Mage

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.

I love Cam Newton to death, but Deshaun Watson would without a doubt be the best quarterback to ever suit up for the Panthers. I really hope this team gets it done. I'd be 100% willing to part ways with our next two 1st round picks (if you really think about it, assuming we would have taken a QB this year anyway, it is only 1 1st round pick we're giving up). And of course throw in some other stuff as well. Gonna try to not get my hopes up though. Elite QBs don't get traded or released for a reason.

I've thought it would be Derrick Henry for awhile now. He is exactly the kind of guy Gettleman would take. His potential for injury due to his height scares me, but I love him as a talent.

Not a fan of Hunter Henry in the 1st round. He's just eh to me. I don't think he's the best tight end in the class and even if I did, the gap between him and the next guy isn't high enough to warrant not just waiting until the 2nd to take a tight end if we choose that route. Just my 2 cents though.

Need to watch more of him, but I watched his game tape against Alabama earlier. You can tell how much potential he has, excellent rip move. However, he needs to use his hands a lot better. He's strong but ends up dropping his hands far too often and allowing the offensive lineman to get a good grip on him.

Sorry if this has been answered already but will the NFL wait to start the NFC Championship game if this game goes to overtime? I feel like they have waited in the past but I'm not 100% positive.

NFL Network has maybe spent 1 hour combined of their 6 hour broadcast discussing the Panthers/Cardinals game. Eisen made a joke about it, hyping up Cam/Palmer before stopping and saying, "apparently I'm not allowed to talk about this QB match-up." Really funny moment. Love Eisen.

Marshall Faulk has called Stewart, "James Stewart", like 8 times today.

According to everyone on NFL Network Gameday Morning, Cardinals would be better off traveling to Carolina than playing the Seahawks at home.

I'm really excited for this game if only because I think it has potential to be a great one, but I wish the playoffs would start already. I love going undefeated and I love curb stomping teams, but it has kind of ruined the suspense for me. It feels like we're playing a bunch of preseason games, although that will change in Week 17 if we're gunning for 16-0. That will be an AMAZING feeling.

Plus, I mean, it isn't like the Saints are a TERRIBLE football team. They aren't the Browns or anything. They are going to put up a fight, especially at home in a divisional game.

Offense has looked great today. With that said, why does Shula always overthink himself with those overly complicated screen plays? They almost never work.

Nevermind, totally forgot about Webb. So 5 WRs.

Only rolling with 4 WRs and 3 RBs for this game. Scott Simonson is active for the game. Interesting.

Honestly, I can't remember the last Panthers regular season game that matched the excitement that I have for this game. There have been games with bigger playoff implications, but I'm looking forward to this game more than I have any Panthers non-playoff game in an extremely long time. There are so many questions that can be answered by this team today. Are we as good as we think we are? Can we finally beat the Seahawks? Has Cam Newton taken that next step completely? Regardless of if we win or lose, the most important thing is how we play. Seattle is a very good football team that plays their best ball at home. I want to see a turnover-free, competitive game from the Panthers. And on the subject of regular season games I have highly anticipated, this is probably up there for me with: 2008 MNF vs Buccaneers, 2013 MNF vs Patriots, 2013 vs Saints (2nd game). There are probably a couple of more like from 2005, but we had kind of a big gap between playoff appearances. I guess you could throw '14 vs Falcons (2nd game) in there, but that was basically a playoff game.

Allen has 3 inches on Addison, and that doesn't account for strength. Allen is extremely strong.