Tr3ach

It was above average. Statistically you could say it was average, but when it comes to qbr under pressure, big time throws, big time throws under pressure, etc he was top 5. They werent really calling games to try to get him to put up huge passing numbers last season. Im not saying he was great the second half of last season, but he was definitely well above average.

Saints are much worse.

Yes, he averaged around 2 yac last season i believe? Regardless I misspoke. We are constantly chasing Deebo Samuel gadget type yac guys. Guys who turn in to a rb after catch basically. I want a guy who can get quick separation on quick true routes and run from there, not gadget physical guys. Also, im still giving you your take but he was #189 in the NFL in yac last year. He had good yac his 5th year of college.

Hes the opposite of what I mean. I mean a quick, shifty, route runner. XL is none of those things. In college he was a yac guy though, but not really what I meant.

Panthers never care about yac, nor are they ever going to draft route runners early. The defense is never going to be scared to get beat over the top by us.

It's crazy the amount some people on the huddle definitively know after the first preseason game.

It 100% makes a huge difference when you're a guy not known for getting separation and needing to make contested catches.

When your main strength is being a "big" target, that is entirely negated when you have to let the ball get in to your body.

Agreed. We seem to only prioritize what a player does when the ball gets to them when they are scouting for players in the draft. I prefer what receivers can do before the ball gets to them,.ie route running, quickness and change of direction. Every receiver we bring in who is a great route runners eats when we bring them in. Thielen, Diontae, etc, but we never draft those type of guys. We focus on contested catch guys when that is the main thing modern defenses try to take away with constant two deep safeties. I will never understand it. Every year in the draft they get tunnel vision for big receivers in the first couple rounds, no matter who is in charge.

Qb is a lot harder to learn and a lot bigger jump in difficulty from college to nfl. Also Bryce had lots of good college seasons to see what he was able to do. Also a lot of us had these concerns about XL before he was drafted (i have some really big concerns with tmac too) but hopefully he gets it together and is great this season.

Yea its kind of worrisome that you mostly hear about Jackson and a udfa cb blanketing tmac so far. Everyone including the local sports media keeps saying hes looking good though so who knows what we are missing i guess..

Camp being entirely closed to fans this year is a big part of it.

Meh, this one isn't that good. Same old boring takes, nothing new or very creative. Pretty lazy.

I think that looked much better on Bryce's part than tmacs. He made a really good adjustment to the ball but his separation is what is always going to worry me, he had absolutely none with Jackson on that play, Bryce threw him open.

Didn't Hubbard get jacked up in a joint practice last year and a big scuffle started?

He doesn't have to beat out Coker. He has to beat out David Moore.

I do believe at some point early in the season, Dave acknowledged that maybe some preseason reps would have helped, or at least was contemplating his decision.

I have a little more faith than I used to but I'm still not sold yet. Everyone wants to talk about how he improved our oline. True, he definitely did. He just brought in the two biggest free agents and paid them, I wouldn't say it was rocket science. We have the highest paid oline in the NFL for a unit while greatly improved, ranks middle of the pack. I will be sold and heap my praise when we have a position group outperforming their payroll. What he did with the oline wasn't genius, it was common sense.

My biggest problem with receivers is we always want guys that are big possession guys who focus on what they do after they get the ball in their hands. We never value quickness or route running at all. For me I prefer quick shifty receivers and what they do before they get the ball in their hands. Everyone keeps talking about all this diversity in the wr room and for once I actually agree with Steve Smith. We've got a lot of possession guys that dont really scare the secondary over the top. If you take away our injured 6th round pick, Thielen probably beats any other receiver we have in a shuttle or cone drill and that is absolutely ridiculous at this stage of his career, and its not because hes quick lol. He keeps drafting all these big guys and touting catch radius and contested catches when in modern NFL defenses that doesn't really work anyways. Youre not throwing 50 yard jump balls much anymore. Constant nickel and 2 deep safeties have ended that. You attack underneath and medium depth.

I hope for the best. I feel like it better for Dan's job security.

My biggest problem is I think the players he likes don't really work in the modern NFL. You mentioned the wr room being a lot better, is it? It has the potential to be. Last year when we traded up to get Legette, they said they traded up to take him specifically because he was a true X receiver. Now this year they take TMac because they say he is and that XL was out of posisition last year. Im not sold on Tmac yet just like I wasn't sold on XL last year. If TMac isn't a lot better than last XL was last season then that's back to back first rounders in one position that would still need a huge amount of work. Hopefully Tmac is what everyone seems to think he will be, I'm just not so sure, but them declaring XL was a true X receiver after the draft last year and what they're saying now should at least give you pause about their receivers evaluation because it means they definitely made a mistake one way or another.

Eager is someone to keep an eye on. I think he played a huge part in this draft. Especially as far as process, trades, and just overall draft analytics, his fingerprints were all over this draft.

I think he's funny and he seems like a decent dude, but I would feel a lot better about the rest of your statement if he hadn't played 5 years in college.

Me too, position groups can already only pick in certain ranges and people just rolled out 5 numbers that shouldn't be allowed. It wouldn't take long before there aren't enough numbers.

We got more for Mingo than the Steelers got for Pickens.