MHS831

He is playing with limited technique and doing OK--when he gets some technique, as you say, it should improve.

He sure has--I like him.

I will just bullet some things that I saw that are very encouraging signs: 1. Tommy Tremble showed that he can be a starting TE. His routes were crisp, and we know what he can do as a blocker. It moved. 2. Our problems all year on the OL have been at G. G is an easy position to effectively address. Christensen, Corbett, and Zavala (potential is there) have been injured. I saw some fire from Cade Mays--it was as if the light came on a bit. 3. At T, Ickey needs some coaching---I thought Campen was going to be great--he has not been. Does that mean he is not an experienced coach? No, but it does mean that he is not a good fit in this system and he is probably not a good communicator with this particular group of players--and he has had some injuries, but I see Ickey's lack of development as a reason to let him go. 4. Moten will count $30m against the cap next season, and frankly, at 30 and playing RT, I do not see that happening. I think BC can play RT, and although he may not be quite as good, we could bring in a stud RG in free agency (I think Corbett is probably done?) and maybe a stud DL. 5. It takes most WRs a year or two to develop, so I am very bullish on Smith-Marsette and Mingo. We need Theilen in the slot for another season. Chark had a good game, but he needs 2 more before I give him a contract. We need a true #1. We need some depth on the OL, a RG, some coaching, and maybe another TE. That sounds like a lot, but if Tremble can step up and be a weapon at TE, if someone can teach Ekwonu some mechanics, if we can get a stud RG, and if we add an elite WR, I see the offense getting better. And we need a coach who can scheme to Bryce's skill set.

If Bryce has 2 more good games, we will get a good coach to come here. No coach wants to go to a place without a good or potentially good QB.

Yes. It was Christmas magic.

When most of you were trashing Bryce with more venom than a Forest Cobra, I compared the situation to Tua in Miami--crickets. I stand by that comparison. We were able to give Bryce time once we replaced Jensen with Jackson at RG. It is not that our WRs were not getting open as some announcers say, it was that there is a brief period after the break--the top of the route, that creates separation and then closes quickly. Pass rush that disallows the QB from throwing the ball at the right time makes the WRs seem to be covered because the QB was late--This is a positive step in the right direction--I really did not care about losing (as much as I cared about seeing our offense step up. Now do it 2 more times.

the lack of a threatening TE is killing us. Chark on most teams is a role player, Theiland is a slot, and Mingo is a #3 or 4. Throw in the fact that our top 3 guards have been on IR most of the year, and it is what it is--Bryce may suck, but there is not much of an opportunity for him to succeed.

Derrick Brown is the reason our D is stuffing the run. Best DT in franchise history, and that includes Kris Jenkins, who was very good. He plays more snaps, runs to the whistle, and draws double teams.

I want white helmets. Call me crazy moron fool dolt idiot man, but that is what I think would look best with all of our variations. And please don't call me that. It would hurt my feelings.

I get the feeling that Tabor is out of his league/comfort zone as a HC, but I admire his effort. The players seem to like him, fwiw.

I had the thought, but man, we need him doing what he is doing. Out of curiosity, I would like to know how many times an internal promotion leads to success--or is it better to move on to a different organization. I was promoted once from a peon to a managerial dweeb, and it was difficult to get people to see me in my new role. Just a thought.

Same page, brother, but I will repeat this: I was not referring to the last offensive stand--I was referring to the second FG at the beginning of the 4th quarter. So that nullifies what you are saying-I agree with you 100%, but it does not address my point accurately. Now we need to run the table...

Some bright spots: Offensive Line: The team's top three guards have been on IR for most of the seasons (Corbett, BC, and Zavala). Jensen and Mays have been given some valuable experience, so we should have decent depth on the interior OL next season. Our T situation is going to get better when someone teaches Ekwonu some mechanics. Personally, I think we need to coach up what we have (after restructuring Moton's deal or trading him, moving BC to RT) and develop some OL chemistry. That means we can focus on WR and TE in free agency. Running Back: Hubbard has become a beast. Wide Receiver: I think Theilen should stay in the slot and we need to bring in a #1 WR free agent and maybe a draft pick-- and draft a solid TE. Mingo and Smith-Marsette (I see him emerging and he is 24) could be the fourth and fifth WRs. I think Ricci was developing into a pass catching TE before going to IR. So we are not that far away--but when you are playing with third string interior offensive linemen, the defense seemed to use that to get in Bryce's face all season. No separation from the WRs (and a LOT of that is based on timing-when Bryce saw them, they had already taken one of two steps out of their breaks- and that is too late. So I am optimistic that this can be fixed and that Bryce is not as bad as people here say he is.

