backINblack28

to be fair, being #1, especially to this extent, is normally an outright unavoidable historical curse. we shall see

top 5 OL paired with 30th defensive DVOA. Bad QB play is a toss up to continue as Mariota was apparently doing something to keep his job most of the season over Ridder. Those 3 skill players have to achieve something more impressive than they have both individually and together for me to care about their last names. London fumbled several games in crunch time and has way below average depth behind him. Pitts has been fine but he's not going to give our DC nightmares. Idc what a RB did when no one on that offensive threatened anything / now people will actively try to stop him. In my mind I'm giving them a L 2022 CAR @ ATL and if you flip their 3 point win with us beating the browns and them if not for the refs, then they have 6 wins and we have 9 and I think it's a more accurate indicator of where those respective rosters stand. The defensive upgrades could pull them closer to top 20 in defensive DVOA which scares me zero in the face of their offense best case threatening league average. The stretch below is outright objectively gross. They basically lost to us and then scraped to <=3 point wins against garbage and beat mostly Gabbert/Kyle Trask in the finale. Sunday Oct. 23 at Cincinnati BengalsPaycor Stadium, Cincinnati, OH 1:00pm ETFOX L 35-17 Sunday Oct. 30 Carolina PanthersMercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, GA 1:00pm ETFOX W 37-34(OT) Sunday Nov. 6 Los Angeles ChargersMercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, GA 1:00pm ETFOX L 20-17 Thursday Nov. 10 at Carolina PanthersBank of America Stadium, Charlotte, NC 8:15pm ETPrime Video L 25-15 Sunday Nov. 20 Chicago BearsMercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, GA 1:00pm ETFOX W 27-24 Sunday Nov. 27 at Washington CommandersFedExField, Landover, MD 1:00pm ETFOX L 19-13 Sunday Dec. 4 Pittsburgh SteelersMercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, GA 1:00pm ETCBS L 19-16 Sunday Dec. 11 BYE Sunday Dec. 18 at New Orleans SaintsCaesars Superdome, New Orleans, LA 1:00pm ETFOX L 21-18 Saturday Dec. 24 at Baltimore RavensM&T Bank Stadium, Baltimore, MD 1:00pm ETFOX L 17-9 Sunday Jan. 1 Arizona CardinalsMercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, GA 1:00pm ETFOX W 20-19 Sunday Jan. 8 Tampa Bay BuccaneersMercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, GA 1:00pm ETFOX W 30-17

their roster is aggressively mediocre on D. I still see nothing threatening from a skill position group (or OL) that makes me think a toss up at young QB will be able to do much

Scouts, GMs, coaches want dudes to be gifted with Cam size because they thing everything but size is teachable/coachable/fixable. Not that I'm arguing that, it can be true and work out. But dudes like Curry and Young have spent their entire lives overcoming their perceived shortcomings/the reason every QB / PG doesn't look like them. Dudes who have grown up gifted the entire time with athleticism have had less reasons to work and to adapt to a game that they could dominate solely on gifts. It still takes the mentality of a Cam/Manning to buck even athletic gifts. Still. Smaller guys who have been adapting their entire lives-- it's strange for everyone to be running around screaming 'TRUST ME THEY'RE GOING TO STOP ADAPTING RIGHT NOW.' I mean look where Curry was drafted and what people said about him. For him to essentially admit that same bias up front about BY seems like---shouldn't we be smarter about saying Curry was too small to hold up, to defend, to get his shot off, to have prolonged success? People who king size also ignore that at every level, Curry and Young were smaller than everyone, and they succeeded--so asking will they succeed against taller/bigger dudes is a question that has already been answered by them bucking the trend to literally get to this point, and it should be something that works in their favor perception wise but it doesn't because we just want to cling to old ideas. People born with certain athletic size/traits etc don't have to adapt...their mold is fit towards the position and so they can play it. When you mix that with someone like P Manning caring as much about the mental side of it--you get a double whammy. But you have undersized guys like Luke, RW, Brees, even Brady in the sense that he's certainly no AR/Cam--they have to create a separator from the pack of all dudes who have those gifts to separate/elevate themselves...and they don't get to this point without doing it the entire way. People ignoring that Bryce has been avoiding big hits/doesn't have injury troubles to this point just to argue that he's at a greater risk--it just seems strange. We go off on injury history when it does exist but we don't laud that this dude who looks like he's one hit away from getting killed---literally has never been/hasn't missed much time at all? That literally doesn't make sense.

