Mark80

If Dan Carpenter is not cut I will have to seriously consider my fandom going forward.

Also said he makes plays that no one else can make.

The pick he made vs Clemson was, quite simply, an elite play. If we can't address S in FA with someone of quality, then I would be very happy if we took a really close look at Hooker.

Yeah, that is true. But still, $16-18M per year (and all of 2018 is guaranteed as well if option picked up) is still a lot to tie up in a guy that is a "bridge" to the next QB. If they feel like he is the answer at QB then it is a very fair rate. But, if they think he has hit his ceiling and is not the answer to winning a SB (which I believe, even though he could get us to the playoffs) I feel that money could be better spent filling other holes (Eric Berry???) and we continue the scavenger hunt to find that guy that can win a SB.

I like Tyrod. I don't like Tyrod for the price tag on his current deal. If he is willing to sign for less, it's a no brainer. He was by no way, the reason we missed the playoffs. That falls solely on the shoulders of the defense and Carpenter. In order for Tyrod to be paid like a top tier QB I would need to see much more in the areas of: Reading a defense and getting rid of the ball quicker; Two minute offense that actually shows some urgency (why isn't he calling the plays in the hurry up offense?); Have the balls to throw into coverage and letting our guys make plays (Sammy), Some form of leadership (sitting idly by and showing no emotion at all is not what I want from my QB, I want a guy who pumps guys up, holds them accountable, and takes ownership of the offense and team). To me, that's worth $20+M a year, not a guy who we are just hoping doesn't turn it over.

I agree with this but you cannot evaluate the trade in hindsight. When that draft took place Sammy was seen as the only sure thing WR prospect. Evans was considered a below average route runner and there were questions on whether he'd be able to get separation in the NFL (he can). OBJ was considered a bit small to be a sure thing. Sammy had it all. Speed, good size, amazing hands, quickness, route running, you name it he had / has it. In retrospect, yes, we should have just stayed and taken one of the other WRs, but you cannot look at it that way. Sammy has the talent to justify where we took him, we just need him to stay on the field and throw him the damn ball.

That's awesome. One season, but he looks legit. Definitely the one to watch going into next year.

Can someone please explain to me why they think Harbaugh is so great? Because he had one good year at Stanford with one of the best college QB prospects in the last 30 years? Or maybe because he was able to win in SF with an absolutely dominant defense that was built and developed under Singletary which he let drop to mediocrity? Or maybe it's because of his results at Michigan where they have been the most overrated college football team the last 2 seasons and he has lost every single big game so far. I don't get it. I'd take Saban and his record of consistency, championships, big game wins, and development of star after star after star with basically no off field issues and an extremely disciplined team. Any day of the week Saban over Harbaugh the DB. Really? What happened to Kaepernik under Harbaugh? Did he develop Luck? How hard is it to develop the best QB prospect in the last 30 years?

Dabo is very religious and not afraid to show it. I wonder how that would play in the NFL and how that would play in the a place like Buffalo compared to the Bible Belt.

Just because he was on a team that won, does not mean that he is a "winner" or an answer to our QB situation. He was on a stacked team who won because of their running game and defense. Sure, he put up decent numbers in a few games, but upon closer inspection of those games you will see defenses trying to stop the run, leaving WRs wide open who Cardale still often under threw or over threw and the WRs made some amazing plays. He was not that impressive at all. His unimpressive play continued into next season when he was, eventually, demoted to backup. He has a strong arm, sure, but beyond that, there is little left over. Terrible accuracy, sub par decision making, and not enough speed to be an effective NFL scrambler. The sooner posters around realize it, the better.

I'll say it. I hated when he quit and I think he would have had us in the playoffs by now. Innovation is for the OC and DC, HC needs to be in charge of accountability along with discipline (non-existent here), game management (non-existent here), and a general awareness of what is going on during the game (non-existent here). Sure, Hackett was a Hack and Marrone made some questionable 4th down decisions, but Hackett could have been replaced and Marrone could have learned from those mistakes.

