nate82

I am not going to be disappointed if Gasser doesn't make the opening day roster but if he isn't on the team by May or June I am going to be very disappointed.

I think there is more demand this year for a QB and the QB class is better than it was last year. The draft probably goes Williams and then Maye or Daniels at 2 and 3. Take your pick on those two at 2 and 3. To me 11, 23 and another pick is better than what the Bears got last year for the #1 pick and I think that is what the Patriots will be demanding for that #3 pick. So teams will have to overpay to get the Patriots off that pick. The Vikings have the draft picks to do it but I am not sure they are that desperate. Maybe they go 11, 2024 4th round and their 2025 2nd for one of the picks in the 5-9 range. If the Patriots do go Harrison Jr at 3 then they could go that route with the Cardinals at the 4th pick but at that point there will be a lot of teams trying to jump them to get that 4th pick and they may have to do 11 and 23 to get the 4th pick if Daniels or Maye are available at 4.

I don't believe that will be a problem. He is close to the same size as Jevon Carter and Marcus Smart. Though I don't he is as good as Smart was offensively. I think his defense alone should get him a late 1st or mid 2nd round grade. He could improve that offensively and be a guaranteed late 1st or early 2nd round pick. Though if he comes out after his senior year that would mark him down a bit. Without any offensive improvement in his senior year that puts him at a sold 2nd round grade either that being a mid or late 2nd. He would have to have a really good tournament performance to move him to a guaranteed late 1st or an early 2nd round grade. I think it is possible for him to get a late 1st round grade due to his defense. He isn't all that undersized at the PG. Carter was a 2nd round pick at 32 in 2018. I think that is where Hepburn is at right now and his stock could improve a bit to get him in the late 1st round conversation. Somewhere around 28-38 is where I could see Hepburn going if he decided to come out this year but he would need to have a good tourney offensively. It is his offensive game that is holding him back from getting this grade. If he doesn't have a good offensive showing in the tourney then he is probably a late 2nd round pick if he is picked at all. If he gets the late 2nd round grade then I think he returns as he could improve that to a mid or early 2nd round pick if he can improve offensively.

As long as the offense doesn't do its normal 6 minutes of no scoring. Though both of those games look to be an easy match up. But this team at times decides to go in an absolute funk offensively and you can't do that in the tourney.

Purdue is all one player and that is it. Everyone else on that team screams average to below average to me. If Edey is not scoring or impacting the game then that team is completely out of sync. That offense and even their defense revolves around Edey. Storr for the Badgers looks like he should be a good NBA player though he needs to put on some more muscle though that will come in time. I think he may leave after this season as he will get a mid to late 1st round grade. If he has a good tournament that could move him to the 10-15 pick range. Hepburn probably also gets a late 1st or early 2nd round pick. Though I would like to see Hepburn do what he did against Purdue more consistently on offense. That late drive to the basket is what he really needs to work on. I think Hepburn could be a good lock down PG in the NBA. Defensively I think Hepburn could play in the NBA right now though he needs to add some muscle. Hepburn probably returns for another year as he may be able to improve his draft grade to a mid 1st round pick if he works on his offensive game. This may be a completely different team next year without Storr and possibly Hepburn.

I think this makes a lot of sense. And it may just be Murphy joking around about Chourio not getting to the balls he should be getting to. Murphy has a weird sense of humor. He once told Thames he should have used his tennis racket after striking out for the third time in a game. That is the type of humor that Murphy has so I wouldn't be surprised if Murphy is just joking around abut this.

Misio pitched really well other than the walks toward the end. His delivery doesn't look like it has all that much effort to it compared to Hader. I think Misio can stay as a starter where Hader failed and I think it will be because it is not an all out effort like Hader. Brown looks really slick at SS going up the middle. If Turang doesn't work out Brown looks to be just as good defensively. That is all that I noticed in today's game so far.

I think they would need to give up 3 1sts to get into the third pick. Which I think the Patriots would take as I don't think there is a QB after Williams and Maye that is worth the #3 pick. I have heard rumblings that the Patriots may trade out of the 3rd pick if someone gets desperate or they will take Harrison Jr. If the Vikings do make a trade it is probably with the Patriots and they would have to give up a ton to get that 3rd pick. Probably more than what the Bears got last year for the #1 pick. If the Patriots don't trade out of the #3 spot that leaves only the #5-9 spots open for trades. I believe all of those picks will change hands and none of the original teams picking there will pick there. For those five picks and you could possibly add in #4 if the Patriots go with Harrison Jr at #3. That could move the cost down and the Vikings may only need to give up #11 and a 3rd round pick for #9 but will that give them the QB they are looking for? CBS has the Vikings trading for the 3rd pick with the 11 and 23rd pick. I am not sure the Patriots accept that without another 1st coming there way. https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/2024-nfl-mock-draft-patriots-trade-back-but-still-land-first-round-qb-steelers-fortify-ol-for-russell-wilson/

