Mike2.0

I suspect it is Burrow’s way of expressing frustration at the current state and direction of the team and basically saying - sort it out, or I’m out. Now that could be retirement, or it could be him wanting out via a trade, either way, shots fired. That said, I know that coverage has changed over the years and become more 24/7. We also have a generation (mine included) that talk more about needing to enjoy their careers rather than simply fulfilling the obligation of working. With that in mind, it would be interesting to compare how the QBs of the 70s, 80s and 90s would talk and handle things in a world where the cameras and coverage doesn’t stop. It would be interesting to see how they’d handle things compared to modern day athletes.

This season’s leader, Daniel Jones, is averaging 265.9 yards per game, that would rank 12th in 2015. Even going back to 2020, he would rank 10th in passing yards. So it does appear that passing yards is down, but is that because they aren’t as good? Possibly, but we were spoilt in recent years when we had Brady, Peyton, Brees, Rodgers, Roethlisberger, Rivers, Ryan, Stafford (etc). As crops of QBs go, it was an amazing era to watch and most will end up in the Hall of Fame. I’m not convinced you we could list as many potential Hall of Fame QBs from the current crop. Will it go pass heavy again? I think there’s a good chance that it will, but it will require QBs that can consistently air the ball out in the frequency we saw in the 00s and 10s. I think currently coaches are favouring a more balanced approach, if not favouring a strong running game.

Makes you wonder what went wrong after his thousand yard receiving yard season as a rookie. His second year was injury hit if I remember correctly, but he doesn’t seem to have been targeted or utilised as well as his rookie season. It wouldn’t surprise me if he leaves the Falcons when/if the opportunity arises.

There’s always some fans that don’t like the pick. I mean some wanted a defensive player, but I think picking MacMillan was a shrewd draft choice. His upside was clear and our need for a true number one receiver was clear.

In someways we had a similar situation with Cam Newton. He had games where he’d throw for 300+ yards and complete over 60% of his passes, then he’d have those 200 or less passing yard games and would complete less than 60% of his passes. Even in his MVP season he had six games with less than 200 passing yards and ten games with less than 60% PCT (he had two under 50%!). So we have kinda been here before with Cam because we all wanted him to develop as a pocket passer and become a more prolific passer, but he never quite achieved the consistency as a passer. Now the advantage Cam had was he could make up for the passing inconsistencies with his work as a runner, whereas Bryce doesn’t have the size to bully the opposition defense like Cam did, so he will have to develop more consistency as a passer if he wants to be the guy (here or elsewhere).

I think we try to re-sign Dowdle at a rate that makes sense for the team. If the price gets too high then you move on. There’s no reason we can’t accommodate both running backs like we did with Williams and Stewart. After all, Young has yet to prove he can carry this team as a passer, and to be honest, he strikes me more as a 3,500 yard passer than a 4,500 yard passer. So to best support him we should have a strong running game and a 1 to 2 of Dowdle and Chuba could be the way to go.

There’s no reason the offense can’t accommodate them both. We had Williams and Stewart as a 1-2 punch, so it’s possible that Dowdle and Chuba can be used as a 1-2 punch. We are a run first team since we don’t have a prolific passer under center, so I would at having a strong run game with two quality backs is a positive. Before the Packers game, they had split the carries fairly evenly. I think unless one gets hot, we’ll probably see them split carries.

A winning record would be nice, but I still have us winning around the 6 to 8 game mark. Realistically we should beat the Jets and Saints, that gets us to 5 wins. After that, we have to face a lot of potential play off teams and our divisional opponents. I think we’ll win 1 or 2 of those games to take us to 6 or 7 wins, perhaps 8 wins if we can spring a further surprise. Is that enough progress for head coach and QB? I’m not sure, it will depend on performances and output. That said, it’s nice to be back in a position where we are thinking about the play offs.

