Mage

How can Joe Brady help Darnold any more than he possibly has? He gives him easy throws. Darnold misses them. Sure, we could commit harder to the run game, but Hubbard is the only back on the roster that we can really trust to be effective and teams aren't going to let him go wild against us. He's played well but only averaging 3.7 YPC for a reason, 2.7 last week. The fact of the matter is we tried protecting him via McCaffrey. It's why McCaffrey got so many touches. Brady can't do much more than what he's been doing to help Darnold. Darnold just lacks the IQ to get the basics down.

Who cares? His contract doesn't affect the Panthers. I'm pretty sure Tepper would have no issue firing him if it came down to that. Tepper doesn't strike me as someone who would hold onto a bad investment over a mere millions of dollars. (Not that I want Rhule to get fired. I think the hate he's getting is unnecessary. Hard to win with a piss poor QB. He 100% deserves blame for hedging his bets on Darnold, but he deserves another offseason to correct the issue).

That right there. Everyone talks about how important it is to get that QB. To me, what we gave up for Darnold, even seeing how bad he still is, was worth it to find out if he could be the guy. It ain't like he lacks the physical skills. It was worth the shot. But to pick up that 5th year option never, ever made sense. He was either going to play well enough to be worth franchise tagging or not play well enough to warrant us attaching ourselves to him for 2022.

Everyone hated on it at the time, but I kept telling everyone that the smart target would have been Jameis. Yes, the turnovers were bad... but now we have a keep with the same kind of turnover problems, but not nearly the upside that Winston has displayed throughout his career. I still don't mind passing on a QB. I liked Fields, but he had obvious question marks. I liked Jones, but who knows what his ceiling is. But we absolutely chose the wrong QB to hedge our bets on. I tried to give him a fair chance, remained optimistic, but it's clear he doesn't get IT. Winston has his problems but he's far, far better than Darnold, and it is a shame we didn't try to convince him to leave New Orleans.

Sam Darnold sucks

Darnold is who you want if you want a top ten or five pick. Clausen is who you want if you absolutely need to get the #1 overall pick.

Man, you know Jimmy Clausen was just the worst when everyone can agree Darnold is definitely better lol I'd probably have to check out the season if we had a Clausen-level QB. I can't believe we even won a game with him.

I mean, it's possible he gets traded by the deadline. But I always felt like that was a stretch.

I don't think anyone has reported we aren't interested though. Just that we pulled out but would likely pull back in the offseason when his legal situation is cleared up. But again, as Florio said, that is dependent on the Miami/Houston deal holding up. If for some reason it broke down later this week, then who knows. But in all likelihood Watson is not traded until the offseason.

That wouldn't have anything to do with why Watson wants to go to Miami though. In all likelihood, he just wants to go to Miami for the same reasons a lot of athletes want to go to Miami. Don't think it goes much deeper than that.

And look, I don't even care at this point if we get Watson or not. I'm just so sick of people creating false and fake narratives to bash the team. You don't even need to do so to bash the team. Plenty of stuff already to complain about. But nowhere has it ever been reported that Watson said no to Carolina or would not play for Carolina. Miami is simply his first option, for whatever reason, and he's only waived it for them so far. He could waive it for Carolina if the Miami deal breaks down. This has been known the entire time. It is likely why Florio said on Tuesday that if the deal was to go down that day, it would be to Miami because he's already approved them. Carolina's would take a little while longer.

Because Miami is his first option. This does not mean that he would NOT waive it for Carolina. Which has been well-known the entire time. If Houston/Miami have a deal in place, then why would Watson waive it for a 2nd team when he could go to his first option? This does not mean he would not waive it for Carolina, if the Miami deal broke down. It does not mean Watson would not play for Carolina. It does not mean we aren't 2nd in line to get Watson. You guys are reading far, far more into Ian's tweet than necessary. The only new information was that we were not going to pursue him, "at this time." And as Florio pointed out, who knows what "at this time" means? It could mean that if the Dolphins/Texans deal breaks down, then we will be back to pursuing him at another time later this week or in the offseason.

I'm sure this will be ignored too. Let's just read more into Ian's carefully worded tweet and just assume Watson would never play for the Panthers.

So I guess we're at the point where we just ignore actual logic on this forum to fit whatever negative narrative we want to push.

It had nothing to do with Watson saying he wouldn't play for Carolina and everything to do with the Panthers just either not being on the same page about Watson or not wanting to fully commit to Watson before the offseason. I'd imagine the talks only ramped up again because they truly realized how horrible Darnold is.

So you only consider reports that fit your theories?

Yes, people have ASSUMED that he would waive it for us. But we've always known the entire time that the only team Watson had officially waived it for was Miami. Not Denver, not San Fransisco, not Philly, only Miami. Ian did not report, "Panthers stopped their pursuit because Watson doesn't want to go there." He said the Panthers would not continue pursuing Watson AT THIS TIME. And then reiterated something that we already knew - Miami was the only destination he's approved so far. And then Joe Person reported that the no-trade clause did not affect us, and that we could still try to pursue him in the offseason when his legal situation is clearer. It is likely the Panthers just were not satisfied with what they heard at the meetings. I don't think it needs to be explained any clearer. If you want to keep laughing at our misery though, go ahead.

Don't think it had anything to do with the poll. I think the Panthers just weren't satisfied enough with what they heard at the meetings in regard to how many games Watson would be able to play in 2021, and decided it would be better to wait until the offseason to pursue him. If Watson outright said no to Carolina, then us pursuing him in the offseason wouldn't even be a possibility. I think the Panthers want his legal situation cleared up, and it won't be by Nov 2. The fact of the matter is, Watson being traded before the deadline was never reasonable. It is why I kept saying we wouldn't get Watson. It's just not reasonable for a team to trade for him right now.

You are making assumptions. All Ian said was that so far, the only team he's waived his no-trade clause for is Miami (which we've known for MONTHS). Didn't say that Watson outright said no to Carolina (which has been reported several times in regard to Philly, not us). Joe Person said the no-trade clause was not the issue in regard to Carolina. We likely pulled out right now because of his unclear legal situation and didn't feel the NFL cleared up enough what would happen in 2021.

I think people are reading too much into this. Joe Person said Watson could still be an option for us in the offseason, and that the no-trade clause wasn't an issue for the Panthers. In all likelihood, they just decided that it would be better to wait and see how his legal situation plays out. Watson is not getting traded before the deadline, as should have been assumed. Miami seems to be the only team that would want him before the offseason.

QB PURGATORY

A 3 point win against a Geno Smith led offense Don't get me wrong, Sean Payton is a great coach. But the Saints clearly aren't the threat they once were with Brees. QB matters, even to the best. Look at how the Seahawks are doing without Russ.

I think everyone knows he is going to get suspended. The idea is that doesn't happen until 2022, while they decide to let him play out this season while his legal troubles play out.

The truth is always somewhere in between Anderson clearly isn't this bad of a WR. But he also clearly isn't the potential #1 guy that people were trying to act like he was last year. He's an okay to solid #2 WR who can stretch defenses. Horrible fit with Darnold, because he needs a QB with consistent ball placement.