BrisbanePanther

So one actual premium player, one hopefully premium player (the 2024 #1, which likely would not be trending #1 with a journeyman QB like Dalton) and two coin-flip premium prayers given Carolina's track record, unless you consider our current 2nd rounder WRs premium. The 2023 #1 was a swap. Sorry, but DJ + 3 gambles were traded, not five premium players which IMO should be sure-fire players on-track for all-pro careers. Maybe those picks would be difference makers through dumb luck, but the last few #1s for Carolina are Bryce (maybe bust), Ickey (maybe bust), Horn (maybe bust), and Burns (soon-to-be albatross contract). The #2s are also busts. This team can't draft. Full stop. So they just spared themselves from four likely stupid moves by making one potentially stupid one.

I know about DJ. Who are the other four?

It won't take all that. He'll just right a check tomorrow and buy the Observer. Then sack Fowler. Then buy the next media outlet that hires Fowler. Then sack him again. On and on and on...all while spending the equivalent of couch cushion change.

Draft capital, maybe, but he made his mark at Houston as a player (I know because I always had him on my fantasy teams). Wouldn't shock me if he lived there this whole time too--tons of pros live in the Houston area in the off-seasons. I know Tepper leaves a lot to be desired, but let's be clear here--Cal McNair's rep was no better than Tepper's, and Caserio's was worse than Fitt's. I know we're not in the business of watching other teams closely, but fans of the Texans--a replacement team that'll never dislodge the Oilers' fandom there--might actually hate Cal more than Panthers fans hate Tepper.

On the other hand, Elway was absolutely terrible at running the Broncos. I don't think there's a correlation between how good someone was as a player and their knowledge of picking talent and the mechanics of the game. My guess is JT had to work much harder and learn more to stick with those teams than any of the greats had to with theirs.

If I owned the team, I would've traded out of the '23 draft altogether to accumulate as many '24 picks as possible to control that draft. People loved Dalton's Seattle game enough to put up with him for 17 games, so he would've been an easy 1+1 deal. Then grab a few others for one year of watchable football where maybe we lose, but may as well be entertaining. I would have hired a coach who was innovative and told him to use this year as basically a long preseason to try out formations, a range of game plans, etc. I would communicate this with the fans. I'd find a way to give everyone on the roster bonuses to make up for what would be an usual year. However, we'd probably still be better than 1-7, unpredictable to watch (so a must-watch), a big news story (for good and bad reasons), and in prime position to implement our actual plan from April 2024. I suppose that would make me meddling too though!

Some great defense attorneys in here...focus on discrediting the witness if faced with inconvenient facts.

I'd say of the last 10 seasons...maybe even the history of primetime games.

Totally agree on a total cleanout of the front office execs and scouts. Morgan included. And you can't just replace them with a winning team's front office people either since that's no guarantee. Ryan Poles came from KC--not looking good yet. Even Tepper came from PIT--not looking good yet. Even Caserio was being chased out of Houston as late as after the draft. They all gotta go, but we have to brace for their replacements potentially being even worse.

Fields comes back, throws for 4 TDs (3 to DJ, 1 to Mooney), runs for another, and there's a pick-6 or scoop-n-score from Bryce (hate to say it) after he freaks out when being chased by Sweat for the 8th time in 8 drives while Ikey stares at the stars. Bryce is the team's leading rusher. Piniero does this thing though. 45-9 Bears

Then pick somewhere else. There's enough types of media coverage in 2023. Find a way for the statement to get picked up by ESPN. Then you force the Charlotte press to talk about it. Is Mr Beast a Panthers fan? Use his platform. Tepper wouldn't ignore him.

Ugh, please don't put any ideas out there for him to catch.

This feels like a repeat of a Rhule-era post unfortunately.

Is it? How can we trust him to hire the right person in ANY position?

We kid about this, but as soon as Stroud opened his presser at the combine with "Go 'head, boss" to the first reporter, I knew some would have issue with that. Maybe that includes Carolina's owner's box.

