, that happens. But let's not look at the play and act like they saw it but nothing happened. They simply did not have an angle to see it.

If nothing else, you would like to create some churn in the depth chart below the starter. Every now and then, one of those guys gets to play enough and creates enough buzz that somebody will offer something decent in a trade in the hunt for their pot of gold....or pyrite. The Pats pulled that off several times. Everybody remembers the Cassel and Garoppolo, but they also peddled a couple of others for lower round draft choices. For highway robbery, roll back to 1989. Everybody knows the Cowboys took Aikman in the 1st round, but then in the supplemental draft they took Steve Walsh. Jimmy Johnson reportedly liked Walsh better (since he coached him in Miami), and there was some real debate about who would win the job. Aikman did, and a year later they peddled Walsh to New Orleans for a 1st, 2nd, and 3rd round pick in 1991. If that was not bad enough, they sent the 1st and 2nd to NE for the #1 overall pick that turned in to Russell Maryland. The 3rd turned in to Erik Williams. So, they turned a decent backup QB into first-class players at DT and RT. Taking Walsh did cost the Cowboys the #1 overall pick in 1990, but they also had the #17 pick which turned into Emmitt Smith. Someday, the Panthers, too will do something smart or have one of those "great dilemmas to have." I'll probably be dead by then, but eventually it has to happen.

That does kinda hurt the eyes to read, doesn't it?

We didn't really have Teddy as leverage. Yes, we still had him on the roster, but remember, after he criticized the Charlotte Camelot, we engaged in a public pi$$ing contest with him that left little doubt he was done in Carolina. At that point, everybody on planet earth knew he was not going to be a Panther in 2021. If I remember, the Jets were publicly saying they were on the fence about drafting a QB because (like us) QB was not their only need, and maybe not even their biggest. That was almost certainly BS to see if somebody would bite and offer them a king's ransom for the second overall pick or somebody would call them with an offer to "pry" Darnold out of their hands, at a premium of course, since they may still want him as their starter. Right about that time we walked onto the used car lot. That was our leverage. Essentially there were only two teams claiming they are interested in Darnold: them and us. Their interest was probably not real since Wilson was going to be sitting on the board for them, and our interest is only kicking tires unless the price is right. The only thing we had to offer if we HAD to have Darnold was enough for the Jets to decide not to keep him on the roster for roughly $4.75M (including the roster bonus) as a backup and then potentially lose him for no return at all after that. If what we ultimately settled on was their price for that, well, onto the next used car lot or the QB depth chart becomes PJ and Grier. That is an awful situation, but Darnold and PJ did not bring fear to opponent's hearts and it almost didn't matter, because our OL was still awful, too. So, we skillfully publicly torpedoed any idea we would just roll with Teddy. Ironically, Teddy's main complaints were likely correct. And we thought that if we just had a better QB we were a playoff team. The fact that our OL was awful and we still had other significant holes in the roster from tearing it down to the studs (and rightfully so) and starting overlooked, not only in this deal but on draft day, too. Not for nothing, but there were a lot of people on this board who thought if our QB was better than Teddy, we were a playoff team. So our brain trust was not the only delusional group. A year later, we are arguably in the exact same place. Darnold is a little cheaper than Teddy would have been in year 3 (had we opted to keep him), but nobody is even going to give us a 7th round pick or Darnold.

Draft, and draft the OL often. I see SI has mocked us taking Neal at #6, which I would be fine with. I'd also be fine trading down to the 9-13 range (the Ravens draft at 14 and reportedly looking heavily at OTs) if we can add a second round pick (which looks about right on the draft value chart). Yes, I know we need a QB. Yes, I realize it sounds like they love Pickett. I don't have nearly as high of an opinion as we hear they do. I'd take OL in rounds 1 and 2 if we trade down, but would consider a QB in round 2. But until we have an OL that prevents the opposing rusher to simply spring to out QB, it is a losing proposition. Here are our problems. We have one OL that we are sure of. We have two we drafted last year that may or may not be part of the future, either as starters or reliable as depth. We failed at learning much about them in their first year, despite having the opportunity to do so. That means we need between 2 and 4 starting OL, and we don't know what that number is. Trying to build an OL in one year is a fool's game. If we somehow drafted 4 starters this year and they stick, they all time out of their rookie deals at the same time. Now add that the odds of achieving that in one draft are also minimal. I'm open to drafting 1 FA, but they need to be under 30 and not somebody's cast off. We have not proven good at that, and if we are going the FA route, I don't want Rhule being the guy trying to identify who the FA is. I don't want versatility nearly as much as I want quality at a position.I No point in taking anybody at 30 or over because they are not going to push us over the threshold in 2022, so they need some longevity. We have too many needs/unanswered questions all over the roster to get carried away (which I think we did this past offseason). As for the QB, our depth chart is basically bare. I don't know any more about Darnold than I knew last year, due to the injury and our poor OL. But, after 4 years in the league being cannon fodder, I am not optimistic. That is a lot of baggage to overcome. Drafting a QB in round 2 or later (if we trade down) may put somebody on the depth chart, either above or below Darnold....or not. But at this point, if my fears about Darnold are correct, he is a backup which is probably not realistic after 2022. The long and short of this is because of our own incompetence in evaluating young players and our 2021 crop all appearing to regress (which is likely also our own incompetence, not theirs), my expectations for 2022 are what they were for 2021. I have no illusions we are a solid playoff team next year. If we don't show further incompetence (BIG if), hopefully we take the next step in 2023.....under Rhule or somebody else. Most likely it is somebody else, but if he corrects past sins, so be it.

