top dawg

I'm interested in what Mayfield will say. This could be one of the most awaited and watched pressers in Panthers history.

Just the fact that you said this is pretty stupid considering what Mahomes has achieved in his time in the NFL and what Baker has achieved. Anyone that doesn't acknowledge the fact that Baker comes with a lot of questions, was on the market for weeks, and even notwithstanding purported locker room concerns was still faultering at crunch time, is more interested in trolling than actual discussion. I call it like I see it and nothing more. Mayfield has displayed diva-ish behavior in the past, has been inconsistent, and will have to change before he can earn a long term job, much less get his team deep within the playoffs. If you can't accept that, then tough fuging tittie!

It never is. But writers for national publications don't generally publish a story that they can't back up. It would be career suicide.

I doubt it's happening, but keep dreaming.

They probably promised that he'd get a fair shot, that is all, and that probably appealed to Baker's sense of competition like Bucky said, or his arrogance. He was also ready to move on from the Mistake By The Lake at all costs, and 3.5 mil was a relatively small amount to sacrifice for one whose probably a top level backup at worst.

He seems to be that already. Depression? Maybe, but he's had therapy and appears to be in a good place. As for alcohol, it's not like he's an alcoholic. He stopped drinking because he didn't want it to be an excuse for his perceived failures. I think he's stronger mentally than you give him credit for being, and I also think he's in a good situation. The immediate pressure is off, so he can learn at a comfortable pace. He also thrives off of competition, and he is still viewed as the QB of the future in Charlotte. I think some of you are glossing over that fact amid this Mayfield mania.

It's starting to sound like some Huddlers want to simply give Baker a pass and disregard his issues pertaining to his issues in Cleveland. I just refuse to do it. He is going to have to earn any loyalty from me before I crown him as the savior that the Panthers need. I don't know if the article from the Athletic was posted here, or any excepts considering the Athletic's paywall, but a Fox Sports article from today makes reference to it, and it has basically said what I've been trying to tell you: Mayfield is going to have to change his way of being if he's going to be anything close to a long term answer in Charlotte. Jason Lloyd of the Athletic rightly blamed the Browns for their decades of dysfunction, including their part in Baker's beginning as a young pro. "But Lloyd also zeroed in on the issues that Mayfield brought to the table, and a lot of it had to do with how he acted on days other than Sunday, in addition to his struggles on gameday. "Yet his constant failures in fourth quarters and tight moments, dating back to his rookie year, made it evident the Browns needed to get better at the most important position to compete with the arms race of AFC quarterbacks," Lloyd wrote. 'Mayfield always thought he was better than he was, and it repeatedly got him into trouble with terrible footwork and ill-advised throws at inopportune times.' Lloyd continued. 'Mayfield was widely viewed as childish and immature. His behavior annoyed teammates and divided the locker room. He was often difficult to coach.'" The Baker that Mayfield displayed in Cleveland is destined to fail in Charlotte. Baker is going to essentially have to turn over a new leaf, and in my opinion, Huddlers and Panthers fans everywhere should internalize and acknowledge this opinion as close to the truth as possible. Regardless of past injuries or other rationalizations about his ultimate failures in Cleveland, he can't bring that act to Charlotte and expect to be successful. So pump the brakes and simply stop. We're going to have to see what type of Baker is coming to Charlotte before we crown his ass as anything but a guy with some potential, but who hasn't gotten it done. He hasn't earned the right to be a diva, including getting on his high horse with the media. He's just another inconsistent QB with a certain amount of untapped potential with questionable decision-making (and we've become too accustomed to that in Charlotte for at least the last decade). https://www.foxsports.com/stories/nfl/can-baker-mayfield-turn-it-around-carolina

I didn't say that it was, however I'll clarify: If anything but a true competition is on their minds, then they're wasting our time. All of us have probably seen insinuations that Darnold's days as QB1 are done. We've also seen threads here (based on tweets and such) that Mayfield is the presumptive QB1 even before he was officially a Panther. If that is in fact the case, and Rhule is just being rhetorical (much like Riverboat Ron was with his so-called competitions), then I don't care for it.

I'm not against competition, and actually prefer it. What I'm against is a farce of a competition. If that's even remotely on the radar, they can dump Darnold.

I just think that normally rational Huddlers have become irrational pertaining to Robbie. Perhaps if our team wasn't so bad last year, or if Robbie has had other similar years, I would understand the utter hate, but some of y'all are way over the top in my opinion.

I would put Tagovailoa in the Time Will Tell tier, and Dakota (as much as I hate Dallas) in the Next Level tier. I also, without a doubt and probably some consternation, put Russ in the top tier. I might eliminate the Starting Caliber tier altogether and drop all of them down to the Ups & Downs tier.