UCONN looks like the only strong #1 this year and that probably means they will have an early exit. Of the #1’s I think UCONN has the best chance to win it all. I think Purdue gets bounced early especially if they get in foul trouble. The Badgers coming back to life again maybe a good pick to make it to the sweet 16. Though if they play someone with a good big and that big doesn’t get in foul trouble they maybe in trouble. In the above bracket a Creighton matchup would be a real challenge for the Badgers. If Creighton is hot at 3 that could be an early exit for the Badgers.

Maybe not but the Bears have the players in place for Williams to be successful in the NFL. Moore, Allen and Kmet is a pretty good start. Not to mention the Bears could get another good WR in this draft at #9. They could also get a decent RB in the 3rd or 5th round. They do need another OT and they could get a generational QB and OT at 1 and 9. The Bears also still have a ton of cap room to add more if they wanted to in FA. Back to the draft I wouldn’t be surprised if the Vikings get desperate and trade up to 9 and give up the 11th and 23rd picks to get a QB if there is a run on QB’s early. The Raiders, Broncos and Vikings will all be competing for the 6-9 picks. I think the Saints, Seahawks and Rams will also be vying for those picks to get a WR, OT or QB. I think the Saints could be a surprise team that takes a QB early.

Caleb Williams should be fine as he will have Moore and Allen to throw to along with Kmet. The Bears are really close in competing for a playoff spot. They need some more help on the OL and DL but they should be able to address both in the draft now. They could also trade down from 9 and get more picks especially if there is a run on QB’s. I am not sure who thought the Bears could get a 1st or 2nd. At best I was thinking a 3rd and more likely a 4th which this trade could turn into. I think the best case scenario was a late 2nd round pick if there was a bidding war. There never was going to be a bidding war for Fields. He is just not accurate enough to be a NFL starting QB. I said this when he was drafted the accuracy is just not there and he is also extremely slow at reading defenses in the passing game. WR’s come open and he is 3-5 seconds late in seeing it. That is a long time as it is the difference between completing the pass or not.

For me Izzo is a better coach than coach K was at Duke. K gets all the glory but to me Izzo was better and vastly underrated compared to how K was perceived at least by the media mainly ESPN.

That is a players decision and not a team decision.

Unlikely. The fed still sees inflation as more of a problem than employment.

The fed is responsible for keeping inflation in check for the most part. The feds best tool is raising and cutting rates. Again inflation is still not where the fed wants it to be. I wouldn’t expect a rate cut to occur unless the economy starts to falter a bit. If the economy is fine and inflation is still too high for the fed expect another rate increase. A rate cut will only come if the fed believes the economy is in trouble of faltering a bit. I think we are still in a bit of a slightly flat economy so I think the fed will hold for now and may raise depending on the next quarters inflation numbers.

I don’t believe there will be two rate cuts and if they do one it is because the economy would be sluggish. If you are truly a bull or optimistic about the economy then rate cuts wouldn’t be what you are expecting. The stock market isn’t really an indicator that I would use for rate cuts or increases. You would want to look into liquidity and the bond markets for that. The fed hasn’t really given much of an indication on what they are going to do. I expect a flat rate for a few quarters. Maybe a rate cut in Q3 if the economy is sluggish. I don’t expect the economy to turn sluggish but I think the Fed is going to keep watching inflation closely. I think it is more likely we see at least one rate increase than we are to see two rate cuts.

I think Jones made more sense with the Bears than with the Vikings even with the Bears signing Swift.

The Vikings are currently at the 11th pick. The Bears have the 9th pick and the 1st pick in the draft.

I have been having a lot of fun with my friends playing Helldivers 2. Very frustrating and fun at the higher levels. Also a lot of laughs and funny moments running away from bugs and robots.

To me Bauers and JD are the same player. So neither excite me at all.

This team is like a fun house mirror.

Just no.

I just don’t get the fascination this board has with JD Davis.

The Dodgers have decided to go with Mookie at SS.

If a team acquires a player before OD they are allowed to offer the QO and receive compensation. The player has to be on the team from the start of the season to qualify for a team to receive compensation. The MLB season hasn't started yet so trades that happen now and before the start of the season qualify for compensation.