Greg Olsen talks with The Athletic

[Mr. Scot]

From Joe Person: Link

Some of Olsen's Panther related answers (edited)

You were around with Ron when the locals were starting to get restless. It seems like a different level of vitriol with Rhule. Why?

It does seem different now. Why? I don’t know. I don’t know Rhule as well as I know Ron. The one thing that always Ron had going for him was there was no locker-room leaks. There was no former free agent who goes to another team, coming out like Eli Apple, (who reportedly was told by Rhule he’d never play again after Panthers cut him). Ron didn’t have a lot of that. To this day, I don’t know if you’ve ever found one person who’s ever played for him or coached for him that has ever said anything bad about Ron. So what Ron always had going for him in the community, as a person, he was just such a good guy that he always got the benefit of the doubt. Now, I’m not suggesting that Rhule’s not. I just don’t know him as well, like I do Ron.

He also didn’t have the NFL credentials that Rivera had.

I think that’s also true. For whatever reason, right or wrong, people have a negative connotation of college coaches coming to the NFL. What Matt Rhule did to earn the job in his past days was really impressive. The time I spent with Matt before I got released, I came away really impressed with his message and with his vision and his approach. I still don’t think that just vanishes in thin air. I think expectations need to be set. They’ve gotta figure out the quarterback situation. That’s obviously been a big point of contention for fans. They moved on from Cam without a real plan and then they get Teddy (Bridgewater). They get rid of Teddy, they trade for Sam (Darnold). Sam gets off to a great start, gets hurt, he’s out. They bring Cam back. Then they don’t play either, then they play both. It’s impossible. People are saying: “We’re three years into this rebuild. If we want to be Cincinnati, we need to find a quarterback for the next 10 years.” And maybe that is Sam. I’ve always liked Sam. I like him as a guy. But more importantly, I think he has a lot of unique skills. He’s gotta be used the right way.

If it’s not Darnold, do you think Jimmy Garoppolo or Deshaun Watson makes sense versus getting someone in the draft?

I don’t. Year 3 of a rebuild, if I’m the GM — I feel really highly about (Scott) Fitterer, I think he’s really good. The problem with continuing to mortgage your future by giving away draft picks, if you’re gonna give away a draft pick, it’s gotta be a home run, no-brainer, and he’s our quarterback for the next decade. I like Jimmy Garoppolo. Are you gonna be able to give him the same support he had in San Francisco? Probably not. It’s not the same point of the program. You’ve got one pick in the top 100 — you’re gonna give it away? You’re gonna give away the sixth pick in the draft to get Garoppolo? Because if you’re not giving the first-round pick, you’re probably not getting him. You might. Do you even have the assets to pull of a trade like that, even if theoretically you wanted to? Just last year they traded (for) and took Sam’s fifth-year option, so Sam’s on the team unless you dump him for something. So how many quarterbacks you gonna pay? You’re paying like five quarterbacks. I think they’ve gotta go into this year trying to build the best team possible around Sam. If you have the opportunity to get a developmental quarterback in the draft, and he sits behind Sam and develops and he surprises you and he’s ready, great. I don’t know if I continue to mortgage my future and give draft picks away when I’m in a rebuild.

But would it be worth it for someone at the level of Watson, understanding he has serious legal issues?

Do the Panthers have the assets?

Future first-round picks, sure.

Is that gonna be enough? You’d have to give up multiple defensive starters. To get Deshaun Watson — legal issues aside, which is a huge factor in all this. If it wasn’t for that, he would’ve been traded already. But let’s say that goes away magically for the sake of this conversation. Would you take Deshaun Watson and lose Brian Burns and Jeremy Chinn and give up two first-round picks? I wouldn’t.

When he was in New York, Ben McAdoo threw to the tight ends a lot. Do you know him at all or his philosophy?

I don’t know him at all, but I’ve heard really good things. I do think getting some sort of tight end role in this offense is something that has been missing. Once they got rid of Dan Arnold, losing Dan and Christian (McCaffrey), I think that had an impact on Sam. It’s the best thing for a quarterback. I’m not just saying it because I played it. If you want to develop a young quarterback, if you want to get him comfortable, Christian McCaffrey goes a long way. DJ Moore goes a long way. And tight end production will go a really long way. You’ve got two of them. I still think Ian (Thomas) can do more than they let him. You’ve gotta protect the quarterback and you’ve gotta give him safe, easy throws to get things going and get him out of jams, and they haven’t really had that.

 

[Towelboy]

I agree with Olsen. You’re shackled to Darnold this year. Get him an offensive line, draft a QB to ride the pine behind him, find a TE, then go into next year with cap space and a top-10 pick. We assume 2022 will be another lost season, and if so, we can start over with a new coach and new QB room in 2023.

