SameDamnThing

Eric Shelton was a big time bust for being a 2nd rounder. Rashad Anderson had injury trouble, but for a 1st round pick that's a tough one.

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it's truly a shame that someone thinks they get to gatekeep my level of enthusiasm

I said it at the time the proposed trade didn't happen for all those assets that we wrote Burns a blank check by telling him we valued him at this impossible compensation package. they gave him the power to write his own deal at that point. I don't know how you can reject a package of that size and then balk at paying when it comes time to do so. You valued the man like a Top 10 player in the game based on what you turned down for him, which was a massive mistake. But now that you've done it, you can't walk away from it or look for a worse package now. It makes you look stupid.

I think the appropriate reaction here is to be happy for the Panthers that we have Bryce Young, and be happy for Matt Corral that he was able to address the concerns about his character by being patient, staying out of trouble, and looking decent enough to draw NFL interest and perhaps continue his career with a new opportunity. he was dealt a bad hand and he did what he could with it.

Brandon LaFell was an excellent second option that year. It might have been the best year he had in the league. Shockey, Olson, and Stew were all prioritized as pass catching targets ahead of the rest of those guys aside from Smith. So for me, it looks like we had a number one, a number two, and several 4th or 5th WR on that 2011 team. This team has Thelen as a generous number one/high end two, Chark as a high end two that is injury prone, a number three in TMJ, and Mingo who is a wild card with a lot of potential. I would take the 2023 group even though the passing assembly with Greg has a hall of very good TE and Shockey as a pro bowl TE skews it heavily in favor of 2011. The WR group alone, it's hard to defend 2011 as being better and my memories of LaFell are kinder than most.

the movie made him out to be some braindead r-tard with superhuman strength like dude from Of Mice and Men that had the exact same story arc as The Waterboy.

I think behind RB, LB is the position that has gone from glitz to gutter quicker than any other. the reason is the number of high speed collisions and how quickly it takes miles off. there's no such thing as a franchise middle linebacker anymore. new names are at the top of the league in tackles on a yearly basis. guys you've never heard of in a lot of cases. there was a time not so long ago the league leading tacklers were considered the best defensive players in the game. it's just so weird how quickly that changed. people see a guy like this coming off double digit missed games at 28 and wonder if he can still play. it's wild. that would have been relatively young for a linebacker in the early 2000's.

you guys have to respect how much pressure is on these guys to produce right away and how much it is impacting their games. nobody is moving naturally and nobody is playing the role they're going to play when the games start to count. miller isn't going to be our primary offensive weapon. he's going to be on the end of a lot of inside-out passes from a driving Lamelo for open shots. I wanted Scoot too, but I only wanted him because I liked him as a franchise PG better than Melo who I don't trust to stay healthy over a full season after watching his brother struggle and have his career cut short. I don't think people understand how hard Lavar worked these kids and how much miles it put on their body, but that's another story. Miller will get those passes and either shoot or move the ball quickly to the next open man. He'll get some touches to take to the rim, but we wanted his shooting at the wing position because we haven't really had a true wing that could do it. we've been trying to plug guys like PJ into that job and undersized guys like Oubre and Rozier, but no real rim drivers. Miles played there, but his outside shooting wasn't good enough to be a real threat. I don't think anyone should be expecting 25 ppg for anyone in this class their first season. I think you'll see a lot of these guys get 22-26 minutes per game and 13-15 ppg. They're teenagers and they need to be stretched into these 82 game 30 plus minute nights. Wemby is going to be more than fine, but they need to manage his minutes. Miller will be the same. The guards in this class might move a little faster in progression, but be closer to their ceilings.

Wemby will be fine unless he starts having trouble with his feet or back. zion's problem was never corrected because I'm not sure they can fix it. his foot falls are heel heavy and that's not how you're supposed to strike the ground from a physiological standpoint. that's why he looks so funny when he runs like he's stomping. it puts immense stress on his lower body. you're supposed to run on the ball of your foot more towards the front. other than fixing that from a physiological standpoint, the only other solution is to take pressure off by losing weight and so far he hasn't been able to do it. Wemby reminds me a little of a young Anthony Davis with more length. they made a big deal about AD playing point guard in HS until a dramatic growth spurt and having good enough ball handling to drive to the basket at 7 feet and I see a bit of that in Wemby.

