NanuqoftheNorth

Of course, but keeping them anonymous allows for strategic manipulation of sports reporters without any consequences. I mean, if I'm an executive/staff member with another team and want to fug with the Panthers a little, I'll call one of these reporters and put a bug in their ear about Carolina being open to trading Anderson. Next thing you know Robbie's got a chip on his shoulder coming into camp, maybe with any luck, things spiral out of control from there. Is that how it went down? Who knows? And that's the point.

To me Teddy would prefer to lose a game rather than take a risk to gain needed yardage. Darnold is not that guy. He doesn't shy away from taking risks. His issue is reading defenses, taking advantage of what a defense will give him and reducing turnovers. These two QBs are polar opposites in many ways. What the Panthers need is a mix of the two. I am optimistic that Sam can be taught to read defenses and make better judgement calls. Physically he is capable of doing everything an NFL QB needs to do.

It's not nice to speak ill of the recently departed.

Ahh, the Big Truth, we hardly knew ya! ... and we all thank our lucky stars for that!

Hardly anyone is gonna remember news conferences regardless of how entertaining they might be. The only thing most people will remember is if the Panther won or lost, because that is all that really matters. TLDR: Wins will endear Sam to the fans not news conferences.

In fairness, Darnold doesn't have to be as good. Especially if he has more capable teammates and coaches. Football isn't easy, but it doesn't have to be as hard as it was for Cam. There are plenty of QBs wearing SB hardware today that didn't have as much talent as Cam has in his pinky finger.

I don't get the sense that Tepper is going to pull the plug on the Rhule experiment based upon Darnold's success or failure. I think Sam either plateaus at a Teddy level (where he is now) or he will finally put it all together, justifying Rhule's gamble on him. Darnold's likelihood of being a "bust" in the traditional sense doesn't seem likely. All things being equal, if Rhule parts ways with Sam in a season or two, he will get at least one more chance to find his QB. Matt has demonstrated through the first season that he is extremely intelligent and capable of making chicken salad from chickenshit. That is a skillset worth giving at least three strikes to IMHO.

As a GM, if you can improve the Panthers by trading a player why wouldn't you? At some point, every player will become a liability. If you make a trade for something of value before that happens, you are doing it right. Otherwise, you are playing Martyball.

Some of us do seem to be somewhat more optimistic than others when it comes to Sam's prospects as a Panther. Darnold can make all the throws and isn't afraid to take chances. I don't get the impression from watching his tape that he is afraid to take a hit or lacks the ability to evade defenders. For me it all comes down to his ability improve his decision making process. If he can do that I think we've found our long term QB.

Watching other players turn around their careers over the years has taught me that these things don't tend to happen immediately, its a process. However, by mid season we should be seeing some clear signs of improvement. If not, things may get ugly in Panthersland.

From what I've seen of his play, Darnold is the anti-Teddy. I don't want him to lose the willingness to take risks for the big score, just to use better judgement when it isn't there for the taking. I'm going with the glass half full approach for at least the first half of the season, after that all bets are off.

Darnold is no longer a first round draft pick or even a rookie, he is a 3 year veteran QB. That is who Rhule and Fitterer evaluated prior to trading for the guy. Apparently the Panthers have seen something you haven't in Darnold, but then, what do they know in comparison to you?

Some here were champing at the bit to crucify him for an interception during OTA's unfortunately (for them) it turned out to be another QB. If you are a QB in the NFL you're gonna get intercepted. Question is, what are you gonna you do after that happens? Will you shrug it off or is it gonna get in your head and ruin your whole day?

It is almost like the Panthers are a for-profit business trying to sell a product to consumers. Weird.

Well, to be fair to Ron, he ONLY had 9 years to do something about that. What do you think Rivera is, a miracle worker?

8 wins, 8 losses and a tie.

How could the Panthers "steal" something that in reality predates the "Red Sox thing"? They couldn't. I was unaware that the Red Sox brought national attention to the song, but even if I knew that, it wouldn't alter the fact that the Panthers use of the song at every game predates the Red Sox. Now I'm supposed to be concerned about how it looks like our fanbase copied another team in a different league? When in fact we didn't. Are you fugging kidding me? Talk about first world problems.

Did I say that? I don't think I said that. The point I was attempting to make was that even great QB's require capable teammates to succeed in the NFL. Yes, there are also plenty of QB's that haven't made it at the professional level. SD's future is YTBD, but writing him off based on his performance with the NY Jets would be a mistake IMHO.

I can't think of another position in any sport that is more dependent on the performance of other teammates than that of an NFL QB. Circumstances surrounding a QB matter immensely when it comes to their success or failure IMHO. I suspect Rhule and Fitterer would agree, otherwise why bother trading for SD? Why give a second chance to another teams failed QB? Why did Green Bay bother trading for Brett Favre? Why did Kurt Warner suddenly become a record setter rather than just another journeyman QB? Why did the Raiders foolishly let a failure like Jim Plunkett waste a roster spot for two years before he led Oakland to two Super Bowls? How about Jake Delhomme? Let's look at it from a different angle: Does anyone seriously think 4 time Super Bowl Champion Terry Bradshaw would've succeeded in the NFL if he was drafted by the Lions or the Jets?

How would you know for sure? Might have been some potentially great QBs that crashed and burned because of the lack of talent around them.

Yeah, it is a corny, syrupy song. It is a feel good song and kinda suits the family image JR was trying to cultivate. Is there another song that would be better? I can't seem to come up with one.

If we all agreed with one another on the Panthers personnel moves this would be a dull forum indeed. I believe SD has what it takes, but like all players he doesn't exist in a vacuum. I'd go even further and say a QB's success or failure is dependent on a greater number of players than any other position in football. Or to put it another way, a QB's success is in many ways out of his own control. What the Panthers have done this off season is build a team around SD. It may not work out, but I believe there is a good chance that it will.

At this point nothing would surprise me, including the Panthers bringing in a vet to back SD up.

Teams stand a much better chance of making it to the big dance if they are constantly in the mix. Give me a coach that is able of providing consistent double digit wins. The one consistent for the Panthers during their entire existence? Inconsistency.