Let's take a step back and look at ourselves in the mirror as a fanbase

[rippadonn]

5 minutes ago, PootieNunu said:

This and he doesnt give AF about the fans. As long as his pockets keep getting lined with $ we could win 5 games a season for the next 10 years and he would just hide and not give AF.

There is no reason why we still have Rhule as a coach. If we suck again this year they all need to go, fug this halfway cleaning house like we did with Ron and Marty. We need to fully clean it, completely new staff. 

He couldn't make that more clear. Fanbase be damned.

[Jon Snow]

2 hours ago, kungfoodude said:

That's me. The franchise has used up all of it's "this will be our year" good will until I see them start winning.

Unlike OP, I don't want any specific Panther to fail. Free agents, rookies, bust players, etc. I want them all to succeed and I never root against them. What purpose does that serve? Does right about a bad move win us games? fug no.

Any "I told you so's" are fueled by the frustration that even as a layman I could see how bad of an idea something was, but the paid professionals aren't seeing it. Anyone who gains satisfaction from just being right about that at the expense of our team success.....that's some modern Internet mental illness.

There isn't a Super Bowl of "I told you so." There isn't an "I told you so" MVP.

 

I'm tired of paper arguments for why we will be good or even just better. I have heard those for four fuging years now. I don't give the flyingest of flying fugs about how much better we look on fuging paper until we start actually winning real fuging NFL games. It's fine to debate and discuss but you will NEVER get me convinced of any improvement with this coaching staff regime until I see it on Sundays that matter.

I will watch because I have invested enough time since the inception of this franchise that I feel somewhat obligated. I will cheer for us and/or jeer at us based on how we perform. Otherwise, I am just waiting until the franchise can show me they are worth a poo. 

Still waiting.

Preach it brother!

[poundaway]

9 hours ago, Ricky Spanish said:

When you're out of the playoffs, you are pulling for the draft spot. 

Remember in 2019 when we went 5-11 and picked 7th? If we had lost just one more game, we would have been picking in front of the Chargers... We would have Herbert.

Remember in 202 when we went 5-11 and we beat Ron and the WFT towards the end of the season? Had we lost that game we would have picked in front of the Lions. We would have Penei Sewell.

As soon as the season is lost, I root for the tank job because the higher the tank, the better the chances we land a franchise player at a key position like QB or LT.

Isn't that kind of what we did last season?  Losing 7 straight to end...even if we didn't mean to.  It got us Icky.

[rippadonn]

2 hours ago, kungfoodude said:

That's me. The franchise has used up all of it's "this will be our year" good will until I see them start winning.

Unlike OP, I don't want any specific Panther to fail. Free agents, rookies, bust players, etc. I want them all to succeed and I never root against them. What purpose does that serve? Does right about a bad move win us games? fug no.

Any "I told you so's" are fueled by the frustration that even as a layman I could see how bad of an idea something was, but the paid professionals aren't seeing it. Anyone who gains satisfaction from just being right about that at the expense of our team success.....that's some modern Internet mental illness.

There isn't a Super Bowl of "I told you so." There isn't an "I told you so" MVP.

 

I'm tired of paper arguments for why we will be good or even just better. I have heard those for four fuging years now. I don't give the flyingest of flying fugs about how much better we look on fuging paper until we start actually winning real fuging NFL games. It's fine to debate and discuss but you will NEVER get me convinced of any improvement with this coaching staff regime until I see it on Sundays that matter.

I will watch because I have invested enough time since the inception of this franchise that I feel somewhat obligated. I will cheer for us and/or jeer at us based on how we perform. Otherwise, I am just waiting until the franchise can show me they are worth a poo. 

Still waiting.

*OFFICIAL POST OF THE YEAR!!!*

[CRA]

I always find it funny how super homers trying to paint everything as some sick hatred.  Jimmy Clausen just really sucked as a NFL QB.   Being certain of such early on….isn’t some twisted hatred of the human.  

Matt Rhule sucks.  Really bad as a NFL coach.  And that was largely a pretty predictable outcome.   NFL and college are essentially two completely different games on and off the field.  He is a college coach.  i doubt anyone would be really upset if their college team hired Matt Rhule. 

[Sean Payton's Vicodin]

Hopium runs out week 5 on this board. Calling it now.

