SCO96

I don’t get the hype with Juedy. I don’t how his addition to the current WR is going to significantly improve our team.

When it come to handling the GM position at the NFL level, John Lynch is clearly on another level than Scott Fitterer. Lynch and his coaches/scouts are actually good at evaluating talent. I don’t think Scott has drafted a player who could start on a contender outside of JC Horn (an elite player when healthy). I think Brady C would be a solid swing lineman and spot starter on any team in the league. Outside of those 2, I really can’t think of anyone else from the 2021-2023 drafts who stands out when they are on the field…at least not in a good way.

The injuries on defense have made things more difficult. Today we had 3 turnovers all of them resulted points for the Lions since they happened on our side of the field. And, our weak offense can’t sustain drives which results with in the defense being on the field too long. I think Evero’s defense would look a lot better if they had a competent offense on the other side of the ball.

Shanahan is a master play caller and play designer. That TD to FB was the 2nd time that play has been called tonight. Both times he was wide open in the flat on the play-action pass. Why don’t we have something like this in our playbook?

Collinsworth just said what we’ve been discussing. Purdy knows he doesn’t have the strongest arm but he says he plays to his strengths by reading the defense and finding the open man. He is putting on a clinic tonight with his ball placement. This is why the Bryce situation is so depressing. We were led to believe that Bryce would be way more efficient with his throws. This is a copycat league. If I were on the Panthers coaching staff I’d be taking as many plays/passing concepts from the 49er playbook that I could and incorporate into our passing game.

Do you think better route running and timing is possible with the current staff and personnel? None of us is ever gonna end up calling plays in the NFL, but I really think most of us on this forum could come up with one or two different plays that would work in a game situation if called at right time in the game.

I think a lot of what you posted is true except for one thing. Purdy can push the ball downfield if he needs to. Bryce needs to prove he can do that if he expects to succeed as a QB in the NFL. BTW, I just noticed another nice play in the SF/DAL game. McCarthy put a WR in motion and had him run that looked like a wheel route down the sidelines. Dak hit him for a TD when he saw the 1 on 1 coverage. I think Bryce could make that throw if the protection holds up on the play.

I’ve already seen a play in tonight’s SF/DAL game where Purdy fakes to MaCaffrey and hit the FB in the flat for a nice gain on 1st down. We don’t seem to have a play like that in our playbook. I don’t see why we couldn’t use a FB/TE in the backfield to serve as an extra blocker and potential receiver. Why can’t we use a flea flicker or reverse pass like the Lions did today? I think if Bryce could come out and start a game with some big plays and easy throw it could get him into a rhythm and get him some confidence. How often do our guys run dig or hook routes We seem to always have 3 receivers bunched together and one receiving alone on the opposite side of the formation. They need to trash the concept. I have no doubt a good OC could do a better job with our personnel.

Gripe#1 One of my gripes is the route and formation concepts. I don't have access to the all 22 film. But, if anyone does, I'd love to know how many time we came out in a formation with 3 WR'S bunched together on one side of the field and a single TE (or single WR) on the other side. Maybe our receivers could get more "separation" if they weren't so bunched up together in nearly every passing play. I could understand running those sets if we had a game breaking TE or true #1 WR in isolation, but we don't. The player in isolation rarely seemed to have a pass directed his way. Gripe #2: Running Game. I also think Chubba and Miles were be more succesful running the ball if we tried to get them on the edge with some lineman pulling out in front. Gripe #3: Deep Ball Attempts. Bryce has not shown that he can complete the deep pass at the NFL level so far. Still, the team needs to at least 1 or 2 go route to try for a big play, force a PI, and at least put some fear in opposoing teams' secondary.

That is EXACTLY what I’m going to do!

I hate to admit this, but until your post I honestly hadn’t thought about TMJ all game. He has no impact on the field. I wouldn’t even classify him as a JAG. Even JAG makes an impact play at some time in their career.

Our coaches don’t seem to have the abilty to “scheme” our receivers open. Theilan is a cagey veteran at this stage in his career. He just knows how to get open.

I liked that toss sweep the Lions used to pick up the 4th and short. How come we don’t run plays like to utilize the speed of our backs. Everything we run seems to be inside the tackles.

In our Panther fantasy realm, this back against the wall drive, inspired by a fallen teammate, becomes the turning point of the 2025 season, and Bryce brings his A-Game the rest of the season!

Watching our team attempt to move the ball downfield isn’t comical buddy, it’s painful. I’ve seen better passing execution in sandlot games.

Where would this team be without Adam Theilan?

