KillaCamNewton

Just absolute asinine roster building and asset allocation in hindsight we hired a new coach in 2020 and lost our 4 most prominent players in Cam, Luke and Olsen (and basically KK Short) and then a pandemic hit so everyone expected to take a step back while I never wanted Teddy to be our guy longterm he managed the game well and ran the offense well and was the perfect bridge QB. CMC got hurt but it was clear he was still arguably the best skill player in the league we had a great receiving corps with DJ, Chosen, and Samuel all over 1k yards and we had Burns going into his 3rd year and starting to become a star and the Brown and Chinn picks looked like homeruns at the same time the Matt Ryan/Julio era for the Falcons and the Brees era for the Saints were ending and even though the Bucs won the Super Bowl they obviously had a short window with Brady if this dumbass franchise led by dumbass Rhule and Fitterer could have just stayed patient and let Teddy play out his contract and continue developing young talent and locking them up long term we would probably have a roster comparable to the Seahawks and healthy Niners while the rest of the division is rebuilding. If you look at the playoffs right now the best teams are mostly teams with stacked defenses, solid playmakers and a QB either on a rookie deal or a veteran that isnt breaking the bank. the Burrows, Mahomeses, Daks, Goffs, Jacksons tying up all their teams caps are all sitting at home instead they thought Sam Darnold was such an upgrade over Teddy that they just had to get him and then after he beat Zach Wilson, Jameis Winston and Davis Mills decided we were a player away from contention and began swinging for the fences and mortgaging the future once that failed they trade away the future offensive player of the year to acquire picks and then trade away WR1 because they felt like Bryce Young was going to put a 7-10 team over the hump if this franchise has learned anything in the last 5 years they will use this years draft and cap space on upgrading the defense and do nothing to give Bryce a long term deal and continue building the team the correct way the Falcons are in QB purgatory and dont have a 1st round pick, the Saints still have a long ways to go as Cam Jordan and Demario Davis are on their last legs as is Kamara and Olave is one more shot to the head away from retirement. Shough wouldnt be the first QB to look good as a rookie and then regress after teams have an offseason of film on him. Bucs are toast as most of that defense is on its last legs and Evans is nearing there too. If we can be patient we have a great opportunity to control this division the next few years.

is it outrageous to assume horn and moehrig being out played a big part in how easy the rams moved the ball in the first matchup?

do we know if davante adams is playing?

no one in their rights minds thought 10 years ago when we ran a stacked Cardinals team off the field in the NFCCG while having arguably the best player in the league and the 1-1A best defensive player in the league both in their mid 20s that it would take another decade to host the next playoff game anyone not excited whether we fell into the division title or not is a loser fan lol

In 2014 when we had prime Cam and prime Kuechly maybe. No one cared when we were playing in Seattle second week of the playoffs and looked like we belonged we werent winning the Super Bowl this year, winning the division regardless of the circumstances was the goal and we accomplished it

Guys, 2 years ago it looked like we were a decade away from competing in a week were hosting a playoff game there isnt anyone on this board that wouldnt have taken that 2 years ago, regardless of the circumstances we might have a few wins we stole but we also wouldnt lose to Arizona again, gave the SF game away, choked both Saints games and last night got hosed by officiating if we somehow steal a win against the Rams again theres no way you count a divisional round appearance (and possibly beyond) as a failed season

Again, this is probably a bottom 5 roster in the league to win games when youre the less talented team you have to minimize mistakes and limit big plays. Our margin of error is lower than the other team in probably every game this year other than the Jets game and the 2 Saints games. Its not fun to watch but it’s the best way to win. We took the training wheels off Bryce the first 2 games and we saw the result when he continuously put the defense in bad positions. As bad as this defense is on 3rd downs the scheme usually allows us to hold teams to field goals. When we don’t turn the ball over 3 times a game the defense holds up well. The issue with the offense is when the running game isnt doing much like tonight you see how one dimensional the offense is

Crazy how we could have a secondary full of JAGs and UDFA and still have a top 5 defense under Rivera simply because we could get pressure with 4 guys and Luke could tell everyone where the ball was going

Has any team tried putting him at middle linebacker? This is one of the more puzzling draft busts I can remember he has top 1% measurables, played multiple positions in college and obviously had the production is it the systems he has always been in? Jeremy Chinn looked like Sean Taylor in Phil Snow’s defense and then couldnt get on the field with Evero

We miss Luvu more than Burns tbh

I don’t disagree. I judge talent level by how many blue chip players you have on the roster. I would say we have 3 at best and the third is Hunt who has been out all year. This is a bottom 5 roster in that sense but whatever it is, whether its the style of play, the gameplan, or the scheme, teams alot more talented than us tend to play bad games against us, yesterday included. The difference is they have much bigger margins of error than we do. We had no answer for the Rams in the 1st half and absolutely benefitted from a pick 6 and an interception in the end zone. We also virtually shut them out in the second half and didnt exactly have trouble moving the ball either that’s why it’s hard for me to write them off in the playoffs, especially when the 1st game will be at home. We have a 12 game sample size against the NFC, and ironically the only game where it looked like we were outmatched and had no business being on the field with was the majority of the Arizona game we have 4 potential match ups in the 1st round. We beat two of them and one no longer has their best player and the other one’s best player is currently injured. The other 2 were very winnable games and I would argue we played just as bad as they did. Even yesterday that offense wasnt getting anything against us other than a backup running back getting chunk plays. We also gave them 3 short fields

