BrisbanePanther

I didn't see this posted anywhere but thought it would be handy here rather than the draft thread while many Huddlers go through their stages of grief. RUMOR: Caleb Williams Has List Of 5 NFL Teams He’ll Play For, Otherwise He Will Return To USC And “Make More Money” (msn.com) So it's not clear that even if Bryce hadn't been drafted and Carolina kept the 2024 1st, he could very well Andrew Luck us. So Carolina probably had no chance with Williams anyway. Seems that Prime has also said that Shadeur is staying in school too, so I guess some of the Huddle can get excited about the 2025 QBs? Or we can just ride the wave (while being constructively critical instead of hyperbolic) with Bryce while he works through a normal rookie campaign.

I mean, the review gives him a D grade so far. I know this is the soft days of 2023 where no one gets below a 50 on their school work and all, but in ye olden days, a D in school was defined as "unsatisfactory". I think most will say "unsatisfactory" is an appropriate description for his year so far. Would you prefer F-? Even if grading on a curve, that's an unjustifiable mark.

If Reich is indeed on the hot seat, we can all point to the same event horizon--calling a play for a player that wasn't even on the field, and adding insult to injury by burning a TO. One has to wonder what the chats were like between Irsay and Tepper at the owners meetings though...

Ok, so yep, coaching confirmed. Your point above reinforced.

Yeah, haven't watched that game yet but I had Fields as my fantasy QB and was loving the 1st half...he was like 19/19, 200+ yards and 3 TD's. Somebody then had a lobotomy in the second half and based on your comment it must have been the coach.

Not saying it's acceptable, but more teams have waited longer and looked worse in the process. I know I harp on the fact that this franchise has only won 25% of its games (clearly winning a lot of games in only a few seasons), but it has been to two Super Bowls. Cleveland and Detroit would love to be in our position. Before that, the Bucs, Saints, and Seahawks were largely jokes for decades. No excusing the putrid product for the last seven years--and they need to right the ship ASAP--but perspective at least.

But it wasn't 2 1sts right? One was a swap of 9 and 1. Then the 2024 1st. The transaction was a 2024 1st and DJ Moore for the right to swap places I thought. Or was there another 1st that I missed? Otherwise we have to stop this "giving up 2 1sts" point--it's just not true...unless there's a 2025, 2026 or some other 1st that Chicago is owed.

I'm not the only one who actually read what Seifert wrote below this clip am I? "There’s no doubt that things can look a lot easier after the fact on tape from an aerial view, but it’s still funny how the replies are everything from of course he should have thrown it to, well actually, Joe Montana couldn’t make that throw." I mean if that's not Huddle I don't know what is. So many convinced that it was a basic pass. Others saying not so much.

In a vacuum, I maintain that Bryce is classic rookie and looks like one. Am I disappointed in the losses so far? Yep. Disappointed in the turnovers? Yep. Wish he could just throw the go-get-it balls more? Yep, yep, and yep. But he's still a rookie in the classic sense of the word. The hard part is out of the vacuum when the context is taken with Stroud, who indeed looks to be the goods at least for now--we'll see what happens when more coaches have film on him though later in the year. The Huddle should be honest that if Stroud, AR, and Bryce were all performing similarly, or if the alleged "S2 Stroud" was showing more than the "UGA game Stroud" a lot fewer people would be apoplectic about him, but that's not the case so here we are. We seem to all forget that he was the consensus #1 pick (except for Chris Simms) all year. No asterisks. Was it Bama bias? Maybe. Or, was it anti-OSU-QB bias when it came to Stroud not being consensus #1? Maybe. So even if was a "Tepper pick", it was a pick that 30 other franchises would have taken given the chance--which many tried to have with Chicago. As a hypothetical, people who are already "over him" should ask themselves if they would trade him ASAP. The only places he could go are probably the Rams or Broncos...maybe Minnesota since Cousins is clearly done there. Murphy's law, he'd be traded to the Rams who'd move on from Stafford soon and become Brees 2.0 with McVay. Or be traded to Denver right now with Payton and Jeudy to throw to...and become Brees 2.0 there. I'm not sold on Minny's coaching staff, but having Jefferson and Addison as receivers could be something. Just imagine this place if he were to light it up the day he's out of a Panthers uniform...