TDs win games too--what we want to see is a system that believes in the players and does not play timid. The difference between 1 and 2 wins in a season is not that important to me, to be honest, because neither wins were impressive--neither seemed to be building towards a brighter 2024, in my opinion. We scored a total of 24 points in both wins (both chip shot FGs at the buzzer) and we scored 1 TD and had 6 FGs. Yes, I celebrated the win, but wishing the team to be more aggressive and go for TDs does not suggest that anyone was rooting for them to lose. I was disgusted by the lack of aggression when the Panthers settled for the second FG.

Let's not forget, our stadium is never full when playing teams whose fans do not travel. We'd a had a decent turnout playing Pittsburgh or Dallas. Sad, but true.

Many of you misread my post--I was not talking about the end of the game--that was the right play--but earlier, on third down, I think we played to conservatively and took the FG--I wanted to see a pass in the end zone--maybe they are protecting Young--but I was not sure making the score 7-6 was smart--it turned out Okay, but if we had not had that game winning drive, many of us would be speculating that decision.

We do seem to abandon what is working. Personally, I was excited about this staff based on the preseason hype. I can wait to see all of them--except Evero--gone.

It was, but I was thinking more in terms of the pattern they have exhibited in the past and earlier in the game. I don't think I said specifically during the last drive--but instead of taking knees, I guess it is more risky to run Hubbard up the gut with both arms around the ball? They might have let him score--I dunno

I see the strategy at the end of the game, but earlier, when there were inside the 10, I thought they played it safe.

when we get in field goal range, we play conservative--for the FG. Good teams go for the the throat and attempt these things called "touchdowns." In Charlotte, "touchdowns" are as rare as drop kicks or safeties. The players on this team are poorly coached--finding out who to keep and who to dump is going to be the real test of the next GM. Derrick Brown, as I have been saying, is the best player on the team--not even close.

this is hard to watch----just throw the damn ball. tired of field goals.

With Cam Newton, Ron Rivera was NFL coach of the year twice. Bill B. lost about 55% of his games without Brady. I am impressed with what they are doing in Houston with a rookie QB, NY Jets are doing well, and Sean Payton has got Denver playing well. The Niners are winning with Mr. Irrelevant. Seattle? Miami?--that is coaching. What is in their drinking water? Bill did not have to worry about the QB position for 2 decades--man, that makes the job so much easier. Gave him more time to work on things like spygate and inflate gate. His ego was built with false bravado. Any coach who had the GOAT at QB for 20 years might be a bit overvalued. Bringing him here reminds me of Seifert.

playing a Southern dome team in heavy rain and 39 degree weather? Sounds like our best chance for win #2

We have never been good at drafting WRs, but I actually saw him bullying Dwayne Jarrett at an OTA and mentioned it to Jarrett afterwards...He was visibly upset, and shook my hand very firmly. Smith was in his head and it was upsetting him. That is one example and I do not make points based on isolated cases, but add that to the two punch outs, and it suggests that Smith is not a person who excels at nurturing talent around him. I even said something to Moose about it later (after he returned from the Bears) and he just smiled (very likeable, laid back dude) and he said, "Some folks see teammates as competition." He then joked, "I was here before him. He knows better than to get into my head." Smith has a rep for being an Asshat, so my theory is consistent with the rumors if nothing else--btw, Moose added that Smith is a great guy, a family man, and a heck of a competitor. We then joked about Kenny Moore saying that he had a #87 jersey as a kid growing up in Charlotte--and it was a toddler shirt. (Moore was a WR here for a brief period who grew up in Charlotte) they were teammates.

How many WRs prospered in Carolina with Smitty as their mentor? I'll wait over here.