MasterAwesome

I don't know why you keep pivoting to league-wide perception. Are we still talking about Rhule's control of our locker room? Were we ever even talking about that? Maybe we're arguing two different things here. Regardless, if I'm to humor this point, why are respectable FAs (i.e. starting caliber guys who could easily have signed elsewhere for comparable money) still choosing to sign with us if Rhule is perceived as this incompetent fool across the league? That doesn't really make sense on its face. I truly don't remember any rumblings about an inhouse locker room rift last year. Do you happen to have a link or anything? This isn't a "gotcha", I'm genuinely interested in reading it if you can find it. Because that would have a pretty big impact on my perspective.

My "analysis of my own posts" was because you specifically asked me to explain my post lol. You ask me to explain myself...I do it...then you basically reply "tl/dr" and then later on criticize the substance of that same post you claim to not have read? You are all over the place. I think your issue with me really just boils down to my condescension, but for whatever reason you don't feel that's strong enough reason to criticize me so you're just grasping at straws to come up with others as you go. That's why I'm apparently both pithy and long-winded, super angry, bitchy, trying to be clever and intellectual, and I'm sure you'll throw in something new in your next reply. The condescension is fair, I can definitely be condescending. But surely you realize everything you've accused me of (except probably the "word salad"), you are guilty of as well. In this thread and the other thread from a week ago, you've initiated engagement with me with what you would surely classify as a condescending and bitchy little remark. Dare I say, even pithy. Then you get mad at me for engaging you with the same energy? I could post an identical screenshot from your profile of the same exchange we had from last week, where every one of your posts would be oozing with condescension and "bitchiness". You're not "holier than thou" bro, I'm sorry.

Oh ok well I guess I can pretty much accept everything you're saying except for this snippet above which I don't really understand. Who are "the people" you're referring to? Us? Or the players? I'm assuming you mean the players, in which case I don't understand how these two sentences logically follow. They seem to be two entirely different unrelated points. Is your second point/question suggesting Rhule has lost the locker room or that the players look at him unfavorably? If so, what are you basing that off of? Maybe I missed a report or some murmurings or something, but I don't recall hearing anything suggesting that players have turned on Rhule or something. I don't think we really have a finger on the pulse of the locker room. The only thing that comes even remotely close to depicting the vibe of the team is that video from a week or so ago that showed all the players + Rhule having fun with that sporting event (ping pong, soccer, squash, etc.). But I am assuming you would argue that that was just team propaganda. I'm just not sure what else we have to go off of. Also what are the metrics by which we are evaluating the "top 5 coaches" in Carolina? Like are we lumping all the coaches into one bin? Like James Campen (o-line coach) vs. Phil Snow (defensive coordinator) vs. Mike Siravo (defensive run game coordinator - yeah I had to look that up)? Cause that doesn't really make sense to me. There are probably a bunch of objectively good NFL head coaches and coordinators who have positional coaches underneath them who are better at their respective coaching positions than these HC/OC/DCs are at theirs. Again, all I care about is whether these coaches have the respect and loyalty of their players. If any coach has lost the respect of their players, then I would strongly advocate immediately firing that coach. Otherwise, I think players are able to compartmentalize the roles of their multitude of coaches and be able to say like "Damn Steve Wilks is a hell of a DB coach" without that needing to be a slight or indictment on Rhule or Snow. It's not like they have a limited quantity of "respect" that they have to decide how to divvy up among their coaches.

Well, I'll need to know the character limit of your attention span before I can actually respond. Apparently it's somewhere in the ballpark of 75-125 characters. Please help me find that sweet spot between "pithy" and "long-winded".

So is your argument that Snow is some kind of puppet or figurehead but that Wilks is really going to be running the defense behind the scenes? I'm just honestly very confused the further down this rabbit hole we go, which is a staple of conspiratorial thinking. Why wouldn't Tepper force Rhule to fire Snow as well and force him to hire Wilks as the DC? Hell, then we'd have another decent option in Wilks to fill in as interim head coach if Rhule gets fired mid-season. It almost makes TOO much sense if Tepper is thinking ahead to life after Rhule. To summarize: you believe Tepper, the owner of the team, would rather leave the current DC in his position in hopes of basically indirectly neutering his authority by instilling a well-respected and experienced DC to shake things up and undermine Snow? Instead of just firing Snow outright? Yeah the 2022 Panthers will almost CERTAINLY be incredibly dysfunctional if the owner deliberately brought in Wilks to undermine Snow's authority. That's almost the epitome of dysfunction and would be entirely on Tepper. Also why would league wide respect be relevant? I only care about who has the respect of the Carolina locker room. Do you think Wilks is more respected than Snow among our current roster?

I heard it's actually Sheena Quick from the future (Year 2033 to be exact, right after Baker's 4th Super Bowl victory as the Panthers' starting QB). She just accidentally got sent back to the wrong year and has been stuck in that safe ever since.

No YOU mad!! Am I doing this right? Is this seriously the level of discourse you want to contribute to these boards? On a side-note: what do you think "pithy" means? I'm not sure how you reconcile characterizing my post as both "pithy" and a "multi-paragraph word salad" lol. Those are quite literally completely contradictory.

Oh gosh I almost forgot - I read a post on Facebook that said they actually had to go back and reshoot a couple scenes in the draft room for the Panthers Confidential because they thought Fitterer looked too tough compared to Rhule. The director had to tell Fitterer to sulk his head a little more. Also read that the sound people had to lower Fitterer's audio/increase Rhule's audio in post, in order to make him seem more assertive and commanding in the video. Oh ALSO (from the same Facebook poster): they actually hired The Rock to step in as Rhule's body double in a couple scenes to make him look more alpha.

