KSpan

Carolina also didn't have a complete void at QB, the highest-profile position in the NFL, and recent years of below average to abysmal QB play when Grier was drafted.

Don't construe my comment as any form of support for bringing Garoppolo to Carolina. I'm just saying that if they're going to make another dumb QB move, at least this one can potentially be minor in nature.

In all seriousness though, if SF is picking up most of the salary and Carolina is giving up like a 5th or later, then I guess whatever.

Now that was a show of fan engagement, even if it was primarily just a few hardcore fans.

I'm not disagreeing with you here. It would have been easier, but less clickbaity, if they just came out and said that instead of trying to convolute their way to equating some weird analysis of spend/prices and social media presence to somehow prove that a team has a better 'fandom' because of it.

More or less, but they're not exactly framing it that way. "It’s a look at the strength of fandom as of the end of the 2022 season. Since fandom is created over many seasons or even generations, this is a look into the past. The QB analysis is a look into the future. QBs are the overwhelming key to winning in the NFL, and winning is what ultimately builds fandom." Just a weird approach.

Yeah, anything purporting to rank fan loyalty with Carolina ranked higher over KC and Buffalo, let alone any of the other teams, is just silly. Given their methodology, Carolina's ranking is probably propped up by them having PSL's for longer than anyone else (guaranteed revenue, people paying higher prices) and having Cam and Luke for the past decade.

Saw it with my son a couple days ago and thought it was fine. Gorgeous imagery, kind of a contrived story, some weird elements and things seemingly left open in the plot, but fine. Felt like they used this as a springboard to really open up the universe as well.

Getting quality QB play from Sam, PJ, or a rookie is a big ask, but the roster does look much more NFL-level than in recent years. The biggest question IMO has to do with the staff, and outside of Rhule that area looks better as well. Time will tell, but the odds of making some progress appear notably improved vs last year.

Did you even read what he wrote? All CRA is saying here is that neither Form an nor Hubbard have all-around skillsets like CMC, and that we saw last year how Abdullah provided the playstyle most similar to CMC because he could do both. As such, getting someone like that who isn't one-dimensional would be ideal. It's a valid thought if this offense shakes out like it's appearing it may do and there is no real negativity or complaining anywhere in that post.

Underthrew the route by a solid 7-10 yards, but still a nice play.

This is honestly one of the worst takes I've ever seen on this board, and there have been some doozies over the years. Playing pretend for a moment, even if it was somehow the worst circumstances eVeRrrrrrr, it might've been easier to navigate if he had some actual coaches with NFL experience to support under such hardship... instead, Rhule brought in his college lackeys and proceeded to fall flat on his face. That is not one's fault but his and Tepper's arrogant selves. Rhule gets zero benefit of any doubt at this point. Dude is a straight up college-poser hack until his team produces consistently, and even if it happens now it will be impossible to know how much is him improving and how much is the NFL coaching he finally brought on board. As a hint though, he's done jack crap without it, so improvement with it makes one wonder what Rhule himself actually brings to the table.

A lot of guys you're claiming Ron and Fox started with were brought in for their respective first seasons as well, so what does it matter who 'brought them in'? Bottom line is Rhule had talent in 2020 and more in 2021 and did jack with it; he was far from 'having no talent'. Ron brought in talent too, so if anything that weakens your point because Ron brought in actual talent while Rhule brought in ex-Baylor and Temple players along with a milquetoast QB based on his poor understanding of how the NFL works. If you want to argue that a QB makes a big difference then fine, though the Teddy and Sam situations underscore his lack of understanding of NFL booth all and strategy, but claiming that Rhule had little to no talent is flat out incorrect. You could also argue that his 2021 roster really wasn't that much better than 2020 and that a lot of the moves share credit with Fitterer. Rhule has nothing definitive to hang his hat on that is a clear contribution from him, especially not the coaching and strategy (his primary job).

Rhule had no talent, eh? CMC, DJ, Robbie, Samuel, Moton, Teddy (I'm no fan but he played better than Sam for sure), Burns, Brown, Chinn... it was more talent than Ron had in 2019 and, if coaching was indeed the issue, Rhule would have gotten them to better than the same record. 2021 had a full year under their belts as coaches and Rhule-led moves and ended up regressing heavily throughout the season. If you think Rhule isn't/wasn't a major issue, I don't know how you arrive at that conclusion. As I've said in other threads, if the team improves this year after a complete overhaul of the coaching staff and Fitterer having more influence in FA and the draft (admittedly a bit of speculation, but the offseason has sure been different this year vs the last 2 where Rhule was presented as the lead horse), the question is what does Rhule actually bring to the table relative to all those non-Rhule improvements? I bet you it's not much.

I'd say that the 2020 defense was downright poor overall, and last year's defense was way overhyped based on their performance feasting on bottom-tier teams in the first weeks. Once the offense was figured out (a Rhule specialty) and the opposition discovered that Carolina had no solution for the off-tackle runs, the average to below-average reality of the defense became clear. There's some definitive talent there abut they need to prove the start of 2021 wasn't a fluke by doing it consistently against some quality competition. With that said, an offensive upgrade can go a long way toward making even a mediocre defense like Carolina's look much better, like we saw in early 2021. Maybe this year's offense will pitch in. To the question posed by the thread topic though, I think pass rush trumps all (a la 2013). A killer secondary is never a bad thing though and can't hurt, but no one can cover receivers forever if there is no consistent pressure on the QB.