Khyber53

Let's just hope the Rams believe that and game plan accordingly. We caught them looking past us before, could we have it happen again? Sure would be something!

Either way, I think we can agree that barring some miraculous transformation in the playoffs, it's time to move on. Can he be an NFL QB at even back up level? Probably. Maybe. Possibly. Can he be the franchise QB that sets the tone for a decade here? No. (Once again, barring that miracle.) No hate to the young fellow, but it's just not what it needs to be.

Here's the thing, you may very well be right that both coach and QB suck here. And that's maddening. They are so tied together now that who knows for certain. And there's a good shot that these two just are incapable of getting the best out of each other, but they can limp along hitting on a couple of high spots just enough to make it muddy on evaluating. Or one could suck and the other could thrive untethered to the other guy. Hell if I know. Just reminds me of that scene from O, Brother where art Thou? Where they clamber into the moving box car, except for the last one and their leg chains just keep dragging them back out one by one... thwap, yoink, thwap. And Bryce, yeah, he has composure. Too much composure. He needs some fire. Cool is good but you need fire to win games. We have developed grit as a team since Canales came aboard, but we just lack spark. The cat needs to roar. Edit to add: Bryce reminds me a lot of Joey Harrington from back in the day. Had the pedigree and college credentials, smart, smart guy. Great piano player even. Got him on the field and he just couldn't get that traction to make him competitive, even with one of the greatest receivers of all time out there with him. Ice water in his veins, but no fire in his heart.

The stats speak volumes but about what, though? And that's the difficulty. That first season, he's both a rookie and under a different HC and offensive coordinator. Second and third years, you've got changes in personnel on the o-line (generally an upgrade), the emergence of a running game and receivers out of the backfield, and the additions of Coker and T-Mac. The story is still out on TE if there have been any improvements. Any of those could be excuses or explanations for Bryce's performance or lack thereof. What it can't quantify, however, is how play calling has made a difference. Without going over the All-22 views on every play AND knowing what the playcall was with main target, secondary receiver and check down, we have no way of knowing what was expected and how he did within it. I do know that our offensive concepts have shown a relative inability to scheme players open on a regular basis and we seem to semi-regularly have two receivers in the same space, whether by design or bad coaching, which makes the job easier for the defense. I do know this, Bryce doesn't seem to show the killer instinct to will a play into happening on a regular basis. He's shown a few places where he does have ice water in his veins, but it has generally been when the game is on the line and our backs are to the wall, but there's still a chance. He seems to thrive in those situations. Sadly, good QBs can operate like that starting in the first quarter and carry it through. What he doesn't have, though, is either Cam's ability to just grab a play up as it breaks down, throw the team on his back and exert his will on the opposing team. He also doesn't have the leadership ability that Jake showed back in the day where he'd fire up everyone around him until they'd all run through a brick wall together when needed. Bryce seems to live in a very unsatisfying area in between and one without emotion or fire. And as to coaching, I have no idea on Dave Canales. He's building something here, the team as a whole is getting better and we are developing some of our own players into bright spots or stars even. And that's important, but a team lives or dies by the QB/HC situation if they are on their way up. And our play calling seems lackluster. I think he needs to relinquish play calling duties and instead manage the game, all phases and coach the players on the sidelines as needed. Wearing two hats at this early stage in his career isn't working as well as he'd like it. TL;DR version: Sucks to say it, but can't fully judge Bryce while under current HC, can't fully judge HC while he's handcuffed to Bryce. (And the Andy Dalton experiment this season sure didn't add any useful data.)

Hunter gave it all he had, but sometimes life does these things to you. Luckily he got to earn some big bucks early in life and that will give him a leg up on things. Wishing him nothing but the best.

