Mr. Scot

Curious whether anybody would be in favor of moving Chinn to linebacker...

I don't think anybody would argue otherwise.

One of the complaints about Moore has been that when it was his responsibility to help clear a route for other receivers, he's been lazy about it.

For my part, I agree any replacements that do wind up being made will probably come from our own staff. That's just Rhule.

What's most depressing about an exercise like this is looking at the differences between who we potentially could get and who we probably would get. Could get: Pederson, Lazor, Olson Would probably get: Ryan or Nixon Could get: Castillo, Munchak or Cable Would probably get: Sparano or maybe Flaherty Could get: Barone or Kitchens Would probably get: Gilbride Could get: Bisaccia Would probably get: Foley or perhaps keep Blackburn

Not in the first round, but would anybody really be that shocked if we drafted him on day three?

You know why Anderson got extended before Moore did, right? Distinguishing between guys who show "flashes" and guys who will become honest to goodness consistent players isn't always easy, but that's ultimately what coaches and personnel guys are paid to do.

A lot of people have posed the question "why would these guys want to come here", and it's a valid one. The answer in several cases would be "unemployment". I looked primarily at staffs that are set to be fired. Mind you, they could have other opportunities but that would depend on who gets the other head coaching jobs. New head coaches tend to prefer their own guys. Still, the question is one reason why I left some guys off. Mike Kafka, for example, is a guy who's on the rise and is actually not under contract for next season. The question though is would he really want to go from coaching Patrick Mahomes under Andy Reid to coaching the Panthers quarterback stable under Matt Rhule. Would you? Throw in that if Eric Bieniemy does get a head coaching job this time around, Kafka likely gets promoted to his old job as Chiefs OC.

I think the truth with Rivera is that he's a guy who can build success, but not someone who can sustain it. That was probably Fox in a nutshell too. Unfortunately, we've now moved on to a guy who can't even build it.

It's a valid option. Counterpoint to that though, systems don't drop passes and miss tackles.

This season has been a rollercoaster not only in the win-loss column, but on the field as well. We've got several guys on the team right now that have seemed to go back and forth between greatness and mediocrity. So my question for the following names would be how good are they really, and why. Starting with... DJ MOORE Was looking like the next big thing, but has struggled with drops as the season went on. Which version of Moore is the true one and which is the illusion? BRIAN BURNS Started off this year looking like an absolute nightmare for opposing offenses, but nobody seems to be all that scared of Burns anymore. In fact, teams are often running right at him and his "sack contest" with Haason Reddick has turned into a pretty one-sided affair. What happened, and can it be fixed? DERRICK BROWN The top pick in Matt Rhule's first draft has gone from a future star to being benched. Was Brown overrated to begin with or is the scheme just not doing any favors? JEREMY CHINN Another future star from last year who seems to have all but disappeared. Since being slotted into the free safety role, Chinn has still shown up in games but at nowhere near the level he did before. Is it a sophomore slump, is he miscast in his current role or is there something more to the story? ROBBY ANDERSON That nice extension he got looks like a boondoggle now. Unlike most of the others, Anderson didn't go from looking good initially to looking bad later. Heck, early on it felt like Anderson couldn't catch anything. These days, he's getting open and hauling in a few more than he did, but is that production worth what he's being paid? JERMAINE CARTER Carter was always mostly a "try hard" type player. He wound up starting primarily because the guy that was expected to anchor the middle linebacker spot soured his relationship with team leadership. At this point, Carter is probably a nicer story than he is a player, but can he still be what the team needs in the middle or is it time to move on? PHIL SNOW The only non-player on the list, but with a similar story to many others. Snow looked like a genius in the first few games of the year, but more recent results (especially the last two weeks) have been decidedly less awesome. Did he get figured out or are his players letting him down? ______________________________ Sound off, folks. Who on this list is genuinely good and who's truly just...not?

I'd much rather we fix the line before going with a rookie quarterback, especially in a week draft class. But if Rhule believes he's coaching for his job, it won't surprise me at all for him to think getting a new quarterback cures all ills.

Rhule's preferred style of offense is probably closer to John Fox's than Sean Payton's. But then he went and hired a Sean Payton disciple to run his offense, so...

Those are traits that are really important at the NFL level. For what it's worth, the characteristics that the analysts describe are very well suited to a West Coast offense at the pro level. (assuming we'll still be running a West Coast type offense next season)

Probably the wisest course... I don't know what to make of Newton yet. He looked good one week and terrible the next. Overall it's probably too small a sample size right now. We need to see more. Worth remembering that even at full strength, Brady's offense was never well suited to Newton's skill set. To make it work best would require Brady making adjustments. That's...not something I have a lot of faith in.

Problem is that for whatever issues you find, you have to count on Matt Rhule recognizing them too.

To be fair, he had help. That probably doesn't make it any better

Most analysts say he's not. Our best hope is to see that decision made for him.

Was Rivera better than Rhule? Probably. With that said, he wasn't great here either and firing him was the right move. The one positive I could see is that if we'd kept him and hired a different GM we probably wouldn't have the setup we have now where are the head coach has final say. Don't know that we'd have Fitterer either though because Rivera probably would have pushed for someone he'd see as an ally.

No argument... But it's probably gonna happen

And might remain one...

Appreciated, guys.

Same. When it comes to football, Tepper is kind of like a reverse King Midas. Everything he touches turns to sh-t. That's why I suggested a board filter that changes "Appaloosa" to "Horse Sh-t"

On the topic of coaching rumors in his latest mailbag, Albert Breer also affirmed Rhule's commitment to staying with the Panthers: From Hovis Panther (@HovisMyers): Matt Rhule back to college? Hovis, I’m not gonna channel Mike Tomlin here, but I think it’s highly unlikely. Will Oklahoma and Notre Dame call? They’d be out of their minds not to. And for the same reason Kliff Kingsbury deflected questions about the Oklahoma job, it’d be understandable if he let some rumors percolate for a bit (though Kingsbury’s in a contract year in 2022, whereas Rhule’s deal runs through ’26). In the end, though, I think Rhule’s viewed himself as an NFL coach the whole time, going back to when he had jobs at Temple and Baylor, and is where he wants to be now. In fact, as I’d heard it, one reason you didn’t hear many complaints from players in Waco as Rhule worked to leave Baylor was because he was up front with everyone on his aspirations. The other thing is that the college game will be there for Rhule, if things don’t work out in Carolina down the line. It’s the beauty of his situation. He was wildly successful in two places that weren’t the easiest to win at, and he’s still just 46. So maybe he’ll be in the NFL for good, and he’ll win big with the Panthers and that’s that. If not? You better believe some big-time college program will be waiting for him behind the wheel of a Brink’s truck. Oy If Rhule "views himself as a pro coach", then it's pretty much Panthers or bust because it's hard to imagine any other pro team wanting him based on his performance here. Breer did mention one intriguing possibility in another area though when he was asked about the Bears head coaching options: As for other candidates, I think Josh McDaniels is one worth keeping your eye on, someone with a high-end résumé in quarterback development, and a coach who took a very hard look at Fields predraft last year. Or maybe the McCaskey family will take a big swing at someone like Sean Payton, who worked with GM Ryan Pace in New Orleans and is from Chicago.

I think it'll probably happen at season's end. Could happen sooner I suppose, don't know. Whether or not the problems are actually his fault would be a valid question.