12-02-2019, 12:49 AM
(12-01-2019, 11:37 PM)rfaulk34 Wrote: I would surmise that they declined to extend due to his knee and because they have to pay Lewan and Saffold big bucks already and i believe they think Dennis Kelly can take over Conklin's spot. He hasn't played at the All Pro level from his rookie year but he's an instant upgrade to Bobby Hart and he's above average in passpro, even after his injury...which he will be another year away from. He has bounced back from an "average" year in 2018 and i think he should get even better next year.
Conklin isn't going to sign to be a backup. And he's not a stop gap. If he's in FA, he's going to look to get paid. As far as Thomas goes...i don't question his talent. I just don't want another average to below year from whoever is behind center next year. I want a #1OA graded QB and i want to fix the line, which can be done between now and the start of TC next year. Year after year i keep seeing other teams get QBs that make throws in the most important games to win Sunday and Monday night and Playoff games. I want one of those guys.
If you don't know much about Joe Burrow, don't just watch a couple videos, go read up on him.
https://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/sports/lsu/article_b12cabf8-65e2-11e8-889b-c3de62778f9f.html
https://www.tigerrag.com/football-junkie-joe-burrow-impressing-lsus-coaching-staff-with-hard-work-humility/
This guy isn't Akili "i don't know the playbook" Smith--the one hit wonder some compare him to. Someone posted a video of him at OSU, a tug of war with a LB--and Joe won. The guy is a competitor.
It looks like he has a bit of an ego, but so did Boomer "I don't want to sound like a spoiled brat, but this is like a slap in the face to me" Esiason.
Trust me, I know Burrow. I just don't put the faith in him that you do. It isn't just the 1 year wonder, but also the fact that LSU and Alabama have typically produced squat at the QB position. Using buzzwords like "he's a competitor" is not something to claim about the guy, simply because Dalton is also a competitor, I would be willing to bet every QB in the league can be classified as a competitor, not all of them win though.
What you want is a winner. Burrow definitely looks the part of being a winner, but so does a plethora of QBs in the draft. Burrow doesn't strike me as any more special than Eason or Tua or Fromm. Hell coming out of college Dalton looked like a winner for TCU.
It sounds like you want a media darling at QB. Someone that the pundits will salivate over like Mahomes, Mayfield, Ryan and Rivers so that no matter how bad he plays, the media won't trash him like they do with QBs they never did like or was meh about.
Ryan is a perfect example of this. I don't think one person has ever called for Matt Ryan to be benched or to claim that he is the reason for Atlanta's woes, even with Julio Jones and Calvin Ridley and at one point Sanu. Just never hear of anyone trashing him in the media.
Burrow would be the media darling and if he struggles the media won't admit that they were wrong about him, only that the Bengals coaching staff is inept, the OLine is terrible and he has no running game. Either that or they will focus on the porous defense.
As I have said a solid OLine makes everyone better. Gives you the best chance to win games, either low scoring or shoot outs. An OLine with Williams and Thomas as the bookends looks very appealing to me. I admit that there is a risk in selecting OLine considering our past history, but Georgia and Alabama have produced better OLine players than Oregon and Texas A&M, so I would be a least a bit more confident that Williams and Thomas would be a great pairing for the OLine. I would also take a Georgia and Bama tackle over a Michigan State guy like Conklin.
