Albert Breer also has us taking Fields, believes Tepper is pushing for it.

[LinvilleGorge]

2 minutes ago, Mr. Scot said:

I always love the "he's rich so he must know what he's doing" suggestion. As mentioned elsewhere, that idea works really well in places like Washington and Dallas.

What's sad to me is that you've previously been heavily against owner interference, but now with the idea that he might want your favorite guy, you're suddenly okay with it?

You're not understanding what I'm saying. I'm saying you live in a fantasy world if you expect business owners to just meekly sit back and be okay with whatever is happening in their business, for better or worse.

I certainly don't want another Al Davis, but Tepper was pretty clear about his football philosophy. Coach, GM, QB. Presumably he hired people who are onboard with that philosophy. If they think there's a franchise QB on the board, they should draft him based on that philosophy. Plenty of average tackles and average CBs have played in SBs in the modern era. Foles is probably the only average QB who has and he certainly wasn't playing average during that SB run. You gotta have a QB.

[jayboogieman]

1 minute ago, firefox1234 said:

I get that Darnold is still a young man in the league but he is also entering his 4th year! Not taking Fields if he falls to #8 should not be because we want to shield Darnold from competition. The only reason we should pass on Fields if he is there is if we do not think Fields can be our guy or if we have a strong belief in Darnold to be our guy. The idea that Darnold “deserves” anything is ridiculous. This is the NFL. Competition is the business these guys have signed up for. If Darnold becomes our QB of the future it is because he has shown he deserves to be.

You're contradicting yourself. Darnold can't prove he deserves anything if the whole concept of deserving anything is ridiculous. 

The thing is the coaches and GM may think Darnold is the guy and he should be given the chance to prove that to them. Did the Panthers ever bring anyone in to compete with Cam? Did the fans want Cam to compete for the starting job? The answer to both those questions is no. The same was true for Kerry Collins back when he was drafted. The same will be true if Fields or any other QB is drafted in the first round and that makes the trade for Darnold a waste.

[Mr. Scot]

3 minutes ago, LinvilleGorge said:

You're not understanding what I'm saying. I'm saying you live in a fantasy world if you expect business owners to just meekly sit back and be okay with whatever is happening in their business, for better or worse.

I certainly don't want another Al Davis, but Tepper was pretty clear about his football philosophy. Coach, GM, QB. Presumably he hired people who are onboard with that philosophy. If they think there's a franchise QB on the board, they should draft him based on that philosophy. Plenty of average tackles and average CBs have played in SBs in the modern era. Foles is probably the only average QB who has and he certainly wasn't playing average during that SB run. You gotta have a QB.

You know as well as I do that not every NFL owner is "hands on", just as you know that the smartest ones tend not to be.

Tepper himself has mentioned that the best way to operate is to get people who know what they're doing and let them do their jobs. He's also spoken about how sometimes the smartest thing he can do is realize how much he doesn't know.

I'm hoping he's consistent with those words, and that's not going to change based on whether or not he agrees with me.

Edited April 28, 2021 by Mr. Scot

[AppHeel]

9 minutes ago, LinvilleGorge said:

Have you ever dealt with a business owner on anything? You don't get rich coming from humble beginnings by quietly sitting back and nodding and saying "okay". That's just not how it works.

I don't think Tepper would force Fields on them if they don't already really like him, but if they do and they need a little nudging to take him over some OT or CB that's where I'd fully expect a nudge to come in.

Tepper also doesn't get to where he is without hiring good people and letting them do their jobs. I'm sure Fitterer and Rhule have a pretty clear expectation on what Tepper wants and have a strategy in place based on their own philosophy on how to achieve that goal. 

As long as Fitterer and Rhule present a clear and valid case as to why the pick is who the pick is or why this trade offer is the best move, I can't imagine Tepper not agreeing to it even if the pick isn't his first choice. 

[mav1234]

6 minutes ago, NAS said:

It's looking more like Darnold is an insurance policy in case a QB doesn't drop to us.  

That's basically what they always said... Darnold gave them flexibility so they didn't need to reach this draft, which I took to mean trade huge assets to move up.

