Khyber53

And yet, there he is out there just killing it. Give that man a contract! Honestly, it's too early to say that but he is, without a doubt, showing that he's a much better coach than Rhule. He's more competitive with fewer stars on the field. Those men will go to war for Steve Wilks.

Good for him, the guy is a bonafide star. Wish it had worked out here, but it just didn't. We're going to be fine in the RB department and CMC is going to push for league MVP within a year or two. Everyone wins. I guess.

No one could have seen Mayfield would have played that badly. Even his naysayers were like, dayummmmm.

Honestly, I'd like to see both Mayfield and Darnold without Rhule, yanno? Of course, that's if PJ doesn't keep just winning out there. If PJ keeps winning, then we keep PJ... this ain't rocket science. Neither Mayfield or Darnold really got a fair shake under the past leadership because, well, Rhule just wasn't good at all and he created more problems for the team than he solved. Both, or either, could still be terrible... this isn't a complete pass on their transgressions, but both performed worse here than in their last stops. In Mayfield's case, he performed so badly that it's close to inexplicable. In the end, I think we keep whichever of the three vets handles their duties the best from here on out, at a very team friendly deal, and we move on with Corral. While Corral hasn't had much on the field experience, he will have had a full year of pro-level film study and mental reps, plus getting to know his teammates. That could accelerate his learning curve next season. If, somehow, he could be the guy then I'd love to see us be able to pick up another incredibly disruptive DE or DT at the top of the draft instead. That frikkin' Lisfranc injury really robbed us of some important information, didn't it?

We're at an odd threshold here. Let's get the win and see where it takes us.

If you suddenly find yourself in first place in your division, you better try and keep winning. Life is too short to bet on next season. No matter how crazy it might sound.

No, for all the knocks on Darnold, the guy could move when it was necessary.

I'm feeling oddly optimistic about this one. I think it becomes a run heavy game for both teams. 24-21 Panthers

As some of you might know, I'm an old print journalist. In the past I've written, edited, published and even owned a newspaper. About a decade ago, though, I just had to walk away from it. There's just not enough money to go around -- the pool of outlets has been shrinking for the last 20 years and there are just tons of young kids wanting to do the work for next to nothing. Well, I got a phone call from an old buddy who does voiceover work. He let me know that a YouTube channel he works for needed a script writer and he wanted me to take a shot at it. And, well, I've been trying to say yes to more things here of late and so I did. Somehow I ended up with a great opportunity, bosses that are giving me the chance to learn this different style and who seem genuinely happy to have me. The team I work with is spread across three continents and somehow it is working out. I couldn't be happier and more engaged. The channel is a true crime one called Beyond Evil and they're at the half million subscriber level and they're established in the field. I think they can go even farther. I'd really like to go with them. Well, either way, my first video goes live today and if you want to give it a view, I'd be tickled. Thanks all!

Prayers for you, man!

Prophetic.

You know he had to be on the bench just saying, "Put me in coach, put me in..." Me, I think you should sit every newly drafted QB for a year behind a vet QB. Even if that vet is just a journeyman. But I don't have millions of fans breathing down my neck to make something happen right now, either.

You know what? Good luck to him. Hope he finds a good home out there and does well for himself.

I certainly can't argue against that. He was a train wreck here and it was with good riddance when he was gone. Still, he did have a career out there.

Can't argue with that. Rhule was a massive mistake for this organization.

I wish I knew, but he had a growing confidence out there as the game went on. I sure hope he can build on that. I kind of think he's been under the gun to prove he can be an NFL QB since he got here in the fans' eyes, but he might also be having to prove it to himself. God, I sure do love those kind of stories when they work out. They are sooo rare, though. But then again, there was this Cajun dude a while back named Jake...

You know, I have to say Elflein had been better this season than last by a pretty fair margin. Still, Bozeman really passed the first look test this past weekend. Protection calls were mostly on the money and he can really tie up a DT. I've said for a long time that we really needed to get Center down pat if we were going to go anywhere. Maybe we have finally done that. Elflein was certainly looking fair to good, but if Bozeman really is as much of an upgrade as he looked, then it is going to be contract talks time for the man.

Some people just want star names on their team with no regard to whether those guys can play anymore. How about we take a hard pass on yet another worn out QB? Just for once. Yanno, make it a new effort.

Don't mark out, he's just building heat for the heel that is going to wrestle. It's all in good fun. And lighten up on pro wrestling, it's America's version of Kabuki theater. The theatrics, the atheleticism, the acrobatics, the story lines ... there's both innovation and ritualism in what they are doing. Yes, it is a work, but so are action movies, but they are also improv artists of the highest caliber or they don't make it far.

I've not crowned anyone in a loooong time, but okay. And yes, year two for those guys. None of them have completely ripened on the vine yet, so it is still hard to tell. None of them are tearing the place up yet, so we will just have to see. And that gets back to my original point, it's a roll of the dice when it comes to drafting a QB and pedigree only takes you so far, I mean, our two Super Bowl QBs were both great, one was the #1 draft pick and the other guy was a nobody picked up off the Saint's discard pile. The rest (except for maybe Burlein and Collins) were just busts and quite a few spectacular ones. Crazily, that's not just how it works for us, but for most teams in the league.

Let's pump the brakes on Fields just a bit. I'm still not sold on him or Lance. That crop of QBs just hasn't looked right at all yet.

The first and most important job of a Head Coach is taking putting a quality team on the field each week. The best ones can maximize all three phases of the game and push their staff and players for maximum effort and results. They don't have to be either defensive- or offensive- minded to succeed. They need to be able to lead men, strategize, evaluate and coordinate. Good head coaches hire offensive and defensive coordinators who can plan and execute schemes under the head coach's philosophy and direction. He respects their opinions and the knowledge they bring to the table and integrates it into the overall effort. He entrusts them to do the same for their subordinates and individual players. A good head coach sets the tone for the team. A great head coach creates an identity for the team (or brings them back to one in our case). Steve Wilks can be that guy. If he can get the right coaching staff around him, he can succeed. And he can bring "Keep Pounding" back into this team's DNA.

Every QB is a roll of the dice each season. Whether they are brand new out of college, are a proven vet or just a guy needing a chance, you don't know what you will get. And that can be season to season, too. Is there a more pivotal job in sports? A more make-or-break proposition? We like to think that teams like the Packers, Chiefs, Bills have all been built for these moments, that something they did, some evaluation they had brought them to the QB they are now working with. Maybe they did, but it was probably as much blind luck as anything else -- they somehow managed to catch lightning in a bottle. Each team has been helped immensely by giving that overcharged bottle over to a solid coaches and management teams. And medical trainers. I'd hope we can find that magic, but I'm not putting all of my hope in the draft. First and foremost, we've got a lot of work in-house to do. So much work.

Sooo much flex around here. Good for y'all.

We have that.