Fair enough--I couldn't edit the title in time to make it clear that it was the video's title, not mine...hence the post immediately after. Rookie poster mistake--lesson learned.

Agree with this point and made the same at the time. This franchise can almost fall out of bed and acquire game breaking D-Linemen--it's actually probably the one good thing that it has been consistent at. Finding a receiver though? Cam went to a Super Bowl with cast-offs Cotchery and Ginn as his main receivers with Olsen. I just remember when DJ was drafted, Smitty said, "they've been trying to replace me...until today". Says all we need to know, and CMC might actually be the 2nd best receiver in franchise history after Smitty. Speaking of Olsen, the franchise list of names for TE's is also short with just Walls and Olsen. Shockey was a shadow of himself and everyone else has basically been a bunch of JAGs. Pass catchers has just not been a strong suit for this franchise from the beginning.

Yes, it was always better to trade Burns because of the exact issues faced now: 1: No true #1 for Bryce and 2: Having to pay Burns #1 money without being convinced that he's actually a #1. I also recall most here thinking that Burns was a more valuable piece than DJ. It is revisionist history now.

I was thinking Bikini Atoll.

Oh, and I should have noted that this was actually the video's title (not mine).

Made ya look. Seriously though, I didn't see this in any of the other threads (not sure why?) so I'm posting it here for balance. Oh, FWIW, I had to find this on the TEXANS' board. https://youtu.be/lQiPmwsh1k0?si=8luDbBYPrVC2SQLW

I'm 100% supportive of Bryce but I would like to see him take way more downfield shots regardless of if he sees it there or not. Defenses just need to know that he's willing and able to, and I'd be ok with him audibling out of a playcall to do so at times--even if it's against Frank's wishes Coach Kilmer-style. I think he's been trying to play mistake-free football rather than realizing that the whole reason he's on this team with a whole new staff is because they stunk anyway, so it's not like he can make the franchise much worse. He's surely seen and heard the talk and surely knows that people are comparing him with Stroud (as they've been their whole lives) so I'm sure he's feeling the pressure and will press a bit at least at times. I just hope he's pressing the accelerator rather than the brake pedal. If he has a line like 21-46 (with a lot of those misses as downfield go-get-it plays), 305 yds with 2 tds and 3 picks in a loss, I'm not sure many would complain. If 2-3 of those completions where he looked off a defender or put the ball where only his guy could get it on the sideline, the criticisms might even be a hair quieter this week.

Ickey did remind me a lot of Zangief's Double Lariat move from Street Fighter. Spinning and hitting nothing...and nothing hitting him either. Dancing with the Stars might have been his calling.

He may not dominate, but if his performance against PIT is an even draw with Bryce against MIN, this place might just go supernova.

Yep, more specifically, the city with all footy code teams in their respective grand finals...now they just have to win them all!

Yep, and though it's a different sport, it's a weird take for a fan of the team based in the city that is home to the shortest man to ever play the tall man's game professionally.

While I agree that Bryce will be linked with Stroud and Richardson at least for a while, my whole thing is this urge that people have had to give up on him already after eight quarters of play. Bear in mind that Darnold was 3-0 at one point and people everywhere was singing his praises. Oh, and there were more than a few people (this board included) who were convinced that Lawrence was a bust and Mac Jones was a better pick. How'd that work out? Bryce by all accounts is a bit of a throwback QB in a lot of ways...if he has a throwback type of rookie season but turns into a Brees/Aikman/P Manning career, we'll forget all about how he did the first two games.

In all serious--good call. It was becoming insufferable.

Yep. Pretty sure he made the corner when they brought Dalton in.

Not off the bandwagon after two games. I'd need a couple seasons to confirm if he's a bust or not. That being said, the team definitely should have played full-strength for all three preseason games though--Bryce included. The amount of front pressure on the line is insane...and I distinctly remember this board being amped up about Campen staying.