Captroop

I watched Godzilla: Minus One instead of watching the game. And it was 100% the right call. I got out of the show, turned on the phone, and looked at how my fantasy team was doing. Then I played a mobile game. Checking to see what our score was on a game-day Sunday was maybe the forth or fifth thing on my mind. That says a lot. And when I saw we'd lost 6 to 28, I wasn't even bothered, much less surprised. I've never been so disinterested in Panthers football, and that's really something the eggheads and bean-counters in our FO should be worried about, because I'm sure I'm not alone. Sidenote: Go see Godzilla Minus One. I'm not being hyperbolic when I say I think it's the best movie of the year.

Honestly, to save this franchise, we start the process of replacing Bryce right now. Step 1. Bring in Veteran Starting QB. Open up "QB competition." Will it look bad that we're going into year 2 with our #1 overall in a competition for the starting job? Maybe. On paper possibly, but at this point, I think everyone around the league acknowledges that Bryce isn't going to be our future starter. It might be bad optics for a couple of weeks, but really, we're such a joke at this point, would it even make headlines? It doesn't matter, though. The competition is the farce; it's just to get Bryce out of the driver's seat so we can slowly start to get him to fade into the background, and when we ultimately cut him (or hopefully trade him to a competent franchise for a sixth rounder), it barely makes waves. Step 2. Stop making moves. Clearly every move we've made has just dug ourselves in deeper. Our moves to horde draft picks have yielded duds. And the talent we've traded away has not been replaced. So we need to take a break from hording picks, being in on every deal, and selling off our talented players. Because here is where you end up: talentless. Here's my controversial take; I still don't disagree with passing on 2 firsts for Burns. He's a moderately good DE, who is not worth the money he's demanding. He's not a lynch-pin you built a defense around. But the good news is that was on full display this year, so he's in much worse bargaining position this year. Everyone saw he's not worth Bosa money, so no one is going to offer it to him. And frankly, he's a guy we should hold onto, because when we start to right the ship, and we're winning games, his mood is going to improve, and he's the kind of player you are glad you have on your team when you're a contender. Step 3. Build the F***ING O-LINE. I feel like I've been a broken record on this since the Gettleman era. Everything starts with the O-Line. It keeps your QB healthy. It gives your WRs time to get open. It keeps drives alive. It gives your defense a rest. If you don't have an O-Line, you do not have an NFL football team. Period. The end. Use our remaining draft picks. Use our FA dollars. Build a stout line of actual NFL caliber linemen. Step 4. Take a flyer on a late round or UDFA QB. We don't have the capital to draft a marquis name QB for the next several years. Nor should we. And going back to Step 2, we shouldn't try to. Because rolling the dice on an early round QB again is just another year neglecting glaring holes in the O-Line and skill positions. And the emergence of no-names like Purdy, Browning and DeVito as starting-caliber QBs with next to no investment made in them should show that there is talent to be mined later in the draft. And if they have the tools around them to be successful they can be. So, if you're going to roll the dice on a rookie QB, in my book, it makes a lot more sense to spend less. Because look what our #1 overall, consensus best QB in the draft is doing for us. If nothing comes from him? We didn't give up much. And if we strike gold, people will forget the name Bryce Young as easily as they did Trey Lance. TL;DR - We need to start putting ourselves in a position to build a more talent-rich team, and rid ourselves of Bryce in a way that allows the egomaniacal idiots involved to save face.

I don't see how you can evaluate a trade except by taking the outcome into account. Evaluating the hypothetical value is pointless. That's like rationalizing spending $100k on lottery tickets because you COULD have won the Powerball that's worth billions. That logic didn't work on my wife, and it doesn't work here. The time to debate the value of the trade up to #1 should taken place before the pick was made. Now it's made, so the trade should be evaluated based on what Bryce cost us, what Bryce has produced, and the icing on this shitcake is witnessing the opportunity cost in the form of Stroud.

6-7 is good enough to get you #1 in this division. With Darnold and DJ we'd be running the South. Reich could have gotten us to the playoffs.

So, what are we thinking now? Climbing the list to #1 overall like our pick for the Bears?

It's really funny in my work fantasy league watching the teams get into a waiver wire bidding war every week to pick up the Def that's playing the Panthers that week.

Our bed was made once we traded for #1 overall. That was a potentially franchise-killing trade. I was, and stand by advocating for staying with the guy in my avatar. We should have let him be our Rodney Peete. We should have rolled with mediocrity for one more year. Because of exactly the reasons we're seeing. Regardless of how much the board wouldn't shut up about it, a franchise QB wasn't our missing piece. We've had 7 starting QBs look terrible in a row. Eventually you'd start to think that QB wasn't the issue. The best QB in the draft was never going to, and indeed isn't going to save us. As much as I was, and still am convinced Stroud was the better pick, I must admit Stroud would have looked terrible here. And we'd be saying we fugged up by not paying attention to the S2 scores while Bryce lit it up in Houston. Fugging prime Tom Brady would look terrible here. We are a bad team with no talent. Our solution for that was trading away our talent and our ability to add new talent. We shoulda stayed at 9, and started to build the OL that has made every QB since 2015 Cam Newton look like garbage. Do you honestly think Dalton with DJ, Thielen and a shiny new #9 overall lineman would have a 1-10 record? And here's the kicker, even if he was worse, we'd still have #1 overall in the 2024 draft. And we'd still have DJ, a better line, and a better landing spot for Dalton's eventual replacement.

