Mr. Scot

Damn. She was really good. We lose everybody to the Bills

As a backup, and probably at safety rather than corner.

Is the time coming when you answer the fact that Darin Gantt (whom you said the team won't allow him to print anything false) stated that David Tepper doesn't take part in player decisions?

That's kinda what new England thought too But here's the thing: People will want to make this a vax / no vax argument, but at heart it really isn't. Whether it's weed, vaccines, assault charges or whatever else, the rules are the rules and you play within them. Anyone who doesn't puts themself at risk of not being able to play. And the bottom line, it's unwise to put yourself in the position of having to rely on people who are unreliable.

I don't know if I have that yet, but I do kinda think I have more confidence in Elflein at center than I do Elflein at guard.

One of the things a lot of people here passionately hated about Ron Rivera's coaching was his tendency to play what were seen as lesser veterans over more talented rookies. Say hello to Matt Rhule... Looking at some of the early depth chart decisions Rhule has made, I think he too could be of the belief that lower round rookies are best eased into the game. High picks like Jaycee Horn, Derrick Brown and Jeremy Chinn might play right away, but lower round guys like Brady Christensen and Deonte Brown may have to wait while stopgap veteran players take their turn first. The rationale being that these guys need a little more time to learn and adapt to the pro game. You'll find our old buddy Ryan Kalil is likely a proponent of that theory, having chronicled a lot of his own experiences in a book for rookies. We all know Kalil was an intelligent and immensely talented player, yet he freely admitted that even halfway into his rookie year, he frequently had no clue what he was doing. Kalil eventually figured it out, but that's the thing. How do you tell when those talented rookies you've been keeping on the bench truly are ready to face live bullets? Rivera wasn't very good at that. How good is Rhule? I don't really think we know yet. So yeah, if Rivera frustrated you, Rhule might do the same. But is the idea of letting some young players ease into the game a little more slowly than others totally without merit? You tell me

I don't give a sh-t how the model works

Frequently they both do.

I'm not ready to buy that. I could see us being better than expectations. I could also see us being an improved team but that not being reflected in the win-loss record.

Well, apparently we're not now

I don't wanna agree with this... ...but yeah, probably

At this point, not much. Their head coach is a rookie and their GM has only been in place for 2 years (basically the flipside of us) plus they have a rookie quarterback. Yes they've been bad for years, but same as with us their prior failures have no bearing on a new leadership group. It's going to be interesting to see how things play out.

Funny you should say that given that Gantt has repeatedly contradicted your notion that David Tepper has input on player decisions

Quick comment on the Panthers by Albert Breer in the latest MMQB... One team I think is better than people realize: Carolina. If the Panthers can figure things out at linebacker and left tackle, I think you’ll see Matt Rhule’s program working in a weakened NFC South.

Misleading thread title

Pretty much. And as good as those memories are, they don't make me feel any better when I'm in the middle of watching a game where we look like garbage.

And I'd be pleased to see the Panthers win one. But by the time we were in year ten of being dog sh-t, saying "well hey, we were good once" isn't gonna make all the bad feelings from that go away.

It's not a matter of rationalizing. It's just open mindedness. I genuinely don't know whether Tepper is going to be a successful owner or not, but that leaves all options open. Saying you know we're going to be terrible is just as invalid as saying you know we'll be champions.

The primary reason for that suckage is gone though. His successor made a few missteps of his on starting out, but he's still an unknown quantity.

Which is consistent with what I've said. It's not just a matter of what happens with Darnold though. There's still the matter of Watson's legal issues. That's why I think if Darnold does fail, our next QB will come from the Draft.

I've never liked the idea of living off a single season's glory while sucking from then on. If I had that mentality, I might as well be a Jets fan. (or a Bears fan)

He's basically the guy who tells the same joke to the same people over and over again while never realizing he's the only one who finds it funny and everyone thinks he's a moronic pain in the ass.

Theres a difference between general examples and specific ones. Many new coaches have had rough first years then turned out fine. And what's additionally consistent with all of those examples is this: Nothing any of their predecessors did mattered. Same as now, Rhule will either have the skill and the knowledge to succeed or he won't purely on his own merit.

Except that, you know, they said there's not. And even Verge affirmed that as a true statement. You can suggest that maybe they could be down the road, but everything right now says they're not.

Nobody wants the owner to interfere...unless it's to get the guy they want. I can honestly say though that even if I knew David Tepper agreed with every idea I had, I'd still prefer he stay out of personnel decisions.