Bear Hands

Frank & Carl chatting back and forth got me thinking of these two:

They don't want him to run a power scheme. Simple as that. Accept it.

You should write them a letter. They're not changing it.

Reich also mentioned what they needed for Bryce offensively, being spread, so maybe they just don't feel comfortable running a power scheme with Bryce under center more of the time. So it's not the line, they don't want it for Bryce. Could be as simple as that. They're keeping Bryce comfortable scheme wise and felt good ENOUGH with the uglies to run it. And it's not working out. They're committed to emulating the higher-powered offenses right now and not do what works with the personnel.

I highly suspect Ewers & Sanders are going to return to school. They're gonna be the talk IF Bryce is not looking the part in 2024.

I feel like pre-trade, many wanted AZ's spot at #3. That seemed to be one of the bigger consensus wishes for either Stroud or AR (Oh and the 2-3 that wanted Levis) Once the trade happened, then many just got on the Bryce train because of the resounding praise he got from the NFL community and the narrative that "He's just got it, the ultimate distributor and field technician" thing. The Stroud love was still there, but everyone just decided to accept we traded up for Bryce and got hyped.

That 2021 draft bugs the crap out of me. It left a bad taste in my mouth then, still does. We had so many picks too (11) and it's only amounted to Horn, Brady C, Chubba and Tremble. And those guys are still big IFs still/likely won't be around much longer. Horn likely won't get a 5th yr picked up, Brady is an average swing-lineman, Tremble is a TE2 (I like him though), and Chubba is an uninspiring RB. Expendable. Not to mention, already half of the 2022 draft class is gone (Corral, Smith, Barnes) So, twe've got, at MOST, marginal impact from 7 of 17 drafted players in 2021-2022. That is dogsh*t. Reality will be maybe half of those guys stick as contributors another year or so, so it's really going to have been a 4 for 17 hit rate. Nice work Panthers.

It's easy to pan but not gonna lie, it's a fun exercise to see who it would be if we went with our dudes.. 2021: Rashawn Slater - I never bought the guard-only talk. He filled the biggest need we had for years and we ignored it. 2022: Garrett Wilson - I was a huge stan of his, I mean, the dude is gonna be a star. Just had the itch with him. Not the type of WR you pass on IMO. Hate that he's stuck in as bad of an offense as ours right now. There were also lots of DBs and various defensive talent in R2-5 in those drafts. If we would have just filled the damn LT hole with Slater, we could have set ourselves up the following year for a top-tier weapon like Wilson. People are always looking at the QB spot but we missed out on filling obvious needs in order to comfortably draft a star weapon. Everything has been a year late. And you know, a stud weapon is still the biggest void on this crap team. Imagine ANY QB with Slater & Moton flanking the ends, DJ Moore and Garrett Wilson on the outside, and CMC as his RB. It was RIGHT there for us, and we had to get cute.

Yup, the consensus on the board in 2021 was NOT Parsons. That year it was Sewell or Slater for like 70%+. They were the bulk of the hype, discussion and everything for months...and there was also a Fields coalition. Then, within a week or so of the draft, rumors started circulating we liked defense/DBs, so people started thinking Horn or Surtain. If you would have polled the board for who ended up being available (at the time), it would have been 1. Slater 2. Fields 3. Surtain/Horn There were some Parsons, Devonta Smith and Darrisaw hypers, but the main dudes were Sewell, Slater, & a QB if he fell (not named Mac Jones) that year.

KC learned they really should have traded for one of our amazing WRs. We've got the speed and hands you want! /s Still really like Rice but they've got nothing else reliable outside of him and Kelce.

Fair point. Goes back to earlier where it's really an indictment on the staff from this summer's work. They watched Bryce during school, pre-draft workouts, had him from late spring through all of the summer into preseason. Just surprising it's still so prominent. Only other thought is maybe it's like second nature to Bryce, so it could just take some time to naturalize a more typ. 3-step drop. It may just gonna take a minute to shake out.

