2021 the BEFORE

[CarolinaLivin]

For this, lets look at one player on the roster (choose 1) that you are feeling high on, one that you are on the fence about, and one that you just plain don't feel good about (prior to the season starting).

***For this scenario choose a player that was added to the roster vis draft, trade, or free agency in the last 1-2 years. 

High: Chuba Hubbard: I think this was a good pickup because I believe we definitely will need our RB room to take a lot of the pressure off of Darnold. However, with the injuries that killed CMC's season last year, we really needed to add quality depth to this group (losing mike davis didn't help). 

Not sure: Sam Darnold: There's a lot to like when you look at what this kid COULD develop into, but there's a lot on tape (3yrs) that shows that maybe he just isn't that guy he was scouted to be... busts do happen and more often than not. 

Low: PJ Walker: Sam has had enough injuries in his 3yrs in NY to make me think that our QB2 position needs attention. Hopefully our line and play calling (getting rid of the ball faster) can keep QB1 healthy. 

Kind of rushed this, but hope you enjoyed! Post below. 

Edited May 24, 2021 by CarolinaLivin

[kungfoodude]

High: Brian Burns. With the additional secondary help and other pass rushers added, I think all those "almost" sacks from last season will be finished this season. 

Not sure: Donte Jackson. He seemed to improve last season and played well at times but was also plagued with injuries. The question is, where does he fit now with Horn and Bouye being added? And, can he play consistently and stay healthy? If not, I think this could be the beginning of the end. If he does, we could have the makings of a potentially top 10 group of CB's in the future.

Bad: Sam Darnold. What needs to be said, really? Textbook bust QB that doesn't seem able to process the NFL game at a speed necessary to succeed. Hard to question the raw talent there but how many talented first round QB's have flamed out before him? He wasn't set up to succeed but he also just simply didn't perform well even when things were going reasonably well(by Jets standards). I believe there is a 20% or less chance he outproduces or outperforms what Teddy did last season.

 

 

Edited May 24, 2021 by kungfoodude

[CarolinaLivin]

2 minutes ago, kungfoodude said:

High: Brian Burns. With the additional secondary help and other pass rushers added, I think all those "almost" sacks from last season will be finished this season. 

Not sure: Donte Jackson. He seemed to improve last season and played well at times but was also plagued with injuries. The question is, where does he fit now with Horn and Bouye being added? And, can he play consistently and stay healthy? If not, I think this could be the beginning of the end. If he does, we could have the makings of a potentially top 10 group of CB's in the future.

Bad: Sam Darnold. What needs to be said, really? Textbook bust QB that doesn't seem able to process the NFL game at a speed necessary to succeed. Hard to question the raw talent there but how many talented first round QB's have flamed out before him? He wasn't set up to succeed but he also just simply didn't perform well even when things were going reasonably well(by Jets standards). I believe there is a 20% or less chance he outproduces or outperforms what Teddy did last season.

I agree with everything except the very last sentence. I think Sam will either Match Teddy's stats or produce slightly more with an improved roster and players that were injured and/or opted out returning. 

[DaveThePanther2008]

High:  DJ Moore.  I think with the addition of a QB that can throw the deep ball.  DJ is going to have a monster year.

Not Sure: Christian Miller.  I think his athleticism will be an added value to the defense but not sure if he will come in shape and ready.

Bad:  Whoever is playing FS.  We don't really have an answer to this position and we're banking on players that really aren't natural free safeties. 

[Khyber53]

High: CMC. Safe pick, but I think he comes back from injuries with a chip on his shoulder bigger than the one in 2019. I think he will get more rest with Chuba on the roster, but I think we'll see something more dynamic. He won't go for 2,000 combined again, but maybe he makes a run at the TD record.

Not Sure: Matt Rhule. I'll be honest, I like the guy but I haven't drunk the Kool-Ade yet. I think we are in the bottom half of the division again then you're going to hear a lot about another failed college coach who was in over his head. I hope that's not the case. He says the right things, he got the coordinators he wanted, his choices were all over the draft picks again. I think we need to at least be 9-8 at season end to keep believing in the process. There are a lot of questionable moves that could either pan out or crash and burn he's made this offseason.

