d-dave

Again, why are we going to insist that we bring in a new HC but give them less control over their staff? I have a lot of respect for the Evero has done this season with the injuries and lack of talent for a 3-4 front. He's one of the top defensive coaches in the league, he's only 42, and he's got the chops for be a coach. That being said, you can suggest, but you can't force a DC onto a new coach, especially a first time coach. I think Tim Donnelly on 99.9 said it best: if you're an offensive coach, the DC needs to be your best friend. Someone you can trust, because their work is going to go on your record. I think Evero is a great DC, great coach, and looks the part of the HC. It won't be much longer before he gets a HC job.

Since Tepper bought the team, his worth has increased to like $16 BILLION. If he paid a coach $15 million per year, it would take 67 years before he ended up paying a single billion. I could give two poops what Tepper has to pay a coach. I have no problem with folks getting rich fleecing Tepper. Not my money, and it doesn't count on the cap. Fug it all!

Man what a year 2023 has been. As it all winds down, more than likely ending like a wet turd on carpet with the Panthers, I'd like to offer my best wishes to all huddlers this time of year. I've disagreed with plenty of folks on here across several forums, but I hope I never came across as mean or spiteful. Frankly, the world sucks. No matter which tribe your on, 2023 bent most of us over and took it's pound of flesh (or more). We've all experienced differing amounts of losses, personal, financial, sports wise, whatever. My most sincere wish is that all of you are able to find some peace, happiness, and joy at this end of year season. Merry Christmas! Hope you had a happy Hanukkah! Happy Kwanzaa! Happy Eid al-Fitr as Ramadan comes to a close! Happy Yule! Happy freakin' holidays! Be safe! Call for a ride if you drink too much. Be kind to others because you never know how much that might mean to someone!

It's a good read, and really reminds you that we need a new GM. For Burns: either keep him or trade him, stop messing around. If it looks like we were keeping him, should have paid him. If you weren't going to pay him, then trade him. Instead we're going to sit here with an unhappy Burns on a franchise tag instead of either moving him for picks or paying him his market value (not the huddle value). Piss or get off the pot Scott!

Win > Loss How hard is that? It was ugly AF, and I’m thrilled to have that winning feeling. I'm sorry some of y'all are unhappy we won. I’m sorry we didn’t make it pretty enough. I’ll take a win over 100 pretty losses. But that’s just me.

As soon as I saw beta male...I quit reading. All you have to do is listen to future incel middle school boys to figure out what this is about. The Andrew Tate nonsense is pathetic. I guess that means I'm some kind of kuck/beta but Tate is a loser, and folks who live and breath by his message are sad boys. It is a leadership thing. From the Top (Tepper) down (practice squad) the leadership is completely fugged. Because Tepper is impatient and thinks that football is like a hedge fund where quick turnaround are the norm. Tepper is the biggest, richest problem we have. We need Tepper to sit back and only look at the business side and hire a football president. Their job is to run the football side and separate Tepper from the on field team. Until Tepper steps back and allows the leaders in the locker room, the head coach, and GM to lead. But that's just me, an Andrew Tate ignorer. What do I know?

So lots of Short Kings on the huddle? While you can continue to debate his tools because they haven't shown well at all, you can't blame him for being drafted by the Panthers. Is it the NFL hype machine? The internet scouting machine? Some other machine I don't know about? Whatever it was, Bryce was hailed as a baby Mahomes. Not as big or physically talented, but smart, creative and effective. Bryce was widely considered the best Qb in the draft and overall number 1 lock, no matter who took him. Bryce himself seems super nice and accountable, I don't think he was trying to game the system to hoodwink a team. So no one was robbed. If Bryce ultimately fails, that's just the cost of doing business in the NFL. You win some picks, you lose some. What did the 49ers do when they realized the QB they needed all along in Purdy not the guy they traded the farm for? They cut their loses and moved on. Bryce needs another year to prove it. This team is a poo show. I genuinely think he's doing the best that he can. There's only so much polishing a turd you can do before you're covered in it. If Trey Lance and Zach Wilson get multiple chances to prove they could be the guy, you got give Bryce a chance with a halfway decent coaching staff and scheme. You put any other rookie or young QB here, it's a poo show still. How would CJ do here? Purdy? Love? Tua? You can't tell me that they would be winning 5 much less 10 games this season with this scheme and staff.

