FootballOutsiders with the brutal honesty.

[Zod]

"

6. Carolina Panthers: Kenny Pickett, Quarterback, Pitt

It’s a poorly-kept secret that the Panthers are shopping on the quarterback trade market. But nobody with a no-trade clause or a second career as a game-show host/podcaster will willingly climb aboard Matt Rhule’s sinking ship.

Once the organization’s options become limited to the Wentz-Garoppolo tier, Rhule will nope out of the veteran market in self-defense. A rookie could give Rhule a developmental mulligan year – think Matt Nagy’s Bears gambit in 2021 – but Malik Willis, the higher-ranked quarterback in the FO 40 (coming soon!), would be too risky. Rhule needs a Mac Jones-type who can look halfway decent immediately, and Pickett’s the only quarterback in the draft remotely in that category.

In other words, this pick has nothing to do with the caliber of the prospect or the needs of the organization but everything to do with the self-preservation instincts of the team’s decision-makers. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how accurate mock draft predictions are made"

 

That first paragraph though, whoo wee mane.

[jamos14]

I still can't fathom how Tepper let it get to this point.  It's obvious to everyone that Rhule will make decisions that don't help the team long term but only to save his own ass.   And we are a laughing stock.

 

Rhule sucks as a coach.  But this is all Tepper's fault.  He has let it get to this point.

  Can't expect Rhule to fire himself. 

[Khyber53]

Let's face it, things are so chaotic here and the underside of the organization is churning so bad that no one can predict what will happen here, except to say it will go badly.

This is going to be a long, slogging year.

[Pimpdaddy]

7 minutes ago, jamos14 said:

I still can't fathom how Tepper let it get to this point.  It's obvious to everyone that Rhule will make decisions that don't help the team long term but only to save his own ass.   And we are a laughing stock.

 

Rhule sucks as a coach.  But this is all Tepper's fault.  He has let it get to this point.

  Can't expect Rhule to fire himself. 

...said this 4 months ago... we godda quit whining about Fhule...we know he is trash by his performance.... but tep keeping his head in the sand  and ignoring the sht show is entirely his fault.  Thats where the buck stops....and it has sht on it.

[jamos14]

9 minutes ago, Pimpdaddy said:

...said this 4 months ago... we godda quit whining about Fhule...we know he is trash by his performance.... but tep keeping his head in the sand  and ignoring the sht show is entirely his fault.  Thats where the buck stops....and it has sht on it.

Yes.  And he knows it too.  Which is why he has completely ducked any media since the season ended.    This is a bad sign for the Panthers going forward (way beyond the Rhule years) because Tepper is in over his head, too prideful to correct his bad mistakes (AND a coward).

[rayzor]

This team is a joke. It's a lesson on how to buy and f*ck up an NFL franchise and lose fans.

Tepper can learn and get better, but it's gonna take time.... apparently.

This is not a good time to be emotionally invested in this team.

See it for the joke it is and find something else to care about. Let this team just be a curiosity until Tepper gets his head out of his ass and remembers his brass balls on his desk and fires Rhule and hires some that has a clue.

[rayzor]

Kenny Pickett will be a starter here with Rhule and then a career backup after Tepper gets his head out of his ass and finally fires Rhule.

[Tbe]

3 minutes ago, rayzor said:

Kenny Pickett will be a starter here with Rhule and then a career backup after Tepper gets his head out of his ass and finally fires Rhule.

Pickett will be in the league for maybe 4 years max as a backup or camp body.

[Waldo]

I'm still here for the closure this year.  I'm guessing another offseason of this crap should be enough to cure my NFL addiction. It nearly was last year but I kept hoping Rhule would be fired and Tepper would grow some knowledge. 

Even a Sam Darnold trade wasn't enough, Tepper is the problem and it looks like no end in sight.

May his soccer team eat poo forever.

[rhyslloyd]

So, it's official that Fitterer is either a willing participant in this poo show or is essentially a figurehead with a GM title?

[BurnNChinn]

1 minute ago, rhyslloyd said:

So, it's official that Fitterer is either a willing participant in this poo show or is essentially a figurehead with a GM title?

He just listens and does what Rhule wants. This is exactly why I didn’t want Rhule from the start. Tepper fell for this dumbass.

[LinvilleGorge]

Pretty damn spot on. My only disagreement is that I'm not at all certain that Rhule will recognize that there's no future in Jimmy G level vet QB additions. Everything in his brief NFL experience says the opposite.

But yeah, I expect our QB next year to likely be Jimmy G or Kenny Pickett.

I can't believe Tepper is willing to sit back and watch this happen.

[BurnNChinn]

3 minutes ago, LinvilleGorge said:

Pretty damn spot on. My only disagreement is that I'm not at all certain that Rhule will recognize that there's no future in Jimmy G level vet QB additions. Everything in his brief NFL experience says the opposite.

But yeah, I expect our QB next year to likely be Jimmy G or Kenny Pickett.

I can't believe Tepper is willing to sit back and watch this happen.

He only cares about soccer, people disagree. But he’s not fooling this guy!

[LinvilleGorge]

16 minutes ago, rhyslloyd said:

So, it's official that Fitterer is either a willing participant in this poo show or is essentially a figurehead with a GM title?

Rhule has final say. Period. At the end of the day, Fitts was brought here to be a babysitter and paper pusher.