SmokinwithWilly

It is a hypothetical that follows a very unique series of events surrounding Bryce from the hiring and firing of Frank to bringing in yet another QB who offers nothing to a team with a bottom tier QB as an entrenched starter. Reject my premise if you want to, it doesn't matter to me. Tepper has always been long to admit his mistakes when they have been glaringly obvious to everyone else. We've seen it over and over. What I've suggested is perfectly plausible for our narcissistic owner.

What's more likely? An entire competant NFL front office (as many here suggest Morgan runs) has watched Bryce struggle week in and week out to perform at the bare minimum of NFL QBs for 3 years and has decided that's the future of this organization, OR our owner who has proven repeatedly he can't keep his nose out of team decision making has declared Bryce is our QB until he decides otherwise, especially given he's the one that drafted him in the first place?

Seems like a more reasoned method of selecting players than any Fitts ever used.

I'm really not stressing about upgrading from Bryce. I'm frustrated with our inability (or refusal) to recognize overall bad QB performance and failure to seriously address the issue. QB is the most impactful position on the field, and we're not only settling for what we've been given to this point, but we've rewarded it with a fully guaranteed 5th year extension for a player that's never played 2 NFL franchise QB quality games back to back in 3 seasons. I can't understand how that's ok from a coach's or GM's viewpoint. Successful franchises don't do things like this. It just doesn't make sense. We do not have a top half of the league QB right now. Since we don't have that player, we should be looking for him. Pickett isn't it. Grier isn't it. Bryce hasn't proven he is yet. Until you have that sure fire franchise QB, you keep looking. You're not consistently making the playoffs, a deep run, or a SB appearance without one. What's the worst that could happen? We end up with 2 potential number 1 QBs? How horrible.

That doesn't look like a stache.

The pattern of what we've done before, during and after the trade and selection of Bryce points to Tepper being involved in his selection and continued presence as the unquestioned starter. Pickett sucked in Philly, he just didn't start. If he hadn't sucked, Pittsburg wouldn't have gotten rid of him as a 1st round QB. Grier is so bad we already cut him once. He offers zero upside. There were FA QBs available last season that we could have gotten over Dalton who actually outperformed Bryce. The bar is low, ridiculously low. But we keep adding people who have proven they are below that bar. Bryce is a bottom tier QB. We should be actively looking to improve the roster. You can say virtually no QB3s and few QB2s could challenge Bryce. That's true. But it also means there may be some that can. We're not looking for those guys. We should be. They could definitely challenge a KP or Grier. The goal is winning seasons and winning the division. Relying on the Falcons to win so you can get into the playoffs with a losing record in a weak division isn't a recipe for success.

Im not angry. Im disappointed. I want to win. Anyone who has watched Bryce play the last 3 years and thinks that this team has in any way seriously addressed the glaring deficiencies in our QB room is deluding themselves. It's been explained ad nauseum how our FO has protected Bryce from feeling even slightly challenged or pressured. A GM without an interfering owner would have brought in another QB to at least give the team a better chance at winning. We just gave an extension to a QB that only got 3k yards on the last play of his 16th game of the year. Indy admitted AR wasn't good enough by bringing in Jones to compete for the starting role. Tennessee drafted Ward to replace Levis. Stroud hasn't repeated his 1st year and Mills' performance was decent when he filled in after Stroud's injury and some were calling for him to remain starter. His future there is still in question even with a 5th year. We should have done the same, especially given that Bryce was benched. Bringing in Grier is just another glaring billboard pronouncing the obvious. Dave Tepper still has his hands in the daily operations of this team. He controls the QB room because Bryce was his pick. Until Tepper finally admits that Bryce has barely lived up to the standards of a NFL Qb, we're going to spend our days reminiscing of when we were mediocre and finished 9-7. It's just discouraging. We'll address every position on the field except the one with a glaringly obvious shortcoming. I had hoped Tepper really had backed off. Bryce's 5th year, Dalton's 2 year contract then trade, Kenny Pickett, Will Grier, Jack Plummer, and Hendon Hooker say otherwise. It already feels like it's going to be a hard year of Panthers football to watch.

Cinci feels like Carolina when we had Cam. We didn't prioritize protecting Cam. Cinci has done the same with Burrow.

If we're just looking for a body, get one that we haven't seen before. Draft a late round prospect or an udfa with traits. Take a look at something different. If both are getting cut anyway, I'd rather take a shot on the guy that has .1% of becoming something than the guy that's already proven he's 100% of nothing as a QB prospect.

Now we just need Bo Callahan and our QB room is complete.

We already know what he is and it's not good. Bringing in a body just for the sake of bringing in a body doesn't add anything to the team. Keep looking for a number 2 that could maybe be more. Always try to get better.

This is just sad at this point. It's hard to belive in Morgan when he does poo like this.

Too bad Scott Fitterer isn't GM somewhere.

I can't see it happening. If we were seriously thinking about taking a 1st round QB, then there's no way we would have offered Bryce the 5th year. He would have played on the final year of his rookie contract. We've done just about everything possible to keep Bryce from being challenged or even the appearance of a challenge in the QB room. Drafting Simpson doesn't make sense if you look at what we've done with regards to our QB room the past 3 years.

This is what Fitts did. He panicked and ended up on the end of runs or just completely out of position. Reading the draft is a gift and not one he had ever been given.

I've got no issues bringing him in as an udfa. Doesn't really cost us anything other than a roster spot. I'm just hoping we get serious about improving our QB room.

I've been saying for a long time Bryce and his stay here are the result of Tepper and his ego. You don't limit a coach and GM to a specific QB unless you have something to try and prove. Big Daddy Dave is trying to prove he knows football as well as he does financial matters.

I think for Dan to have gotten the GM job, he had to be involved pretty heavily as Fitt's assistant. I've been an assistant and I've had them. If all Dan did was agree to whatever Scott said, then he was nothing more than a coffee guy. I'm sure he was doing evaluations, draft boards, going after FAs, all that stuff. Fitts couldn't do it all. How much Fitts listened to him we'll never really know, but I'm sure he was giving his input. I condemn him for being part of that group and part of the results of the results of that team. His first year drafting was horrible, very reminiscent of Fitts drafts. Reaches and projects. His 2nd year was better. We'll see what happens this year and how his team building overall comes together. Right now I think we're a 7-10 team, very limited by our QB play. Hopefully Bryce either turns a corner into a franchise QB or tanks so spectacularly we have no choice but to move on. If he rides that roller coaster again, I hope Dan can admit it's time to look elsewhere.

We need a true FS and have for a long time. A good FS makes everyone's life easier on the back side. Some positions you can't just throw anyone in and have success. FS is one of those.

I was surprised there weren't a few more with jammed or broken fingers. I know they say catch it with your hands, but with Cam, a body catch might have been the safer bet, at least for the fingers.

Cam had trouble with touch, especially on the shorter throws. I remember watching him, especially on screens, thinking damn that had to hurt when it hit receivers in the fingers.

We've needed a true returner for a long time. We seem content to throw whoever back there. Returning kicks is a craft that is heavily undervalued here even though it can greatly impact a game. Devin Hester was feared for a reason. It's a lot easier to drive 40 yards than 75.

We need that twitchy slot guy that can just go.

I'm not saying he doesn't, just that he's gotten a lot of flack on this board for not devoting himself to his craft and focusing on his social media presence. It was more just an observation of how he gets ripped on, and Bryce, who's openly said he isn't going to address footwork problems, gets crickets. Greatness is never satisfied. I'd like to see some Luke level of devotion again.