Pro Football Talk on Matt Rhule

[Richard Cranium 1]

Rhule after signing his contract with the Panthers:

[Mr. Scot]

33 minutes ago, jayboogieman said:

The Golden Child. That was on the other night.

Underrated movie...

[jayboogieman]

2 hours ago, Mr. Scot said:

Underrated movie...

[trueblade]

During his 2 seasons with the Panthers, Matt Rhule has 1 win over a team with a winning record. He had 0 in 2020, and 1 in 2021 (Arizona).

2020 wins - Chargers (7-9), Cardinals (8-8), Falcons (4-12), Lions (5-11), WFT (7-9)

2021 wins - Jets (3-9), Saints* (5-7), Texans  (2-10), Falcons* (5-7), Cardinals (10-2)

Overall 10-18

*2021 is still in progress. The Saints and Falcons are both 5-7 so its still possible either or both could finish with a winning record.

I was going to make this its own thread, but it can probably just go in this one. 

Edited December 10, 2021 by trueblade
why are there always typos!

[ThPantherFan]

On 12/8/2021 at 9:15 AM, jayflip said:

Firing Rhule doesn’t necessarily reset the 3-5 year rebuild. We built up the D, we have (on paper) the right skill position players on O. Just need an oline and QB.
 

Heck, a new coach could potentially expedite the 3-5 years from this point if they can use this young roster to its strengths while rebuilding the oline

Sure, that could be true but not likely.  One more year with Rhule to get it together.  I agree we have players in place and they are young.  We need some key players, as you suggest.  Can be done with or without Rhule.

[DaveThePanther2008]

On 12/8/2021 at 6:12 PM, SCO96 said:

We all know there is a learning curve leaping from college to pros. I think too many Panther fans overestimated this team heading into 2021. I didn't expect us to make the playoffs this year. I was hoping for a 9-10 win season, setting the stage for a strong playoff run in 2022.

However, I didn't think the team would play so poorly this season. Last year 8 of our 11 losses were by one score or less. We were soundly beaten 3 times last season (once to NO and twice by Tampa). Every other game was literally decided in the final minutes. This year we've had games where we couldn't score a point in the 2nd half. And, we got swept by the NFC EAST, a division that didn't have a team finish above .500 in 2020. And, arguably our worst defeat of the season was to the Giants, one of the weakest teams in the league. Our inability to score points in the 3rd quarter is mind blowing.

Our drafts and personnel decisions are highly questionable. Not coming away with at least one bonafide starter for the OL this past draft is inexcusable. Brady may not be the answer at LT, but we really don't know because Rhule refuses to play him there despite picking him in the 3rd round.. Drafting WR TMJ in round 2 may pay off down the road, but he really hasn't contributed anything this season. Jaycee Horn is hurt so he gets a pass, but he only played 3 games. You can make an argument that none of our 2021 draftees have had a strong impact thru our first twelve games. You can't have that for a team undergoing a rebuild.

Now, we don't have picks in the 2nd or 3rd round this year, so we only get to make selections on Day 1 and Day 3 of the 2022 draft. The CJ Henderson trade is a head scratcher. Even after Horn's injury we had DJ, Bouye, and Taylor. That was a trade we didn''t have to make. Plus, keeping TE Arnold probably would have helped our passing game.

I don't care if Rhule is gone at season's end. But, I can see giving him one more year. plus it may be hard finding a guy who can come in and turn things around immediately with the lack of draft choices in 2022. If he does return he needs to be on the hot seat. The current team performance is unacceptable.

I agree with everything but the draft picks.  Brady and possibly Brown should be starting.  They are rookies but they aren't any worse than what we have out there now.  Both probably have an opportunity to get better whereas the current players have no where to go but down. 

Brown really disturbs me because he was carrying extra weight but he lost it yet It seems they wanted him to lose more.  Let the man play and show what he can do at his current weight.  I don't think he was put on IR for a real injury.

Had we let them play more this year we would have had a better evaluation of what we need going into the 2022 draft.  Now we have 2 rookies with very limited playing time and have to decide whether they were good picks or we have to choose another player to compete with them.

[rippadonn]

Are we going to see the Cam Newton that we could never see because of an OC in the way?

Are we finally going to see an offense by and for Cam ala Tom Brady?

At least make this interesting.

[SCO96]

7 hours ago, DaveThePanther2008 said:

I agree with everything but the draft picks.  Brady and possibly Brown should be starting.  They are rookies but they aren't any worse than what we have out there now.  Both probably have an opportunity to get better whereas the current players have no where to go but down. 

Brown really disturbs me because he was carrying extra weight but he lost it yet It seems they wanted him to lose more.  Let the man play and show what he can do at his current weight.  I don't think he was put on IR for a real injury.

Had we let them play more this year we would have had a better evaluation of what we need going into the 2022 draft.  Now we have 2 rookies with very limited playing time and have to decide whether they were good picks or we have to choose another player to compete with them.

I actually agree with you.  Brady and Brown should be starting…or at least be getting more reps than they are currently getting? As you pointed out, they haven’t played enough to see what they can do. For all we know, answers to our Oline woes could already be on the roster.

I think our rookie class is talented. My comment about them may have been phrased poorly. I was trying to say that based on their lack of playing time and misuse, their overall contributions have been minimal. Ask yourself this, based on what they’ve done this season, if none of them were on the team, would  we be that much worse? Brady is playing out of position when he does play. And, if Rhule thinks he should be a guard, then start him and let’s see what he can do. I dont even know if Brown has seen then field. Tremble is a TE who has shown flashes, but he’s in an offense that doesn’t feature that position. He also a good blocker, but we never see him in the backfield as a lead blocker. Horn is hurt, but we already know he can play. He just needs to get healthy TMJ has been a non factor for weeks. Outside of Chiba, the rookie’s haven’t had a chance to showcase their talents. This is especially frustrating because they’re probably better than they guys in front of them…or at least as good.
 

I would have looked at this as year 2 of a 3 year rebuild and had those guys playing a lot more to see what they are capable of doing on the field. By seasons end we’d know if we were set or in need of better players.