[rayzor]

I'm tired of my annual positivity and optimism being crushed by a team that can't get their poo together and keeps coming up with new ways to lose led by the same asshat brain trust it's been led by for the past couple years. 

Until 1) we start winning without stalling out after a few games and wings up in the playoffs or 2) we have a change in leadership.....i'm not buying it. 

I've played that game too many times and I'm done. Is this a better team or just more of the same poo? Until I see results I'm not going to fall for it.

It's a deep playoff run or a coaching change that will get me feeling good again. 

Right now I'm more curious how the non-rhile changes affect the team, impact of experienced coaches and an upgraded OL.

Until I see otherwise, Baker is just this year's model of teddy and sammy.

[LinvilleGorge]

2 hours ago, Shocker said:

We have a lot of changes to the team from coaching to the addition of many new players.  Lots of things have to come together quickly but outside of losing Reddick I think the team is greatly improved talent wise.  The NFC really isn’t all that daunting right now so we should have a decent shot if we stay healthy 

Matt Rhule is by far my biggest concern. If we had a legit NFL coaching staff I would think we could potentially compete for the playoffs and honestly that should be Rhule's measuring stick for this season. He has to be sent packing if we flounder again.

[Sgt Schultz]

As close as I ever came to rooting for losses was 2010, when it was obvious from day one we were going to stink, we knew why we were going to stink, we were essentially too cheap to just fire Fox when he had a year left on his contract, so my attitude was “let’s get this over with.”  I wasn’t rooting for losses, I was just numb to them….both before and after they happened.

We probably aren’t far away from that with Rhule.  I’ve said this many times, but he lost me when we were losing last year, our young talent was regressing, and he was absolutely clueless as to what to do about it.  It’s not personal, hell, I work with a guy who is clueless half the time, has the worst instincts I have ever seen, and has no sense of priorities.  I like him personally; he is a good person.  He just sucks at his job.  I don’t root for him to suck at his job, in fact, I’ve done everything I can to try and help him.  But I accept it and am numb to it.

As for the roster, we do look better entering 2022 than we did entering 2021.  Problem is, we looked better on paper in 2021 than we did in 2020, too.  Maybe not a lot better, but better.  But it did not turn into anything (other than dung) on the field. 

But, the annual “we’re gonna be better this year” predates Rhule and Tepper.  We’ve been sold that we were only a few pieces away, and we found them every year since 2015.  First, it was Hurney’s fools’ gold, now it is “the process.”

My bar is not too high.  I can accept last year was lost.  I don’t like it as it was a complete waste, but it happened.  If, at the end of the year, I can say that we achieved what I thought we should have achieved last year, I’ll be content.

Nothing would make me happier than to conclude that, after stepping on his wang last year, Rhule turned himself into a viable NFL HC.  Realistically, the odds are against that and I certainly am not willing to bet a dime on that happening, but I would be happy about it. 

[CPcavedweller]

I am a Panthers fan and am completely reasonable. I don't dislike Rhule, Fitterer, Darnold, or Tepper. 

 

I think Rhule came in to a project, Tepper gave him the leash to build a foundation from which success would be sustained, Fitterer was brought in to facilitate the front office portion of that, and Darnold was the product of the 2nd worst Panthers offensive line I've ever seen. 

Zac Taylor of the Bengels won like 3 games his first two years and they went to the Super Bowl in year 3. The Panthers are now in year 3 of Rhule and while I don't think a Super Bowl is expected, the pieces are in place for a Wild Card. 

I'm not optimistic or pessimistic. The margins are SLIM in the NFL and 10 yards across five games could be the difference between playoffs and Top 6 pick. 

[Ricky Spanish]

57 minutes ago, rayzor said:

I'm tired of my annual positivity and optimism being crushed by a team that can't get their poo together and keeps coming up with new ways to lose led by the same asshat brain trust it's been led by for the past couple years. 

Until 1) we start winning without stalling out after a few games and wings up in the playoffs or 2) we have a change in leadership.....i'm not buying it. 

I've played that game too many times and I'm done. Is this a better team or just more of the same poo? Until I see results I'm not going to fall for it.

It's a deep playoff run or a coaching change that will get me feeling good again. 

Right now I'm more curious how the non-rhile changes affect the team, impact of experienced coaches and an upgraded OL.

Until I see otherwise, Baker is just this year's model of teddy and sammy.

Let me clarify, I am not optimistic. 

