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I would have rather heard this from scourton if it was going to come from a rookie. Dan better get us a pass rusher or two this off-season

I think Barnwell is one of the best NFL analysts and clearly knows his stuff. Here's what he had to say after the wildcard game, shared in its entirety. Thought Bryce played really well under a lot of pressure (but acknowledges his general limitations) and wasn't so flattering to Nijman. Also says with a good offseason, the Panthers can be the NFC south favorites for years to come. Carolina Panthers Lost 34-31 vs. Rams There are no moral victories in the playoffs, but for the Panthers, this might have been the closest thing to one imaginable. They were massive underdogs at home even after beating the Rams in Carolina this season, and expectations of repeating that feat in the rematch were low. When the Panthers quickly went down 14-0 after a failed fourth-down conversion and a Bryce Young interception handed the Rams a pair of short fields, a blowout victory for Los Angeles coach Sean McVay appeared to be on the horizon. Instead, the Panthers came all the way back to take the lead with 2:39 to go before the defense allowed a winning touchdown drive to Matthew Stafford. The veteran quarterback reportedly told receiver Davante Adams he was going to "snatch [the Panthers'] hearts'" on the final drive. A cold line, no doubt, but one you save for the Super Bowl when you know the NFL Films microphones are on the sideline, right? Stafford had to pull out his best material late in the wild-card round, both on and off the field, to get the Rams to the next round. I'm weirdly more optimistic about the Panthers after the playoff loss than I was after the regular-season win. The November win was obviously more satisfying, but the factors that led to it were unsustainable. The Panthers converted all three of their fourth-down tries, including two for long touchdown passes. With a Mike Jackson pick-six leading the way, the Panthers posted a plus-three turnover margin in the win; the last time that happened was in the Matt Rhule era with Baker Mayfield at quarterback, more than three years ago. Those plays matter and are meaningful, of course, but I'm not sure they're particularly sustainable as a formula for beating the Rams. And in those same spots Sunday, the Panthers' timing wasn't quite as impeccable. They went 0-for-3 on fourth down. Young threw an early pick to the Rams on a play in which Panthers receiver Jalen Coker, who otherwise had a breakout game, seemed to be on the wrong page after some pre-snap adjustments and stopped his route. Carolina rookie Trevor Etienne muffed a punt to give the Rams another short field, and while the Panthers got another Jackson interception and blocked a punt in the fourth quarter, the turnover margin for this game went down in Los Angeles' favor. (Should blocked punts count as turnovers?) Instead, this Panthers performance shined through the full 60 minutes, as they went toe-to-toe with the Rams on a down-by-down basis. They struggled early on defense, with Rams receiver Puka Nacua moving around the formation and flummoxing Carolina's zone coverage looks, but defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero and his cornerbacks held up against Nacua and Adams and forced Stafford into what seemed like an endless run of contested throws to either sideline. They rode their luck a bit when Nacua dropped a would-be touchdown just before halftime, but the Panthers were able to limit explosive rushing plays and didn't allow a single drive over 50 yards before the fourth quarter. And on a day when Chuba Hubbard and Rico Dowdle combined for 55 yards on 18 carries and the Panthers trailed by 14 points midway through the first quarter, so much of the game fell on Young's shoulders. His offensive line was a mess. Guard Robert Hunt tried to return early from a pectoral injury and clearly wasn't his usual self. The third-year pro lost left tackle Ikem Ekwonu to a ruptured patellar tendon early in the game, and replacement Yosh Nijman allowed four of the 14 quick pressures generated by the Rams, per NFL Next Gen Stats. That's tied for the fifth-most quick pressures by any defense in any game all season. Under the circumstances, I thought Young was excellent. The raw numbers aren't going to wow anyone, with the 2023 No. 1 draft pick completing 52.5% of his passes and averaging 6.6 yards per attempt, but Young's 74.4 Total QBR attests to how well he played given the pressure rate. He was repeatedly able to buy time and create out of structure, looking almost Tony Romo-esque as he spun his way out of interior pressure and got out of the pocket to find receivers. When Young wasn't pressured, he went 17-of-24 for 223 yards with a touchdown and that pick. He threw with anticipation to set up two chunk plays to Coker, who finished with nine catches for 134 yards and the touchdown that gave the Panthers their fourth-quarter lead. Young is never going to have the strongest arm, so he needs to anticipate voids before they come open, throw accurate passes to create YAC and alternately create out of structure. He did all three Saturday. I'm not suggesting that Young's fifth-year option was on the line in this game, because the indications were already that the Panthers were going to pick up the $26.5 million guarantee for Young to be on the roster in 2027. If Young had suffered through a disastrous game (think Sam Darnold's final start with the Vikings), though, that pickup might have come through gritted teeth. This was Young's most important start in a Panthers uniform, and he came through impressively. This is the first offseason in many years in which the Panthers won't have to make fixing the offense their primary focus. Acquiring a quarterback was problem No. 1, of course, and they've spent the past two offseasons desperately trying to get the right players around Young. Some of those moves haven't hit, but enough have to leave the offense in solid shape. Coker and presumptive Offensive Rookie of the Year Tetairoa McMillan are the two young wideouts the Panthers have been hoping to find. They'll also have Jonathon Brooks as the second back alongside Hubbard to replace Dowdle next season. There's still work to be done, of course. Ekwonu is likely out six to 12 months, and the Panthers are on the hook for his $17.6 million fifth-year option in 2026. Nijman, a pending free agent, was a turnstile when forced into the lineup at left tackle. The Panthers probably need a short-term stopgap at left tackle if Ekwonu is not ready to go. Adding a tight end might also be on the docket if the Panthers weren't impressed by Ja'Tavion Sanders' second season. But really, this should be an offseason finally devoted toward adding defense. The Panthers signed Tershawn Wharton and Tre'von Moehrig in free agency, but when they used a second-round pick on edge Nic Scourton, it was the first time Carolina had used a first- or second-round pick on a defensive player since selecting Jaycee Horn in 2021.

