I’m excited to watch Cole Payton this preseason. Seems like he’s gonna let it rip - most of the time the QB4 is so conservative and so ass that those later preseason games are unwatchable.

1 hour ago, just relax said:

You may be right. I frankly have no idea how his blocking is now, whether it has improved at all. All I’ve seen of him is Vanderbilt clips and Vandy didn’t ask him to block much, perhaps/probably because he didn’t do it well.

He’s due for a redshirt year, I think, although they may use him as a move TE in split zone type plays. Putting him in motion adds momentum for blocking purposes and makes releases easier. He does not appear to have a quick first step.

2nd round is 2-3 rounds too high to take a jump ball red zone threat

3 hours ago, RememberTheKoy said:

So many GMs in this league are awful. Their opinions mean nothing to me.

Yeah they should hire you

58 minutes ago, DrPhilly said:

Yeah, too bad the Monarchs didn't last. London always had a pretty good chunk of people following the NFL in any case. That Bears team with Payton, Singletary, and The Refrigerator kind of introduced the game. I've met so many people from that era who know the Fridge and yet don't know who say Troy Aikman was.

It's the Bears, Mick Luckhurst (who I remember from C4 on Saturday mornings) and likely Dan Marino too - the Bears and Fins have a large older following here. It didn't the help that the Monarchs didn't really have a proper home - whereas now, they could use Spurs stadium as its built with the NFL in mind.

9 minutes ago, weko said:

2nd round is 2-3 rounds too high to take a jump ball red zone threat

Agreed.

If that is all he is.

Never too early for draft talk. Bugler thinks this is a strong S class coming in 2027. His way too early rankings are 1) Bolden; 2) Johnson; 3) McLain; 4) McDonald; 5) Benefield

Top 25 senior safety prospects:

1. Jelani McDonald, Texas (6-2, 194)
2. Ty Benefield, LSU (6-2, 208)
3. Bray Hubbard, Alabama (6-1, 217)
4. Peyton Bowen, Oklahoma (5-11, 200)
5. Earl Little Jr., Ohio State (6-1, 191)
6. Matthew Bailey, Illinois (6-2, 222)
7. Marcus Ratcliffe, Texas A&M (6-2, 206)
8. Abu Kamara, Yale (5-11, 211)
9. Terry Moore, Ohio State (6-0, 201)
10. Braden Awls, Iowa State (6-0, 191)
11. Ty Bryant, Kentucky (6-0, 196)
12. Keon Sabb, Alabama (6-2, 206)
13. Jay Green, Stanford (6-2, 213)
14. Brandyn Hillman, Virginia (5-11, 192)
15. Joenel Aguero, Ole Miss (5-11, 201)
16. Tao Johnson, UCLA (6-0, 198)
17. Alex McLaughlin, Washington (6-2, 203)
18. Ashlynd Barker, Florida State (6-3, 217)
19. KP Price, Boston College (6-1, 206)
20. Qua Moss, Tennessee (5-10, 183)
21. Koen Entringer, Louisville (6-2, 211)
22. Isaac Smith, Mississippi State (6-1, 203)
23. Khalil Barnes, Georgia (5-11, 200)
24. Dalton Brooks, Texas A&M (6-0, 190)
25. Amare Ferrell, Indiana (6-1, 205)

Top 12 draft-eligible prospects:

1. KJ Bolden, Georgia (6 feet tall, 190 pounds)
2. Tae Johnson, Notre Dame (6-2, 197)
3. Jaylen McClain, Ohio State (5-11, 200)
4. Zach Lutmer, Iowa (6-0, 203)
5. Dashawn Spears, LSU (6-3, 209)
6. Koi Perich, Oregon (6-1, 200)
7. Faletau Satuala, BYU (6-5, 212)
8. Michael Boganowski, Oklahoma (6-2, 210)
9. CJ Heard, Vanderbilt (5-10, 211)
10. Adon Shuler, Notre Dame (6-0, 200)
11. Marcus Neal, Penn State (6-1, 215)
12. Davaughn Patterson, Wake Forest (6-0, 214)

8 minutes ago, weko said:

2nd round is 2-3 rounds too high to take a jump ball red zone threat

That's not really him though. Yeah he's an elite athlete from a size/speed/jump POV, but he's also an ex QB and by all accounts is a high IQ player. He understands the offense. Understands the routes. TE is arguably the second most cerebral position on the field after QB. So yeah he needs to adjust to the NFL game and has a long way to go blocking before he's a legit NFL TE. Neither of those are a given. But to call him a jump ball specialist only is underselling his skill set.

