musicman

IDK, but I feel an 8 to 10 win season, if we stay healthy. 10 wins is wild card berth even though we may not do anything but it's a positive step.

I expect the Panthers to come out and give a tremendous effort and instead of blowing it when it's close, move further in front. to a strong win. They are not gonna run away with it but I feel we are gonna see a good team in front of a lively crowd and win and make believers of themselves. It won't be perfect but it will be a start.

Saleh was never in charge and being #1 vs #2 Coach on a team is huge. The head coach dictates everything down to schedule, the players he wants, programs, systems, etc. Rhule has shown a tremendous ability to transform an organization, from Temple and Baylor and what we have seen so far from the Panthers. I did not expect a semi competitive team last year with that roster and they fought hard and were in almost every game. Rhule will be successful and this team will be fighting for a playoff spot every year. I don't think this is on Saleh, but the Jets organization has been garbage for years. He has a lot to change there and that's a lot for a 1st time HC on any level. He seems like a good coach but being the head honcho is different than just being a coordinator.

We need a good solid QB that can can step up from time to time and win and game by himself. Not every game. Darnold might have that. Teddy didn't. Build a winning franchise by having a consistent winner every year, like the Ravens or Steelers that has a chance to be in the playoffs every year. Once you make it to the dance, you just might win one or two. Also, it's not easy finding a franchise QB (what is there maybe 5 to 7 in the NFL right now?). We had Cam and then injuries made him mortal and the team was not built strong enough to stay a consistent winner after that.

To think Rhule rebuilt 2 programs with no name QBs. He's the perfect man for the job.

How is he a bust already?

Also realize preseason is vanilla in the plays they call. OC Brady is not going to tip his hand for 2 reasons. One to show other teams what they like to do and second, players that will be cut and picked up by other teams won't know what we really do. I could see the Saints picking up one of our guys just for intel and then dumping after our week 2 game. They want to see players win or lose in basic straight up man to man plays most times to just evaluate. Our 2nd string is not that bad and our 3rd stringers seem to be terrible. Baltimore has a deeper team. Depth is one of the most important things in the NFL, just as important as starters as they can affect the outcome the same (see last years Super Bowl terrible back up tackles for KC). I'm still encouraged and excited for the season.

Years ago, reading some posts that gave insight into strategy and players was awesome and yes, it's been less lately. I believe optimistim should override negative as we have too much negativity for sometimes for small and stupid reasons. This team looks promising and the future looks real good that we can have a consistent winner - year in and year out. Isn't that what we want? A team that has a shot to go all the way any given year! I've been with the team 11 years now and like when we all rode the enthusiasm with Cam and had the greatest of all seasons in 2015, this team is build around a team, not just a few great players. That's what we need as we learned the Cams and Luke can't do it by themselves and they are generational talent and that's not gonna always line up. This just feels right. This team just needs it's fans to be supportive and loud on game days and get back that home field advantage we have from 2013-2015. BofA rocked. From 2013 to 2017 we won 75% of our home games, best % ever. Great thread.

This is good. I want their confidence to be a little lower. They're young. They need to buy into "they have to work harder" to have a good season. With scheme and time it will be better but just straight up with no game planning, there were good things to build on (not great) and there were things that need work (a lot of work). This year will be a grind to get to 9 or 10 wins (which I think they can do). The young players are learning what grinding really means when you have tough days like yesterday. It's good. As bad as Grier has been, I would like to see him get a series or 2 with the 1's just to see. Kinda final closure before you slam the door on him. He's not had good players around him when he plays, so I feel like Darnold in NY with him. Walker is the #2 but we will need a 3rd with Covid still out there.

Until we see them in pads, no one can tell just yet. I hope one of the rookies starts at Guard but only time will tell.

I think you are all missing the point. With injuries and Covid protocols, versatility is more important than in the past. Very rarely does a team have all 5 starting last the entire season. Not having good back ups costed the Chiefs the Super Bowl. We have a premier RT. A starting center for at least 2021. We have 3 "holes to fill" and a lot of talent to have quality depth up and down the line. It's not the starting caliber we may all want but if it's decent to good and has no drop off from injuries, then it's a win in my book.

They are being smart and having a back up plan if no other LT stands out. It's all about having options. That's why they like versatile players.

Can I bribe my way to the top?