Bad: Matt Paradis. I've been saying it for a couple of years now, he's just never fully recovered from his injuries and Denver sold us a bum steer. I don't see him starting past Sept. 30.

[ForJimmy]

11 minutes ago, kungfoodude said:

High: Brian Burns. With the additional secondary help and other pass rushers added, I think all those "almost" sacks from last season will be finished this season. 

Not sure: Donte Jackson. He seemed to improve last season and played well at times but was also plagued with injuries. The question is, where does he fit now with Horn and Bouye being added? And, can he play consistently and stay healthy? If not, I think this could be the beginning of the end. If he does, we could have the makings of a potentially top 10 group of CB's in the future.

Bad: Sam Darnold. What needs to be said, really? Textbook bust QB that doesn't seem able to process the NFL game at a speed necessary to succeed. Hard to question the raw talent there but how many talented first round QB's have flamed out before him? He wasn't set up to succeed but he also just simply didn't perform well even when things were going reasonably well(by Jets standards). I believe there is a 20% or less chance he outproduces or outperforms what Teddy did last season.

 

 

I agree with being low on Darnold. My glimpse of optimism is believing in the value of where these young QBs get drafted. There are always exceptions like Peyton and even Cam were going to be dominate no matter where they went, but a majority of these guys landed in good spots. Brees ending up with Sean Payton, Rodgers falling to GB, even Mahomes getting drafted by Andy Reid. Would players like Mitch T, Rosen, and even Haskins have played better if they were drafted by different teams? It’s going to be not only a good test for Darnold, but also for Joe Brady and his staff to see if they can develop a young QB that appears to have talent and some processing issues. I’m not saying it will work out, but it definitely has peaked my interest.

[CarolinaLivin]

Just now, Khyber53 said:

High: CMC. Safe pick, but I think he comes back from injuries with a chip on his shoulder bigger than the one in 2019. I think he will get more rest with Chuba on the roster, but I think we'll see something more dynamic. He won't go for 2,000 combined again, but maybe he makes a run at the TD record.

Not Sure: Matt Rhule. I'll be honest, I like the guy but I haven't drunk the Kool-Ade yet. I think we are in the bottom half of the division again then you're going to hear a lot about another failed college coach who was in over his head. I hope that's not the case. He says the right things, he got the coordinators he wanted, his choices were all over the draft picks again. I think we need to at least be 9-8 at season end to keep believing in the process. There are a lot of questionable moves that could either pan out or crash and burn he's made this offseason.

Bad: Matt Paradis. I've been saying it for a couple of years now, he's just never fully recovered from his injuries and Denver sold us a bum steer. I don't see him starting past Sept. 30.

For Matt Rhule... I think if does indeed turn out to be the wrong guy for the job, I don't think he'll be fired for anytime soon. He was brought in as a guy that is known for rebuilding and not winning now. His resume shows that is takes him about 3 years to change the culture of a college team. This time, he has to adjust his self to the NFL as well as try to change a culture. So.. he will likely have that on his side and likely will be in Carolina for some years to come even he isn't the guy. 

[kungfoodude]

9 minutes ago, Khyber53 said:

High: CMC. Safe pick, but I think he comes back from injuries with a chip on his shoulder bigger than the one in 2019. I think he will get more rest with Chuba on the roster, but I think we'll see something more dynamic. He won't go for 2,000 combined again, but maybe he makes a run at the TD record.

Not Sure: Matt Rhule. I'll be honest, I like the guy but I haven't drunk the Kool-Ade yet. I think we are in the bottom half of the division again then you're going to hear a lot about another failed college coach who was in over his head. I hope that's not the case. He says the right things, he got the coordinators he wanted, his choices were all over the draft picks again. I think we need to at least be 9-8 at season end to keep believing in the process. There are a lot of questionable moves that could either pan out or crash and burn he's made this offseason.

