Khyber53

You've gotta quit crying about old girlfriends. Just move on. Plenty of fish in the sea and all that.

Truly, though, Burns found something in himself and it may well have been that he found himself as the senior member of a line with some high drafts, low performance guys and he began to lead by example. I believe he's put on some pounds, too, which had been a knock on him early on. Good for him and glad to see him develop... those stories don't always work out so well.

And yeah, we need some help at linebacker. 

Buffalo, Seattle, New England, Rams

Buffalo, Rams

Buffalo.

2 hours ago, WUnderhill said:

Some of you people are so weird about this stuff. Here’s an idea, why don’t you go on social media, make sure your boss sees what you say, and start trashing the company you work for.

We actually need more team propagandists in the media, not less. Us being the only ones with this weird code about our former players and media members needing to not promote the team and players is how things like Derrick Brown not making the pro bowl happen.

And remember how the vast majority of us here on this board spend a lot of time in the locker room, on the bench and going out to dinner with the current players and coaches of the team. Who better than us to have our fingers on the pulse of what's really happening in the real Panthers.

Sometimes our surety of statements around here gets so very, very thick.

2 hours ago, kungfoodude said:

I am not a Dart believer. As I have said, Lane Kiffin QB's are extremely ill prepared for the NFL. I don't see much difference other than Dart being a big athlete. That's great but he also has zero sense of self preservation and he is likely to sustain several serious injuries if he does not figure this out.

Lamar was at least smart enough early in his career to understand the need to avoid those kind of hits. Most successful QB's figure that out(even Josh Allen had to). 

As for Harbaugh, he is a good coach but I do question if he will be given the time and resources to build there. It could be a prime location for a big time free agent QB once the Dart thing fails. That's not nothing.

I'll be honest with you, since they got into the NIL rules and quicker transfer portals, the quality of QBs coming out of college has sucked across the board.

The ones who seem to do the best are the ones who sat a year or two on a bench, then had a year or two on the field under the same coaching staff, learning the game, how to manage and how to lead. Those guys are almost unheard of now. 

I know college football was monetized decades ago, but when they just tore the lid off of it, they made a mess of the game. (And let's not even touch how they have screwed education...)/

44 minutes ago, kungfoodude said:

I suspect it will not go well. They certainly have some talent but still lack a QB and some other pieces.

At best, they might rise to fringe playoff competitor. 

Now, this is also with the prospect of Washington about to be going through a HC change and Philly in turmoil. Could end up backing into a weak division.

I don't know. Dart looks like he has potential and Harbaugh has experience with dealing with that kind of QB and helping him elevate to reach his full capabilities. Lamar Jackson was pretty raw, but gifted when he started out, but now he's looking at a legendary type career.

And Harbaugh seems to have a steady, guiding hand on organizations. That may just be what the Giants need. They've been rudderless for a long time.

Not that I really care, though... but I do like anyone who can make the seasons tougher for the Cowboys and Washington. 

11 minutes ago, UnluckyforSome said:

Are they going to have goggles on the helmet like the Iowa Barnstormers?

 

I frikkin loved those uniforms. Dark uniforms looked like bomber jackets.

1 hour ago, frankw said:

Giants are the best option for him all things considered. He could be a problem for the NFC which has weakened significantly over recent years.

The Giants have a lot of pieces on the table.

But they have also had a very shaky table. Should be interesting to see how this one works out, because that place has been a mess for a while now and has the biggest microscope on it of any team in the NFL.

Well alrighty. Good luck to him and Ginn. Might be a reason to tune in.

Best of the world to him from here. Definitely a guy who never gave up on himself and gave his best for everyone who gave him a chance. Glad he spent some time with us.

I think that the Head Coach's duties during a game are to keep tempo up, handle issues that have arisen on the unit that is off the field, to manage the brakes/gas/clutch juggling and to cheerlead the players. An offensive coordinator, sitting in the sky box with an all-field from above view should be calling plays with some guidance from the HC.

Canales can lead men but he has trouble delegating and, more importantly, he can become too timid. We need an OC who attacks and exploits. Not someone standing on the sidelines trying to juggle geese AND get plays in on time. 

1 hour ago, strato said:

Yep. And Kris Jenkins. It was good. Great times for a fan of defensive football. 

Brentson Buckner (who had a talent of grabbing and holding two  O-linemen simultaneously without getting called for it -- just masterful), the vastly underappreciated Mike Rucker, the Principal Al Wallace and a fantastic supporting cast behind them...

That was a helluva defensive team.

1 minute ago, strato said:

Sorry I flashed on all the 4 man rushes that defeated us. 
 

As far as our D take me back to a 4-3 and the guys from 2003 era. 4 could do it. I know under Tepper we are doomed to rot with this 3-4. 

Of course, having Julius Peppers makes a colossal difference in that situation. 

If only...

We pretty much rely on Derek Brown to wreck their offensive line single-handedly in hopes someone makes it through. 

We are also terrified of being historically bad against the run, again. 

Man, that AFC North is just a mess right now.

Three out of four teams jettisoned their head coach.

If the Bengals can't make some serious headway this next season, then he'll be gone, too.

I'm not sure I've ever seen so much turnover in one division in a season before!

1 hour ago, NAS said:

Smart move - now draft a developmental QB or sign a legitimate backup to compete and push him to be better.  Andy Dalton is washed and should be released. 

I agree with this, wholeheartedly.

Bryce tantalizingly has his moments, even his games. This past Saturday was one of those. He really became the Mouse that Roared after the team fell behind and the o-line started collapsing. And, in truth, I think had the play calling been better at the end, he might well have brought us back into another lead change. Talk about a legendary moment just missed.

