BlitzMonster

I'd be bummed to see C Tyler Linderbaum (Iowa) go so high (#7). Normally the top interior line player goes much later in the first, if not even the 2nd round.

Go with the strength of the draft. 2022 is bad for QB and good for OL. So beef up on the OL and plan on getting a rookie QB in 2023. The rookie would walk into a good OL and good defense to support him. Also maybe add a few beefy TE and RB/FB as UDFA after the draft and plan to ground-and-pound like the Patriots are doing.

Maybe win 1 more game. Put the team at #7 or #8. If there's a LT there, take him. Otherwise trade back and try to get a late first round pick as well as something in rounds 2 or 3. Even a late first round pick can get a team the best interior OL in the draft. So the top C or G, which would be a nice building block.

Agreed Sam knows the offense and can be a backup (even if he is the highest paid one in the NFL). His contract is guaranteed so the team might as well get something out of it.

Spotrac currently has us at 30M available for 2022 Spotrac A lot of the new contracts kick in next year including these monster cap hits : Taylor Moton RT $19,200,000 Sam Darnold QB $18,858,000 Shaq Thompson OLB $18,263,333 Robby Anderson WR $16,836,666 Christian McCaffrey RB $14,309,500 D.J. Moore WR $11,116,000 Also we had some "kick the can down the road" deals that helped us with previous salary cap problems. Those include void years for Matt Paradis (UFA) - 8.2M cap hit Haason Reddick (UFA) - 4M cap hit I don't quite understand how those void years create so much cap dollars but I truly loathe the whole concept of setting up designed payments to guys who will not be on your roster.

Slater and Moton would have made a pretty amazing set of bookends for our OL.

That's the ideal. Backups SHOULD have versatility since an NFL team can only carry a few of them. But demanding that flexibility of a rookie is not a very smart idea. The transition to the pro game is hard enough. Let the guy play his one college position for his first NFL year. After that, if you want to try him out at other spots, fine. But only after he's had a chance to adjust to the speed & power of the pro game & gotten the playbook down. As gofightwin said - let Christensen be the backup LT all year. That would have been the smart move on Rhule's part.

this. this. this. Christensen should have played LT since day one of rookie camp and nothing else. All this switching around to different positions for a rookie is detrimental for his development. Let him learn ONE position first. Move him next season if necessary. Rhule's moronic emphasis on versatility on the OL over true skill has been maddening.

I definitely agree with Easy-E that guys with little to no NFL experience turn out to be bad NFL coaches. I just think the game is surprisingly different between the two leagues. Strangely enough Rhule actually had a year as an offensive line coach for the Giants in 2012. And even with that time he still is making a lot of rookie mistakes. I think the much better plan is for team owners to hire one of the accomplished, long term assistant NFL coaches as a new head coach. A top OC or DC has a much better idea of what it takes to win at the professional level. They still have a lot to learn about the additional coaching duties that a head coach performs. But they are much closer to a finished product than hiring a college head coach.

The answer for your question was correct. Pete Carroll came directly from USC and won a Super Bowl. I think this is the question you wanted to have answered: "Tell me, who was the last NFL coach that only had NCAA experience to win a Super Bowl? I’ll give you a hint, it wasn’t even in this century."

Very good point. The ability to make quick, effective adjustments in-game & at half time separates the men from the boys in the NFL. But I'd say that a lot of that skill at adjustments comes from the coach's encyclopedic knowledge of the game. And much of that is knowledge is from all those hours and hours and years of film study. “Luck Is What Happens When Preparation Meets Opportunity"

posted in another thread: I have also learned my lesson on college coaches making the jump to the NFL. It just doesn't work (outside of maybe Pete Carroll). College football and the NFL are just entirely different environments which require skill sets tailored to them in order to succeed: College Head Coach - be a good salesman / politician to recruit the top talent & then coast on that talent for most of the season. Only have to really game plan for 2 or 3 games a year. Mostly just play golf with big Uni donors in the offseason and simply enjoy life. Prime example: Nick Saban NFL Head Coach - be an insane film junkie. Work 18 hours a day every day to find the smallest flaw in your opponent to exploit. With the salary cap & draft, talent levels across the league are fairly equal. So the team that prepares the best will usually win games. Have zero personality or life outside of football and be 100% committed to outworking your rivals. Prime example: Bill Belichick

