Khyber53

Just another hapless kid to get killed behind our offensive line.

And it would be the worst decision we've made in decades.

Sam's got 10 games to make a case for staying, for better or worse. And Joe Brady has about the same lifespan here. If somehow Brady can dial up some plays and protection, it'd help them both. If the defense can get some turnovers and shorten the field, that'd help. If Darnold would just get out of his own way, that'd help. If the receivers would just catch balls that hit them right in their hands (both hands!!!), it'd go a long way to helping. If CMC would get healthy, that'd help immensely. None of these things seems at thought to be impossible, and yet, here we are. Coach Rhule needs to do some coaching for his players and staff.

Robby has literally managed to make himself not just ineffective, but disposable. I think that we may still be on the hook for $12.5 million in remaining guaranteed money. Is it worth the roster spot to cut him, or do we just make him sit on the bench and collect checks?

Just bench Sideshow Bob and see how bad he wants to get back into the game. This leaving him in play to see if he can find himself is detrimental to the team and is apparently not working for him.

I've never seen so many players get injured this early into the season. Perhaps it's the new IR rules making it a smart move, perhaps it's something else. It's not like we've got Vermillion's Pill Pavilion still open, right?

It's like watching someone kick your favorite dog. Every week.

Yeah. The team's owner is lackluster at best. People used to complain about JR meddling in the team, but Tepper has his handprints all over the team like it was his trophy wife's ass. He's a schmuck going through a mid-life crisis.

It was a roll of the dice. Good coaching and a decent offensive line might have given him a chance. Might. Had it worked, it would have been the genius move. It looked like one for those first three games and even the extension didn't look that bad. Then reality hit. The offensive line sucked and was getting reshuffled every week. And coaching didn't seem to be developing him, but instead just left him floundering with a limited playbook and is best weapon/safety blanket on IR. For one shining moment at the end of the Minnesota game, we got to see what might have been. But it was just a fleeting glimpse. Belichick or Tomlin or Reid could fix him. Rhule and Brady really weren't capable of doing so. But, here we are with 10 games to watch and the knowledge that the back-up QB is even worse. Maybe a miracle will happen and Darnold will develop, the line will gel and Brady will use a full-scale, pro playbook. Our receivers will learn how to catch again and our defense will shut people out again. It ain't gonna happen. It ain't gonna happen, though. We're in the 2020s and our team reflects the times.

Honestly, I hate this. It's two teams that have turned their seasons around and are heading in opposite directions. I think the Falcons are going to hang a 40 burger on us in the most embarrassing defeat of the season. Falcons 44 Panthers 10 And it's not even going to be that close. I think the team has quit on the coach. I hope I'm wrong.

Can't really argue with you there. See, while a team tries to slowly and steadily build a culture, an identity and a strong presence on the playing field over a number of years, the stars that they start with age, their contracts go up, they move on or succumb to injuries. If it takes us three more years to become something great, we also have to look at the potential loss of players like CMC, Thompson, Moore, Chinn and Burns to all the vagaries of life in the NFL. Can you do both? Build for tomorrow and compete today? Yeah, it can be done but it requires a good coaching staff and a GM working together with a solid plan. Do we have that here? I'm beginning to think we don't. I'm not just seeing us developing and coaching players well. Our offensive line should have a decent mix of vets and youngsters. It should have people who know what they are doing. But watch and you'll see that, injuries aside, these guys aren't working together, they aren't holding their own. Heck, they're even being outmuscled on play after play. That kind of failure shows that it's the OC, the line coach, the assistants, the QC coach and the strength and conditioning guys aren't on the same page or may not be competent at their jobs. We (and other teams) have had decent (and that's all we're asking for here) lines with much worse pedigrees. At QB, there's an obvious problem with the OC and QB coach not developing Darnold. It's not just about the passes and the limited selection of plays they are choosing, but this is a kid that cannot spot where the pressure is coming from. Part of that isn't that there's one weak spot on the line, but that any or the entire line can and will collapse on each play. The kid's mobile but he only moves out of the pocket when chased rather than sometimes by design. And play calling... sheesh they must be radioing in complicated plays based on the time on the clock when the ball is snapped and the confusion of routes and receivers. And how about a running play once in a while??? On defense, I hate to say it, but the formula has been found on us. Folks want to put it on the offense and not getting rest, but it's not like we're picking up the sacks and INTs in the first and second quarters like we used to. We're not getting our D off the field in the first quarter much less the first half like we used to. Opposing teams have learned to pinch down to the center of the D-line to break open running lanes and wear down Burns and Reddick by hitting them with running backs. Our zone defense has been terrible, too. It might be the loss of Horn there, but there's a ton of big name guys back there that aren't getting the INTs or even pass break ups. All of those things point to coaching issues and later in the game, to conditioning issues as well. Special teams, with the exception of one great play by Luvu, have been a joke. Period. Hard stop. We fielded a high school punter last week. We're going to give an Aussie rules guy a shot this week. We can't tackle on kick coverage for crap and a relatively talented Erickson isn't getting anywhere on punt returns and we just pulled a former Viking off his couch to handle kick offs. Sheeesh. And let's get to the drops issue. Coaches better have every WR, TE, RB and FB on the roster out there in a line just catching passes from the jugs machine for two hours a day. And set that motherfuger on the highest setting. This is the big leagues, if that ball comes in hot catch it and run. After the game you can, in the words of Smitty, "Ice up, son." Back to where I started. This team isn't looking like it's on the path to greatness. It looks like a summer camp team the week before they all head home.

