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2024-2025 NFL Thread
- Thread starter AustinIllini
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And yet the Falcons thought it wise to start tampering with a QB who was stull under contract, trying to woo him to the Falcons, and not only that, throw 100 million dollars guaranteed at him. You're reasoning is flawed in the sense that they went after Cousins, and if they felt he may not last or is too old, why sign him to such a mega contract in the first place?
I have to disagree. When you spend 100 million, do you use the draft to improve the team or do you draft his replacement?
Smaller in scale, but this a repeat of the Jordan Love/Aaron Rodgers situation. They were poised to get beyond the NFC championship, missing only a few pieces of the puzzle, instead they drafted Jordan Love.
I'm like 99% sure if they didn't draft Love, the drama, and divorce would never have happened. The Falcons are a much weaker team with more needs, which makes the move even more questionable.
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Not really. They need help, the Falcons aren't just a QB away. Using a #8 for a guy that may sit 4 years ia not a good investment.
Just googling Falcon's GM Terry Fontenot, it seems that there was a lot of chatter whether he was on the hot seat in 2023. Whether that's true or not, I think he may have served himself better by addressing more immediate needs then drafting a QB that may be on the roster longer then he has a job
Last year the Vikings were a fiasco after Cousins went out for the rest of the year......the Jets put everything on Arron Rogers and were a fiasco the whole season after he went out.
You can't stay competitive in today's NFL with just one decent QB and a single mediocre backup.
If a 36 y.o. Cousins goes out with another injury, or never really recovers from last year's injury, then Penix isn't going to sit for 4 years.
Sure, it might prove to be a mistake, Trey Lance style, but the Falcons were in need of more help in the QB department too.
I think that's a misguided explanation. In one sense, we're talking about teams that were much more competitive and were expected to make a run at the playoffs - the Jets were seemingly 1 QB away from a deep run into the playoffs. The falcons on the other hand have too many holes to be considered competitive.
Instead of drafting a "just in case Cousins goes down", give Cousins the tools needed to win. Also just going back to my earlier point, if there was a great concern about Cousin's age or durability they should not have given him 100 million
Also it seems Arthur Blank is among the folks questioning this move, as he's grilling the GM on why the hell did he just do that
I agree, you can't go into a season expecting failure. You go in, expecting Cousins will play the whole season. And even if Cousins does go down, is Penix going to come in and just pick right up where Cousins left off? Not likely.
of course you don't, but neither do you want to go into a season without some depth at QB.
A rookie like Penix (and most others really) will typically be expected to spend some bench time "learning" before they're ready to take over as the starter. And teams don't really expect a 36 y.o. QB to be a long term solution for them, so they need a hopefully talented rookie in the pipeline.
I'm not saying that drafting Penix is some sort of genius move, but there's some rational thinking behind it (OK OK...most NFL only believe in magical thinking)
I like Cousins, I think he's made a fantastic deal for himself for the end of his career. Will his very lucrative deal work as well for the Falcons? Or will this be a "Russell Wilson" situation
They spent a #8 pick on a QB, with a skill set (for this year) that would have been substituted with any of the career backups still available. Cousins is there now, and they took a potential major skill player out of the equation, just in case Cousins gets hurt. Cousins, getting Odunze, would have made a nice pairing. The Falcons literally advertised they don't expect to do much this year and they are thinking of the future. Not to mention, pissing Cousins off.
And also not to mention, Penix isn't Joe Burrow, some super high rated guy. He was the 4th QB taken, from the PAC-12. He's a gamble, even more than usual.
One may question his talent but no one should ever question his business acumen. He extracted a boat load of money while in Washington, Minn and now Atl. Other players need to study how he played the franchise tag like a maestro
Decamerion Richardson MSU CBThe RAIDERS have since drafted:
Center, Jackson Powers-Johnson, Oregon
Tackle, Delmar Glaze, Maryland ...
I'm happy with these two picks... really all three so far...
Tommy Eichenberg OSU LB
Dylan Laube New Hampshire RB - I think this one will be a hidden nugget.
Trey Taylor Air force S
M.J. Devonshire Pitt CB
Its not unrealistic to see him on the bench for 3 maybe 4 years, that seems like an awfully long time in this modern era of football. Basically they used pick number 8 to be inactive for the next 3 to 4 years, paying him to hold a clipboard. That may workout, as that helped Jordan Love and of course Aaron Rodgers before him, both who sat on the bench waiting their turn.
As I think about this, if Cousin's goes down this season, would Michael Penix be able to step into the role of a starter and succeed? To me that's really the seminal question. Basically it boils down to how best to use that 8th draft pick.
I'm of the opinion that signing a journeyman QB as a backup would have been a safer bet. Then you would be free to use that 8th draft pick to fill one of the holes in the team, or trade down for a series of 2nd/3rd draft picks to get a handful of decent people that may fill more holes.
Jackson Powers-Johnson has my hyped for the Raiders.. just loved his reaction, dude is a bulldozer
Another thing, Penix is already 24 years old. He could be 28 by the time he sees the field.
I was surprised to see that Taulia Tagovailoa (little brother of Tua) went undrafted. Doing a little more digging it seems while successful at Maryland, his numbers failed to show him growing and improving. That is he's not going to get better as he gets experience. Then he also incurred some injuries, and if he's like his brother, that might show him being injury prone too.
Looks like the Seahawks invited him to work out in the rookie camp, but I suspect it may be a long shot.
Looks like the Seahawks invited him to work out in the rookie camp, but I suspect it may be a long shot.
I hope so, because I'm a PAC-12 guy.
I'm not even sure Tua is going to be Miami's answer at QB.