NFL Network analyst suggests Rhule needs Mayfield to save his job

[Jon Snow]

1 minute ago, ForJimmy said:

Yeah but you know nothing!

Apparently not. 

[Mr. Scot]

Albert Breer chimed in on what the team sees in both Darnold and Mayfield right now.

• Carolina now has a better picture of where it is at quarterback after nine weeks of the offseason, and the Panthers do like the edge and fight they saw from nice-guy veteran Sam Darnold. That doesn’t mean he wins the job, but there are things new OC Ben McAdoo liked in Darnold to begin with, so the Panthers at least feel like they have something to work with.

• As we said in the mailbag earlier in the week, if the Panthers do bring in Baker Mayfield, it’d be because it’s a really good deal for them (which means the money has to be attractive too). What Carolina likes about the idea of Mayfield—he could at least provide them with average play at the position, which you could easily argue would raise the floor for them.

Link

[frankw]

11 minutes ago, Brooklyn 3.0 said:

You seem to have issues with a LOT of people on this board, Franklin. Perhaps you need to do some soul searching.

Haha yeah it's my fault. If you survived months of Watson threads and years of complaining about Cam threads you'll make it through all this Baker Mayfield speculation.

[45catfan]

9 minutes ago, stbugs said:

Doesn’t matter. If we are competitive with the top teams while Corral is starting, that will be enough. We’ve half assed our rebuild blowing picks and cap so unfortunately we don’t have as much young talent as we should but Corral is way more key to Rhule staying and the record won’t matter as much as say 1-2 surprise wins and hanging tough in the others. We weren’t world beaters in 2014 but we certainly showed a lot in the end of season run. Beating Arizona in the playoffs wasn’t much but losing at Seattle because of 1 play (90 yard pick 6) showed we were on the precipice. This team isn’t quite that talented but the OL could be key and the QB play is the other key.

Again, the one factor you are not considering is does RHULE feel this way?  Despite what he says, does he feel he can survive with another losing season?  You are playing the long game and Rhule looking at 2022.  It's not complicated.  If Rhule thinks he HAS to provide a winning product this season, the answer at QB is not on our roster currently.  If Rhule is actually playing the long game like he should and is taking Tepper at his word that this is a minimum 5-year rebuild, then we don't need and won't acquire Baker Mayfield.

[thennek]

Why would Rhule care if he gets fired? He gets paid regardless and then goes back to coach college ball. Win-win for him. 

[frankw]

8 minutes ago, thennek said:

Why would Rhule care if he gets fired? He gets paid regardless and then goes back to coach college ball. Win-win for him. 

Right. 60 million bucks and people are worried about hurting his feelings. Shiiiiiiit laugh all the way to the bank.

[top dawg]

These guys don't know what's going on on Mint St. What James Jones is suggesting doesn't even really jibe with the owner's comments.

Within that same vein, I'll take a hardcore fan's perspective about the state of a team over these B an C list national types any day of the week.

 

[Panthera onca]

42 minutes ago, DaveThePanther2008 said:

With this schedule, the question is will any QB we have on the roster, including Mayfield, going to win enough games to save Rhule? 

Built in excuse for Matty boy. We really do need to see clear signs of improvement this season or else Rhule should be heading back to college ball.

[rippadonn]

[PizzaTheHutt]

[Khyber53]

Darnold, since drafted, has taken bad teams and bad coaching and been pretty bad.

Mayfield took a historically bad team with shake ups (and questionable) coaching and made them a playoff team in 2020 and made them at least a contender in his other years.

Darnold is playing out his fifth year option and hoping to make enough happen to get a back-up gig somewhere. Mayfield is in his last contract year and is looking for a place to get a new contract as a starter.

History has to give the nod to Mayfield. Career arc is also to Mayfield. Cost savings is to Darnold.

Darnold will definitely get Rhule fired. Mayfield might. 

As much as I want to see Rhule go, I want to see the Panthers win. I think Mayfield gives us the best chance to make use of the weapons we still have here and gives us the best chance to overcome the coaching.

[Sgt Schultz]

When I read the article, I was left thinking "there are a lot of assumptions being made."  For one, I am not convinced Rhule's seat is as hot as the article thinks (or 85% of this board, for that matter).  I don't think he can roll another 5-12, look as clueless as he did down the stretch last year, and have as many questions at the end of the year as we had walking in.  But I also don't think he needs to make the playoffs nor even climb to .500 this year. 

I'm not saying we shouldn't expect any of those things in year three, but the question is what has Tepper told him he needs to produce.  What Tepper said to Rhule outside of the limelight is unknown to us or the writers.  As Tepper showed with Ron and Hurney, he takes a while to throw in the towel on people.  That supports his public statements about when the drop dead date is for Rhule.  It is consistent with the patience he has shown.  That may change if we finish 2022 without any noticeable improvement over 2021 (which was a regression from 2020), but that may be the only case it changes.

So prepare yourself.

If any or all of that is even halfway valid, Mayfield provides us very little.  Sure, he is better than Darnold, but that is based on his numbers and outcomes on a team that was noticeably better than any team Darnold has played for in the NFL. Put Mayfield at the helm of the 2021 Panthers and the chunks blown may be just as big.  Again, I think Mayfield is better than Darnold, but not by light years.

So, all that to say we really know nothing about the entire mess.  Clearly we have shown an interest in Mayfield and maybe the most interest of anybody, but that is not saying much.  I just think that articles claiming Rhule "must" bring in Mayfield to save his job are overblown based on what Tepper has said and his history here, albeit brief. 

 

[gofightwin]

I thought Rhule didn't want to be here?  

[Tr3ach]

1 hour ago, Mr. Scot said:

No. It's his own speculation.

Question is though, do you believe that Rhule can do enough to justify staying by starting Sam Darnold or Matt Corral?

As much as most people hate to hear it I dont believe this is a make or break year for Rhule with stipulations.   I think that was confirmed when it came out that Rhule wasnt the one especially interested in bringing in another qb.  I think if the overall team shows improvement (even if it's not so much in the win/loss bracket) and it comes down to the hole clearly being the qb, then I dont think hes fired if they struggle again.  That's not me offering my opinion about how I feel about it, that's just what I think.