You have to have sound footing to call out the DC. As Umanmielen routinely ran himself out of plays he's not the guy to throw those stones.

God, I hate that we are keeping Evero. Lets hope the Raiders are dumb enough to hire him as their head coach.

The Ickey injury changes our offseason plans. We’re probably going to have to settle at bringing back more of these guys since it’s likely we’ll have to draft a round 1 offensive tackle.

Sadly this changes our offseason plans. We now have to draft an OT at 19. Not just because of Ickey, but because Moton is getting old as well. Assuming Ickey bounces back, the new OT can slide into Moton’s spot when he’s done. I wanted a pass rusher, but now this issue takes precedence. We’re going to have to find one along with an ILB in FA. Also, bring back Yosh and Brady for depth.

He thinks Bryce would have better production with Ladd than Tmac. I think I’m done engaging with him.

Styles if he is available or a OT seems to be the play.

Yeah, Stafford was way to comfortable for most of that game. He looked the worst when, surprise surprise, we started dialing up the defensive pressure.

he’s not the first, the previous just weren’t allowed to come back

At least one guys in the rooms has the balls to say it.. Tired of the same BS from Dave

Offense is what wins in todays NFL. Blindside protection is in the top 4 of required excellence needed to have success. IMO trusting a rookie is very risky

Nobody on this list will cost that much, and I'd like to see them all retained. Some guys like Rozeboom can probably get more elsewhere, but offer him a cheap 1 year deal and let him decide. A lot of those guys are minimum contracts and depth, where they belong. Priority number 1 is re-signing every bit of OL depth we have after Ickey's injury. I *think* all of those guys could be had for cheap enough. Nijman might be the most expensive at this point since teams are always desperate for a LT. Give him a "big" number on 1 year if you have to. Coker, re-sign now for a 2-3 year deal with decent money. If he's healthy next year, I'd expect him to put up solid #2 numbers and become more and more expensive. If Evero is here, Nick Scott will be here.

Styles is consistently mocked ahead of us at #19. You want to know irony? Several have Tampa taking him at #14. If that happens, I may need a new TV because something will most definitely be thrown at it.

It’s a good point. A lot of people are upset with our pass rush production, but the schemes allows for the QBs to get the ball out fast bc our DBs are consistently 7-8 yards off the ball. Evero is absolutely terrified to run man pressure. And the crazy part is if he did, his zone could eat QBs alive. He just uses it far to often with no disguise and the QBs know where the weak spot is

Yosh, Christensen, and a draft pick of some sort should be the plan at LT. Then pray our OL got all of their injuries out this year.

Princely is not doing a good job with his media training it seems. He says the talent is there for our pass rush but something’s holding us back….. https://www.instagram.com/reel/DTYKnjMjqoA/?igsh=NmswampuNnJpY2Fr

To be fair these were known issues and his physicality was supposed to make up for all of it, we just haven't seen it since he was drafted. And he still looks the part by NFL standards so it's kinda crazy how the strength hasn't translated at all.

Which qb would you rather have?

The tush push is probably going to be gone after this year. It's one of those plays where if it's used against you then you despise it but if you're a team who can utilize it to perfection with the right personnel you're ecstatic. Part of me would certainly like to be the latter again.

He'll be back next year.

You're talking about one game. I'm talking about a season-long trend that establishes a very likely cause. I'm not saying we can't stand to upgrade some pieces on defense. I'm saying that when your offense is constantly trailing the defense has to play for the run. That's backed up by the facts.

The Chargers gave up 66 sacks this season. That's the most in the NFL. The Panthers gave up half that. I certainly remember the constant hand wringing and excuses from folks like him when Bryce was getting sacked into oblivion. Anywho. The Patriots are possibly a legitimate Super Bowl contender. Bryce Young threw the ball 30 times for 150 yards against them for 5 yards per attempt. His stat line basically mirrors that of Herbert against them in the playoffs. Which team got blown out worse though with more at stake? And for clarity. Bryce was only sacked once in that game. Herbert was sacked 6 times. Bryce on the Chargers would be brutal. Don't expect that unpaid sycophant to offer a rational rebuttal.

Put Bryce on the Chargers with the 6th best defense based on EPA/play yeah that team would do just fine. Ladd is built for Bryce. Herbert had 28 total TDs to 13 INT’s this year. Bryce had 25 total TD’s to 11 INT’s. Both had 7 fumbles. During second half of season Bryce had a better EPA + CPOE comp and a better EPA/play than Herbert The way people drag Bryce around here but throw Herbert into that elite category is laughable