Seattle coach Pete Carrol USC (2001–2009) Seattle Seahawks (2010–present) 2014 Super Bowl winner

oh this was sweet to read: "New England shut out the Atlanta Falcons 25-0, the first home shutout for the Falcons since 1988. source

When I say "the real deal" I mean a solid starting QB that should play for many years in the NFL. I'm not trying to say Jones is an elite talent like Cam Newton or Andrew Luck. That would be ridiculous. But Jones is as good as he needs to be to win, which is a skill unto itself. Mac Jones is not a high ceiling guy but he is a great fit for his current team, which is one of the most important factors for success as a rookie QB. As a hard worker in the NE system with just enough talent, he could go far there. And the more wins the Patriots get with him, the more swag Jones is going to have in that locker room. The Patriots next opponents are the Titans and Bills so we'll have a much better idea of what Jones is like after these next few games. But I wouldn't count him out.

As far as raw talent in this rookie QB class, I'd say Trevor Lawrence, Justin Fields and probably Zach Wilson are all better. But there's something to be said for knowing your limitations and working within them. New England is built for a smart, quick read QB to run the show and not screw things up. Jones is doing exactly that and no more. He's not trying to play hero ball. And the Patriots just keep winning. In this day and age averaging 230 ypg passing like Jones is pretty anemic. Could he put a team on his shoulders & come back from a big deficit ? Who knows ? But he's definitely had an excellent beginning to his career so far.

He understands the offense and makes all the right reads. That's reflected in his completion percentage of 70%, which is third among starting QB's in the NFL. Not just rookies but ALL quarterbacks ! A 14:8 TD to INT ratio which is good for a rookie and will only get better. Has 7 wins which is more than all the other rookie QB combined. Has the Patriots on a 5 game win streak. Jones avoids the big mistakes that cost his team the game.

Good to see the Falcons lose, especially in such convincing fashion. As to the Patriots, it looks like the kid Mac Jones is the real deal. His command of the offense at this stage of his career is impressive. He made a few rookie mistakes but it's obvious Jones will get better & better as time goes by. The New England team is built well to support him with a strong running game, a solid defense and great coaching. Mac Jones might not be exciting in the fantasy football world but in real football games he's excellent. Maybe even reminding people of a young Tom Brady. His future is bright.

Twitter is good for one or two line reports on contracts, trades or rumors. It's the place to get breaking news. But with only 280 characters there's obviously no in-depth analysis or longer articles there. You need other, news-oriented sites to fulfill that kind of role. That's what ESPN, Sports Illustrated, Yahoo Sports, CBS Sports, etc are for.

sports.yahoo.com is one of the most popular sports sites on the internet, second only to ESPN.com in the number of viewers. Today millions of people read those quotes about Carolina dominating Arizona. I thought the Huddle might like to know the national press was being complimentary about the Panthers for a change.

A few excerpts. Bolded is my emphasis. ***************** "The Cardinals took a bad loss, being absolutely blasted 34-10 by the Carolina Panthers with P.J. Walker (and occasionally Cam Newton) at quarterback." "They lost to a shorthanded Packers team a couple weeks ago, but that was a close game. This one was not." "Arizona will obviously be better when it gets its offensive stars back. Sunday was ugly." ***************** It's good to have some positive press for a change ! Yahoo article: NFL winners and losers

The more reps Cam gets in practice, the more he knocks off the rust and starts to gain confidence in his receivers. That's reason enough to make him the starter sooner rather than later.

This. Maybe PJ could be a competent starter. That really remains to be seen. But at worst he's proved he has what it takes to be a capable backup in the NFL. Which is a pretty important.

at Arizona so a 4:00 PM game

I think the long term key is really Christensen. If he can become even a league average LT (not outstanding, just OK) then we could have something to build on. That's especially true if Michael Jordan continues to play well. Last game he was a PFF 75 score, which is really good. He could be the answer at our LG spot. With the first round draft pick the Panthers could select either a LT (if available) or the best interior lineman in the draft (C or G) who would be an instant starter. All of that could be enough to get some decent OL play for next season. But Christensen needs the reps now so he can make his mistakes and learn from them this year. The second half of the season is crucial for his development.