Mage

Lol they are still a divisional rival. Are fans not allowed to root against teams that are better than theirs?

Rodgers vs Brady. Championship Game. Winner goes to Super Bowl. And quite possibly the final Rodgers/Brady game ever. If you are a football fan... how can you not be watching this? I can't remember the last non-Panthers game I was this hyped for. Holy crap.

I can't believe there's actually some people who could tolerate the Bucs winning That'd crush me

This IMO guaranteed he’s traded. That is probably why his camp leaked this. No HC is taking that job unless Texans agree to trade Watson.

Brian Burns. I bought his jersey after the season. He's an absolute stud.

People really underestimate how badly teams seek QBs. If the Bears were willing to take on Nick Foles and his contract from the Jaguars, then I am 100% positive the Panthers could trade Bridgewater if they really wanted or had to. Even if it meant we were only getting a 5th or 4th round pick in return. I don't think we would trade him unless we were getting another QB though. But if we need him traded we could find partners. Broncos for example.

If you are rolling with the idea that we are drafting a QB in the 1st round this year anyway, then really its only 2 1st round picks and a rookie contract we're trading away. That is definitely a fair deal for Deshaun Watson, even for a team rebuilding.

Andddddddddddd we have a future OC in case Joe Brady gets signed next offseason. Freakin' fantastic hire.

Lions main focus is getting Stafford's contract off their hands. I'd take the trade if it was Teddy B + a 3rd round pick. Stafford with DJ Moore and Robby Anderson would be DUMB fun to watch

Literally nobody thinks this.

Whether we want to trade CMC or not, why would the Texans want to take on that contract? Not that I don't think CMC is worth it, because I do, but the Texans are already in a terrible cap situation. Texans, if they trade Watson, are gonna want draft picks and young players on rookie deals. At least if they play it smart.

But this isn't the conversation we are having. We are strictly talking about the decision and signing of Teddy Bridgewater. I have at no point in our discussion made any reference or comment to other decisions we made and who was at fault. Which is why there is no point in me responding to it. You are trying to put words in my mouth and I'm not going to bite. Case in point: How many more times do I need to say that I don't think Marty Hurney forced Teddy Bridgewater on Matt Rhule? If this is what you are going to do then we can just agree to disagree.

I mean, if it wasn't about Bridgewater, then why did Hurney get fired? If the team was competing hard and the rookies were playing well, then tell me what reason Tepper had to fire Hurney.

I literally said it likely factored in to Hurney's reasoning for pounding the table for Bridgewater, and why Rhule was okay with it. But yeah, I'm the one picking and choosing... I don't know how much more clearer I can make it for you. Nobody is freakin' saying Rhule didn't want Bridgewater. We are saying Rhule wasn't the one who pounded the table the hardest for him, and if it was Rhule's sole decision, Bridgewater either wouldn't have been signed (because the team was comfortable with tanking) or he wouldn't have been signed to a long-term deal. Again, there is a reason Hurney got fired when he did and why the team is already ready to move on from him. You keep acting like we're saying Hurney forced TB on Rhule and Rhule had no input and nobody is saying that. I'm going to say it one more time. Rhule was okay with Teddy. Rhule and Hurney were likely cognizant that Bridgewater had worked with Brady. But Hurney is the one who most wanted to pull the trigger, and (this I can say with almost certainty) Hurney was the one who chose to give Bridgewater the contract that he did. I also find it hilarious that you keep trying to spin it as a "you are just trying to place blame on Hurney." No, that isn't the case at all. I've actually said in the past that I was okay with the Bridgewater contract because of how easy it is to get out of after 2021. And relative to other starting QBs and their contracts, it's cheap. Even now, I don't think it is that big of a deal. This isn't about trying to place blame on anyway. I am just telling you how it is. So stop crying about people picking and choosing or just trying to place blame on Hurney. That isn't what I'm doing. I'm just looking at it from a POV of... Hurney benefited the most from Bridgewater working out. Hurney wasn't fired until Bridgewater officially flamed out, despite the fact the rookies were playing well and the team was competing harder than they did otherwise. Rhule immediately distanced himself from TB and all but made it obvious they were moving on.

