45catfan

Bills in December...ouch! I mean, watching a snow game on TV is always fun.

Hmmm, anyone think Darnold might get asked a question about this match up the course of the next several months?

One of many games with old connections. We still have the Giants, Bills, Pats, No-names and to the extent Watson was linked to us for a while, the Texans if he plays.

Darnold has the arm, he just has to trust what he sees. Those late throws you can see he hesitates just a split second. While they were completions, if he rips it as he sees it, those are huge plays. Instead he sees it, thinks about it, then throws it.

The 8th year was because of the pandemic, otherwise his eligibility would have been up. He opted to forego it anyway.

I seriously doubt 2 of the 3 between QBs between Walker, Grier and Stevens are on the roster come September. I'm more partial to Walker, personally. Chalk Grier up as a loss and move on. It's on Marty Hurney that we are likely to flush a former 3rd round pick, but it's pointless to keep him based on draft position if the team thinks he doesn't have what it takes.

Yes, it happens a lot for guys who complete their degrees and still have a year of eligibility remaining. They enroll in graduate courses.

AND key players avoid the injury bug. That has been our downfall even in years when we've had good rosters.

Yep, as kids anytime we would smell something that would stink, we would say it smelled like Bowater. I had actually forgotten where we got the term until you jogged my memory.

Got ya, just about everyone had a 2nd or 3rd round grade on Nixon based on talent, he dropped because red flags. Hopefully he can be coached up (as a player and person) and if so, we could have a steal on our hands!

Did you have him dropping because of play or off the field issues? Talent alone, he should have been gone before the 4th round. I had vaguely heard of some read flags, but never got the details so I figured they were minor. I still don't know all the details, but they were apparently serious enough that some teams took him off their boards completely.

I'm generally against drafting CBs in the top half of the first round because they tend to be be 'boom or bust' prospects. However, if Horn turns out to be a true shutdown corner, then I'm all for it. You just don't get many Revis' out of the top 10 as you would expect from the first corners off the board. Not saying shutdown corners are plentiful, but surely not generational-types that only come along once in a blue moon.

I really feel they thought Horn wouldn't last a few more picks, let alone all the way back to where the Bears were at. The Panthers' article obviously didn't run down the pecking order of the draft board, but again, you could tell they had Horn rated higher than Surtain, so it wasn't about which of the two would be available later, it was about if Horn would be available later when they could get him at #8. The resounding answer was 'no' he wouldn't last, so they took him at #8 leaving nothing to chance in trading back.

This was confirmed on the Panthers' official site. Actually, they turned several offers down to move back, not just the Bears. Without actually saying it (the inference was there), Sewell was target 1 and Horn 1a. When the Lions took Sewell, the team was not about to let Horn get past them.

Who cares? If the number isn't retired (like #51) it's fair game. Sure, it's a courtesy to dissuade new players from wearing a jersey of a marquee player that has recently left the team, but that should only be a season or two. After that, why not? If the organization thought highly enough of the player's contributions, they would retire the number. If someone wants to wear #89 right now, fine. Smitty has been gone for several years now. If Smitty gets into the HOF, then it would anticipated his number will get retired and thus #89 would be off limits.

I'm actually excited about this year. Last year I knew was going to suck for a rookie coaching staff with a stripped down roster in the midst of a pandemic. The organization built a nice framework to spring forward into 2021. Solid, cost effective FA moves and a very good draft furthers the needle in the right direction. While Sam Darnold is a wildcard, we now know his price--gamble--is extremely low-risk. Fitts and crew recouped the 4th and 6th by trading back in the draft. He's essentially costing us a 2nd rounder and for a 'potential' franchise QB that value is tremendous. Rhule and staff were utterly hampered by Covid during last offseason is what was an uphill climb even in normal times. With systems now in place, cohesion with staff, familiar surroundings, understanding League processes etc... this staff is in a great place to succeed. Now it's about what they were brought here to do--COACH-- and develop players. I still think we are probably a year away from being unquestioned playoff contenders, but even this season we should at least sneak into the conversation. That, my friends, is something we've been waiting several years for and that is, in the words of our old friend Ron Rivera, "to be relevant ."

His dumb-butt cost me a bet. I had him a late 2nd or 3rd round selection. It wasn't a lack of talent, but a lack of judgement.

Eh, they have enough JAGS vying for the FS spot that they are hoping one of them will shake out of the bunch to be an effective starter. There were too many holes to fill this offseason and if FS is the last one to be occupied by a stopgap, then the front office did about as good as we could have hoped for.

I happier about the TE position than I have been in a couple of years, but still not overly excited.

Hey bud, looking sharp these days in the personal profile pic. Digging the 90's spiked hair, you'll bring it back into style. I can't help but think you look like someone, though. Who could that be?

First thing I looked for was Buffalo. Week 10 shouldn't be too cold or snowy around the middle of November.

That's why we drafted Nixon. Many had a second round value on him, but apparently had some character red flags and caused him to drop. My favorite draft site had him second only to Barmore.

If Christensen fails at LT, I don't think it will be because of his arms. The bigger issue and the unknown even as of now is what to make of Moton? Does he play the year on the tag or does he get the long-term deal? RTs are a dime a dozen and if he prices himself too richly, I think we let him walk after the season. If that's the case, I could see us moving Christensen to RT (assuming he struggles at LT) and going back to the well at LT next draft.

Unless Darnold tanks he'll be our guy in 2023 as well. To that point, I think a 1st round QB is about .1% likely to happen. By passing on a QB this draft, we hitched our wagon to Sam Darnold for at least two seasons and confirmed that by picking up his 5th year option. He would have to be well beyond Teddy bad for us to do the exact same thing and move on after just one season. Paradis is an average center and I think we could upgrade by going younger and cheaper. Burris is simply a placeholder until we can upgrade.

Center would be my 3b-right behind DE. For the right value, I wouldn't mind center being the second pick off our board to be honest. I don't see Paradis as the long-term solution there.