Well, I can't say that you're wrong, but I hope that you are. But if you're not, there will be substantive changes next year.

I don't believe that they made up their minds to quit, I just think that it's more difficult mentally to stay dialed-in when the season is essentially over. In December, and especially January, you're not going to be as focused as in September if you're not really playing for anything. Moreover, Donte was hurt, Horn was hurt. Chinn was essentially playing out of position. Henderson was still green and uncomfortable. I am Older vets were probably trying not to get hurt and looking towards their next contracts and legit opportunity. Yes, some of our best guys weren't even on the field outside of the beginning of the season. We had to lean on backup level talent due to injuries. We have some talented new young players, and a decent vet at a key position in Xavier Woods. Sure, our DTs may be a problem, but if we can just be mediocre, we should be better than last season. So quash that logic if you want, but there are still reasons to be intrigued if not a little (just a little) optimistic.And I wouldn't say is about logic as much as it's about rationale.

Looking at the schedule, I just can't see it, but I will acknowledge that we probably won't know if we're competitve until late September or early October and won't know if we're legit legit until late November. Baker's going to make that big of a difference, huh? I'll believe it when I see it.

Meaningless games at the end of the year are meaningless. Count it against them if you want. At this point, most are looking ahead to the coming season. I think we'll be better overall if we stay healthy.

They had mailed it in by then. But, even still, the defense was dealing with a lot, as they did all year. I think that it's just being somewhat disingenuous to just regard the stat as completely "bogus" than to consider it within a greater context.

I mean, maybe "optimistic" considering the context of Panthers' history, but "top 15 or 20" outside of Cam Newton is probably him being more realistic than optimistic, cautiously or otherwise. Some people's heads will probably explode because of the elephant in the room.

Good point, but I suspect that they both know the offense. I don't like to admit it, but I'd bet that at the moment, they know their sh¡t much better than our guys know theirs. That's why I'm not too optimistic that we'll split the series, much less beat them both games. A lot has to be going right for us to do that.

You keep saying that, but that doesn't make it true. The total yards may not be as indicative of a great defense as other stats, but it's not indicative of a defense that's irreparably lost either. It means that there is some talent to work with that needs to be honed to reach its potential. Whether Snow can do it is another question. The stat isn't "bogus" though. It happened. Like I've told you before, the difference between us being top five and bottom five is likely in our ability to get off the field on third downs. That was the biggest failing of our defense last season as far as I'm concerned. Change that, and I see a top 10 defense all day long. Surely YGM, our new green LBs, and our other "third round pick" this year will have to play a part in getting us off the field, but there is a scenario where our #2 ranked total-yards-defense of 2021 can improve to be legit In 2022.

Payton is a good coach, but by all accounts, Dennis Allen is well-versed in Payton's offense. What this means is anyone's guess. I'd figure that we'll split with at least one or both. As for Lance and reports not being that great, that's not indicative of recent reports, nor is it from anyone of import or anyone that is even necessarily related to the 49ers in an official capacity. In other words, you're not paying attention to what has preceded OTAs and minicamp, much less the reports post minicamp. Lance has been making strides. He's still raw. He has things to work on, but his OC, HC, current teammates and old 49ers are singing his praises and acknowledging his development and continued need to hone certain skills to meet his potential. They ALL think he'll get there. So don't count on that W.

There may be some truth in this. There probably is. But my thing is that some of this diva-ish behavior preceded OBJ. Hell, there were questions coming out of college. And, the thing is, if you are going to support your QB after the drama surrounding OBJ's dad, it would seem to me that you wouldn't do it anonymously, you would do it publicly, particularly after OBJ was gone. If someone really was committed about what they're saying, surely it would seem like they'd say that he wasn't so bad after all this time.

I just looked at the schedule, and I can see why people are maxing us out at seven wins (Baker or no Baker). The only hope that I see us getting to .500 is if Corral surprises (but he probably won't even get a chance), the defensive interior surprises, and/or TMJ surprises. That's it. Other than that, I just don't know. If we don't win two out of the first three games, we probably won't even win seven games. Now there's always the chance that we drop a couple and get good, but that's about as likely as Butterbean walking on quicksand.

Yes he is, but his opinion on Mayfield isn't all candy, flowers and rainbows like some would have you believe. It speaks to Baker being good in certain situations, and not-so-good in others. He's not necessarily going to succeed while playing off-script. He's not necessarily going to excel if you put too much on his plate. He's limited.

What happened?

Sure. You're correct! He was on the market though (essentially without a job), and the whole of the NFL knew it!