Geno and Pete are getting a lot of people pointing at them and laughing that they're covered in poo right now. Folks tend to forget that they were brought there to dive into the Raiders organizational cesspool and try to bring it back to the surface. Pete deserves better in his twilight years and man, Geno should just take the money and run. Back-up QB? He'd be a decent one. Better than a few starters out there? Maybe. Bridge QB? Maybe. For us? I'd take a pass for the time being. We've got changes coming at QB1 and QB2 most likely (barring something miraculous) and I really don't know what Canales will want. I just know he got saddled with what he has now, as did Dan Morgan (who was probably part of the system that got us where we are, but that's another story.)

You know, I've said some things that were directed at specific people on this board recently, my anger got the better of me. I apologize for that. Whatever my reasonings, there's no excuse for it. Let's just take a moment, catch a breath and put aside all of our differences and do something we haven't had a chance to do for a long, long time: Pull for our team in the playoffs. Simple. Let's enjoy this for how rare it has become, let's not fight over how it happened. Let's just cheer on the Panthers. Together.

The only thing that matters is wins, right? This ain't fantasy football. And yeah, losing record. But playoff berth, backed in but still there. And more wins than we've had in a long while. It ain't all roses, but don't act like its all horseshit.

Says the guy who has harped on the same thing for nearly a decade.

Man, my journey has been he was a poor choice in the beginning, that he has struggled and that now we're stuck in a situation where a few good games might either be just luck or that he's actually better than advertised but stuck in some really timid playcalling. And I've said this time and time again, his ceiling is probably as a quality back-up QB. Still, for all that Darnold sucks, stuff, the guy will be on his couch watching games not because his team is out of the playoffs, but because he's led a team to first place in the conference and earned a bye. And the year before, he took a Vikings team to the playoffs after their season seemed over at the very beginning. Maybe he doesn't suck, at least anymore. With Bryce, there's a good chance of either buyer's or seller's remorse. A poor pick from the beginning, matched up with bad coaching and a poorly built team behind him. He's a nice kid, good head on his shoulders and full of heart, but he might not have the force of will and stature to make it as a starting QB. Still, he gets however many games coming up that he can earn for this season. Maybe one and done, at least that's what the odd makers will say.

Yeah, Bryce didn't lose the game for us on Saturday. Now, he's got a chance to win one, maybe more. Just remember, whatever happens, we are far from a complete project yet. We're better than we've been in a long time, but there's a lot of work to be done. Winning will require us to catch an opponent sleeping (not likely) or limping into the playoffs.

Dude posts like he's been listening to a lot of call in talk radio and hitting Urban Dictionary to sound hep around his kids when they stop by on the weekend. Roll back on the testosterone supplements, manscaping commercials and manosphere subscriptions. Go back to rattling your jewelry instead, it was so much less annoying.

Well, he gets another shot at it. See, here's the thing. The same people that said Baker sucked, that Darnold sucked, the even Bridgewater sucked... they're the same ones saying Bryce sucks. And yeah, while I see a litany of deficiencies, I also see that the naysayers have been terribly wrong in the past.

But for us, that's a major improvement. Whether we like it or not, right now we have a young QB that hasn't really proved he can be a major force in the league, just given us some very tantalizing scraps here and there. The kid has moxy, but sometimes gets caught up in small ball rather than taking over the game. And that won't get us very far, until it does, somehow, like it has this season. The biggest, most contentious and maddening thing is that you look at Bryce, then look at how Darnold and Mayfield, heck, even Mac Jones did after getting out of cesspool coaching situations and then wound up spending a season with San Francisco or the Rams and suddenly they become world beaters after spending some time with a good HC, QB coach, OC and a top end QB ahead of them. Now, if we could make a swap trade to San Fran for Mac Jones (who looks a thousand miles better than he did with the Pats and Jags) for a season, sending Bryce there for a tune up, we might do well. But we'd need a HC and play caller (two different positions) to make it work. Otherwise we'd be tuning up a car and then giving it to our grandma to drive. Never heard of two teams doing that, but considering it will be a while before we have the NFCWest as opponents again...

Yes, but why spend time listening to the same harpies wringing their hands and woe is meing before we have to. I know you live for it, but really, just take a break for a few hours and breathe.