KSpan

Is @Zodthe source for the quote in the first bullet?

The contract is a sunk cost, a la Teddy last year. Smart businessmen know when to cut their losses and move on, particularly when there are much bigger dollars and overall fan sentiment and engagement at stake. This is looking like such a time.

I overall agree with this take and don't feel the Panthers job is as unattractive as many say it is (assuming that Tepper can stay out of things). Even if Rhule gets fired this year, there is a pretty reasonable amount of skill position talent on the team and if the OL gets upgraded and an actual NFL-caliber coach/coordinator comes in I think they could muscle through the darkness of next season and be in a pretty good spot in 2023.

This also leaves of Smitty's 2005 Triple Crown (not an 'official' award but still big), one of three to achieve that since 1966 and the only one the last 29 years. The other two are Rice and Sterling Sharpe in the early 90s, and Smitty earned it with Jake chucking the ball vs Montana and a still-young Favre.

Considering that the on-field product under Tepper has yet to approach mediocrity, it's perhaps fair in that context. That's a given, and I always assume that other answers are just from the lesser 'not Rae Carruth' pool.

I don't know that people generally hate Rhule so much as he's a victim of the long-running poor performance of the organization. He has put plenty of poor and questionable tape out there and seems out of his depth but Siefert, Hurney, Gettleman, etc were all pretty disliked at various times as well. I don't blame Rhule for shooting his shot with this job. It just doesn't seem to be working out and fan sentiment is that they're tired of seeing it.

Lil' Petey, as in (seemingly for at least the time being) the Peter Principle.

Carolina was a competitive team as recently as 2017, taking the Saints to the wire in the Wild Card round, and that was also only 2 years after the Super Bowl season. Mismanagement and injuries since that point derailed any momentum/structure they had at that point so yes, when Rhule was brought on in 2019 it was IMO fair to think of it as a rebuild. It is, unfortunately, still ongoing and what has happened in 2020 and 2021 may require a rebuild of the rebuild.

You're the one making definitive statements here, and it's entirely plausible to see how a decade+ NFL veteran, former MVP (or any other player on the team) would think Rhule is a clown, even if only in the NFL football realm. At best, Matt hasn't done much to refute that notion. I also find it interesting that when presented with articles in the past you've opted to not take them at face value, yet in your eyes Cam's comments are his absolute truth and no other possibility exists? You could at least be consistent.

Nah - Cam could easily be blowing smoke here. I'm not saying he is as I have no idea, but if he does harbor any negative feelings Cam definitely understands that there is no upside for him to say anything other than these types of comments. He may also be grateful to Matt for the opportunity to come back while thinking he sucks on the football side or any combination thereof, but this could range anywhere from the truth to complete front.

Cam's a professional, and a cynical person might suggest he's simply hedging his bets. I didn't see/hear it though so have no thought.

Successful rebuilds typically make overall progress, even if slow. That is simply not the case with Rhule. With respect to Pitt at no point in 30 years have the Steelers needed to 'rebuild'; they haven't been below .500 since 2003 (even then were only 6-10) and have only been below .500 3 times in 30 years. That 'rebuild' in 2004 started with getting Ben, a task that Rhule and staff have now severely screwed up on twice in 2 years. Pitt's been riding decades of competent management coupled with obtaining a true franchise QB in 2004, and while that type of continuity does have to start somewhere what in the world has Rhule shown that makes one think he is that catalyst?

I thought about this yesterday as we saw Cam throw a slant for the umpteenth time. So much for Rhule's mandate.

Oh the irony.

Anyone else ever play Twixt? It's an older game that I loved as a kid but haven't ever found anyone else who plays/has played it.

Is it possible for you to make your point in the same post with your 'thought' questions? That would save folks a lot of time.

Cam's also unique in how he plays, what his running has brought to his game and the NFL in general, and that he has carried the Carolina offense for a decade. Not sure the voters will recognize that, but it is a different type of case.

One of the biggest things is him stressing so hard to avoid penalties and 'don't beat ourselves,' and they are currently the 4th most penalized team in Week 16. That personal foul, bad call or not, was an absolute backbreaker on Sunday. Literally his key message for the season and it's ineffective.

It's coincidental that his credibility has run out at the same time Cam came back, though some might argue bringing Cam back was a credibility loss in and of itself. Based on Cam's responses though the wind is blowing a specific way and, frankly, Cam has more credibility and way more NFL experience than Rhule, so while Cam's body may be a shadow of former self his mind sure isn't.

Cam absolutely knows, or at least has insight into what could help it improve. He's a smart player and this is evidenced even more by this response.

I don't think many thought he was outright wrong, myself included; Rhule showed plenty of weakness last year. His public handling of things came across as petty, which seemingly contradicted his rep as a professional and/or leader, especially after he spent a season passing the blame on to everyone else. With respect to the injury you don't want to see that for anyone. With his history of concussions, 2 diagnosed this season alone, it may be time for serious thought about his future.

There is one kicker per team (or punter, for that matter). It's not rocket science to think that it's a good idea to spend 15 minutes at practice one day to have a backup plan in place should that person not be able to fulfill their duties at any time for any reason. Hell, most teams have at least 3 QBs on their roster and still know who their emergency QB would be if all 3 go down.