Mage

CJ Stroud looks like a future Hall of Fame QB. And I don't say that lightly. It ain't even about the numbers. It isn't about the Texans winning games and going to the postseason. It is all about the throws he makes. That isn't scheme. That isn't supporting cast. His deep ball is just... you can't do anything about it. I always knew he was a great passer though. It was his ability to move in the pocket and be a playmaker outside of it that I questioned. But I think he's proving me wrong on that. He will never be much of a runner, but he can rip it downfield accurately while on the move. It is a little similar to Drew Brees. Brees wasn't someone who was taking off and running, but the way he could navigate the pocket was second to none.

White DEs/edge rushers are a different breed. Hutchinson, Bosa, TJ Watt, Crosby... they are built different man lol Burns is a good player but he doesn't have that kind of edge to him.

Panthers suck. Bucs are average.

And it wasn't just a one-time thing with Eli. He wasn't a consistent QB but he was crazy clutch. You can't say the same about Rivers. Was he a better QB than Eli? Sure, but with the game on the line, give me Eli 100%.

That's still pretty concerning though. Amon-Ra, La Porta, and Gibbs looked great as rookies under Campbell. I know Williams missed some time due to injury and suspension, but very concerning that he's not making an impact and/or getting PT (he played 70% of the offensive snaps last week though). I think he's a talented guy but I don't know if it will happen with Detroit/Goff (Goff is a good QB but not exactly the ideal QB for Jameson).

This is why it is important for fans to remember how coveted and rare a HC job is, and why 90% of candidates (basically anyone but the very elite who will always have interest from teams) aren't gonna turn down jobs. I know the Panthers job isn't ideal, but it is still one of 32 positions in the NFL and will pay you a lot of money. Kafka went from highly-interviewed last year to not getting much interest. Things change so fast in the NFL that one year you look great, the next year? Not so much. Hard for coaches to risk that. Ben Johnson took the risk and it paid off. But imagine if the Lions got hit with injuries and their offense finished near bottom of the league. He wouldn't be as exciting of a candidate. I still think Johnson decided to stay another year because the energy in the building at Detroit was out of this world.

Too bad Jameson Williams is beginning to look like a bust. He's like the only skill-position player in that offense that never has a big game. I wonder if he simply isn't a good fit on that team.

Macdonald has the LOOK. I think he would bring toughness back to the Carolinas.

And it has never made much sense. Tepper has a lot of problems, but I don't think he's forcing players onto us. If the scouts/GM/HC were adamant CJ Stroud was the guy to take, we would have taken Stroud. I think Tepper put a lot of pressure on the org to go out and get a QB. But I very much doubt he was telling them they had to take Bryce.

My point is that if you are going to put the bad decisions made by Fitt onto Morgan because the latter worked under him, then you have to also put the good decisions made by Beane onto Morgan as he also worked under him. You can't have it one way and not the other. And yes, the reality of the situation is that we really don't know how much input Dan Morgan had in either respective front office.

I mean Dan Morgan worked under Brandon Beane in Buffalo for the same amount of years. Why are we putting all the Fitt blame on him but none of the Beane credit? Nobody really knows how much influence Morgan may or may not have had. And I'm not saying that to say it would be a great hire or people shouldn't be frustrated. Just think it wouldn't be right to act like Morgan would be a guaranteed disaster. It is hard to tell.

This is how I feel. Do I want Dan Morgan? Not particularly, just because it would be nice to know we have new voices. But someone brought up a good point about Brandon Beane earlier. A lot of people didn't want him when we were looking for a GM in 2013 for the same reasons (assumed he was more of the same as Hurney). You just never know. It would be a hire that doesn't excite me, but I'd give him a fair chance. After all, if you want to blame him for Fitt's decisions, then you have to give him credit for helping contribute to the turnaround in Buffalo (where he had a more specific role, whereas he's just the "Assistant GM" here... hard to tell what his primary focus was or if he was just there to learn things and follow in the footsteps). Nevertheless nailing the HC hire matters more to me right now anyway.

Eh, I feel like Slowik is definitely a realistic candidate. I'd argue Ben Johnson too, but the Commanders are certainly in the driver's seat. However there are only so many HC jobs available. Possible if not likely the Panthers are the only team who end up offering Slowik a HC job.

Regardless of how you feel about Bryce as a player, this should be a lesson to not predict injuries based off someone's size. A player who can hold up in the SEC isn't suddenly going to break in half in the NFL. Being "injury prone" really just comes down to genetics and bad luck, not size, especially for athletes who are all in great shape. I'm not saying this to defend Bryce's play, he sucked. I just feel like that was a narrative held against him and for no reason. That he wouldn't hold up taking hits. In the future if a player doesn't have a history of injuries, we shouldn't assume he'll suddenly start getting hurt.

I'm sold. GIVE ME SLOWIK. Having someone from the Shanahan tree would be nice.

Once Ben Johnson completes his interviews with us and the Commanders, we should start hearing more information. Panthers should have a good feel after that interview where we stand with him.

He'd be smart to return IMO. There is risk but the Texans offense has so much potential to be even better next year that his stock could skyrocket. Right now I bet he wouldn't get the deal Ben Johnson likely will get. But with another year under his belt, he could. And 2nd year CJ Stroud is something I'm willing to bet on as an OC.

Brian Callahan's resume on paper seems super weak.

Hmmm. I'd probably prefer Harbaugh if I was a Falcons fan. I'd be concerned about Belichick acquiring and developing a new young QB. And that is a young team. Harbaugh seems like he'd be the easier coach to resonate with for a lot of their players.

Don't teams have to make that information public? Don't think they can just interview a candidate on the low without anyone finding out, but I could be wrong. Because they have to put the request in through the NFL anyway (not sure how that works with college coaches though).

The one positive IMO is that you aren't tied down to anyone long-term (even Bryce with it being a rookie contract wouldn't be crippling to move on from if he shows no development). If you are confident in yourself as a GM, you can mold this team to your liking as opposed to going to a team with less flexibility.

Also, the Browns are still a good team. The trade sucked, but it didn't ruin them. They will be in the playoff race with Watson next year. Panthers made the trade and ended up being so bad they earned the No. 1 Pick the following year, which now belongs to another team. The Panthers trade (as of right now, unless Bryce turns is around) has done far more harm to us than the Browns trade has done to them. And IMO it is more likely Watson turns it around than Young does.

My (small amount) of optimism is due to Tepper being mostly in the background during the first couple of years of Rhule's tenure here. I do think if the team was winning he would chill out a lot. The problem is he needs to get us to the point where we are winning.

Almost all teams do this before they hire a new HC unless they know for 100% certainty they are doing a clean sweep. Last year the Broncos denied the Falcons a chance to request Evero for DC. Sucks for them but not a big deal.