I'm going to get lambasted for this but as a cautionary tale, I want to just say we're sitting at a spot that the San Diego Chargers were way back in the day. They had a short-ish QB on a rebuilding team that was underwhelming most games, but had some really good moments. They decided instead to take a gamble on drafting someone new and letting that QB, Drew Brees, go find someone more willing to let him develop. They turned around and had a draft debacle with Eli Manning/Phillip Rivers, ending up with Rivers in the end. We've got to remember that Brees wasn't who he would become at that time, it would take a coach willing to open up the offense and give the tough young kid a chance to grow. Rivers would become the poster child for the guy who almost was. Brees will get a gold jacket someday to go with the Saints only Superbowl win.

Bryce probably isn't Brees, only one guy was and he barely got the chance to be him. Giving Bryce another season, maybe two, on squad gives us the luxury of testing the waters and the growth. 

QBs early in their careers take time. We saw Rogers last night at the end of his career (maybe), sputtering out before he heads to the barn for his spot in the HoF and we have to remember him at his best, after sitting on the bench for three years. And we have to look at the other side of that coin last night, CJ Stroud, a draft classmate of Bryce's who soared out of the gates but who has come to earth since. He's still a good QB with a long runway ahead of him, but his performance under the big spotlight wasn't as strong as Bryce's on this particular weekend.

I'm not 100 percent sure Bryce will be the guy. I'd like to see some more fire in the young man, some push, something that shows he can force his will on the other team's defense.  I am, however, seeing a kid that can make the throws, who can improvise and who amazingly can run braver and faster than I really thought he could. I think he needs time, he needs more confidence and he needs more brave coaching. If he doesn't get that here, I think he might find it elsewhere.

And we'd find ourselves like the Spanos family, sitting on the couch in February asking Phillip Rivers to pass the chips during the Super Bowl commercial breaks year after year.

Rico got an opportunity here and he really made the most of it. For a few weeks there he was rightfully the talk of the league. There's a very good chance he is going to get a nice, not great, contract out there from some team. 

And don't be surprised if Johnathon Brooks can't answer the bell and Rico is still out there, that we don't offer a modest two year contract to Rico. He's a really good guy, great team guy and when he's on, he's a force to be reckoned with. 

Young man, be the change you wish to see.

Want more effective pass rushing?

Then become an unstoppable force. Work on your technique, work on your strength, study your opponents, excel at practice and practice longer and harder than your opponents and teammates do. Otherwise, don't complain from the bench.

2 hours ago, Moonraker said:

Need to have more games like Saturday night and less games like Arizona next year. Our dudes better god damn play in the preseason. 

We're beating the teams we have no right beating and losing to the teams we should beat.

For a team on the mend, that is a much better situation than it looks like. We have the potential, where we're failing is on the basics. Another offseason working on that and a summer camp reinforcing it will help a lot. Filling in some holes in free agency and the draft will be massive, too.

It's something different around here. We aren't in free fall anymore. We're building something.

39 minutes ago, Jon Snow said:

Daniel Jones or Malik Willis would be my preferred options. But we will have the Red Cap Gun one more season. 

I'm not looking at any of those as a good choice. Willis is a pass and Jones will probably get a contract offer in Indy (and should). 

Now, work out a trade for Mac Jones and I might be intrigued. The two best QB factories right now are SF and LARams. Grab someone from their benches and you get a quality guy from a prior high draft that might be reaching their potential. Everything else is a crap shoot at best.

43 minutes ago, hepcat said:

Yea the entire NFL got to watch the Panthers play a tough hard fought game against a Super Bowl contender and the Panthers looked every bit that they belonged in the playoffs. If they continue to improve the roster, Morgan hits on the first and second round pick again, this could be an actual good team next year. Getting a stud pass rusher, improving the linebacker group, getting a legit slot receiver, and retooling the depth on the offensive line and they’re in the playoffs again. Honestly this group was probably one elite pass rusher away from a deep playoff run. 

Actually, that depth on the line... I was impressed how they showed up after Icky went down AND Hunt had to come out of the game for a while. We may have a pretty decent line for next season, whether Moton decides to play another year or not.

Cade Mays at Center helps a lot.

If in June you said we'd have hosted a home playoff game and had four lead changes in the final quarter of that game vs the mighty Rams, but just lost by 3 in the end...

I'd have thought you were smoking crack.

The guys did better than any of us expected this season. They've set the bar high for themselves next season. I ain't mad.

And Bryce played like he deserved to be there. Still not sure why we didn't keep pushing those slant routes at the end there with the success we'd been having with them and three timeouts in our pocket. 

Oh well, coach and company have grown a lot this year, and they've got some more to grow on.

Bad weather, big rain. Brings it down to luck and the running games. Slugfest in the trenches.

That gives us our best chance.

On 1/8/2026 at 10:56 AM, Jmac said:

They need a dedicated O.C. Doesn't matter if Canales wants it or not. The play calling has been anemic  at best. Let Canales concentrate on his HC duties.  M.M did well with Tua when his head wasn't scrambled. Maybe turn the offense around and score more than 17 points a game.

 

Not gonna lie, I'd be all for it. MM was leading the pack in new coaching ideas and I think it was injuries that derailed everything for him, not his coaching. That and there had developed a few bad lockerroom guys.

2003 was just magical. The Cardiac Cats were something else and it was the ultimate underdog story again and again and again throughout that season. There was no give up in those guys.

I still can't stand Belichick and Brady and you can't convince me that they hadn't been cheating and stealing our signals before that game. 

2015 was just a steamroller year, but as it wore on and our celebrations each game got more raucous and unsportsmanlike, I just knew Karma was hovering around, waiting to strike. We came into that game like we had already been crowned as champs, acting like fools, wearing masks in interviews and sadly, got just embarrassed by a decent, not great, team headed by Peyton Manning on his last legs. Karma is a b!tch.