Goes to show that WRs like Ridley and Chase are what are needed to succeed in the game right now. You can literally pluck a homeless guy from the bus station and he can lead a game winning drive as a QB.

We got to taste a lead for about a minute. Was nice.

I like how he plays all coy like, "Not me, but just generally a player can step in and be a coach." But he's literally wearing a hat that says "HC." If you think that's just a happy accident I got a bridge to sell you. Also, it was nice of Rich Eisen to let Greg film a job interview during his show.

I have a hard time calling the unfortunate guy who happened to rudder the worst team we've ever assembled our worst coach. To me, the worst coach is someone who squandered a talented roster or missed a window of opportunity. This team, this year had no chance of being successful, and failing to live up to even the low standards we should have expected is still hardly the most egregious crime. Frank will be out least memorable coach, but on the grading scale, I'm forced to give him an "I" for Incomplete.

That really is our Super Bowl this year. Literally just not handing the Bears #1 overall. The issue is, unlike the Wilks situation, the problem here isn't just gross coaching incompetence and a team that's been demoralized by playing under a snake-oil windbag. We have absolutely no talent. A "Leader of Men" won't change that.

Trading CMC was the right move. For us he was a Lamborghini sitting in front of a mobile home. He was a luxury that puts a complete team over the edge. On the Panthers he would have just squandered what was left of his good years on a failure of a team. The results of the pick haul didn't pan out, but we needed to take that shot. And if you were a CMC fan at all you should be happy he's gone somewhere he can flourish rather than being run into the ground by a team that was not a game-changing running back away from being confused with a competent franchise.

This is why I can see it working. Greg is I think the most competitive player I've ever seen on the team. Maybe Smitty. But Greg DEMANDED the ball when the game was on the line. He is a guy who hates to lose more than he wants to win. I love the culture he would create in Carolina.

Everyone has Tepper's number: Tepper getting dragged by literally EVERYONE. Most, surprisingly, have been coming to Frank's defense. It's not a Huddle secret. Everyone has figured out that Tepper is the problem.

Duce Staley left the Lions for this. Woof.

Well. I guess we're cleaning house then.

This is definitely the lowest. Our previous lows, we at least had the draft to look forward to. Knowing how little talent we have. Knowing that we've earned a 1st overall pick and don't even get to use it. Knowing that we have little hope of improving our team with the draft capital we have... I can't think of a time where we were lower, and I honestly couldn't see a pathway to improvement. We're at the lowest point, and I don't think we've hit rock bottom yet on our tumble down. That's the worst era in franchise history.

Here is my bold prediction. The next head coach of the Carolina Panthers (not including interim) will not be our head coach in 2026.

How did we fare on picking HCs when this was still a somewhat desirable destination?

You realize what a terrible argument this is, right? You're saying the only people we can attract are the people who are grateful because they wouldn't get a shot at a well run organization, or people who don't care how well they perform because they stand to make a lot of money either way ... that's not a good thing. You see that, right?

This all boils down the the #1 overall pick. The amount they gave up, that needed to be the undisputed greatest draft pick of all time. But as it turned out, we got Bryce... No draft, no roster. Reich and Fitt bet their professional careers on Young, and it didn't work out. So they have to be as well. The only thing that will help us heal is time. We're going to suck until we suck long enough to draft an actual game-changer with the #1 overall pick we've earned. And that is at least 2 years away.

Well, I guess we'll ind out now won't we

Okay, play that out. "I'm sure I could do better. Sure, the owner won't let me pick my own QB, I have to play the undersized guy that they sold the farm to get. Which also means I don't get my own system, I have to install a system designed to prop this guy up. Also, I don't get a first round pick. Also I need an entire o-line. Also I need an entire WR corps. Also, from day 1, I'm already on the hot seat and have to start producing wins or they'll fire me after one year as well. But I'm SURE I could do better. It won't even take that much time! The last guy only got one year, so I'm sure I could turn this situation around in less than one year. No problemo!" Honestly, anyone who looks at our situation, and takes this job for anything other than a paycheck is so dumb that I immediately would question their sanity, much less their prospects as a successful head coach. If you fire Frank, the only reasonable option is to promote someone already on staff. This is a job and a situation that needs to be foisted onto someone. No one in their right mind voluntarily takes it unless it's literally the only hope they have of a HC job, and they're just grateful for a shot. And I don't want that guy.

Been saying this for a few weeks. We are, and should be stuck with Frank next year. We can't fire a first year head coach the year after firing the last coach mid-season and hope to attract any kind of head coaching candidate except for one that is looking to make a fat payday off Tepper on his way to retirement. We simply have to give Frank a chance, not because he's the right choice but it's the only hope we have that our next HC won't be another setback.