KSpan

Doesn't mean it's not a hard catch, and the point still stands that a number of things going differently earlier in the game prevents it from coming down to that situation. No game is ever won/lost on a single play, call, etc. That's the reality. Players need to step up when circumstances require, and especially a highly-touted first rounder (albeit a decidedly raw one), but it's a bit silly to sit and drill XL for having a weakness that everyone already knows he had like it's the only way Carolina could have ever won. Bryce's interception was ugly and set up Philly for a TD before the half, at least it seems that way from the highlights and gameflow since I wasn't able to watch, Elliott's miss that I already mentioned, etc. The team drafted XL knowing what his weaknesses are and they have died by the sword at times this year. All part of the growing pains.

Ah, I misread the sheet - was a 52 yarder. Fair point, though still often made in the NFL not a gimme, and not for Jake Elliott. Neither was the catch that folks are deriding XL for not making.

If we're playing that game, Philly missed a gimme FG that would've made that last drive irrelevant and Eddy still would've had to make the XP. Point being that there are still deeper issues - 16 points is not good enough through 58 minutes fo football. That said, I agree that wins are far from the only metric. The team appears to be doing what prior regimes could not, and that is looking a little better each week.

The bar is so very low and folks like to jump to conclusions in all directions but my metric for success has always been steady improvement and player development as the year progresses. While I haven't watched the recent games these does appear to be development taking place, though I still feel that Bryce's ceiling is Bridgewater-esque levels of results, and that kind of development is more than we've seen from other recent regimes.

So the pendulum has swung back to this side in a matter of weeks... alrighty.

Are you comparing Stewart as the 'injured early in his career' back? Because it took Stewart 3 years to miss a game and then he only missed 2 in his first 4 seasons.

Not an unfair assessment but still, this was far from the easiest ball to not bring in.

Geez, y'all making it sound like that was a routine catch. That was a difficult catch for any receiver, only slightly easier than the ball Thielen couldn't hang onto in the end zone last week. A star receiver needs to make that catch, sure, but it was hardly routine. In a perfect world there is more loft on that ball and he runs under it.

Hasn't this been the line for years now? Maybe this time it actually happens.

Where did I say otherwise?

Does he though? Why not have the 'it' factory earlier in the games? I haven't watched the past several games for various reasons so am just playing devil's advocate. From seeing posts this week it sounded ike the team had zero chance and the defense seemed to do enough to win. Better than getting murdered though.

The team scored 16 total points and Legette has sucked like this all year. I didn't watch the game but while you want them to make plays, 16 ain't good enough if you don't want things to come down to the wire.

Is he this week's scapegoat? Moving on from the refs I guess.

Of course there are always exceptions and things that are more and less important to a given player, but Horn's comments were the typical lip service you almost always hear and it will not result in him taking a major discount. The team will not hesitate to make a business decision in a player and they are all aware of that.

Very few players ever say anything else in this situation.

Absolutely not. He's not coming back from anything and was never anywhere in the first place.

Cam could definitely do it, just not consistently. His default was to throw smoke but when he did put touch on it, it could be a sight to behold.

Lolz.

Thielen immediately went out of bounds before he established/re-established control in the ref's eyes, and a moving ball/moving hands adds the element of doubt. That is the issue and why it's incomplete. Someone can bat and bobble the ball all the way down the field as long as they stay in bounds and have it in firm, clear control before going out of bounds. It was unfortunately not clear enough here. Right, but the hand and ball movement introduces a big element of question. He clearly did not have full control in the eyes of the ref and I agree with that call, or at least understand it. If he is in the middle of the end zone and not immediately going out of bounds and the exact same thing plays out then it's an unquestionable TD.

In any scenario, if he catches it in the first place it's a TD. He didn't though.

No he didn't. As I said, to my eyes the ball moved in his hands when he hit the ground and immediately went out of bounds before regaining full control. By rule that's not a catch. I have to say also that I love that uniform combo. The blue jerseys are ugly IMO and the lighter blue is better but that darker color of pants with black jerseys is killer.

Kyle Allen, 55 yards through the air. Looks just like a Bryce ball. https://www.panthers.com/video/highlight-kyle-allen-unloads-51-yard-bomb-to-dj-moore-for-td With respect to the OP, my mom died on the 24th and I haven't seen any of the Chiefs or Bucs game outside of a highlight or two. Sounds like Bryce has been playing better, so good for him, but if this is one of those '20 yard deep ball' stats then meh. My position has always been that his ceiling is Teddy Bridgewater or Alex Smith 2.0 and that is not good enough in today's NFL, so I'll try to watch an upcoming game to see what's up. If Bryce gets beyond that then everybody wins. That said, at the start of the year my definition of success was a team and staff that steadily improves throughout the year and competes with good teams. Don't necessarily care about wins per se though they are nice, but there does appear to be improvement in recent weeks. Hopefully the consistency comes through.

The ball moved in his hands when he hit the ground and he immediately went out of bounds - not a catch. Ball can't move at all even if it's still in the hands. Great effort though. Also, like the Cotchery catch, it's a bit tough but if he gets it cleanly in the first place then anything else is (likely here, anyway) a moot point.

Exactly. Devalued doesn't mean teams don't find the positional output important, it means they have figured out they can get acceptable results or better for cheap by cycling backs every couple of years and not paying them big money. There will always be the stars that get paid but RB contracts are smaller in general and guys are frequently changing teams for that second contract vs other positions where quality players are nearly always re-signed.