strato

I was harping on finishing 1-3 after the bye. I didn’t extrapolate back 8 games and surely didn’t realize that it was a 2-6. Lol. Playoffs! But they showed up for the game pretty well. Yeah I understand the bar is raised competitively next year. I also understand you are anti Morgan but I liked a lot of what I heard in his press conference yesterday. He wants to build that defense. This Icky thing is a complication though.

Maybe you look at the GM as much as the coach. And Jones looked really good for sure, but who finished the year and at least got their team to the playoffs?

Moton is down for 28.4x million for 2027. Dead cap 14 million or so. 28 is the void year. Before Icky went down I had my eyes on him doing one more season. We gotta do something, paying an aging ROT 28 million is not good.

That generally happens when the coach is on the hot seat and on the way out. Having a hard time thinking about where a guy was forced to change and he wasn’t out the door not that long after. They ain’t firing him, they ain’t looking at firing him. Morgan actually said it was something that would be discussed but I felt like he wanted it to be Canales’ decision. Which goes to my question of how do you insert a guy etc… maybe they figure it out.

It made me feel a little better about that 4th year, but he was getting it regardless. I believe. He will always be limited. But if he can raise his floor to match what he has done that passes for good on the Bryce grading curve, I could tolerate it. I might be lying. I want a guy that can force anybody to respect the passing game.

That is a huge point of contention with me. The assets brought in for him, those guys got none of that, and no time either. I mean we are going 4 years here all in. And still don’t know that the floor can be raised.

I watched the Morgan presser just now. The Evero extension was to align the contract with Canales’. Whatever that really means. Morgan sort of made a point of putting it that way. You could infer a fair amount from that move. For one, it lines up with the thing you guys are saying. Total reboot. Contracts are aligned.

He could not have brought Daniel Jones until this year. Sounds nice in an argument but is inaccurate

Well rookie LOT this season could be a rook, ROT next year could be Nijman he looked better this year maybe another year sets him up. Or another journeyman, or a draft pick. Yeah. I mean maybe Icky heals really good and comes back, the 2026 drafted LOT slides over… lots of variables. Moton gone, the Icky 100 million doesn’t get spent, rookie pay scale in place, keep drafting and try to replace the guard$ by the time you need to pay the OTs.. seems workable. Linderbaum or someone else.

Right. I didn’t think it was good either but the QB sure did. He was the defacto number one target, not Chark, was my point.

We could quibble about was that an answer to what I asked but I don’t see it as being one. Look, he agreed to this Evero thing. Up front. Apparently anyway. Took the job with those conditions in place. I buy that and will work off of it. This play calling issue isn’t the same thing. I am not in the mood to delve into Canales’ shortcomings and get out the pitchforks at the moment. I will abstain from that topic and stick to the quandary the dissenters who want to usurp his play calling power, find themselves in. As far as that goes I am still on the fence and think the play calling is Bryce centric and the play selection/playbook is affected. That does not mean I know that if the playbook was open he would be great play caller. Just that he is hampered right now. Inserting an OC not of Canales’ approval changes the original parameters of the assumed agreement. Unless you think Tepper placed a contractual prescription to allow Tepper to dictate that he can insert a play caller of his choosing after a time period if he is not satisfied with Canales’ work. Which, do you really think that is in play? I do not. Unless it is, Canales has the option to yea or nay. As I said, it could be forced on him. But they only do that if they want him out. And as of now his stock is up, I would have to say I don’t own any but I think it is up. He had the stadium rocking, the team in the playoffs, and has that sorry lil draft pick trending upward. Even at this very low rate. I think he has ‘hand’ right now as they say on Seinfeld. This is something that may get play in the 2026 season, not now. IMO.

Absolutely. But you will be paying some starters on the OL. If you are going to phase out a couple being paid now, there could be room to give Linderbaum a nice signing bonus which pro rates over the life of the contract and a low year one salary. Build up the middle, inside out and front to back.

Looked to me like AT was the number one.

You one of those guys that watched The Sopranos for the Tony and Dr Melli scenes? Pretty deep psychological motivations there. That headset cutoff, that came up in a discussion about pre snap. The claim was the defense waits until Canales is muted to show their hand, leaving Bryce with dirty underwear a lot of times.

Yeah it is wasted for everyone. Even AT, who he fed, felt like it was wasted. Was done with it. The resources… surely as a long term Panthers fan and from that viewpoint, he put it on a side track that does not lead anywhere but right back where we were. Years later. If we had healthy CBs vs TB in ‘22 we could have gotten into the playoffs with a losing record. We essentially blew all of that time, money and assets to do a 360. 3 fuging years. Now we are supposed to wait 5 years for him to make mid. Top 15 ranking. I am not sure they would have waited 5 years for Joe Montana. You think Belichick waits 5 years for Brady? Not me. And we are in the era of the cheap slotted salary for drat picks era, where it is supposed to be easier to move on. You have to want to though and you have to be in charge with a clue. He has had flashes that lasted a whole game, a couple of times. I could stretch that to 4 maybe but I am not even sure of that. Maybe. He has had substantially more flashes that lasted a half or quarter, but all that combined doesn’t stack as high as his weak performances. It is maddening.

Well that just wasn’t the question that I asked. The bottom this and that has been discussed and will be discussed again. It is a very similar situation to Bryce. Both their jobs are safe right now as far as I can tell.

Not what I was looking for there. You, I believe, would advocate forcing the issue and getting Canales out if possible. I am looking at if I am Canales oholding a 6 year contract with 4 years left and just won the division and almost an upset in the playoffs, and has that stadium rocking… And you want me to give up my autonomy and likely demote or terminate my right hand guy… I would likely dig in my heels. You would have to push it hard. Too hard. You will have big time upset Apple cart. For me, I can’t see how Idzik is any better at it. We looked at that in preseason and IIRC people were bitching. But someone bitches about every single thing that is done or not done so who knows….

I don’t see how it is supposed to work when Canales has his mini me as OC by title, but is de facto OC. How do you inject a play caller from the outside into that situation?

I don’t know what Caldwell does, for one thing, but if he had anything to do with drafting Bryce he can gtfo now.

Exactly how I feel about it. It is wasted time.

I don’t know what he is. I feel like he the driving force behind the team being where it is the last few years with the QB obsession and that trade up at the root of it.

I don’t remember the game but I could swear we saw that earlier in the year. Same fold. The 5th to last pass Young made was absolutely a big time throw. That last bit, turn in your clutch card.

BTP, you get a half point if you get within 3 yards before the ball is thrown.

Yep. And Kris Jenkins. It was good. Great times for a fan of defensive football.

Sorry I flashed on all the 4 man rushes that defeated us. As far as our D take me back to a 4-3 and the guys from 2003 era. 4 could do it. I know under Tepper we are doomed to rot with this 3-4.