Got it--AGAIN, not blaming any fan. Our expectations are what they are. I never said, "it's the fans' fault" for anything. I'm still confused why "suited" = "blame" but w/e. I thought Duncan's comment had merit and thought it was worthwhile to lob here. I got that wrong. I get it. I'm admittedly pro-Bryce, but even I am losing patience and was yelling about the picks and pedestrian performance (again)--regardless of what Stroud did, which makes it look even worse--just like Levis, who's already had a 4 TD game. On this trajectory, this is indeed looking like the biggest own goal in franchise history and will take ages to move past--if it can even be moved past at all while Tepper is the owner, which I doubt. They have a lot of work to do.

I keep seeing "blame the fans". I don't think the question sounds like a fan-blaming one as much as what we have appetite for. Our last rookie actually played regular season games was out of this world and an atypical rookie--just like Stroud. So maybe this fanbase can indeed be suited for a rookie QB, it just has to be one that takes off like a rocket. We want competent QB play from the jump and typical rookie suckage in year 1 (especially that was traded up for) is not our bag. I think that's the podcast's point. Remember, we had plenty of people who wanted Carr rather than a rookie for the exact reason of the risk of feast-or-famine uncertainty. Carr won't make the HOF but you knew what you were getting. I wasn't in favor of getting Carr but I have to admit that Carr with Moore and probably Skoronski drafted at 9 would probably have more than one win, but some would still wonder about the franchise's long-term future. Either way, life for future rookies across the league gets a lot harder thanks to Stroud. They will all be compared to him for a long time.

Heard this statement on the Unnecessary Bluntness YouTube channel. I personally am starting to agree with this view. We're looking for a rookie to come in and play like a skilled vet or be a rookie like Stroud, who is clearly emerging as a one-of-a-kind, generational rookie QB. Maybe we should move in a direction as a franchise--sign FA QBs or trade for vet QBs, know what we're getting, and move along with whatever comes with that. I honestly believe this fanbase would be all over someone like Tannehill or Cousins this off-season. Or just extend Dalton. Then trade Bryce to LA, Atlanta, or Minnesota and let him take be whatever he'll become there.

I'm hopeful that he can still be an All-Pro. I'm not hopeful that it'll be with Carolina after the fanbase runs him out of town this year. Let him go to McVay. We'll keep our treadmill picks that we get in return, which will definitely be lower once McVay sprinkles the magic dust on him. Or maybe he can go to Minny and see what life is like with JJ. At that point we'll accept that we're Bears South, where QB careers go to die. Maybe it's karma for Cam's treatment, who let's be clear, half this forum hated even during the MVP season...and we still have people who debated whether or not his number should be retired.

Bosa also plays for a premium team in a premium market that is always in the Super Bowl conversation. His market sets itself. I still think that Burns will be traded to New England for their 2024 #1 and change (maybe even a draft day trade) if Belichick sticks around, who won't be keen on growing any more rookies. Their big FA splash will be Kirk Cousins if he looks good from the Achilles or maybe Tannehill. Burns will 100% sign with them to stick with Belichick, who has countless defensive players that elevated during his tenure. He'd also be coached up by Jerod Mayo, who's also probably their HC-in-waiting. New England makes too much sense.

Good. Then at least a couple of those contenders can get close, lose, and realize they could have had one last piece that Carolina was offering. Then, maybe Fitt/Fitt's replacement will get a call more to his liking.

Either or all of that could be true...but was anything said in the video not factual? I think he's been plenty fair to Thielen in the past...for example, thinking back to when Bryce missed Thielen for the TD a few weeks ago. He clearly sided with Thielen on Bryce's miss.

This was great. Also, no problem at all with the Teppers in the room, not do I have a problem with him being there after the games. In fact I seem to recall him giving Wilks a game ball last year as well. I mean, I could see maybe having an issue with them talking all the time, but they're in there in the audience like everyone else listening to the coach as the leader of the team.

I was just certain that Fitt would take the Jordan route and draft Downs since he A) went to Carolina and B) met a need and C) was around maybe longer than the he should have been. On the flip side, Mingo had a 3rd round grade IIRC.

Plus, there's backups and then there's "backups" and Houston's backups have clearly been better than Carolina's backups AND starters to date.