On Goff’s first two completions he had wide open guys throw to. We never seem to have a WR running somewhat open unless it’s Theilan. Our TE’s haven’t posed a threat this season. I can understand the Hurst addition. I’ll never understand the Ian Thomas contract extension. I think a large part of our poor passing game is due to a lack of talent. But, a think a good part of the problem is due to poor play calling and bad route concepts. We just never seem to have guys open downfield.

It's funny how we've been able to nail our drafts in certain positions: LB, DE, DT, CB over the years but strike out at others (TE, WR, etc). That has to be placed on poor scouting, the inability to get the most out of talented players, or the GM over ignoring the scout's opinion and/or thinking he he has a better idea of what the team needs. At times it does seem like Carolina needs to take a hard look at the scouting department and consider making some changes. We are drafting too many mediocre/bad players after the 1st round. You can't win like that in today's NFL.

How many people on this board believe that if Caleb comes out of college early he'll win a Super Bowl with the Chicago Bears?

This topic came up awhile ago on a forum. It could have even been this one. The poster said that there is a difference between and bad team and a bad franchise. For QB's, the Bears are just a bad franchise. It's not a much better destination for WR's. What is going to happen between now and next season to make Chicago a prime destination for a rookie QB? As I said in the last post, the team appears to want to cut bait with Fields less than 3 full seasons in the league. Trubinsky was let go after his 4th season. Both guys were top 10 picks within the last decade. You're right about 2024. Another bad organization could pick him after the completion of his senior year. That would be outside of his control. For now, Caleb has the leverage. There's nothing wrong with him and his management team trying to put him in a situation to enhance his chance for success. With NIL, he is making money right now. It's not like he has to leave after the season in order to feed the family.

Caleb's situation is different. He doesn't have to come out this year. He has an extra year of eligibility left. Why come out early and play for a bad franchise like the Bears. Chicago has a terrible history of developing QB's and competing for championships. People keep saying he's missing out on a 2nd big contract. Question for you guys: How many QB's that flame out in the NFL on their rookie deal with a bad franchise go on to get a "2nd big contract"? Mitch Trubinsky was drafted #3 with the Bears. He had some moments where he looked ok, but like nearly all QB's who play there, he was shown the door w/out much success. They didn't even pick up his 5th year option. He's in Pittsburgh now backing up Kenny Pickett. I don't recall him getting a massive deal on contract #2. If Caleb goes there and the Bears continue the trend they have maintained since the Super Bowl era, they'll be looking to replace him with the next 1st round prospect. Justin Fields isn't even midway thru his 3rd year in the NFL and the team may be willing to move off if him if Caleb decides to come out. If that transpires, do you think Justin is going to be poised to break the bank with his next deal?

Now we can get a 5'9/180lb WR to join our 5'10/185lb QB. He'd definitely have more impact on the field this season than TMJ or Mingo. I just hate to think what Fitz is willing to give up to get him. Fitz has shown he's not the best at gauging talent based on some of the terrible trades he's made for other teams casts offs and the trade ups in the draft. I get queasy thinking about what he might do when he's desperate to hold on to his GM position.

We are said to be looking for a playmaker/difference maker at the WR position to help Bryce. This is scathing indictment of our front office. We've drafted WR's in the 2nd round two out of the last 3 years. Why draft a receiver that high in the draft if you don't view him as a "difference maker on the field"? We could have got production comparable to TMJ and Mingo from guys taken after the 3rd round (or even undrafted FA's) and used those 2nd round picks in 2021 and 2023 to address other holes on the team. Their lack of impact on the offense indicates that they were over-evaluated or they're not being coached well enough to live up to their potential.

I think missing Corbett and Brady C is what is really hurting us. As bad as our QB play was last year, I thought the O-line was more than adequate with their pass blocking and a huge improvement from 2021. Chubba and Donta each averaged over 4.4 yards per carry and rushed for about 1,400 yards between them. I thought going into this season we were going set. What we've seen is that we have no solid players to provide depth on the O-line to step up when/if a starter goes down. We'd be doomed if we lost a starting tackle this year.

I think that shows that something is wrong with our ability to properly evaluate college talent and/or put them in position to succeed in the NFL. We moved up in the 3rd to get Corrall. Howell wasn't taken into the 4th round by Washington. The deals for Darnold, CJ Henderson were bad. We draft players who make no impact on the field. We need better performance from the GM and from the coaching staff. This team is going nowhere with Fitterer and Reich this season. A 6th straight losing season is almost a guarantee this year. I'd be happy now if we just show some improvement on offense for the rest of the season. Fitz and Reich need to change what they're doing fast or the could both be looking for jobs at seasons end.