TD alt

See the "participation trophy" thing is not on point. As always, literally, it's all about math. Each team begins the season with the same opportunity and if it comes down to a tiebreaker, that means one team did enough while the other one(s) did not. Win one more game throughout a 17 game season, and you don't have to rely on tiebreakers.

I will probably be thinking that during the offseason, just not in terms of the Saints, but a team a little closer to home.

Willis substituted for Love last season, and he made a very good impression. I didn't see Saturday's game (a loss), but I can tell you that since he's been filling in for Love, he's done OK for himself. He's been on my radar since last season.

This is likely one of the few times you'll ever ever see me root for the Falcons. The Panthers have put fans in a tough and unsavory position of rooting for the Dirty Birds for two consecutive games. It is what it is. We have two ways of getting in, and I'm rooting for both of them. "If the Atlanta Falcons win their final two games, versus the Los Angeles Rams on Monday night and the New Orleans Saints next weekend, they'd finish the campaign at 8-9. That outcome coupled with a Bucs win over the Panthers in their season finale would result in a three-way tie atop the NFC South, with Tampa and Carolina also at 8-9. If that is indeed what occurs, then the Panthers—thanks to the head-to-head tiebreaker—would capture the crown." https://pantherswire.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/panthers/2025/12/28/panthers-buccaneers-falcons-week-18-playoff-clinching-scenarios/87937990007/

Corral was simply rated much higher, and that's not revisionist history. Comparing Bryce and Stroud, and even X and Ladd to Corral and Willis seems like more of an apples to oranges comparison in my opinion. That being said, Willis likely would've flopped here, just like Corral did. Hell, Stroud may not be the QB he is either (but that's an interesting aside to ponder). The thing with X and Ladd was we went for upside and RAS over definitive route running...which was stupid IMO, but several teams skipped the smallish, unassuming white guy, notwithstanding his expert route running...

Yep, Bryce is not athletic enough to ascend beyond his own physical limitations. I know that that statement is straight from Mr. Obvious and unnecessary to be said, but damned if some people just don't seem to get it.

The problem is, I just think Bryce is too short to see the field. He can't see the passing lanes because he can't see over the line, and that's why he bails the pocket so quickly on a comparative basis.

Good Lord! I bet the O-line play wasn't the worst since 1980. And @thebdawg, injuries absolutely can make for a bad showing at the end of the day. That's not an excuse, it's just a fact.

The playoffs are on the line; you play to win the damned game. It's really preposterous to think that the Panthers will strive to do otherwise. But I can understand the rationale of fans thinking losing would be better in the short and long term, I just disagree with it. At some point you have to think in terms of standing on business while winning, not looking to improve by losing. fug a few spots at draft position. I've always said that if your GM, scouts and HC can't identify talent to improve the team in every round, especially days one and two, then they don't need to be on the job. I give them the built-in grace on day three, but only because of historical probabilities, but there is no excuse for not being able to come away with at least one impactful starter on day one, and very little excuse to not come away with one on day two. No one will ever make me believe that when you have first, second and even third round draft picks that you can't come away with a player that continually (not continuously) has a positive affect on the field, so it makes little sense in my opinion to whine about approximately five draft positions. Now if we get to the playoffs and win in the first round, admittedly our draft position would be markedly different, but I'm never gonna cry about winning. Like AI said, I expect the FO to do its damned job regardles.

And that's somewhat of an indictment in itself.

I remember vividly when some Huddlers were telling us that Purdy was no good. You told us that he couldn't play without being stocked with stars at the offensive skill positions. That's not true.

We'll always come up short with Bryce. Low ceiling and lower floor.

This game just sucked. Despite the fact that Jaycee had an unbelievably dumb penalty, it's easy to believe we weren't going to do a damned thing anyway. Such a horrible, uninspiring display of offensive football.

We did both today. It's true.

Well, assuming that we do what we should do (Dave being a big part in that equation), we should have at least one, if not two guys that can give Bryce some motivation at the very least.

We also need some urgency and no-huddle.

Let's see how DC handles this five-plus minutes. We need to score relatively fast. We need to go vertical-ish and start pushing the ball down field. Screens and quick-outs ain't gonna do it.

Where is our JSN? We hardly ever have a streaking crosser who catches in stride.

Damn. That Njigba catch might do it.

All of that's agreeable, it's just not helping us today. I'm not averse to Canales getting another shot or two, especially in light of not being able to pick his QB, but he needs an OC.

If you're going to praise a coach today, then it's Evero. Canales ain't done a damned thing of note.

But you know what? The halftime adjustments are going to tell the story, and in my opinion Dave hasn't shown to be stellar in that area either. An astuteness at play calling, halftime adjustments and situational play calling is how we win. We'll see what happens.

It's not creative, that's for sure. I've never seen anything from him, ever, that is indicative of anything but a C+ caller (if I'm being generous).

Bad play calling

Horn shoulda turned it into the hole