NFL - Discussion Thread

I really like Jimmy, I think he's a really good QB. But you can't hinge the franchisee on him when he's hurt every year. As they say, the best ability is availability and I'd rather have 17 games of average promising play from Lance than 5-10 good games from Jimmy G.

They NEED to start Garoppolo. Not because he's the better QB right now, but because Lance can't be thrown to the wolves. He needs time to adjust and settle into the NFL. And if I remember correctly, Lance was the big boom or bust prospect.

That's the guy Matt, problem is Lance is making Garapollo look silly in practice, he's throwing pinpoint lasers all over the field. 49r management are not sure what to do now, the plan was to start Garapollo and ease in Lance towards the end of the season. The way Lance is playing in practice and how advanced he is understanding the playbook and executing it there's talk of Lance starting. This is risky, some quarterbacks will swim like Herbert and others will sink like Tua.

If I were the 49rs I'd go with Jimmy G until the team is out of contention and then throw in Lance to get some NFL time for when he starts the following season. That way if Jimmy G plays will you can get some decent draft capital back when he is traded at the end of the season and there is no pressure on Lance. 49rs paid dearly for Lance they will want to get picks back, preferably a first for Garapollo.

Dennis: I actually think Jimmy was "hurt" far more last year because he was playing horribly. I bet Shanahan and Lynch told him to stay "hurt" since the season was already over because of all of their other injuries.

Mike: If Jimmy is available, you have to roll with him. Similar to Alex Smith back when Kapernick was on the rise. Ultimately they went with Kapernick, and they never got over the hump. If healthy, Jimmy can manage them deep into the playoffs. It could get real tricky if they don't do things right. Like I said, best case is to start Jimmy, and if he goes down, put in Lance and never look back.

Matt: The discussion is happening because Lance has done well in, yes, training camp. Doesn't mean anything until it's a real game.

Generally agree, and Jimmy definitely gives them the better chance to win this year, but there's a lot of pressure to get a guy playing when you trade up to get him like they did.

Yeah, but you have to factor that out and just go with the best player. I would have to think that is Jimmy at this point.

Watching the Skins/Pats Game. A little boring. Mac Jones has been decent thus far. Cam did not do much, so I guess that competition is up for grabs.

I watched a tiny bit of the Steelers/Eagles. Nothing exciting. My buddy actually wanted to go since nosebleeds were $20 but the heat index was 106 today, so I can watch bad football at home without the belligerent Eagles fans and actually be able to see the game.

106!! Where do yo live, that's hot. The only time I have experienced that kind of heat was when I was in Las Vegas.

Trey Lance will be the 49er starter sooner rather than later. The fans will start getting impatient just like they did with Tua in Miami. They look around and see Burrows and Herbert starting from day one and want their guy to do the same.

I'm in the Greater Philadelphia metro area, the "Delaware Valley" it's sometimes called. It normally doesn't get so hot here, usually the high for late July/August is about 90-92F/32C, but right now we're in a brutal heatwave where the temps are around 96 and we have really humid summers so it's just unbearable being outside.

Mike: That's like every day in the summer within Iowa. lol

I wish I had been able to see the Steelers/Eagles Game. Much better quality, and the Steelers QBs seem to have all been on fire.

It seems there's a battle for the backup QB job in Pittsburgh. From what I read, Haskins and Rudolph both played well, but Rudolph got let down by some poor penalties from the o-line.

Those of you who have seen Rudolph live, please tell me why he's rated so low? The season that he got a few starts, he had pretty good stats and was a serviceable game manager with low INTs. To me it seems like that Cleveland game where he was horrific in (4INTs & got into a fight-argument with Garrett) has made people think he's a terrible QB. Was that game just a turning point that led to him playing badly?

Tua looked good. Not fearful to throw, looks to have much better grasp of NFL speed. But just threw a pick by threading one too much. Staff needs to build his confidence toward scrambling next as he has had a few holes where he could have run but did not.

