Sgt Schultz

The guys at that level also have egos the size of Manhattan. If the money is right, starting with Darnold would probably not deter them. That would probably be seen as "a challenge." The OL might get them thinking, but probably not enough to get them to say no. Understand, I don't think our OL performance can be schemed around forever. If we don't find somebody Tepper thinks is a marquee enough OC, or worse, they trot out a few guys that pet sit Rhule's dogs over the years, then things could get interesting. But then again, one of Rhule's former dog sitters might be an improvement as an OC.

Almost unsettling, isn't it?

There were rumors circulating approaching the draft that they were in the Sewell sweepstakes despite their urgent need for WRs. Little is not exactly Sewell. As active as the Dolphins were in moving around in the first round, watch them trade Little to the Foreskins and you-know-who for a 2nd or 3rd round pick.

Is there any truth the rumor that the actual deal was Miami's 7th rounder for Greg Little and the negatives Fitt has on Chris Grier?

I have one person on my ignore list, and that is because struggling through their posts trying to determine if there is something worthwhile (whether I agree with it or not) is not worth the effort. The pearls of wisdom are so rare the whole exercise is a waste of time. One day, that person will post something like an accurate prediction of the winning lottery numbers and only then will I kick myself.

Jameis Winston will be our backup. After all, how can the Saints resist picking up the Golden Calf to play behind or alongside Taysom Hill? No doubt, Payton is thinking of the possibilities here. Line them both up in a split backfield, decide who will take the snap based on a hot read, and watch them go. It's perfect, right up until one of them decides to throw the football.

It was clearly done because the Jags realize they are holding him back. A humanitarian move really, allowing him to sign with another team before things are too locked down. It really couldn't be anything else..........

If it plays out that way, it would reduce our list of needs considerably. We would go from needing to fill up to 4 OL slots to maybe 2. I just hope it plays out that way, and somebody else cements themself into one of the other slots.

It was, especially when they needed WRs and Smith was still on the board. Maybe they didn't like Smith, but OL wasn't regarded as their second need, either. By most accounts, what OL help they needed was on the RIGHT side, so they did the obvious thing and drafted a LT.

Somehow, we managed to get out of the mode that WR was our first, second, and third need heading in the offseason. Being able to graduate from that to seeing the position as one of our strengths is refreshing. I still have nightmares about a 50-yard pass being launched to a wide-open Ginn who had run past the coverage, the ball hits him right in the hands.....and then the official picks it up off the ground after signaling incomplete.

Yeah, Olsen was extremely important because at WR we had.......well, and then we had.......and then there was.....

I agree with that 100%. I was reading this thinking "patience, Grasshopper." I don't have any idea if he will make it or not, but he's been in the NFL all of about three or four weeks, and it is da Bears.

That's more or less where I am. I am pretty confident in the DL, too. I'm originally from Missouri, so the OL needs to "show me" before I will accept the idea they have improved enough.

I've accepted the fact I won't have that context or level of insight. Then again, I am 1,800 miles away and in a market with no NFL team and exposed to one I have a soft spot for, one I don't care about, and one I loathe (Arizona, Denver, and Dallas in that order).

There was also not a lot of player movement since free agency did not exist. Training camps were composed of last year's roster, draft choices, undrafted rookies (there were 12 rounds to the draft back then), and whoever was released by somebody else. Free agents were people released by their former team, not marquee players whose contract ran out. Not a lot of churn from year to year. Unless the starters from last year were bad enough or old enough to be in jeopardy of being replaced by rookies or cast-offs, or the draft choices were able to bump a starter, coaches pretty much knew their starting lineups before camp ever started barring injury or great surprise. You're right, the process was spending a couple of weeks getting everybody in shape, then some jockeying to remain on the roster while the starters gradually prepared for the season, and then one last, short gasp for those competing for the last roster spots to secure them. I'm not pining for those days, just saying that was how teams approached getting ready. Now, we have a similar process, except the preparation follows the last gasp and mostly happens in September, after the games count.

