Jay Roosevelt

Panthers hard after the Cooter.

Totally different QBs. Fields is more athletic, but Stroud is light years ahead of him as a pocket passer. Similar arms, but Stroud's accuracy is what sets him apart from Fields and from the other QBs in the 2023 class. The floor is quite a bit higher with Stroud than it was with Fields.

2023: 1st + 2nd (SF) + 3rd (SF) 2024: 1st + 3rd 2025: 1st

Which is why I think we should move up to #3 first, then trade up to #1 or #2 from there.

Trading up to #3 isn't going to be enough. We need to move all the way up to #1 to ensure we have our pick of QBs. The Texans are sitting pretty at #2; they're guaranteed Young or Stroud. The Colts are going to be gunning for #1 and have a higher pick than us to begin with. That's our primary competition. It's a given then that this year's 1st + 2024's 1st are going to be part of any trade; likely 2025's 1st as well. Beyond that we may need to give them our late 2nd this year and possibly our 3rd as well. That's a LOT to give up, but I think it's necessary. At this point we're stuck in no man's land without a QB to the point that nothing else really matters until we find our guy. If Tepper/Fitterer we're willing to give up the farm for damaged goods in Deshaun Watson then surely they're willing to give up a similar deal to secure a young franchise QB at #1 overall.

So we get a 3rd round pick if someone hires Wilks? Even for a coordinator job?

Everybody wants these players to protest but nobody wants to put their money and careers on the line.

Stroud, but I'd also be happy with Young.

I re-watched his highlights against Georgia earlier today.

I wouldn't mind Moore as OC at all. Not sure how his scheme and Reich's compare, though.

With a new head coach comes the possibility that, depending on who we hire as defensive coordinator, we could be switching schemes. That could include a switch to a base 3-4. Personally I think this would be a good idea as it would allow us to unlock Brian Burns' full potential as an edge rusher and better hide his deficiencies as a run defender. If we were to switch what would our front 7 look like? We need edge help regardless, but does Derrick Brown play DE or stay inside? Where would Frankie Luvu play? I'm not sure he's a pure edge defender or mike linebacker. Would a switch mean Jeremy Chinn stays at safety? I don't see a big role for him in the front 7 of a 3-4 defense. If nothing else it's something to think about as Reich puts his staff together.

What can I say about Joe Person that hasn't already been said about Afghanistan?

He's my second choice after Fangio.

Bad take. Wilks was the correct choice at the time and showed that with his performance. That said, I don't believe he would have been the right choice for the full-time job as, like Tepper, I also wanted an offensive-minded coach. It's the way the league is trending for a reason.

Good stuff.

But there aren't 2 different standards in the NFL; there are 32. Every team and every owner is looking for something different depending on their circumstances. The reaction wouldn't have been significantly different if Tepper would have hired any other white coach over Wilks, regardless of whether they'd been fired before or not.

Joe Person does stunts for Little Richard in gay movies.

I feel like there were/are a lot of people out there who unfortunately have pegged Coach Wilks as some kind of proxy for every black coach that has been passed over (or screwed over) by an NFL team. I'll be the first to admit that the NFL has a major diversity problem when it comes to coaching, but not every decision that doesn't go in favor of a minority candidate can be chalked up to prejudice. In this case it was clear that David Tepper wanted a coach with an offensive background. That put Wilks at a disadvantage from the start, not his race. We know the hiring trends for the last several years have favored offensive coaches as well. Taking a look around the league it's clear this has been a major contributing factor in the lack of minority HC hires when you consider that out of the 15 minority non-ST coordinators in the league this past season only 3 were on offense. That number is now just 2 since Byron Leftwich was fired, pending any new hires. If the NFL really wants to do something about the lack of diversity in its head coaching ranks then perhaps figuring out why this is the case is as good a starting point as any.

Do whatever it takes to get our guy, just don't have our guy be another reclaimation project, aging mid-tier veteran, or accused sexual predator. It's Young/Stroud or bust as far as I'm concerned. I don't care how many picks it takes to trade up. We've got a good enough team right now that a talented young QB can step in and put us firmly in the driver's seat in the NFC South for the foreseeable future. After that it all comes down to developing the guy. A couple years without a 1st round pick won't cripple us if we get this right; continuing to half-ass the QB position most certainly will.

I'd much rather just trade up and draft a QB than bank on another trade for a former high pick or veteran. And no bridge QBs either. Draft our guy early after trading up and put him on the field day one.

No, he's not. The Colts traded Wentz on Reich's watch, remember?

I do actually trust Reich to develop a young QB. Hopefully we go that route rather than trading for another vet.

Let it go, folks. Nobody in Panthers history has been this over hyped, and all for winning six games.

I don't hate Steve Wilks; what I hate is the borderline obsession a portion of this fan base has with him and the "smash mouth" style he represents. It's not 1995 anymore, folks. I remember when the fans complained non-stop about "Foxball" and wanted a modern NFL offense. Nowadays Matt Rhule has folks so shell-shocked they're begging to go right back to it. Reich was far from my first choice (Steichen) but my priority was getting an offensive-minded HC and he does fit that.

He wasn't my first choice. Or my second. Or third. But he was far from my last choice. And I'm glad we FINALLY have a HC who won't come in preaching the tired old "ground and pound" approach on offense. We could have done better, but we most certainly have seen MUCH worse over the last 3 years. Now go get a franchise QB.