the same reasons people don't think Victor Wembanyama shouldn't shoot threes. because they're made stupid by history that means nothing for someone breaking the mold's success or lack thereof. the inherent sarcasm of your question is ironic because if the answer is what you think it is, then Drew Brees doesn't exist and therefore isn't 2nd in literally every QB stat ever. so yes. the answer to 'why don't coaches at other levels allow possible Brees to play QB' is because conservative stubborn coaches at every level have zero interest in taking a risk to break the mold. we've had enough conservative defensive coaches that have to be dragged kicking and screaming into a 250lb top 20 rusher of all time get one yard on 4th and 1--it doesn't feel like our fanbase should be that averse to taking a risk for a change to shatter that mold

Agree. The point everyone loves to ignore when complaining about height is that at every level of football, coaches are like we thought Frank was when he stepped into the building. Wanting the taller QB/prototype. So for Bryce, at literally every single level, to even PLAY QB is to overcome every single decision maker he has come into contact with fighting against those biases. We don't have examples of short QBs because we as a football society historically have literally NOT ALLOWED SHORT DUDES TO PLAY QUARTERBACK. Great players in any sport that have no comparison---that rarely is a negative thing when you're on this level. It's more often than not something you say about the guys who wear gold jackets. And for the literal fanbase of Cam Newton who has literal zero comparison in history to be out here screaming about how the guy we might draft that has DESTROYED EVERY level of competition regardless of any limitations has no comparison to success doesn't inspire confidence in our optimism in who we pick. We should literally be one of a few fanbases who understand that pundits and people scrambling for reasons to nitpick dudes/come up with BS when we have to wait from Feb-April for anything to literally happen. Midway through this year if Bryce is tearing sh up, we're going to be posting these videos from pundits saying sh about him being a shorty and laughing at them. If it were me I wouldn't want any quotes around here on record of me doubting that a dude who has destroyed the mold wouldn't get to the final level and continue to do so but that's why you won't find me trashing any of the dudes we're choosing between. Having a preference is fine. Trashing the other pick because you do so is the sort of bias real Panther fans had to shrug, sigh and shake off during Cam's entire career. If you can't appreciate positivity / rooting for whoever our staff picks, I literally just cannot fathom what the entire eff you are actually doing here. Having rooted for Cam on the way to a pretty solid HOF case/literal league MVP, the best scenario for me is that you have the dude who doesn't fit the mold BREAK the mold and shut everyone tf up and become that next Brees/Wilson case for the next guy except he's atop both of them. And I'll be screaming it at Falcons fans if Bryce runs out of that tunnel, even though I have to admit I feel like half of my bias towards CJ this whole time is that wearing a Panthers #7 stitched is way more attractive to me than #9. But I've let that and other things go and from all the times I was down in Atlanta hearing their fans trash Cam and saying racist/idiotic sh about him--it's way more fun those times when he runs out of the tunnel and the away fans are screaming about his size. Then once the game starts, they're quiet, and once the 4th quarter starts, they're gone.