I will however stop my vitriolic spewing of hatred at the mere mention of Rhule's name and choose to the support the team.

I don't think it will last long, but we have him at least through this next season so there's no point in rooting against him at the moment. 

If we are 2-6 halfway through the season, all my goodwill will be gone and I'll be back on the root for the team to lose so they get rid of the guy. 

[raleigh-panther]

16 hours ago, Ricky Spanish said:

This isn't me calling anyone out in particular, it's more just some self reflection that I think probably applies to quite a few fans of this franchise, I will admit to being one of the most guilty of this:

• I like the Panthers
• I don't like Matt Rhule 

The problem I, and it seems many, are running into is that Point 1 is almost fueling the rage and feelings dedicated to Point 2.

As a fan of this team, we should want to see the team succeed, but Rhule has sucked so bad, I want to see him fail as an individual. Unfortunately if Rhule fails, the team fails, and watching the team fail makes me angry. Thus the cycle perpetuates itself. 

Therein lies the conundrum that is being a fan of this franchise at the moment. The past two years as a Panther fan have not been fun. It would be one thing if the rest of the team looked competent minus the QB's but overall the team ended up looking worse in year 2 than they did in year 1. That falls on Rhule's Shoulders.

So here we are going into year 3, and we as a fanbase are unhappy. We as a team are trending down, and Matt Rhule is still at the helm. However, this offseason is different than last offseason and there have definitely been some objectively good changes that have been made going into year 3:

• Legitimate OL upgrade in FA with players we aren't scratching our heads over
• Brought in All-Pros in the Special Teams in Hekker and Andre Roberts
• Drafted an OT with our first pick at #6 overall, and he's a local kid
• Drafted a QB with upside to try and develop in the 3rd round
• Legitimate assistant coaches with track records of success at their positions (Wilks, Campen, McAdoo)
• Coaches added to the staff with NFL Experience, something we severely lacked the first two years of the Rhule Regime
• We made a legitimately good trade for Baker Mayfield. Say what you want about him as a QB, with the state of our current team, that was the best deal we could have made. There is a 0% chance the team improves with Sam starting under center next year.

Of course there are some not good things as well:

• We lost our best Corner and pass rusher and really didn't do anything to replace either. We are banking a crop of young unproven players stepping up and breaking out in CJ Henderson, Horn, and Gross-Matos. 
• Rhule and Tepper simped hard for Sexual Predator Deshaun Watson and failed at acquiring him in the process. Just made the team and themselves look desperate and foolish. This left a really bad taste in my, and many other fan's mouths.
• This will be the third year in a row that Matt Rhule tries to unfug the QB situation that he himself created. 

The third point I think is a big sticking point for a lot of the fanbase. He has already failed at identifying even mediocre talent at the position, and it seems like he has gotten carte blanche to do it for a third year in a row. It's like watching Star Wars Episodes 1 and 2 and knowing that 3 will be just as big of a pile of poo as the others. 

BUT, and I can't believe I'm saying this, it is a new year, and it is very possible that we COULD be surprised with a halfway decent third installment, much like the prequels did with Revenge of the Sith. Was it the best Star Wars movie ever made? God no. But it was a significant improvement over the previous two. 

I guess what I'm saying is I am a Panther Fan first and foremost, and I don't want to lose sight of that, regardless of who the coach is. I'm going to root for Matt Rhule to succeed, because his success means the team succeeds, and that's all any of us really care about. 

Objectively speaking, our team looks improved from last year. I honestly don't think I wanted to believe it because I don't like Matt Rhule and don't think he's a good head coach. But, there is a chance he surprises us and we actually contend for a playoff spot because the moves made this offseason have made the team better, on paper at least. 

So I ask that we all take a step back, take a breath, and look at the roster top to bottom compared to last year. 

Look at the Offense the Defense and the STs. We are a better team than 2021 even with Matt Rhule as a coach.

So until we are out of the playoff race, I'm willing to put my hatred of Matt Rhule aside and pull for this team to succeed even if it's being coached by a guy I think is incompetent. Let's hope 2022 is our Revenge of the Sith, and not the Rise of Skywalker.

Just win

Two words needed.  it really is that simple

[ncstatekwi]

#KEEP POUNDING #CarolinaPanthers4LIFE!

[NanuqoftheNorth]

23 minutes ago, raleigh-panther said:

Just win

Two words needed.  it really is that simple