Matt Rhule on Sam Darnold and the QB Situation

[methodtoll]

https://www.panthers.com/news/2021-draft-day-3-transcripts

 

What is the confidence level in Sam Darnold and the Panthers quarterback situation?

Rhule: "We brought Sam here because we believe that he can win for us. When we look at him over his last three years, we see a guy with tons of potential. We see a guy that we think in our situation, in our offense is going to do really good things. And we have a lot of faith in PJ Walker, we have a lot of faith in Will Grier, so we think we have a really healthy quarterback situation. It should be fun from here. All I want Sam to do is just take it one day at a time. Everything for him doesn't have to be a referendum on whether he's a great quarterback or not. He just needs to come into the building and work every day. I believe the quarterback position is really, really important, but I also believe great teams win. I think Sam is going to be as good as the guys around him, and we've tried to put a lot of really good players around him. I'm excited to have him."

It may just be coach speak but the fact that they didn't draft one single QB, in any round speaks volumes to how they feel about the current QB Situation. I think I am starting to believe they actually think more highly of Grier more than I thought. 

Thoughts? 

 

[SmokinwithWilly]

It worries me that Grier couldn’t get past TB on the depth chart and we traded him away. That doesn’t make me feel all warm and fuzzy about our back ups.

[OldhamA]

Yes and no RE: Grier. Personally I don't think he's any less talented than a Trask / Mond et al, but Rhule is very careful not to exclude players when he's throwing around platitudes. 

With regards to Darnold, whilst I think he was Plan C, Plan A and B were shots at established, upper echelon NFL starters. 

I've no doubt they looked at the tape in NY and thought "they've done this kid dirty, he can play". The Jets have realised that too because they've immediately invested a boatload of Draft resources into help for Wilson.

That said, Darnold will have a short leash. He'll be given every opportunity he didn't have in NY (we're building a team around him now), but as we saw with Bridgewater - it's perform or get out of the way. 

[trueblade]

"I'm really excited to coach Cam Newton."

I don't put a ton of stock in Rhule's public comments about the quarterbacks.

By his actions, he'spushed all his chips in on Darnold. Let's hope that was the right decision.

Edited May 2, 2021 by trueblade

[Panthers8969]

Not drafting a qb just means they understand non 1st round qbs have an extremely low hit rate. People want to talk about early qb hit rates and then bring up an outlier like brady, but in reality, late round qbs almost never work out where as first round qbs actually have a legit shot. So, super happy we didn’t waste a mid to late pick on a qb 

[methodtoll]

1 minute ago, Panthers8969 said:

Not drafting a qb just means they understand non 1st round qbs have an extremely low hit rate. People want to talk about early qb hit rates and then bring up an outlier like brady, but in reality, late round qbs almost never work out where as first round qbs actually have a legit shot. So, super happy we didn’t waste a mid to late pick on a qb 

The fact that Jamie Newman was available as a UDFA QB was a bit shocking to me though and now he is going to sit behind Fields... 

[kungfoodude]

I suspect Darnold is beyond repair, like so many damaged goods QB's before him. It's not the worst thing in the world if he is a disaster, though. It could put us in a good position to eventually be able to get a franchise QB again. As much as I dislike the choice to pick up his 5th year option, he will be much cheaper to jettison than Bridgewater was if he continues to be Sam Darnold - Jets Edition. 

In the unlikely case Darnold does turn out to be the touted QB prospect the Jets drafted, then we get a franchise QB at a cheap price. 

I don't think the coaching staff really believes that PJ Walker or Will Grier are actual NFL caliber backups. I think they are just making do with some ultra cheap depth and pushing all their chips in on Darnold. I don't ultimately have a problem with that "all or nothing" approach while we are rebuilding. If it all goes to poo, we get to pick in the top 5-10 again, and that should serve to keep stocking our roster with cheap and talented players. 

Once we eventually find a franchise QB and get back to being a winning franchise, I do hope we will see the value in having a solid veteran backup QB to buoy us in the case of injury.

[kungfoodude]

4 minutes ago, methodtoll said:

The fact that Jamie Newman was available as a UDFA QB was a bit shocking to me though and now he is going to sit behind Fields... 

I think fans were a lot more enamored with Newman than the NFL was. It didn't help that in his big opportunity to boost his stock(transferring to UGA) he opted out. 

[rayzor]

13 minutes ago, methodtoll said:

All I want Sam to do is just take it one day at a time. Everything for him doesn't have to be a referendum on whether he's a great quarterback or not. He just needs to come into the building and work every day.

Exactly the right mindset to be passing on to Sam and to all of us. Take the pressure off and just let him/help him grow. It's not "do or die". It's just "learn to live".

[iamhubby1]

1 minute ago, rayzor said:

Exactly the right mindset to be passing on to Sam and to all of us. Take the pressure off and just let him/help him grow. It's not "do or die". It's just "learn to live".

 

Here, here.

[OldhamA]

9 minutes ago, trueblade said:

"I'm really excited to coach Cam Newton."

I don't put a ton of stock in Rhule's public comments about the quarterbacks.

By his actions, he'spushed all his chips in on Darnold. Let's hope that was the right decision.

Honestly, that was on Newton. 

 

 

[MechaZain]

I’m actually semi-fluent in coachspeak what he said was if Sam sucks we’ll just draft a guy next year

[kungfoodude]

3 minutes ago, MechaZain said:

I’m actually semi-fluent in coachspeak what he said was if Sam sucks we’ll just draft a guy next year

Pretty much. I think they are just throwing poo at the wall to see if it sticks. But, that is what every franchise without an elite QB is doing. Although we gave up draft capital, at least we aren't so financially invested with this gamble. We have to keep in mind that our FO and coaching staff have learning curves to navigate, as well. 

We just have to watch the process and hope it nets the desired results.

[Ivan The Awesome]

What really irks me about this situation is that the whole theme about the draft has been to create competition at ever position, yet they did not draft the guy that would have made it a real competition for Darnold and brought out the best player if competing was truly the end all. Fields would have definitely created competition in the QB room. 

That 2nd round pick pretty much solidifies him starting thus not really being a competition. Using that narrative really bothers me when it is selective. Should be a blanket statement but it is not. 

 

Edit: Before any of you think I don't like the Horn pick, i actually do. I just feel like Fields was the pick there especially since he fell to your laps. Just my perspective. Fields would have at least giving you a bigger shot at finding out if you have a Franchise QB or not. The most important position in football. 

Feels like they went with plan A2, and gambled on Darnold. Due to confidence or Arrogance, whichever you prefer. Here's hoping that the gamble pays off. 

Edited May 2, 2021 by Ivan The Awesome