What a GREAT interview. I love Cam Newton! While I don't always agree with him, he's always 100% authentic. When he said he would love to be President of Football...I was like, YES! YES! 100 times YES!!! Look, Cam is very polarizing in the media and fan base (which he admits was purposeful), but he also has super high emotional intelligence and is fantastic at forging interpersonal relationships. I think Cam would actually be really great in keeping the football side of things separate from Tepper. Cam is the alpha dog in franchise history. I mean, sure there's a LOT of risk, but so is allowing Tepper full access to meddling with his football team... Maybe I'm just really tired but man, that sounds like such a GREAT idea!!!

Don't worry, I'm sure the Teppers can do that.... =P Or is that too soon for a bad joke? Honestly, who knows? How many HCs can also be effective play caller? How many play callers have the ability to lead? So..??? I have no clue! Personally: I want the Panthers to get the best HC, not smartest offensive brain. We need someone to lead the team, and then we can work with the rest.

This is why a Frank Smith of Miami makes sense if we're going for an offensive coach. Lots of motion, effective game planning/use of formations, and works with a physically limited yet accurate QB. It's up to the new GM and coach to figure out an OL that can work for that kind of offense. I think we need more dancing bears than maulers for something resembling the Miami offense. We'll also need legit playmaking WRs. Anyone know if Hill is a FA? Ha ha...

I think the main thing to remember about any testing done for the NFL is that it's only there to confirm an observation. A guy looks fast on film? Then he's probably fast on the track. If not, figure out why. Bryce does have a lot of gifts like his anticipation, accuracy and mindset. BUT the problem he's facing now is that he's not physically capable of solving problems with his body. Again, not everyone can be Big Ben or Cam Newton who are hard to take down based on their size alone. Not everyone can be as fast as Lamar Jackson. Some QBs have very special physical traits which allow them to mitigate offensive problems. Look at many of the "cerebral" QBs. Rodgers is a good athlete, but he still goes down (when his Achilles tendon isn't broken) when the pocket collapses. Joe Burrow? Good athlete but he can't carry a team on his back like a physical freak. Mahomes is a very good athlete that can extended plays, but he still needs support to dominate. You can go on, but the truth is MOST qbs need help. The S2 is just a test. It's designed to see how well a subject can handle multiple stimuli at the same time and process the information. That's an important part of being a QB for sure, but it's not the end all/be all. I think most of the NFL was still probably Bryce 1 / CJ 2 before and after the test based on their college resumes. The S2 was just more data that the media ran away with like wonderlic scores. What does it all mean in the grand scheme of things? Either a guy can play or they can't. Right now, CJ is showing he can. I still hold out hope for Bryce with a new staff to actually develop him. But if Bryce fails again, then he will join the long list of QBs with great college careers and poor NFL careers. That's why the draft is always a crap shoot.

Honestly, I don't care if Dalton does come in and play like the great vintage Andy Dalton. So what? He's not the future. Instead, the Panthers need to figure out if Bryce is the future. Of course Dalton would look great if he came in, that whole backup QB bump and the fact he's got 13 years more experience than Bryce. Duh. So it would then make sense for Bryce to get more experience to be better, right? It's going to be up to the next coach and GM to figure out if Young can be a NFL QB or not. Unless Tepper continues to interfere with football ops, which has been a disaster since day 1. The team isn't moving on from Bryce Young until 2025 at the earliest. You don't sell the farm for Bryce only to turn around in 12 months for a new rookie QB, a round 2 QB at that.

I don't think it's fair to cast a rash judgement of Bryce being a bust forever. This offense is a poo show. Bryce has gotten worse and is developing bad habits. Bryce is making too many mistakes. There's not shortage of criticism, no shortage of viable reasons to call him bust worthy, but I don't think it's right to roll a rookie this quickly. Some of y'all feel strongly otherwise, and that's fine for you. Bryce needs an outlet. Would Mahommes be as good without Kelce? What about Cam without Olsen? Brees had Jimmy Graham for his prime years. When you look at many good QBs, you see they have a play maker who they can get the ball to when they need it. I think Cam called it HBO (help a brother out). The offensive scheme is utter garbage. The oline can't pass block well. While they ran block very well, when it was time to pass the ball, they were embarrassed. We don't have a good WR right now. How well can they be judged in this poo scheme? Our RBs looks like RBs, nothing special. I love how hard Chubba is running right now, but he's replicable. The QB is being asked to do more with less than most QBs in the league. Consider as well Bryce's physical limitations. He's not a physical freak like Cam was, nor does he have the ideal build to truck a LB. He's a small guy, but the NFL was willing to bet on him to be the outlier that makes it. How do we help Bryce's development? Get him an outlet. Is it a TE a la Olsen? A WR like how the Bills got Diggs for Allen? Bryce doesn't have anyone he can ask to bail him out. Theilen is too old at this point. You can't change the past, and we HAVE to get Bryce some help from a system perspective as well as an outlet who can be open.

