BlitzMonster

I thought Darnold was a pretty good risk. Highly regarded QB that was the #3 overall pick. Prospect grade by the NFL was "7.10 - Pro Bowl Talent". Had NFL size, arm strength and a good college pedigree from a top program. The Jets franchise was widely known as fairly dysfunctional so maybe he could succeed on the Panthers. Darnold was still pretty young but he now had 3 years of NFL experience. It was a decent gamble to make. Just didn't work out for a number of reasons (bad OC, porous OL, no strong run game after CMC went down, maybe Sam just didn't have the talent after all). If it had worked, would have been a bargain for the draft picks we gave up. But it didn't.

Even with the bad W/L record, I wouldn't be mad at Rhule if the young players were developing. That would suggest the future of the team will be bright. But there's been no obvious growth or development for any of the 2021 draft class. Outside of Horn, not a single clear starter among the bunch. Also Jeremy Chinn (2020 all rookie first team) and Derrick Brown (who was SEC Defensive POY) both seemed to have regressed. Those issues are far more important for me than some losses in the 2021 season.

I think the better question is "who does this job appeal to ?" Just look at the team liabilities: no QB OL is a problem and needs lots of work overall defensive performance has been checkered at best this season missing a bunch of good draft picks for 2022 salary cap is starting to get hamstrung with all the high-dollar contracts that were handed out I'd have to say not many coaches would find this job interesting.

I don't know about that. Tepper already has plenty of money. It's the ego he wants stroked. Maybe it's enough for some owners to just be in the billionaire boys club that is the NFL. But as a Hedge Fund guy, Tepper strikes me the ultra competitive type - "I want to win" owner.

one of the comments from the video referenced a complaint that has been voiced by many on the Huddle: "OLine where guys are playing a different position every week before they even gain confidence playing ONE position"

interesting observations on Tepper and how he makes decisions - basically cut bait immediately when success isn't seen Mike Florio interview

this times a thousand

I am really concerned about the lack of player development for Christensen, Deonte Brown, Terrance Marshall, Shi Smith, Tommy Tremble, Daviyon Nixon. These are guys that the fan base was really high on. And they have done absolutely nothing this season. The team still doesn't know what it has with any of these players yet.

Rhule is obviously learning on the job. The only way he's going to get better is by working with an experienced guy. Fitterer has been in the league over 20 years. For half that time he worked with a well respected coach, Pete Carroll. Could Fitterer be the one to help Rhule learn the ropes in the NFL ?

Panthers are currently 4th highest in the league for penalties. That's definitely on coaching. https://www.footballdb.com/stats/penalties.html

I knew they used his offense but didn't know Brady was involved in any game play calling. Still the point is valid. Brady was not even the LSU OC. He was very inexperienced to take on an NFL OC role.

I'll provide a few Devil's advocate responses to keep the evaluation fair. But some of these points can't be dismissed. ******************************* Hires a OC w/ basically zero coordinator experience and was even more green than Rhule YEAH, THIS ONE WAS A HUGE MISTAKE. BRADY NEVER CALLED PLAYS BEFORE Hires a bunch of yes men he's worked with in college. Strangely leaned more heavily to his Temple days than Baylor. SNOW HAS DONE PRETTY WELL. IT'S GOOD TO BE COMFORTABLE WITH YOUR TEAM Unceremoniously releases Cam after praising him publicly. Can still argue this was a move we needed to make but handled poorly HAD TO BE DONE DUE TO CAM'S SALARY DEMANDS. STILL IT WAS POORLY HANDLED Drafts Derrick Brown. I wouldn't classify a bust but he does not look worthy of that pick when we had the best OT in forever at our disposal. Puke. He's playing no different than plenty of DTs taken from rounds 1-3 in the past few years. BUILDING FROM THE LINES OUT IS A GOOD STRATEGY. BROWN WAS SEC DEF POY. Notable QBs we've passed on: Gardner Minshew, Jalen Hurts, Mac Jones, Justin Fields, the list goes on. I think we could've traded up for Herbert too if we wanted. PROBABLY WANTED TO GO LT BUT PENEI SEWELL GOT TAKEN #7 SLATER WAS AVAILABLE AT #8 BUT HAS SHORT ARMS. ANALYTICS DUMB SLATER CURRENTLY IN THE OROY DISCUSSION. Overpaid for Teddy Bridgewater hoping he and the OC were destined for great things, and bailed faster than hell BRIDGEWATER IS WHAT HE IS. FOR A BRIDGE QB, SHOULD HAVE BEEN FINE MISTAKE WAS DUMPING HIM SO FAST FOR A LOTTERY TICKET IN DARNOLD For some reason decided to reclaim Sam Darnold after failing to land Stafford and Watson. TOOK A RISK ON A GOOD PEDIGREE RECLAMATION PROJECT AND FAILED. Has a weird pattern of just getting worse the more time goes by OTHER COACHES GET TAPE ON HIM AND HE DOESN'T ADJUST. JUST THE SAME STUFF Not to mention this whole Christensen debacle after they claimed they drafted him BECAUSE THEY COULD SEE TACKLE POTENTIAL PICK G OR LT AND LET THE KID LEARN THERE. THE MOVEMENT HURTS HIS DEVELOPMENT Today did a most bewildering thing in benching the starter twice in a single game. His in game decisions are now getting straight up boo'd by the fans MAJOR SNAFU - THIS IS NOT DONE IN THE NFL. I GUESS RHULE NEVER GOT THAT MEMO

