Captroop

I don't think we need anyone to contend for the starter job. We just need a competent backup. A 30-something journeyman clipboard holder would fit the bill. We had two third-stringers, and canning one didn't mean we got a backup by default.

This says one thing to me; we're signing another QB before the week is over. I think we were going to roll with 3 on the 53 man roster, we just didn't like our 3.

I (don't kill me) foresee a lot of punts early in the season. Not confident in our O-Line, and so I see a lot of drives stalling deep in our territory. That being the case, you can't overstate the value of a solid punter. Our defense is good enough to slow even the most aggressive offenses, but we just can't afford to give the opposition great field position to start from. Winning the battle of field position could snatch victory from the jaws of defeat a couple times until the offense starts clicking.

Well, statistically one out of four or more. In either case, it's not ideal.

Lots of kickers have flamed out, only to find tremendous success with a fresh start on a new team. Hoping for the best for him. But I'm ready to start the Santoso era. The guy's got swagger and confidence to spare. That's what we need right now at the position.

Joey, I so wanted to see you do well here. I wanted you to set records here. And I'm sorry to see you go on these circumstances. But take some time and get right. We all want to see you do well. Keep pounding.

No he won't. Not right now. And frankly I don't think any team would touch him because you can't count a guy with the yips. Needs a sports psychologist to help him get right. I hate to see him burn out the way he did because I was a big fan of his. But his confidence is shot. Maybe needs some time away from the game. Hard reboot.

https://tenor.com/WC9S.gif

Is it much of a choice, really? Like a choice between a McDonald's cheeseburger and AIDS.

I'm fully expecting a stat line that frustratingly doesn't give convincing answers and we're left in limbo for another 2 weeks, pointlessly debating whether or not he's a bust or the GOAT. 4/10, 89 yds, 1 TD

Good, I guess. So who kicks on Friday? Do we see all 3? Does Eberle not suit up? Or is Joey told to pack up his things this afternoon?

Called it. Sooner than I expected, though.

No joke though, that asshat is literally the only person I have set to ignore in Twitter. His shtick is he makes up insane headlines like "Justin Fields cut" or "Tom Brady retires," which, haha, I get it, see how many people retweet an obviously fake headline by a guy named Barry McCockiner. But I was literally getting a Twitter alert every day with a fake headline that had picked up enough steam to end up trending in NFL news.

Everything he said about Steve Smith somehow makes 89 more endearing to me.

Got better every year at FG%. Almost 90% in 2019? Joey Slye, not so much: I mean, damn, that's almost uncanny. He was exactly 71.4% 3 out of his 4 years in college. So we know his ceiling. Eberle could still be improving for all we know.

Okay, I like that. If this was coming out while the negotiations were ongoing, I'd be more cynical and assume he was just trying to get the fans on his side as a negotiating ploy. The classic, "I'd really like to stay here, but at the end of the day, it's a business decision," thing. i.e. "Blame the front office if I don't stick around, not me." I think there's at lease an ounce of sincerity if this is coming the day after the deal is locked in. Hope he has a great year.

Poor guy. I really hope we can one day find a solution to the concussion issue in football. Not sure there is one short of not playing football. But it's saddening to know this guy's long term health has henceforth irreparably been affected.

I wish him the best, and many games as the Falcons' starter!

Okay, his guaranteed money over 3 years is about the same contract Stefon Diggs has, who I'd say is "elite." But, if you insist on being a pedant about it. How about we just leave it at the first half of my post: We're paying him like a #1 wide receiver. So he better perform like it on game day.

Well, we're paying him not only like a #1 receiver, but an elite #1 receiver. So he better perform like one on game day.

My read is that it was intentional. It seems like Slye has a confidence issue, so I think they were trying to give him a confidence boost that he was going into the season unchallenged as the starter to see if taking the pressure off would help cure his case of the shanks. And by all accounts it did not seem to have that effect.

This. What advantage would a kicker on the roster during training camp have over a kicker who camped with another team? He's more familiar with the nuance of the "Kick the Ball" pages of the Panthers playbook?

Interested as well.

I wouldn't. He's shown enough flashes, and I think enough teams are hurting for D Line help that I'm not sure he'd make it through waivers.