KSpan

It's wayyyyyyyy too early for any definitive conclusions but thus far it's just 2021 redux. Some folks just got their hooes up way too high for what they expected to see right out of the gate.

And there's Chinn making the tackle but 6 yards down field and coming from 15 years deep because Snow is determined to waste his talents.

Carolina returned the favor.

Oh look, tackle stretch... huh. Who could've guessed?

Throw it to the guy in white while avoiding the other guys in white.

Come on now, Carolina's defense isn't THAT bad.

Let's see it on the field, especially after the coaching impotence of the last 2 seasons.

I'm comfortable betting that if a vet like Shaq dislikes it, then most players probably do as a whole. You know, like how the NFLPA as a whole filed a request with the league to go to natural surfaces everywhere. https://nflpa.com/posts/only-natural-grass-can-level-the-nfls-playing-field And player comments after OBJ hurt his knee in the Super Bowl and in general, saying 90% prefer it. "Players claim that 90% of them prefer playing on real grass Cleveland Browns running back Nick Chubb, who sprained his MCL in a game against the Dallas Cowboys in October 2020, blamed the turf at AT&T stadium for his injury in a Twitter post during the Super Bowl, and claimed that 90% of NFL players prefer to play on natural grass." https://www.insider.com/nfl-stars-ban-turf-odell-beckham-jr-injury-super-bowl-2022-2?amp Perhaps it is you that should, in this instance, STFU.

They improved, but we just can't see it. Rhule told us so.

My FF team says no.

I'm envisioning this meme, but with Belichick and a picture of Kupp.

The QB position did not improve last year. The OL position did not improve last year. The WR position did not improve last year (and Robby/Robbie regressed hard). The DT position did not improve last year (and Derek Brown found himself benched at one point). DE/edge/pass rush improved primarily because of Reddick, who is now gone. CB arguably improved but Gilmore brought his skills and is gone, and Jackson replicated his 2020 season at best. Scheming and strategy sure as hell didn't improve last year. No, the team did not improve on the whole last year. And while the new season is about to begin and make last season mostly irrelevant, it remains primary evidence against the whole '3rd year jump' commentary nonsense.

What is this 'Matt Rhule tends to have a big jump in Year 3' BS that continues to perpetuate? His biggest jumps have come from years 1 to 2 (while at Baylor), and otherwise his team continued on whatever trajectory they were on from Year 1 to Year 2. Carolina had zero improvement from Years 1 to 2, and even looked markedly worse on the field. If there is some magical big jump this year then cool, but it is not following a trend like everyone seems to think it is - Rhule already bucked that trend by failing as hard as the team did last year.

Seeing this made me realize that I've heard absolutely nothing about Damien Wilson throughout all of camp and preseason.

Because he seems to have zero upside and large limitations at this point, so why sign him to that contract?

Signing him to that contract for 3 years. It was a head-scratcher then and remains so now.

As one example 2021 Cincy won the AFCCG thanks to their 'bad coaching' changing up the defensive strategy mid-game, something that we've never seen from this staff.. that's not at all comparable. Getting to the playoffs after stumbling around and playing terrible football, picking into it, may not be likely but it is possible and is exactly why I said what I said. It's about how things happen as much as what happens. Mediocrity is not the goal and if there aren't signs of fundamental team elevation even if the team ekes out a couple of wins 2020 style, then Rhule can hit the road.

Sure you can. It's entirely possible to back into the playoffs and look terrible down the stretch, then getting waxed in the Wild Card. That's not the objective and IMO should still get Rhule axed even though it likely wouldn't. That said, this sin't a question that can really be definitively answered at this point. I am highly skeptical of Rhule but think it's more about the team actually looking like they're an NFL team. Maybe the team only gets 5-7 wins, but did they actually hang in against quality competition and look like they know what football at the NFl level means? That might be OK. They looked pathetic last year. Anything like like that that shows a continued failure to strategize and understand the NFL game, even if they eke out some wins, is not acceptable.

As if Fletcher wasn't such a pick. Smith absolutely should have been that choice, not an LS. And Carolina absolutely did need a center, though I can't say that I expect d Humphrey to come out as strong as he did.