Preseason games are basically meaningless in terms of how starters are going to perform. It wasn’t always that way, but it has been that way for along time now. Almost every team approaches the preseason with one goal: to get their starters a little game time without getting them hurt. The second half of that is not optional. It is not about the starters. Preseason has become an audition for the second-string backups who are not entrenched and those below them. Nothing more. That is why September games are almost painful to watch in terms of the quality of play on the field. In the dark ages, preseason games were about gradually getting the starters ready, but the risk of that is getting them hurt in the process. That’s just the way it is, and while I’d rather see a better product early, I understand it. As for those complaining about Darnold and using this to bolster their belief he is trash, nobody cares. We are going to know sometime in the 2021 season whether he is bad, decent, or good (I don’t expect great) based on actual results and trends that actually count. I have no idea where he is going to fall on that spectrum, I hope for the best and hope I ultimately feel foolish for dismissing great. I share the concerns about the OL, largely because I have been conditioned to have those concerns based on most of the last decade. I’d like to see some focus on that sometime in my lifetime. But, I would have almost certainly picked Slater at 8 or tried to trade down a few notches to pick him and pocket something else of value, if that was possible. That shows my bias toward that unit and its importance. I’m still lamenting being one pick away from Sewell. Darnold’s snap to release time last year was about a quarter of a second more than Teddy’s, so either that is going to have to change (and it might) or our OL is going to have to hold more of its own. Still, it is year two of a near-complete overhaul. If somehow this group is an incremental improvement over last year’s OL, that is progress. But, I hold a grudge against he Lions for not picking the WR they needed at #7.

In all honesty, if Slater becomes a wrecking machine at LT for the Chargers, that will have me mumbling to myself more than what Fields does. I started drooling over the possibility of Sewell when he got past the Dolphins (who needed WRs but were rumored to be very interested in Sewell). I didn't see the Lions, who also needed WRs, taking him. The idea of either Sewell or Slater anchoring the left, opposite of Moton on the right puts our tackle deficiency to rest for a while, barring serious injury. But, if Horn turns out to be a shutdown corner (not expecting that in year one), some of my pain will be eased. As for Fields, it is pretty obvious most of the NFL was not as enamored with all four of the "big four" as was this board. Truth is, I'm not sure where Lance goes if the Niners hadn't traded up to #3 to pick him. Maybe they did so because they were hearing Atlanta liked him (I read something out of Atlanta saying they always had their sights set on Pitts), or maybe they couldn't get somebody lower than #3 but in their comfort zone to play along.

I feel that way about the entire month of September. There were several seasons where the Bills were the champions of September and finally going to unseat the Pats in the AFCE......only to finish under .500. September has almost become and extension of preseason except the results carry over. I expect it to be more so given one less preseason game for teams to work out the kinks. About the only way a September game can be a must win is if a team with expectations is sitting at 0-3 heading into the final week. And that assumes the team is not in the 2021 reincarnation of the 2020 NFCE.

It may be the premier NFL QB graveyard right now. The kind of place that could have ended the careers of Montana, Elway, Marino, Brady, Manning, Rodgers, or Mahomes in three years or less. It takes effort to be that dysfunctional. Wilson may have made a better career move approaching the church about a mission, once the Jets drafted him. Spend a year in exile, let his draft rights with the Jets expire, and try again next year.

Very sad, and sobering for those of us "getting up in years." RIP Cosmo Girl. You were not with us long enough.

I don't remember that, but given who owns the team it is certainly a credible, if not likely scenario. I do remember reading there was some disagreement between Shanahan and others about how to use RG3. It might have been sour grapes, but Shanahan's version was that "others" won. It was horrible to watch. I remember watching it with some in-laws from the DC area and hoping the game ended before something worse happened. Something worse did, and he was never the same.

Talk about a guy who can pinpoint when his career spiraled. He was never the same after Shanahan decided it was a great idea to leave RG3 in the 2013 playoff game against Seattle when it was obvious the part of his leg below the knee was being held to the part of his leg above the knee by duct tape. He entered that game with an LCL sprain, and left it with a torn LCL, ACL, meniscus. Brilliant decision, that one was.

I don't disagree, and I am not maligning you for posting it. In fact, I think the topic is funny only because the rankings are firmly between based on last year and arbitrary, as are almost all of them right now. My post was aimed at those who would wring their hands over such things as if they actually mean anything. I don't really take much of what anybody predicts seriously, including my own. Ultimately, that stuff will be settled on NFL fields this fall and winter. In my lowly opinion, given that this team overachieved last year, is extremely young, on paper strengthened a defense that was already coming together at the end of the year, but still has questions in a couple of key areas (QB and OL), ranking them second worst is almost as crazy as ranking them second best. Especially given the number of "troubled" teams combined with a history of knowing a couple that we do not think are troubled will become so over the course of the year. As CRA posted, the Vegas line seems like a reasonable expectation before a single ball is snapped, if there is such a thing as a reasonable expectation for a team like this.

Oh no, not that. If Madden has us ranked as the second worst team in the league, I guess there is no point in paying attention this season.

Little is just misunderstood. He is perfect for screen passes since his chip blocks are indistinguishable from his normal blocks.