There are a lot of reasons for this, but none more glaring than the advent of advanced stat metrics and the ability to determine how offensive linemen are performing. There used to be destination places where RB would usually put up yards. I remember when Terrell Davis retired and the Broncos made Olandis Gary and Clinton Portis into stars behind that line. The Chiefs are perhaps the best example. Priest Holmes to Larry Johnson to Jamaal Charles and a few in between. Teams with poor lines would strike out on RB all the time in the draft with high picks regardless. The Saints were a good example. Ricky Williams and Reggie Bush, two of the most dynamic runners in NCAA history, couldn't do squat behind those lines. Teams started to look at what was going on with that and realized the blocking performance in front of the RB was exponentially more important provided you had a RB who was aware enough of the blocking schemes to take the 4 yards the line would create for them on every carry. That isn't an "easy" thing to find, but it's something you can find a hell of a lot easier than you can build an offensive line. I think a turning point was when LeVeon Bell was holding the Steelers hostage for gobs of money and the Steelers and James Conner came in and replicated his effectiveness. That was one of the last examples that confirmed the theory. The return of a star name at RB vs. a league average running back behind the same offensive line is negligible. Teams are now building out their running game in reverse. Guards and Centers. Tackles and Tight Ends. Running back is being viewed, fairly justifiably, as a product of those other units performance. There are a handful of guys around the league that are so far above league average that they command a premium, but that's probably about it. It's the same way you used to never see teams go for it on 4th and inches in the first half of football games where now it's a pretty common outcome if you're in no-man's land between the 40's.

Giannis had similar questions around his game, but these kids are 19. Wemby is like a 7'4" wing with the way he can dribble drive in and finish at the rim. they're not going to be asking him to take a lot of jump shots. the mid range game is basically dead anyways. he will have to hit his open 3's to maximize his game. I don't know if anyone is expecting 30-15 right away for him, but he can be as good as he wants to be with that size and length. especially with fewer teams having stout defensive centers to keep him out of the paint. he needs time to put on good weight, but his frame suggests it won't be a problem.

murder miller, murder miles, and wannabe melo. the most likeable team in the league.

Do you fr fr believe that Miller didn’t know he had that gun in his vehicle and drove it to his homie after he said he needed it, obviously bc he was twisted up somehow? He texted the man to bring it and he brought it but the only thing he did that was smart was have a fall homie with him who is going to get heavily, heavily compensated for taking the charge. Dude was accessory to a murder.

you commit to the idea of going for it on 4th down on 3rd down so you don't end up 4th and inches. but in reality, if you want to do what is popular in the league right now you just get your longest armed ball carrier to push it over the top. everybody knows it's coming but it's impossible nearly to stop. telegraphing that isn't a concern. you just follow who gets the best push between the C, LG, and RG and two hand it over the top. this is why you draft chandler zavala, not why you don't draft bryce young.

You love to see guys that go to college and transfer up from where they started. it speaks to an initial misdiagnosis of the talent. there's talk that he can be an edge setting OLB even if his pass rush doesn't translate. good motor will help him if he can play special teams while he waits for his chance. we've got a lot to figure out with our LB group. he picked a good spot and close to home. For the people talking about the improbability of UDFA players making an impact, the consists of about 25% of players that were not drafted on active rosters. If the draft went 10 or 11 rounds like back in the day, some of these guys would be 8th round picks. we've had so many dudes here contribute as UDFA players. Brock Purdy was one pick away last year and now he's fighting to start for a playoff team.

Thank god we didn’t fall for fools gold. Can’t draft a QB that can’t complete half his passes and didn’t run enough to compensate. We needed a football player, not a track star who can throw a football 60 yards.

Dude ran 4.49 at 260 and 6’4”. Lots of predraft stuff said he was raw and didn’t have the numbers. Glue him to Burns in TC. If Burns is going to get what we think, part of that will be getting raw talent to where they need to be. Especially a guy so similar in measurable that needs technique work. Coach him up.