It might be worth a try. Draft the fastest player available, regardless of position, and tell him he is now our QB even if he has never taken a single snap under center at any level, even screwing around after practice. It is either that or try the wild idea of improving our OL. Nah, now I am getting silly. The fastest guy in the draft it is.

That would be if he survived until week 8. As it stands now and this last season, we need somebody that can run for their life back there. So, not far is the right answer.

My best to you. I've gone through one divorce with no children involved and even that was tough. It does run one through the gamut of emotions. My outlet was my coworkers. I was an air traffic controller at the time and we had about a 175% divorce rate, some of them very messy. Looking back at it, murder might have been an easier option! My other outlet was music. I spent a lot of hours under a set of headphones. I'm glad this forum was a good release for you. Reading somebody say incredibly stupid stuff (any of my posts, really) can be therapeutic.

How dare you not post here while that was going on. Where are your priorities? <Sigh, rolling eyes, and not at you!>

If things don't improve between now and then, maybe we can get somebody to put Rhule on the "No Fly List" while they are over there?

I hear we are going to draft another punter. It's not that we are upset with Edwards, they just want to take some of the load off him and have the versatility to run the feared "two punter formation."

Where, there was one benefit to hiring Rhule then....even if it was immediate and subsequently overrun by liabilities.

I think that was reported/speculated when the head scratching was going on about why Hurney was still around. I doubt we'll ever know. That sort of stipulation is probably not as unusual as people would think. The question I have if it is true is why fire Rivera before Hurney, even if Rivera did not have such a stipulation? Tepper did recognize that the organization was a mess, and if you were saddled with the GM for two years and have questions about whether he was part of the reason for the mess or just a victim of it, why let him have a say in who the coach is until you figure that out? The reason for publication was to let Rivera get a leg up on searching for another HC job, but I'd probably have held onto him for another year and unload them both, assuming Rivera was not going to pull a rabbit out of his hat. Both had to go, and until the triggers on both barrels could pulled, I miss the point of pulling one and letting the other poison the new coach. Then again, I don't own an NFL team so I guess the question is moot.

Yeah, given our history of keenly finding quality OL in FA, I would opt for one at most. I guess the good news is we will be lucky to be able to afford one, at most.

A good OL works as a unit, which from communications and consistency in both personnel and the positions they play. Versatility is great......for depth purposes. I've said this before, but we wind up with "jacks of all trades and masters of none," even though the guys might be masters at one position if given a chance to prove that. I'd much rather have starters that are accomplished at one OL position, perhaps decent at another, and depth that can move around than a bunch of guys that can line up anywhere but impress no one while doing it. At this point, if we can fill any holes with a sub-30 OL in FA, it would be a plus. The way we have handled the OL thus far is a clusterf*#k. We have Moton and two guys we drafted last year, who we have no idea whether they are part of the solution due to the way we used them (or didn't use them). The rest are not long-term answers, and not medium-term answers, either. Even if somehow the stars align and we solidified our OL through this year's draft, it would mean that 4 of our 5 OL will time out of their rookie deals in 2 years, if we assume both BC and Brown work out. That's why it is almost a must that we sign somebody out of the FA pool. If they are under 30, maybe they are part of the long-term answer. If not, they are placeholders to allow us to draft their replacements over time and spread out the contract pain. I don't know about anybody else, but I highly doubt we will be preparing for the last NFL game of the season at this time next year, so a methodical approach to this and doing it right is better than trying to fix it in the short-term. But they actually have to start addressing it somehow.

