MHS831

I am not sure about Mays' ceiling--it is not that high, but I saw some sideline footage that showed he and Hunt seemed to have a strong relationship. Mutual respect of teammate you work beside, if that is what it is, is a pretty good indicator. I dont understand the cost of keeping Corbett vs the alternative, but I can say that if Corbett is better than Mays, he has not shown it here yet. In the limited time both have been on the field (and I used to coach OL in high school--it changes the way you watch the game--everything is focused on the first few steps of the OL and then your eye works back to the ball. I was stunned that Bozeman was as bad as he was--not the right offense for him, I suppose. Corbett was very disappointing, but at times, he was good. Mays was not firing off on run plays like he should, but in pass pro he got better each game--I think he had a lot to do with Young's rebirth. Run blocking is a concern, but not a major one. He just needs help with a NT or someone in his gap. Still, Corbett is old and oft injured. Take the cheapest way out, but I do not see him starting here. And since Mays has experience at all 5 positions (going back to Bama and Tennessee) he is the ideal OL sub (to your point). Pay attention to Kingston--he caught my eye on a play or two and I had to google his number to see who it was.

I think the experts overthink it at times. I am also not sure they measure things that matter, and if you measure things that don't really matter, it can cause your board to fluctuate--you are creating bias using facts that are assumed to equate to performance. Football is an emotional game, and if I were a GM, I would measure emotional intelligence. I would measure (if this can be measured) the speed of conversion from a concept (technical/mechanics) to muscle memory. I would watch film and time how long it takes a qb to get to their second and third reads--how long does it take an ILB to make the first step and how often do they false step. How often does a WR bobble a pass vs. clean catches? Examples, but there has to be something we are not measuring that would improve our success rates in drafts.

If we are going to spend the money anyway, maybe the signing is not as bad as it seems. Mays outperformed Corbett (before his injury and if you go back to last year, Corbett has been below average) and then Christensen took the job and Mays quickly took it from him and never looked back. He could use improvement reaching to the next level (LBs) but picking up stunts and blitzes---he was surprisingly good. Run blocking needs some work, but he is 25. Corbett, in my view, should be G/C depth and if Mays steps back, he is there. Mays should start because this team is building for the future and 30 year old players are not building blocks. We shall see. That is how I think about it, but there are many factors we do not know. Having said that, I like what Zavala is doing, and I do not want to bring in someone who would take opportunities away from him. Zavala was really good at RG down the stretch, and in limited duty, was awesome. In fact, we have a guard from the PS who played briefly and did well, but he only played a few plays. He is 25 and I recall that fans of his former team were upset when we signed him. Maybe as the backup center only (Corbett). You need 2 centers to run practices efficiently. I cannot say enough about the OL coaches on this staff. What they have done is overshadowed by the Lewis / Hunt signing. Mays, Ekwonu, Zavala--impressive growth.

I think picks 3-5 were on point--nothing spectacular, but solid. But XL was the WR I was hoping we would not pick--to me, he was the fool's gold--and I would never have drafted a Rb with the second round pick--we had other more pressing needs.

Mays played well. I watched him, expecting a let down, and he got better each week. Mays was a better pass blocker than both guards.and Corbett. Discuss.

Ice is right--this says more about Morgan than Dane.

kinda like Tito.

You can protect 4 players on the PS from week to week. I had to Google it.

I watch it as much as a I can. I think this year, you will see some risers at the QB and WR positions. I like it because it gives us more info on the prospects and then a week or two later, free agency--after free agency, we have a lot better idea of needs and mocking gets real. Mocking in April is something you have to prepare for. You have no excuses. It is mock, or be mocked.

I am QB insecure. I mean, all you have to do is look at the Panther royal blood line to know why--How many people thought Sam Darnold was back before the Lions game? I did. I was like, "The light finally came on. No more darkness. No more ghosts." Then the Lights went out in Detroit and the ghosts came back for his final two games. How would you like to be the Vikings GM right now? At least they have a QB in waiting. I think we all see a direct correlation between Darnold and OL play. In Charlotte, Bryce started getting it when his OL started playing well, specifically, the IOL. Are we set at QB because Bryce went on a 10 game hot streak? I think we are, but little people see ghosts too. I would have a list of developmental QBs that could be available on day 3. If one is there, if you are not confident that Plummer will ever become more than he is, I would take one. Yes, we have other needs. But most day 3 picks don't last and a QB with undeveloped talent might be the way to go. Rourke, for example. Quick release, winner.

perhaps this thread could use a lock down? Just a suggestion. I was thinking there was some Panther news--Not Cougar news.

