top dawg

I am skeptical about Rhule's talent evaluation of O-linemen. That being said, this off-season will tell the story. I think that last off-season they were doing the best that they could on the cheap. I would hate to believe that Rhule believed his own bullshit when selling us on the idea of glorified dogshit. If he did, he's a lost cause. That being said, I would've respected him and Fitterer more if they said that they were giving fringe guys an opportunity to show that they were capable of being quality starters and we'll see how it works out. I would've respected him even more if he had said during mid season that we are going to see if we can't get better O-line play from the younger guys by letting them play once it was established that the vets weren't getting it done.

Why not? Henderson has starter's talent, which is evident from draft profiles and grades. If we can get him to play up to his talent level, then we've got a good corner for cheap.

He did his job on Sunday, and this speaks to development. It's much too early to be casting Henderson in a negative light. Unlike the Darnold trade, we got good value on paper, and he showed some promise after several weeks. That's a positive, not a negative. Some of you are killing me in your zest to throw all the babies out with the bathwater just because you hate Rhule.

I thought ST made some strides this year. Maybe not. In any event, Blackburn won't be out of a job for long.

Right there! Rhule is either out there making decisions based on non-football considerations, or just willy nilly. Either way is not befitting of a head coach in the NFL.

Personally, Panthers Wire is one of my favorites for a few reasons when it comes to their analysis, least of which was the fact that they weren't too hot on Darnold last winter (due to his body of work and potential price), and in fact said that if we were going to try somebody new that it should be Gardner Minshew. Now, Anthony Rizzuti has added a little food for thought on Rhule's decision to use Darnold on 4th and inches. I was only thinking about the decision in terms of how idiotic it was from a purely football perspective (which Rizzuti got at), and how it reflects Rhule's bad judgement and apparent inability to put the best players situationally in the best position to succeed. But Rizzuti also mentioned how Rhule blew perhaps a last opportunity for Cam and Panthers fans. "You’d also think, at a time where his popularity is at an all-time low, that he’d throw the fans a bone and give them one final Cam Newton moment. The Carolina faithful, particularly throughout the course of Newton’s comeback, have grown to appreciate their franchise’s greatest player more than they ever had. "If that was indeed his final day suiting up in the black and blue, wouldn’t you want your fans to have that lasting image? What are you trying to prove in keeping with Darnold in such a high-risk, low-reward choice? "Sadly, Rhule may have been trying to prove he’s been right on his choice of quarterback when he’s been absolutely wrong. His and the staff’s continued stubbornness not only cost Newton at least a slither of a dignified sendoff, but it also potentially cost his team a chance at winning and you—the fans—of a beautiful memory in what has otherwise been a hideous season." I hadn't thought of that, but I believe Rizzuti is absolutely right. Cam will never say it, but Rhule dogged out Cam in Charlotte by not allowing him to come in deep in the red zone, and he dogged Cam out in Tampa by not calling his number at the damned goal line. And by robbing Cam, Rhule also robbed Panthers fans of those moments. And Coach Clueless really didn't have anything to lose by putting Cam in. I mean, he obviously wasn't going to lose his job win or lose. He may have believed he was saving face by letting Darnold get the score (which Sammy didn't), but what Rhule has only achieved is to lose whatever pocket lint's worth of credibility that he had with some Panthers fans. It's just a prime example of his misunderstanding of the bigger picture, and a lack of appreciation for the part that Newton has played in the franchise's history (if not NFL history). And the same either directly or indirectly is a reflection of David Tepper's tone deafness or maybe even indifference to faithful fans. https://pantherswire.usatoday.com/2022/01/10/panthers-matt-rhule-stubbornness-cam-newton/

The Raiders we're going for the win, not a tie.

The Raiders wanted to win, and that's what they were playing like. He probably called a timeout in case they missed the kick.

Carr FTW or the loss.

Somebody is going to win this outright.

Damn inch say from the upright!

Carr is not chopped liver either. But Herbert is just amazing.

We should've had Herbert.

This statement is so fu<king stupid. It's basically a roadmap as to why the Panthers won't succeed under Rhule. He doesn't even know how to evaluate his own fu<king players and put the player with the historical record for rushing TDs into the game to run the ball into the fu<king end zone. This is a new level of overthinking to the point of idiocy (if he's thinking at all).

If that were the case, it seems like the rock stars would've taken over once Brady was fired. But...we are dealing with Rhule. His track record of putting the best guys in, much less in a position to succeed, leaves everything to be desired.

This sounds dumb to be honest. How in the hell are you going to know if the OC is a rock star before the games start being played? Unfortunately Rhule isn't going anywhere at least until next season starts.

I guess that's better than nothing. Maybe we can luck up on a good OC if nothing else.

Which is what I've been alluding to. It's much too early to call any one of that draft class a bust. Rhule is just Rivera-esque², which is really disconcerting considering he's still a relative greenhorn in the pros.

I still think it was a decent draft. Tepper just won't get these guys on the field to develop and shine. I'm not going to blame the players for that. And sure, they had a few injuries, but injuries happen.

I wasn't even watching the game closely as I watched Higbee win me $100 by going over 35.5 yards. Did Darnold not get in at the goal line?

I can't play this game. Darnold is OK in spurts...between terrible.

Losing to us doesn't really mean a damned thing. Any given Sunday! We've lost to worse teams without weapons; remember when the lowly Giants beat our ass?

If you read my post above, you should be able to see that I basically believe we have issues of consistency, discipline--i.e., coaching, including player accountability--and the fact that our offense is sh¡tty which directly affects our defense. I never said that yards allowed means everything or the only thing, but in general it's not a bad thing, but all these issues are where the disconnect is with our defense that can be good with better coaching and execution.

The defense is basically playing well enough to win first of all. They aren't perfect though, but they are far from dog sh¡t. I think they're good, but they can be better. Their biggest issue in my opinion is snatching defeat out of the jaws of victory on third down. The lapses, penalties and missed assignments stick out like sore thumbs, and that speaks to a lack of discipline. But, I feel that there is a mitigating factor that affects their performance to a certain degree, and it's called the offense. When you have to play more snaps overall, including on short fields, instead of you tiring the opposition's offense out, they begin to tire you out, so whether you're good or not, your level of play is going to take a hit, and even if you are good, the "goodness" will be unsustainable.

Yards allowed does mean something.