TylerDurden

When your QB is solely responsible for taking points off the board for your team while giving away more opportunities for the other team to score points, makes it awfully tough to win games. Thankfully, Purdy is keeping us in this tonight, but I never trust Bryce in general, but especially in the red zone.

Yup. Well, at least they’re running clock so we don’t have to suffer for too long. fuging Bryce, man…

Yeah, I’m in the Raleigh area and looked at our ABC affiliate and it’s not on the guide. This blows.

Wait… so, the game isn’t on the ABC affiliate tonight? WTF is going on? Every Monday night game has been on ABC this season, but today it isn’t???

Per Schefter: Pre MRI, the Buccaneers believe Baker Mayfield suffered a sprained AC joint in his left shoulder, per sources. There was no fracture and no structural damage. One source said the Buccaneers “are not ruling out” Mayfield for Sunday’s game vs. the Cardinals. But today’s MRI will tell more.

It still boggles my mind that it took them 11 weeks to figure this out? Idk man, I don’t think I’m some kind of football savant, and things shouldn’t be dumbed down to “anyone that plays Madden knows…” but, honestly, most people worth their salt on madden figure this stuff out and do it every game. The game is about matchups. I cannot understand why we hadn’t been using more motion and/or putting TMac in the trips, inside, or the slot before. Doing that plus motion forces a defense to declare and show what they’re doing early, which also helps Bryce diagnose what he’s looking at presnap. Last week was legit the first time I’ve seen us apply these principles in a long time, so I hope it continues tonight and for the rest of the season.

Seeing as how the other thread somehow became a makeshift catch-all for this season, I figured we would do a 2.0 that’s more reflective of where we are now. Kon is looking like he should be the favorite for ROY, and how gratifying that would be considering the NBA did everything in their power two out of the last three years to rob us of perceived generational talents and route Wemby and Flagg to their preferred destinations rather than Charlotte. The Wemby one is gonna sting, but if we just got the best player in this most recent draft in Kon, it stings a little less.

Honestly, I view the rest of this season like every game is a division game - meaning you can throw the records out. Throw the perceived favorites out. Every week, we have to show up and punch them in their mouth. We’re gonna have to gut it out. We can’t go into games against well coached teams and think, “well, the Rams already got that one, McVay is just too good of a coach and they’re too talented.” “Can’t beat the Niners. Shanahan is one of the best and they just play everyone so tough, even with injuries.” We have to go into each game feeling like everyone counted us out and we have to show them why they’re wrong. And speaking of the Niners - that’s the exact blueprint we need to be looking at - for the last, it seems like at least 5 years, they have been decimated with injuries. And they still contend to win their division and make a run in the playoffs every year. Even while starting a plethora of QBs. Even with their best defensive players being out for the bulk of seasons… their DNA doesn’t change. They compete. Their standard is winning and nothing less, so even if you’re the 3rd stringer forced into action, either show up and play to that level or find another team. This should be our approach and I think the Saints game was an important wake up call… I occasionally listen to whatever ESPN show is on sports radio in the mornings with Chris Camry and I believe it was after we beat the Packers, they asked him about us and he said, “they’re a young team learning how to win.” And that is about as accurate or a description as you can get. It explains the hiccups and the struggles. But it also explains why it looks so good when we put it all together. What we need now is our guys to have that light bulb come on as a collective and never look back. I hope last week was the start of that and it continues tonight and for the rest of the season..

When we played the Cowboys, nobody really believed we could win. And we did. We can do it, we just can’t afford anymore Bryce 125 yard passing days. If he’s gonna be the guy, act like it. Lead the team and win some games. Make the tough plays when it matters.

Yeah, IIRC, that picture was what made it all click like, “wow! He seems to know a lot about Matt, argues passionately for and about him, and looks almost identical to him.” It also explains the complete meltdown and then the eventual exit. I can’t remember a ton of our interactions prior to him going off the rails, but I remember thinking, as you said, he was a valuable contributor. You’re right, idk that there has ever been a crazier turn, not even in the WWE.

And Theodore ain’t pushing it.

TheRealDeal. I made him completely meltdown into a racism tirade because of my push and fandom of Cam. Good times. I appreciated Matt though. I felt he deserved more of a chance in the league. I always strongly suspected TRD wasn’t Matt but that he knew him and possibly may have been family.

His face was red as poo when he got up too. Baker is tough as nails, but that poo was killing him. I knew he was hurting when he tried to launch that because he has one of, if not THE strongest arms in the league . I think before he came here they measured a similar Hail Mary he threw went 80 air yards?

I ate my crow. Happily. fug Adam Silver, the Spurs, Wemby not being a Hornet, the fixed lottery, the Mavericks, and Cooper Flagg. We got the ROY, babaaaaaaay!

I am and have been a Bryce detractor, but I literally was thinking about this today. As fun as it is to say “I was right,” as a Panthers fan, more than anything else, I want to win. If Bryce could magically finally figure it all out and go on a legit, seemingly otherworldly run and we maximize our potential, I will happily eat all the crow that can be eaten and be ECSTATIC!

Our linebackers are really worrisome. If we had even just one of Wallace or Rozeboom, I’d feel a lot better. The fact we’re down those two and the Niners biggest strengths are guys that will usually be matched up with the backers in CMC and Kittle… ehhhhh. And people can say what they want about Purdy, but that damn dude is a problem. He is wildly frustrating to play against when he gets going. I’ve told people before, he may have a different frame and a lot better escapability and mobility, but in terms of making plays and anticipating throws, he’s as close to Brady as I’ve seen since.

