BrianS

I was not encouraged. Two terrible offenses played in monsoon conditions and managed 16 points between them. I don't know how anyone looks at that and is encouraged. You have to be seriously looking for hopium under every rock to take anything from that game.

This is a silly argument honestly. There is only one stat that matters on defense: Points. If you give up 500 yards per game but only give up 10 points per game, are you the #1 defense? I don't even see it as a legit question. Of course you are. It's all about points surrendered. Other stats might help you figure out WHY you are giving up points - for example if opposing teams average 5+ yards per rush attempt, you might look at that and go "Oh, we need to tighten up our run defense or teams are just going to grind it down our throat". But it's not going to tell you the story of how good your defense really is. Points per game is the stat that tells you how good your defense is.

What do we think? Chargers got rid of a guy who has built a pretty talented roster. I'd take their talent over ours every day.

The issue is that Cam isn't being intellectually honest with himself. You know who else has that issue? David Tepper. Cam is a Panther legend. From that position he's allowed to make whatever observations he wants, and yes, it gives him a lot more reach than most. But none of that qualifies him to be the guy running this team.

Cam is a great personality, but he's not the guy you want running your team.

The people who think this about Purdy have clearly forgotten that Sam Darnold is on that team as the backup. There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that Darnold is the more physically gifted QB of the two. The thing is West Coast systems never valued big arms. They value intelligence, decisiveness and timing. These are things Purdy has in spades. Purdy isn't a system QB, he's a QB that fits the system. He's Teddy Bridgewater with enough arm to hit the downfield shots that a WC system opens up with it's stretch concepts.

BPA. No (*&$ing trades. There isn't a single position we don't need help at.

Want to talk about nightmare fuel? Here it is. We start Bryce our remaining three games, because we wouldn't want to hurt his "development". This means we learn nothing more about the guys we have surrounded him with. If we don't change that variable, we learn nothing. It isn't even a discussion. But here's where it gets worse. Next year, we're 10 games in and Bryce still looks like Bryce. At that point, we know NOTHING about the players around him because we were determined to keep developing him this year. So we make a change in 2024 for the last 7 games. Suddenly, we become a middle of the pack team. We stay close in games. We win a few down the stretch against teams who are resting for the playoffs or whatever. And we blow the top pick in the draft - a pick we still have - because we didn't know anything about these players. That's really the only way we make this worse. And we have fans who think it's a good idea. I am terrified that we have staff who think it's a good idea.

Why? The why is simple for me, and it's not even about wins and losses. It's about evaluating the REST of the offense. I'd like to see what the other players can do with a veteran QB. Is our line as bad as we think? What about our receivers? TE's? etc. Bryce has had more than enough opportunity this year. I would think that just in the name of fair evaluation of all the players putting Dalton in at QB might give us something different to look at. I don't care if we win or lose.

The problem is not what we gave up to get there. The problem is who we chose with that selection. Had we chosen Stroud, do you think this would even be a conversation?

I strongly believe McCown was fired either because he wanted CJ and did hide it or because he didn't coach Bryce up on the flaws that everyone can see.

We need a true franchise QB. It cures a whole lot of things. Maybe Bryce is that guy, but it isn't looking good. We need to look like a team that cares. We really don't right now. We need to stay healthy. The Panthers organization has a huge problem with injured players - and it's not something new. Not sure what it is, but it's gotta get fixed. These are things that will motivate the fan base.

FWIW, the national media are finally catching on as well:

Depends on who the coach is.

So wait. CJ Stroud has the same pocket time as Bryce. He has been blitzed more, hurried more, hit more, pressured more . . . the only thing Bryce has had more of is sacks. It's another piece of data that does not look good. We need to run a system that fits the linemen we have, or hit an offseason where we can realistically expect to change most of them out. It would also be sweet if our starters could stay healthy. I don't think enough attention is paid to our seemingly sky high injury rate. It's been going on for years and I'd love to know why.

