Sperm Edwards

I don’t think that’s the problem. The problem is which guys they hire, not meddling. Like I said above: Douglas is already here, and for better or worse (hopefully better) he’s going to be for at least 2-3 more seasons. So that’s baked into the cake whether the Johnsons are frontmen or not. The only other hire there is to make is the HC. A good HC isn’t going to see Woody or Chris Johnson’s inability to hire a good HC as a reason to not come here; that’s putting the cart before the horse. The problem will be which guy they hire, not what they do or don’t do if they hire the right guy.

They should totally hire Nick Fury

I think that’s overstating by a lot, but it’s definitely got more talent than when Gase interviewed here. Not to mention doubling up on 1st round picks for the upcoming 2 seasons and not being cap-strapped into sitting out free agency. And yes, if he is still what he was before he basically took 2 years off, they will be getting back Mosley. The big deciding factor might be whether or not the team is still wedded to Darnold if he has a terrible year all season long, and we are sitting with the #1 pick this coming April, or if a new HC will have to give him another year tryout (when a year after that the same replacement opportunity may not be there). A HC isn’t going to be the GM, but I take for granted who’s going to be his QB is a major part of the decision. It’s very possible that Darnold’s presence was a far greater HC draw after year 1 than it’ll be after year 3. The real solution is to not get worked up, and to just presume it’ll be a disaster every year. You ought to know better by now.

His argument (like Bowles before him) was that they have to execute anyway (e.g. a QB sneak with inches or a foot to go, when everyone on the field, in the booth, and at home knows that’s what you’re doing). So I don’t totally disagree with that, but when there’s a vulnerability in the defense that you didn’t know would be there before calling the play in, then the QB has to be able to audible out of a covered play. I can understand exceptions like if you’re dealing with your backup QB or a raw rookie who barely grasps the playbook as it is, but that isn’t the case here. I mean, if you’re going to do that, then just go no-huddle every down and call in the plays when they’re lined up like Kelly used to. It’s not a good long-term plan because you’re going to keep getting killed on TOP, but on a given play it beats having zero ability to audible, where the only possible way out of a covered play is to burn a TO.

All true, but there are things to consider: there are only so many of these HC jobs that open up, and it isn’t too frequent that it’s with a team that’s coming off serious success (e.g. SD after they fired Marty...to then waste the league’s best young roster on Coach Pockmark lol). Candidates know they have to take a job when the iron’s hot, or you can get something of a reputation that there’s obviously some reason no one hires you as HC year after year. One down year as coordinator, or your HC gets fired and you get thrown out with the bathwater, and just like that you missed your chance. Darnold will still be seen by many as an ultra-talented QB who just needs better coaching + another year of experience + another year of roster improvement There’s always an attraction to a team coming off major disappointment: it’s a lot easier to look better. The Jets sucked last year, but even a bad team can go 7-9 and convince so many that the team’s coaching is on an upward trajectory since it’s still a marked improvement over going 3-13. Well we’re headed for 3-13 the way things look now... While it’s not enough to succeed yet, there is some young talent on the team (Darnold aside, since he’s very eye-of-beholder). When Bowles was fired the cupboard was so bare & the only names anyone gave a damn about were Darnold and a freaking safety. The rest of the names were huge disappointment draft picks (Leo W, D.Lee) and FAs (T.Johnson). I mean the team needed 5 starting offensive linemen. If they fire Gase after just 2 years - both of them billed as rebuilding years not contending years, like after firing Bowles after 2018 (however deservedly) - then firing the next HC will be a much bigger PR problem if they fire the next one in less than 4 years. So a 2021 new HC won’t likely get the rug ripped out from under him quickly (which is surely how Gase will see it). Quickly fire a HC once, then it’s on that failure coach; do it twice, then this is a disloyal/fickle front office who makes promises it won’t see through. The fans (rightly) see the Johnson family as a root cause of failures. But it’s less likely that a HC will see it that way. Whether it’s a Johnson or an ex-GM/HC as head of football operations, Douglas has at least 3-4 more years as GM either way. Johnsons are a problem to fans because of the HCs they hire, but the HC himself won’t see it that way.

Any coach can make the argument that, on any given play, they’d have been successful if they’d executed. It’s a wonderful way to white-out any/every lapse in judgment. “If we blocked the mike...” “If we’d seen & picked up the blitz...” “If he’d thrown it to his other read...” ”If he’d shown a little patience...” ”If he’d just run & not been so patient...” ”...then my play was the right one to call there.” We just didn’t execute, lol. No doubt there’s truth to that in any errant throw, missed block, dropped pass, or route option not run, that ends up in a loss of down or possession. Likewise, plays can’t be called as though the talent level is what one wishes it to be rather than what it is. If Gase was stealing signs and knew for a fact the D was going to line up as they did, of course he’d call something different to exploit it (as would any coach/coordinator). That’s the whole freaking point of giving one’s QB the ability to audible out of something covered, or into something clearly not covered to make the execution easier. Calling plays is much easier when one has superior talent, and can make anyone who talks a great game look like he can also walk the walk. It seems that’s Adam Gase; just like that was Paul Hackett; just like lots of guys who get it all on paper & can even wow you with their dizzying amount of knowledge if you sit with them, but are still just failures when they’re making the call in real time, with no one managing them from above to swat away the significant percentage of stupid ideas. That’s the problem with lots of “ideas” guys; they think every idea they have is like a work of art.

