KSpan

I don't care all that much about stats. What I care about is how did he look on the field, and that was poor-to-average for everything but the second half of the GB game. Carolina was losing every game... of course there were some passing stats generated. What is missing here is quantification of how many times these QBs showed something worthwhile justifying the #1 pick. That Manning season gets tossed out a lot, and while there were a lot of interceptions and not many wins, Manning absolutely looked like an NFL QB that just needed some seasoning to take the next step, which he did that following year. Bryce had little to none of that on an individual basis. While this is an interesting table, it tells only a fraction of the story.

And he looked terrible individually too, just like the entire offense. Outside of the 2nd half of the GB game it he was entirely forgettable at best and downright crappy at worst. I am skeptical that he will ever more than an average-at-best NFL QB, but it's all speculation until they hit the field again for real.

As someone who watches zero college football, and this is an honest question, how did Bryce 'elevate those around him' at Alabama? Haven't they had a number of offensive guys drafted in recent years? I understand that not all of those guys are NFL-caliber stars, but you don't really have to be in college to be good or even dominant. As a Carolina example, Cam very clearly was the 2010 Auburn team. Those guys would have been much less successful without him and Auburn has had a whopping 2 years with 10 wins or more since 2010. Can the same be said for Alabama and Bryce? I'm going off of what was said in Ellis' tweet in asking this.

I never thought Bridgewater's arm could look strong, but after watching Bryce last year it turns out I was wrong.

Yeah, but it's lost development that could have gone to a player ready to play. I don't' really have a problem with it conceptually, just preferably not on a player drafted in the second round. Who knows though. Maybe this turns into a McGahee situation and he comes right in after all.

3 very different games, but all highly enjoyable.

He's already under contract, so no.

Three first rounders, of course.

You expect otherwise? Of course it will be, in a general sense. That said, as long as there is steady improvement from beginning to end and we see young players developing, it can still be a successful one.

Same situation though. Smith was traded for a 2nd and next-year's 3rd and then a CB and 3rd. I'm sure the Dolphins could orchestrate those deals if they wanted to. With respect to Tua, it still blows my mind that they didn't travel to KC until the 11th/12th for that polar game on the 13th. Like, get there early and start acclimating... they just withered as that game went along.

The 'Alex Smith Purgatory'.

The deep ball or at least the threat thereof is an absolutely essential component of success in today's NFL, and not the '20 air yard' nonsense that the NFL likes to push. Teams have to account for the field-flipping, immediate TD play or else they just sit on things. We've seen it for years now. And with respect to Brees, the latter half of his career has him as the ultimate short-game QB... and it still wasn't enough to overcome the best competition when it counted most. When that element went missing towards the second half of the 2010s they were still a deadly team when they had superior defense, but they ultimately fell to the best defenses.

No, it's that he's not underappreciated at all, with a side of responding to the comment that made it sound like he's been here forever. Will be interesting to see what they do with him after this season.

Deon Grant is the second-best (excluding one year wonders) safety Carolina has ever had. That says more about Carolina's abysmal safety history than is does Deon, but he was a quality player in the league for many years.

What are you guys talking about about? Dude has been on the team for 2 years of a 3 year, $15M team-friendly contract at half the cost of Vonn Bell. You make it sound like he's been toiling in Carolina for years... dude hardly underappreciated by anyone that pays attention.

Lot of roses and sunshine in that cherry-picked video. We'll see what happens on the field.

Sure, but they also enjoy elite QB play. Feel free to look at the losers in that window too and see how many 'just OK' QBs are there. A few more than on the winning side, sure, but you would expect that from the losing cohort. It is what it is. Doesn't mean teams just quit, but you don't win without top-tier QB play or historic defense to go with those bounces you mention. That's the reality of today's NFL.

You're not wrong about data starting with Brady, but that was also when the NFL began shifting into the current 'modern' form. They were still running pro sets with Shawn Alexander in 2005 and that all but evaporated within just a couple of years due to the rise of passing/change of WR bump rules. And you're absolutely right as well about Brady and Mahomes having good defenses. Hell, Spagnuolo was arguably the best non-Mahomes pickup that team has made. But even teams with stellar defenses like the Ravens can't get over the hump with a guy like Lamar.

I think the chicken has come before the egg though. They are skewing the numbers because they are THAT good, not because it's some sort of anomaly. Brady came first and now Mahomes, and if you want to win Super Bowls your QB has to be at or near that level.

It's not skewed though, that's just the result of the best QBs being on quality teams resulting in Super Bowls. Those guys are just that good and it's the bar that other QBs and teams have to meet or at least approach in order to compete. That's just how the NFL is these days. Having a dynasty would be great but even just being able to have the stars align and the team perform at an elite level like 2015 would be amazing. Unfortunately though, Cam absolutely played like Superman in elevating that offense to where it was, further supporting the requirement.

Gonna have to strongly disagree with you here. Here are the last 20 Super Bowls - only two of them IMO had QB that didn't play like Superman to get them there/win the game/both, and that was Peyton in 2015 and Ben in 2005. Even then they both had that ability, Peyton was just old and Ben young. That said, there were flashes in the pan like Foles in 2017 and (to a lesser degree) Flacco in 2012. But even counting that, it's 4/20. 20% odds aren't good enough and Bryce was absolutely drafted at #1 to be a guy that elevates an entire team and plays like Superman. If he can't do that then it's a failed pick, full stop. Being a poor man's Teddy doesn't cut it for a #1 overall and that's true for any team, not just Carolina.

If this is the least excited you've been rather than any of the last couple of years, then you just haven't been paying attention. Last year's failure was entirely predictable, though no one foresaw the complete utter debacle that unfolded. The current state of the team is just par for the course under Tepper. Perhaps, however, there are actual signs once the team hits the field for real in August.

Not a concern. Having a point guard QB allows you to spend less on receivers.

Expectations were already low for folks who weren't caught in nonsensical hype, and Bryce still underdelivered. Both things can be, and are, true.