« Last edited by Warrior13 on Aug 14th 2021 »

Matt - Rudolph's kinda dumb, takes no risks, doesn't have a great arm. He's serviceable as a mid-tier backup but I'll be disappointed if he's the starter when Ben retires. He hasn't been terrible but Haskins has outplayed him in the preseason so far. Plus this is his 4th year and he is kind of a known quantity at this point.

Haskins is looking like the future quarterback. The racial incident with Garrett will always taint Rudolph and prevent him from being the face of the Steeler franchise. If Haskins does well however and becomes a superstar you have a great story of a kid who battles adversity and finally gains redemption.

« Last edited by Sanzano on Aug 14th 2021 »

Tua's stats were 8/11 for 99 yards, 0TDs and 1INT. But he threw a 50-yard pass on one play. In the entire 2020/21 season his longest throw was 35 yards.

Mike - I'll always remember when Bucky Brooks had Rudolph going at pick 11 to Buffalo in a click-bait mock draft xD

All 4 of the big rookie QBs played a bit tonight, and they all looked pretty good. Justin Fields especially. I think he's going to be really special.

Mac Jones definitely looks to be winning the QB battle over Cam Newton, but it's only been one game.

Trey Lance threw a really nice 80 yard TD pass on a really impressive play where he went through his reads very quick.

Zach Wilson played some for the Jets and the stats are unremarkable but I'm hearing his arm looked good. Same for Lawrence.

Jordan Love also played some for the Packers and looked impressive.

As always, take all preseason results with a big mountain of salt. In most cases they aren't playing with or against full NFL rosters.

I would like Haskins to do well. I'm hoping having a steady coach in Mike Tomlin can help him out. After all, Tomlin kept Antonio Brown under control all those years. Also being in Pittsburgh it's kind of a more boring town than Washington DC or the cities on the coast.

If Haskins can stay out of trouble and matures there is no reason why he can't become the future of Pittsburgh. He is a young guy who came out of college with the same credentials as Trey Lance, he just needs a team to invest time developing him. The guy has all the physical tools needed to become an elite quarterback, it's the mental ones that are in question.

I saw the Dolphins vs Bears games and everyone is saying how well Fields played. I saw things differently, how bad did Miami's defensive pressure look, their ability to contain the quarterback was non existent. Luckily for Miami they play the Patriots twice and Mac Jones who doesn't move.

« Last edited by Sanzano on Aug 15th 2021 »

I completely agree with Dennis. Fields actually didn't have that great of a game. Sorry, but he was going up against backups by that point, and he was in the game for so long that he even faced third stringers. He came especially slow out of the gate.

Mac Jones was also just average. He missed a couple of throws, and his one nice pass for a TD was dropped.

Lance had the one big play, but he was playing against most second teamers on a Chiefs defense that isn't the best at full go.

Love put up a good stat line, but he was going up against the Texans, the worst team in the NFL.

Wilson and Lawrence didn't play much, so it's hard to say how well they did. Lawrence had a rough start, but kept his composure. I saw the Jaguars/Browns game, and Beathard was by far the best QB for the Jags last night. Again, taking with a grain of salt since it was against backups, but he definitely is the backup at this point over Minshew (who seemed to be slow with his reads).

Tua was great, all the more so since the Bears played all of their starters on defense while he was playing. His three incompletions was a dropped ball, a throw away to avoid a sack, and the interception he threw by threading one too tightly. He looked far different than last year, but I guess we should've expected as much since he had no training camp or preseason last year.

But overall, I'm not putting much into most of these performances as basically all of them played against second and third stringers outside of Tua.

These games mean nothing, teams will not be showing all their cards and established players who know their place is safe will just go through the motions. The likes of Aaron Donald and Chase Young will just be using these games to get rid of the rust from the off season. When the actual season start they will crank things up to full power. If Fields starts believing his own headlines he will be in for a shock when the season starts.

I can't work out why the intensity level in the Washington vs New England game was so high, it looked like a regular season NFL game and not a preseason game. Even different NFL analysts noticed it.


« Last edited by Sanzano on Aug 15th 2021 »

I might put some value into the next preseason game, but it's really all about the final preseason game. It has always been this way.

Fans are desperate for football, all the more so in person.