Proudiddy

For me, Willis is the only QB I consider in the 1st round. Howell in Corral later. But, I want no part of Pickett whatsoever.

Came to post the same thing. He's the only QB I would take in the first round. Great young man.

I dont want Pickett. People keep trying to compare him to Burrow and its not the same at all. Please, please, please don't take Pickett. He will be a career game manager, at best, and the next Nathan Peterman at worst.

Damn that list fell off a fuging cliff after the first 2.

I'm not projecting what Willis is or will be. But, he could POSSIBLY be in the mold of Russ or Lamar, and that would be just fine by me. I'm convinced there has only been and ever will be ONE singular Cam Newton in his prime. So I won't ever think any player is going to come in and be him. Also, I have accepted Cam will never be that guy again, but he can still be damn good. Real good. If only for a few starts a season... and that's fine. But, he should finish his career here, and I think he wouldn't mind taking the mentor role while still contributing where he can and then move to a backup if we go that route.

I'm not sure how many OL we need out of the draft. The fact that Fitt said Campen came in and said he wish he could've seen more of Brady at LT (as we all screamed for all season), and his conviction that he can play there, paired with the still unknown commodity but encouraging signs shown by Deonte Brown, and I'm not sure... I wouldn't be mad of we loaded up on it, but if BC and Brown are starters, we just need maybe 1 starting OL and depth. Perhaps a LT and shift BC to guard. I think BC can be a great LT, but I think if we could get a franchise guy there, he could be an all-pro-type guard. All that being said, ideally, I would like us to trade back, draft Willis, sign Cam back to mentor him, then draft another OLineman with the other pick we pick up in trading back. Also wouldn't mind seeing us pick up a legit safety to pair with Chinn.

Wow that was painful and not productive at all. Kudos for him standing in there and taking the shots, but that was rough.

As a guy that absolutely loved the Thomas pick when we made it and thought based off his physical potential, we got an absolute steal at the time, no doubt, Thomas has been beyond disappointing. He just doesn't play as physical as his measurable would indicate. He constantly seems to go down to lesser defenders, be it blocking or after the catch. That being said, it also just seems like he doesn't get the ball very often, and it feels like our offense hasn't really used a TE as a TE since Rhule has got here... so, those things haven't worked in his favor. All that being said, I still go back to how much Olsen was complimenting him on one of our games last season... he was adamant about how skilled he was and what a player he could be. For our sake, I just hope McAdoo is right and if he finds his stride, although not likely at this point, perhaps we just got a huge value in that contract for the next year or so.

I'm not saying it isn't the right move to let him walk if his number is too high. He does deserve to test the market and see what he can get, because although he is really great at what he does, he is very limited at a lot of other things... thus, overpaying just isn't worth it. I just like him as a player and it sucks that we can't retain him. But, I agree, unless we're running a 3-4, it makes very little sense to retain him with Burns being younger and in all of our future plans. We saw teams demolish us last year when both of them were in by just running the ball all over us and I'd much rather teams pass on us because at least you have a chance to get a pick or something... getting ran into oblivion just sucks.

No, I heard all of it, but the "keeping the dialogue open" comment was just a throwaway. The takeaway was they were letting him test the market first and basically if he got a great offer we weren't going to touch it. Sounds like we have a set number we would bring him back at, and if he gets better than that on the market then we won't attempt to match.

Outside of the Reddick tidbit, it sounds like we haven't really engaged any of the other big names we have coming up for FA like Gilly, Cam, and Donte.

Said he talked to his reps there at the combine and Reddick has earned the right to explore the market, coming off two straight years of double digit sacks, and he should see how much money he can get, and if a team offers him a lot of money, good for him. Sounds like we are miles apart and that's pretty much Fitt saying, "good luck, we're not paying that." This sucks.

I disagree. Extending Donte would be even dumber. And guys like Gilmore are usually able to transition to safety as they age out of corner and still have just as much of an impact. It would be dumb to let him walk if he wants to be here.

