Panthers Rhule

All I know is that if our new ex-Jets can improve as much as Robbie Anderson did after coming here then I think we will all likely be satisfied at the end of this season. I'll admit that I jumped on the Rhule wagon after his first press conference. That speech made me want to suit up and go play for him. Today, I am still on that wagon mostly do to 3 things. We were much better and more competitive than I expected. All of our young talent seemed to have improved which means good coaching usually and Anderson. He was supposed to be a 1 trick pony but Rhule said he thought he could do more and when he came here he did and had his best season. I'm looking forward to seeing this process continue as we bring in more young guys that haven't reached their potential yet and Rhule and co. continue to coach guys up.

I agree once again. Darnold has a pretty good pocket presence but he can throw on the move pretty well too. I think we can set up some bootlegs and roll outs for him too. I think he would have success doing that and it will force the defense to change a little which should help him out some when he does stay in the pocket. His skill set gives us more possibilities with the offense.

Thank you! Excellent post and observation. I've watched him some too and saw some of the same things. I noticed that when he was moving on zone blocks he was quite effective. Not as good in man which brings down is "rating" but I think he fits us well and could be an ok starter.

Well, let's look at this season's schedule, shall we? Home: Atlanta Falcons, New Orleans Saints, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Washington Football Team, Philadelphia Eagles, New England Patriots, New York Jets, Minnesota Vikings Road: Atlanta Falcons, New Orleans Saints, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, New York Giants, Dallas Cowboys, Buffalo Bills, Miami Dolphins, Arizona Cardinals 17th game (location TBD): Houston Texans This season's schedule looks easier than last season's. At least on paper and before the season starts. It looks like the Saints and Falcons should be less talented. Especially the Saints but the Falcons have new coaches so we'll see. TB returned every old guy from last season. Can they repeat? I doubt it. I'd say we are at least .500 in division. We play the worst division in the NFL. Every team in the NFC east is beatable. Let's stay modest at .500 but really, I expect at least .750 here. Next we have the AFC east. Tougher than above but again, let's go .500 here. Random, Vikings, Cardinals and Texans. All are beatable. Let's say .666 Based on schedule and projected talent of these teams pre draft, I'd say low bar is 8-9 but honestly I expect better than that. I'd say between 10-7 and 12-5. I think both sides of the ball will be better and we will win some of those close games this season. I think a wild card spot is possible.

Sorry dude, but no freakin way Slater is there at 20. This would be a BIG NO for me.

I see Pitts as more of a WR than a TE. He's almost the exact size of Calvin Johnson with speed and great hands. The problem with only looking at position listed as OT is you must consider their skill set. We use a Zone blocking scheme. Only half of those OTs fit us and none are nearly as good as Slater.

I didn't mean it as an evaluation of Fields, there are many other topics for that, I was only speaking specifically about this trade back scenario. The only way I could see this happening was if it were for Fields or Lance. But yeah, I'm looking forward to seeing what we do in this draft. Especially after the last one.

Yeah they always scare me first round same with QBs and LTs but also same as those, elite CBs are rarely found after the 1st. It's possible same as with QBs and LTs but rare compared to other positions.

I totally disagree. HE and Lance are the 2 players that would give us the best haul in a trade back scenario. HE is the player the Pats might be willing to give up too much for making the risk of trading down to possibly get a player like Horn over a Slater or Waddle or Pitts even something to consider as it could bring not only another high pick this year but maybe a first next year too. He and Lance are what we are selling, not what we're buying.

In this situation, I assume you basically throwing out the trade down a few a picks and we can still get this guy, what do you think? I mean, I'm like most around here, I'd like Slater or Pitts and if they were both gone I'd definitely be ok with trading down a few picks if it came with a nice haul if it meant we could still get someone like Horn. I think he's very good and it would be nice to have an elite corner if he does turn out to be that. I'm hoping this will be the highest pick we have earned in the draft for a long time so I just want it to be a great player that helps this team win for a long time. If we can do that with our first pick and perhaps get a couple of other good players too then sure, why not?

Also, in this interview, he was asked about being successful. He basically just said he will not judge his success in life based on football but by the husband and father he will be for his family. (He did just get married and it sounds like a bun is in the oven). He then said his football success he knows will be based on his wins so he'll start there. He'll work hard to win and to win a Super Bowl. Hopefully a few Super Bowls. Even in this answer the way he said it sounded like he knows what he supposed to say and he does actually want those things too but hints at there being something much more profound to it but he dares not even attempt to go there in today's lost culture. I personally thought his answers were great. We need more answers like that, not fewer. Everyone loves to say it's a business, he basically just said the same thing in a better way. He will not be defined by football. He loves the game but in the end it's just business now. The game is over. He's not a little boy anymore and he knows this. I even like the fact that he says he knows he will be judged on winning Super Bowls and it's true but hints that it's really something more than that. Somehow in these last years society has become superficial where we judge greatness based on a title. As if Joe Flacco is greater than Dan Marino because of a title. Elis is as great as Payton because of titles. We forget it's a team game. Hell Archie Manning may have been the best Manning and spent is whole career with the sorry Saints. But no title. I like seeing a young athlete with real values at such a young age that has the balls to basically say that football doesn't make me a great man but I will be a great man that plays football. That's what everyone should say each and every day whether it's football, and office, a factory or anything else and understanding that being a great man starts and ends with your family.

