KSpan

Laetitia.

There's optimism, and then there's labeling 3 rookies that have yet to play a real NFL down, one of whom who hasn't even practiced and may not play this year at all, as 'top'. C'mon now.

I feel like that philosophy was more in reference to in-season injuries/challenges where the question was always if they would go sign XYZ player off the couch or play their depth. In that regard no, it probably isn't.

You're saying that my opinion differing from the opinion of others is somehow a sign of narcissism? I'm curious where you're pulling those quotes from - are those actually my words, and if so can you link them? The first one is definitely something I've said and an opinion I hold, but why does my opinion have to align with others in order to not be 'narcissistic'? Putting more weight on NFL film than college tape is somehow narcissistic behavior? You can't be serious. Opinions are not emotions and the 'rebuttals' you mention are no different than the evidence/bad tape that exists the other way as well; your tossing out of words like 'victimhood' is absurd. I have no idea where you're even trying to go with that but if anything seems anchored in 'emotion', it's your line of thinking. This is a game and it really makes no difference to me in the end because, as I've said before but am apparently a narcissist for thinking, Bryce's performance either stays on the course I expect and never shows much or he develops, the team has a QB, I am proven wrong (always possible in life) and say as much, and the team and fans all win from the better QB play.

Agreed about the doublespeak but the ability to review objectively-available information, such as Bryce being a physical outlier at the position and consistently showing issues with throws all of last year, to see where data points and still support hope for a different outcome than the one data points to is... narcissism? By what leap of nonsensical logic is it narcissism to note that a player faces an objective uphill battle to achieve expectations (in this case draft cost and position, which isn't necessarily Bryce's doing) but still hoping they do? I'm generally taking it easy on Panthers stuff until regular season since it's so close but this zinger is on another level.

But the 'explanation' is wrong as it applies to the play. Not saying he should have thrown it to Johnson here but the QB is not 'reading the backside' to make that decision. He's reading the safety and knows that Thielen is underneath and Johnson will be crossing in this concept, so if the safety comes up and the CB bites on the hitch the read is then Johnson crossing into the frontside. That pass would always be thrown ahead/to the right based on the safety and CB position. There is no backside read to even make because it's completely irrelevant. As an aside, Thielen seeing the CB dropping into deep third and pulling up was a great read as well. He and Bryce saw the same thing and the ball came out quickly. It was a good outcome.

These are all the same points that I made about the play and I never knocked not throwing to Johnson either. No disagreement. The concept itself, however, is used to open up the deep cross as much as the underneath, and the read is the safety as much as either of the receivers. That's the whole point - the decision is likely made based on the safety and coverage, and if the pre-snap coverage shows to be advantageous to the cross then there are QBs that will lean that way over the shorter ball if it unfolds and that doing so is the type of capability that wins games. Again, as far as Bryce goes, IMO the question isn't so much of he can be an NFL QB of any caliber. It's if he can be the elite QB his price tag and draft status aligns with, the type that teams need to win Super Bowls in today's NFL. Those QBs are the guys that turn this type of play into a TD. Interesting to see this unfold and only time will tell.

Y'all are sadly mistaken if you think winning football teams don't take that end zone shot when it presents itself in the right situation, as it was arguably doing here. Against top competition converting those opportunities can be the difference between a win and a loss. That's the biggest question by far with Bryce and it has nothing to do with the BS mad-bomber nonsense that your post insinuates. You'd think Carolina fans would understand that after if was made crystal clear by PJ Walker of all QBs vs the Falcons 2 years ago, how the ability to execute far downfield changes games, but I guess not. For the millionth time now though, time is the only thing that will tell the story. Regular season is 2 weeks away.

Who says Thielen is the primary? You don't know and neither do I. I'm sure the pre-snap read factors into it and yeah, they will look for the deep shot of the safety moves such. Buffalo was in 1-high coverage and that's exactly what you want for a deep cross like that to DT, can he cross the safety's face? In this case the safety came up but not enough for Bryce to take it, either by choice or by scheme.

The throw would have been toward the back/corner of the end zone rather than anywhere near where Johnson is in that image but yeah, overall I'm sure the coaching/progression has him taking Thielen when the safety is back like he is here. I think a competent QB can/should be able to throw Johnson open though if they make that choice. Will be interesting to see what happens when the season starts.

This is a straw-man since no one will be concerned about covering deep for an entire game until Bryce and the offense consistently make them pay, much like last season and 2020 (Teddy) before that. If/when it happens though, then the offense opens up, the defense stretches, and a number of valid questions are answered. As to why this is a straw-man right now, it's a dream hypothetical at best until entire games are being won underneath because defenses are treating Carolina's offense like it's led by Mahomes and it shows up consistently on film that way. Won't happen until Bryce and the offense make it a reality on the field. Will be an interesting first couple weeks of the season for sure.

And in a completely different era of the NFL where hitting 1000 years was a big deal and offenses did not pass nearly as much.

Jesus Christ... Ignoring that it was one drive in one game (Green Bay, anyone?), being McDaniel lite would mean just missing the playoffs instead of being bounced in the WC every year, right?

Eww. I don't think Bryce is an answer long-term but no, no thank you.

Hilarious overall. However, if the starters look bad that's not a definitive sign IMO - not ideal for sure, but every team has kinks to work out and we can hope that Canales actually analyzes the failures and adjusts. Might've perhaps been nice to see where the kinks are when there were still weeks of camp left but hey, what do I know?

Ooh, such hate! Skepticism is just pure hating on the team.

Yup. Plenty of dumbassery in recent years but this looks like a W in any outcome.

Someone seeing that currently-available data/precedent indicates one thing but hopes it turns out differently is 'hypocritical' (which isn't even the right term but we'll roll with it anyway)? Not in the slightest. Also, this whole scenario has been set up with the straw-man of someone having the belief that Bryce can't be an NFL QB. He clearly can. The real position that is most common is a belief that he will not be able to play to the level necessary to win Super Bowls, a threshold that many QBs with tools better than Bryce's don't achieve. As with everything time will tell. Regular season is where the rubber meets the road and it's only 2 weeks away.

'Hater' is a word that immediately discredits the user IMO. It has no meaning anymore. Just lazy. Many a post of "Get on board or GTFO" when any concern was expressed. It was maddening. Not even hedging, just being honest. Hedging implies a desire to be 'right' and it really has nothing to do with that. It would be an amazing event if Bryce were to develop into a top-tier QB but I (and many others) just don't think it will happen.

Yeah, he played for a bunch of teams and Dallas was one of them. True journeyman.

Couple of suggestions. RB: Anthony Johnson (gotta include him if you have Goings) T: Chris Terry (all rookie team his first year) S: Chris Harris, Kurt Coleman