Just now, BigEFly said:

Never too early for draft talk. Bugler thinks this is a strong S class coming in 2027. His way too early rankings are 1) Bolden; 2) Johnson; 3) McLain; 4) McDonald; 5) Benefield

Top 25 senior safety prospects:

1. Jelani McDonald, Texas (6-2, 194)
2. Ty Benefield, LSU (6-2, 208)
3. Bray Hubbard, Alabama (6-1, 217)
4. Peyton Bowen, Oklahoma (5-11, 200)
5. Earl Little Jr., Ohio State (6-1, 191)
6. Matthew Bailey, Illinois (6-2, 222)
7. Marcus Ratcliffe, Texas A&M (6-2, 206)
8. Abu Kamara, Yale (5-11, 211)
9. Terry Moore, Ohio State (6-0, 201)
10. Braden Awls, Iowa State (6-0, 191)
11. Ty Bryant, Kentucky (6-0, 196)
12. Keon Sabb, Alabama (6-2, 206)
13. Jay Green, Stanford (6-2, 213)
14. Brandyn Hillman, Virginia (5-11, 192)
15. Joenel Aguero, Ole Miss (5-11, 201)
16. Tao Johnson, UCLA (6-0, 198)
17. Alex McLaughlin, Washington (6-2, 203)
18. Ashlynd Barker, Florida State (6-3, 217)
19. KP Price, Boston College (6-1, 206)
20. Qua Moss, Tennessee (5-10, 183)
21. Koen Entringer, Louisville (6-2, 211)
22. Isaac Smith, Mississippi State (6-1, 203)
23. Khalil Barnes, Georgia (5-11, 200)
24. Dalton Brooks, Texas A&M (6-0, 190)
25. Amare Ferrell, Indiana (6-1, 205)

Top 12 draft-eligible prospects:

1. KJ Bolden, Georgia (6 feet tall, 190 pounds)
2. Tae Johnson, Notre Dame (6-2, 197)
3. Jaylen McClain, Ohio State (5-11, 200)
4. Zach Lutmer, Iowa (6-0, 203)
5. Dashawn Spears, LSU (6-3, 209)
6. Koi Perich, Oregon (6-1, 200)
7. Faletau Satuala, BYU (6-5, 212)
8. Michael Boganowski, Oklahoma (6-2, 210)
9. CJ Heard, Vanderbilt (5-10, 211)
10. Adon Shuler, Notre Dame (6-0, 200)
11. Marcus Neal, Penn State (6-1, 215)
12. Davaughn Patterson, Wake Forest (6-0, 214)

If Koi Perich is 6th, then this class is going to be awesome.

6 minutes ago, DEagle7 said:

That's not really him though. Yeah he's an elite athlete from a size/speed/jump POV, but he's also an ex QB and by all accounts is a high IQ player. He understands the offense. Understands the routes. TE is arguably the second most cerebral position on the field after QB. So yeah he needs to adjust to the NFL game and has a long way to go blocking before he's a legit NFL TE. Neither of those are a given. But call him a jump ball specialist only is underselling his skill set.

He was endorsed by Jordan Matthews. He's a bust.

14 minutes ago, weko said:

2nd round is 2-3 rounds too high to take a jump ball red zone threat

Well, Howie tends to gamble a bit on Day 2 by seeking players that seem to have potential or sometimes injury history. (Sydney Jones, Landon Dickerson, Jalyx Hunt, for example. Sometimes it works, sometimes JJAW or Jones). OTAs and his first few TC practices is way too early to judge Stowers (or any of the other rookies or even some of the Day 3 players from 2025).

