Brugler rated the Falcons draft as the worst, and he seems to share the consensus opinion that drafting Penix was a mind-bogglingly dumb pick.

I guess I’m the only one who differs. Now, I should say that I don’t know anything about Penix other than that he was spoken of as one of the top 5 or 6 QBs in the draft class, and apparently throws darts. But the criticism is less about Penix than it is that the Falcons just signed Cousins to a 4-yr enormous deal.

But as I understand it, Cousins’ contract is front-loaded, and they can unload him after 2 years. Cousins will be 36 this season.

So I think this is a great pick by Atlanta. Cousins is good enough that he will probably lead the Falcons to worse draft positions the next two years. And if I’m the GM of Atlanta, that’s MY plan. To get better. So in a couple of years, you could be looking at an Atlanta team in a bad draft position that needs a starting QB. What’s better than having a good QB that’s had a couple years to sit and learn, and spot start some games, and is ready to take the reins? I mean…look at how drafting Jordan Love turned out for GB. It’s a good strategy. We often see teams draft a highly-touted QB and sign an old vet to be the placeholder and mentor, and that’s generally acknowledged to be smart. So why is it different if they signed the vet first, and then drafted for the future? Looks to me like Atlanta set itself up for a pretty solid 5+ years at the most important position on the team, and frankly, I hope the Rams draft a QB next year pretty high.

He hopes to be back sometime this week.

canadaram wrote:

CONCERNS There are concerns and 1st on the list is medical. Number two on the list is his style of tackling and how that style leads to injuries. He is not a sure tackler, going head first to tackle and looking for the big hit. When he comes from deep to make a tackle it’s impressive but it is also disturbing. I think he has the athletic talent to cover but his mental makeup to make the big play, will not allow him to stay with the receiver down the field long enough without leaving them to make a big play on another receiver. If I’m right, he will be taken advantage of if used as a cover safety unless he can learn that he is not the only player on the field.

Well, unless the guy has a IQ of 50, that’s coachable. All of it.

I will say…and this is kinda funny…I watched a reel of Verse late last night, and I kept thinking, “That 55 guy sure is in the mix a lot.”

That’s kinda funny.

In fact, on the first coupla plays, I thought Verse WAS #55, cuz it was 55 that seemed to blow it up.

zn wrote:

Rams first three Draft picks contributed to championship teams that combined to go 28-1 last season.

Well, that’s sumthin.

On Corum, I don’t remember seeing his name pre-draft, but “Blake is a strong multi-talented running back who reminds me a lot of former Giants Joe Morris.”

I’ll take Joe Morris with a 3rd round pick.

wv wrote:

I will say though that if I’m not mistaken the combine does not measure ‘power’.   It measures agility and speed, etc.   I’m not sure its quite accurate to say Verse is not very athletic.   Power and relentlessness seem to be important athletic traits to me.

Well, you wouldn’t confuse Kevin Greene for Von Miller based on his agility, but dude made some QBs’ nightmares. I don’t know if that’s a fair comparison or not (Greene), but I’d spend a #19 on Kevin Greene. But just remember it was zn who staked his reputation on that comparison. Said he was Kevin Greene but with more speed and power, I believe.

I don’t know how Verse compares with the other guys – Turner, Robinson, Latu – but I’m not surprised to see this:

“You can tell he cares about football.”

I think Donald left behind that perspective as a parting gift to the organization. I don’t expect McSnead to ever draft a potato farmer.

wv wrote:

They need to draft a DT named Vice, now.

I was thinking a guy named Chapter.

The radio talkers this morning mentioned that the draft drops off more than usual after the first 150.

My first football hero.

Oh, wow. That is stunning. Only 57. I believe he has been posting as long as I have. He goes back to the Tony Banks days, iirc.

Thank you for posting that.

I remember Jack once said that he had never been outside of Reading, PA in his entire life.

Jack P Miller. RIP, buddy.

Without Extensive Narrative Manipulation, None Of This Would Be Consented To
CAITLIN JOHNSTONE
MAR 20

Without extensive narrative manipulation, it would never occur to anyone that bombing Gaza into rubble is a reasonable response to a single Hamas attack.

Without extensive narrative manipulation, it would never occur to anyone that killing tens of thousands of Palestinians and starving hundreds of thousands more is a reasonable response to a thousand Israelis being killed.

Without extensive narrative manipulation, it would never occur to anyone that criticizing the actions of the state of Israel is antisemitic.

Without extensive narrative manipulation, it would never occur to anyone that saying “from the river to the sea” is a call for genocide.

Without extensive narrative manipulation, it would never occur to anyone to think about this onslaught and the discourse around it in terms of “Jews vs Jew haters”.

Without extensive narrative manipulation, it would never occur to anyone that it was fine and normal to keep an unwanted ethnic group in a walled-in area whose resources are tightly controlled by those in power.

Without extensive narrative manipulation, it would never occur to anyone that TikTok is a massive problem that needs to be eliminated.

Without extensive narrative manipulation, it would never occur to anyone that Israel should be able to inflict violence and abuse upon the Palestinian population for generations without ever receiving any violence in return.

Without extensive narrative manipulation, it would never occur to anyone that Israel using the Israeli army to murder civilians in an Israeli military campaign is something that can be blamed on Hamas.

Without extensive narrative manipulation, it would never occur to anyone that it is fine and acceptable for the IDF to be targeting healthcare workers, journalists and scholars and destroying hospitals, universities and mosques.

Without extensive narrative manipulation, it would never occur to anyone that dozens of Israeli hostages are more important than the hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who are being starved and murdered.

Without extensive narrative manipulation, it would never occur to anyone that the US war machine should be bombing people in Yemen, Iraq and Syria to stop their retaliations for the destruction of Gaza.

Without extensive narrative manipulation, it would never occur to anyone that the governments who are backing a genocide are not personally responsible for it.

Without extensive narrative manipulation, it would never occur to anyone that the unfathomable suffering that is taking place in Gaza right now should not be at the forefront of our attention.

Without extensive narrative manipulation, it would never occur to anyone that the genocide in Gaza should be allowed to continue instead of being brought to an immediate end.

And that’s why we’ve been seeing such extensive narrative manipulation — from our news media, from our government officials, and from Israel apologists on social media.

It’s because without extensive narrative manipulation, none of this would be consented to.

I am curious about the Garoppolo/Wentz decision.

Wentz is still out there, and nobody is talking about him as far as I know. And, afaik, the knock on Wentz was character, rather than ability. I didn’t follow him at all, but I don’t think he was known for making poor reads, or lousy study habits, or a weak arm, or whatever. Wentz had only one performance with the Rams, and he did okay. Granted it was essentially a pre-season game, and the stakes were low. But I never heard anything about Wentz. Did he not fit in with the Rams’ scheme somehow?

Granted, Garappolo has a better-looking resume, so he may be a better QB than Wentz. I don’t know why he flamed out in LV. I know the 9ers thought he had limited upside, and believed Purdy was the better QB. (And, btw, it’s a pisser that the 9ers wasted all that draft capital to trade up for Trey Lance, only to have Lance be a bust, only to have the 9ers’ ass saved by Mr. Irrelevant. They should be in hell right now, but Purdy came from nowhere to save their asses).

So Garappolo is a proven “better-than-meh” starting QB. And Wentz, I guess, is not. But the cost difference between the two couldn’t be a whole lot, and Wentz has better physical skills. I’m just curious.

I’m fine with Garappolo is a #2. He might be the best #2 in the league, as a matter of fact. He’s good enough to win games, obviously. This is no Brett Rypien.