While it's easy to do, let's not compare Stroud to Young's rookie season. A quick comparison: Head Coach: Demeco Ryans vs. Frank Reich/Chris Tabor OC: Bobby Slowick versus Thomas Brown LT: Laremy Tunsil versus Icky Ekwonu Skill Positions: .... I don't have time to type all of that.... You can't help where you're drafted. We all thought (and a lot of the media) that Young was drafted into a great situation where he could find success. Whoops, missed that one, EVERYBODY (including me). I get that people like to look and see how green the grass is, if Bryce had been drafted to Houston, he'd probably be playing similarly to the way Stroud has. Stroud would look a lot like Bryce due to the constant hits, lack of weapons, poor play calling and play design. It doesn't matter who wears the jersey, the results will be the same. That being said, since Tepper is calling all the shots, he needs to protect his investment and pull Bryce. Let Dalton play. Bryce is only picking up bad habits and extra shots without the improvement. Time to invest in the future and let the Red Rifle play.

Yep. I'd have us a fire sale at the end of the year. Burns is still worth a first. His talent is undeniable, and a fresh start for him would go a long way to seeing him play to his potential. You see it all the time where prime pash rushers still get insane value, even in a down year. You've seen lesser players get more value than a 1st for Burns. Derrick Brown is the only untouchable IMO. Dude is a beast. The rest are fair game, even Bryce if the new regime wants to get their own QB. Then, with a new and hopefully better regime, we can restock and rebuild our talent level. Get a few more draft picks from players like Burns or Luvu (maybe Horn), and reset. I have no idea what will happen.

Can we all do a big "No Duh!" Typically, when you're team sucks, everyone gets fired. Thomas Brown seems like a good, serious football guy, but he doesn't have to chops to be a NFL offensive coordinator right now. Best of luck to him in the future. This team stinks. His work speaks for itself.

Sadly, hindsight is always 20/20. Someone was going to draft Bryce first overall. It was us, and then we turn in one of the worst seasons of offensive football I've ever witnessed. Bryce is not completely responsible for all the problems. There are plenty of example of how bad the supporting cast and play calling is. Bryce bears a TON of responsibility for the problems on offense as well. He's regressed for the past several weeks. Now all that said - unless one of y'all has a time machine (where's Doc Brown??), we're stuck where we are. We can replay the what ifs, but it doesn't change the fact that Bryce Young will be on the roster for at least the next year or two and those draft picks are done and gone. Again, you can't change what's already happened. Now it's time to hold the architect of these trades to task: Scott Fitterer. He's missed badly on draft and FA signings. We've gotten worse each year, no matter the coach. The only head coach worth a damn was Steve Wilks. Who wouldn't love to go back to Wilks ball? But he's going to possibly go to the Super Bowl this season. We need a new GM to rebuild this pile of turds. I don't envy whoever takes that job.

If I'm Scott Fitterer, I started look for my landing spots after Frank was fired. While Frank was not able to bring together his offense with Thomas Brown's offense, Scott was one of the major players responsible assembling this team. He absolutely should be held to account, and be fired. It's been said many times that there are a lot of smart people in the Panthers' F/O, and I'm not going to insult people I don't know. But the results speak for themselves. It's just not working. No need to keep beating your head against the same wall. We need a BIG ole refresh of most of the team.

This is my team. While I don't always finish games, I do try to start watching the games. I do keep up throughout the game as well. Why? Its my team. I remember pre-Panthers life. They have become an important part of my life over the past nearly 30 years. So I'll stick around. I'll keep watching, though I may not be happy.

