MHS831

I think he is very raw. When he gets it together, and he will sometime soon, watch out.

No, but I was at an OTA and I heard Fox make a smart comment to another coach about Clausen, and then Armanti Edwards after he dropped a Jugs punt. He was bitter--it was his lame duck year and he was not involved in the draft--that is the draft Hurney went solo--tried to trade up from about 47 to 33 with the Rams to get Clausen--offering a future first, according to the Rams GM later. Then the Colts bragged that they bluffed MH into thinking they wanted Armanti Edwards, which caused him to trade up into the third for a seventh round graded player. Those were darker times than these. But I am sure the press was comparing Clausen to Montana and Edwards was going to be the best slot WR in 2 years.

And I did not read your username as "Lame Duck."

for half his career or more, my stats have equaled his. I need an agent.

Some interesting things about his interview: First of all, what a great kid-you have to like him and should pull for him. However, Canales seems to be the only coach in Bryce's ear this year. Last year, it seems that he was getting coached on several levels at different times (Frank Reich, Dave Brown, etc), and that could lead to a lot of confusion. Canales said that when a player breaks the huddle and is slow approaching the LOS, he is thinking. The Panthers were slow all season--including the QB. I realize we are talking about day 1 of OTAs, but when players like Ian Thomas and Jordan Matthews are getting mentioned, it might indicate the TE room is finally feeling recognized and there is a competition going on--Sanders, Tremble, Thomas, Sullivan, and maybe even Matthews-it could be the most improved position on the offense after guard.

I like Willie Drew (CB, Virginia State) as well. He is a lock for the PS with a shot at the roster.

I like this kid--he will make the roster. However, he said that his sophomore year was the first playoff game in school history. Incorrect. Western Carolina beat them in the FCS playoffs many years ago.

This is a huge point. I think last year, we were trying to shorten the game by snapping with 2 seconds or less on the play clock. However, Canales talks a lot about pre-snap reads, and you can't do that if you are checking on your formation (are they set?) and it reduces the use of motion. Bryce's first read needs to be pre-snap. And when the D can cover your TEs and WRs with 4 players, the blitzes and stunts are more aggressive when the play clock behind the QB is hitting Zero.

Thanks Jackie for keeping this going.

We bequeath it to you.

Mentally, it takes years to get over the death of a parent when you are young--and he lost 2 within 4 years. Personally, I lost both of my parents in a span of 10 months--and you think you are fine, but you are devastated. From a football perspective, Legette's time came and he made the most of it--but there are a lot of factors that could contribute to the reason he struggled--people develop at different rates and some are late bloomers. QBs may have a favorite and if it isn't you, they might diminish your opportunities. I think Legette has the ability to be as good as any WR in this draft, but he is probably an early second round grade at this time. His upside (along with Mitchell from Texas) is off the charts.

he has the right attitude. he and Morgan have made the right moves and, for the first time in a long time, we seem to have a plan to build. I realize that some here will want him torched and tarred and feathered when he does not instantly put us in the playoffs, but there will be improvement this year. If he does that for two years in a row, we can start talking playoffs. I think he is smart and will be the best coach we have seen in a long while.

Initially, I wanted Stroud but I thought the trade up meant that, whoever they chose, it was for a reason. There was no pressure to do anything for the entire scouting team to do other than investigate every aspect of the top 3 candidates. Stroud had his question marks, and I think it is possible that he falters this year. Bryce had a much worse situation here in Carolina because we neglected the OL, traded our #1 WR, did not pick WRs well in the draft, traded our pro bowl RB, and seem to disregard the TE position altogether. Bozeman was not a good fit and we relied on an improved OL in 2022 to suggest that we were set there when we were far from it. Fitterer had no vision, no grasp of talent, and everyone in the front office and on the coaching staff were pretending to be gurus. Our coaching staff was a group of men earning a lifetime achievement paycheck. It all goes back to the years of neglect for the OL. My theory? If Stroud had come to Carolina, he would be as mocked and ridiculed as Bryce Young. No, he does not have a cannon. Chad Pennington was a weak-armed QB who had success and would have been even better if it were not for injuries. Smarts is important at QB, and so are mechanics. Before you can address Young's mechanics, he needs an OL, Running game, and weapons. We were not really able to run play action from under center for a few reasons--play action is not effective when you have to pass the ball--other than that, the QB must turn his back to the LOS for about 1.5 seconds. When the QB has less than 2.5 seconds to pass the ball, that eliminates that part of the play book. Heck, even the run option is minimized when there is immediate facial pressure. SO those who want to talk about happy feet, bouncing, etc--they are symptoms of the problem, not the problem. A weak arm? Well, Young's arm is between Chad Pennington and Joe Montana--closer to Joe. His are is not as weak as some think--but he has issues with the deep ball. When you are reacting to the defense and quickly have to pass, then that takes away the strength because you don't have the base to get power behind it. I still wish we had taken Stroud, but we have Young and if you toss him out before giving him support, you are not wise, unsmart, not unfoolish, and rather elite in your failure to attain mediocrity. Expect growth. How much? Nobody knows.

