CPcavedweller

As long as we don't have to trade picks for them, great. Unless it's Aaron Rodgers or something and we can get three years of awesome football, with a lot of drama. Use this year to build the talent please. BPA. Reich just played QB roulette with the Colts and we see how that worked out.

Negatory. We had the same situation with Cam. Once you get injured, it's hard to adjust. Lamar hasn't hurt his shoulder, yet. But if you take one leg away from him like Mahomes had to deal with, he's a bottom 5 starter in the league. Give me someone who throws really well but can run versus someone who throws ok but runs really well.

Tune might be worth it but you have to remember we probably roll with two QB's and a practice squad guy who, right now, is Eason. I'd be fine with Jake Haener in the 4th. He's sort of like Heinickie in a lot of ways which isn't a bad thing for a probable back-up. I really want Torrance though. Watched him at Louisiana. Billy Napier had some DAWGS in Lafayette and an NFL O-Line coach. Ickey, Bozeman, Torrance, and Moton would easily be one of the best lines in the league by 2024. Draft Charbonnet (6'1 225, 4.45 40), draft Kincaid out of Utah, re-sign Darnold, and maybe take Mims or the guy out of Houston in the 3rd and you've got a really, really good core of players on offense. I'd like to see how Darnold could do with that.

So the first Head Coach and the first starting QB are back? Well, hopefully we can have that much success. If Tepper stays out of it, I can't help but feel like we bring back Darnold. Reich doesn't want to be on the QB merry go round again.

1. Trade down in the 1st, maybe twice to stack picks 2. Draft a O'Cyrus Torrance later in the 1st (All-Pro type Guard) 3. Draft Dalton Kincaid in the 2nd 4. Draft Zach Charbonnet in the 2nd 5. Draft Eli Ricks in the 3rd 6. Draft Jerrod Clark in the 4th or 5th 7. Re-sign Darnold We either reach for JAG at QB, or we stack talent where we can and nab our guy once we have everyone, while also having the assets, in place. If we reach for a QB, and have to trade poo to get them again, we are right back where we've been since Cam got hurt. But everytime we trade stuff for a QB, we dig ourselves a deeper and deeper hole. Give Darnold and Corral a shot with a real coaching staff. Build the best offensive line in the league, draft guys with elite talent in the aforementioned players, and just win baby.

You didn't like running for TREE FIDDY on the Lions? Or very nearly dropping Brady out of the playoffs until Ickey decided he didn't want to pass block anymore? Darnold posting a passer rating of over 100 on the year? None of that?

Don't bring out STATISTICS IN HERE. ARE YOU INSANE? Darnold was quietly one of the best QB's in the NFL the final 6 games of the season. I hope he comes back and gets a fair shake with the best coaching he would have had to date.

Darnold with Josh McCown and Frank Reich? I'm intrigued. Give Matt Corral a real year with his health and a real coaching staff (not Rhule), I'd be interested to see what he had in 2024. I think Darnold can be a really good player. Dude came in the league very, very young and went to the Jets with Adam Gase. then he came to Carolina with freakin' Matt Rhule. If anyone in the league hasn't got a fair shake, it's Sam Darnold. Given his draft position, he's been put in the worst possible spot twice. Then when forced to the bench, he was a Pro's Pro and trusted the process. The Bucs game was rough at the end but Icky was a handkerchief mask trying to block COVID, it just wasn't working.

He wasn't the DC, he was moved up on an interim basis. So he could've stayed on as a position coach. That's the thing with Wilks as well, people say "he wouldn't want a demotion". Well, it wouldn't be a demotion, it would be a promotion because he was the Head Coach on an interim basis. DC would've been a promotion. Furthmore, Wilks is a man's man. If he was seriously considered for the position, and didn't want it, he would let the organization know as much. If he wanted the job, and was offered, he sure wouldn't intervene with the new Head Coach. The man has no ego. It's a shame he's gone. It's a shame both of them are gone. The Panthers are a better team with Wilks on staff.