[bandu]

6 minutes ago, NAS said:

It's looking more like Darnold is an insurance policy in case a QB doesn't drop to us.  

based solely off Darnold's body of work over the past three years in the NFL it baffles me  to say the least how anyone could think otherwise?

[cookinbrak]

11 minutes ago, LinvilleGorge said:

Have you ever dealt with a business owner on anything? You don't get rich coming from humble beginnings by quietly sitting back and nodding and saying "okay". That's just not how it works.

I don't think Tepper would force Fields on them if they don't already really like him, but if they do and they need a little nudging to take him over some OT or CB that's where I'd fully expect a nudge to come in.

Sounds more like an agenda you want to push by saying "Tepper gets what he wants". Provide quotes where Tepper said anything about any qb by name.

[mrcompletely11]

12 minutes ago, ForJimmy said:

Left tackle might be the second most important position.

and we havent drafted one in the first round in over a decade

[Diehardpanth02]

I just don't understand why so many people are on the ropes with the idea of drafting a QB at 8. Competition breeds competitiveness. I want Darnold to fear for his Job. And I want a young hungry capaby rookie pushing him for his job. And let the best man win. Fields falling to us just seems like a blessing if it happens. As bad as I want a cornerstone tackle, it won't matter if we don't have a competent guy under center. Most of the teams with history of the most success at the QB position don't care how or when they get their guy. But when he's there and they can build competition for preseason they jump on the opportunity.

[SetfreexX]

49 minutes ago, Mr. Scot said:

Which is a big reason why some of their drafts have gone to sh-t.

Eagle scouts have complained that they'd have a whole draft board set up, be ready to pick the next guy on it and then Howie Roseman would just go completely off script. Some believe he was covering for Lurie.

That's not much different than Jay Gruden complaining that the personnel guys would do all the research, have their plan in place and then watch Dan Snyder come in and tell them who to take instead.

I'd like to hope Tepper is smarter than to pull sh-t like that, but we don't know.

Eagles have a Superbowl, if he was pulling strings in that window come on down bahahahahaha -- it's gone to poo since then sure, but they got a Lombardi. 

[LinvilleGorge]

Just now, Mr. Scot said:

You know as well as I do that not every NFL owner is "hands on", just as you know that the smartest ones tend not to be.

Tepper himself has mentioned that the best way to operate is to get people who know what they're doing and let them do their jobs. He's also spoken about how sometimes the smartest thing he can do is realize how much he doesn't know.

I'm hoping he's consistent with those words.

Woody Johnson may be the most hands off owner in the NFL. He let his coach hire his own GM. How's that been working out for the Jets?

I expect Tepper to keep the football on track with the philosophy. Everything roster related is secondary to finding the QB. That's the only piece of the roster puzzle that absolutely has to be solved to field a consistently competitive team. A stud LT is a great thing to have but you can build a good OL without one. A stud CB is a great thing to have but you can build a good secondary without one. A stud QB is a good thing to have but you can build an elite offense without one... oh wait, no you can't.

[ForJimmy]

2 minutes ago, mrcompletely11 said:

and we havent drafted one in the first round in over a decade

Yeah and if one like Sewell falls to us, we should. We just don’t need to draft one in the first just for the sake of doing it though. If the value is there, I’m for it.

[LinvilleGorge]

5 minutes ago, cookinbrak said:

Sounds more like an agenda you want to push by saying "Tepper gets what he wants". Provide quotes where Tepper said anything about any qb by name.

He hasn't said anything about any QB by name. Hell, he couldn't when we were pursuing trade options. That's tampering. He shouldn't when discussing draft options. That's dumb. But he has always been very vocal about needing a franchise QB.

[frankw]

Imagine a scenario. It's the night before the draft and you are the Panthers gm fresh off your first hire with such a responsibility. As you take a gander at your qb room you see Teddy Bridgewater Will Grier a former xfl quarterback and your offseason last resort option Sam Darnold from the Jets. Do you pat yourself on the back and say I'm done here or do you exhaust all further options?