Yeah, if Baker is out, our division looks very different.

I knew Wilson would slide a little because of the injury history, and I didn’t know what we were gonna do with our first pick, but I was absolutely sure we were gonna take him either with that one or whatever it took to get back up in the 2nd or 3rd to grab him. It just made too much sense. I know there was a lot of hype coming out of our camp for him too. And then the draft happened and it was like there was absolutely no urgency… again, it just made too much sense and we blew it. And then when PIT took him, and him being a LB l, I knew everything I thought he was, he was going to be. fugin sucks.

I think Tampa will continue to struggle without Evans. That’s our really hope. We have to handle business though regardless.

Jersey and pants definitely pop with that combo

Completely agreed. TBH, we have had so many great players that are in my favorite list, and I hate to narrow it down to one, but Cam is it. Which is crazy, because you would think it would be more of the guys I grew up watching, but no. Cam was the single most impactful player to ever out on a football uniform imo. And like I said in an earlier post, I always felt a kinship with him in a lot of ways… the way he was treated and judged for the off the field stuff in Florida and having to overcome all of that and fight show at back. And although I am not a black man, I have always been welcomed by and accepted more by minorities, and thus, I know what it’s like to be judged by appearances rather than the content of your character and who you actually are. I know what it’s like to be stereotyped and written off or mistreated for your mistakes. I know what it’s like to be held to a different standard while your peers don’t have to meet that same standard. So I always related to that. And the way he came in and just electrified the whole franchise, man… I still think about it often how much it sucks that because of how talented he was, our staff out so much on him and that ultimately cut his career short. You’re right, there will never be another Cam… I think Josh Allen is the closest thing we will see for a long time, but Allen is not the running threat Cam was. Cam could run you over or around you. That was THE absolute funnest time to watch our team ever.

Same, bro. Yeah, it just feels it has run its course and I don’t know that we’ll ever get more value. Plus, with the new ownership, this draft has been super encouraging, so dare I believe maybe this FO can get something to really put us over the top in return for Melo. I’ll still be a fan of his game and try to keep up with him if we move on, but yeah, I feel it’s time to turn the page. (and side note: I felt so happy after their rookie years because I told everybody I wanted Melo and didn’t trust Ant. And Melo clearly looked like the better player early… I thought Ant would bust because all that stuff he said about not loving the game and just his resume to that point… but damn, if we could go back in time.. I love Ant’s game and at times, when he gets in the zone, he is THE BEST player in the league in my opinion.)

Appreciate that, bro! And I could definitely see that with Cam. Even though he’s a little younger than me, he is also someone I admire and feel a kinship with for a lot of various reasons. Funny enough, a few years after that encounter with Steve, I went to Charlotte with one of my friends whose brothers owned a moving company at the time. He dropped me off uptown and went to work the day with them where I would wait until he got done and then we were gonna go to the Bobcats game that night. So I walk all through that area for hours. After awhile, I walk back towards the arena and sit in a bench on the backside of the arena, where the practice court and player’s entrance was. As I’m sitting there, I look up and almost think I’m seeing things - I squint and blink my eyes a couple times just to be sure, and yes… it’s one of my childhood heroes, Muggsy Bogues walking across the crosswalk and into the arena. I think he was coaching the Sting then, iirc. Part of me wanted to just say, “Hey! Muggsy! Thank you for the inspiration and memories! You were one of my favorite players as a kid!” But, I just watched him walk by and into the arena and thought, “that was cool!” I also so Miguel Cotto a couple years back while in Orlando and told my kids who it was but didn’t say anything to him. I think somewhere in my subconscious, that encounter with Steve really made me feel like the gamble on finding out if they’re receptive to interaction just isn’t worth finding out. At the end of the day, no matter if they’re receptive inspired us or were a hero, unless they initiate it, I likely never will… because again, they’re humans just like us. Not anymore unique or special, they just have a highly visible and very public job that we get to watch and in some ways participate. So, I just appreciate it for what it is.

Appreciate you, brother! I know it was lengthy, but I felt whoever actually read it would appreciate it.

Damn good take, brother. I think I take that poo personally because (sidebar: I don’t like to use narcissist often because social media has made it a buzzword and diluted the meaning, so when I use it, I don’t take it lightly) I grew up in a home with a raging narcissist, then married a narcissist and just came out of a divorce after a 20 year marriage with her, where afterwards she met and married another narcissist. And in my dealings with them, over my 41 years on this earth, at times I took great delight in breaking down their arguments point by point and forcing them to either acknowledge their wrongs and take ownership of them or watch them yammer and stammer away when they ran out of lies and excuses. At various points, that was extremely satisfying, but ultimately, which I’ve realized especially after the last 3 years and going through the divorce and everything, it does NOTHING to them. It doesn’t affect them one way or another. For a logical, reasonable, grounded person, you would think calling them on their poo will bring it to their attention when they’re faced with nothing but facts and truth and it would force them to change, but nope. Not in the slightest. They just disassociate from the ones who do that and find more people who will validate their behaviors and thinking. poo pisses me off because they’re so destructive and couldn’t care less so long as their needs are met.