I've said it elsewhere, I'll say it again here. Anyone who is "stunned" my Josh McCown's firing isn't paying attention. He was the guy most closely tasked with developing Bryce Young and Young has regressed. His mechanics are terrible compared to what he put on tape at Bama. It may be this very thing that's at issue with BY. We've heard how he's a fast decision maker, but we haven't seen it. In the NFL your decisions are tied to your mechanics, and BY has not been "ready to throw" at the point decisions need to be made. This could be why we haven't seen the quick decision making manifest - he's just not ready to deliver when he should be. I retain a very healthy doubt as to whether BY is an NFL QB, but he'll get another season. On the other hand it's easy for me to see why McCown wasn't given more time.

This year is irrelevant to Horn. I will say I think his mentality is weak. He had a hamstring injury in week 1. It's week 10. Aaron Rodgers blew out his achilles. Required surgery. He returned to practice this week. Think what you will about Rodgers, his mentality is not weak. Also, Rodgers is 40 years old. From the outside looking in, JC looks like a guy who just doesn't want to be here. Right now, Horn is three years into a career and has played the equivalent of one. I could be wrong, he could never be injured again and have an All Pro or even Hall of Fame career ahead. History doesn't stand on his side right now.

Here are some facts, do with them what you will. When talking about Mingo as a prospect, I look at all WR's drafted after him this year. Those drafted before him are irrelevant since we couldn't have chosen them while still drafting Bryce. Of those 22, only five have outperformed Mingo: Puka Nakua, Tank Dell, Jayden Reed, Demario Douglas and Rashee Rice. Of those five, it's clear why Nakua and Rice have done so well. Does Mingo need to improve? Yes, of course. But in truth he's performed about as well as you could expect a rookie WR to perform in his situation. When looking at Fitterer (or Rhule, or whoever is running the show) as a GM in the draft, you've only got three years of data. Of all players selected, the only one drafted in the first five rounds who is no longer on the team is Brandon Smith. And FWIW, Smith is on the Eagles practice squad. You can argue that our roster is low on talent - you won't be wrong. But the guys "Fitterer" has chosen are generally still here. Now, using this . . . . . . as your justification is weak sauce. In fact, it's just this argument brought us Sam Darnold. Yikes! This is a terrible argument. Great players play great regardless of what's around them. Joe Burrow was sacked 32 times as a rookie before his injury. Had he played out a 17 game season at that rate he would have been sacked 54 times. Bryce is on course to be sacked 68 times this year. Not that different. However, watching Joe Burrow play in 2020 made it VERY VERY CLEAR he was the real deal. Burrow elevated his team and was SPECIAL. As you might expect of the first pick in the draft. Barry Sanders never had a team around him, but he was GREAT. Cam Newton elevated his team. Archie Manning never played on a winning team, but you could see how great he was just by watching.

Yes we do. He came right out and said why. FWIW he withdrew from ALL HC opportunities. He was in for a number of them and likely would have gotten at least one offer.

He's a guy who played pretty well for other teams. Oh, and injury history says he should fit right in.

Our problem here is that our GM didn't follow his own advice when he arrived. One of the things he said when he arrived is that you should ALWAYS be drafting a QB - every year. He's not saying at the top of the draft, but just as a general rule you should be spending a pick trying to find a guy. Doesn't matter if you have one already, if you uncover one you literally cannot lose. Look no further than the last draft. The Eagles, Chargers, Browns, Rams, Cardinals . . . . all drafted QB's despite having a franchise guy on the roster already. That's good roster building. Unfortunately for us, Fitts said all those things and hasn't done it, except when pressured to fill a need.

Likewise, getting better in the short term doesn't predict the future. I would rather swing for the fences trying to find a really great coach than settle for "just ok". That's one thing that kinda bothered me about Frank - I'm not sure that he was "that guy". The staff he assembled seemed to make sense - lots of young talent - but clearly something was wrong with the chemistry.

You need to go watch the Jimmy Johnson documentary for "A Football Life". Jerry wasn't involved until after the dynasty had been built.

Or, conversely, he built an offense for a QB we didn't draft. Unfortunately, we'll never know. One of the clauses that is apparently inserted into these coaching contracts is that they are not allowed to disclose information like that if they want to get paid after being fired. They are contractually obligated to keep their mouth shut.

The only thing that comes to mind is "Corey Brown is a nice young man. Philly catches the ball."