WarPanthers89

I agree, no way I would let Baker take another snap and risk giving the Browns a higher draft pick. We are clearly going all in on the draft. Zero benefit to Baker starting another game

It blows. This feels worse than the pickle Clausen season for some reason and I never imagined that would be possible with the talent we have compared to that year

I don’t think we will look back and feel good about it. No doubt he will dominate in SF which will make it tough to watch, but RB is an easier position to replace production wise. We will never do anything in the league without a franchise QB but it does not feel good at all.

ARTICLE: Tanking happens in the NFL. And the Panthers are now clearly doing it. They’ll deny it. They have to. The first rule of Tank Club is you do not talk about Tank Club. More specifically, through any and all subtle or obvious efforts to embrace the suck in order to enhance draft status, the team needs to claim it’s not doing that which it plainly is. And the league office will look the other way as long as no one says the magic word. Owner David Tepper recently used the right words when asked about striking the balance between winning games now and drafting high later. “There’s no way that every day you can’t go in with a winning attitude, and there’s no other way to be,” Tepper said during the October 10 press conference regarding the firing of coach Matt Rhule. “You have to try to win, all the time. You have to try to win for the players. You have to try to win for the fans. And, yes, I understand what it is about draft picks and getting quarterbacks and stuff like that, and I understand the importance of quarterbacks in this league. But you have to try to win always.” So why trade one of your best players with 11 games left to try to win, if you’re trying “to win, all the time”? The truth, even if it never will be uttered by Tepper or anyone employed by him, is that they’re sacrificing 2022 competitiveness for the pieces needed to make moves in 2023. Since Monday, they’ve stockpiled six draft picks by trading away two players. While the deal that sent receiver Robbie Anderson to Arizona falls more into the category of “addition by subtraction,” the deal that shipped running back Christian McCaffrey to the 49ers counts as subtraction by subtraction, with the hopes of adding better players later. Or maybe a better coach. The assets they’re already added, along with more that could arrive before the November 1 trade deadline, could enhance their ability to de facto trade for a coach, whether it’s Sean Payton or maybe even Mike Tomlin. Remember, David Tepper was a limited partner in Pittsburgh before buying the Panthers. And Tepper knows the value of a great coach. Why not at least make the call to Art Rooney II to see whether the Steelers, Tomlin, or both would be interested in a change, after 16 years together? Maybe Tepper will have his eyes on some other established coach who would be interested in a fresh start, especially if the Panthers can make their situation more attractive by securing the first overall pick in the draft by officially trying to win — and unofficially failing — week after week after week? The point is this. The Panthers are tanking. The Panthers will never say they’re tanking. The league office will never accuse them of tanking unless and until they do. Or, perhaps more accurately, if they do it in a way that can’t later be described with a semi-straight face as a joke. That’s the formula for successfully sinking in the standings and simultaneously scaling the draft order. Don’t say it. Just do it. The Panthers obviously are doing it. And the fans won’t be complaining about it if the Panthers draft a franchise quarterback, hire (or trade for) a coach with a Super Bowl pedigree, and start winning games when they’re actually trying to. https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/10/21/the-panthers-slide-squarely-into-tank-mode/

This sucks. I’m not mad about the compensation but I’m furious that we are getting rid of a 26 year old superstar all because we made a terrible decision at head coach and wasted his talent on our team. CMC is a star on a team with very few of them, and is one of the top playmakers in the league. We all would have loved for him to be healthy and play out his career here, but a hire like Rhule ruined that.

Very sad. You should seek help.

This thread has run its course. We should lock it @LinvilleGorge

I thought someone posted Icky had the 2nd highest grade at LT this week?

Glad the guy is gone.

It’s sad we kept him on our roster for years now and still don’t trust him enough to pass more than The Golden Calf of Bristol did in his games.

Robby vs coaches:

I like Wilks a lot, but I see no way that he can do an “incredible job” with what he has been handed. He still has to go with the playbooks we have, with the personnel decisions someone else made. Tepper will want a proven coach or a big NFL name this time.

Cam Newton wasn’t even the clear choice the year we drafted him. First round QB’s are a gamble, but you have a much better chance of finding your franchise guy in the draft over a QB in free agency or trade. We see how that has worked out since Cam for us

Idk they seem more focused actually. PJ said the energy at practice was “Elite”. I still believe we suck the rest of the year, but I have no doubt Wilks can get this team more motivated that the preacher Rhule. He should bring back the bats for the rest of the year

I agree. It’s refreshing to see him as our coach for the rest of the year. It seems like it has been a while since we had NFL level coaching going on. I could never take Rhule serious as a leader of men with his preacher style speeches.

This thread is the Goat. I am proud of you young one….you have made me proud.

Great post and it was very informative. It wouldn’t be a bad staff at all. With that being said…..I see a microscopic chance he can do anything with what he has been handed, to land a job. Tepper will want a big name, or a proven coach as his next hire. The Rhule failure was embarrassing to Tepper and he will not want to have this happen again, and he feels the pressure to have a winning program built.