I would tend to agree about not falling into the trap and paying a below average QB, but sometimes situations can “force” a team to pay that QB. For example, if we play ourselves into a 9-8 like record, then what options will we have in the draft? Or do we avoid the draft and trade for or sign someone in free agency? I’m not convinced by the 2026 QB draft class. There’s some intriguing prospects but no one that really screams “draft me”. I’m not sure we’ve got anyone really that stands out as a trade candidate or free agent signing. So although we might not want to commit a big money contract to Young, him playing well and showing progress might force the team’s hand.

Realistically we would be looking at no more than a mid round pick for Dowdle or Chuba. Are we really that desperate for a mid round pick? Not really. I would much prefer us utilise the two RBs in a 1-2 punch similar to how we used D-Will and Stewart. After all, Bryce is not Drew Brees. He won’t throw for 300+ yards and carry the team consistently as a passer. So having a strong running game with a 1-2 punch will be beneficial to him, and it will also be beneficial to the RBs because we can spell them and not overwork them.

I don’t think many fans would have guessed the Chiefs and Ravens would be where they are right now. Same goes for some surprise packages like the Colts, I’m not sure many would have put money on them being top of their division after five weeks. It’ll be interesting to see if this continues! Not necessarily. The Chargers have lost both starting OL and their 1st and 2nd choice RBs. They fell apart against Washington. The Broncos have just beat the Eagles, so they’d be my favourite in that division, but they are still only one win ahead of the Chiefs. All the Chiefs need is a couple of results to go their way and they’ll be right in the fight for the AFC East. I think that division is going to be very close and probably not a 12 or 13 win division like predicted. Unless of course the Broncos kick on.

Until the QB play improves, this team’s offense should be built around the running game. Whether that appeals to the powers that be shouldn’t matter since the Super Bowl champs are built around the running game.

Hubbard and Dowdle have the potential to be an impressive 1 to 2 punch. They could be our new D-Will and Stewart if the offense features them together consistently.

I can see Canales getting a 3rd year if we better our win count from last season. If it’s worse then that’s probably it for him here unless they are going to give him first crack at developing a new quarterback.

And to think, there’s a growing number of their fans that want to move on from their head coach, gm, and quarterback. The latter due to durability and concerns about him making all the throws or them being able to rely on him to make plays like scrambling for a down.

If the Dolphins offense clicks, then they are better than us. Tua isn’t elite, but he’s better than Young. Hill is a loss for them, but they have other options to pass to. So I’d give them an offensive edge. On defense it’s a toss up or edge to us.

A number of teams around the league see attendances fluctuate during lean years, especially the newer teams and less storied franchises. Our team still ranks in the top dozen in terms of attendance despite being bad. If they put a winning product on the field there’ll be no questions about attendance. As for a move to Europe, I can’t see it. If the Jaguars haven’t done it, then I don’t see anyone else going for it. I suspect the best thing for the NFL is to continue with different markets for the international series. Perhaps have a game in a different major international market every week and less in London?

I always try to not pay much attention to a team’s preseason win/loss record. The 1982 Washington and 2021 LA Rams both lost every game in the preseason and went on to win the Super Bowl, whereas the 2008 Detroit Lions and 2017 Cleveland Browns both won every game in reason and went on to lose every regular season game. There’s many examples of teams that lose in preseason that go on to have good seasons, but equally there are teams that lose in preseason and that continues in the regular season. Which will we be? I think our floor is a handful of wins, while our ceiling will probably be around the 9-10 win mark. The latter will require significant improvement from the whole team and coaching staff, and will also need Bryce to play like the QB we drafted him to be. I want to be optimistic and predict a winning season, but it’s really difficult as a Panthers fan!

Daboll is an interesting case because at the end of his first season Daniel Jones had a career year (granted 15 passing TDs is underwhelming) and looked set on taking the next step, and Saquon Barkley had his best season since his rookie year. Things looked positive. However, fast forward a year and Daniel Jones flopped and got injured playing behind one of the worst OLs in NFL history. They tried again with Daniel Jones and he failed again (4th time in 6 seasons). So is it the case that Daboll is a bad head coach or is it more accurate to say he got stuck with a bad quarterback? I think part of Daboll’s problem has been the quarterback. Granted that doesn’t account for the OLs struggles and any other inconsistencies, but I think had Daniel Jones kicked on in 2023 then the view of Daboll would be very different. Time will tell if working with Russell Wilson and Jaxson Dart will save his head coaching career or end it.

