jayboogieman

Even just looking at the preseason performance in a bubble, one could argue it wouldn't inspire confidence. Most of the throws were short, the same thing people fussed about Teddy B doing. He had happy feet, locked onto receivers, etc. Oh, and this was against backups! Take off the fanboy glasses and you can see the writer's point even if you feel it's wrong. As others have said, Darnold and the Panthers are an afterthought for the mass majority of the NFL community(fans, writers, etc)

Same

Yep. How this season goes will hinge on the Oline more than anything else.

It was one half against mostly backups vs three years of history against starters. I can see their point even if I don't like it.

Pretty much. I said when the Panthers traded for him that he needed the chance to be the starter without looking over his shoulder. They have given him that. Now Darnold needs to prove them right.

Didn't catch the humor?

Sloppy, fairly low scoring game. The Panthers offense stalls several times due to the Oline. Darnold throws a pick early causing most of the Huddle to meltdown. Four hamsters die from exhaustion and the server crashes. He throws a TD to Arnold just before the half. The defense has a so-so game, but doesn't make Wilson look like an all pro like the Panthers have done several times in the past when facing QBs making their first NFL starts. CMC has a good game. Rhule sends out the kicker for a 60 yarder in the first half. It's a miss. The kicker makes 2 50+ yarders late in the game. Rhule is first in line for a mustache ride to celebrate.

Only on Sundays, Mondays, and Thursdays. Oh yeah, and on Saturdays during January.

You will be doing a lot more Howelling when the Panthers sign some other vet journeyman QB and trade out of the pick to recoup more of the already traded pics.

Better to overestimate the Jets and be pleasantly surprised if the Panthers win than underestimate the Jets and be highly disappointed if the Panthers lose.

Five TE sets!

I'm disappointed this is not the first comment considering the OP's username.

Did I say Rhule was going to be crap as an NFL coach? I never hinted at such a thing. You don't know that those guys will be three quality starters. You think they will be because of early results. That said, like every other draft, it takes a few years to know for sure. Never claimed that I know if they will be a success. That is projection on your part. You claim that what Rhule and Fitterer's predecessors did doesn't matter, yet you bring up Johnson as historical proof that you're in the right. Doesn't work that way. What Johnson did doesn't matter to what Rhule and Co will do since what their predecessors did doesn't matter. You can't have it both ways. What does matter is that Rhule was half of a leadership team that produced bad results(a losing season since this in the NFL along with some player issues). Rhule doesn't get a magical do over just because his first partner has been replaced. He not only needs to learn from his mistakes, but also those his predecessors made.

A wise man also considers you take the good with the bad and can't erase the past. Other first time coaches had the same issues Rhule did. He wasn't the only one, so doesn't get a pass. Life doesn't work that way, especially in a results business like the NFL. You're correct in that there is never perfection and that hopefully these guys make less mistakes. That said, they have to prove that they will make less mistakes with their actions. It's too early to truly know, but early results show that it's a mixed bag.

The Cam Newton mess, bringing in Teddy B with that contract, and their decisions leading to another losing season all happened that first offseason. I wouldn't say it went surprisingly well at all.

Rhule has had two off seasons now. You don't get to magically wipe those away just because he has a new GM, especially if it's true that he has a huge say on roster decisions. If the current braintrust won't learn from the mistakes that the old ones made, then yes, that has a huge bearing on any success the new guys will have.

Not true. If you ignore history, you're doomed to repeat it. Hopefully these guys are smart enough not to make the same mistakes.

At least two more after this one. Tepper won't pay him to sit at home all those years left on that contract. Besides, it's way too early in the rebuild to truly worry about winning.

The cupboard is bare and we'll take what we can get.

Go ahead if you want to. Just consider that it's way too early to judge the players and Rhule's comments about not being afraid to cut bait with players you draft. Just because a player is on the roster today doesn't mean he will be tomorrow. Nor does a good rookie season mean the player will be great. Example: Kelvin Benjamin. He had a good rookie season and then flamed out.

This is the most promising thing to me. For those thinking Rhule will be out after 3 years, that's not going to happen. Rhule will get at least four years before they turn on the seat warmer. His long contract will see to that.

It's more of an NBA thing. Pick swapping, protections, etc happen all the time in NBA trades. I'm sort of surprised that it hasn't popped up in the NFL more.

Even in the NBA guys will stick with the teams that can pay them the most for the majority of their careers. Then a lot of them go chasing rings by joining the super teams for vet minimum.