Sign EJ cheap. Draft Kelly round 3/4. Re-sign Gillmore with cash saved on QB. Sign best Safety you can (Berry hopefully). Draft best OLine and WR you can in rounds 1/2. QB competition in pre-season between EJ, Cardale, and Kelly if he has recovered fully by then. If we don't hit on anyone, draft a QB again in 2018, then in 19, and 20 until you are satisfied you have found your man.

Anyone who wants to draft Kaaya has either never seen him play a game or has no idea how to evaluate a college QB. His is not good at all and certainly not worth close to a 2nd round pick. And I say this as a Canes fan.

I love how judgemental people here are about EJ's career when he had the brilliant Nathanial Hackett teaching him and calling his plays. You know, the guy who has destroyed the young, promising Jaguars offense. Except for 5 mins vs the Jags in 2015, EJ looked pretty darn good when he saw time under Rex / Lynn / Roman in the regular season and pre-season. Everyone knew he shouldn't start day 1, but they forced him in there unprepared and people are surprised when he didn't play that great? I'm very excited to see what he looks like this week. He may very well be a very cheap option for us next year whether that be as a true starting QB or a bridge to a younger guy in 2018 or 2019.

Well, not true of Coughlin's replacement though.or Dirk Koetter for that matter.

I will buy off on Rich Gannon. Good call. Tremendous season with Oakland after being on 3 squads. However, Hasselbeck had his success on his second team and didn't do anything after that, Favre was retired before going to Min and having one great year, O'Donnell had zero success after leaving PIttsburgh his first team, Brad Johnson had no success after he left TB, his third team.

HB is a completely different thing than a QB and it was the first team Shady was on, not the third. Please name me a single NFL QB that found success with their 4th team after they were not able to hold on to or earn a starting spot with their 3 previous teams. Please, just one. I beg you.

Thanksgiving is for NFL, Christmas is for NBA. I think the leagues / networks have an unwritten agreement (or maybe an actual written one) on that.

So, a guy that 3 other teams have already determined is not good enough to be a starter? Sounds like a brilliant idea.

Ragland would have been top MLB. Preston Brown has been atrocious. He would have been out of the starting lineup in favor of Zach early into the season. If Ragland was anything like he was in college or pre-season, well, then that injury hurt big time.

Vocal minority vs silent majority my friend. That is all. Welcome back.

What gets really interesting is the multiple team tie-breaker scenarios. I'm not sure how they fall if there is a three or even 4 way tie for the last wild card spot. Head to head matchups pretty much get thrown out the window in those scenarios and I'm curious to see if we can maybe overtake the Ravens in a 3 or 4 way tie scenario. Man, that BS Seahawks loss really irks me. I knew at the time that it was going to have very high repercussions and it's playing out exactly that way. Unreal.

People say the exact same thing almost every year...next QB class is stacked, blah, blah, blah. When all is said and done there is typically 1 or 2 first round QBs and often the second one is really a 2nd or 3rd round grade just selected in the first because they are a QB. No thanks to pretty much everything in this post.

I think our best option to win now is to trade for Sam Bradford. He looked pretty good until the Oline there got completely destroyed and he has, historically, been one of the most accurate passers in the league. Additionally, I do not think that he would come at an enormous cost as some other options may. I just hate how weird his eyes are. Would they take a 4th for him? If so, it's a no brainer to me. Highly dependent on whether Bridgewater is on pace to be ready for next year's opener. I don't think any of our QBs have it. Cardale never did anything to ever impress me at Ohio State. His accuracy has been and remains a huge issue. TT I would be OK with keeping on the roster at a much lower, negotiated rate. I would also be fine with keeping EJ at backup money. I believe both of them are a better backup option than Cardale, but neither is going to get us the top prize. I would also welcome the drafting of a QB. Didn't really pay too much attention to Trubisky or Mahomes yet, but I know with certainty that I want nothing to do with Kizer, Kaaya, or Webb. Watson is still very intriguing to me and I think Kelly has some real Favre in his game with his play making ability, fiery attitude, and on-field leadership capabilities. I would welcome him as a 3rd round pick.

Absolutely. Been saying this for 2 years. Horrendous.