The feel good story will be Cam has a solid and productive year and earns the starting job this year and maybe the next several. What I mean by solid is not pro bowl but holds his own, limits the penalties and stays healthy.

Hope he gets off to a hot start.

Why would we give up a pot of Gold for a political nightmare and one injury away from ruining us for a while. Watson is an amazing talent. Remember when Cam hurt his shoulder? It took us years to recover and..... that's right, we still haven't recovered when our Franchise QB got hurt. Giving up too much along with that risk is not worth it. Having a Franchise QB and paying him great and having the picks and team to build around him is more important and that's not this situation.

What is the cap hit next year if we tag Moton again?

I wouldn't sleep on Brown or Moore stealing a starting Guard job either. I hope and feel they make great back ups, but you never know.

Where's Shi Smith?

Top 3. Playoffs vs Cards, after Luke gets the pick 6, the stadium was so rocking from everybody jumping to the song "Kernkraft 400", my booth was shaking like I was on a boat - very surreal. #2. 2013 when Ted Ginn scores with 1 minute remain against the Pats on MNF. that's when the Panthers and the city came alive for the next several years. #3. Against NYG when Gano hits a 62 yard FG to win the game that nobody thought he could make.

My only expectation for last year was to show improvement, even if it didn't translate to wins. And we did, especially on defense with limited talent. Robbie Anderson another surprise, along with DJ Moore getting better. But we battled and we're in most games and we couldn't say that for years. I hope for a 8+ win year in that 9 to 10 wins will be my real expectation. But if we lose a few heartbreakers because a fumble or Tom Brady did a classic TB 1 minute drive to win it at the end, I won't be down on the team. Just show improvement and don't get blown out. I want to see the rookies and 2 year guys improve to the point our expectations are even higher in 2022.

I've had talks with Mrs Tepper and others and they are really trying to turn the massive ship of an organization around one piece at a time. It takes time to do it right and not every move will work out, but they are trying very hard. They see the big picture and they deserve our respect and support in helping get there as it will benefit us all. I look forward to the future.

How does he know the FO people or the business side of stadium ops did good things right? He doesn't know if they're good people or not. Some parts of the operation needed to be fixed, he evaluated and then started making moves.

It started in 2018 when Tepper bought the team and he sat back and watched the 2019 season play out. He wanted to see what he had before he did anything, a very smart move. Going into 2020 we hired a new HC with a long term rebuilding plan, cleaned house a bit and started over. But a pandemic slowed the rebuilding a little. In 2021 we hire a new, progressive & talented GM and he takes a much different and analytical approach to the draft we've never seen. Yes, they passed on drafting Fields and IMO did the right thing. Fields got talent and maybe they weren't as high on him as were other teams that didn't take him (Bears were desperate) and we worked on building a complete team. We are still another year away from competing for a championship but maybe getting to 9 wins this year starts a winning tradition. If you look at what they're doing, they are taking positive steps towards building a perennial winner. Fans want flash and big leaps forward. But getting the cap in order to have sustained success is needed. Getting the right QB is very important, but at what costs. Taking a very calculated risk with a high reward on Darnold is smart. If he works out we just sped up the process and built a team around him in the process. if it doesn't, we still have a solid team that's a QB & 1 or 2 players away from a SB run. But at least we're winning 9 maybe 10 games a year, not 4 or 5. Every move in the NFL is a chance. An injury can derail a team, especially to a star (like a CMC). But having a complete team is more important (see Chiefs tackles in SB). Having great depth with young talent (with a great coaching staff) and the right mix of vets that can sustain winning every year, not every other year or every 3 years is what we should all want. That's how you build football tradition like in GB, Buffalo, NE, Sea, KC and heck even Dallas, NY, Chi (the fans come out no matter what). They support football because it's tradition and we need to build that since we don't have the 40-50+ year history those teams have. If we can put together 3 winning seasons in a row, you watch the fan base become stronger and more supportive, especially at games. On this board, everybody has so many opinions because the team is up and down every year. There's no rhythm and no obvious path to be good year in and year out.... until now. Hang in there and let's see it develop. Every move may not work out but if 5 or 6 draft picks work and maybe 2 or 3 FA signing play like they should, we'll be better for a long time.

I thought we did great. So much potential for a 10+ win team next year and possible playoffs. That's all we can ask for. Keeping getting better with no steps backwards. To be a perinal winner.