No matter what they call themselves, they will always be the Foreskins to me. I lived in northern Virginia for 8 years, but luckily found a bar to watch football where Washington fans were the minority. Since I grew up in St. Louis when the Cardinals were there, I could never get myself to root for them.

"We can't stand to see you unhappy. We've talked it over, and decided you might be happier in Carolina. They have beaches, mountains, and there's a lot to do once your surgery and rehab are done every season. Are you happy now?"

It may well turn out that way. Lance is in a good situation. The Niners have had the luxury of patience this year. That is probably about to change, but he had a full year to get used to the NFL and spending it under Shanahan's guidance is a lot better than spending it with Nagy. Jones could have a decent career in New England. He's a better fit for what Hoodie likes to do than Cam was. He could wind up being another Garoppolo, but by all reports Hoodie really liked Garoppolo. Fields may have a shot at a good career in Chicago, if the new regime can buck the trend of.....well.....decades of QB mediocrity with the Bears. Maybe Lawrence gets a reset since the Jags chased Meyer out of there (or he chased himself out) and hired Pederson. As for the Jets and Wilson, well, let's just say he should be afraid.....very afraid. Almost as afraid as he should be if we had somehow drafted him.

Jones was certainly not a fit everywhere. In fact, there are only a few teams he probably would fit into. The Pats being the top of that tree. In terms of landing spots, he got the best. Then Lance. After that, it gets dicey. The Bears have not exactly been a breeding ground for QB development, and Nagy was not going to buck that trend. Wilson and Lawrence had to consider signing up for kamikaze school when they were drafted by the Jags and Jets. Situations like that are part of the reason first round QBs fail as often as they do.

Do not underestimate Jimmy Hoffa and JFK's roles in the organization.

Seems like a good position for him to land in and a good situation. I don't think he was ready to be an NFL OC, but he certainly was not ready to be one on a team with our problems on that side of the ball. The Bills QB situation is solid and he will be able to show what he can do.

FWIW, Montana is still #1 in my mind, too. The sample size is so different comparing them is difficult, but Montana always was at his best in Super Bowls. He threw 11 TDs, 0 interceptions, and had an average rating of around 122.5 in his four games. Brady was very pedestrian in two games against the Giants and the last Pats game against the Rams. He was great "down the stretch" in the first Rams game and against the Falcons. He had a Jekyll and Hyde game against the Seahawks. His teams were 7-3 in Super Bowls, but had two OCs not outsmarted themselves in the dying minutes/seconds, that would be 5-5. Those two games are not on him, but it does offer some perspective. He was the MVP in both of those games, I believe, and would almost certainly not have been had the Seahawks handed the ball to Lynch one more time and the Falcons turned a 1st and 10 on the Pats 22 with 4:00 left into a FG rather than a punt. I'm not bashing Brady, he is on the short list of SB great performers. But it is not as cut and dried as the media likes to make it. His announcement completely validates what those closest to him were saying, both in the decision and in the timing. I'm sure he has a well-deserved date coming in Foxborough prior to some game next season. He was a 6th round draft pick who very easily could have had a short career as a backup, but when he got his shot, he made the most of it. While I got tired of him being force-fed on us and his whining during games whenever a defender got within 5-feet of him, he leaves behind quite a legacy.

Sorry, I missed your reference to WRs. Maybe Kalil would have been more effective as a WR. Sometimes you have to look at the free agent pool in your area of need and come to the conclusion the answer is not there. That realization is not something the Panthers accept. It's not even shopping at the bargain bin, it is more like the scratch and dent store.

The question is not whether they were more aggressive than the Panthers, by dollars, it is whether they were above or below the Mason-Dixon line of the league overall. I think most would say they were more conservative than the league average. When they did go after somebody, it was a very pointed signing (and often at WR). And sometimes they got a discount because those FAs weighed in a potential championship. Otherwise they were generally looking for role players. Oddly, while signing Moss and Brown were big splashes, they did not lead to championships, and unlike the Panthers, anything less than a championship was a disappointment. This past year was the Pats most aggressive FA acquisition season I can remember. It probably should be, because they signed one of everything and two of some (slightly exaggerating). I think they committed about $150M or so last year on 11 or so FAs. Robby Anderson? Try Matt Kalil at 5 years, $55M. Although nobody can fault you for blocking that one out. Lord knows, everybody on this board tries.

The problem with that is every time the NFL touches the rules they screw them up even worse. This could well be another example of "be careful what you wish for" before it is over.