A Monday AM thread:
It seems much of the consternation following yesterday's win is because "now Teddy will be the starter again in 2021." I mentioned this last week as a reminder, but clearly, it needs to be repeated: the contract was always set up to give him at least 2 years.

That does not preclude them from drafting a young quarterback, and if they do, it will allow them to bring that young quarterback along slowly behind a well-respected veteran. The Chiefs did something similar in 2017.

Of course, winning right now makes it harder to get one of the top available quarterbacks. And you may be completely convinced guys like Zach Wilson or Trey Lance are saviors. Maybe they will be, and then you can brag about it for years to come.

But in most expert opinions, Trevor Lawrence is really the only sure-thing with the highest ceiling, and perhaps even as important, the highest floor. And the Panthers would have had to have won one or fewer games to get him.

So that brings us back to reality. The people who are employed to be football people believe that winning right now is important, especially the coach who turned around two flailing programs by changing the cultures of each.

Now, culture isn't a tangible stat. You can't watch YouTube highlights of it or dig into its data. But people who make these decisions for a living believe it will translate into a winning program. Will it at the NFL level? I don't know.

I only know this is part of what they're trying to build, and part of my job remains trying to explain why they're doing what they're doing. Many have long wondered how I can do this without being a fan, but it's for situations just like this.

I can see both sides of an argument impartially, or yes, as impartially as someone getting paid by a team can be. But if you've paid attention, I'll still tell it like it is much more than many who have come through this market. And from my view, this is what it is. –– end ––