Mr. Scot

That;s really not a difficult thing to understand...or shouldn't be.

Nah Would point out though that I'm capable of having conversations where people don't hate having to deal with me and/or say something like "Why are you even here?" Neither have I yet needed to "forget my password" because nobody wanted to talk with me. That's where you fall short, as your numerous negative interactions with...well, just about everyone you talk to bear out. Oh, and rent free, still...

Again, not getting it... I don't care where our defense ranks in relation to the rest of the league. That's your department. What I care about is if they're good enough to beat the team we happen to be playing this week. That question gets settled on the field, not on a spreadsheet. More times than not last year, they weren't. As far as proving whether or not they are this year, the burden of proof is on them.

Herein begin the jokes...

Way off, here dude For one, I can assure you I wouldn't be here if I weren't enjoying myself. Now, with people who act like a--holes, I tend to return the favor, but that's far from everybody. I'll give you a challenge: Check out other threads. In the, you'll find me having fun back and forth with several other posters. On the flipside, take a look at the conversations our on-his-third-username friend @Pakmengis having elsewhere and see how many "pleasant conversations" you can find as opposed to people calling him out for being a condescending, unlikable piece of sh-t. See, the guys I've been back and forth in with this thread have a tendency to paint themselves as superior (in different ways, but with the same result). Hence, why they get the responses they do (and if you think that's just from me, guess again). Bottom Line: I don't really care that much about the opinions of strangers on a message board unless it's someone whose opinion I actually respect. And yeah, there are people on this board who qualify in that category. These guys, though? Not so much.

Here's a big one... Stats in football don't tell an accurate story. And to be clear, what you've written in your posts isn't "facts". The stats themselves are facts, but you write an opinion about what you think the stats are saying and label that as a fact. It isn't. Also, if we're being accurate here, you're mixing up stats and rankings. They're not the same thing. They are both, however, ultimately meaningless. Just to give you an example, let's look back at the 2010 Chargers. They ended the season accomplishing a rare feat, specifically being ranked #1 in both offense and defense. They also finished 9-7 and missed the playoffs. Now, if I were to go talk to a Chargers fan and say "Boy, that 2010 team sure was phenomenal weren't they?", do you think they'd beam with pride? Quick Hint: The answer is no. And it's the same with us. Who we were as a team last year has absolutely nothing to do with any statistical rank you can dredge up. It has everything to do with the fact that we finished 5-12. If that's something you don't get, I can't really help you.

Rent free in your head as always

Tonight around 8:20pm, we'll have a chance to watch the first meaningful NFL action in months. And given the matchup, it might just be some great football. (as great as Week One can typically offer, anyway) For somebody who's been watching the game as long as I have, kickoff day always feels invigorating. Even during the seasons when I don't have high expectations for the Panthers, just getting to watch teams battle it out again is great. Perhaps appreciated even more so for me since my health isn't what it once was these days. Time is precious, especially when it starts to dwindle. There's also something to be said for viewing a game where you don't have a rooting interest. That's when you can just relax and enjoy yourself rather than worrying about the ultimate result. Well, unless you're one of these rabid fantasy football guys, of course (I'm not) In three days time, we'll all be grinding our teeth, biting our nails and praying to deities that we believe in (or in some cases don't, just in case) as part of an effort to try and will the Panthers to the kind of victory that's eluded us all too often over the past several years. But for tonight at least, I'd invite everyone to tune in, sit back and just enjoy the game. Specifically that one which is, In my opinion, the greatest game there is. Happy Kickoff Day, everybody

Oh, it's real. In fact, it's a pretty damn important metric when game time comes. The only "made up standards" are those stats you desperately cling to, See, football isn't a stat contest. Now mind you, information storage being what it is these days, you could technically look up who had the fourth best defense in 1974 if you wanted... ...but the reality is that pretty much nobody gives a sh-t. When this season is over, nobody's gonna remember (or care) whether we held teams to 4.7 yards per carry when opposing offenses running spread concepts were rushing to the left in afternoon games played on grass fields at stadiums on the west coast when the weather was good. They're gonna remember whether or not we won...maybe if we looked good doing it or barely squeaked it out but even that's not such a big deal to many. So, my suggestion? Try watching the game like a coach rather than an accountant. You might actually learn something. Or, I don't know...at least have some fun.

Hell, we have some dumbasses on here who hardly ever even talk about football at all. They just spend all their time talking about other posters instead. Pretty much nobody likes those guys or wants them on board but they keep coming back as if they think people like them. Those attention needy drama queens really aren't worth sh-t.

They can do a montage of dances from the 40s and 50s for all I care. I just wanna see touchdowns.

Mentioned it before, but I don't approach the season with a plan to be a certain "way". You could have all the positive feelings in the world about Sam Darnold if you want to. It's not gonna make him any better. Likewise, you've got fans who for whatever reason don't care for Baker Mayfield. Is that gonna affect his performance? Seriously doubt it. So bottom line for me? I'm neither gonna give myself false hope by happy talking the bad stuff nor deny that at least the offense looks potentially improved from the personnel side. What does it all mean? Ask me in a couple of weeks.

My question with a lot of the passing stats would be how they were affected by the run defense. There were definitely games where opponents didn't necessarily need to pass all that much because the run game was getting it done.

McDaniels was a candidate but they never actually interviewed him (don't I wish). They did interview Nick Caserio but he took the Texans job something like a day after he talked to us. As I recall, McDaniels was scheduled to come in the day after Rhule but...well, you know how that turned out Not sure they ever actually interviewed Stefanski either, honestly. I think he was scheduled to come in the following week but again...Rhule. The worst part of that cycle was that McDaniels actually could have been in a lot sooner but Belichick dicked around and delayed him from being free to interview. Lot of folks think that was deliberate, and knowing Belichick they're probably right. Pretty sure I'd laugh my head off if McDaniels runs up the score, dismantles Mac Jones and shoves a nasty loss up Belichick's ass the next time the Raiders play the Pats.

To be fair, we're not exactly known for living up to our hype either

Well...he beat us

Side Note: Congrats to @Verge

Yeah, that's pretty bad. Their fanbase has sunk really low.

It's definitely changed. Back when I was young, coaches were apoplectic if you were giving up more than three yards a play. Now the league best (Saints) are giving up nearly four.

That's one I hadn't heard. If they're gonna try to control fan mockery of Watson, they're gonna need a lot of security guys.

Just enjoying that rent free space in your head

I get that, but I seriously doubt you can attribute how bad our run defense became to the loss of Horn.

I was wondering...