Khyber53

Our two Swissies snoozing on the couch.

I'm just going to point out that by his third season as head coach here, Rhule will have put four, FOUR, first round draft picks into the starting QB position here (five if you count Cam twice at the very beginning, then having him come back last season). Baker may or may not play great here, but if he doesn't you can certainly make a case that it might be the team leadership and not the onfield leadership that's the problem here. At some point, the coach has to be responsible for what he makes of the ingredients he's been given.

Can't argue with you, but the rising tide lifts all boats.

That's fine. Rest our definite starters, get some experience for the back ups and get out of there with no injuries. The game isn't supposed to matter, don't make it matter.

I can't argue with you there and I've been saying he isn't a pro-ready HC since the early days of this regime. I also don't believe in Phil Snow or that there is even an overall concept for this team. I'm not even that big on Fitterer. And don't get me started on Tepper... But, if they all prove me wrong, then a dinner of crow I will eat and enjoy. It's better to be the happy fool than the bitter genius most days.

Anderson: Who's that bear? Matt Eberflus: Well, that's your new uniform. Welcome to Chicago. Lot of bears around here, less confusion for you.

I'd rather my team win than to be right about thinking the coach wasn't good. And I'm going to keep hoping the team wins each week while reserving the right to go back to calling for his job as things go south. I've said it before and I'll say it again: If Rhule pulls off a miracle and turns this team around and into being winners, I'll admit I was wrong about him and support him from here on out.

If CMC can stay healthy for an entire season, he's an MVP-level talent. No doubt about it. He changes the entire game. If...

Injuries happen through all different types of contact. That's a reality of this sport. The cut block isn't illegal and it shouldn't be, otherwise we have to change the rules of the game across the board. Beyond the blocking work for TEs, WRs and RBs that goes on during most plays and the tackling by safeties and DBs, just looking at the trenches should show that removing it would fundamentally change the game. Offensive linemen are the most restricted players on the field of play and yet are possibly the most important for the success of a team. They play the entire game (barring injury) and are never rotated out. How they can use their hands, their restricted movement pre-snap, their inability to handle the ball (barring some weird incidents), downfield movement/contact rules, chop blocks being illegal, clipping, etc... The cut block allows a smaller player to assist the line by sealing an edge or taking on a rushing defender. It's just a necessity of the game to keep defenses from having an even greater advantage along the line of scrimmage. I'm really sorry the young player was injured, and in the preseason to boot, but it is a part of the game, not an unusual one and there didn't appear to be any malice in the hit or even anything unusual about it.

And when so many people in the league have friends and old teammates around the league, it doesn't take long for vengeance to get out of hand. Or, for an even accidental incident to look like intended malice. Dirty players are never worth the price.

Taking a cheap shot leads to receiving a cheap shot or two. That's not good for a team or your teammates, especially in a league where inadvertent injuries are so easy to come by anyhow.

Well, Baker has a wide open road ahead of him, nothing but a chance to prove himself in a shaky division, a coach that desperately needs to win NOW, one of the best running backs of the modern era, a sure handed receiver, no upstart back-up with a dagger ready for your back and an offensive line that shows some promise. This is definitely one of those "the world is your oyster" moments. Good luck man. I hope you're doing so well that we're negotiating a long-term contract by December and that we're playing even beyond that. If not, there's going to be a whole lot of change around here.

There would have been absolutely nothing to gain by sending Darnold in, would there?

Josh came of age and played really, really well -- he even brushed greatness. Then he let it go to his head and his agent made it worse. He believed the hype, his agent tried to make more of him than he'd even gotten close to being, then his bluff was called and he never recovered from the jarring stop to the fame train ride. Had a wise and steady hand been able to stay on him, he'd have remained one of the best in the league for quite a while.

Read up on Lisfranc. Sound really painful. Hopefully the kid makes a full recovery and gets a good shot next season.

The tickets have already been bought and we, the fanbase, have already been strapped into the seats for this ride. Might as well cheer now and hope we're proven wrong this season. So, that's what I'm going to do and I've been a Rhule critic from his first season on. At the end of the day, the Panthers mean more to me than my opinion of the coach being the right one. I've said it before, if he can right this ship and get us to the playoffs, then he'll make a believer out of me. I don't see us doing it, but I would like to be wrong about that.

Maybe just a tad better. That'd be a help right now.

I think the guy is making a strong case to be our starting TE for the season, but he's getting no attention whatsoever. He's got the best hands and routes of the group AND he has a willingness to block, even moving back to be an actual FB on certain plays. The guy is outplaying Tommy Tremble and he actually plays unlike Ian "that's my spot on the bench" Thomas.

It's not going to be popular to say this but Tecklenburg was better last night than he's been in a while. He's certainly improved. I'd put him in before Elflein and possibly Bozeman at this point. I might give him a bit of an edge on Mays, too, if just for experience's sake. Tecklenburg did well, especially in those early series with Walker. Made his blocks, scanned for targets and seemed to be directing a bit of traffic. He's not up to Kalil levels, but it's still better than we've seen recently.

He's going to be great. They put him out there to learn to function against full competition. He's learning.

That was great @t96! Thanks for the excellent write up!

So, honestly, there are a couple of things here. First, after seeing the scraps in practice this week between the two squads (and remembering that Cam's real career ending injury came from a jailbreak blitz by the Patriots in preseason), maybe it's good that NONE of the potential starters or second stringers see the field tonight. No reason to risk anything of value on a complete waste of time preseason game. Secondly, it might not be Darnold they are trying to trade, but Walker. He's on a cheap, cheap, cheap one year deal and if he can look good enough, some team desperate for a back up might be willing to kick us a seventh round pick for him. Either way, I'm not getting mad about who isn't seeing the field tonight or seeing it first. The best thing that can come out of this is if there are no injuries.

They did. Memory is getting fuzzy for this old one.

Right you are! It's been a loooong time and my memory is blurring things together. Thanks for the correction!

Good. There are enough parasites on the economy to not need to add gambling to it.