kungfoodude

I don't think firing him in the next few games accomplishes much but the tone of that piece is extremely concerning. I hope it is not accurate.

My fear is that Tepper isn't capable of discerning what "improvement" looks like. I think he might be buying the smoke and mirrors BS that Rhule is selling.

https://www.nfl.com/news/panthers-owner-david-tepper-expected-to-be-patient-with-head-coach-matt-rhule-as "Sources informed of the Panthers' thinking say no change is imminent for Rhule, with Panthers owner David Tepper planning to be patient rather than reactionary. But wins must come and improvement must be evident." Whelp....

I have tickets. I chose to work a 12 hour shift instead, if that tells you anything.

He'd more like a strip mall preacher.

I don't think the blowouts statt until the team completely gives up. At the current rate that may be the next few games instead of the second half of the season.

I think less and less hardcore fans are caring the same way they used to. Eventually it has to be a mutually beneficial relationship and the team isn't putting out. I can't even remember the last half-hearted HJ that they gave us.

Wrong wouldn't have made Twitter any better. Twitter has always been stupid and pointless. The fact that people didn't see it consistently amazed me.

True and although the narrative for the past two years is the offense causing the D to eventually get tired.....IDK how much I buy that.

I mean.....Tepper tried to do something different with the Rhule hire soooo.....

The offense is definitely far, far worse than the defense but the stats definitely lie about our D. They are not as good as the numbers. They aren't bad but definitely statistically overrated.

I mean.....you watch our games right?