A lot of analysts said the same about the Broncos drafting Bo Nix at 12. Most considered him to be a reach. They got a lot of Cs and Ds on their draft grades. Yet, he had a productive rookie season and made the play offs. Back in 2017, there were some analysts calling it a “weak” QB class lacking “elite” talent. Who came out that year? Patrick Mahomes. Most said he had a lot of potential, but only if he overcame bad habits and the shortcomings of playing in an air-raid offense in college. What’s his stat line before 30? About to makE his fifth Super Bowl appearance and goes into it with a 3-1 record. So I’m always hesitant these days to write off QBs before they step onto an NFL field.

Not strictly true. Cam Newton had Steve Smith early in his career, five productive seasons with Greg Olsen, a couple of seasons with CMC, a couple of seasons from Benjamin, plus production from DeAngelo and J-Stew. Ok, he never had an elite receiver but he did have some good receiving options and a strong running game. That said, he would certainly have benefited from more weapons and a more consistent OL. Has Josh Allen had more than him? He had a couple of seasons with Stefon Diggs and Cole Beasley, but that was about it. It wasn’t until 2023 when he got a thousand yard rusher in James Cook to support him. Outside of those, he’s had to throw to the likes of Gabriel Davis, Khalil Shakir, and tight ends Dawson Knox and Dalton Kincaid. I don’t see significantly better weapons outside of Stefon Diggs. If anything they are fairly similar in terms of the offensive supporting cast.

Correct, Cam was still athletic and his arm strength was not what it once was, but his limitations as a passer were evident. My point is that Cam never developed sufficiently as a passer in his career. He didn’t really overcome and iron-out the flaws in his mechanics, which is fine when you’ve got full arm strength and athleticism, but if one (or both) of those goes, then you’re in trouble. That’s before considering that he didn’t always consistently read the field well or go through his progressions, so the offense in Carolina was designed around his strengths and limited the need for him to make more complex reads. However, that side of his game was exposed in New England because their offense is more complex and asked him to do more of the things our offense’s never (or at least rarely) did. There’s no doubt in my mind that Cam was one of the most physically gifted players to play in the NFL. However, he could have been an all time great had he managed to develop as a passer.

Luck seemed set to take that next step in his last season in the league. It’s a shame he retired when he did because he could have become an elite QB. Cam’s strength was his dual threat ability. The attempts to get him to become better and more effective under center never really worked. He wasn’t a prolific passer and he only topped four thousand yards once in his career (as a rookie) and 30 passing TDs once. The rest of the time he his passing numbers were ok and supplemented by his elite running ability and a usually strong run game. Even Josh McDaniels couldn’t get him to take that next step. So as good as Cam was, once the athleticism started to go, his career was probably over since he never evolved enough as a passer.

I don’t harbour animosity. I simply feel that Cam Newton was one of those people that smiled when he won and sulked when he lost. I don’t recall interpreting his actions as livid (eg Tom Brady throwing his helmet, or Aaron Rodgers yelling at receivers after dropping/missing a pass). I saw someone that was immature (more so earlier in his career) and a sore loser who sulked. Again, I enjoyed watching Cam Newton as our quarterback and he tried his best to win here. However, we often look at our players with rose tinted glasses rather than seeing what everyone else sees and comments on.

Incorrect, I’ve not taken the bait. I listened to what he said and I can appreciate his standpoint. He would rather have an MVP and made the impact he did than have a career like Brad Johnson or Nick Foles, both of whom won super bowls but would never been considered hall of fame or MVP caliber quarterbacks. However, that is a very ‘me’ orientated way of thinking, though I guess swapping it for a Super Bowl ring could be considered in a similar way. Like I said, I don’t blame him for his point of view, but his reaction doesn’t surprise me and shouldn’t surprise anyone else.