NFL
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So we get another qb move. The Panthers send a 6 this year and a 2 and a 4 next year to the Jets for Sam Darnold, and immediate take the 5th year option, a fully guaranteed $18.8m.
Teddy Bridgewater must be pissed, having been shipped out by the Jets after they first drafted Sam.
As a Jets fan, Sam was the next great hope after 'the Sanchize'. He utterly failed to deliver on that but he can point to awful rosters and probably the worst coach in recent memory as a factor.
The Panthers will be hoping that a new environment, a stacked offence and a very sharp coordinator in Joe Brady can get Darnold back on track. Darnold is only 23 (younger than Joe Burrow) so there's plenty of time for him to develop.
The other side of the coin is that this is a QB that's been in the bottom 5 pretty consistently, has developed poor habits around leaving the pocket too quickly thanks to years behind an inept oline and is prone to making hero plays.
The cards dealt Josh Rosen after one disappointing year for just a 2nd. In that context, I feel like the jets are winning this trade. But the if the Panthers get a starting qb out of this then it will have been great value.
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@cyclops might end up being a win win; Jets get a bunch of picks to add to their war chest (of course there are zero guarantees they will do good with them, in fact I'd bet against it) and Darnold might benefit from a better team and decent coaching. He certainly isn't going to suddenly turn into Aaron Rodgers, if he made the sort of turnaround that Alex Smith made I think that would be reasonable
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Mac Jones is an absolutely fascinating prospect.
The range of opinions on the guy is amazing.
There's a group in the media that are convinced because he doesn't have any elite physical traits he is a 2nd rounder/3rd rounder who has been pushed up draft boards due to playing at Alabama surrounded by stars.
Then there's another group who are convinced that his pocket presence, accuracy and ability to read a defense are exceptional and that he's truly a top 5-10 draft pick and that teams are much higher on him than the general public - that if you delve into the analytics he is a special talent.
Due to the lack of elite physical traits the 49ers fanbase hate him as a prospect so if he's the pick at 3 he's going to be under enormous pressure.
Proof will be in the pudding.
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@kiwimurph said in NFL Season 2020/21:
Mac Jones is an absolutely fascinating prospect.
The range of opinions on the guy is amazing.
There's a group in the media that are convinced because he doesn't have any elite physical traits he is a 2nd rounder/3rd rounder who has been pushed up draft boards due to playing at Alabama surrounded by stars.
Then there's another group who are convinced that his pocket presence, accuracy and ability to read a defense are exceptional and that he's truly a top 5-10 draft pick and that teams are much higher on him than the general public - that if you delve into the analytics he is a special talent.
Due to the lack of elite physical traits the 49ers fanbase hate him as a prospect so if he's the pick at 3 he's going to be under enormous pressure.
Proof will be in the pudding.
Maybe the game has moved on, but would anyone consider Tom Brady to have elite level physical traits (big bastard, strong runner, bazooka arm)? Picking draft QBs is a farken crap shoot. If only the 49ers had had the opportunity to draft Pat Mahomes.... oh wait....
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Veteran QB Alex Smith announces retirement
Veteran quarterback Alex Smith, who made a remarkable comeback from an injury that nearly cost him his right leg, announced Monday on Instagram that he is retiring from football.
Alex Smith retires. After a tough start starting for some really bad 49ers teams he developed into a solid starting QB under Jim Harbaugh before being supplanted by Colin Kaepernick. Came back from that horrific leg injury, probably the best move after Washington passed him over
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@canefan You can make arguments for all 3. All the noise is that it's Jones but the 49ers are notoriously tight-lipped so it's all speculation. I'd much rather they take the higher upside of Fields or Lance. The fanbase is going to revolt if it's Jones.
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@cyclops i feel really sorry for a lot of these top QB prospects. They come out of College, get drafted by dogshit teams who are generally dogshit for a reason. They have enormous and immediate pressure to turn the entire place around by themselves. And they are supposed to do this with a paper thin o-line, receivers who can't get separation, and a coaching staff who don't have a lot of a clue.
Then, when for mysterious reason they don't start winning games, they get traded with the word "bust" next to their names, as you say with a bunch of bad habits that come from getting your ass beat week after week.
The same shit side drafts the next unicorn, and the cycle starts again.
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@mariner4life That's basically Alex Smith's first 6 years in the league to a tee.
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@mariner4life said in NFL Season 2020/21:
@cyclops i feel really sorry for a lot of these top QB prospects. They come out of College, get drafted by dogshit teams who are generally dogshit for a reason. They have enormous and immediate pressure to turn the entire place around by themselves. And they are supposed to do this with a paper thin o-line, receivers who can't get separation, and a coaching staff who don't have a lot of a clue.