Did you watch the interview? t's not like that at all.

If only they had remembered to do their jobs and look at him! They really need to write that down in their agendas. "Remember to look at the QB whose name is on the program! Do not trade for someone else's QB who is their to look at QB whose name is on the program!!! That way they wouldn't do anything stupid.

I prefer Slater over Sewell for sure. Sewell makes me nervous as a top 10 pick. It feels like everything comes to easy for him. I could see him being 1 of those guys who starts ok but fizzles out quickly because they never learned how to push for it and once they get a little older it catches up to them. Similarly to what happened with Star at DT.

Well at Fields' last pro day we were able to trade for Darnold. Maybe they are hoping we can get another trade at his 2nd pro day. Perhaps someone to take Teddy?

I think Pitts is more of a WR than a TE. His size is almost identical to Calvin Johnson. He's fast and has great hands. Imagine him and Arnold on the field at the same time in the redzone. A defense couldn't cover both of them.

Darrisaw may be the 2nd best LT in the class but that doesn't mean anything. He's a power man blocker. He doesn't fit the scheme man. Folks have to learn it isn't always about who's the best it's about who can do what we want them to do. If the 49ers draft Mac it isn't necessarily because they think he's the 3rd best QB but it's because they think he can do what they want him to do. This is why when owners draft for their team the results never work out. Good teams draft the right players for their scheme and everything else be damned.

Exactly!!! Also the uniforms but I'm hoping that will come up soon too. I would love to get rid of the Silver. Especially the helmets.

Just look at Josh Allen last season. He really showed out. Is there one person who can honestly say that if the roles were reversed and that Allen had played the last 3 seasons for the Jets that he would've been in the MVP conversation? Do you think Lamar Jackson would be considered a Franchise QB playing for the Jets? It'd even be hard to say for sure that the great Mahomes would be considered great if he started game 1 with the Jets. Darnold has talent and deserves a chance playing for a good coaching staff and system before being dismissed. He's only 23. I see it as we just drafted a top the QB without spending a 1st round pick.

From the way I read it, his recommendation was character based. Great guy with a strong work ethic. Rhule is a hardworking coach who wants hard working players. Guys who give 110% can be coached and will improve and Rhule is all about that. We saw the majority of our players improve last season. The ones who didn't are gone. I saw an ex football player who now works at ESPN, I can't remember his name. He was at the Senior bowl workouts and saw Rhule coaching all week. He was all in on Darnold becoming a good QB at Carolina. I'm paraphrasing but he said something like after watching Rhule work really hard and really coaching those kids all week that he was really impressed by him and he had not doubt that Darnold would succeed under Rhule.

But isn't Slater a maybe LT and more of a definite OG? He doesn't really have the build of a true LT does he? Sewell is definitely an LT if that's what we want.

Just the 1st 4 rounds w/trades

Trey Smith isn't a good fit for us I think. He's not a mover. More of a power blocker (man) and we play zone

Lots of good players in these mocks. But I'm not sure you are considering what schemes we play. Especially with the OL. The OL in these drafts are not very mobile and therefore wouldn't be good fits for us. Our lineman need to be athletic and able to move and reach the LBs.