Bad: Matt Paradis. I've been saying it for a couple of years now, he's just never fully recovered from his injuries and Denver sold us a bum steer. I don't see him starting past Sept. 30.

I mean, who on the roster is better than Paradis? 

[kungfoodude]

7 minutes ago, ForJimmy said:

I agree with being low on Darnold. My glimpse of optimism is believing in the value of where these young QBs get drafted. There are always exceptions like Peyton and even Cam were going to be dominate no matter where they went, but a majority of these guys landed in good spots. Brees ending up with Sean Payton, Rodgers falling to GB, even Mahomes getting drafted by Andy Reid. Would players like Mitch T, Rosen, and even Haskins have played better if they were drafted by different teams? It’s going to be not only a good test for Darnold, but also for Joe Brady and his staff to see if they can develop a young QB that appears to have talent and some processing issues. I’m not saying it will work out, but it definitely has peaked my interest.

There are young QB's who have made it without bring on good franchises. IMO, the situation(unless injury is involved) has a lot less to do with the success rate than the player. After all, Cam came to a bad team/franchise and did well. So has Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray and Matt Stafford and Matt Leinart and Deshaun Watson and on and on...

[CRA]

4 minutes ago, kungfoodude said:

There are young QB's who have made it without bring on good franchises. IMO, the situation(unless injury is involved) has a lot less to do with the success rate than the player. After all, Cam came to a bad team/franchise and did well. So has Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray and Matt Stafford and Matt Leinart and Deshaun Watson and on and on...

Matt Leinart? 

[ForJimmy]

1 minute ago, kungfoodude said:

There are young QB's who have made it without bring on good franchises. IMO, the situation(unless injury is involved) has a lot less to do with the success rate than the player. After all, Cam came to a bad team/franchise and did well. So has Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray and Matt Stafford and Matt Leinart and Deshaun Watson and on and on...

Matt Leinart never really did well. Baker Mayfield is a good point. In 2019 his QB rating was worse than Darnold’s believe it or not and he was throwing to OBJ, and Landry while Darnold had Robbie Anderson. So in 2020 they beefed up Mayfield’s line and got him a smart offensively minded coach and he did great. Darnold mean while lost his best weapon (Robbie) had a terrible line, kept his terrible coach, and battled with a shoulder injury all year making him regress greatly. I’m hoping we can get a 2019 to 2020 Mayfield progression from him. Better line, better weapons, and better coaching might do that. Let’s hope it does!

[CarolinaLivin]

3 minutes ago, kungfoodude said:

There are young QB's who have made it without bring on good franchises. IMO, the situation(unless injury is involved) has a lot less to do with the success rate than the player. After all, Cam came to a bad team/franchise and did well. So has Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray and Matt Stafford and Matt Leinart and Deshaun Watson and on and on...

I think there is a caliber of player that can carry a team, and a caliber of player that is carried by his team. 

 

the 1%: Some players shine in the dark.... the Deshauns, the Peytons, the Brady's

the average starting QB: Some players shine brighter when you add light.

the Bust: Some players don't shine at all. 

[LinvilleGorge]

I'm gonna try to stay away from known commodities here...

High: Gross-Matos. He showed some nice flashes as a rookie. I think he'll evolve into a very good DE opposite Burns and their respective strengths complement each other well.

Unsure: Chinn. Now wait a minute, I'm not unsure of the player. I'm unsure of how we're gonna use him. Is he a full-time safety now? Will we be tempted to shift him more toward LB again out of necessity either due to injury or subpar play from our LBs? Personally, I'd like to see us stay the course with him. Wherever we feel he's best suited, play him there. Don't let his versatility mean we hamper his development trying to put a band-aid on elsewhere. Phil Snow thinks that safety is where he best fits.

Low: Darnold. Until he proves otherwise, he's just a bust. History isn't kind to busts resurrecting their careers elsewhere. Sure, it happens but it's the exception and not the rule. Here's to hoping Darnold proves to be an exception but I'll believe it when I see it.

[kungfoodude]

5 minutes ago, CRA said:

Matt Leinart? 

My brain said Carson Palmer, my fingers typed Matt Leinart.