Then, when for mysterious reason they don't start winning games, they get traded with the word "bust" next to their names, as you say with a bunch of bad habits that come from getting your ass beat week after week.
The same shit side drafts the next unicorn, and the cycle starts again.
The 9ers QB selection will not have those concerns. He will have a very good QB centric coach in Shanahan, and the luxury of sitting and learning behind Jimmy G. Jones feels like the least desirable option on the surface. They will take him if Shanahan values his system over the natural athletic ability of the player
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@kiwimurph said in NFL Season 2020/21:
@mariner4life That's basically Alex Smith's first 6 years in the league to a tee.
We will never know how Aaron Rodgers would have gone if the 8ers actually picked him. I think they did him a favour passing on him
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How the Shanahan family legacy is informing the draft's toughest decision
Kyle Shanahan faces the hardest decision in the 2021 draft, one that could define his franchise and his legacy for years. It's a dilemma that goes back generations -- as no one knows better than his dad.
Massive decision coming. It would appear that one way or another the 49ers have a couple of outstanding people informing that choice
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@kiwimurph said in NFL Season 2020/21:
@canefan the word is it's down to Mac Jones and Trey Lance with Mac Jones the heavy favourite.
The fans won't be pleased with Jones. But what do they know? Doesn't look athletic. Only time will tell
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@kiwimurph said in NFL Season 2020/21:
@canefan I'm good with Jones. I reckon he's underrated as hell and a perfect system fit for Shanahan's offense.
He looks like Tom Brady when he was drafted. Whether that means anything
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@kiwimurph said in NFL Season 2020/21:
@canefan I'm good with Jones. I reckon he's underrated as hell and a perfect system fit for Shanahan's offense.
The thing with Mac Jones is that that Alabama offense is stacked. Waddle and Devonta Smith. Najee Harris. A stacked OL (2 guys projected to go in the 2nd and one in the 3rd). There's a bit of chicken and egg about whether it's him or them, but I think it's pretty clearly more them that him and I think he's going to struggle without two WRs who aren't favourites against any cb1, an rb who is at worst the second best in the league and when his ol isn't winning with the consistency that the Tide's does.
Plus Surtain & Barmore on the other side of the ball, also first round prospects. So he would be facing much more short fields, far fewer high pressure 4th quarter drives etc.
None of that says he can't succeed in the NFL, I just think it lengthens his odds. If they've really traded up from 12 for him that's a poor call, because I think they could have got him at 6 for a lower price, and probably stood at 12 and got him. Realistically the price they've paid to trade up makes me pretty confident they're taking Fields or Wilson if we get a brownsesque last minute change.
All than said, I have this weird feeling that the Jags are going to go Fields at one. No evidence or reason, and almost definitely wrong, but just a feeling I can't shake.
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Kyle Shanahan was a big fan of Kirk Cousins. So he isn't necessarily a guy seduced by pure athlete. So him picking Jones over the longer shot physical specimen Lance won't be a surprise. But right now Mahomes is the best QB in the league. Watson is right up there too. It seems like the strong run and gun QB is ascendant right now
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@cyclops said in NFL Season 2020/21:
@kiwimurph said in NFL Season 2020/21:
@canefan the best QB not named Lawrence will go to the Jets at 2 (Zach Wilson).
The good news for the 49ers is there are still QB options at 3. A lot more than at 12.
I'm pretty convinced Taylor will be a bust. The level of competition he's played against in college is so low that it's basically irrelevant, and the only game he played against a half decent team he was exposed. I'd much rather have Fields.
Lance is an exciting prospect but has played so little he's all prospect. The Saleh connection presumably means that the 49ers have an idea of what the jets will be doing. QB is the most obvious and likely choice but there's a chance of a trade down particularly if the Panthers or even the Falcons decide to sell the farm to jump the 49ers.
The jets are at least one more draft and off season away from being genuine contenders so getting a QB now risks a repeat of the Sam Darnold show where a QB gets terrible habits from having no protection and no weapons.
Wow paragraph #1 sounds exactly like the football chat on Fox Sports Radio this morning!
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Lawrence is going 1. The only reason Urban Meyer took the job was cos of Lawrence. Lawrence has already committed to donating to Jacksonville charities.
As for Mac - i'm talking about the tape. Watch his footwork. Watch his movement in the pocket. Watch how he is an anticipatory thrower (i.e. he throws players open rather than needing the player to be open before he throws it). He had less talent around him than Tua had the prior season and yet he outperformed Tua.
