KSpan

Well hey now, thanks for making me feel special! Young is still a limitation. He can be limited and the defense still be historically awful. Both things can be true, numbnuts.

For the third time now, not every game will be a win. That is not the expectation. But in your cherry-picked example, let me know when Bryce has a day where he posts 400 total yards/4 TDs and 90% of the production as the sole driver of the offense, as Allen did, en route to that type of loss and my opinion will be different about said cherry-picked single game.

I don't think he was really playing all that differently than he was before, just not being asked to do as much and benefitting from the strong run game vs how he is truly driving the Vikings offense now. Regardless, my point was that he wasn't going to make significant progress on Carolina's roster. Both things can be true.

Eh, he wasn't losing games by any means but he was nowhere near where he currently is. Running game carried that team hard through the tail end of 2022, but he didn't cause the team to lose games. I'll agree though that he certainly wasn't as rough as times in the past. I think the year off in SF had a significant impact. Wilks is/was not a long term solution. He is a poor man's John Fox, and while keeping him on was better than the Reich disaster it was by no means going to result in a leap of success.

Too many drives stalling inside the 20 to say he/the offense did enough. That's the current reality. And I specifically said it doesn't need to be every game. 'Almost winning' isn't good enough - Mahomes, Allen, etc sure figure out ways to win those close games. need to see the ability to overcome that and win these types of games to get into that echelon of franchise QB. Not every time, but often enough.

On topic, who knows if those guys could have turned it around here. It sure wasn't going to happen under the prior regimes.

Ah yes, the classic HOF metric of 'Big-time Throw Percentage'. Enshrine him now. If they are keeping him around they'd better keep him in a state of competition. As it stands now he is perhaps a purgatory-level QB, one who can look solid when circumstances are perfect around him and who can not elevate those around him when they are not.

We aren't winning because of him either. Gotta have that from a true franchise QB. Not every single game of course, but more often that not.

THE problem? No. A problem. Yeah, to some degree.

He isn't showing much to suggest he can elevate mediocre play though. When things go well, he can connect. When they don't, the magic isn't there yet, and that's ultimately not good enough in today's NFL. 2 great drives in the first half, first and last one, and arguably Bryce's best deep ball ever on a 50+ yard TD pass to Thielen. Horrible offense otherwise. Defense was non-existent.

It makes no sense to take a WR in the first round with significant deficiencies at their core function, catching the ball. Perhaps they felt that's the most easily fixable thing but the Raiders (as one example) tried it forever and failed miserably year after year.

Bryce has definitely improved in some areas and is completing some passes he didn't last year. However, I'm still not seeing much of anything suggesting his ceiling is really any higher than the Bridgewater/Smith level of effectiveness. Hopefully they keep it a competitive QB room and challenge him to continue to push.

"Playing QB as well as anyone since Cam here." That is one low bar.

Wtf was that safety thinking?

Better zip there. Needs to show more of that.

Maybe not, but I like what the offense did there overall.

There you go. This is the type of ball that this offense needs to show. One of the best true deep balls I remember seeing him throw.

Man, Legette is just completely allergic to using his hands.

Yup. Time to counter-punch, offense. Show something here.

And man, some of these throws Baker is making exemplifies the current element that is missing from Bryce's game. That ability to dynamically drive the ball just isn't there. The first drive was very pretty for sure. Bryce's touch and placement on the softer midrange throws has improved. Just no explosion yet.

Arm strength differences on display today.

Chiefs getting into form at the right time.

Being real here though, AZ absolutely gave that game away. Conner getting injured (just bad luck), the roughing on 3rd and goal bailing Carolina out on the first TD drive, the fumble gifting field position on the second, Kyler going absolutely braindead and tossing that pick, the final drive in OT, Carolina failing to seal the game in the 2nd half... The Panthers are improving and did enough to get the win but AZ lost that game just as much, if not even a little more, than Carolina truly won it.

Yup. Why pass when you can get 5.1 ypc, worst in the league and with the most attempts against, and are typically playing with a lead.