Khyber53

When we got rid of Cam before, he was broken, our team was broken and we'd just hired a new head coach who has no idea of assessing pro level players. Cam healed up, went to the mountain and studied with a guru. Our coach got in deeper water than he could handle. He called Cam. Cam came back and healed the fanbase. It's going to take a new coach and GM to fix the team, though. We have good parts, but they aren't assembled well or directed properly. Hire experienced conultants. New coach, new GM. Keep Cam for two more years, get his input on his successor and have him train him up. Build the team based on that.

This game had more people returning to play in Charlotte than a Carowinds back-up band reunion.

Just another super rich guy who knows better how to do this football thing better than the other super rich guys who already own teams. They all kinda go down that road at some point with the college coaches thing. And it rarely has worked out. It's an entirely different game at the pro level and you are dealing with an entirely different group of players.

The only adjustment to DJax was to his salary next year.

Back when everyone was chanting for us to fire Rivera two years ago, I warned that the answer we get may be worse than the coach we were losing. I wasn't saying we should keep Rivera then (although I had been lobbying for him to stay for a while before it just became obvious that it had all worn down and fallen apart). I was trying to say we could easily get a new coach who just couldn't do the job. Yesterday, it was proven that we had gotten a coach that is worse than the one we lost. This was the guy the Tepper wanted more than anything. And when the Giants let it be known that they wanted him, too, Tepper went all in and lost his damned mind. He gave him carte blanche on running and recruiting this team. We should have let him go to NY. And we should have realized that just the season prior, the NY Jets had decided not to hire him. If the Jets don't think you can do the job better than their last guy, chances you can't. Wanna know someone who is incredibly good at their job? Rhule's agent. That guy worked his ass off to get him this job. Edit to add: Go ahead and fire Rhule. Eat the costs, just do it for the fanbase and our dignity.

You're fighting a losing battle here, man. When Rivera got here, the cupboard was even barer than it was when Rhule arrived. And Cam's first seasons were well beyond what Heinicke provides Rivera now. Cam is still a former league MVP and played pretty darned well, so let's not compare him to Heinicke like Cam was a handicap to us. Yes, you're right about the D-line to a degree, but it wasn't all about size, but more about scheme and motivation. Rivera is a pro-level coach because he just is that guy. He was a pro player. He was a pro assistant coach. He was a pro coach. He still is a pro coach. He gets great and lasting loyalty from his players and he can get them to run through brick walls when he needs to. I'm not trying to convince you he's a great coach. Rivera has had his moments, and he's a good coach, sometimes a not so good coach. Rhule, however, was a good rebuilder of college teams and this is his first pro head coaching gig. It's not working out this time and it shows, for him and his college staff which has minimal pro level experience. Rhule would be very competitive in the Pac-12 or SEC right now, had he gone that way. He's just not building a pro team, his team underperforms its talent level on a regular basis.

His defense was better than our offense. His offense was much better than our defense. His special teams play was better than our special teams. They beat us in all three phases of the game. His team was depleted by injuries to stars and starters, ours wasn't. We had Cam Newton at QB, they had the guy who was a third stringer behind Cam a few years back. Ron Rivera beat us, in front of our home crowd, on a day when everyone was up, when Cam came back as Superman and when we needed the win and he didn't. Not saying Rivera is a great coach, but he is a pro-level coach and Rhule has shown little to no sign that he ever will be one.

Cam looked solid, but he does need to be a better decision maker on the RPO stuff.

Yep, makes it that much worse.

Yeah, they need to work on that. Cam's running needs be more of a threat than an actual 50/50 share.

Yetur was out there a fair amount. He just wasn't making a splash at all. Fox had his moments, but honestly, they are both built more for DE in a 4-3 defense. This crazy hybrid thing we run, since it was exposed by Dallas, has been exploited by any team that has even a halfway decent o-line.

There was absolutely no reason to believe in the defense at that point in time. Four hand offs and they'd be back at the 32 with less time on the clock.

Rivera really just saved us millions and millions of dollars when it comes to resigning Jackson. If we do. He may have done us a major favor.

Honestly, there isn't a whole lot we can complain about on the offensive side of that game. It wasn't spectacular but it was okay. Our defense lost us that game, hands down, no question at all. BC did well. He needs to be out there again. Cam's experience and mobility helps BC's situation and having CMC running to the right side of the line also majorly eases up the job of the LT. Still, he did well.

Heinicke is a tough kid and he has the "it" factor. Give him another year as starter and he will be a steady middle of the pack starting QB. You can build a team around that. The kid is absolutely fearless and tougher than a 5 cent steak.

Because in the end, Rivera knows what pro players look like and how to motivate them. Rhule knows how to recruit and motivate tier 3 college talent.

Dude, Mike Shula > Joe Brady. Ain't that scary?

Everyone keeps saying that. I kept saying if he didn't win this year, it'd be over. Folks, I think it's nearly over. If we weren't still mathematically capable of sneaking into the playoffs, then it'd happen by our bye week, but we will probably have to drag through the rest of this season and hope that an attractive college gig opens up giving Tepper and Rhule an opportunity to split up and save face.

It is just loud enough to keep us from hearing Rhule sobbing at the 10 minute mark of the fourth quarter each game. Sheesh, this sucks.

And that, right there, shows you how much Tepper knows about football and good coaching.

Our best player in stopping the run, Shaq Thompson, and our second best player in stopping the run, Jeremy Chinn, were out there trying to help cover deficiencies in the secondary. Every passing play in the game was designed to keep both of those guys back five more yards on the following play. Our college coaches had the game dictated to them by Rivera, Turner and Del Rio. The ass whipping we received was real. And it was from a team that is supposed to be nowhere near as far along in the rebuild as we are. That says a lot about our coaches here.

Honestly, say what you will about Ron, but he deserves to be a head coach in the NFL. I'm not seeing Rhule showing that he's there yet or will be. We weren't just outcoached or out game planned. His team (of players that often wouldn't make second string) was motivated and tougher than we were. That's a hallmark of Rivera players -- they're tough and they'd run through a wall for their coach. His guys just got out there and turned it into a back alley street fight and we could not hold our own. Cam and the offense really didn't screw it up and did quite well at times from a limited playbook. Our O-line even performed okay. But our defense got beaten up and stuffed into a locker. That was bad. Rivera won that one, hands down. If you can't beat the old coach (when he's without his star defensive players and is on a guy who was a third string QB here for a hot minute), then maybe you shouldn't be the coach. Rhule's seat should be incredibly hot right now.

He's a pass rush DT in the nature of his play style, he moves forward and that's about it. This whole defense is built to be strong in pass defense. Teams haven't quit running the ball, though. And the smart ones against us really, really run the ball. So much so that I think it may actually be what is making our pass defense look so good statistically. Why pass when your second string back can get 10 yards before a player locks in a tackling grip?

If we can't fix the run defense, nothing will matter.

How'd that go for ya?