[The Lobo]

I miss Greg, what a dude and what a player. 

[jfo89]

Yep Rhule made his bed with the Darnold trade now let him lie in it.

Like it or not, talent evaluation and player development are part of being a head coach. If you’re poor at both then you’re not qualified for the job.

[TLGPanthersFan]

7 minutes ago, jfo89 said:

Yep Rhule made his bed with the Darnold trade now let him lie in it.

Like it or not, talent evaluation and player development are part of being a head coach. If you’re poor at both then you’re not qualified for the job.

Unfortunately us fans have to pay by watching Darnold play terribly next year. Feel like fans are just as screwed. 
 

[TLGPanthersFan]

47 minutes ago, Mr. Scot said:

I think they’ve gotta go into this year trying to build the best team possible around Sam. If you have the opportunity to get a developmental quarterback in the draft, and he sits behind Sam and develops and he surprises you and he’s ready, great. I don’t know if I continue to mortgage my future and give draft picks away when I’m in a rebuild.

Sam’s line was terrible but the team around him and the defense were good enough to have a much better record than they did. 
If Sam is the starter in 2022 he will be a liability. 
A good line or better team isn’t gonna make him magically not do boneheaded crap. 

[rayzor]

Whatever....just fix the OL. Get Armstead, Norwell, and that center from Tampa or Tennessee. 

Get good vets that won't take a learning curve. 

That way it give you the flexibility of drafting a QB without getting him killed or rolling with Sam and taking away any excuses.

And then find a TE and for Peak's sake don't friggin trade him away, moron.

 

[Mr. Scot]

6 minutes ago, TLGPanthersFan said:

Sam’s line was terrible but the team around him and the defense were good enough to have a much better record than they did. 
If Sam is the starter in 2022 he will be a liability. 
A good line or better team isn’t gonna make him magically not do boneheaded crap. 

I don't really think the defense was that good.

[CarolinaRideorDie]

What I took away from this interview is that everyone who talks to Rhule walks away impressed after listening to him. LOL, I think Rhule must be casting witchcraft and sorcery with his words when he talks to people (ie Tepper, Hurney, Olsen). Rhule is a big talker but he doesn't live up to it. I think Rhule even talks himself into thinking he is a big shot! Actions speak louder than words! 

[jfo89]

15 minutes ago, TLGPanthersFan said:

Unfortunately us fans have to pay by watching Darnold play terribly next year. Feel like fans are just as screwed. 
 

Looks like another 18 weeks of heavy day drinking.

[rayzor]

11 minutes ago, Mr. Scot said:

I don't really think the defense was that good.

Situationally they were. If they weren't up against power run offenses like the whole NFCE and they didn't have to stay on the field for 45 minutes a game they were decent.

[Khyber53]

24 minutes ago, rayzor said:

Whatever....just fix the OL. Get Armstead, Norwell, and that center from Tampa or Tennessee. 

Get good vets that won't take a learning curve. 

That way it give you the flexibility of drafting a QB without getting him killed or rolling with Sam and taking away any excuses.

And then find a TE and for Peak's sake don't friggin trade him away, moron.

 

While I don't agree 100% with you, you're spot on right on an awful lot of this.

I think while we do need to look at grabbing a starter grade vet on the line, I think we need to use our first rounder on Linderbaum at center. If we don't we're a lot of picks away from getting someone of quality on the line. Center is where we need influx right now and if you make the right pick, you've got Ryan Kalil for the next decade. 

Then you can be looking at QB. Heck, maybe take one with our next pick and let him mature on the bench a bit.

 

[Mr. Scot]

29 minutes ago, rayzor said:

Situationally they were. If they weren't up against power run offenses like the whole NFCE and they didn't have to stay on the field for 45 minutes a game they were decent.

I think we had a lot better personnel on defense than we did on offense. Doubt anybody would disagree with that.

Scheme-wise though? Phil Snow's defensive plans weren't all that hard to counter. Multiple teams showed us that.

[t96]

1 hour ago, rayzor said:

Whatever....just fix the OL. Get Armstead, Norwell, and that center from Tampa or Tennessee. 

Get good vets that won't take a learning curve. 

That way it give you the flexibility of drafting a QB without getting him killed or rolling with Sam and taking away any excuses.

And then find a TE and for Peak's sake don't friggin trade him away, moron.

 

Agree. I'd trade a future mid round pick to get rid of Sam's contract if some team will do that, then sign Armstead, Norwell and Jensen. Let guys like Donte and Gilmore walk. Draft Pickett or whoever we like best at QB in the 1st, ideally with a trade down. I might even aim bigger and go after Scherff. But we need to spend big on proven OL guys, there's a bunch hitting free agency right now. A rookie QB behind a great line with DJ, Robby, McCaffrey (if he can stay healthy) can be a top 10-15 offense.