Throw me to the wolves I will come back leading the pack and whatnot

It’s hard to support one of these guys over the other without crapping on one guy. I think they’re both excellent talents. Bryce, to me, has a leg up in anticipation of routes opening up and throwing to spots. He also knows his arm very well. Not to make every thread about Cam, but one thing that always struck me about him was that his processing wasn’t up to the challenge and he would abuse that arm strength to get balls out that his targets had very little hope on. He wasn’t a catchable QB. Bryce has enough fastball to change speeds as the play calls for it because his processing is way way up there. Another level than Stroud. There’s a reason why scouts want Bryce despite his height. His ball placement and decision making are elite top of the draft historic qualities that we’ve talked about with other 1st overall talents. He’s been on the radar so long that teams have tried to pick his game apart and that is common. To me he stands up to all of the detractors. CJ will also be a good player. I just think Bryce has elite potential where CJ is somewhat capped on upside.

Here is the truth. Houston doesn’t have “a guy.” These two are so close that whoever is left will be deemed the one they wanted the entire time and their decision to stay at 2nd will be seen as prescient. Never in recorded history has a team picking 2nd overall said they wanted who went 1st but took what was left. You immediately freeze your relationship with the player as well as the fan base. There’s no gain to be made. And you can bet whoever goes 3rd was 1st on the board of the team picking there. Funny how that works.

It’s not really a stat in traditional sense. But scouts have long been discussing his quick progressions, throwing mechanics, and decision making. Most QB guys I’ve seen scout him talk about the mechanics as being really strong. If he holds the ball too long that will have to be coached out of him if possible. Honestly there’s a lot about Bryce that will be trial and error to see if it translates, but nobody is questioning his football brain. To me, that’s a really strong base. I think Stroud has one as well despite the testing stuff, but it hasn’t been touted at the same level as Bryce. I think both will be good players but Bryce has special potential that’s almost intangible.

The trends show that average player weight in particular is dropping across the board. Height is a factor still primarily for purposes of pass defense and pass offense. There was also a time when backs under 5’ 10” was considered somewhat problematic. Certainly a time when a WR couldn’t be shorter than 6’1 or so. In modern times, there aren’t hardly any Top 25 WR that are taller than 6’2”. Chase, Hill, etc. being right at or under 6’. It’s a speed game now. when we talk about QB speed, it’s not about how fast they run. It’s about speed of processing, speed of release, speed of identifying blitzes, and speed of getting the ball out of their hands. Bryce is almost inarguably the top available in all those categories. Stroud is an amazing prospect and his size makes you feel a lot better about his chances, but Russell Wilson and Kyler Murray have both won games in this league. Drew Brees won games. In bygone times, teams wouldn’t even consider allowing a player under 6’ to win their QB job no matter what. Parcells is from that school. It’s an antiquated position. The point is that if you’re special, you’re an exception. Bryce Young is special. Imagine the difference between a basketball player that was 6’10” and dominant and a team refusing to draft them because there was another player who in most respects was seen as inferior, but was 6’11.5. Get a ruler out and visualize how much 1 inch and 1/8th actually is and see if you should define a player on that. To me, the hand measurements are a bigger concern by and large because they make a play by play impact on ball security and off schedule throws. That isn’t the issue here. Seattle put forth the blueprint. Have a line full of big nasties and in combination with the rules regarding touching the QB, it shouldn’t be a career altering problem. Again, it’s more about speed from snap to release than it is about 40 time. NFL offenses are run now to move at high percentage and not entirely by long developing plays down the field. Luke was talking about this and talked about how frustrating it was to never be able to touch Brees because the ball was already gone. That’s the same type of football brain you have here and the testing supports it.

Can’t even take Miller with his gun antics. It was an embarrassment he was allowed to play the season out and do that ridiculous pat down intro after a young lady was murdered and he brought the gun. He dodged a big charge on some technicalities and his boy taking a charge. We already have enough dudes in the room that think they’re cute flirting with ruining their own career. Whoever takes Miller Top 5 deserves him.

He will sign here because he’s tight with Melo and if they don’t win next season or at least show massive improvement then Melo is gone. Miles will no doubt have his best season. If we are lucky enough to get the 1st or 2nd and Mark Williams develops in the off-season that could be a low seed or play in team. Tons of bench depth. They might actually win a few if they fire Clifford.