Khyber53

Yep, that about sums it up, OP. This year is bonus round stuff, but I'm still not sold on the idea that we can't be competitive. We're going to be having some quality players coming back from injuries in the coming weeks. And we still have a soft schedule ahead of us. A win or two in the short term can do a lot to getting us back to right.

Donovan was a good QB, which is a hard thing to be in the NFL. He wasn't one of the greats, though.

Two QBs of differing experience and styles of play with minimal statistical differences, same results. Might be that the factors of O-line and OC they shared will end up with the same results.

That first throw's biggest error was that he threw it to Robby Anderson who decided not to contest it after lackadaisically wandering about during what should have been a scramble drill. The fact that the "receiver" had a sideline meltdown about not getting the ball (and that's what it was really about) the previous week may have even played into Darnold wanting to force that ball to Anderson. Still, the guy making the throw gets the blame. That's the way it has been since QBs started throwing forward passes, but in this case, there were some potential underlying reasons.

And that was the whole point of the original post! Thanks!

Yeah, it's definitely an adjustment to make. It allows us to change up personnel on the O-line, allows Chuba to do work (which he was doing yesterday) and takes the play-calling away from Brady a bit. And, most importantly, we might be able to once in a while actually succeed at a play action pass if we ran it a bit. 16 rushing plays yesterday. Mind blowing considering it was working and everything else was failing.

A lot of fairweather fans turned off the TV after the first play of the game. A lot of the remaining ones turned it off in the fourth quarter. Both sets of those folks are coming online today and chirping as if they'd seen everything.

Robby made it a point last week on the sidelines that he should be made a focus and that he was just being kept from making his big plays. Well, that theory just went down the toilet. Bench Sideshow Bob.

Just little boys who stole their daddy's matches. No worries mate. Good folks make good discussions. There are a lot of good folks here who haven't given up.

Yeah, that is the truth. He really needs to work on that. We have been spoiled by CMC who honestly is one of the five best receivers in the game. He'd be number one but he has all that running back work to do, too.

Yeah, I can certainly see that. Still, if it hits both of your hands, uncontested (as most of those drops were) then you're expected to catch them in this league. Big league fastballs are part of the game.

Me, I was always dubious of Rhule, then he came here and I liked what he had to say. Then he gutted the team and got rid of some sacred cows. That hurt. That hurt a lot of fans. And then he started not remodeling the place, but rebuilding it. But you can only rebuild so much before the season starts. Then you have to teach, repair and compete. He did that last year. Then he got another offseason to restock the shelves again. He also got a GM that was willing to go hunting. He got some new tools, some really good ones. But the rehabilitation wasn't done yet before this season started. Back out into the fight with half a suit of armor and a bent sword. And we came out winning. Really kicking the asses of the people they lined up for us. After three weeks, though, injuries and tape exposed our weaknesses. It's a pro league, that's how it goes. And somehow, with all the holes we still have in our team, we're competitive in our own way. Rhule's going to win some more games and he'll have another offseason to build some more. I think that third season will make something that will force its way into the lead of the NFCSouth. Just give the guy some more time. He inherited a broken down train with no rails in sight. It's going to take a while to get up to speed and headed in the right direction. And it's going to look hopeless at times. Sometimes, though, you've got to trust the guy with the wrench in his hand and the grease on his face.

Ehh, didn't know. Doesn't really bother me. Some folks have different names for their different persona. The internet can be a schizo place at times.

Yeah, there's a lot to unpack there, but there's definitely some truth. The kid is a competitor, but I think yesterday it showed he's surrounded by some serious deficiencies. He has no o-line. No CMC, no outlet. All QBs need an outlet to dump the ball off to. Only one pro-level receiver out there for him. And TMJ, well, he's still learning. An OC that still thinks he's at LSU playing against Temple. A HC that would like to bring Temple to the NFL. And game calling that thinks the run game is an unneeded part of the game (even when Chuba is actually doing well). There's a lot to be said for the idea that we should treat Darnold as if this is his rookie year. If so, that investment will pay off. He has the "it" but he needs work and a game tailored better to his skills and what is around him.

While I don't agree with the trash comment, I do agree wholeheartedly about our best coach heading to the Bills.

There's no way I would think Ian Thomas would be the go to guy. That's why I think Sam went completely off script with that throw.

They're calling it six drops (eight by ESPN) yesterday and that's a damned conservative estimate. And that first pick was no one getting open and then Robby didn't even contest the ball. He should have just thrown it to the sidelines, but damn, the receivers sure didn't do any hard work on coming back to him. It was a bad, bad day for Sam, but too throw that whole pile of poo on his back isn't right.

And for all of the Panthers, not just Chuba --- this is the pro game. If the ball hits you in both hands you are expected to catch it. If you don't then it's on you. While I'm mainly looking at Sideshow Rob Anderson, there weren't any receivers out there that didn't drop one of those to the best of my recollection.

We're six games in, and sitting at .500. We have injuries, a bad o-line and a college coaching staff. This year was going to be tough no matter what, but we're still in this. If Sam can be that guy he was at the end of the game, he'll be a world beater. If he can be that guy and we can just hold our own until CMC and Shaq come back, then we've got a chance to do more than exist. There are still 11 more games left and nine after CMC comes back from IR. Those will be our toughest nine, but our opponents have to go through a lot to get there, too. It ain't over yet folks, but if you want to head on out to the parking lot, see ya next year. Me, I'm here to the end, just live every year.

Remember how y'all said I was crazy for even considering that Matt Rhule could be on the hot seat before the end of this year? That if he didn't post a better than .500 season things would get dicey for him. Well, the locals are calling for blood. The team seems to have lost its identity due to a couple of key injuries (we talk about CMC a lot, but we REALLY missed Shaq Thompson out there on Sunday). Big, long contract people said. Tepper will give him time people said. It's amazing how many people who said those things are now just fuming. poo takes time folks, and some things aren't nearly as bad as people think. Heck, my mind has changed and I can see some thing headed in the right direction. I can also see some things going way wrong right now, too. There's a lot of games left to play this season. It's going to be a bumpy ride, but we're going to come across some teams that have already packed it in, we're going to come across some teams that are more injured than we are. It ain't over yet. It might get better. It might get worse. But I think Rhule needs to start coaching like his career depended on it.

In their defense, they were gassed. But they seem to be that way by the third quarter anymore. Of course, they don't get much bench time anymore. If Brady could call a game instead of polishing up his resume` for LSU.

I agree with you on that. Maybe we saw Darnold growing a pair yesterday during that moment. The kid is just 23, but for a moment there he looked like a 10-year vet QB who deserved to be here.

That last series by Darnold was totally off script from the rest of the game and had urgency and effort throughout. Something they didn't have all game until then. Sam almost won us that game after just about every player not named Luvu had tried to lose it for us. If you weren't cheering in just abject amazement as he flung us down that field, you'd either already turned off your TV, headed to your car or are just dead inside. If you're a coach, you encourage that guy to be that man from here on out. That guy will win you games.

We've moved on. He's moving on. Time to quit crying over the breakup.

On 4th and 10 from the 4 yard line, Darnold just went out there and Delhomme'ed the hell out of it. The kid carried an entire team down that field and willed a touchdown and two-point conversion into existence. Had the coin toss gone the other way, we'd have won that game. Or had say two passes not been dropped at any point in the game. The kid is a fighter.