If we get a home playoff game who is blowing us out? we beat the Rams, smoked the game against SF, and were a Horn penalty away from having the ball in the 4th to tie it up yesterday i am not naive enough to think this is a super bowl roster but how would anyone not want a spot in the dance in a year where Burrow Mahomes and possibly Lamar Jackson are out of the playoffs and the 1 seed in the NFC is likely going to be a team QB’d by Sam Darnold?

I dont even think this years roster is even top 10 in terms of talent in our history But you look at the standings right now and if we can handle business and win the division this conference looks wide open for a team like ours to make a surprise run. Very possible we could be hosting the NFC Championship if we pull a win out of our ass in the divisional round. Assuming the standings hold up were looking at a Niners team round 1 that we honestly should have beat and then it’s very possible the Eagles and Bears get upset as well by the Rams/Packers/Seahawks. If he’s healthy theres no way you dont bring back your best road grader lineman

What loss do you put on him other than the 49ers where we clearly could have won that one going away if we didnt abandon the run? the Jags and Pats losses looked bad 3 months ago, today they are likely the AFC title game. Saints are clearly not a basement dweller since pulling Rattler and they just happen to match up well against us. Bills we had no shot trotting handicapped Andy out there. Cardinals Bryce lost that game in the first quarter

The hate he gets from this fanbase is mind boggling. He’s not Sean McVay but facts are he inherited the least talented roster in football, a QB people were comparing to Jamarcus Russell in terms of being a bust, no 1st round pick, and in his second year has us 1 win away from hosting our first playoff game in 10 years not only that but theres a clear and complete culture change and the team is completely bought in. Rhule would have lost the rest of the games of the season after that first Saints loss. We dont have the horses yet to be a powerhouse but its pretty clear we have a young talented team that plays with an edge and can beat anyone on a given day. Imagine if we had half the talent Rhule had in 2021

Try to lock it up. Trap game for Seattle, trap game for the Bucs

i watched dj moore abuse patrick surtain in 2022 when the broncos played here the rules and league are set up for the WR to win 1 on 1 match ups, i'm not gonna trip over a corner getting beat off a slant on the goal line

if the kicker misses it we would be bitching why we gave the saints the ball at midfield in a one possession game instead of trying to convert a 4th and inches. are the odds better of getting an inch or a rookie kicker hitting a 52 yard field goal? he's 2 of 4 btw this year over 50 yards if we convert worst case we still end up with 3 but milk another 3 minutes off the clock, OR we end up with 7 and put the game pretty much out of reach. at the end of the day there's no excuse for the swiss cheese defense. the saints marched right down the field and we got a lucky stop on 4th down after they negated their field goal and the following drive they scored going down the field with about 5 chunk plays. a 3 and 10 team without kamara and starting a 2nd round rookie with 1 legit receiver and we let them look like the 2007 Pats in the 4th quarter. Blame Evero

My issue with the last play is the saints clearly had no intention of running another play and were banking on the refs throwing a flag. Im all for protecting QBs but if you wanna run a designed run he needs to be treated like a regular football player. Its incredibly frustrating after a decade of watching Cam get destroyed. Do we really want to pretend if that was Rico taking a direct snap and sliding right before the defender engages that were getting that call?

Because we ran so well against NO last time

Youre telling me man. The last year i lived in NC the Panthers went 1-15 and the Heels went 8-20 their worst year ever. Family moved to Arizona that summer and of course we made the Super Bowl the next year and UNC got a natty the year after

i turn 32 next week so i've basically grown up with the team. one of my earliest memories from my childhood is going to a game after thanksgiving in cold and overcast weather and beating the kurt warner and marshall faulk rams. eerie that it was almost 25 years later to the day, and we beat a super bowl contending rams team on a cold overcast day and strangely enough both games had a panthers pick 6 that ended up being the difference. the game in 2000 put us to 6-7 while sunday's game moved us to 7-6. looking back there's a lot of similarities with the night and day kind of team. that 2000 team swept the defending super bowl champs rams but were swept by the 4-12 falcons. had a dominant MNF win over Favre and the Packers but had a dogfight shootout against the 1-15 chargers. hopefully this year ends better than that team's

in regards to Horn we basically move him to the short side of the field so that he can cut off that side on his own and we can roll more coverage to the wide side

Wouldnt need that today if not for questionable officiating to be fair. Refs killed 2 drives that were headed for TDs with phantom holds. I dont think the Rams had a penalty all game until their delay of game on the last drive.

You dont abandon the run. That was kinda the OPs point