4. Carolina Panthers The losses: vs. Cleveland, at NY Giants When Matt Rhule was coaching in college, the third year was the season in which his teams flourished. Temple went 2-10 in his first season, 6-6 in Year 2 and 10-4 in Year 3. Baylor started 1-11, then improved to 7-6 and 11-3 during Rhule's third and final season in Waco, Texas. Panthers fans would have been thrilled with double-digit wins in Rhule's third season, even given that he gets three extra games to work with at the pro level. At the very least, Carolina needed to show significant progress this season. Through two games, it's difficult to see signs of that progress. The Panthers have lost to the Browns (a team playing out the string while waiting for Deshaun Watson's 11-game suspension to expire) and the Giants (a team using the season to eat its salary-cap vegetables and evaluate Daniel Jones). The losses have come by two and three points, so the Panthers have been competitive, but these are the sorts of teams they need to be beating. I will admit I'm surprised by Carolina's offensive philosophy. After hiring Ben McAdoo as coordinator, the Panthers are flinging the ball around on early downs like they're the Bills. They actually have the league's highest early-down pass rate in neutral situations this season, ahead of those Bills, Chiefs and various other teams with superstar quarterbacks. The other teams in the top five -- the Chiefs, Ravens, Chargers and Bills -- average 0.33 EPA per dropback when they throw in those situations. The Panthers are generating minus-0.1 EPA per dropback, which is well below league average. Weekly NFL game expert picks • Game picks from our NFL experts » • PickCenter » | ESPN Chalk » More NFL coverage » What this really comes down to is first down. The Panthers have thrown the ball at the league's fifth-highest rate on first down. Quarterback Baker Mayfield hit receiver Robbie Anderson on a blown coverage for a 75-yard touchdown on a first-down pass, which is wonderful. Mayfield's success rate on first-down dropbacks, though, is only 39.3%; quarterbacks leaguewide are successful on 45.1% of their first-down dropbacks. Mayfield ranks 20th in success rate on first down, which is fine but doesn't seem to support such a heavy usage rate. What makes this even weirder is the Panthers have had a healthy start from running back Christian McCaffrey, who has missed most of the past two seasons because of various injuries. McCaffrey's passing-game routes suggest they either don't want to use him in his old role or don't think it's important. He has been targeted 10 times through two weeks, but one was on a throwaway by Mayfield and the other was starting what ESPN's Scott Van Pelt would call a "pitchy pitchy woo woo" attempt with eight seconds left in regulation against the Browns. The other eight targets are mostly screens and immediate passes into the flat. The choice routes McCaffrey used to terrify opposing linebackers in space haven't been part of the offense; he has just one catch on an option route all season. That route, coming 4.2 yards downfield, is his longest target of the season. Part of what made him such a valuable player was his ability to stress opposing teams as a receiver outside of the backfield; it's bizarre to see Carolina avoid getting their star in space. Mayfield is not off to a great start. His completion percentage is 9.5% below what NFL Next Gen Stats would expect from an average quarterback through two weeks, which is the fifth-worst mark in the league amongst starters. His overall success rate as a passer -- 29% -- is the second-worst mark, ahead of only Justin Fields, who has barely been allowed to throw the football. Drops can impact those numbers, but Next Gen Stats has credited the Panthers with only one drop so far. The Carolina defense has been better in the early going, ranking 12th in DVOA through two weeks, albeit against middling quarterbacks. Only two defenses have hit opposing quarterbacks more frequently through two weeks than Carolina, though that contact has led to only four sacks. The defense has been able to keep games close by surviving in the red zone, where seven opposing drives have yielded only two touchdowns and five field goals. For this team to start winning games, the defense is going to have to lead the way and force turnovers. The Panthers don't have a single takeaway through two weeks. Cleveland quarterback Jacoby Brissett's one notable skill is avoiding takeaways, so it's not a surprise the Browns protected the football, but it was a bit of a disappointment to see Carolina face Jones without taking home any gifts. Frankie Luvu dropped what should have been a pick-six on the sideline, so at least one significant opportunity was there for the taking. A Brissett interception was overturned by a pass interference call on CJ Henderson, which has been another woe for Carolina. The Panthers have cost themselves 133 yards with penalties this season, the seventh-worst mark in the league. It's even more damaging for a team that plays at one of the slowest paces in the league. The Panthers don't have the sort of margin for error that comes with being sloppy. What to know for the 2023 NFL draft • Big questions » | Position ranks » • Draft boards: Kiper » | McShay » • Preseason mocks: Reid » | Miller » • The QBs » | Who's No. 1? » | Sleepers » • Full rankings and reports » | More » It's difficult to pin down what the Panthers hope to be good at, let alone where they're actually succeeding in Rhule's third season. They can rush the passer. They've done a good job of punting and covering kicks with Johnny Hekker. They've generally been efficient running the football, as McCaffrey & Co. rank eighth in rushing DVOA. They've been competitive against middling opponents, but their next five games come against the Saints, Cardinals, 49ers, Rams and Buccaneers, each of whom posted winning records a year ago. Panthers fans were restless at the end of last season. Now, having gotten off to an 0-2 start before what will likely be a leap in terms of opponent quality, I can't imagine they're going to be any more patient. Rhule is 2-14 in his past 16 games, and one of those wins was against a Cardinals team starting Colt McCoy at quarterback. While Rhule's college teams seemed to get better with each passing year, the Panthers are getting worse. I'm not rooting for Rhule to be fired, and I don't think getting rid of their coach in midseason would materially help them. If Carolina starts 0-4 or 1-5 and falls out of the playoff picture before college basketball season begins, though, it's difficult to imagine him being back with the organization in 2023.

I remember that. I think that was after I went on strike from MLB. I am not really sure how NC would do with MLB. We have the Durham Bulls and a pretty sweet stadium there.

Yeah, I guess Robby is from the "participation trophy" sports track. People rarely get encouragement for being shitty employees at their personal jobs either.

Yeah, he was talking about retiring and then says he is only playing for Rhule. He pretty clearly isn't that passionate about football.

Gotta love a guy with that much of a chip on his shoulder.

I bet he retires after Rhule gets canned and he gets cut.

The longer this fiasco goes on, the more Tepper is gonna prove to the NFL that he doesn't know what he is doing. Everyone knew after early year 2 that Rhule didn't know what he was doing.

Robbie is a classic loser. Sadly, Rhule encourages this sort of behavior. Just look at his lack of accountability for himself. I am afraid we might have to purge a lot of that young core that he might have ruined.

Yeah, I defended him all last season but if you think you can poo on the fans after how shitty you have played on this new contract.....he can get fuged. I will never support fans being abusive towards players or coaches but fans can boo as heartily as they want if the team or players are stinking it up. Let me tell you, after this losing streak, we have every right to boo until the teams ears ring.

Robbie is a sackless, prideless bitch. He's a fragile loser. fug him.

At least we found our window licking fan.

He's a pretty basic downhill runner with mediocre vision and below average agility. Those are dime a dozen traits at the NFL level. Our previous journeymen backup RB's(and current) are much better players.