2 hours ago, BigEFly said:

Good deal. I like that Sh..... we need some fire on this team.

10 minutes ago, BigEFly said:

Surprised he's still so high. Only had 1140yds

1 hour ago, UK Eagle said:

The Scottish Claymores had a good and loyal following, but London just wasn't interested in it once the novelty wore of. It's possible it would be viable if there were more local players (perhaps 20-22 years old) as a feeder league from the amateur game vs people saying who the hell are John Hightower or Carson Strong this year?

The insurmountable issue for a European league or even expansion franchises in Europe / Central South America is that there's no way you get top American college prospects to come here to play and setting up a College system in foreign countries would require a ruinously expensive level of commitment. Any genuinely outstanding foreign talents would be poached the second they hit free agency by the American teams anyway, so it's immediately known as a league for projects and back ups which is never challenging the established order, which is a very hard sell to fans. It would need decades of financial support and genuine commitment to something that may never pay off.

As a sort of analogous example Women's soccer in England, the league has been in existence for 16 years, the English national team has won 2 major international tournaments in the last decade so its profile will never be higher, most Premier League sides have their own women's sides, there's an awful lot of media hoopla about how the quality is improving and the games getting bigger, but the League isn't that close to breaking even never mind making a profit. An NFL International League would be an order of magnitude harder than that again to get into a viable self supporting state.

35 minutes ago, BigEFly said:

Well, Howie tends to gamble a bit on Day 2 by seeking players that seem to have potential or sometimes injury history. (Sydney Jones, Landon Dickerson, Jalyx Hunt, for example. Sometimes it works, sometimes JJAW or Jones). OTAs and his first few TC practices is way too early to judge Stowers (or any of the other rookies or even some of the Day 3 players from 2025).

I demand immediate superstardom from all my draft picks.

11 minutes ago, Cochis_Calhoun said:

The insurmountable issue for a European league or even expansion franchises in Europe / Central South America is that there's no way you get top American college prospects to come here to play and setting up a College system in foreign countries would require a ruinously expensive level of commitment. Any genuinely outstanding foreign talents would be poached the second they hit free agency by the American teams anyway, so it's immediately known as a league for projects and back ups which is never challenging the established order, which is a very hard sell to fans. It would need decades of financial support and genuine commitment to something that may never pay off.

As a sort of analogous example Women's soccer in England, the league has been in existence for 16 years, the English national team has won 2 major international tournaments in the last decade so its profile will never be higher, most Premier League sides have their own women's sides, there's an awful lot of media hoopla about how the quality is improving and the games getting bigger, but the League isn't that close to breaking even never mind making a profit. An NFL International League would be an order of magnitude harder than that again to get into a viable self supporting state.

I'd never compare women's sports to any large male sport. Outside of the WC final when team USA is playing they aren't popular for a reason. Most men do not care about them and neither do most women. I'd almost guarantee an international NFL team would do better than women's soccer.

57 minutes ago, UK Eagle said:

It's the Bears, Mick Luckhurst (who I remember from C4 on Saturday mornings) and likely Dan Marino too - the Bears and Fins have a large older following here. It didn't the help that the Monarchs didn't really have a proper home - whereas now, they could use Spurs stadium as its built with the NFL in mind.

I've been to the old White Hart Lane but not the new one. Not sure yet if I'm coming to the game or not.

22 minutes ago, Mike030270 said:

Surprised he's still so high. Only had 1140yds

Really not his fault though. The OL couldn't run block to save their lives last year. Just too beat up.

Speaking of the Hall of Fame game, it seems likely that the Eagles will be one of the participants soon, perhaps as early as next year. It’s been twenty years since the last time they played in one. With thirty-two teams, there should effectively be a sixteen year rotation.

On 8/5/2026 at 10:46 AM, TEW said:

Yeah, same sort of hyper athletic pass catcher. I do think Pitts was a better blocker coming out of college, even though it was a weakness of his. Stowers, from what I saw of him, is properly useless as a blocker.

Can’t be worse than Calculator!