Mr. Scot

Any owner making smart football decisions wouldn't have hired him in the first place

Sheil Kapadia had a similar article analyzing free agency. This was the Panthers section: The Panthers upgraded their offensive line by signing Bradley Bozeman and Austin Corbett. They signed wide receiver D.J. Moore to a contract extension and brought back corner Donte Jackson. Those moves were all fine. The only problem? The Panthers still don’t have a quarterback solution. “I think they just tried to change the mix a lot,” Fitzgerald said. “They signed about $36 million a year in contracts. They dumped about $27 million in contracts. So it’s just changing, bringing in a lot of new faces, try to add to that offensive line, stabilize that a little bit, add bits and pieces to the defense. … I have no idea what kind of team they’re really building. The quarterback stuff has really thrown them for a loop.” The Panthers tried to land Deshaun Watson, but he chose Cleveland. They’ve been in the mix for just about every notable quarterback over the past two years, yet if the season started tomorrow, they’d be starting Sam Darnold. Taking a quarterback at No. 6 seems like a strong possibility. But rookie QBs generally struggle. Matt Rhule has gone 10-23 in two NFL seasons. If 2022 is more of the same, will he get a fourth season? The other option for the Panthers would be to add talent in the draft and make a move for Jimmy Garoppolo. That could make them more competitive in the short term and potentially help Rhule’s job security. NFL offseason brilliant moves, head scratchers and power shifts (FYI: "Fitzgerald" refers to Jason Fitzgerald OverTheCap.com) Numerous articles have pointed to the notion that a veteran quarterback acquisition would be more beneficial to Matt Rhule than drafting a rookie. Joe Person's article from a while back brought up the idea that Scott Fitterer might prefer the rookie route as "the right way" to address the quarterback issue. So who ultimately wins the debate?

That thought crossed my mind... ...and it's not out of the question.

I'm pretty sure any front office person or coach who took what jersey number a player might want into consideration regarding whether to draft them or not would be laughed out of the league so badly that they'd probably never even watch an NFL game again.

As far as the context, here's the full Panthers excerpt from Mike Sando's article: The Panthers are exactly where they were entering free agency: desperate for a quarterback but unable to land a clear upgrade to Sam Darnold at the position. “I don’t know what to tell you,” an exec said. “You give up all that draft compensation for Darnold, you pick up the fifth-year option, you guarantee him that extra year and here you are, stuck. Their O-line is bad. We will see if Austin Corbett helps them.” The defense could still be solid, but losing pass-rusher Haason Reddick and defensive tackle DaQuan Jones to free agency isn’t going to help. “They are hell-bent on getting a quarterback at all costs,” an exec said. “I would not be surprised if they took one in the draft, high.” Carolina owns the sixth pick, then nothing until No. 137. Meanwhile, coach Matt Rhule could be coaching for his job in 2022. “I don’t see (owner David) Tepper giving Rhule the authority to mortgage the future of the team for his own sake,” an exec said. NFL execs talk about every team's good and bad free agent moves It's basically just a one-off comment thrown in at the end of the section.

Yeah, I rank that one right up there with "David Tepper won't accept losing" or "David Tepper won't be denied in his pursuit of Deshaun Watson" or "David Tepper won a staring contest with the sun" or any of the various other things you can find on DavidTepperFacts.com. People built up this goofy mythology around him, but the reality doesn't live up to the myth.

I'd add this... A big part of the problem is in the evaluation. Fans see a guy who can run fast, throw the ball very hard and throw it really far and think that makes the guy a good quarterback. It doesn't. Running fast doesn't mean anything if you can't throw it or read a defense. Throwing the ball hard doesn't mean anything if your passes aren't catchable. And throwing the ball far doesn't mean anything if it isn't thrown accurately. If you really want a good quarterback, you've got to set your bar higher than just finding someone who has great physical characteristics. That's not enough. It never has been, and it still isn't. Show me somebody who's smart, who can read a defense, who can process his information quickly and throw the ball accurately first. Then if you want to talk about physical characteristics, we can talk. But as I've said many times, if they don't have those other things I don't care how great a physical freak they are. They're not going to be great in the NFL. They might be fun to watch, but being fun to watch doesn't win championships.

But thats not something new. It's been true since the days of Staubach and Tarkenton. The two most active elements that I see in today's game with regard to mobile quarterbacks are... 1) Today's quarterbacks in general are better athletes then the ones of years past. So are today's defensive lineman, linebackers, offensive lineman, defensive backs and pretty much everybody else so it's hardly unique. 2) While they may be greater athletes, over the last five to ten years or so the quality of blocking among offensive lineman has most definitely gone down. So unfortunately, many quarterbacks are running because they have to. I know folks want to act like this is some kind of seismic change in the game of football, but it's not.

Vrabel is kind of a dick

Let's be perfectly honest here, this has nothing to do with the Panthers. It is, however, hilarious

Or could it be... networking?

Except it hasn't, at least not in the way that quarterback athleticism or mobility can substitute or make up for poor passing. And barring some pretty major rule changes, I seriously doubt it ever will. Mind you, the game changes in little ways on pretty much an annual basis (especially with the aforementioned rule changes) but the core of the game largely remains.

So apparently, this wasn't a one off thing... It's the Matt Rhule 2022 World Tour! Tickets on sale now but they won't last! Get yours TODAY!!!

Playoffs?

Just saw this...Damn

McShay's not someone I listen to much, honestly. ESPN has been trying to build him up for years but he's just not that good. Brugler is probably the best draft guy going right now.

Pickett is definitely built to play in a West Coast style system.

Well see, there's this... I mean, with all that amazing success, can't understand why anybody would have negative feelings about David Tepper

Didn't that land cover both sides of the border?

Looking down that draft as a whole, I get the feeling he's not gonna be able to hang on to that "#1 most accurate" title this year.

Nationally speaking, Brugler is way more highly regarded than Trapasso. That's not limited to people on this board.

Can't say for sure whether or not Incognito frequently showed up drunk. I do have it on good authority though that he pretty regularly showed up stupid.

My personal pipe dream is that the NFL forces Stephen Ross to sell the Dolphins and Tepper decides he'd rather own them than the Panthers. There was a rumor that one of the Walton family heirs might be interested in buying the Broncos. Maybe he could take the Panthers from Tepper instead. Don't remember the exact amount, but his reported net worth made Tepper look like a small business owner. (I can dream)

Someone can correct me if I'm wrong but I'm pretty sure he still doesn't live here at this point. I believe his actual home remains in Florida. If there are any other NFL owners who don't even live in the same state in which their team is based, I don't know who they are.