Almost nothing is fair for any of the Carolina Panthers quarterbacks right now.
Between a right shoulder fracture for one, an impromptu crash course for another, a midseason switch of their play-caller and an unstable offensive line to boot—perhaps the last place any player wants to be at the moment is under center for head coach Matt Rhule. But for Rhule, it seems as though these suboptimal conditions serve as a valid excuse for just one of his guys.
Following Sunday’s matchup with the New Orleans Saints, Rhule spoke on the struggles of Sam Darnold in the team’s 18-10 loss. Darnold’s struggles, however, were apparently more of a byproduct of the ineptitude around him . . . at least according to the man who invested two draft picks and almost $19 million into the failing experiment.
“Yeah, I think we struggled in protection,” Rhule said when asked about Darnold’s measly 5.1 yards per attempt in the defeat. “Coming in knowing these guys, they’re as good a rush team, as you saw them against [Tom] Brady a couple of weeks ago. Obviously, some guys were out from last week. But our whole game plan was to run the football, try to control it, move the ball down the field, keep the game close, win the game in the fourth quarter.
“At the end of the day, obviously a lot of throws in the end that were incomplete because of the situation that we were in. We weren’t able to protect [Sam Darnold]. Even that last possession, we called a hook and lateral just trying to get back and have a chance. They’re a really good defense. We knew that coming in. I thought Sam made some aggressive plays at times, but that was kind of us knowing who they are and how good they are on defense.”
Man, that’s a lot of posturing for a performance that went for 132 passing yards, an interception, a lost fumble and, oh, zero touchdowns. Over his last seven games, Darnold has thrown for an average of 159.9 yards per contest with two scores and nine picks.
And that sentiment on his quarterback’s play in Week 17 was a lot different from the sentiment on his other quarterback’s play back in Week 14.
When addressing Cam Newton’s two-turnover outing against the Atlanta Falcons on Dec. 12, Rhule was much more critical in evaluating his starter.
“I thought Cam did some good things today,” he began. “Can’t have those two turnovers though. We are just looking for things to not be catastrophic. Put a snap on the ground, okay, fall on the ball and be second and one. That’s what really bothers you about that. 2nd and 1 was fixing to be a really big run I think. On the back side, we cut off the three-technique and it was going to be a good play.
“I think one of the things that was disappointing was where the turnovers happened. The pick six happened at the 40 going in to score. That one happened at the 40 going in to score so you guys know me, I’m not going to make huge statements after it. I don’t have any strong feelings one way or another, other than I know we have to play better at that position. We can’t have multiple turnover games from the quarterback position.”
Not only did Rhule pin some of that 29-21 loss on Newton, but he went into some exceptional detail about the turnovers. Well, geez, tell us how you really feel, Matt.
The skinny is this—Sam, not Cam, is this regime’s pet project. Darnold was handpicked and traded for to be the franchise guy this offseason. Newton, who was dumped away by Rhule, was franchise guy of the past and not in the original 2021 plans.
So, of course Rhule is naturally going to give more rope to Darnold. The more pressing issue for the second-year coach, though, is how much rope does he now have left with owner David Tepper?
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