Big Sexy

The Panthers first season was in 1995. We've known a lot more than just Rhule. When is the last time you saw an interim go 6-6 with this roster, four QB's, firing a DC and 8 staffers mid-season? There is a reason Wilks was a finalist for the job. The offense could have been really good under Wilks if we were able to hire an OC. The problem is that if you want a good OC right now, you have to make them Head Coach due to market pressures. If the reverse were true, I think Wilks would make a better HC than Reich while Reich would likely have been a great choice for running the offense. Just my take. And I'm probably responding to a 19 year old who has only known Rhule as coach. Las thing to note, Cam Newton scored something like 55 touchdowns, in total, in 2015, with Ron Rivera as HC, Cotchery, Funchess, Philly Brown, and Tedd Ginn as his receivers. He broke numerous rookie passing records, QB rushing records, etc. Lamar Jackson, MVP, head coach is a DC. Bill Bellichek. Look at Andy Reid, like 10 Championship game appearances, four Super Bowl Appearances, one Super Bowl win. You can figure it out with a great head coach, whether they are on offense or defense, if you have the right roster. The best coach, in my opinion, right now is Kyle Shanahan and what has made them so good is their defense. Their offense is good, but if they had been solely focused on that like some Panthers fans want us to be, they wouldn't be nearly as dominant in the postseason as they have been.

The thing with the Saints is that they are in win now mode. They have the receivers, offensive line, and defense to make a run. Their problem is that they have Dennis Allen as a head coach. It doesn't matter who the QB is as long as he's running that team and I relish in that reality. I like Carr personally. He's an enthusiastic dude who truly loves football and the people he plays with. His passion, outwardly, is unmatched by any QB in the game right now. He has some deficiencies but we saw his potential with Gruden and if the Saints can tap into that they have an opportunity to be really proehlific on offense.

Numerous pundits have mentioned it. Evero seems to have only coached in 3-4 schemes so it stands to reason we would be making a change. Poor timing if the FO thinks we are only a QB away because now you have to spend capital to get those key 3-4 positions. Clark is a huge bargain for what I think he will provide for whomever drafts him. Dude was a menace going against App State the past few years and App has put a few offensive linemen, and may put two more this year, into the NFL in that time.

Give them two 2nd round picks. No way you hand a conference opponent the 1st pick of the draft, the number 9 pick of the draft, and however much other draft stuff they have. Panthers need to focus on the core of talent on the team. We aren't a rookie QB away from being competitive so why would we trade everything this year and next year for one? So we get a QB and can't support them until Year 4 when, if they aren't ruined, we have to re-sign them to a cap constraining deal. The only way that works is if you land Josh Allen, Patrick Mahomes, Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers, Lamar Jackson type dudes. The closest I see in this draft to someone who could reach that ceiling is Stroud and maybe Richardson. Young and Levis may end up being good, but I just don't see them as great options. People are making a lot of excuses for Levis and the only reason why is because he has a rocket launcher for an arm. If Bryce Young was 4 inches and 30 lbs heavier, he may be a great option. Hell, he still may be a great option but even his comps in Russell Wilson and Drew Brees required league leading defenses. So I think we need to build out the defense first, fill in the dime-a-dozen type positions on the offense second, then find the QB. I also still believe it's foolish to sleep on Darnold and Corral paired with Reich.

Bro...NO Would 10 out of 10 rather have Darnold with Reich than Jameis "20/200" Winston. Jesus man. I also want to see what Corral can do. We have a pickle here fellas. Defensive scheme change, $20 million in Cap space, five draft picks, new staff. We need to trade down in the first to get more picks.

Jerrod Clark - 6'4 345 lb - Coastal Carolina 0 Tech and 1 Tech Nose Tackle with an 82 inch wing span who can push the line and reset the middle to help collapse the pocket. Isn't incredibly fast but with 33 7/8 inch arms, he will do exactly what you need for a nose in our new 3-4. Seeing as he should be available on Day 3, that's a huge value for a team making a scheme change. Was initially recruited as a TE to Coastal before putting on 100 lbs. Knowing Jamie Chadwell, Clark probably could've cut it as a TE but they had also recruited Isaiah Likely (who we should've taken last year) who is now with the Ravens. So you get TE athleticism from a nose and as a Day 3 pick? Great opportunity to get one of those premier type 3-4 noses that make the Raven's and Buc's defenses so difficult.

