Mage

Kyle Pitts is good, offensive scheme is just terrible plus very bad QB TJ Hockenson went in the 1st in 2019

The TOUGH Panthers defense

Getting a HC job is hard and in the grand scheme of things, pretty damn rare when you think about it. Sure, a guy like Sean Payton can afford to turn down an opening because he's established. But 90% of candidates can't afford to do that. I wouldn't concern myself over who the Panthers could attract.

Bro the idea of Wilks being the long term HC was always laughable. Team looks like trash every single time they play a competent defense

THE CULTURE

Nah, bro. THE CULTURE.

THE CULTURE

KEEP WILKS HE BROUGHT THE CULTURE BACK

Ravens WRs suck.

Mind-boggling play-calling.

It is ultimately a .500 run with wins against the Bucs (bad), Falcons (bad), Broncos (VERY bad), and the Seahawks (average with a league-worst defense). And maybe I'm being too harsh. I apologize if I am. I just haven't seen what I'm supposed to be impressed with. We're an extremely conservative offense playing good defense. What has changed, except we've went on a run against bad teams while being in a bad division? Where was this running game a few weeks ago when we played the Ravens? We held them to 13 points but only managed 36 rushing yards. We could have benched Baker long before the 4th that game, but we chose not to. What happened to the running game when we played the Bengals? Those are the 2 best teams we've played and look what they did to us and our offense. AND TO CLARIFY, don't get me wrong, I am super stoked for a chance to make the playoffs. I'd love nothing more at this point. But when it comes to Wilks' future with this team, I just think we should temper expectations.

Literally nobody is saying that. But again, if you seriously think this is a sustainable method of winning vs quality teams, then I have a bridge to sell you. There is a reason this offense has folded against any semi-decent defense it has played, but continue to tell me how I'm wrong. Blame it on whatever you want but the fact is 24th in the league in PPG is not good. If you think it is, then there is nothing more to discuss. How many teams can you name with a winning record in the last 3 years that finished 24th or worse in scoring, which is where the Panthers rank since Wilks took over? It ain't about running the ball. It ain't about passing the ball (but you absolutely have to do better than 200 yards per game). It is about putting up points, which we don't do very well. But prove me wrong if you disagree. Name me some winning teams that finished 24th or worse. Titans are 27th this year, but they also have a -35 point differential (terrible, just like the Panthers -30) and have feasted on a god awful AFC South (jeez... who does that remind you of?)

Lol see this is an example of paying more attention to the end result and not the details. If the Panthers retained McAdoo all because he's run the ball up the middle and ran the same play where Shenault goes in motion like 10 times a game, then this team is hopeless. Also the Panthers have averaged 20 PPG since Wilks took over. That is 24th in the league. And the 2 games we scored 30+ were against the 22nd ranked defense (Falcons) and 30th ranked defense (Seahawks). The offense is still trash. I don't know how anyone could possibly with a straight face think otherwise. We've only passed for more than 200 yards once since Wilks took over.

And too many people are acting like it would be unprecedented for a team to move on from a HC even though they took them to the playoffs. Titans moved on from Mike Mularkey after a playoffs run. Why? Because they focused on the details and not just the end result. I absolutely think Wilks has earned a serious interview. But he should not be handed anything. If we interview someone that we think is a better candidate, then I hope Tepper makes that call.

All we've done is run the ball up the gut a million times and play very good defense, which we were already doing before Wilks anyway. But the decision making is still very conservative and Seattle is the only "good" team we've beaten during this stretch (and Seattle fields one of the worst defenses in the NFL). I get it. This team looks better than it did under Rhule. But I still haven't seen that moment where I'm like, "damn... Wilks should be handed the HC job." I think people are getting too caught up on the "improvement" and not paying attention to the details. Because this is still a bad team that looks bad.

This is why hitting on the next head coach is far more important than where we are picking in the draft or what QB we draft. Teams with good head coaches win football games and rarely have down seasons. They get the most out of their players/QB. Sure some QBs are so damn good they are more important than the HC (Mahomes (although we know how good Andy Reid is, Mahomes is that good), prime Brady and Rodgers, etc) but they are hard to find and require luck. This is why I can't understand why anyone would want to keep Wilks. He's not that kind of coach. Maybe, if he's lucky, he'll be as good as Ron Rivera one day. And look what we did to him because Cam got hurt and he no longer had a QB. Panthers need a head coach who can bring winning and sustained consistency to the organization.

LOL PANTHERS

Were there any players who were said to have an issue with Jim Harbaugh? From what I remember the downfall of his tenure in San Fran was his relationship with the front office, not the players. But I could be remembering wrong, it has been a long time.

I wouldn't say I'm a fan, but I'm not a hater like some are either. I don't think it is fair to judge him just because he hired a bad head coach. How many owners haven't? And in the grand scheme of things, it isn't like we stuck with him for too long. 2.5 seasons is a short leash. Hell, Chiefs went from Herm Edwards to Todd Haley to Romeo Crennel, and yet nobody would dare say Clark Hunt is a bad owner. The truth of the matter is making the right choice at HC is a crap-shoot. People just love to forget about the many HCs who looked like great candidates who failed. Look no further than Brandon Staley in LA. Everyone is begging for the Chargers to can him, but the majority of people thought he was a great hire. It really is a crapshoot. Tepper deserves more time.

I swear we've been saying this about our cap space for like 5 years.

Wow the Broncos suck.

It's possible. Darnold hasn't played since last December. And he's missed a lot of practice time due to the injury. And more than anything else... he sucks.

I'm struggling to find a way the Panthers score.

Yeah, people keep saying, "sit at home and take the money," but you have to think about the future too. Matt Rhule is a good college coach, but he isn't THAT good the point where he could sit out for 2-3 years and not hurt himself tremendously. You would be hurting your future earnings because schools won't be as interested 3 years from now and he will be asked endlessly why he didn't seek out a new job. If he says "well I wanted to stay home and take the easy money," a school will think negatively of that. Besides, while it is easy to tell someone to sit at home and do nothing... for the people that say that, have you had a job and then got laid off or quit and just done nothing for a few months? It sucks. It sounds good in theory but it can get boring real fast. At least for me and a lot of people I know. Not to mention it isn't good for your mental health (over-working can be bad too, which is why you have to find a balance). Say what you want about Rhule but he clearly loves coaching and is passionate about it. I'm pretty sure he'd rather work and do what he loves than sit around at home.