Khyber53

Here we are, looking at a floundering Dolphins team as our opponents for this afternoon. They are desperate, wounded and their coach is playing for his job. And we, the fanbase are looking at this game with trepidation, a feeling of dread and the possibility that our team will underperform, again. I don't like this feeling. I don't like being a game shy of .500 at this point in the year. I don't like not having that most important thing to a sports fan -- hope. We lose to teams like the Dolphins now. It's apparently our thing. The Eagles, Vikings and Giants, all have coaches struggling with deep team problems and potential pink slips waiting at year's end. We don't do well against teams who are desperate. There are teams like those every season, fighting for their lives like cornered rats. Most of them collapse and they are just fodder for the wins column of better teams, steadier teams, teams on the rise. Today, we need you Coach Rhule to prove that we aren't one of those teams ourselves. That this idea of building for the future is for real. That you can lead us to a better land, that we can beat the teams we're supposed to beat. We need hope. Right now. Right now because it doesn't look like we are anything. Right now because you brought back Superman. Right now because if we lose today there is no way we're having a winning season from here on out. Right now because, well, because we deserve better than this. Beat the Dolphins. Grind it out. Win the game. Don't get cute, don't get careful. Go in there and put the L in their column. Their guy is already on his way out, don't give their fanbase the hope that we need. If we lose today, the Dolphins coach will still be out of a job by the end of the season. If we lose today Coach Rhule you may find yourself competing head to head with him again, in the job market.

We'll look good until the third quarter, but post few points. Then it'll all go to crap. Again. Dolphins 24 Panthers 10 Man, I hate this.

How about a creative way to get out of Rhule's contract? Sam's is another year of expense with nothing to show for it. Rhule's will be many years with potentially even less to show. Listen, if Rhule can't turn this around and show some real progress before the end of this season, then having an overpriced, skittish, back-up QB on the payroll will be the least of the franchise's problems.

He's the 32 year old version of his 2015 self. And that's okay. He's older, but wiser. Slower, but smarter about the runs and sack evasion. His arm isn't the cannon it once was, but it's stronger than it has been and pretty accurate. He can read defenses better, thanks to more experience and the additional perspective he picked up under Belichick (that couldn't hurt). He can still inspire and lead teammates and fans alike. He actually seems less of an icon and more of a leader. A good coach, a smart coach, can do a lot with Cam over the next couple of years. If they are smart, they don't just work with him as a starter, but actually get him to help pick and train a replacement, someone who has a similar skill set and gifts. Let the guy sit on the bench behind Cam for a year or two, then let Cam sit behind him as the mentor. Get Cam a professional coach who won't be intimidated by him and you'll see solid dividends.

If teams regularly get into and past the second level of the defense with rushing plays, the problem is your MLB. A MLB must be able to diagnose both offensive line push, backs movement, play calling tendency and be able to react to the breakdown of the defensive line on every play. That's the hardest, most cerebral job on the defense. MLB, more than any other position on the entire team, has been the feature the Panthers have been known for throughout their existence, from Luke on back. The absence of such a guy is pretty glaring.

Making Chantilly mashed potatoes and a big bowl of roasted Brussels sprouts for my contributions to the holiday feast today!

Sad, but true.

Geez, what do we say?

Pretty much spot on.

Yep. And behind Cam. And at the time, that was the way to have them ranked.

Really?

And CMC being back, too.

It's like Rhule and Co. are a bunch of guys that watched a couple of house flipping shows on DIY Network and said, "Look, this can't be hard, let's do it!". Now they're stuck in a collapsing house with leaky plumbing, the wallpaper peeling off the walls, shingles put on the roof upside down and mismatched windows. They just keep running up a materials bill and failing to pass inspections. It's time to pack it in and call in some professionals.

With what I've seen, I'm not sure we don't stay at 22 wins total by the end of this season.

What do we have to lose by keeping him out there and letting him learn the job? Might as well and see if we can solve that problem this season rather than rolling into next season with a big, glaring problem.

Undisciplined teams playing second and third stringers do that. A lot of false starts, delays of game and holding calls there. The offensive line probably generates the lion's share.

It's all Venus reflecting off of swamp gas from some valuable undeveloped land in Florida.

Can't win in December if you can't stop a running game.

Just look at the size of the offensive lines and the running backs of the teams we are up against. I'm looking at that schedule and saying we beat the Falcons, the #28 rushing offense. The Saints sit at #25 but they are better than that. Miami is at #22 and that could be problematic. The WTFs vaulted to #20 based on their performance against us. If we can't stop the run, it won't matter if we have Cam in at QB and CMC as RB. Those guys will just stay on the bench while the other team walks up and down the field, eating the clock and putting up 24-28 points. We've been found out and exposed. And we don't have the offensive line to post much more than 21 points, much less a receiving corps. DJ Moore is our only reliable receiver not wearing the number 22.

Do we really think Rhule and Co. have any chance in hell of fixing this with the draft this year? Or another off season of free agency?

You said it. Mike Tomlin would still be my #1 choice.

Well, yeah!

Oh I think Rhule has galvanized the fanbase, just not in the intended way.

If you were in a barfight, would Rhule be the guy you'd want watching your back? Out of the 32 head coaches in the NFL, is he the one you'd want to go to war with? Does he even make the top 20? 30?