Really? That post? Interesting. I would definitely say more "condescending" as you correctly identified the first time, but as a bleeding heart liberal, I would never dare invalidate your feelings. Bottom line is that you were the one who got fed up and stormed off during that discussion, not me. If this was an Xbox Live Call of Duty lobby, you'd totally be pwning my n00b ass with this "U mad bro?" line. But I dunno I guess it doesn't really sting very much when you're a grown adult. Just feels kinda cringe bro.

Three! Sorry I'm late. Naw I actually don't know one way or the other nor does anyone else. I just think it's kind of silly and conspiratorial to point to something like your personal interpretation of someone's body language at a press conference as evidence that the power dynamic has shifted. A bit flimsy IMO. I would love the power dynamic to be shifted, but it's gonna take more than armchair body language psychology to convince me.

That was quite generous of Tepper to force Rhule to overhaul his entire coaching staff except for his closest buddy Phil Snow! But hold up, I once saw a press conference where David Tepper blinked in Morse Code: "Rhule is holding my daughter hostage. PLEASE HELP". And at that same press conference, Tepper's arm was bent at exactly an 85.1216 degree angle and if you replace each number with its corresponding letter(s) in the alphabet then you get the message "H-E-L-P". This thread has big "I do my own research!" energy.

On a scale from 1 to: , how mad would you say I am? Frank's salt is more than enough for my stew, I don't need yours thanks. Gotta watch my sodium levels!

Oh Franky, I'm so glad I have you to follow me around in threads to tell me how mad I am, otherwise I would just never know. My "stewing" + your saltiness, what a perfect pairing we make.

To actually be fair, he's not simply "losing it to Deshaun Watson" as if there was some training camp competition that Watson just happened to win out. They apparently found the idea of starting Baker Mayfield so objectionable that they instead made a conscious and informed decision to risk throwing 3 1st round picks and $230 million guaranteed to someone who was mired in so many legal issues that his status in the league was/is legitimately in jeopardy.

I'm hoping Brady's perceived lack of power is really just a product of his footwork/technique and that if those can be coached up, he won't get bulldozed so much. Poor footwork = poor balance = easier to get pushed around. He seems like an objectively strong dude if we go off of his benchpress (30 reps), which I know isn't a very reliable indicator of playing strength, but at least it's partially a measure of foundational strength. Although benching is also inherently easier with his adorable lil baby arms, so there's that too.

God forbid you dare mention the word "clickbait" in reference to the 27th vague obscure tweet about how an anonymous source heard from their anonymous source's anonymous source that there's possibly a chance that maybe we could perhaps consider trading for Baker sometime between today and 2027...cause that's toxic as hell and I won't stand for it!!!

Not as hot as Jimmy G or Matt Corral though, amirite?? Or is there room for all three in there?

Yeah the real story here IMO is that apparently Christensen looks really good. I guess I’m one of the few people happy about that. The lineup stuff is so fluid at this point in the off-season, so panicking about it is super premature. I swear, the same people losing their minds in here are also the same exact people who were convinced for months leading up to the draft that we were gonna draft Kenny Pickett at 6.

"Get that pathetic 25-year-old geriatric weak-a@# Brady Christensen OFF MUH TEAM!!"

I'd much prefer Icky at LT from the start but as long as the best 5 o-linemen are playing (and presumably Icky at LG in that scenario), I can live with that. Personally I think it's weird and counterproductive to dwell on last year rather than being excited by Christensen being called "one of the best players on the team" when he has largely been an afterthought this offseason, but to each their own I suppose.

A grassroots movement isn't going to change the culture in here. That needs to come from leadership.

Silly me, I clicked this thread thinking it was about how much Corral has been impressing in minicamp to where he's already picking up momentum as the frontrunner to start. But nope, just another Baker thread.

FTFY. If you think Brady was more the solution, that suggests he impressed you, so what did you find impressive about him? We had a huge problem with predictable playcalling and lack of adjustments; not exactly something we can blame Cam Erving for. I think to simply look at our offensive woes on paper and blame Joe Brady for them would be silly and reductive and unfair to him, but I have yet to see anyone do that. The criticisms of him are very pointed and nuanced within the confines of his role on the team. If an offensive coordinator needs a perfectly assembled roster to be successful and doesn't know how to (or won't even attempt to) scheme around his roster limitations, then he's just not very good at his job IMO. If a defensive coordinator had major holes in his defense but chose to spam Cover 2 like he's playing Madden on Rookie mode, even though his defense continues to get gashed over and over again by an offense who routinely finds soft spots in the zone for easy 12-yard completions, I wouldn't say "well ya know...poor guy just didn't have much to work with ". I'd be thinking "DUDE! Try blitzing! Try having your DBs play press! Try to disguise your coverage! FOR THE LOVE OF GOD PLEASE TRY SOMETHING DIFFERENT". That's what watching a Joe Brady offense felt like.

Well he’s the QB Coach of a top 3 superstar QB in Josh Allen, that just might be the cushiest job in the NFL. He’s basically your little brother you give an unplugged PlayStation controller to and say “You’re doing a great job buddy!! Way to go!!!”. If he can’t finesse a halfway decent career out of this? Oof…then “oh wee mayne” as you crazy kids say. Meanwhile Rhule and his coaching staff are in all likelihood out of jobs by the end of the season. I think firing Brady may have actually ended up being the thing that salvaged his NFL career.