top dawg

Exactly. The NFL was full o' sh¡t back then. Still is now to a lesser degree. The media is as full o' poo as it ever was. T.O.'s performance in the Super Bowl didn't even shut down the decidedly stupid narratives about him. He largely just wanted to win.

The Packers have already locked down the top seed. The fight now is really about the second seed which is still valuable.

I'm with T.O. Comparisons between he and A.B. are just really off base.

To be perennial contenders is the goal, obviously. We want to be in that top echelon of franchises. But, as you noted yourself, we're a ways from there. After this season, just being competitive seems like a premium, and we certainly have to meet the one standard before getting to the other. I mean, we have guys actually believing that Alabama can beat us, much less the Jags, Giants, Jets and Lions of the league. We got beat by a Giants team with third team receivers and RBs. The WFT game was almost as bad. Hell, we let a Falcons team beat us with third stringers and a TE. We let a dolphins team drag us with no RB and a rookie WR. There's no excuse. That speaks to coaching, not a lack of talent.

Obviously, but a coach who knows what he's doing can get us competitive by 2023.

Our FO made the wrong personnel decisions on QB, especially as it pertains to draft capital, and was just foolish about the O-line. Unfortunately the draft capital is gone. There are opportunity costs we will never get back. Indirectly included in that is our QB situation, but I KNOW we can field a better line for next year. If we could get Jim Harbaugh in here, you'd see a marked change.

"Contender?" Maybe. Competitive? Should've been this year. I disagree wholeheartedly about showing "anything."

Don't stop at them. It's almost criminal not having TMJ more involved. Shi should've seen more snaps also.

If you notice, I didn't say sh¡t because I was skeptical.

I can respect that. But, I do think that it's especially easy after the fact, after all is said and done, to say that we aren't talented after the coaching clusterfug that has gone on this season. Though not perfect, we've seen what D.J. Moore can do. We've seen Robby Anderson flirt with 1000 yard seasons and surpass them. Believe it or not, TMJ came into this league talented (and I dare say had he gone to New Orleans, or anywhere other than here, he'd have markedly more productivity), Shi Smith showed enough in college and preseason to be moderately excited about, and even Tremble came in with some higher expectations from national talking heads. For goodness sake, CMC was the consensus number one pick in fantasy football for a reason, and even though Chuba hadn't (hasn't) shown the hands we'd like, he has shown some ability to make tough runs and is a low-key homerun threat. We'd even seen Matt Rhule and company get more out of a team than anyone expected in 2020. Now, if you or anyone is telling me that you saw such a retrogression coming of players minus an ill-conceived O-line, I'll think you're lying. If you tell me that you had serious questions about the O-line even up to the point of destroying any offensive success then that's a little more believable. But, I still don't think anyone saw the sum of all fears as a realistic thing. The O-line sucks, the coaching sucks, CMC is hurt again and Robby (especially) got the dropsies, Rhule refuses to play rookies for any substantive amount, much less get the in the flow of the offense, Brady gets fired...If you or anyone saw all that, then that's some Nostradamus-level sh¡t right there. And, honestly, I still think our offense should be better than it is, but it will never get there with the lack of coaching on display this year, and stocking up an O-line at a garage sale. We STILL don't know the upside of our offense (or the defense). Defensively, we have demonstrably more talent, and I don't think there's any question to that, but the injury bug hasn't been kind, and, again, I can't say that we've gotten the best out of what we do have, but I know we're a long way from bottom-barrel players here. I could be wrong, but, on paper at least, we would be at least .500 with coaching that's worth a damn, and that's with a bad O-line.

I've listened to all the interviews now, and to be fair Miller was just frustrated at answering the same question. He had already said that at the end of the day they get paid to protect the QB and that when they don't do that "it hurts" to see their QB "under duress" or "on the ground" as Person put it. It appears too me that this is a classic example of the media trying to make something more it of it than it is, or at least trying to take things and frame it without the full context.

That's not usually the watermark of a healthy professional NFL franchise. Like Shaq basically said, you keep those things in-house.

I've been critical of Shaq Thompson on occasion, but not as nearly as some who've repeatedly tried to push the narrative that he's been essentially JAG, or grossly underperforming. He's been solid over the years, and now that he's no longer in the shadow of Luke or TD, his growth is evident. His maturity and willingness to lead is as evident as ever, so much so that maybe some other people on the sidelines should learn from Shaq's leadership. There are a few things Shaq had to say during his presser, but this was the most telling in my opinion: "Like I keep saying, this is our job, we get paid to do this. If you don't love it, then don't play. If you aren't going to have passion regardless if you're losing then don't come to work. Like honestly, we don't need you." https://www.si.com/nfl/panthers/gm-report/shaq-thompson-voices-frustration-calls-out-repeat-offenders Like I was telling someone yesterday, for me even Tepper seems to be going through the motions, and I certainly get that vibe from Rhule. And, it's been suggested that these two aren't particularly wed to the #KeepPounding mantra, but apparently they should be if this six-game losing streak is an indication. Everybody's just going through the motions, except for a few like Shaq that realize the bigger picture. We certainly need to cut the fat and employ guys that don't accept mediocrity, much less accept a culture of losing in similar fashion week after week or season after season.

People bring up those years, but this 2021 team was really supposed to be better considering the talent. And, the thing is, I'm not sure that this team beats either one of those teams. It would be at least questionable. That speaks to Matt Rhule.

In Rhule's world, Rashawn Slater's arms are too short to play LT. Slater is lucky not to have been picked here. Rhule's mishandling of him would've been criminal.

Something every Huddler has been saying for a decade...

As long as Rhule is HC, I wouldn't get too excited. Rhule generally just doesn't believe in BC at LT, and that's not a recipe for long term success. The coach has to believe.

This offense is historically bad from a franchise perspective. Break it down by games, halves, quarters and series, and we are terrible.

That's been the case in roughly a half dozen games this season. I was prepared to say more than a half dozen, but I looked at the final scores and couldn't justify it (though I watched all the games and it just seems we could've been in several more with any type of legit offense).

Shaq. He was our most consistent player on defense, and his presence is sorely missed when he's out (like game-changing).

Come on. The comparison is not even close. But, Nixon has only had a few games, so I'll give him that excuse (along with a lost HC)

No adjustments at all. I never thought I'd see that in the NFL.

They'd still prefer to play in Tampa with the second seed before they get to Green Bay (assuming the Packers take care of business). Home games still matter.