there was a 4-6 game stretch last year where Fields was putting up the best QB numbers in the league (for those of us who have watch and respected Cam's game and know that 150 passing yards isn't a bad passing number when you pair it with 150 rushing yards) without any literal teammates. Not really understanding the narrative to use him as a negative comparison to these guys but go off

best possible round 1 matchup, but nothing will be easy at this point. Rod/the Canes way of play translates well in playoff series. I would start Raanta at home and Freddie on the road. Freddie has taken lots of grief and while he's not playing up to his best, I thought he played well in FL other than the one glaring mistake we would have had a 3 goal win. Gonna need him if we have a long run in us. If the Rangers and or Bruins run into any trouble, the playoff outlook for us changes drastically.

sure they do--and that's what's lacking--the accountability there. it gets exposed over and over again in the playoffs as so terribly subjective but also while they let tons of stuff go until they decide not to. then nothing changes, just like NFL. people love to talk about the chiefs/bengals trash reffing that weren't paying attention when the panthers got screwed out of browns/@ ATL because of the same

i agree--i mean i don't agree with him in the sense that i think i'd keep all the refs--i can see dropping one linesman cause if you miss an offsides it'll be reviewed anyway. they should get rid of the being shorthanded sh if you get a review wrong cause goaltender interference is subjective as 'did he catch a football' and is ridiculous to cost you a goal if the refs stand by what was called. i do think some of the stuff should be plenty reviewable

I agree. We as a fanbase have nothing to do but nitpick at this point. But when people question CJ OR Bryce's competitiveness I'm just like... There are easier ways to say "I don't watch (or have an ounce of comprehension for) college football."

i meant what he said--not your response. he had zero to gain by throwing at the combine and plenty to lose--as i stated in my previous post. sorry for the confusion

I think we spent enough time as a football society being idiots about when players didn't play in bowl games (possibly costing themselves time/millions etc at the next level for arguable reasons at best). I guess we're just doing that now about throwing at the combine where in a job all about timing and nuance you get zero of it/throw to randos at the combine and have none of what you have had and will have at every level--practice with who you're throwing to. If you're the consensus top pick which he has been for over a year, I fail to see reason for anyone questioning literally anything he might do to make his consensus not consensus. Easy.

as someone who has preferred Stroud I'm hoping this is sarcasm. Bryce being the #1 recruit out of HS because he obliterated in hs and then living up to that for years on the biggest CFB stage is uh, the epitome of the complete opposite of everything he just said

i'm asssuming he means one ref and one linesman which makes sense while also advocating for replay review of penalties

Didn't see a whole lot of how Lyon is playing now in his time as a Checker/Hurricane. Let's remind him of who he is.

Fields was objectively a top 5 QB for an extended stretch last year pretty much right after they allowed him to start taking off. As someone who hates OSU and the Bears I'm not really sure where anyone could involve themselves in a football convo starting from a place of saying Fields isn't good

Devils have more regulation wins so they have that tiebreaker given we get a point and they tie us with 2. this scenario helps us regardless. we're in either way. we may get a more favorable opponent round 1 but avoiding the rangers for 4-7 games means we either see them or someone who beat them. it's time to see what our ceiling really is. getting a playoff-like road game (with a possible first round opponent) to decide the division but not to keep us out of the playoffs is a much more perfect scenario than anything being handed to us at this point. Go prove it. Given our injury such and whatnot this is what I'll say for Rod. When it comes do or die time, this team has come up with results much more often than not. LFG Canes. Hang a metro banner tonite and we'll see how the rest shakes out later.

while I understand that, it's also a chance for Rod to give Fred a chance to perform in a high pressure situation that realistically isn't the end of the run if it goes wrong. This is the first time we've had Fred healthy at this point and while I agree Raanta has been playing the best of our 3, he also completely loses it on the road so I want both guys fresh and with game action under their belt. Will be interesting to see.