So you’re saying Mims wants to have someone crap on his chest? That’s what you’re saying?

All this is true. In fairness, one of the reasons a 1st round pick gets a higher likelihood of success - in addition to the obvious: being a better prospect outright - is the massively longer leash and opportunity a 1st round QB is given. Further, a mid/late round pick is far more likely to be drafted by a team already set with its starting QB (if not a starting QB in whom the team has already invested heavily). When a team drafts a QB in round 1, it’s unusual to be buried behind a veteran the team wants to keep as the QB1 for the next few years at least. He’s drafted for one purpose: to hopefully unseat him by year 2 at the latest.

Receivers don’t make a bad QB into a good QB; they make his job easier, and make the team better, but the tail doesn’t wag the dog. I’m hardly in the making-excuses-for-Darnold corner. He needs to play far better than he has. He - like Sanchez and Geno - were drafted to make others around them better, not have his own success gauged purely by the play of others. There were plenty of plays just in the game this past Thursday where you’d see one of these two superior QBs make getting rid of the ball, in the face of an unblocked blitzer, look like a routine formality. Likewise there are other receivers who have only looked good on the receiving end of good QBs and are quickly out of the league without them. None of these things mean: in a strong WR draft class, do not draft more than 1 WR when the team needs more than 1, weeks after a weak FA WR class. Instead draft a backup QB who’s right now effectively the team’s 4th string QB behind not just Darnold & Flacco, but also Mike White.

You’re crazy lol Seriously, I’m generally happy with the job Douglas has done, but I’m not ecstatic. “Generally happy” is still a massive leap forward from his predecessor, but it doesn’t mean I have to do my part to circle the wagons to defend every move he’s made. You in particular were balls deep in favor of drafting 2 WRs. Now that Douglas only drafted one, you’re defending it even in the face of using a day 2 pick on a cock-blocking endeavor or on a designed career backup. The only way this pans out is if Morgan looks awesome to the point where he’s permitted to challenge Darnold for the starting job; this would result in either overtaking Darnold outright, or moving him for a much higher pick later. See, the strategy to forgo improving oneself by trying to block others is only a smart move if it’s successful. IMO it’s hard enough to hit on 50% of one’s picks without throwing away one of the higher-percentage ones on purpose.

I keep reading this thread title and read it as poo nuggets. Do I need to see someone about this?

Meh, my brother you do way more than your fair share of complaining (and so do I and everyone else here -- except Pac, who's perfect). Repeatedly classifying it as "whining" only when other people are being critical it isn't a very compelling argument. It's also a sign you're resorting to insults because @Beerfish has at least a partly valid point so you're deflecting as a defense mechanism. For more in depth analysis you'll have to consult @TeddEY. We were paper-thin at WR in a deep WR draft, and we took just 1 at that position among his 9 picks. Worse still, IIRC you were not only advocating drafting 2 WRs this year, you were advocating it so we should start 2 of them, which is quite wishful thinking. A day-2 pick is way too high for cock-blocking someone else when one's own team has so many starter needs. Playoff teams have the luxury of doing that; not teams who are just emerging from a half-decade of Maccagnan (which itself followed 2 years of Idzik) and need help everywhere. Who cares if BB wanted him? He isn't a savant at drafting, and whiffs way more than he hits. He also drafted Kevin O'Connell in round 3. And he just drafted Stidham; with your logic we should have blocked that filthy creep from drafting him, too. The only way that's a good pick is if he starts wiping the floor with Darnold and becomes our FQB, or at least is so promising-looking that we're not going to draft a QB the following year if Darnold falls flat on his face in '20 or '21. Otherwise it was dumb. If Douglas drafted Morgan because he thinks he'll be a valuable player for us, even if he ends up being meh, fine. If it was a pure cock-block move - and particularly if he turns into meh - then not fine. Fight me!!

This topic needed cleaning up, too? On page 1? C'mon. Even if you're not better than that, try / pretend to be for a day.

that was my first thought, too I think people in favor drafting 2, because we needed 2, had it right but for the wrong reason. Draft 2 because we need to hit on 1. Expecting to start 2 rookie WRs is stewpid, but ask Arizona if they regretted going back to the well at that position to draft Boldin after they burned a 1st rounder on Bryant Johnson.

Yeah this is why you don't put all your eggs in 1 basket by expecting to go 1-for-1 at such a must-fill position