I listened. It was a whole bunch of farts one after the other. And then the announcer came on and said "That about sums it up."

OK so the team fires Rhule. He deserves it, no doubt. But what coach on God's green earth would want to jump into this mess ?

could you hear cheers from the Falcons fans ?

It's a never ending story for Carolina this season - getting the absolute least out of every player

The Bills knew the Patriots were going to run. The fans in the stadium knew the Patriots were going to run. Every person watching TV in America knew the Patriots were going to run. And the Bills couldn't stop it. Three, four, five yards every carry. Time after time after time. That's imposing your will upon the other team. All of that was the result of great roster building, a great gameplan considering the weather and great execution by the players. It's what good coaches do.

The Panthers OL is currently tailor made to have super athletic Brady Christensen at LG and huge mauler Deonte Brown at RG. Rhule, do the obvious thing and put them there !!!!

Being strong on both lines is a guarantee your team will be at least decent. It's not sexy but it gets the job done. The foundation that the rest of your offense / defense is built on. Don't skimp on this.

I'd say the Lions, Browns Washington and Jets. All four are just chaotic organizations from the owner on down. Not surprisingly, these teams are also among the worst at W/L since 2000.

I've read numerous OL guys say the transition from R to L (or vice versa) is actually much more difficult that it would initially appear. If you've played on one side on the line for many years, when you get switched every instinct you have is completely wrong. Those decisions you have to make in just fractions of a second take a little longer since you're translating what you're doing for your body. Maybe if you've been playing for many years it's not so bad but much more difficult for rookies or other young players. That's why playing Christensen at RG is incredibly stupid. Rhule is using him like he's a 10 year pro, not a rookie still trying to learn the game (which he is). Rhule is actually hurting Christensen's development by moving him to so many positions. Just put him at one hecking spot and leave him there in his rookie year !!! How hecking much of an idiot do you have to be not to understand that ??

The first thing for a team to build is a good OL. That's because the OL protects the team's most valuable asset, the QB. After that, it's probably a good idea to go with the best talent the draft offers you. Take a top rated defensive player over the 6th WR. Position need factors in a little bit as well but it shouldn't grossly supersede the highest rated players on your board. Over time taking what the draft gives you will result in the best overall and most competitive team. But this strategy requires patience by the ownership and fan base, which most NFL teams don't have.

The Panthers have way too many guys on the coaching staff learning on the job. Brady may very well be a good OC in the future. But he'll have to find a mentor to work under for a few years. He definitely wasn't ready when he arrived in Carolina. Was way over his head.

Daley is poo. That's been pretty well established in his career. He's just not a starting LT in the NFL. And watching 5 minutes of his tape gives all the evidence of his failures that one needs. Christensen is the question mark. We really don't know what we have with him yet. And that's a huge failure of the current coaching staff. They need to find out what he can & can't do. The only way to do that is to give him playing time.

I think this may be the concern our coaching staff has with Christensen: draft percentiles It shows Brady's arms are in the 4th percentile for an NFL OT. So basically 96 % of OT measured had longer arms than Brady did. Those numbers are pretty bad, I must admit. But I'd still rather give the guy a chance, especially given his excellent college career playing LT. And all his outstanding performance numbers otherwise. Christensen is an elite athlete. Our alternatives at LT are poo so why not try Christensen out ?? Seriously, what does the team have to lose ?