Mr. Scot

Well...

No argument

I'm always on board with this.

Most qualified guy on staff is Todd Wash. He was the Jags DC for five years. He impressed enough to get head coaching interviews. He's also got history with Canales from Seattle.

Not talking about pressers. Guys like Dan Graziano, Joe Person and others talk to people behind the scenes. Team officials don't automatically think the way we do. They make decisions we disagree with. Sometimes they're right. Sometimes they're wrong. Either way, you can't ever assume that their evaluations and conclusions are gonna be the same as ours.

And if Matthew Stafford has a historically awful day, Tet McMillan didn't drop a pass, Rico Dowdle was fully healthy and Xavier Legette was contributing, we might have won by even more. You can use those sorts of "what if" scenarios to support any kind of point you want. I prefer not to even bother with them.

Yeah...no. See above.

Ryan Grigson was a lousy GM. That said, he had training, experience, access to information that none of us do, and the responsibility to craft a full roster, not just sit back and snipe about individual decisions. He was better equipped than even the smartest people on this or any other internet forum to run an NFL team... ...but he failed. Why? Because he wasn't competing against us. He was competing against Brett Veach, Brad Holmes, Les Snead and 28 other professional talent evaluators and roster builders. Being better than us is relatively easy given the advantages he has, but that's not his job. His job is to be better than those other guys, and he wasn't. On a personal level, I could frame that as Marty Hurney was better equipped than me. He made mistakes I might not have made, but in the real world I probably couldn't have done his job. I always try to keep that in perspective. They're human, they're gonna fail, but it doesn't necessarily make me superior to them.

I've read a lot of BTS stuff from NFL front offices, and what I've seen doesn't reflect this kind of thinking. The reason they picked up Darnold's fifth was the same reason they traded for him, because they believed he could be the guy. When they pick up Young's option it'll be for the same reason. Fans rationalize stuff like this because they can't imagine team decision makers not seeing players differently than how they see them. But they do. Hell, we spend entire offseasons complaining because teams being back guys like Ian Thomas.

I share your opinion, but there's pretty much no indication the team does.

I expect them to take the "build around him" approach.

Graziano, Fowler and Person all basically see the fifth year option as a no brainer. That doesn't exactly scream "looking for an upgrade".

Not about what I think. Can you find any sources suggesting the team wants to bring competition for Bryce? (I haven't seen any, just the opposite) That situation could change but right now, I'd be surprised.

Not if the team doesn't see it that way.

Most, if not all of them. It isn't "coddling" either. It's standard practice. When a team names a starter, he's the guy. Like I said previously, the Bucs aren't going to go into next year telling Baker Mayfield he has to win the starting role again. He keeps it by default. That's how NFL teams operate. Our feelings don't matter.

How many teams with established starters ever bring in competition? Do you see the Bucs telling Mayfield "you were the starter last year but this year you have to win the job again"? If the team believes Bryce can be the guy (and just about all indications right now are that they do) they're not gonna put money and resources into another quarterback. They'll direct those toward shoring up somewhere else. You don't believe Bryce should be the guy. I don't believe Bryce should be the guy. Hell, a solid percentage of this board doesn't believe Bryce should be the guy. But the only people whose opinions matter appear to think differently.

Reich gave Evero leeway to pick most of his defensive position coaches, but Wash didn't have any history with Evero. His connection to the 23 Panthers was via Dom Capers who'd worked with him in a senior assistant role when Wash was the jags Defensive Coordinator. By coincidence, Wash actually has a little more history with Dave Canales. He was Seattle's DL Coach for two of the years Canales was coaching receivers. A couple of the guys Evero brought in have since been fired. I'm still surprised Evero wasn't after last season, but after hearing that his contract end this year, I feel it's a lot more likely that he and the Panthers part ways next year. It's just a matter of whose decision it is (quite possibly mutual).

I've tweaked a back muscle turning over in bed. (wish I was joking)

They believe Bryce is "ascending" per reports. We'll find out if they're right or not.

I don't doubt that they'll upgrade the backup spot. I'd be extremely shocked if that didn't happen. I'd be equally shocked if that player doesn't come in understanding that he won't be competing for the starting job.

The Legette of this season just isn't producing. He's definitely got the physical ability, but there are a lot of plays where he looks like he's either screwing up or just half-assing it. Yes that's fixable, but they gotta know why it's happening and he has to be willing to make the effort to fix it.

I was never sure how much of that story to believe. Rhule had final say on roster decisions, so he could have overruled a decision if he wanted to.

Because I don't think they plan on bringing anybody in except for a role that's understood to be a backup. I get that fans want competition for Bryce, but there's no indication the team does.

I listened. He framed it in the contwxt of hall of fame type conversations and having to stop people (saying "whoa") from going too far in praising a player. But at no point did Person suggest the Panthers should extend Bryce. He only pointed out that extension talks would be the next step in the natural progression, but even conditioned that on Bryce continuing to perform well.