Seltzer

Absolute hospital ball. Certainly not a dirty play by Mike Jack

This is why so many oldtimers don't engage as much... We get it... Bryce has been a disappointment so far being a number 1 pick. But seriously, it's embarrassing for us that have actually watched the NFL for 30+ years to see some of these takes... He's playing with all rookies and looking competent... given the circumstances, Bryce has played really well

Hell yes he has. We literally have all rookies starting at the skill positions. Very good all things considered

Over the past 5 seasons, there's a 90% chance that drive didnt end in a TD with those penalties. They showed a lot of resiliency there, regardless of who it was. JT Sanders has made such a difference for Bryce. He looks like a different QB.

100%. He seriously might be the best 4th rounder in franchise history. I know that's not a high bar to clear, but still

By no means saying this will happen, but 2 drafts like that is how you go from one of the worst teams in the league to a contender. It's also why this bullshit of needing 7 years to rebuild is just that... You can completely change the trajectory of a team in the modern NFL in 2 years max if you have the right GM, coach, and QB

Anyone not impressed by what Dan Morgan has done so far is either willfully ignorant or just has been so scarred by the last 7 years that they instinctively think everything is bad. This already looks like one of the best drafts in franchise history, and we needed worse than anything given the state of the roster Fitterer left. Hell, it's not hyperbole to say DM got more out of this draft than everyone of Fitterers combined

Exactly, and Chuba has played like a top-10 RB. He has unequivocally earned this. And most importantly, he wants to be here, and took less to make it happen. I am certain another team would have offered him this contract based on his play. That 2nd TD run last week was as elite of a run as you will see. Chuba does not have the game breaking speed prime CMC did, but he's criminally underrated otherwise. Chuba worked his ass off to get better & better- if he doesnt deserve to see that effort rewarded, then who does. (hopefully we resign Jaycee soon also) I'm excited to see him & Brooks together. Could legitimately be the best 1-2 punch we've had since Williams/Stewart.

That is a very reasonable contract for a guy who has played like a top 10 RB for the past calendar year. Miles is gone. Chuba & Brooks are the future. I know it's been easy to crap on everything this team does, but this is the right move. We are actually building a young core on offense of good players. If we add another high-end WR (which we will have the money to do), we have a really good offensive core to surround Bryce or whoever the QB is. If Dan Morgan can improve the defense next year as much as he has the offense this year, i will be impressed, and more importantly, we should have a legitimately competitive team for the 1st time in a long time.

It was a bad Saints team for sure, but I'm not taking anything away from this draft class. XL, Wallace, Sanders, & Coker is already better than any draft Fitterer ever had. And we get Brooks next week. This team still has a LONG ways to go to being competitive on an ongoing basis, but this was objectively a great win given where the team is at. And it's fair to be excited about this rookie class. We need another one like this to overcome the damage of the previous regime's though, for sure

Coker and Wallace were the only 2 bright spots from yesterday. Coker looked like he could be WR3, and Wallace (despite a few rookie bumps), looked like he could be our starting MLB (and I'm definitely on board with going back to a 4-3 and think Wallace can be even better in a 4-3) The only thing positive I can say about Mingo is he has been good as a run blocker so far. He's not a good receiver. Coker should get more reps from Mingo going forward. It's interesting (and sad) that 2 of the better WR's we've drafted in the past decade or so were UDFA's (Coker & Philly Brown), while we've busted on so many guys drafted high

Dalton made the playoffs 5 straight seasons. He was the #6 rated passer in 2022 (at least by PFF). Smokes & mirrors??? GTOH with that nonsense. Dalton has always been a pretty good QB, and he's in a scheme now that obviously fits his strengths. And now playing behind an elite Offensive line, Dalton has unlocked DJ & XL into looking like a legit starting WR combo. He's 36 & still has plenty of tread left on the tires. He is our QB, period, as far as I'm concerned. Absolutely nothing could be better for this franchise in the wake of Young's benching... and this is the best thing right now for BY9 also. I've never seen more of a positive turn around in the perceived trajectory of this franchise than over the past 2 weeks. I'm convinced there's a segment of this fanbase that has a pathological need for doom & gloom... Why can we not just be happy & celebrate the fact that we finally have a good offense that we should be able to sustain with this Oline group under contract together (all of them through next year) and some beyond that. Once we fix the defense, this will be the best team we've had post-Cam.

Agree 100%. Given the chaos of the past few years, it has been easy to point to the idea of just keeping Wilks. And I do think he did an admirable job during his time as interim head coach. Still, I have to give Tepper credit for this... I think Canales is a good hire, not only as a head coach & culture builder, but as an innovative play caller. He fits what modern NFL offenses need to do. Running the ball will always be important. But as we saw with Bryce (and with most of our QBs/schemes over the past 6 years), if you can't throw the ball effectively (as well as challenge deep), you are not going to succeed as a top team. Canales has not perfect (still questioning the lack of preseason playing time), but guys are getting schemed open in a way I can't remember since Dan Henning designed his offense around Smitty. Canales is putting DJ & XL in positions to make catches. The Oline is blasting open holes for the RB's more often than not. For a team that has been the epitome of putrid on offense for more seasons than I care to remember, this has been a breath of fresh air!

It's like what happened in the mountains... it happened, it's over, and all you can do is move forward. Dwelling on the past changes nothing... and regardless of anything & everything, the future here looks far more promising than it did 2 weeks ago. Having a QB playing like Dalton does mitigate this situation 1000x over though for sure. The whole goal is to find a QB. The way we did isn't ideal, and giving up all that draft capital for BY9 sucks ass no doubt, but it's not the end of the world. Teams miss on QB's... it just happens.

