Khyber53

No good can come of this.

What a life journey Ryan Leaf has been on, one heck of a redemption story. He has pulled himself back from disaster and become a sports pundit with a unique and extremely valid voice. Glad to see him doing so much better. And I think he's right about Bryce Young and the Panthers.

Thanks for trying to add some levity into this, OP.

The approval of David Tepper to become an owner of a Carolina-based franchise has to be one of the biggest misreadings of the room in the history of the NFL. He did not fit the culture here, he didn't want to fit the team's culture and he sure as hell didn't know what he was doing. I've disliked him since Rivera's last season and departure. Not for firing the man, because that writing was already on the wall, but for both how it was done and what was to follow. He has proven himself to be a bullshit artist since arriving here. And like all bullshit artists, they can't really tell other bullshit artists from those who are actually skilled, hence the bad hires in the front office and coaching. He's a well-financed poser.

Would you have pushed hard to recover from injury when Rhule was your coach? And that it would all be for nothing? Can't blame the guy for making business decisions.

I admire your optimism and point of view here. I'm still pissed about it, though. Never go all in on a shot at an inside straight. We got suckered.

Sadly, this isn't the worst example of team ownership the league has seen, from either a management or public relations perspective. Heck, he's not even the most problematic owner at the moment, much less of the last five years. Tepper's not going anywhere and the other stuffed shirts in the ownership group aren't going to even tsk tsk him over this. He's going to be here and futzing about with this team for a couple of decades most likely. Sucks but it's the reality. Maybe somewhere along the way the stars will align and we will be contenders again. But even then, we're stuck with a carpet-bagging, know it all Yankee who is just here to show his ass and rattle his jewelry when we peons get mad. Yay team!

Yikes, I stand corrected. My bad.

A case can be made she was behind the only decent draft pick we've had in a while...

I keep thinking that each week, and then... there we go. Another week left and well, honestly I'm interested to see how we can find another shark to jump in this circus of embarrassment.

More than anything, I'm getting the "I'm not involved in this" vibe from Fitterer. He's just doing the innocent bystander thing. He's in that moment when an idiot boss does something stupid and you just want to hang back, not get involved and just take it in. No emotions left in the guy.

It wasn't. That was embarrassing. First shutout for the franchise in 21 years? Seems about right.

This one could be actually interesting. Might even be a you know what for us. Would be nice.

We need a change at GM and an overhaul of the scouting department, both at the college level AND especially the veteran free agent level. Bad draft picks are one thing, but the sheer number of flat tires this group has brought in over the years is astounding. And the contracts they've given out to them, whew. The next thing is to redo our defensive philosophy and go back to a 4-3 defense that is better suited to the NFCSouth. Next, go to Brian Burns, give him the contract he wants with the caveat that we're trading him and that contract to a contender team for draft picks. Let's make it work for both of us. If not, let him go and get the compensatory draft picks. It's obvious he doesn't want to be here (based on the effort we've seen) and let's not nail the man's feet to the floor any further. Renegotiate Sanders' contract based on performance with the option of being cut. Then give Chuba a decent contract. The kid has earned it and still has a lot of tread on his tires. Might not be CMC (and who is?) but he's the best RB we've got right now by a long margin. Next, at the Combine I'd quietly shop around Jaycee Horn. The kid is phenomenal but he's made of glass. Maybe he can do better elsewhere and we can get something back for our efforts. If he could play for 14 games a season, it'd be a whole different story, but he's getting starting DB consideration and team placement but he's spent most of his time on the training table instead of the field. Keep our kicker and punter, lock them in. They've been the most reliable parts on this team. And lastly, this is a tough one. Stick with Bryce. Hopefully there's growth in him and in our offensive play designs. I think our O-line problems will get stronger in the offseason, we just have to get them to working cohesively as a unit and it could be greatly improved if we let Boseman call protections rather than Bryce. Keep pounding. Or, honestly, start pounding again. This weak sauce stuff has gotten old.

Screw betting. Just win the damn game.

I'd been rooting for him during those years where he seemed to keep getting passed over. Let's just say that some of the sparkle has come off at this point. That certainly wasn't the results that I thought he'd have. I stand heavily corrected.

Lamar Jackson was never coming here. You see, first, Lamar would have to have wanted to be here first and yanno... nah.

Really... well, when they're 29th in the league in rushing, it often means that other teams aren't passing on them as much. For an example, check out the Panthers...

The Packers have one of the worst defenses in the league and a good QB should be able to put up 300 yards on them. Bryce was a good QB on this day and did what you'd hoped to see. This is the kind of game you want to have to build on. And it was wonderful to see the receivers wake up as well.

Can't read the memos...

And another...

The only reason to sign Burns is if we have someone willing to immediately trade for him in the offseason. If not, it's time to let him go and get compensatory picks for him. He's been underwhelming for the past two seasons and never hit the vaunted potential people saw in him. Yeah, the Spider-man thing is mighty cool but he is really at his best as Edge2 on a team. Without someone else to tie up resources, he's just not strong enough or motivated enough to win contests on a regular basis. Sorry, wish it was different, but there it is. He went from 53 to 0 and in more than just jersey numbers here.

Sheeesh. We don't just need a house cleaning after this season, we need a fumigation. Why keep anyone from a season that has been an epic, historic trainwreck?

The saddest part of this game is that I've gotten to the "who really cares?" stage.

There was a reason Seattle didn't mind seeing Fitterer go.