Sgt Schultz

2010 was worse, at least in my thinking. There were a few subplots in 2010 that made it horrible, and everybody knew Fox was a dead man walking. JR knew it, he just was determined to have Fox suffer through what he was being paid for. In 2022 almost everybody knew Rhule was a dead man walking. There are a handful who entered the season still in his camp, and one of them was the owner. Four weeks in, I don't think there is any doubt anymore. I think the defense and ST are bright spots for this team. Not necessarily great, but not at ground zero. In 2010 we were hitting bottom, in 2020 was bottom for the roster in terms of dearth of talent. So there are at least some building blocks, if the next staff decides to move on with them. While I don't think this Panthers team is the worst in our history, the numbers will put it near that point if something doesn't give.

Welcome to the dark side. The problem with residing on Memory Lane is Rhule moved into a house on that street about 3 years ago. He took out the dying plants and weeds the first year, so we had high hopes. The problem is he has killed what he planted to replace them, and now there are a bunch of cars in the front yard on cinder blocks. Never fear, as the property may be condemned soon.

Just saw this. We can only hope. https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/ncaafb/arizona-state-football-coach-speculation-surrounds-matt-rhule-carolina-panthers-coach/ar-AA12s3Ld

Hell, I want Fire Rhule painted in the end zones. Using the throwback font would be fine.

He's been asked similar things before and replied with tripe like the process is working, you just can't see it. I guess it is stealth.

How many "second times around" have their been in the NFL? The only ones I can think of are Art Shell in Oakland (good the first time, epic fail the second time around), Joe Gibbs in DC (HOF the first time, struggled and mediocre the second), Bud Grant in Minnesota (a legend the first time, 7-9 in one year the second), Chuck Knox with the Rams (great the first time, failed the second), and Marion Campbell in Atlanta (dismal failure both times). Shell and Campbell were both fired to end their first stints with those teams. Rivera is probably just below Shell and well above Campbell in the pecking order. But every one of these guys failed or struggled the second time around. So the question is.....

It should. He lost me last year, but I am skeptical about his having lost the locker room, unless the comments the paparazzi where trying to incite DJ on have more legs than I am giving them credit for. I don't even want to speculate about that at this point.

Tepper showed too many of his cards the first time around. In his defense, he probably could not envision he would be interviewing a snake oil salesman as a candidate for an NFL HC job. But, he broadcast he was looking for 1) someone well-versed in analytics, and 2) someone who can build a long-term successful program, slowly if necessary. So Rhule shows up, armed with that information, useless numbers, and preaching "the Process." It didn't help that the GM involved in this process was a snake oil salesman looking to lick his new boss's boots. Let's hope Tepper has learned from this, or hands over the next search and hiring process to someone whose BS meter is a little more sensitive.

Unfortunately, I share your fear of Tepper bouncing to the opposite extreme of Rhule. Of course, one could say that the opposite extreme of Rhule is coaching competency and wins, but I fear we could pull a Jerry Jones and just bounce from one extreme to another for a while. In Dallas' case, the extremes are strong, successful NFL coaches like Johnson and Parcells to yes men.

You would hope McDaniels learned from the utter clusterfugg he created in his time with the Broncos, but maybe not. I was not willing to bet on it when his name was coming up in threads here about who we should hire (and occasionally still does). His record in 2+ seasons is 11-20. It might be worse, but the Broncos sent him packing after 12 games in his second season. How much better is that than you-know-who's 11-25?

Not to mention that at that point Rhule doesn't care about whether the draft pick traded for Mayfield winds up being a 5th, 4th, or 1st. He has not given any indication he cares about the draft picks regardless of record, so why would he if he thinks he is on his way out the door? Right now, Darnold is out of sight and Rhule is probably hoping everybody forgets about him. It's hard to see a scenario where he brings that sore subject up again, unless he is delusional enough to think that somehow, despite showing four years of poor decision making leading to turnovers, he is somehow going to be decent because of "the process." In Rhule's world, that is not out of the question, but in reality, it is.