To be fair, how many wars have women started versus men? Who makes up the majority of sex offenders? Based on what has come out from the Reich firing fallout, it seems as if Dave Tepper wants to get a lot of input from a lot of different perspectives. Is that good? Maybe? Hasn't looked good. His wife? Look, we have no idea who she is outside of some blurby PR stuff. As others have said: her history prior to being Mrs. Tepper was thoroughly purged. Is she a good judge of character? Does she have a human resources background? Again, we don't know what perspective she brings. What does she add to the room? I have no idea. I think instead of asking why she's in the room to begin with, we should be asking if her input has had any value? Some posters here believe she's using the Panthers as her own sex party. I really doubt that, but feel free to find some proof of it. I think Dave trusts his wife's opinion. He includes her because he's the owner and he gets to make those choices. This is again why we need a Football Czar/President to actually run this stuff instead of the meddling owner and his wife. As of now: the results haven't been good. We need football professionals in the room, not super fans with deep pockets.

How freaking horrific! Yep, I'm in the "hang it up" camp. Dude made plenty of money, he's got a kid and he's only 30. Football is such a dangerous sport, and often times fan forget how terrible the injuries can be. Hopefully he's able to make a full recovery, and for his sake: retire. It's not worth it.

Wow...Maybe Tepper needs to take some of the $4 billion of wealth he's gained since he bought the team and build his own HQ and training facility.... Then just own it... Then again, that would go against grifting, which is what helps folks get rich and stay rich.

Great article. I'll gladly support the Athletic because of work like this. What this tells me is that we NEED a great big house cleaning. There is just so much toxicity going on. Tepper NEEDS TO HIRE A FOOTBALL PERSON to handle running the team. Period. Will his ego allow that? But that's exactly what the Panthers need - someone to oversee the football operation, to be accountable and hold people accountable to the boss. Clean out the FO and coaching staff. Thank you all for your service, especially in this challenging season, but we need a new direction. To salvage young - we need the right coach. You need to hold Bryce the most accountable as the starting QB. That's the game. You need to build him up as well. Look, what Chark said wasn't wrong - Bryce got tricked. It's not slander against his intelligence, but it's part of the overall problem with the offense. Game after game - there are ZERO answers for Bryce. He's having to find them himself instead of being given realistic options. Who is hot on a blitz? It doesn't require a full play change, but you need to have a plan for the hot route to beat the blitz. You don't need three slow receivers running the same route. You need to create confusion like a good NFL offense does. The Panthers need a BIG reset. This also means a fire sale for a new coach and GM (and president!) to rebuild the team. The Panthers of the Scott Fitterer time are over. Time to turn a new leaf and go about a full rebuild.

Well, it's going to depend, a lot! Total cop out right? Were I the GM, I would be looking for an OL that matches the scheme of the offense we're playing. Need more dancing bears? More boulders? If the OL was a poor value I'd look for a separation specialist WR. Maybe they are an average athlete, but all they did was produce in college and schooled folks at all star/bowl games? Sign me up! If that doesn't workout value wise, I'd look on the defensive side of the ball. Edge and DBs are massive needs. Heck, if there's a true nose tackle, I'd go for that guy too (again, matching what our DC is doing). So yeah - the Panthers should have a multitude of options. And of course folks will covet that spot so I could totally see use trading out for more picks.

I'm getting more and more over Burns. He does play hard, he's a good guy, fun guy, but he's not elite. He has elite traits with speed and bend, but he's not showing up. I don't care about the punch and ejection as much because we're all frustrated. He's what? 25? How many games has he completely taken over in five years? He's sure made some impact plays - but he's not taken over many games and made life miserable for an opposing QB. He's a good player, not a great player. I was VERY against trading him, even for two 1s from the Rams because I was still in the hope that he would turn that corner, but he hasn't. It sucks as a fan. The Panthers haven't help him out. The defense doesn't have many opportunities to pin it's ears back. There's no bookend to take pressure off him. But he disappears way to much. He's better making plays in the run game, but he can still get rolled up often. Will Burns ever deliver on a $25-30 million a year contract? I don't know. He doesn't look like it. I'm not sure he's going to be a good OLB, better as a rush end. It's going to depend on our next coach and GM what happens, but if he walks - I'm ok with it. He might need a different situation, different coaching. Hopefully the Panthers tag and trade him to someone willing to pay Burns and maximize his value so we can continue the annual Panthers tradition of trading our best and most talented players for scraps.