What kind of response is this? We're talking about the signing of Teddy Bridgewater. Not once have I brought up any of that other stuff or made any mention of picking-and-choosing. Nor did I respond to a post of yours mentioning any of that, only that you were suggesting Rhule is the main culprit of the TB signing.

I've been a fan of the NFL a long time. NBA too, but to a lesser extent. And here is one thing I have learned: when there is smoke (like actual serious smoke like this), there is almost ALWAYS fire. And there has been just way too much smoke here. The only thing that makes this different is I'm not sure what the Texans do. Trading a known elite QB in his prime is literally unheard of in the NFL. And because the NFLPA is dumb as hell, Watson has little to no leverage. The only thing he can do is not show up, but he'll be costing himself money and depending on the Texans to say "enough is enough" and give in to trading him. But if I'm the Texans, as much as I hate it for the player, I'm not trading Watson until I'm absolutely forced to (and really, it'd take Watson blowing up the locker-room in a Harden-esque fashion for them to be forced to). Definitely gonna be an interesting offseason. I'm convinced Watson is done with the Texans as far as his respect for the organization. And if he played any other position, he'd be gone by the new league year. But I just don't see why Houston trades him. You are VERY unlikely to win a trade where you give away Deshaun Watson.

Dude, a first-time OC who just came from college is not going to have enough clout to make a team sign Bridgewater to the contract he got. Again, if it was that simple, then why is the team already in such a hurry to move on from him? Sorry but if the coaches were that sold on Bridgewater, they wouldn't give up on him after a year and they wouldn't have fired Hurney. Which, again... why else do you think Hurney got fired when he did? Our rookies were playing well. The team was performing better than it had any reason to. So, again, why do you think he got fired at the time that he did? Oh yeah... Hurney pounded the table for Bridgewater. Hurney had, by far, the most to gain by Bridgewater performing well. Yes, Matt Rhule was likely okay-ish with the decision. But Rhule likely would not have made that decision, and certainly not at the price-point TB got, if it wasn't for Hurney. Nobody is suggesting Rhule had 0 input. We're just telling you that if we had to put a % on it, it was 85% Hurney and 15% Rhule. I mean this is a team that had like 6 or 7 rookies starting on defense. And yet you think that same head coach really cared if he had a QB? Rhule and Tepper were willing to go all-in on a tank. Hurney was not.

Who is picking and choosing? Rhule's college career was based off sucking and slowly improving the team and the culture. Tepper literally said that this was going to be a process that took time. Both made it clear they were going to be content with a bad year. What did either of them gain by signing Teddy to that contract? And this is why you seem to have struggle understanding what we are saying. Nobody is saying Hurney forced Bridgewater on Rhule. Yes, if Rhule 100% was against it, it wouldn't have happened. What we're saying is Hurney is the one who pounded the table the most for Bridgewater and Rhule, while not the biggest fan of the idea, was willingly to go with it because it was still early in their partnership. Why do you think Tepper waited to fire Hurney until after Bridgewater officially sealed his fate with his performances and after Rhule began to sound less committed to TB going forward? Why do you think Rhule and co. are already committed to getting a new QB?

You can always build a better team though (see: Colts after they had a couple of down seasons, then Luck stayed healthy and they blossomed... unfortunately for them, he soon retired). You rarely are going to find a QB as good as Deshaun Watson at his age. Texans situation is different than ours too. Texans have Watson, but don't have a 1st round pick. Panthers have a 1st round pick, but don't have a QB. Assuming we take a QB in this draft, trading the 1st round pick this year ultimately means nothing. That should make us more willing to trade away our pick next year. On top of that, we're in a better long-term cap position than Houston too. Regardless, Texans have an elite franchise QB. If they keep him, then at the end of the day, they aren't in a terrible spot - they just need to get better around him. They don't even need to build a great team. Just a solid team. That is what an elite QB provides you. And that is what he would provide us for the next 5-10 years if we pull the trade off. I get the hesitation. But trust me. An elite QB is worth it. And for that reason, is why any trade the Texans make, they will be the losers. It's hard to when a trade when you are the one giving away an elite QB. The only way they win is they find another one, and that is just too damn hard.