Same. For me, its Willis, an OT in the first. That's it.

Yup, and again, is why anytime you're dealing with a coach who is clearly in over his head and lacks any sort of dignity about himself, its absolutely idiotic to keep him around. He is only acting on survival and preservation rather than what's good for the franchise and the future.

Yeah, I think it just becomes a habit. I broke my thumb playing ball when I was 14, and ever since then that thumb pops every so often when I bend it, and I just got in the habit of doing that periodically without even thinking.

Which is exactly why bringing him back made no sense. Most players and coaches worth their salt aren't going to come to an organization with a lame duck coach unless they're in an equally tenuous position... which then leaves us with the only guys who will end up coming here - which in turn, cements the bad season we already anticipate. It's like a self-fulfilling prophecy in the worst ways, and is guaranteeing that Tepper wastes another year of everyone's time instead of cutting losses in a clearly bad situation and doing what he can to put us into a position to improve and/or win next season. It's just so dumb.

fug Zach Thomas. Sam should've been in many, many years ago. Let Zach Thomas wait for his time like they made Sam wait.

I doubt they regret it, but I also think its fair to wonder if they could've made the same run with Goff. The reason Stafford had to make those throws late was because he threw two picks earlier. He also missed wide open throws, including for a TD on the game winning drive... he was bailed out by the refs giving him a whole new set of downs after they hadn't made a call for almost 4 quarters. If they don't call that weak PI, that game is likely over after the next down. I don't dislike Stafford, and it's not like Cam at all. Stafford is cool. I just don't think he is what the media has made him out to be all these years. He's above average, he's solid, but if I'm a DC, he doesn't scare me...

I'm not saying by themselves, Scot. I'm saying they are the main reason or contributor to their team winning. I don't feel Stafford is that guy. He wasn't even the best QB on the field last night. He looks solid, but he often isn't the reason his teams win, he's just a part of it and more often than not, appears largely unimpressive.

We can just agree to disagree. It has nothing to do with the Bengals. I was leaning towards them, but I didn't mind the Rams winning, as I like Donald and McVay among a few others. I have been saying this about Stafford way before the SuperBowl. The only game I felt he really proved a point was against the Bucs. Last night, those refs were gonna keep calling penalties until they scored. That's not a credit to Stafford. The refs definitely took him along for the ride on that last scoring drive, because he almost blew it. And yes, OBJ went down and the run game sucked, but he still threw 2 picks. He's just one of those guys that are solid, but I don't feel the team wins because of HIM. He just contributes to it. All they needed was someone marginally better than Goff, and honestly, after the additions they made defensively and how that side of the ball ended up coming together, I'm not sure that Goff wouldn't have done the same thing Stafford just did. I'm just not impressed. Never have been. He makes some big plays, but he also makes a lot of unnecessary boneheaded ones.

Thats my point. He is above average and was on a ridiculous team. My idea of franchise QBs are guys that elevate everyone around them and make their team better and can carry them to victory if no one else can. Stafford isn't that. He needs the guys around him to do a lot of the carrying. He's better than average, but he isn't what people have tried to make him out to be. He almost blew that game had the officials not stepped in late.

Stafford is better than average, but he's still a bum.

That was no doubt penalty, but when you set the precedent that you are going to let them play all game and then all of a sudden decide they can't when it only benefits one team just leaves a horrible taste in my mouth. And then Goodell's sorry ass getting up there with his "another ending fit for Hollywood" bullshit... you don't say, do you? poo is old. And that statement coming from the same guy who saw the videos that made the Patriots "dynasty" and win over us in Superbowl 38 an absolute sham, and then instead of righting things, decided to destroy them and bury them so no one else would ever find out. fug Goodell, the officials, and the NFL.

The way the refs stepped in and took control of that game was awfully reminiscent of SB50.