BrianS

I wouldn't trade anything for Carr. I wouldn't take him on $30 million a season. However, I think he's a good QB. I think he has at least two or three good years left in him. How many times did the Raiders defense let this dude down? It's obscene. Over the last five seasons, the Raiders defense has ranked 26th, 26th, 30th, 24th and 32nd in points against. The problem isn't Carr. The problem is those guys don't have a single (*&$@ing clue how to play defense.

Kaye is also basing his comments on some ridiculous stat as well. "Middle of the field passes"? Really? When has that EVER been a stat anyone cared about? When talking about defense, there is only one stat we should care about: Points. If a team drives 99 yards on my defense and comes away with zero points, I'm ok with that. Frankly, that's probably a big win for the defense. If an offense completes 100% of their passes against my defense, but only scores 6 points, who am I to care? It's all about points. You can use the other stats to help discover why you may be giving up points, but points are the stat that matters.

That doesn't add up. Luvu averaged a bit more than 7.5 tackles per game played. Shaq averaged 8 tackles per game played. Please explain how Shaq is worth nearly three times what Luvu makes. 18 million for a non-rush LB is TOO MUCH MONEY unless you're talking about a guy like a Kuechly who makes everyone else better. Shaq is no Luke. If you want to keep Shaq here in the 7-8 million range over 2 additional years, ok. Otherwise, thank you for your service, best of fortune in your future endeavors. You've also got to consider that we will now need MORE LB's as we switch to a 3-4. In that defense, it's the OLB's who make the bread. Shaq is not a 3-4 OLB.

The "problem" with Shaq has always been his contract. It simply didn't reflect his play at any point. Statistically, Shaq and Frankie Luvu were the same player this year. Eerily similar. But cap wise, Shaq hit us at 13 million and Luvu at 3.5 million. It's pretty hard to swallow.

Ask yourself this question: How many of Andy Reid's offensive disciples have succeeded elsewhere? Answer: 1. Doug Pederson - and that's still debatable in many circles. Honestly, if EB was so promising, why hasn't he had the chance to call some plays in KC? There have been plenty of blowouts where Andy could easily have handed that off. EB is one red flag after another.

Richardson has some significant mechanical concerns around his footwork. It shows up in his accuracy numbers. Those are major red flags for Reich, he clearly wants someone who can win from the pocket and values accuracy very highly. If I were Richardson's agent, I'd advise him to stay in school another year and put heavy emphasis on fixing his mechanical issues. He's going to bust in the NFL if he can't get his accuracy right, and it's all tied to his footwork.

College tape is irrelevant. Zak Wilson had great college tape. Kyle Trask had great college tape. Etc. I'm sure Corral will get his chance, but I'll be shocked if he ends up starting next September. I certainly wouldn't stake my season on Matt Corral as QB1 were I the head coach or GM.

Thus is ever the fare of those who come first. Magellan was ridiculed because the world was flat. Carl Benz for his automobile patent. Etc. Likewise the establishment is often only interested in seeing the status quo maintained. At times, this is simply prudence. At others, obstructionism. It's the purview of everyone to think for themselves and establish which is which. /soapbox off Cam was a trailblazer who should have been protected and celebrated. It sucks for Panthers nation that he was not. But it has given us Joe Burrow, Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, etc. I enjoy watching them play. It simply came a little too late for Cam.

Cam's "problem" in the NFL had nothing to do with his abilities, but the abilities of the OC we had for most of his career. If Norv Turner had followed Rob Chudzinski instead of Mike Shula it is very possible that we have multiple SB appearances and Cam might still be healthy. Even with a very injured and depleted Cam, you could see what Norv did for his game. He made Cam a better passer and student of the game.

Assuming Washington cuts him, it's possible. He has no guaranteed money that WTF would have to deal with, so given how his year went, I wouldn't be surprised if he was cut. We've all seen how critical system is to the QB. Maybe Reich just has a system that works for Wentz. As long as it's cheap, with little to no guaranteed money, I don't really care.

