DARNOLD

[CPcavedweller]

I know I'm going to catch a lot of POOOOOOP emojis for this. But when it the last time a 2nd overall pick at QB had such awful coaching staff's his first four to five seasons? He was coached by the affable (laughable) Adam Gase and Matt Rhule; Rhule who probably also set back Joe Brady's career by a good four years, if how we performed offensively following Rhule's departure is any indication. 

We now have Frank "The 2nd (Weimar Republic)" Reich, Jim Caldwell, and Tommy Brown. Darnold went 4-2 down the stretch and led us to quite a lead over the Bucs before the offensive line forgot how to block and the defense decided that they wanted to be the only team not to defend Mike Evans. If we defend Mike Evans, we probably win that game.

Now you have to ask yourself, is Year 0 of Frank Reich the year we contend for the Super Bowl? We have re-tooling on defense due to a 3-4 scheme change, we've spent draft picks and cash on QB's every year since 2019 without much to show, and we now have a former top draft pick with an "All-Star Coaching Staff".

I think this is a question of resources. What do we believe we could do with Darnold? Surely he is on the same level as a Jared Goff, who it turns out is more than adequate, turning the Lions around and leading the Rams to the Superb Owl? Surely we won't be wasting the ninth pick on a guy like Will Levis when we have a complete Reformation that isn't too far off from 16th Century Europe on defense to make?

MY PROPOSITION (since everyone here loves everyone elses plans): Fraft Anthony Richardson at 9 and re-sign Darnold for a very reasonable price which would still allow for us to develop the talent base of the team; OR) Trade down in the 1st, nab a later first, another 2nd, and maybe even a 3rd or 4th, take the best guard in O'Cyrus Torrance, the top TE in Dalton Kincaid, and re-sign Darnold to a 1 year deal, and work to see what you have in Corral. There is defensive talent that will be available on Day 3 (looking at you, Coastal NT Jerrod Clark).

[Jon Snow]

I think they want someone who can help them win now. That reduces the list of options considerably.  My gut tells me that Sam is not on that list.

[Mr. Scot]

David Newton has reported that the Panthers have already had "preliminary discussions" with Sam Darnold.

[BrianS]

No more Sam.  He's a good dude, but not an NFL QB.  Hopefully the staff we have now can see that clearly.

[CPcavedweller]

2 minutes ago, Jon Snow said:

I think they want someone who can help them win now. That reduces the list of options considerably.  My gut tells me that Sam is not on that list.

At what cost? With the defensive scheme change, as with the last time we did this with Ron and then he was fired right after we drafted a bunch of developmental 3-4 guys then switched back to a 4-3, we are more than a year away. We don't have a lot of draft capital, we don't have a lot of cap space...

It's just not going to happen in Year 1 of the Weimar Republic without an elite QB and there are none available. Ejiro has said he will run an even front if that's what the personnel dictates but he's grown up in an odd front, so how does that effect his ability to call a defense? 

I'm of the opinion that this is a Year 3 project. I get Tepper wants to win now but we really don't seem to have the base of talent to get to a Super Bowl. If Tepper is looking a dollars, and just wants a playoff team (which he may) then sure, maybe we can get there. But is that what you want to fight for? A playoff spot? 

[CPcavedweller]

1 minute ago, BrianS said:

No more Sam.  He's a good dude, but not an NFL QB.  Hopefully the staff we have now can see that clearly.

He's not an NFL QB? He had one of the best QBR's in the NFL in the last six weeks of the season and very nearly had us at 5-1. As mentioned, if we decided to cover Mike Evans, we are in the playoffs last year and a large part of that would've been thanks to Darnold. 

[joemac]

Wasn't Sam something like the 4th rated passer in the entire league when he took over last year?  He looked like an honest to goodness starting NFL QB there for a while.  I was actually impressed and surprised.  Not saying I want him as our long term answer at the position, however if we do get someone like Levis or AR, he would not be the worst option to bring back to fill the gap.  I trust this coaching staff infinitely more about offense and QBs in general than pretty much anybody else we've ever had.  Gonna be a breath of fresh air to have an offensive minded coach for the first time in history. 

[Jon Snow]

1 minute ago, CPcavedweller said:

At what cost? With the defensive scheme change, as with the last time we did this with Ron and then he was fired right after we drafted a bunch of developmental 3-4 guys then switched back to a 4-3, we are more than a year away. We don't have a lot of draft capital, we don't have a lot of cap space...

It's just not going to happen in Year 1 of the Weimar Republic without an elite QB and there are none available. Ejiro has said he will run an even front if that's what the personnel dictates but he's grown up in an odd front, so how does that effect his ability to call a defense? 

I'm of the opinion that this is a Year 3 project. I get Tepper wants to win now but we really don't seem to have the base of talent to get to a Super Bowl. If Tepper is looking a dollars, and just wants a playoff team (which he may) then sure, maybe we can get there. But is that what you want to fight for? A playoff spot? 

You are asking me? All I have to go on is what they say and what they do.

Frank said from the start that they plan to win this season. They are not rebuilding.  So how are they going to do that?  They will have to find a starting qb from day 1. Is there one in this draft? I cannot see one. So the only thing left is to find a starter to line up under center while the get a rookie ready, if they manage to draft one in the 1st that is.  I'm curious to know how they pull that off.

[CRA]

8 minutes ago, joemac said:

Wasn't Sam something like the 4th rated passer in the entire league when he took over last year?  He looked like an honest to goodness starting NFL QB there for a while.  I was actually impressed and surprised.  Not saying I want him as our long term answer at the position, however if we do get someone like Levis or AR, he would not be the worst option to bring back to fill the gap.  I trust this coaching staff infinitely more about offense and QBs in general than pretty much anybody else we've ever had.  Gonna be a breath of fresh air to have an offensive minded coach for the first time in history. 

Sam barely played last year.  And he still was a league leader in putting the football on the ground. 

Sam Darnold never changes.   And yet here we are....still talking about a confirmed and established bad QB. 

[Bear Hands]

He had quite the stellar achievement in having the lowest recorded game winning QBR in league HISTORY in that final Saints battle.  

[MasterAwesome]

You cannot say Darnold is on the level of Goff.  Talent wise, sure...but Goff's production blows Darnold's out of the water.  He definitely showed improvement last season but he hasn't had anywhere near a full season of competent QB play and Goff has had several, with two different coaching staffs.

[pantherclaw]

13 minutes ago, CPcavedweller said:

At what cost? With the defensive scheme change, as with the last time we did this with Ron and then he was fired right after we drafted a bunch of developmental 3-4 guys then switched back to a 4-3, we are more than a year away. We don't have a lot of draft capital, we don't have a lot of cap space...

It's just not going to happen in Year 1 of the Weimar Republic without an elite QB and there are none available. Ejiro has said he will run an even front if that's what the personnel dictates but he's grown up in an odd front, so how does that effect his ability to call a defense? 

I'm of the opinion that this is a Year 3 project. I get Tepper wants to win now but we really don't seem to have the base of talent to get to a Super Bowl. If Tepper is looking a dollars, and just wants a playoff team (which he may) then sure, maybe we can get there. But is that what you want to fight for? A playoff spot? 

At a cost the team deems acceptable. 

[LinvilleGorge]

I'm honestly not opposed to the sign Darnold as a bridge/backup and draft Anthony Richardson plan. Hell, I think I typed out a relatively lengthy post a couple weeks ago advocating that plan.

[WUnderhill]

Sometimes guys just get ruined. As good as the coaching staff may be, I don’t think they can un-do 5 years of damage in one off-season.