He did not elevate the players around him, but they de-elevated their QB. A QB like Bryce needs a system, a strong OL, a Running game, and WRs that can get open. Call him a manager at best, but so is a point guard. That is all we should need. He is smart enough to grow into a very effective player. I once saw a Coach talking about the OL--i forget who it was Schottenheimer comes to mind--and he said, you can succeed if you have one weak link on the OL. If you get 2 weak links, success comes 10x harder. If you get three weak links, your season is over. Your QB is injured, and you are unemployed (paraphrasing). I would say that we had 4 weak links (Icky does not get a pass) and a RB who was not good at pass blocking. I am not saying the Bryce is the answer at QB--but I am saying we don't know yet. I know QBs (college) and when the OL sucks, they collapse mentally over time. That is what we saw--a QB who had never played without the advantage.

Simply not true.

Check out the first year for John Elway--Terry Bradshaw--both had situations similar to what we have here.

Better than you. And if that still sucks, how do you live with yourself?

A terrible offensive Line impacts everything--when you become not only one-dimensional, you become predictable because you are so limited by the OL. Instead, people trash Mingo--a rookie trying to find a rhythm in a system without one--A QB trying to find a rhythm when the WRs are not open and the OL is a turnstile. TOM BRADY would have struggled here. IN HIS PRIME. I am concerned that this hurt Bryce Mentally--and he might not be able to recover--but let's see what happens before we torch our own players--again--to trash any offensive player beyond the IOL for last season suggests that you don't get football.

Mingo bashers need to realize that it you add 230 of those yards to his yardage, he would have had about 650 yards--not bad for a rookie

So you are suggesting that he throw to covered receivers to make sure the ball arrives on time? But when you use data and logic like "Plain and simple" and "anyone...should have known." The argument is proven and should evolve from opinion to theory to fact simply when those powerful and insightful phrases are utterered because the underlying assumption is you have more intelligence than the coaches and front office staff--so who are we to challenge your authority?

I had the same thought, but if you throw in the additions of the guards and what they did in New Orleans for Brees, I think it is more than Seattle. But I have the same worries--we do not have Lynch.

Don't forget that the Panthers are also infusing some Sean Payton Drew Brees offensive strategies too-we added 2 stud guards which is something that Payton found to be essential to Brees' passing from the pocket success. Now, what did all three of these programs have in common? I doubt Russell Wilson would have been successful without Pete Carrol and I doubt Brees would have been successful had he stayed in San Diego. You could argue that Wilson was not successful in Denver, but in 2023 before being benched he was 26TDs vs 8 Ints and a completion rate over 66%.

Here is one explanation of Bryce--He has never been the underdog--aways played with a lead, always had the best team, best OL, and usually, the best WRs. Since high school. Now imagine a bully who punches you in the arm every time he walks by you. At first, you walk by with confidence and it catches you off guard. Then you start flinching and taking side steps to avoid the hit. He still hits you. This happens for an entire year. Now think of what you would do if you walked by him and he didn't hit you. You would still dodge, duck, dip, and dodge, and people would look at you like you were an idiot. Point: even when Bryce had a clean pocket, he was not confident and he prepared to be hit. This guy talks about him being out of rhythm etc. Then he still blames Bryce when he demonstrates that there was no separation and the routes were predictable. In addition to that, he mentions that Bryce often had LESS than 2 seconds to throw before getting pressure. So the Defense knows you have to throw because you are behind--they know what play you are going to run--since they can cover you in man they can rush 7, play man under with cover 1 or 2 support over the top---vs. your 5 OL and a RB who can't block. Our TEs were not open. Bozeman decided to suck hard, and we had 9 different players start at both G spots. Campen sucked, folks--was saying it all year. So Bryce flenched on the rare occasion that he was protected for more that 2 seconds. What does flinching look like? Feet out of position (Cam had the same issue--the brain tells the feet to run), timing off (second guessing due to previous forced errors) etc. Bryce needs to go back to feeling confident in the pocket. I hope he is not traumatized by 2023. He has to be second guessing his ability--like you are. Self-fulfilling prophecy.

But when your name is Dick, it is too easy....Reminds me when 2 West Virginia players were sitting on the bench together...

Forget about your opinions of Bryce--that means nothing. Get past it. Now, how can you make this offense work? Get a stud OL. Get a WR who can separate--get another one in the draft. Get a pass catching TE weapon, get a better RB and run first, pass second. That is what Canales is doing. Make them stop the run. Let's see what happens.