100%. Dalton really did save this team from the abyss. With Dalton playing, you can legitimately see the vision Dan Morgan had for the offense. This offense is built for a QB to succeed in, it just happened the guy we drafted to do that simply couldn't. And here's the thing... the NFL moves on. The Niners gave up almost as much for Trey Lance as we did BY9. It didn't work out, and they moved on. I think Bryce is in the best situation we could be considering everything that has happened. Let him sit and see if he can develop and regain his confidence. But the focus right now and for at least the intermediate future should be on Dalton. He's playing at a very high level. I have no interest in any other QB right now with how well Dalton is playing. It's that good. And Dalton is "only" 36. I mean that without hyperbole. Dalton could easily be the starter here for several more seasons given the current circumstances. Look at late-career Kurt Warner or Carson Palmer. Hell, Matt Stafford for that matter. Aaron Rodgers is 4 years older. My point being Dalton isn't on his last legs. And that's really what you're looking for as a team, no matter how you get there. We are still a year away from being truly competitive with the defensive issues & injuries, but you can at least see a plan for the first time in years. And Dalton is arguably the most important (if not unexpected) piece of that. All Hail the Red Rifle!!

Shaq going down sucks b/c he was playing really well, but I'm 100% onboard with letting Wallace start going forward. The goal for the defense should be to try to improve & compete in spite of the injuries, but also with an eye towards next season. I'm hopeful Canales can do much of what John Fox did in his 1st 2 seasons, but in reverse. 2002: Drafted Julius Peppers, rebuilt the defense 2003: Signed Jake Delhomme & Stephen Davis to complete the rebuild of the offense Not saying we're going to be in the SB next year, but I think with how well the offensive rebuild has went, we should be in playoff contention next season if we're able to make the necessary improvements on defense through the draft & FA

Hopefully Dalton can be our starter for the rest of this year and into next. You can definitely see the vision from Dan Morgan. He did what he set out to do- give the QB something to work with. Obviously, they thought (and hoped) it would be for Bryce, but regardless with Andy Dalton we are able to see the vision. He couldn't have done better than signing Robert Hunt & Damien Lewis. We were all skeptical about moving Corbett to center, but that has worked out great, also. Robert Hunt is as impressive an interior Olineman as I have ever seen. He really is a bad, bad MF. Chuba has developed into a borderline top-10 back. A true 3-down back. I never expected that of him as a rookie... he deserves a lot of props for his hard work to develop himself, especially his pass catching. Diontae Johnson looks like a WR1 in this scheme, and him & XL looked like the most legit WR duo we had since DJ Moore & Robby Whatever in 2020. At this point, we already have the sunk cost of BY9. Even if he sits this year and next, he will still only be in his 4th year in 2026. It's not ideal, but it's also not the albatross for this franchise it appeared to be a few weeks ago. Our offense is legit, and that hasn't been the case since TJ Watt wrecked Cam's shoulder in 2018. This rebuild looks so, so much better than it did 2 weeks ago. The defense (especially with injuries) is unfixable to a certain extent this year. We're probably going to have to win shoot-outs if we are going to win. Regardless, another offseason and getting Derrick Brown back should put us in a legit position to compete next year. At this point, I'll take that. I am sold on Canales as a coach, and I feel more optimistic as a Panthers fan now than I have since before Cam left. Canales is scheming guys wide-ass open left & right... I can't remember the last time a Panthers OC was doing that honestly. And Evero will be fine, too, once he gets some horses back on the Dline. For all Tepper has gotten wrong over the past 7 years, hiring Canales and keeping Dan Morgan as GM is showing signs of being a good plan to get us back to relevancy.

We finally have an elite Oline, a competent QB, a RB1 caliber running back in Chuba (with Brooks still to come), and DJ & XL looked like the best starting WR's we've had in years. What else is there to "fix" on the offense? IMHO there's not much (outside of a TE that is consistent receiving threat). Our draft capital needs to be spent fixing the defense. We should be able to do that next offseason and be a legit playoff contender next year. Fixing the Oline & QB was the biggest part of this rebuild. There's no reason for this to take more than one more offseason. And extending DL is a no brainer, provided he wants to be here.

We have an elite Oline, a QB who can get him the ball, and a coach who has designed the offense around him being the #1 guy... other than an extension, what more could he want? Trading DJ would be stupid for both sides IMHO... Theilen for a day 3 pick seems reasonable for both sides

I think running the ball and keeping Burrow off the field is key. If we do that I think we have a good chance to win Otherwise, Burrow will expose our lack of pass rush with his weapons

Also, Sheldon Rankins is out, and BJ Hill is doubtful. Those are the Bengals starting DT's.

FWIW, Zavala played 22 snaps on Sunday and didn't give up a single pressure. Honestly, I didn't even realize he had replaced Lewis until near the end of the game. Hopefully, we don't hear his name on Sunday- that would probably be a good thing. And maybe this scheme is just a better fit (plus he's not a rookie) compared to whatever it was that we were supposedly running last year.

The fact that he wants to play is a great sign, even if he ultimately isn't able to go. That's the kind of player we need to build this culture around. Dan did fix the interior Oline, and Hunt & Lewis are straight-up "dawgs." He deserves his flowers for both these signings

I can see us winning, but I'm also mentally preparing myself to be screwed by an NFL that doesn't want to see one of their golden boys (Burrow) out of the national conversation this early on in the season... We will need to do enough to overcome what I expect to be at least 2-3 BS calls IMHO. Hopefully, we run the ball and keep Burrow off the field as much as possible

Remember, Tom Brady played 10 seasons after he turned 36... Just saying lol...