Tepper hires the coaches, does he not? Tepper owns the team, right? Yes and yes? Then yeah, he does have some input in the schemes being run. If the team feels like it can work, great. I just don't see how you plug the holes you've now created on defense and reserve the possibility to trade up and get a QB, as has been suspected here. You're likely going to have to go with Richardson, which I'm cool with. But then you're taking a 0 tech, a 3 tech 3-4 type end, and probably another edge rusher who can set the edge on the first two downs. Whereas if you stuck with a 4-3 you're taking BPA. So this is a lot bigger deal than people here are understanding. Perhaps the blinders will come off in September. Or maybe you guys don't remember 2019 when we were changing back to a 3-4 scheme.

I think Carr, along with the right draft picks, could be a solid pick-up. You just end up missing the window people get when you have a QB on a rookie contract. But when you only have five picks this year and a new defensive scheme, what are you going to do? Re-sign Sam Darnold for $10,000,000? Yes. I'd say sign Darnold for two years with an out in Year 2. Build the core of the team, don't win too many games in 2023, take Maye or Williams in 2024. That's the closest you will get to potential All-Pro QB's to go 1 and 2. It's been a while since a draft has had two guys like them coming out.

We can't trade for the Number 1 pick now because we need draft picks for defense. Our list of holes on that side of the ball just got bigger. Now you probably should take BPA to build out the core of the team as best you can, or trade down if you're sure you can get who you want, and develop those guys while probably not being great. I just, I don't understand the scheme transition while you're looking for a new QB and only have five draft picks.

NEGATIVE? NEGATIVE? Give me your odd man alignment with players currently on the roster. It's poo. We don't have the guys to run a 3-4 front right now, period. 2023 is going to be quite bad on defense because no matter the X's and O's, when you have Brown and Gross-Matos getting washed down the line because they aren't anchors, what's going to happen? I get being a fan of this. I prefer a 3-4 to a 4-3. However this isn't something that works out overnight. Rivera tried this and failed in Year 1. Rivera let Tepper know of the transition and that it would be a multi-year project. Rivera was summarily fired, then we hired Rhule and Snow and went back to a 4-3 with all of our 3-4 draft picks. Now three years later we are going back to a 3-4. If Evero can do better than Rivera in one season with the same issue, I'll be shocked. Rivera is one of the best defensive coaches in the NFL. So if we have similar results to that transition, does Tepper get antsy again or does he actually let that staff go through multiple cycles? You've also ruled out the possibility of trading draft picks for a QB because now we have a personnel problem on defense that needs to be rectified. If anything we could trade down in the 1st and get multiple day 2 and day 3 picks while still picking up very talented players. I'm just not sure you can address the defensive issues and offensive short-comings now in this draft. Again, I'll be happy to be wrong and I get why everyone is excited but this is probably going to be a struggle in Year 1. In the NFL it's not only the X's and O's like it can be in college (See App State at Texas A&M, Marshall @ Notre Dame, Georgia Southern @ Nebraska, UNC @ App State, NC State @ ECU). You need dogs and right now, we have some really good guys but the Front 7, and specifically the 0 tech, is SOOOOO important. Look at the Bucs. Where were they without Vita Vea? Struggling, hard. We don't have a Vita Vea or anything close to that. We have a bunch of three techs and a few guys underweight for odd man 0 tech. Draft Jerrod Clark from Coastal Carolina (6'4 350 lbs 0 tech), pick up two other guys in FA and run a platoon. I'd prefer to have two true 0 techs and then maybe roll with Brown or Gross-Matos at the 0 for pass rush downs.