Trying to determine which position is more important than another is always difficult and almost never an argument worth having. People underestimate how much every position on the field works together. Even when people say RBs aren't important, I scoff. The problem with RB isn't its importance, but its longevity. With that said, it isn't about CB being more or less important than LB. It comes down to this... Bradberry was clearly a better CB than Thompson was a LB. Bradberry got way too much crap here from fans who didn't realize that a large part of it was our soft coverage scheme we'd routinely run. Whenever we let Bradberry do what he did best, he always excelled. I actually think the last 2 years have been some of Thompson's best with us so far (especially 2019), but he's still just not the player Bradberry is. Bradberry will consistently be one of the best in the league at deflecting passes and taking on the bigger, physical freak WRs in the league, and he is one of the absolute best corners when it comes to run support. Thompson has never had that kind of impact on the game, at least beyond spurts.

The point isn't that Rhule was against signing Teddy in general. The point is Hurney lobbied the hardest for him and is the main culprit behind the contract he got. Rhule may have been okay with signing Teddy, but everything Rhule and Tepper have ever said has made it clear they were cool with a rebuild. I seriously doubt they were sold on signing Bridgewater to the deal Hurney gave him, BUT I imagine that Rhule was still at a point early in their relationship that he was willing to trust Hurney and his evaluation. It isn't a coincidence that Hurney didn't get fired until Bridgewater made it 100% clear to everyone (although it was clear to most of us) that he sucked. There is just no way Bridgewater gets signed to that contract if it was Rhule's decision only. Rhule and Tepper were okay with sucking in 2020. And this isn't about pawning the bad moves off on Hurney. Even without RoaringRiot's input, if you read between the lines, it was a Hurney move through and through. I never understood why people thought Joe Brady himself influenced it. I do think Hurney considered the connection between TB-Brady, but I doubt first-time NFL OC Brady, who just came from LSU, ever had enough influence to say "this is the QB we should and will sign." It was a Hurney decision, with reluctant backing from Rhule. And as soon as Bridgewater officially flamed out, Hurney got fired and Rhule has all but said he doesn't want Teddy as his QB much longer.

We have to stop giving Hurney credit for his 1st-round picks. Yes, it was nice to not have to worry about drafting a bust. But a big reason for that is because Hurney always went with the high-floor player in the 1st. The only time he took a prospect that would have required NFL-level scouting and could be deemed a risk was Cam Newton. Otherwise, there is a reason we drafted RBs and LBs in the 1st round often under him. Easily the positions where it is easiest for young players to transition into the NFL immediately. I mean look at Kuechly. Anyone who saw him play knew that worst-case scenario, he was going to be a solid starter. And I think Hurney's track record after the 1st round proves this. He's not good at evaluating talent. He's just good at taking the safe route in the 1st.

Lol what did you expect from the man who kept Mike Shula employed?

I mean, he was the GM for over half of our existence. So I'd hope so. The fact is that as GM, the Panthers only had 3 winning seasons with him from 2002-2012 and 2018-2020 (I don't count 2017 for obvious reasons). This is such a terrible move by WFT. Panthers had a franchise QB and still failed to string together consistent success year-by-year (unless you are one of the ones who considers the 7-8-1 2014 Panthers successful). What reason is there to think that will change with Rivera/Hurney in Washington, except now they have to go out and find that QB still?

Not a fan of including Moore in that deal. I'd rather just give up another 1st round pick.