KSpan

Rhule had no talent, eh? CMC, DJ, Robbie, Samuel, Moton, Teddy (I'm no fan but he played better than Sam for sure), Burns, Brown, Chinn... it was more talent than Ron had in 2019 and, if coaching was indeed the issue, Rhule would have gotten them to better than the same record. 2021 had a full year under their belts as coaches and Rhule-led moves and ended up regressing heavily throughout the season. If you think Rhule isn't/wasn't a major issue, I don't know how you arrive at that conclusion. As I've said in other threads, if the team improves this year after a complete overhaul of the coaching staff and Fitterer having more influence in FA and the draft (admittedly a bit of speculation, but the offseason has sure been different this year vs the last 2 where Rhule was presented as the lead horse), the question is what does Rhule actually bring to the table relative to all those non-Rhule improvements? I bet you it's not much.

I'd say that the 2020 defense was downright poor overall, and last year's defense was way overhyped based on their performance feasting on bottom-tier teams in the first weeks. Once the offense was figured out (a Rhule specialty) and the opposition discovered that Carolina had no solution for the off-tackle runs, the average to below-average reality of the defense became clear. There's some definitive talent there abut they need to prove the start of 2021 wasn't a fluke by doing it consistently against some quality competition. With that said, an offensive upgrade can go a long way toward making even a mediocre defense like Carolina's look much better, like we saw in early 2021. Maybe this year's offense will pitch in. To the question posed by the thread topic though, I think pass rush trumps all (a la 2013). A killer secondary is never a bad thing though and can't hurt, but no one can cover receivers forever if there is no consistent pressure on the QB.

But did he play basketball though?

Yeah man, but they drafted Fletch. ...

The point still stands that RR showed marked improvement with what he had coming into Year 1 vs his predecessor, and he deserves some credit for that even if it was a matter of Fox underachieving. Rhule had plenty of weapons coming in plus brought in Anderson and Bridgewater as his guys and still managed the same record as an outgoing RR. It's not a knock on RR that he chose Cam and Rhule chose Brown instead of Becton, Wirfs, or any number of the other 1st rounders that perhaps could have made a bigger difference (Brown had a solid rookie season though, so not really knocking him). You're right that it's difficult to compare though, and I'd say the bigger condemnation is that Rhule's teams have been completely figured out and faltered down the stretch each season. That's my biggest issue with him and what he absolutely has to show this year IMO, that he can strategize and compete at an NFL level.

He very clearly stated that Fox inherited Smitty the returner, not Ron, and Rhule got DJ (not 89-level, but still very good), had Samuel, and signed Anderson. Rhule had plenty and couldn't yield results or show improvement in year 2, or year 1 for that matter. Bottom line is that Rhule's here for year 3 and we're all on this ride along with him. However, unlike Capers, Fox, and Rivera (to a lesser degree IMO) he has shown zilch to warrant any credibility, regressed heavily on the field in his second year even if the winning percentage only went down slightly, and deserves the benefits of no doubt. Skepticism towards his ability as an NFL coach and strategist are backed completely by the team's (lack of) performance under him to date and he has a ton to prove.

He said it takes 5 years to build a winner, maybe 6. This is just a sad attempt at managing expectations after his flop with Rhule but IMO doesn't necessarily mean Rhule himself is guaranteed to get that long.

He was healthy for 3 and an absolute workhorse for 2 of those, no disagreement there. Unfortunately though dude's missed 23+ of 33 potential games the past 2 seasons with nagging soft tissue injuries. I want to believe he'll be healthy again and don't think Carolina should really limit him at all to start the season but it is what it is at this point.

As if Rhule would be willing to give up the hope of having CMC on the field... Anti-Rhule bias aside, the OL improvements and QB choice would really make CMC deadly if he remains healthy. A huge if but, depending on the offer, he's a great player to have.

Exactly. Luke was great at sifting through trash but wasn't strong in taking on direct blocks so needed big shielding up front to be at his best (true for many LBs of course). Ray could take on linemen and shed with the best of them, enabling the DL to do some other things besides just occupy blockers. No right or wrong IMO, just a matter of what scheme is being run. I don't think Luke would have been as effective in a 3-4 and Ray's uniqueness fades a bit in a 4-3.

Bunch of stuff he didn't do at the combine, if I remember correctly.

You mean like when Carolina shut out the Falcons and Shanahan's offense 38-0 in 2015, held his offense to 20 and 13 in '11 and '12 when he was OC in Washington, held his Browns offense to 13 in 2014, and held his 49ers to 3 in 2017, winning all of these games?

Reminds me of "Corey is a nice young man but Philly catches the ball" Philly Brown back in 2015.

That Panthers Confidential stuff is too neutered, or at least really turned that way last year. Maybe they'll take a different tact this year but last year's stuff was not very interesting.

Barring a major leap in Wilson's play, MLB is an incremental upgrade and I'm not sure if they've solved the 5/6 hole weakness off-tackle where teams ate Carolina alive last year. There was promise there but there were major weaknesses too, and the biggest defensive gain may be offensive improvement. Has that occurred is the real question IMO.

Gotta get those sweet concert dollars.

Rashawn Slater and his short arms say hello... dumbass Rhule.

Finished it over the course of 3 or so nights and thought it was fine. I like the angle they took overall and think I would have enjoyed the movie a little more had I watched it in one sitting instead of splitting it up, but that is what it is. Catwoman's social commentary-esque rant towards the end felt pretty out of place and forced given the rest of the story. That batsuit is also apparently quite bulletproof.

Pretty clear that these types of comments refer to speaking/appearing in his professional capacity as a representative of the Panthers, as he did many times in prior offseasons but as Fitterer has done near-exclusively this offseason. Rhule sure had no problem with it previously. And Kenny Chesney... lolz.

Not to date, no.

I didn't say that Rhule was the only one who failed, as he and Tepper have both sucked hard during their respective tenures, but Dupes amount of power puts him first and foremost in line for blame. Maybe it's some newfound humility but unto it shows on the field, his dumbassery and inept NFL performance to date precedes him and he gets little to no benefit of any doubt.

One only needs to look at Rule's absence from the stage this offseason and his relative silence during the post-dtaft conferences to know something has changed. Matt loves to hear himself speak and his silence is a huge turn from the last offseasons. I don't think power has shifted entirely but it seems very, very likely that things have shuffled behind closed doors.

No, but it does sound like Tepper told him to do it or he'd be out.

Kind of a whiner these days. Fits right in over there.

Truth hurts. Gotta show it on the field, but at least this offseason appears NFL-caliber thus far.