Wilks is a good guy. A good story. A guy you can root for. But philosophically, he's not the guy we need to compete in the NFL today. Wilks would make a great college coach at the mid-major level. If he isn't retained, I'll certainly root for him. For the Carolina Panthers however, I'm happy to see we are setting our sights higher. Even if we miss, we are trying.

No one is celebrating mediocrity. However, turning a mediocre team around is a lot easier than fixing what's become an established level of awful at places like Cleveland and Houston.

Disagree. We are mediocre. Far from a bottom feeder. Here's stats since 2000:

No. As good as Burrow is, still, no. If you had an extremely talented GM, you might be able to do that trade and still be competitive before Burrow's rookie deal ran out. However, if you had an extremely talented GM he would negotiate a better deal from the start.

How much does it suck to be the Browns, paying Watson all that guaranteed money only to have the second best QB in the division.

Exactly. Burrow + Chase is nearly a cheat code. And then Mixon. And then Higgins. Etc.

I like Kafka, I don't love him. He clearly has made an impact there, but we're still only talking about an average scoring offense in the Giants. Only four spots ahead of the Panthers offense this year.

I like Tabor as well. Seems to have really good energy and connection with the players. Our ST were quite good this year. Pinero was the second best kicker by percentage this year among kickers with more than 20 kicks.

Yea, saw that story yesterday. Not sure what his possible motivation might be to stay in school. Not sure he can really improve his stock, but he sure could damage it or even get hurt. I also saw another story about the QB competition at Ohio State say how tight it was. Even in that story there seemed to be some question about Stroud leaving.

Because for a running QB, he is getting toward the end of his prime. If he was a straight drop back QB, 26 years old is a non-issue. But he's not. His nearest comparisons are Newton and Vick. With Cam, it was around age 26/27 (2015/2016) when he had his biggest / best seasons and thereafter started to tail off due to injuries. Yes, TJ Watt was the final straw, but he was nicked up, dinged up, not 100% physically well before that. With Vick, it's more difficult due to his suspension which occurred around that age. But, when he returned after, it was clear he was NOT the same QB he was before. Jackson is definitely a better passer than either of those guys. But it doesn't mean that he will be able to continue at a high level if he can't run. Just the threat of his running changes a defense - very much like Vick and Newton. A guy with that many question marks surrounding him just isn't worth a top 5 fully guaranteed contract. In fact, a guy like that is one who should be getting a hugely incentive laden contract in a sane world. As a franchise, drafting a QB in the first round doesn't end your franchise for the length of his contract. In fact, it's well proven that there are teams who will take your first round QB who you no longer believe in and give you a decent haul in return. With a fully guaranteed deal, your franchise lives or dies with the guy. Give me the rookie every single time. Even if our next three first round picks are QB, we still come out ahead.

Uh, no they weren't. They were 24th in the only offensive stat that matters: scoring. Their "questionable" running game was actually the offensive category they ranked highest in, at 12th.

Rhule is a recruiter and administrator.

Just to play devil's advocate here . . . yes, Hurney is gone . . . but now we have Nicole Tepper involved. You really cannot make this crap up.

Didn't see this anywhere but . . . The Panthers’ search to replace former head coach Matt Rhule continued Monday evening as the organization requested interviews with Eagles offensive coordinator Shane Steichen and Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson, as reported separately by NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero.

There is a new report out that the Panthers / Harbaugh conversations were actually heavily driven from the Harbaugh side - and the Panthers decided to look elsewhere. Full info here: https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/nfl/report-1-nfl-team-turned-down-jim-harbaugh-after-speaking/ar-AA166lrJ?ocid=entnewsntp&cvid=49862d5002f4437981dfe329aade457a I'm personally happy that we didn't just cave in to another used car salesman. Maybe we did learn our lesson.