Bear Hands

Are we forgetting Piniero missed the game winning 32 yard field goal in OT too? That was shorter than the penalized XP.

Of course. He was killing it. But the playcalling down the stretch was so bad that year coming off the wildcard loss season to the Saints. That was the most frustrated I was with Ron’s staff outside of pre-Riverboat days. It was obvious he was a goner. Then, the following year though, we just carried through with a lot of assumptions that we had enough talent and Cam was fine (which he wasn’t). Then we had to be thrown for the Kyle Allen whirl. Honestly, going into that 2019 team, it was a great core and a good one to hand off to a new coach. Problem was, Cam was done, CMC just blossoming and the defense was closing its window. 2018 was the year to can Rivera and Hurney at the same time and for Tepper to start his thing..

People say Evans or Higgins, I'll go similar but he gives me heavy Drake London feel (after the catch movement) with a little bit of Michael Pittman (the way he high points and aggressively outduels defenders). Went to HS in SoCal...surprised he wasn't recruited by USC haha. He's a solid solid prospect. Would have no problem with him R1. It's not a top heavy draft so he's in play. Same goes for Burden honestly. Put those guys vs. Johnson vs. Graham, it's a tough call IMO.

The approach we took to build the WR room is one I will always be miffed by. I’ve never liked our draft choices and it always leaves me feeling uneasy (even back to LaFell/Gettis/Armanti). I loved Pearsall and Ladd, but those just aren’t types we target for some reason. RB wise - Just seeing what Bucky Irving has done this year with guys Canales built his offense around last year, is enough to really make the RB approach seem questionable. If we were unsure about Chuba preseason, then we should’ve gotten a guy who could’ve played immediately. If we were confident in Chuba, then we should’ve targeted a Ray Davis, Irving, Tracy, Guerendo etc. a bit later and reserve the R2 capital for a potential long term starter. The reasoning doesn’t entirely check out even though I love Brooks as a prospect. I dunno, just still feels off. Same taste I got with the Horn pick. Same with bringing back Hurney. Just a big old ick.

I liked Trevin, think his ceiling is high and he's got some grit. He was a bit further along than expected in a few respects from a development standpoint. Same goes for S-W and Sanders. And I consider our priority UDFA for Coker a late 7th (even though we waived and brought him back). The draft wasn't bad, but the top of it is just really frustrating yet again. We had some pretty glaring fits staring us in the face to pick at the top. I mean, imagine Ladd at 32 and Frazier/Sainristil at 46, this could've easily been a home run draft. But Xavier and Brooks rubbed people the wrong way, and seems to still be the case. Especially when one has a dropping problem and the other injured the same knee and now looks like a question mark as our future RB.

It’s been catchup/reactive mode ever since. We’ve been patient when we shouldn’t have been, and impatient when we should’ve kept our chill. Just no real feel for savvy decision making. First major hire should have been the guy to really be the architect of the team with a vision and plan in mind. Whether it was a Roseman, Gutekunst or DeCosta type. He should have at the least sought that person during 2018 as he got used to ownership. Tepper eventually thought he found his combo guy in Rhule and then Hurney could be his shoe-kissing lackey. So poor choices and timing with HC/GM moves, playing merri-go-round with QBs, waiting too long to grab an LT, the list goes on. I will say, this year, it felt a little bit different so I’ll give Tepper an inch of credit— but they’ve got a lot more to keep building. Even if it feels a bit dummied down with the “dawg” thing, it’s at least something — Morgan/Canales seem in sync.

Even after that, it could have been salvaged.. Tepper should have wiped the slate clean once buying, instead of delaying the inevitable. The whole "don't step on the org's toes year 1" approach killed us. The 2019 season should have never happened the way it did. Cam's shoulder was gone at that point, but we didn't know until he bowed out for the season after the first few. Kuechly was likely going to retire no matter what. But you end Rivera at the close of 2018, we would have been positioned for Burrow/Herbert/Tua accordingly. Simple as that.

Out of all the woulda-shouldas, that’s what you choose?

This is a fair assessment of the situation from my view. We got a glimpse of him at his near best, and saw what happens when he slips back. I think you hit the nail on the head regarding the right type of thinking, considering lows vs highs relative to ultimate goals. If his highs still can’t quite produce big wins, and everything needs to be damn near perfect, then you’re needing too much from him as a limited player. Get him in the right environment, sure, I guarantee there could be a coach+team combo where he could make a 10-7/11-6 type run with for a season or two. But that’s best case, and is all of this worth it to get there? I say we need to keep rolling the dice. Given our timeline, team around him, and what he needs to do, it doesn’t align and isn’t worth settling for, and at the least need competition. The ceiling is not a game changer. We can’t coddle him this offseason and not strongly consider other avenues.

