2021-2022 NFL Season

[Billy Hoyle]

Dumb. He's a top ten to fifteen QB. Certainly has his flaws. Dragging that lions team with maybe the worst defense in NFL history to five wins last year was a miracle.

Yeah, he beat a bunch of under .500 teams in his career (2-16 in the previous three seasons against teams above .500) Build a statue.

[🏀]

He gets stats, not wins.

Spoken like every lazy armchair quarterback across America.

[Herman Cain]

Rodgers ability to make quick reads and then releases the pass swiftly and accurately , neutralized that fearsome pass rush of the Rams.

I am beginning to think the Pack can win the NFC

[TSmith34, Inc.]

Stafford Lioning up the Rams.

[wadesworld]

Rodgers ability to make quick reads and then releases the pass swiftly and accurately , neutralized that fearsome pass rush of the Rams.

I am beginning to think the Pack can win the NFC

They've been 13-3 the past two seasons and are 9-3 now.  Of course they can win the NFC.  Will they?  Probably not.

[GB Warrior]

They've been 13-3 the past two seasons and are 9-3 now.  Of course they can win the NFC.  Will they?  Probably not.

They have the tie breaker against the team currently .5 games up and one of the easiest remaining schedules (noteworthy that they are tied with ARI, but Arizona has an extra game and a road game against Dallas left).

Not saying they'll get it, but they've put themselves in pretty good shape for the 1 seed in a year where there are no dominant teams.

For a team as banged up as GB, an extra week to get its stars rested (or back) might make the bye more meaningful to GB than in most years

[Dish]

We'll find out on Tuesday if Bears/Packers gets flexed to Niners/Bengals. It's an interesting broadcast schedule that week. CBS has a loaded schedule that day, and Fox gets both NYC teams.

You can bet Packers/Ravens gets a later time slot the following week. I'd be very surprised if that game stays a noon kick.

[jesmu84]

Which one?
His on-target rate of 79.6% (heading into today) is the best of any rookie QB.

In responding to Jockey, I was referencing their college statistics

[The Sultan]

We'll find out on Tuesday if Bears/Packers gets flexed to Niners/Bengals. It's an interesting broadcast schedule that week. CBS has a loaded schedule that day, and Fox gets both NYC teams.

You can bet Packers/Ravens gets a later time slot the following week. I'd be very surprised if that game stays a noon kick.

Hopefully that Bear game is flexed. Sunday night games are 🤮🤮🤮. Hoping the same for January 2 with Chiefs / Bengals and Cowboys / Cardinals on the schedule.

[The Sultan]

Dumb. He's a top ten to fifteen QB. Certainly has his flaws. Dragging that lions team with maybe the worst defense in NFL history to five wins last year was a miracle.

Yep. 10-15 is about right. Makes a lot of beautiful throws. Makes a couple of head scratchers though. That's been his MO since he's been in the league.

[MU82]

For the first time, a Charlotte scribe is wondering about the future of The Great Joe Brady, Boy Genius.

https://www.charlotteobserver.com/sports/nfl/carolina-panthers/article256176757.html?ac_cid=DM570865&ac_bid=-1812432809

Brady and his system crumbled around Newton and the offense. Even the things he does well were absent from his game plan. McCaffrey didn't catch a pass. The Panthers' run game didn't threaten Miami effectively with zone reads or quarterback runs.

Brady's scheme looks predictable. It lacks creativity and cannot overcome the Panthers' lack of talent across the offensive line. Brady took football by storm calling plays for LSU's 2019 championship team. He exploited mismatches with a stacked roster. Without those built-in advantages, NFL defenses are forcing him to evolve and he hasn't yet.

Coach Matt Rhule must consider changes across his order of operations. Perhaps it's time for a new play-caller.

[Jockey]

Isn't it hard for anyone to be a good play caller when you are working with the worst QBs in the league?

I'm not defending the guy. I'm just wondering.

[The Sultan]

Isn't it hard for anyone to be a good play caller when you are working with the worst QBs in the league?

I'm not defending the guy. I'm just wondering.

Also why would you bring in a QB that requires you to change up your game plan?  Of course the reason is that brought Cam in for nostalgia, not because he's a good quarterback.

[MU82]

Isn't it hard for anyone to be a good play caller when you are working with the worst QBs in the league?

I'm not defending the guy. I'm just wondering.

That's legit. But Newton played well the previous week, and Brady didn't take advantage of the many options a QB with Cam's unique skills present. And even yesterday ... Newton hit early on a 60-yard pass to set up a TD. Never again did Brady call a deep route. Everything was underneath, even though the defense kept jumping those routes. It was similar with Darnold. He has a big arm, but Brady didn't let him use it. Lots of dinkin' and dunkin'. And how do you not get a single catch for McCaffrey, the best receiver out of the backfield in the NFL?

So there's plenty of blame to go around, of course. There always is. But a coach's #1 job is to take advantage of what his players can do to give them the best chance to succeed.

Even the head coach has criticized Brady's play-calling ... though that could be partly (mainly?) to cover his own arse.