Right now, I'm not sure we're even ready to compete against Atlanta this weekend, much less make predictions for the future. We looked horrible in 2002, we looked bad in 2014. We went to the Super Bowl both following years. Getting to the Super Bowl is often a game of luck, injury avoidance and catching lightning in a bottle for one of the teams if not both. That can happen in any given year for just about any franchise, and those teams win almost half of the Super Bowls. What everyone here seems to be talking about is building a solid, long term team that regularly competes for conference championships and the big game. That takes time and commitment from coaching and players alike. That is what Rhule is wanting to do here, it's what everyone wants, but it just doesn't look like he had the experience to build it the right way.

Wins the day with this take. The defense has been figured out, too.

As long as they build an offensive line for the next guy... heck, with an offensive line Darnold might have been able to rehab here. Without one, he sure wasn't able. He's David Carr all over again.

Let's face it, Tepper might have solved a potential public relations fiasco by buying out JR, but he didn't do the actual team any favors. Nouveau riche tyro team owners. Sheeesh.

The offensive line. It's like the Field of Dreams. If we build it, they will come. Build a great line. Draft a great QB. It will work out. Quit chasing someone else's franchise QB. We need our own identity.

Bullet dodged.

Good job Ellis!

I'd rather have the Minshew trade by far than what we'd be trading away to have Watson sit on our bench and our cap space. See if Minshew can come in and Jake Delhomme this team back into shape.

Robby sucked starting week 5 of last year. Dude fell off a cliff back then, never came back except to sign the contract for the big checks. This is a badly coached, managed and built team. Rhule should be shown the door during the bye week. Get an early head start on coaches just like we did when we let Rivera go. Rivera was bad, but ... nah, it got bad there too, but it took longer to get there.

He's spot on. I spent a few years doing ski reports for southern radio stations and I can tell you that while we have four seasons, snow is sporadic at best and rare in December throughout the NC mountains. If that is a big want for you, increase your chances by going with Ashe, Watauga and Avery Counties. Your towns to search for are West Jefferson, Boone and Banner Elk. Those are the most northern counties and the snowiest. All three counties, I believe, are served by Skybest Communications (a co-op telecom locally owned and operated) and have internet, fiber optic in most areas. All three of those counties have ample amenities, with the most ski slopes in Avery, the best major highway access in Watauga and the best land in Ashe.

Some folks just find a stick and gotta use it to stir the poo.

It's a great move for you and you're going to see a major economic boost from the difference between what you sell your house for there and what you can get here. I'd suggest searching in Ashe, Watauga, Transylvania and Henderson Counties. My favorite of the bunch and the one that should give you the best for what you want is Transylvania County. Brevard is a great, great little town and close to Asheville and Hendersonville, it's also right at the entrance to the Pisgah National Forest and within a couple of hours drive of Charlotte. Go on Zillow and do some home shopping for Brevard, NC.

Felt the weight of two decades of being a Falcons fan lifted off of my shoulders and saw the light of a brand new day break through the clouds.

Well, the guy has been playing since before some of our team's players were even born.