Khyber53

I've said it before, bad teams get regular high draft picks and are always in on the hot new coaching prospect. They are, as a group, suckers and even when they do it hit right, they can't do a thing with what they have (Detroit with Stafford for example, or Megatron, or Barry Sanders, or....). Bad teams stay bad because they make bad decisions. As a group they also create a lot of buzz over coaches and players they want creating an artificial lift for those candidates. Before we are to blame Hurney too much (and he is a manager with some serious flaws) he was at the helm during the tenures of both Fox and Rivera, two coaches who brought the Panthers to the Super Bowl each. Still new as a manager at the time of the Fox hiring, his prior positions within the organization meant he was involved in the search and hiring process to at least some degree. The Rivera hiring was fully on his watch. But really, the hiring of coaches rests almost entirely on the owner's shoulders and final say often goes through them. Jerry Richardson had made some bad coaching choices and Fox was his third one. It was pretty obvious that JR had learned some lessons by then. After that set up soured and a new generation of players moved to take over the team, he made another good move in hiring the defensive minded, conservative Rivera. That one proved well for the team again. While with the Rhule courtship, Hurney was a big supporter, I think he's been given to heavy of a role in the decision making process than most lame duck, definitely out-going mangers would be. And I don't think he had anything to do with the abrupt end of the search and the "pay him anything to sign now" approach. That reeks of a rash decision made by someone with money burning a hole in their pocket and wanting to make a big splash. Tepper went plop instead. And to bring this back around, here we are, for the third season in a row, picking in the top 10, coming off a lousy season and looking at the pretty blinking lights of the coaching carousel as it spins. Right now, we're in there with the losers. We've been here long enough now that we almost have our own spot on the bench. Hey, Detroit, what did your Mom pack for your lunch today? Peanut butter and sardine sandwich? Whew. Jets? Half a pack of menthol cigs and a diet Coke? Jacksonville? Your new "uncle" gave you a fiver at the breakfast table and said to treat yourself today? Indy would you stop "eating" your Jell-o with a straw you're making Houston queasy again.

Patience. I've been saying that this ain't over for a couple of weeks now. By next week everything should have shaken out around the NFL. The Harbaugh thing is a big deal that will reshuffle things mightily if it comes to pass.

While I don't agree 100% with you, you're spot on right on an awful lot of this. I think while we do need to look at grabbing a starter grade vet on the line, I think we need to use our first rounder on Linderbaum at center. If we don't we're a lot of picks away from getting someone of quality on the line. Center is where we need influx right now and if you make the right pick, you've got Ryan Kalil for the next decade. Then you can be looking at QB. Heck, maybe take one with our next pick and let him mature on the bench a bit.

Expect to know something local by Monday.

This starts a whole new set of dominos falling. Next week, we should hear some kind of announcement.

Remember when I said at the beginning of last week that we'd know what our real HC situation would be in two weeks? Tune in Monday.

Okay, so maybe he can't lift Deonte Brown... but if he can coach him up, we're golden.

That's something we haven't had on the o-line for a long while... people who have a mean streak. We don't have to find the next Richie Incognito in terms of meanness but about 70% of that would be nice.

I'm not mad at this pick at all. NFL experience as a coach and player for the positions he is coaching. Maybe Rhule has wisened up. Then again, he looked pretty smart this time last year, too.

We apparently have no other choice. So, Rhule, impress us. I really, really want to be saying how wrong I was about Rhule and Co. at the end of next season. I really do. But dang, I don't think I will be.

Drafting a QB in the first round is always a crap shoot, especially when your team isn't very good or your coaching is suspect. However, in the end, getting the right QB is the only way to win in this league. It doesn't have to be a Brady or a Manning, but you've got to find the steady guy who can will a win when needed. All the rest of the team is just ancillary. And on defense, you've got to have just the right middle linebacker out there being the QB for the defense. Personally, I think we move Jeremy Chinn there and we're set. His brains, knowledge of the game, leadership traits and ability to punch way above his weight outweigh any other considerations. So, yeah, grab the best QB still on the board when we draft if you think that's the guy that will work for Rhule. If there isn't a guy that Rhule can make into a winner, then grab Linderbaum, set the center of the line and wait for next year, because of Rhule hasn't solved the QB problem by the end of training camp, we're going to have a top 10 pick again next year.

Okay, that is really special. Nice gift!

The Super Bowl is always a match-up of the best built team that avoids major injuries versus the team that caught lightning in a bottle. And that's what we have again. Now as to the Panthers, we're going to have to get a bottle ready if we want to make it soon, because we're neither well built nor resilient in this incarnation.

Bengals/Niners would be awesome. Sadly, it will be Rams/Chiefs, though. Stafford finally gets to go to the big dance.

Honestly, we just need someone to whisper in the owner's ear: "You don't want to do that." That would be massively helpful if you have a guy like Colbert with all of that accumulated wisdom to be that whisperer.

I heard we're doubling down and taking another long snapper in the draft. We're going to be nothing but DBs and LSs next season. It's part of the process.

Danhausen has joined AEW!

Hey OP, when Carolina travels to Cincinnati next season, will you be wearing a Burrows jersey at that game?

Wouldn't we all. But so far, he's been the guy who could be blamed for axing Cam, Greg Olsen... a few other favorites since he came on board. But he was also the guy, as I have been reminded of, who had to have given a thumbs up to the Robby Anderson contract extension and the fifth year option on Sam Darnold. Perhaps he's more of the Red Queen (City) for this organization.

Ow.

Hmm. He was touted as the team's throat cutter earlier on, the hatchet man when it came to the salary cap and players who ate more of it than they should. And here we are about the time when those cuts are being considered. He's gotten a promotion. Let's hope it doesn't remind anyone of the ascension of Robespierre.

Right you are!

I wish I could get in there and argue against this and say, "Naw man, Burns is a beast -- best in the league." He's good, really good, but he hasn't had that great "take the league by storm" season we've all been waiting for. What he is, however, is a darn good edge player who doesn't just specialize in sacks and disrupting the passing game. A bit underweight still, he is a remarkably stout run defender and he is an active, vital part of what little run defense we've sported. A guy that can get nine sacks a season and about the same number of TFLs, plus 50+ tackles a season gets a career like Mike Rucker and the well-deserved praise that goes along with it. Ain't a thing in the world wrong with that. Not everyone can be Julius Peppers. Still, I think he has another gear to hit. Maybe this will be the year and it will still be with us.