UnluckyforSome

I don't think the Falcons have enough to make any sort of challenge to the top. They will be very dependent on grinding it out with the run and looking to hit on the big play. Teams can and have won like that, but I hope they aren't there yet. Bucs still have 2 good wrs, and a decent defense. They do not have a qb though, nor a running game, and might be scoring challenged. The wheels haven't completely fallen off the Saints, but it's getting shaky. Carr is better than anything they've had at qb since Brees, but it's a low bar to clear. There are some nice things on offense still, if not suspended or on ir. The defense is starting to show it's age. Coaching, formerly a strength there, is now a deficit.

I'm not sold on the Lions. Isn't half their team now on gambling watch? Beyond that, SOL--Same Old Lions. They are a trendy/darkhorse pick to do something though. NFC will be much the same as last year. Niners, Eagles, Vikings. Bucs will not be in the mix.

Premium position equals premium pay. He is a proven player and will get what he gets, if not here, than there will be no shortage of other pass rush needy teams lined up. Every single team in the league is looking for pass rush, and those that don't have any wish they had what we have. There are 2 choices: pay the man and be happy about locking up a young player at a needed position, or replace him with an unknown. Maybe some 5th rounder that has shown "flashes" for a couple of seasons will have his breakout year. Then we can repeat the process again when his contract comes due.

Rivers will be a test of how much winning matters. He has stats that would compare pretty well to his peers, but he made 1 AFC Championship game, and lost, in a 17 year career. So the question that will be on the minds of voters will be how much of his stats are from longevity and being on above average teams that he wasn't able to elevate.

If anyone cares to see what no pass rush looks like, and having to manufacture pressure with blitzes, you don't have to look far. Atlanta is so desperate for help they gave 10 million to 36 year old Calais Campbell, and Tanking Bay is hoping that Barrett recovers from career-ending injury.

The best part would be the bewildered complaints and nonsensical crying about why we don't have any pass rush.

That's minor on the list of Smith negatives though. I mean there are much more detrimental things to rake him over the coals about in his career. That said, I'm sure being difficult to work with became exhausting, and was a contributing factor. Smith, Peppers, Cam and Luke have been the 4 players most feared by our opponents in our history, for different reasons.

He was an absolute cheat code during that 2005 season.

You are kind of hitting on the wrong direction complaints with that statement. There are a few out there that think Wilks should've been given the job. We will find out soon enough. I don't think you ever hire the interim guy. Let it be an audition for someone else. I do hope we have made the right choice on qb.

Completely unrealistic though. I think the team exceeded some expectations in his 1st year, and that got them thinking maybe they were closer than they really were. That little 3-0 start the next year just added to the fool's gold, and when reality settled in he was hopelessly over his head.

It is absolutely a small sample, but of the handful of Nebraska fans I know, either online or in real life, they all seem to think that Rhule was put in a impossible no-win situation, and then was scapegoated after 2 and a half seasons. Subsequently, they have completely bought in to the notion of him returning them to their glory days, and they are expecting a playoff appearance, especially now with the expansion of the field. Winning 7 or 8 games and a trip to the Independence bowl versus a K-State or the like is not going to be good enough. Right now their expectations are out of control.

Yeah I thought ASU would've been a better fit in regards to managing and meeting expectations, especially with the upcoming departures in the PAC. Nebraska's heyday seems well past, and there aren't many compelling reasons for someone to go play in the middle of nowhere at what has become an afterthought and overshadowed by the competition. That said, there's no reason to think he can't have them competitive with the rest of the Big 10, other than the 3 or 4 usual powers at the top in that conference.

At the time, he said his kids were so happy here that they were staying to finish out their school year. Doesn't really square with having to watch what your kids went through. Anyway, I know the team out there in Nebraska has gotten a bunch of personal growth and development by reading up "The Way of the Cornhusker."

2005 team. Smith was a cheat code, and that defense was not fooling around.

Not football, nor really infamous, more notable I'd say, but I have an original Mourning Hornets jersey in teal. Not a reissue or a remake. Vintage 1992.

Consistent..yes. Jenkins more than had his moments. There's a story that Gruden called whoever was the Jets coach to personally thank him for getting Jenkins out of the division. We eagerly traded him out for a 3rd and 5th I think. I've forgotten what the reasons were. Doesn't really matter anymore at this point.

I'm thrilled we won more than 5 games last season. That streak had been hanging around for too long. I don't have a prediction for this season, but I think the overall direction has improved. I've accepted the Hornets will always be terrible. Both teams can't be awful.

Agreed. As big a moment as that was, beyond that, was Jenkins much better than his replacement, Maake Kemoeatu, or about the same, or a little under?

I will say I liked Jenkins, especially when he was healthy. He was a force in that middle that had to be addressed. With that in mind, is it the Ring of Honor, Panther Hall of Fame, or Panther Superstar of the Game? I guess it's all up to interpretation. Another poster mentioned the blocked kick in Tampa, and I agree 100%. That was monumental. Defending champs beaten on their home turf by a bunch of unknowns. But the reality is I don't think players get honored for a singular moment.

Jenkins won't be going in. The team was calling it addition by subtraction after he was shipped off.

Agreed, to a certain extent. There were 3 teams that competed for fans here pre-1995. Redskins, Cowboys and Steelers. Redskins are irrelevant in a number of ways and are not a factor. There's been some migration that has brought in some Ohio fans and NY fans, especially western NY. I think that hits all teams though as people move back and forth, and some take their teams with them, some don't, and some go half and half. The Mayberry excuse is a little played out now, and is a bit insulting. If the team starts winning again, the fans come back, even if some of those fans are still secretly ashamedly Cowboy fans too. "Aw shucks what it twas, was football."

Everyone loves a winner and the team hasn't been a winner for a good long while now. The whole gosh dangit small market Mayberry thing isn't accurate anymore. It may have been back when there wasn't a team logo on the field, back when old man Richardson had his row of white rocking chairs out there on Sunday morning, and fans could enjoy some relaxing times and sweet tea before the game, which was an actual thing, but that is in the past. 5 win seasons after 5 win seasons after 5 win seasons, and so on, makes a lot of people stay home.

There are so many unknowns at this point, on all teams, that it might as well be a coinflip to decide. My kneejerk reaction today, would be no. It's very rare that rookie qbs excel right out of the gate.

Understand completely. I was posting it more as a compare-contrast to what our team has put out. I have not seen much more from other teams, but admittedly, other than our NFC South brethren, I do not keep up with most teams in detail. I do get some Jags coverage where I am located though, so rather than Panthers North or Panthers Steel City, I guess by default my casual AFC team would be the Jags.

The Jags are doing a similar offseason video series. This is their 3rd episode as well. https://youtu.be/fVOCpTmgpJs