We've got a young offensive Shanahan-tree dude on the staff...although he's been forced into a very awkward situation with little ability to show anything.

Think the Steelers could be an interesting target for an up and coming OC. I can see them in position for Jayden Daniels this draft.

Matt Canada unsurprisingly gets the ax in Pitt. https://www.si.com/nfl/steelers/news/pittsburgh-steelers-fire-matt-canada

New sidebar?:

k, bye thread

Yeah I see what you're saying to keep him comfortable and needing to build around him, but I just think proper footwork is proper footwork. The game is easier when your fundamentals are in order. Just like gripping the driver correctly and your backswing being in order allows you to hit it right. This backpedal dance he does is not helping and is honestly causing problems being defenders can play ahead of him. You need to effectively play ahead of the defense and time your throws with precision. It's just such a slow 2-3 step-back "shuffle & skip" before he even gets into his stance, that defenders can stay in front of his timing. He still needs to turn into his stance, set, and throw. All the while going through progressions. It just looks messy to me and then his reads aren't timed right. I won't claim to be any expert but it's just what I'm seeing. Pulled this from an Athletic article pre-draft, honestly, this anonymous coach sounds spot on to what's happening: I mean, can a QB be a Jim Furyk outlier, and the swing's just a bit different? Sure, I.E. Rivers...but footwork is a spot that can't be compromised too much by style. You need it correct to get the accuracy, power and timing on point.

We don't disagree much, but do quite a lot here. You can and should absolutely fix mechanics independently of other issues. It's about refining how he does it for the NFL level to better operate in quicker collapsing pockets. If he's doing this stuff correctly, he can operate better in the tighter pockets, and get the ball out quicker and more effectively. That's how QBs make up for poor o-lines. And the one's that are ranked 26-32 right now still have passing games doing something worthwhile. Waiting for other corrections just seems like a bad path. Fix what you can fix.

At the end of the day, they're correctable issues and he's shown he can be aight. But it is absolutely concerning that Reich, Campbell, & McNown, who were part of the scouting process, and have seen Bryce throughout the summer, leading into the new season, and haven't really honed in and helped refine his pocket work.

For the non-SB years, 2005 & 2008 were the teams with the top talent that could have won it all. Put 2005 (pre-TJ) Delhomme on the 2008 team, that would have done it,

Thing is, the guys people look to compare (Brees, Kyler and Wilson) have more traditional drops in shotgun. I can't find a comparison of someone who does this parallel step "jog" back like they're some DB. It's so unconventional but he's been doing it in college, and continues in the pros. It worked at Bama, but it doesn't work at this level unless conditions are ideal.

Evero. Mainly because it could be a legitimate audition. No one else offers that. T Brown is too young, will need a bit more growth before sniffing near a HC role. Tabor has done it before though, so could do it again. But Evero offers us a chance to see a guy we interviewed for HC, well, as a HC.

It is a very fair look. Warner is pretty spot on with the pocket tendencies and what can be improved on. From the lack of depth in his drop, to the toe bouncing, feet being parallel to the LOS, overall footwork, timing. 16:58 play is a very clear example of what many of us some may think are being overly hard on Bryce are seeing. Improvement needed. 22:30 -- the good. So he can set his feet properly, his gun tendencies are correctable. From Warner himself: "One of the things giving him the most problems is his technique"

Honestly, the casual fan life is the way to go the older I get. Early morning 3+ mi walk with the dog and wife, drop into one of our bakeries for pastries and tea. Meal prep for the week. I run to get fixings for the games and the other ingredients we’ll need to for upcoming dinners. Come noon, I’ve got the quad box with 4 games. Redzone on the main screen with the audio. Helping with Sunday chores around halftime of both stretches. Have ~2 teams I’m pulling for. Panthers are in one of those quad boxes, and every week I’m peering towards it less and less.