2009 Rams - 1-15 2010 Panthers - 2-14 2012 Colts - 2-14 2012 Bills - 6-10 (this was a super weak QB draft--Geno Smith and Mike Glennon went after) 2013 Jags - 4-12 2014 Bucs - 2-14 2015 Rams - 7-9 (traded up) 2016 Bears - 3-13 2017 Browns - 0-16 2018 Cardinals - 3-13 The context here that most rookie QBs go into terrible rosters with unproven coaches here is relevant. The 2015 Rams would seemingly be a more fair comparison, but with Jeff Fisher, they traded up to get Goff and then started Case Keenum for the first 9 games of the season, then Fisher got fired midway thru Goff starting 0-7. We are truly in a pretty unique situation. I at least think it's plenty arguable that half of those QBs (as rookies) could be inserted onto this team with this staff and make the playoffs.

Florida can still avoid Boston in the first round, they have something to play for at home

i think you're right--if they go undrafted they can sign with whoever when the season ends. even if they are drafted (like rod's son)--they can choose to not sign and become a free agent

well in my eyes, the biggest Stroud questions were that he had a supporting cast that at least last year from a WR perspective, Young did not have anything close to. For me, the Iowa and Michigan games from Stroud offered moments where I wowed at the TV--several times in each game, and sat there thinking "even though his receivers run the routes, catch the balls he throws, get open, and extend plays with their talent, he is still making eye popping throws, processing insanely quick," and for me his process/timing from looking off/making decision to throw to the moment when the ball hits the WR hands is one of the fastest processes I've seen in college. We can make tons of comparisons to what Stroud could be in the league based on his strengths but all of the guys that come up (Dak, Carr, Goff, Burrow, etc) I did not see that specific strength from in college (didn't watch Carr at Fresno St tbh but saw plenty of the others and Burrow is mostly an exception because his one year was just that--exceptional). So--after the Iowa/Michigan tapes, THEN that made the UGA performance in the playoffs with the stakes against the best defense available to face provide the final test/answer to my question of 'is CJ elevating talent around him or are they elevating him" to which I think the answer can be both but that CJ is also doing insanely impressive things regardless of the talent surrounding him. I think Young does the same--I've never questioned that about him in high school or college. I do have questions about it translating as well to pro, but I think it's going to be exciting AF to find out, and I think the prospect of having a non-traditional QB is normally the more exciting prospect of rooting for and being right about---but that's the inherent risk too is that when/if it doesn't, we're sitting here staring a lot of "told you so" in the face. I'll add this too--in some respects with that it almost seems like Houston has the easier path here. They just take whoever is left between the two and if THEY are wrong--they don't have to answer to "why didn't you take the other guy?" At the same time--i've said it before. I like that we put our nuts on the table and did the thing and that I don't have to ask 'which retread QBs are available/can they play at league average for 8 games' anymore. I get a dude whose jersey I can wear while he runs out the tunnel for half a decade or a full one. I'm excited AF for that.

I mean--the combine going well could have also just made it more obvious that if they liked Young and then they saw good things out of Stroud it could still mean that they preferred / might still prefer Young but that the depth of QB at 1 was something they then felt stronger about. I barely lean Stroud and would be happy either way. I trust that whoever they pick showed our staff enough to separate themselves from whoever they don't pick--for me personally, right now that separator is the injury/height questions coupled with the fact that it does seem like sometimes it seems laborious for Young to make some throws--but I trust that if we draft him there's something they are seeing there that eases those concerns. When we beat the Bucs at home, I loved that we beat Tom Brady but I just remembered thinking well, this probably cost us Bryce Young. Maybe not... But then after UGA/OSU game/watching all three of AR/BY/CJ I started to slightly lean Stroud. Mostly just excited going forward for whoever it is.

I feel like this timeline doesn't detract from the point I made about us making a lot of these decisions after the combine. This article talks about how Fitterer pulled an offer before the combine and then after, he decided to not only put it back on the table but add a superstar WR to it. That he pulled it before the combine and was okay with adding to it and going thru with it after to me isn't nothing esp that it's juxtaposed with Bryce Young not throwing there. Doesn't mean we're going to do something or not but it lines up with what Vegas and the consensus of mock drafts think.