We don't have nearly enough results yet to determine where Corral is between the "elite" and "bust" extremes of the spectrum. That is a self-inflicted wound by this team. My biggest fear is we draft a QB in the first (which I would vote for today), then have another "competition" next season, and PJ Walker winds up being the starter. I swear, somewhere in the 23 and Me data base there is a familial match between Walker and Rhule.

I believe the technical term for this is "kluge."

That may be the fly in the ointment. His two catches Sunday are exactly the kind of plays that will make him a threat. I'm not going to throw in the towel on McAdoo, yet, but the returns thus far look like if he figures out he needs to scheme Shenault open, Shenault will not be put in a position to be open. We seem to spend a lot of time trying to swim upstream, at least thus far.

But honestly, that is the problem with Darnold. I don't think he can cut down the mistakes or trust the pocket, at least not when 75,000 people are watching him. He has a distinguished record of turning the ball over by making bad decisions, and the fact that the pocket may be holding up seems to have no bearing on that. I don't think there is any chance he can be serviceable IF he cuts down the mistakes. At this point, he is exactly what he has shown in games. He can look fine in practice or scrimmages, but during the game he reverts back to what he does. Mayfield may be in the same boat but at least he had one season when he showed more. That may have been an anomaly and if it is, guess who is looking for one or two new QBs after this season. Based on the brief but consistent results, I really do not want this staff having any voice in who he/they are.

This is what most people don't get. The underlying question is whose snaps is Shenault going to take. Uh, a little off the top of almost everybody, which keeps WRs fresher, and keeps the defense adjusting because he is very different from our other receivers.

He was targeted twice yesterday, both were underneath completions, and both turned into huge plays. For a guy who is not exactly Jerry Rice or Secretariat, he looked fast enough after those catches. Obviously the 67-yard TD was huge, and he made the defense look like it was standing around while he ran to the end zone. The 23-yard catch and run on 3rd and 14 was about as big as a play could be without changing the scoreboard. 4:45 left, up by two scores, but backed up on our own 10, then add how quickly the Saints scored once they got the ball back. That first down ran them out of timeouts and made their TD with 2:25 left "uneasy" but not "pacing the floor." He is a big body who can advance the football despite contact. I don't expect him to average 45 yards a catch the rest of the year, or have every catch result in a FD or points, but we might as well get him the ball enough to give the opposing defense a pause.

I would point out that they won this game despite Juan creating a thread saying they would win this game. That could be the biggest achievement of the day.

I've never been convinced Rhule would be fired this season unless they looked as completely hopeless as late last year, and the staff looked totally clueless again as to what to do about it. Any perceived progress may be enough for them to continue with "the process." That would be largely because Tepper has no idea how the business of an NFL team runs. The rational reason for Tepper to wait is to play a game of chicken with Rhule and see if he leaves on his own for a college job. That saves him a ton of cash, which is not a deal breaker for him, but if he can save a few million by waiting, why not? But I am not convinced either of them has a clue about an NFL franchise.

What Matt Rhule knows about analytics is that the guy who signs his enormous paychecks and controls his fate loves them. He uses the solely to maintain that relationship.

One of the most frustrating things about our coaching staff is their inability to accept the "easy ones." Chinn and how to best use him is a prime example. We are busy wasting 2 of his 3 years in the NFL thus far insisting he play a position he is not best suited for. It is downright moronic.

Sadly, I don't think Rhule is passionate about football, either. He has not learned a thing from his time here, and there was a lot to learn. They both are what they are, and it is not NFL material in either case. Robbie could be, but Rhule....not so much.

That would not surprise me one bit. Neither his head nor his heart are into professional football, based on his musings. He may think they are, but if that is his version of being committed to the NFL, he needs to move on. He's not without talent, but he does not use it nearly often enough.

I think they do, after this season. His cap hit next year is big, and they save $12M by cutting their losses with him. And his protector will be gone.

Does this mean another competition is coming?