I am just spitballing here--let it play out and I will go to bed: Let's say Mahome's contract comes due and he insists on $100m per season. Is there a team that would find the money to pay it? Would KC? It was in 2015 (I think) when Cam was getting $20m and it was hard to grasp. In the past decade, the price of a franchise QB has tripled. Then the next QB bases his contract on the Mahomes deal. The trend has been the last QB contract is the highest. I see nothing to discourage that trend--Greed can destroy a league. Personally, I don't watch baseball any more, and the NBA has a small group of about 8 teams that appear on national TV and they have players who make more than some eastern block countries. Ticket prices go up---and we are headed for pay-per-view very soon across the board-

I don't know--they represent the entire body of players and, if it got to that point, a vote of all veterans and rookies who are part of the union. The members of the union that are getting less so that QBs and Edges make more. If the elite players are getting 50% of all cap increases, the non-elite players with shorter careers might want a bigger slice of the pie and vote accordingly. To say that the Union would not go for it is not something I agree with--it would be the union that proposes it--based on a proposal and a majority vote. If the veteran players vote for an equal distribution framework, then all 53 on a roster benefit from a cap increase that is applicable to the entire team. Not sure how labor laws might be impacted...

If it could be done, it probably would have by now. However, I think the QBs' salary is getting ridiculous.

I do too. if it were phased in, however, like the rookie cap, maybe. If it came from the union, it would be a majority vote. the big salaried members would lose. SUre there are other legal concerns.

exactly. I like Stewart--you can slide him inside to the 5 tech and bring in a smaller 9 tech on passing downs.

I guess the salaries for QBs and the other players in the top 5% will be getting richer. They really need caps for players on the roster. 2 players earn up to $25m 3 players earn up to 20m 5 players earn up to 10m etc. Players union should insist on this.

I don't know if that is hair gel for seniors or he simply rubs his head while applying arthritis cream.

good post. covers it all.

Not sure how much wear and tear he took compared to aging QBs like Rodgers, Stafford, Cousins, or Russell Wilson, for example, since Dalton spent a lot of his career as a backup. But yes, "meh." if you lose your starter. I hope that a Brock Purdy is sitting there late day 3. I think you can protect your 3rd qb on the PS--emergency qb, or something like that. In other words, still add a young QB to complete, but for now, have him compete with Plummer.

Yes. What we tend to forget is that we are talking about a 23.5 year old kid. I think most of us would have folded after the 2023 season and then being benched after two games in 2024. Lotta pressure. So I am not in the "mental midget" camp, but I see that possibility. I think he developed some scar tissue, but I do believe he is still fragile and will see a slump in the future--how will he react? When Bryce was threw a TD at the end of 2024, it was believed that he was smiling and pointing at Dalton, who was doing the same back.

In my view, Fitterer was the worst. I can't think of a good decision he ever made. In free agency, deplorable. Drafting? yikes. He took Horn over Surtain, re-signed Donte Jackson to a big deal, and signed Safties (low hanging fruit) Woods and Bell. beyond that? To me, nothing says it better than this: "The Rams offered two future first-round picks — in 2024 and ’25 — plus a third in ’23 for Burns, who was in the midst of a career-best, 12 1/2-sack season." Where would we be now had that deal been made?

Since I PROVED to you that the "prime" for a T is not based on average career length and he has knee concerns (as you know, a big man with knee issues is not good) you would have to speculate his value over the next 3 years (2025-2027). My guess would be a 3 year (combine 2025 salary with 2026 and 2027 new money), $55-60m extension with only about $35m guaranteed. That would still drop our cap hit (from $31 to $20m for 2025) as much as cutting him would (almost). I would not guarantee it much more than the $31m he is set to receive. From Moton's perspective, he has to know that he is not as marketable as a 32-year old free agent as now, so the opportunity to make $$ at the high end of the pay scale for a 32-year old tackle would be appealing. Morgan would also have an out, since the extension was front loaded and only $35m guaranteed. Not sure if this is a deal both sides would do or if it is doable, but in my crazy world--it is a groovy idea. If his knee gets worse this year, he would not get a third contract anyway, and if it does not, he has $40m waiting for him. Just pure speculation--what were you thinking?

I just don't think Persons is in the loop. I worked weekends at the Observer a long time ago in the Sports Department and I can tell you that the guy I worked with the most, Rick Bonnell, was in the loop. He knew stuff long before it happened. In fact, when it was rumored (I wrote about this a few days ago) that Valvano was going to the NBA, Rick called VALVANO. Joe just reads tweets from other reporters he follows. There is a trust between a team and the reporter--and if you violate it--you get shut out. Repeating rumors or injecting your gut feelings with no more credibility than anyone on this board is not journalism, and teams (pro, college, etc) will not give you information that provides insights into a developing story. Rick told me, "It is like dancing at a ball--they lead, you follow, and you do not cause them to misstep." I never forgot things he told me. David Poole used to cover NASCAR and he knew all kinds of interesting things that came true, but he never revealed these things until they became news. I see Person as a clown, a 50-year old boy scout looking for merit badges. His fluff, if you go back, is usually 50/50 and he is not right most of the time. I also worked for the Capital Newspaper in Annapolis Maryland and used to use my press pass to sit in the press box and eat free food and watch the Orioles while pretending to cover the game. That is where I met some REAL sports reporters. The Baltimore Sun--even recently, they were breaking Panther stories before the Panther reporters were.

Just say "I don't know" and move on. "Possibly. But there is a chance..." No poo.