We don't have the personnel to run a 3-4 right now. We don't have the ends, we don't have the linebackers. Our secondary should be good to go as they can play man on the outside. Horn isn't going to be wasted playing Free Safety. He can cover man up really well and you'll need that when you're covering space given up by the 4th rusher. I love odd man fronts but fans really need to understand that this, like under Ron when he was going to make the change, will be a process. Tepper needs to get out of the way and understand that he has a good staff and it will take time to get dudes in place. Haynes and Burns are the only true fits in the front 7 right now. I'd look for us to take a guy like Jerrod Clark out of Coastal Carolina. 6'4 350 lbs and has an explosive first step as well as the ability to anchor a 0 tech. Derrick Brown could be a 3 or 5 tech, Burns can slide down inside or even play the dog position. You could draft a guy like Nick Hampton out of App State to also run dog as he can cover and rush, almost identically to Burns considering he's 6'3 with like 83 inch arms or something ridiculous. Runs a 4.5 to 4.6 40. Might take a guy like Bumper Pool, All-American ILB out of Arkansas. He's not a speed demon but he is a very good football player. Everyone I mentioned will likely be Day 3 picks. If we want to win sooner rather than later, I think we have to trade down to stack defensive talent. What do the Eagles and 49er's have? Great defensive players all over the Front 7. If we trade up to get a QB we are going to delay any progress on a defensive transition. Ron wasn't given time, let's see if Tepper will be patient this time around. If he had given Ron another three years instead of Rhule I could almost guarantee we would've been in the playoffs again. Rash decision making rarely works out in this sport.

This all just went out of the window now that we have to undertake a scheme change. You're looking at a trade down, or two, ro get picks and then drafting a guy like Jake Haener in the 4th. We now have to go defense early to get those transition pieces. That is unless we completely disregard the identity of this franchise and feel we can outscore everyone to a championship which, in the NFL, isn't a recipe for success. Ask the Vikings and the Lions.

My only concern is now we have a personnel issue on defense. We tried switching to an odd man front with Rivera and it didn't go well, which we knew it wouldn't because it was year 1. Tepper reacted by firing Ron and hiring Rhule, switching back to a 4-3 with guys we drafted to run a 3-4. Now three years later we are back to a 3-4 and start the process we should've continued with in 2020 AGAIN. So what does that look like in Year 1? Ron Rivera, one of the most respected defensive coaches in the league couldn't pull it off in one year, can this guy? My guess is no. So then does Tepper have the patience?

Torrance is that good. A great offensive line can mask issues at QB, RB, receiver, and head coach. It's literally your front line of defense of the QB and you're saying it doesn't matter? Do you recall 2015? We would have three to four Pro Bowl quality offensive linemen, a 2nd year QB in Corral, Moore, Marshall, Mims, Charbonnet, Frank Reich as the Head Coach, Evers as DC with Eli Ricks, Horn, Burns, Jackson, Haynes, Brown, et. al. I get the sentiment you have and normally I'd agree but I saw quite a bit of Torrance at Louisiana and then he just proved himself, and what many already knew, when he transferred to Florida. He's an All-Pro caliber player. I think that if you want to amass picks to build out the core talent of the team, you trade down in the first, maybe twice, and take him. Getting multiple Day 2 picks to scoop up the guys that most of you don't know. Again, I said this is what I'd do. Doesn't mean it's what you want to do. I'm working under the assumption that Reich likes Corral/Darnold coming back and feels we can see what we have while stockpiling young talent. That young talent may not do everything in 2023, so you may just suck enough to get an elite QB next season amd then catapult with the crop of guys I've proposed as well as a Rookie QB. But I'm not a GM and none of that's going to happen so Pull your panties out of your ass and calm down.

The last time we tried switching to an odd front after Tepper the defensive coach was fired mid-season, then we went back to a 4-3. Tepper can't keep changing his mind on scheme like this. This isn't college where you Pull guys in the portal and just wallah...fixed. I get the hire but he's going to need a good two to three seasons to complete the transition. Unless he wants to go multiple, we now have to commit draft picks to the defense and Free Agency just to make a scheme change rather than to build out the core of the roster. I won't be surprised if it doesn't work in Year 1 and by mid year 2 Tepper is losing his poo as he's been known for. Buckle up guys, 2023 is going to be bumpy. Tank for Maye/Williams is incoming.