top dawg

Honestly, Scot, that remark is decidedly benign. It's nothing. It's almost juvenile in nature, like "I'm gonna show you!" It was obviously some fan talking smack, and Miller essentially saying, "We'll see on the field." As for the fisticuffs, I'm glad Rhule basically is of the mindset that "boys will be boys." No harm, no foul. It was a good practice, especially when juxtaposed against the tentative display on Thursday.

The only problem that I have, which is my problem I admit, is that I don't think that either Walker or Grier can lead a competent enough of a drive to see what we really need to see on offense. Can we really get a feel for who is doing what--who belongs, when the offense is so disjointed? I guess that I just don't trust Rhule and company fully yet. They seem to like churning the bottom of the roster except for the QB position which means they must be OK with what we got. I shudder at that thought.

No

Not the entire board.

One game can easily mean the difference between getting into the dance, or sitting at home, and in reality it doesn't matter if it's the first game or the last, that's why you win every game that you can.

Shaq was beat once, but had at least one PBU, and BC was pretty good if I'm to believe the tweets in this thread.

Shaun King says Mind or Trask will be better than Wilson...and he didn't stutter. Says "Write it down!" https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.nj.com/jets/2021/08/jets-will-regret-drafting-zach-wilson-ex-nfl-qb-says.html%3foutputType=amp

So you think a loss would be justified?

I wonder what his expression was when it dawned on him that it wasn't a joke. That was a highly unusual move.

That's all fine and good...if Darnold doesn't flop and Fields turns into a legit superstar. If Fields is a top 5 QB, and Darnold flops, that virtually takes Horn out of the equation, as no one is going to want to hear anything else. Even if Horn is Revis-good, it still won't take the sting away from passing on Fields. Now maybe if we would quickly land a legit superstar QB, then all may be forgotten, but there will rightfully be hell to pay, at the very least temporarily, if Fields turns into Fields of gold while we deal in chaff. The Sewell injection into the discussion is really a nonstarter, as he became a nonfactor in our plans as soon as Detroit drafted him.

Even if you don't see it as a must-win game, you have to acknowledge that the Huddle will implode, and it will probably be appropriate.

I have tried to be neutral about David Newton, and it's not in my nature to berate journalists following the team (so it kind of pains me to say this), but now I'm on the Newton-is-an-idiot train.

I understand why people say that, and IMO it's very easy to say, but irrespective of the teams, week one is just as important as any other game. If you lose week one and miss the playoffs by a game, then it counts just as much as all the rest of the losses.

Honestly, neither the Teddy or Darnold acquisition was "baffling" to me. What was baffling regarding Teddy was the money & structure of the contract. I like the Darnold acquisition (even if the 2nd was a tad too high IMO). What I didn't like was them skipping over Fields. That was kind of "baffling" to me, notwithstanding Darnold. But, I know why they probably did it, in part because of Darnold (which may be confusing, I don't know). I hope that it works out. But, if it doesn't, they deserve all the criticism that they get.

LOL at "...the right furniture."

Cam wasn't that bad. We know who the good teams are. KC, Rams, Packers, Ravens, Titans, Steelers, Seahawks, Bucs...we just don't know who the surprise good teams are.

I trust Igo enough to take his word for it. In general though, this BR article just doesn't square with anything I've read/heard from anyone that's been to practice.

Hearing all the positivity about Fields and Trey Lance is beginning to make me wonder about Rhule's, Brady's and Fit's QB scouting abilities (not to mention that they were reportedly high on Wilson). The only thing that is keeping my mouth shut is the good things that I'm hearing about Darnold. That, and the fact that live bullets haven't started flying yet. It's still early, but damn.

We have CMC, Moore, Anderson, Arnold, and Joe Brady, and you think that all we can put up is 17 measly points? Nah, man, I predict 34 to 9.

If we can't beat a team with a brand new staff, rookie QB, a suspect O-line and suspect offensive skill players, then who the hell can we beat (with all these shiny new toys)? And I'll add that Rhule and company pushed their chips in on Darnold.

Who was the Jets' QB for those victories? That's rhetorical!

OK, some of you may not agree, and perhaps I'm being hyperbolic in a literal sense, because it's just a game (season opener, no less), but there's no way that we can lose to the Jets and good things happen. We have to beat the Jets, period! New staff, and new QB, with a decidedly less talented offense. This is a must-win! Now I really think that there's no way we should lose, especially considering that the new boy wonder of New York City is not quite living up to great expectations in camp--i.e., he's looking like a lost rookie that is presently in no way prepared for the speed of the game; lose to him and that unstable organization, and our atmosphere here will become just as volatile as the Jets' may become very shortly. Our opening game won't be the Hot Seat Bowl because one staff is new and one is relatively new, but it will be the Hot Potato Bowl, and that hot potato represents volatility. You catch it, and the atmosphere surrounding your franchise will become potentially explosive, even if it's just a slow burn that leads to a big boom at some given point in the future. The Panthers really don't have any reason to lose. Sam Darnold, Rhule or anyone can say anything they want, but the crystal clear irony of the game, and something akin to the poetic justice of victory makes the Panthers' game against the Jets a must-win game in my eyes. What do you see?

Zach Wilson is and always was a nonstarter for me. The flavor of the month! I always thought Trey Lance was the better option, and I'm sticking to it. The more interesting question is whether we passed up on a potential franchise QB in Fields. By most accounts, he's looked pretty good so far. Darnold has as well. As long as they're on similar trajectories, we're good. As long as Horn balls out, we're good.