Proudiddy

Also, now looking the entire lineup, I'm curious where they see Troy Pride? Haven't heard much about Melvin or STO all TC, so idk if this is the second string, or the CBs after the first 4 or 5?

He's gotta be injured. Previous starting experience in which he played well, versatile, and I thought I had read before the trip to Indy that he had gotten some 1st team reps recently.

I like the right side, interested to see Brown and Christensen. I also like Scott. Don't give a single F about LG and C.

Not a fan of Dad Bod Mac at all, but I give credit where credit is due... he did have all-world talent at Alabama, but he, as they say, is a "quick processor," just like I've heard about Lance. Him setting the college football completion pct record is nothing to sneeze at... but, he is very much a system QB. That being said, it does appear NE is trying to tailor a specific gameplan around Mac, and he looked really good overall in game one... better than I expected. And he threw a couple passes that would affirm your statement of his arm being better than Teddy's. They all still had quite a bit of air under them, but he showed great anticipation and placement, so it worked. That being said, I still wouldn't have taken him with a first round pick. Nowhere near. For him to work, you have to have everything around him perfect. It's why I have felt uncomfortable with both Teddy and Sam versus a Cam, or if we're talking rookies, Lance or Fields. I want a guy who can carry my team even if the moving parts around them aren't working well. If you have that one dynamic piece at QB, it's a lot easier to build around it than it is to find 10+ other pieces strong enough to carry a QB. JMO...

Indeed

Yup, agree completely. I was just thinking the same thing after seeing all these rookies playing significant time and after seeing the best coach in football play his starters and his rookie QB in game one, yet Rhule said Sam isn't playing three days before our first preseason game? Again, you can only put so much weight in preseason and TC stuff, but I do think there is something there. New guy, in a new offense that you're trying to sell to the fanbase, and, as you pointed out, you're trying to sell us his youth and how he is basically a rookie too, and you aren't gonna give him ANY snaps in the first preseason game? Like you said, they're asking us to erase everything we've seen from our minds, like his years in NY never happened... But, they did. And the only way to forget all of that is by him playing well and removing all doubt. So, why wouldn't you play him unless you felt he wasn't ready to do that? And forget the fans... as a coach, I want to see how my new QB looks under the lights against another team when the pressure is on. So, I just don't understand that decision. It's not encouraging at all. Even if you aren't trying to glean too much from this stuff, it's still telling.

Nope, that's not what I'm saying at all. I want him to play out of his mind. But from everything we've seen, heard, and know from his previous playing experience, I just don't believe it's possible. I will believe if he can make me believe in him as a player. Think of Jake... when we signed him, did anyone think he would become the QB and leader he became? No. He proved those things over time... difference is, he didn't have all of the bad tape on him that Darnold has coming in, which is where the doubt of him originates from. So, yes, he COULD play like an all-pro for us and change people's minds, but it will be quite the road he has ahead of him if he does so.

Just posted the same thing in my reply to Scot regarding the report that we felt he didn't fit our system. It's garbage. And again, I just go back to their decision to jettison Cam on the last year of his deal to bring in a game manager on a more lucrative contract. That right there crystallized a lot in regards to how Rhule views and evaluates the QB position. I get the concerns about Cam's shoulder and health, but the only games he ended up missing were due to covid. He still produced a ton, mostly in the run game, and he still has tremendous velocity on his throws even post-shoulder injury (he just can't throw as far). Funny thing is, that velocity and running ability and the lack thereof in Bridgewater is exactly what caused us to lose those 8 games on the last drive with him at the helm. So the exact things they gave up by getting rid of Cam were the exact things that ended up costing us games. And then they don't even show interest in a guy who by all accounts is a quick processor, super smart, and in terms of size and athleticism is off the charts? Yeah, I have my doubts about their ability to properly evaluate the position.

Good points, Scot, but I don't trust their word on that. Rhule has shown on multiple occasions to say things that weren't exactly true... It's possible they didn't commit because they were waiting to see how the draft shook out first and then the reason they gave for fishing for offers after the fact wouldn't have undercut Sam's confidence early. They were still able to sell it as "he's our guy." But, I acknowledge it also could be exactly what they said... As far as Lance, I just hate when I hear that stuff as an excuse. If you have a talent you believe in, you cater and tailor your system around them. It happens all the time. But, it is clear thus far, that Rhule (and/or Brady) prefers QBs who manage the game and wants rely more on the entirety of his team and "program" over guys with ability to take over an entire game on their own. I say this as well because from pre-draft reports, they said Lance was incredible on the whiteboard, demonstrated fast processing, and killed it in pre-draft interviews... which pretty much translates well to any system. Not saying he was in our reach bc he went #3, but as you said, we didn't even show interest. Again, I just hope they're right about Darnold, but nothing I've seen or heard so far has changed my mind much about him. He has some really nice throws and moments, but he also has some really bad ones, and our OL is in shambles. But again, I hope I am wrong.

But the issue with Darnold has been he has also had almost just as many bad games/moments as good ones. I want to eat crow, because it will mean success for our team, but I just feel like Sam is who he is. I hope I'm wrong.