Also why would you bring in a QB that requires you to change up your game plan?  Of course the reason is that brought Cam in for nostalgia, not because he's a good quarterback.

Hard to argue with that.

But they did bring him in, so make use of the things he does well. That's your job.

But yes, the Panthers' QB situation has been a mess since the midseason 2018 game in which Newton's shoulder was blown up. The Panthers were 6-2 before that loss in Pittsburgh. Since then: 16-36.

As for Brady ... as a Panthers fan I've been pretty unimpressed since Day 1. It's easy to run a college offense when you have a top-draft-pick quality QB surrounded by tons and tons of talent.

[Jockey]

That's legit. But Newton played well the previous week, and Brady didn't take advantage of the many options a QB with Cam's unique skills present. And even yesterday ... Newton hit early on a 60-yard pass to set up a TD. Never again did Brady call a deep route. Everything was underneath, even though the defense kept jumping those routes. It was similar with Darnold. He has a big arm, but Brady didn't let him use it. Lots of dinkin' and dunkin'. And how do you not get a single catch for McCaffrey, the best receiver out of the backfield in the NFL?

Is Cam hurt right now? Watching the highlights ( ) from yesterday, he looked like a guy with a bad shoulder. Looked like his passes were being pushed rather than thrown normally. Has all the wear & tear caught up to him?

[Billy Hoyle]

For the first time, a Charlotte scribe is wondering about the future of The Great Joe Brady, Boy Genius.

https://www.charlotteobserver.com/sports/nfl/carolina-panthers/article256176757.html?ac_cid=DM570865&ac_bid=-1812432809

Brady and his system crumbled around Newton and the offense. Even the things he does well were absent from his game plan. McCaffrey didn't catch a pass. The Panthers' run game didn't threaten Miami effectively with zone reads or quarterback runs.

Brady's scheme looks predictable. It lacks creativity and cannot overcome the Panthers' lack of talent across the offensive line. Brady took football by storm calling plays for LSU's 2019 championship team. He exploited mismatches with a stacked roster. Without those built-in advantages, NFL defenses are forcing him to evolve and he hasn't yet.

Coach Matt Rhule must consider changes across his order of operations. Perhaps it's time for a new play-caller.

It might be time for a new coach. Oklahoma has Rhule on their short list.

[MU82]

It might be time for a new coach. Oklahoma has Rhule on their short list.

It wouldn't bother me. I haven't decided yet if Rhule is a bad NFL coach or merely an OK coach; he certainly has done nothing yet to suggest he's a good pro coach. He also has final say over all personnel decisions, and so the QB thing, and the poor OL play, are 100% on him. We could do better.

Is Cam hurt right now? Watching the highlights ( ) from yesterday, he looked like a guy with a bad shoulder. Looked like his passes were being pushed rather than thrown normally. Has all the wear & tear caught up to him?

I think that Cam's shoulder is better than it had been but that it still isn't "right" and it never will be. He threw as perfect a pass as could be thrown when he hit McCaffrey for the tying TD in the 11/21 game -- a 30-yarder down the seam, just over the LB and right into a sprinting McCaffrey's hands -- but otherwise, he's looked shaky on any pass over 10-15 yards.

He's never had very good form, even when he was great, so I can't speak to that. But he used to have an absolute rifle, and a beautiful deep pass. He hit on a long one yesterday, but the receiver had to wait forever for it, and it kept him from scoring. Of course, that same receiver (DJ Moore) dropped two passes right in his hands earlier in the game.

The Panthers have a bye next, and Rhule has already said Cam will start against Atlanta on 12/12. After having 2 full weeks to heal and prepare, if things don't go any better in that one, I don't know what the point would be to keep putting him out there. Rhule will be able to say it was a gamble, it created a burst of excitement in Charlotte, it failed, and it's time to think about what's next. It will have only cost $5M or so of Tepper's money, and that's like 14 cents to you and me. 

[The Sultan]

If I'm Oklahoma, I would go for Dave Aranda before Rhule.

[MU82]

If I'm Oklahoma, I would go for Dave Aranda before Rhule.

I guess it would depend on whether you want a guy with NFL cred. Also, Rhule has an insane contract, not that Oklahoma boosters would blink at it.

[The Sultan]

I think a defensive coach like Aranda is going to do better in the SEC rather than trying to outscore everyone. 

[Pakuni]

If I'm Oklahoma, I would go for Dave Aranda before Rhule.

Seems to be the favorite at LSU.

[MU82]

McCaffrey ... ankle injury ... done for the season.

Ugh. Can this season get any worse?

[tower912]

You could root for the Lions.

[Pakuni]

McCaffrey ... ankle injury ... done for the season.

Ugh. Can this season get any worse?

403 touches in 2019.
10 games played combined in 2020 and 2021.
Not a coincidence.

And the worst part of it is that they gave him 111 of those touches in the last four games of the season, when it was clear the Panthers weren't going to the playoffs

[lawdog77]

Still trying to figure out why, when the Colts were up 10 in the second half, the Colts went 18 straight plays without handing the ball off to Jonathon Taylor.