While we’re playing what ifs - there was a path to getting a solid team situated, it all stems from the timing of the sale, waiting to can Ron, and delaying the LT search. If you fire Rivera a season sooner, you hire in the Kevin O’Connell circuit. Blowing up right when Tepper got here, we could’ve been positioned for Herbert/Burrow/Herbert. Then the next season, positioned to get Slater or Darrisaw in instead of that damn Horn pick. And then the following, wouldn’t have been forced to pick Icky and could’ve gone Garrett Wilson or Parsons. No need to mortgage future picks at any point. Keep DJ Moore and CMC in that scenario, and not suffer through one of the most forgettable seasons in our history with Teddy. Not firing Rivera sooner and delaying the LT search until it became a forced R1 pick set us back as much as missing on QBs. I blame jeans day. Okay that game of what if was fun. Back to the present lol.

He has tools (size, arm and quick release), his negatives being more coachable stuff (decision making and inconsistent footwork). I’ve been most impressed with the accuracy this year- his placement has been just really darn good at times. Shows why OSU recruited him. What he doesn’t have, and can’t gain, is the mobility/athleticism you want to see, but he’s not as statuesque as a Trask or O’Connell. He can fight for yards when he needs to. Definitely a mid rounder to consider.

I still think there's a high likelihood Bryce is starting week 1 next year, even if his next few games have similar downs. But, this is the the type of draft where we absolutely should consider a low-risk pick at QB (after R1) to see how he stacks up. He could be a pressure backup to Bryce instead of a vet. And if Bryce implodes, you transition to that rookie, see if he's worth anything, and if not, onto a high drafted QB in 2026.

It shows that what was happening last year (and the first few this season) is not a phase he will magically leave behind. He has certain deficiencies and tendencies at the pro level that are hard to shake. He showed some great progress, today was regression; have to keep seeing how it unfolds the rest of this year.

High on Green.

Seems we need a General Second Round pick venting thread lol.

You look at prior prospects like Will McDonald and Tuli Tuipulotu - those are the types that I would want to target. More balanced in their repertoire, have a combo power and speed moves. Already decent against the run so can run in our base & get in the dirt in our sub packages. To me in this draft the best fit is Donovan Ez from BC. Already a good edge setter, proven sack artist, versatile guy - standing or hands-in-dirt. Good tackler, good dropping into coverage. He can play our even and odd fronts. Can be 3-downs, less gimmicky than the high upside athletic types that need to get phased in. Much like Tuipulotu IMO.

I'd argue the complete opposite. The edge defenders are pretty poor and underperformed mightily vs. expectations. The hyped guys going into the season like Scourton, Pearce, Mykell all pretty much crapped the bed. If we're comparing classes, as prospects, I'd say Carter, Scourton, Pearce, & Mykell are all below Latu, Verse, WMIV, Van Ness, & Turner in the past two years. They're in that Chop Robinson tier (who funny enough, Carter replaced in the PSU lineup). Slide him into 2024, he would have gone in the 20s. That's not who I want if we're drafting this high. I don't see the power, hand technique, and I'm surprised no one brought up that he has a misdemeanor assault charge on his record. He's quick and has a solid first step, can dip and speed rush. He can't bull rush, which is a problem for our nickel packages. Gets thrown off balance way too easily.

Watts & Ward in Raleigh. Great bar. Solid spot for NCSU->UNC fan converts.

Squirrel was surprisingly decent. Went on a overnight camping trip 15+ years back with some friends from western VA (Giles County). They brought venison and squirrel to cook over the campfire. Fun stuff, random as hell trip.

Robinson is having a down year against the run but i think it’s because he’s the focus with teams not concerned about Ray or Tuttle as much. A season before last he was the 8th highest graded DL in the league. He’s really good at his best, still in his 20s and got him for at least 2 more years.

Feel terrible for him. Just awful, ugh. For those chatting about it - it is indeed a mega deep RB draft. Wouldn't hurt - we have 10 picks (and better keep it that way/cool it on trade ups)

65.8 passing grade and a 63.4 overall. He’s at 66.9 on the year, even with the dreadful two games in the 30s to start.

Ding ding ding

NE, WAS and other WR needy teams have 110 mil+ in space. I won’t get my hopes up for Tee. Money trumps mostly all in FA, it will be tricky to outbid without an egregious overpay. Draft is obvious. Past the first, a guy like Ricky White could be interesting.

He's doing work in crunch time the last few weeks. Haven't felt confident about a QB being able to get us down field in a hurry since Cam, and Bryce is starting to get more comfortable in that regard. He's shown some of his UGA & Volunteers games type gravitas the past few weeks.