I don't think that's what it was at all. We didn't even exercise his option until after the draft... so they weren't confident in him. What it is starting to appear like, is that Rhule - depending on how Darnold pans out - either doesn't know how to evaluate the QB position, or he doesn't value it. Many here stated over and over again that letting Cam finish out his last year of his contract was preferred over releasing him and signing a mediocre game manager to a 60M contract, and yet, he chose Bridgewater. Depending on that Washington game (after Bridgewater singlehandedly lost enough games on the last drive to knock us out of playoff contention), we likely could've had our pick of Lance or Fields... Again, hoping for the best, but I have never believed in Darnold. He has had some good throws in camp, but again, at best, the reviews have been mixed and indicate inconsistency just as he demonstrated in NY. And if we go through a second season of mediocre QB play, it will be pretty evident that Rhule feels like you can take shortcuts with QB if the rest of the team is well put together - and that just isn't true. Again, I hope Darnold plays well, but I don't believe in him at all.

Or if we hadn't beat Ron's limpdick team in a game where winning only hurt us. Again, I liked Jaycee, but QBs with size, huge arms, who can run 4.4 40s and are intelligent don't come around every year... we haven't seen Darnold yet, but judging from his first three years, despite the obvious dysfunction in NY, and his early mixed reviews in camp so far tell me he likely is what he is and what we thought he was. I hope for the best, but I think it is likely we screwed the pooch, by again messing up at the most important position in football for the second consecutive year. But, we'll see...

I really don't want to regret passing him up bc I liked Jaycee, too... but, QBs who can throw 70 yards and run 4.4 40s don't grow on trees and are rarely available to middling teams even if they did. I also hate making it Darnold vs Fields, but Darnold has a hard road ahead of him.

The things he is doing are translatable, regardless.

Andy Dalton, meet clipboard. Clipboard, Andy Dalton.

Yeah, he's gonna be fine. Looked very poised since he's been in, it was more just ball placement and decisions early on, which could have been nerves... he really looks settled in and comfortable now. Regardless of whether we took him or not (and as I've stated elsewhere that I had both Fields and Horn on my board and was happy with either), I usually become bitter if we passed on a player and they become great... but, I'm pulling for Justin. One of my good friends is a Bears' fan and despite our history of them using us as their farm team (ahem Moose, Peppers, Manning Jr, etc.) and their long history as one of the NFL's flagship franchises, admittedly they have possibly had the worst run when it comes to QBs ever.

Looking good now. Looks like he's settled in.

Oh no, I'm right there with you... it's just frustrating, bc as fans, we like to feel informed and knowledgeable about our team, players, and positions battles... in order to do that, we need to see it for ourselves. Hard to compare and contrast when we have no context from seeing all the players, even if in limited action.

But, in his defense, he's not getting much help from his protection or the playcalling. The placement and decisions on his throws so far have not been good though, either.

NGL, he looks bad right now. I liked him for his physical tools coming out of college, but I liked Trey Lance more. A lot more. Mostly because Fields had the ability to take over games, but he often didn't, and he seems to either run very hot or very cold... he is currently running frigid.

I mean, it's fairly pointless for fans... if they just need it to evaluate the fringe guys and such, they can just do that in joint practices. The majority of the players don't want the preseason games anyway, and now that they've reduced it to 3 games and added a reg season game, and coaches are not even playing starters in a lot of them, what's the point? Just more revenue for the NFL by suckering fans into paying to watch 2nd and 3rd stringers battle it out in XFL-quality football.

After seeing how some of these coaches are handling the preseason now that there is only 3 games, just get rid of it altogether. Let them run joint practices with live reps to get comfortable, and just scrap the whole preseason crap.

Yeah, its meaningless if they don't know how and when to use it (like Teddy last season, especially downfield or in clutch situations)... and that's just his take from that first day, and he has said he isn't a fan of scrambling QBs, so there's that. And supposedly, Fields looked much better the next day. All that being said, my personal take is I think they're gonna regret sticking with Tua. I thought he was incredible pre-injury at Alabama, but ever since then, he doesn't look good at all to me. Looks like he has less arm strength, not a mobile, and he seemed to have a much more pronounced wind up when I watched him last season compared to pre-injury in college. I also didn't think he threw with any noticeable anticipation at all - in fact, it often looked like he would end up getting sacked or hit bc he held the ball too long. But, everyone has their opinions, and Omar seems to believe in him. As far as Fields, I've seen sources say he is absolutely killing it, and I've seen others that say he's not been as impressive as hoped. So, who knows?

FWIW, I had some good exchanges with Omar Kelly, Miami's beat writer, back in the day when I used Twitter more, and I've been following him ever since... they're having joint practices with Chicago and he tweeted this after the first one:

Well, you know how much I love Cam, but tbh, I didnt think even HE could've done what he ended up doing with that roster in 2015, until he did it. That roster was a mess, especially offensively... They legit had Cotchery as our #1 receiver by design, and he still ended up getting outproduced by Ginn lol. So, you know I agree 1000% about, Cam... and that defense, too. I feel this defense has a chance to be special too, but I'm really worried about LB... I feel everything defensively is gonna hinge on that group; the line and secondary are eventually going to be elite, imo. But, on offense, because we don't have a guy like Cam who can just put a whole 10 other people on his back and will them to victory, we definitely need to shore up the line... it's a much more pressing issue with a guy like Sam back there, and it's also important to get some continuity for CMC's sake as well.