DougDew

What does this image thing have to do with anything? If he was really an unselfish guy, would people want to pay him a few million more? Do people want to pay him less because he reveals that he's a bit selfish? I don't think it matters either way. Just play well.

Yes. I think these elite guys are basically paid to get big sacks at critical points of the game, in addition to being all around great players. I don't think he's made as many of those plays, just watching SF in a limited way.

Downs is probably the best draft pick is several years. RAS of less than 9. And is the only one with ......what I would say....... college production > RAS. Go Figure.

How so? IMO, if it doesn't matter, then it doesn't matter if some one else is praising or criticizing. How do you see it?

Honest question. What are you talking about?

It certainly looks that way.

I think that was always the formula. When you draft the "franchise" you also supply him with weapons to help him. I don't know if Ballard thinks the existing WRs we have supply AR with weapons...Pitt and AP, so the formula is a little backwards than normal since the weapons are already in place waiting for the franchise QB. Edge and Addai supported PMs passing. They supported PM with pass blocking and receiving ability...and frequency. The running back got rushing yards because of the passing game. Edge being a truly elite RB however. Is JT, AP, and Pitt the kind of weapons a franchise QB needs? I can't say that I understand how Ballard is thinking about the offense.

AR has been pretty much as advertised, with better accuracy than advertised. But has been way less durable than expected from a 6'4" 250 pound guy. That wasn't even a consideration last spring and is a complete surprise to the negative. Levis was pretty much as advertised, mentally NFL ready with long-arm passing, but better than advertised by showing pocket calmness and not throwing picks. That can change quickly though. He seemed to hold up to NFL tackles. With the very small sample size, I think they are closer to each other now than what many thought on draft day. I think it comes down to which type of offense is preferred. Part of why there are more AR types of offenses is because college isn't producing the QBs like Levis. So a legit question is whether a truly good QB like that (not saying he is) in that kind of offense is better than the Purdy/Hurts type of offense. I think the trade comes down to preferences and how easy it is to build a roster around those two different types of QBs. Frankly, I think our offense is currently built more to favor a QB like what Levis did.

Do you mean "okay" as in not triggering arguments? I think its okay, but that's one person's opinion. Do you see the difference between what that post says and another post that might 1) Claim that AR would be the elixir for our losing season if he just kept playing? I think 1) is the same as other posts that might 2) Claim that Levis is the next Dan Marino because he kinda looked like him in one game. I think folks who like to argue see 1 as being okay but see 2 as offensive....which is especially argumentative because 2 hasn't even happened and is a complete fabrication.

Let it go man. I would compare Ballard to the other GMs in the NFL over the past 7 years. A more relevant era.

No. It was merged. We've had three pages discussing the others, so why so upset about one page discussing the fourth at this point? Disparity between performance vs expectations is always more interesting than the players who ho-hum play how SM expected, IIRC about expectations, Levis dropped to the second round after once being rated as the number one prospect ( I think Kiper never backed off of that ranking until really late)....so Levis is going to simply be more interesting to talk about as long as he plays well, IMO.

Agreed. It took Polian many years to find that valued 3T needed for the Tampa 2....Warren Sapp like guy. He had a shot at drafting John Henderson, who went to TEN, but he was more of a 5T. Each year, I would look for 3Ts that the Colts could take at their draft position. Never a player available. He even traded for Cory Simon, who somehow decided to immediately get too fat to have a football career. IIRC, the only 3T of any value that Polian passed over was Geno Atkins....and he went in the 3rd round to CIN, so its not like 31 other GMs didn't pass him over about twice. Then BP was able to trade for Booger when Tampa made him available, and then we went to the SB. Sometimes the draft doesn't fall right for many years, but that was only one guy BP was looking for. Ballard has missed about 3 or 4 positions for 7 years, so its not all just bad luck.

Describing his drafting in a nutshell, I would say that he favors RAS, traits, and "ceiling" too often over production. Everybody wants ceiling, I just think its a bigger component of his decision making than maybe other more successful GMs. If you look at the players he's drafted that have had good college production, he has done well. Nelson: Two year player at ND. nevertheless, was thought to be NFL ready day 1 Smith: 4 year starter at Auburn in various oline spots. Leonard: Great production even though it was a small school Taylor: Came into the NFL with some mileage on him...IOW..lots of production. Pittman: Full time starter at USC with some PT as a junior (sophomore?...can't remember if he was a junior-declared). Granson: A bit one dimensional, but I believe had solid production in college Even overall less talented players like Anthony Walker had lots of production in college. I'm sure there are exceptions to this pattern. Ballard's "ceiling" guys have tended to not have reached the ceiling that was expected....and have probably been drafted a round or two too early. I've never called Ballard a bad GM, but I think his approach needs some adjusting. A little less RAS, more emphasis on production (being a "real" football player), and better appreciation for high value vs lower value positions. I wish he would adjust rather than the Colts finding someone else.

I don't follow SF, but its my understanding both Debo and their LT have been out....but should be back soon....so maybe the next few games will be a better test. And they just traded for Chase Young because their pass rush has fallen off. I guess Bosa hasn't been Superman this year,

I was just offering my thoughts on what the PSR rating might be looking at. TEN did not really move the chains through the air with short passes like so many offenses do in 2023. They have Derrick Henry for that part....which replaces the QB throwing for 4 yard gains on first down. And when Henry got stuffed...which is a lot of the time because he's an up the gut RB..it put TEN in 3rd and longish and they punted a lot...IMO. Compared to modern offense that have their QBs be the do-everything superhero and QBR graded to favor those QBs......Levis wasn't that. He simply threw 3 TDs from midfield...whatever that's worth. Its a case where stats are measured for certain things and leave out other things. Example, Levis did not throw for FD with the passing game, but, he reportedly checked into running plays that got first downs twice....so its a favorable thing for a QB but I don't know if the analytics guys have developed a stat for that. IMO, it should bump up his PSR...because TEN got 2 FDs by Levis choosing to call running plays instead of short passes.

Perhaps they feel the two players are not worth the money they will want come contract time. A 2nd and a 3rd isn’t too bad of a return.

Maybe. Chad listed trades. The tweet spoke of trade. But the title of the thread says sign and so does the discussion. Brown signed but his extension was the basis of the trade. Not sure I would say that was about the Tennessee market.

Well. Most discussions on most forums on the internet are about people sharing opinions. And there are always a few who can’t control their hate that it clouds their ability to read posts clearly

Trades don’t have to do with markets though. It’s the contract extension that might play into that.

He will “Catch the attention of traits hungry teams”. lol

Yes. That’s because it’s understood that trades made at this point are generally for the next 9 games only. So the draft picks given are low.

There is a difference between taken and worthy. Worthy is an opinion. Did you catch that part?

We would not have our draft picks if you gave them our 1st. You think CAR needs more draft picks than us? If their QB was any good, they'd be a WR away and one of many RBs available this spring from contending for their Division.

Its rare. How many years go by where there is that positional player worthy of a top5...and not at 7 or 9. Are the people advocating that we tank this season have a player in mind? Or is it just speculation that a player worthy of a top 5 pick will be there. I think most teams draft players in the top 5 because no other team wants to trade up with them.

Richard. If Burns is considered to be a foundational player for a new series of years that would be captured by a new contract, a rebuilding team does not give up those players. Young players heading into their prime they keep. They trade the guys past their prime. (or like Sweat and Buckner, where their teams could not keep two at the same position) We have Buckner and Gilmore to trade, one we already did. In your scenario, a really good player on our roster that is proven, young, and still in his prime...comparable to Burns.....would be JT. Would you offer JT in a trade?