I just did a mock with trade downs and ups. I tried to get picks but be aggressive for specific players. I really like some player that are late first to late second round picks so the plan was to get 3 in that range and recover 2022 picks for Darnold. All players should improve with coaching, fit our scheme, and improve areas we are missing. The objective was to get as much potential quality starters in the first 4 rounds as possible by trading aggressively. The idea being that when building a roster, 3 good players is better than 1 great player. Great players are usually found in the first half of round 1, sometimes and in this draft hopefully also later but you can get many solid players and potential early starters from picks 17- 64 too. So the idea was hit hit hard in that area and finsh rounds 2 and 3 with needs that could become starters soon. Here's how it went. First I traded down to 13 with Chargers for picks 13, 47 (Wyatt Davis G), 118. Pick 13 (traded to Cleveland for picks 26 (Greg Newsome II CB), 59 (Elijah Molden CB/FS), and 2022 2nd Then traded up with Jax, offered picks 39 and 73 for 33 (Alex Leatherwood LT) and 106 (Drew Dalman C/G) Pick 113 (Bobby Brown DT). In conclusion: 26- Greg Newsome II CB - Nice-sized corner with a terrific feel for coverage. Feisty, mixes it up with receivers, and competes defending the pass. Quick flipping his hips in transition, fluid pedaling in reverse, and rarely challenged by opponents. Quick to read and diagnose, instinctive, and gets his head back around to locate the ball. Possesses a nice move to the throw and solid ball skills. Speed is a concern, though Newsome should be able to play in bump-and-run or even zone. 33- Alex Leatherwood LT - Athletic left tackle prospect with a large upside. Sets with a wide base, blocks with leverage, and stays square. Fires off the snap into blocks, keeps his head on a swivel, and displays excellent blocking vision. Explosive, quick out to the second level, and easily adjusts to hit a moving target. Displays solid footwork off the edge and terrific lateral blocking range. Gets his hands into pass rushers, riding them from their angles of attack. Agile, mobile, and keeps his feet moving. Makes excellent use of blocking angles. Quick and fluid pulling across the line of scrimmage and blocking in motion. He's a natural left tackle with the footwork and movement skills to be used in a zone-blocking system, but Leatherwood must get stronger 47- Wyatt Davis OG - Athletic guard with terrific size and upside. Sets with a wide base, bends his knees, and consistently gets leverage on opponents. Fires off the snap, fluidly gets out to the second level, and is outstanding blocking in motion. Easily slides in space displaying good lateral blocking range, stays square, and keeps his feet moving. Very effective with his hands, properly placing them into defenders and displaying strength in his game. Terrific leader on the offensive line who is intelligent and quickly picks up assignments. He's a zone-blocking lineman with outstanding size and needs only to improve his finishing strength to complete his game. 59- Elijah Molden CB/FS - Tough, instinctive safety with a terrific game. Quick reading and diagnosing the action, explosive, and plays with a degree of suddenness. Fast arriving on the scene, sells out to make plays, and effectively times his pass defenses. Takes proper angles, moves well laterally, and possesses a closing burst. Stays with coverage assignments, stays on the receiver’s hip out of breaks, and possesses terrific ball skills facing the action. Does a great job leading the defense and quarterbacking the secondary. Does not bite on crossing patterns or receivers’ moves and can burst to the ball out of his plant. Molden offers potential as a free safety or even in a zone system, and won't be a liability lined up against a slot receiver. 106- Drew Dalman C/OG - Two-year starter who lined up at both guard and center for Stanford. Explosive zone-blocking lineman with nice upside. Explosive, fires into blocks, and quickly gets out to the second level. Fluid if asked to pull across the line of scrimmage, plays with great pad level, and consistently gets leverage on opponents. Stays square, moves smoothly about the field, and easily redirects to hit a moving target. Keeps his head on a swivel and works well with linemates. Effective with the shotgun snap. Dalman was a smart, tough zone-blocking lineman who was effective at both center and guard. He lacks next-level power and needs a running start, but he would be very effective in a system that puts linemen in motion. 113- Bobby Brown DT- Explosive three-technique tackle who plays with outstanding fundamentals. Fires off the snap, plays with excellent pad level, and draws the focus of opponents. Consistently gets leverage on blockers, shows agility, and immediately alters his angle of attack and redirects to the action. Moves well laterally chasing the play down the line of scrimmage. Aggressive. Tough to move off the point. Brown possesses the size and style to line up as a three-technique tackle or one-gap defensive lineman. He possesses an upside and should only improve as he gets stronger in time. Cleveland Browns 2nd round pick in 2022 Summary: We add 3 athletic, zone blocking players at positions of need, OT, OG and OC/OG respectively. While none are the best blockers at their positions, each are well suited for our zone blocking scheme and have up side. The first 2 could start in year 1 and definitely by year 2. Even the 3rd could find early playing time and perhaps become our replacement for Paradis at Center. Their weaknesses are all the same, strength, which we all know can easily be improved. We also add 2 DBs, CB and CB/FS. Again, positions of need. Both are well suited for Zone schemes which we run and have good coverage skills and have versatility and read plays well. With an effective pass rush their weaknesses will be less and the opportunity to Ints should increase as both are capable of reading and anticipating throws. Their skill sets compliment our other DBs very well. Lat, we add a solid 3 tech into our rotation which is again a position of need with his weakness once again being strength which is easy to improve. As a bonus, we recover the most controversial pick we used to get Darnold and that's a second rounder. This only cover the first 4 rounds. We still had 4 more picks to add to depth but in all, while we didn't land the 1st or 2nd graded player at each position, we did land 3 players in the top 5 of their class and the other 2 were top 10. Leather was 6th but for our scheme he was 3rd. Molden could arguably be the 1st FS although he is listed as a CB. He could and would probably play a CB in some situations but the other top safeties are more suited for Strong, which we already have. His skill set is something that we are missing. Of all the mocks I've done I really like these 4 rounds. What do you guys think about this 4 round draft? Do you like the strategy? Do you like the players?