hepcat

Is this man ok? He looks physically ill. Is it just the strange placement of the Botox in his eye brows? Is he finally starting to pay the price the deal he made with the devil? Is he just on a season long bender because of his divorce? I mean for a 45 year old sure I guess he still looks good but he also looks like he needs to eat real food again. I can see why he hasn’t played great this season, got no calories to burn!!!

It means that the Panthers aren’t gonna be allowed to touch Brady without flags flying out of every refs asshole.

I might never forgive Tepper for this decision unless he fixes this sh*t quick. He’s LUCKY Wilks is coaching his ass off.

THREE REASONS THE PANTHERS BEAT THE BUCS ON SUNDAY #1) POWER RUN GAME. The Panthers rushing offense has exploded since Steve Wilks took over as head coach. In the last 3 games alone the Panthers are averaging 188 yards per game on the ground. The Bucs rush defense is thoroughly average, giving up ~120 rushing YPG this season. DT Vita Vea, a mammoth human being who is a big time rush stuffer, has missed time recently and is questionable to play on Sunday. If he misses another game (although I expect the Bucs to take a literal "all hands on deck" approach for the game), the Panthers running game will get a big boost. The offensive line has been playing well for the most part, opening HUGE holes for all three Panthers running backs. If the Panthers can get out to an early lead like they have against the Seahawks and Lions in recent wins, the Panthers will control the game and this greatly increases their chances for a win. #2) SAM DARNOLD IS NOT BAD ANYMORE. Darnold has looked like a serviceable NFL QB lately, thriving in a ball control run-first offense. If Darnold can continue to protect the ball, make critical third down throws, and occasionally sling a deep pass to keep the defense honest, the Panthers offense has looked dangerous. If the Panthers want a chance to win, Darnold will have to hit some big deep throws to keep the defense from stacking the box. We've seen him do this in the wins against the Broncos, Seahawks, and Lions, and he even played well against the Steelers despite the run game getting shut down. The Bucs have a banged up roster and Darnold should be able to capitalize on some favorable matchups for his WRs. Any way the Panthers win includes Darnold making some big plays. #3) THE PENDULUM SWINGS. As Ron Rivera used to always say, the Panthers lost a game because of "Missed Opportunities". And the team has been missing a lot of opportunities lately. The Panthers have endured a brutal 5 season stretch of losing records, with 2 head coaches fired behind a slew of reject QBs from across the NFL. It takes a whole lot of bad luck to have the stretch the Panthers have had the last 5 years. Missed game winning/game tying kicks galore, 4th quarter leads squandered, comebacks thwarted at the last moment, it's been one thing after another. Eventually, the luck pendulum has to swing back the other way. I saw this pendulum swing the Panthers way against the Lions, when early in the 2nd quarter, the Lions were driving in the red zone, had the Panthers defense totally on their heels and about to score a TD, when they inexplicably fumbled the ball and the Panthers never looked back. Beating the Bucs twice in one season would cement that pendulum starting to swing back in favor of the Panthers. THREE REASONS THE PANTHERS LOSE TO THE BUCS ON SUNDAY #1) TOM BRADY. Brady is the ultimate X Factor in any game he plays in. He's the best comeback QB in NFL history and he is still showing it at the ripe old age of (checks birthday) 45 years old! It's insane he's still in the NFL. Brady has lead a 4th Q or OT comebacks in the Bucs last two wins against the Cardinals and Saints. Going back to the Panthers/Bucs game in Week 7, Brady didn't play poorly. Mike Evans dropped a wide-open TD on the opening drive of the game that seemed to set off a string of calamitous failures for the Bucs. Brady converted several crucial 3rd and 4th downs in that game, but overall they were just off that day, and the Panthers capitalized. I'm not sure if the Panthers get that lucky again. If the game on Sunday is close, I fully expect Brady to do what it takes to get the Bucs the win at the end. #2) BUCS DEFENSE SHOWS UP. The Bucs defense has been much maligned this season. They are dealing with a slew of injuries and haven't been as dominant as the last two seasons. The Bucs defense is going to have to show up and slow down a potent Panthers running game to have any chance of winning this one. I'm sure they are studying the Steelers game to see what they did to shut down the Panthers running game. If the Bucs shut down the run and force the game into Darnold's hands, it could get ugly for the Panthers. Although Darnold has looked much better under McAdoo and with a much improved offensive line, he's still Sam Darnold. He's long overdue to have the derpiest, dumbest turnover you've ever seen. I wouldn't be surprised if we see Darnold revert to the QB he's always been on Sunday. #3) THE PANTHERS ARE CURSED. As I mentioned in the reasons the Panthers will win on Sunday, Eventually that proverbial luck pendulum has to swing back the other way, right? Wrong. I don't know what it is, but I think we can all agree that at certain times in team history, the Panthers just appear to be cursed. They are the only team in the NFL to not have back to back winning seasons, which is an insane anomaly for a team that is almost 30 years old. When the games start to matter, the ball just doesn't seem to bounce their way. The calls from the officials seem to favor the opponent, the just team forgets how to win when the games. Every once in awhile, the team catches lightning in a bottle and run a string of good luck to a winning season or Super Bowl appearance. But that luck always seems to run out at a certain point, usually before a championship can be won. The Panthers have an improbable opportunity to make the playoffs if they win their final two games, and if my 20+ years of being a Panthers fan tells me anything, this Bucs game is the type of game the Panthers will most certainly lose in the most excruciating fashion ever imagined by any football fan across the globe. Imagine a game the Panthers dominate for 3.5 quarters until Tom Brady decides f*ck this, I want to win. And executes the most surgical comeback win that drives a knife into Panthers fans hearts forever. This is the way of the Panther. This is what we know and understand.

If they keep Wilks, let him stock the defense with his guys. He's been here 1 season. The DEs are tiny and get bulldozed. The LBs aside from Shaq are nobodies.

It actually happens quite frequently. The NFL uses phantom 3rd down penalties to either stop drives or perpetuate them. You know it’s bullshit when the broadcast doesn’t even show the replay.

Hell of a coaching move and I wonder whose idea it was to bring him in and I bet it wasn’t Rhule

I mean I’m not gonna sit here and hope they injure him. This isn’t Mac Jones we’re talking about. I just hope the Panthers beat them so bad that Brady just decides to retire. Most of the time getting blown out by the Panthers especially with an interim head coach usually gets someone fired.

I’ve never been more confident the Panthers will lose a game in my entire life

NOOOOOOOOOOOOO cursed

https://pantherswire.usatoday.com/2022/10/23/panthers-buccaneers-inactives-jaycee-horn-week-7/ Just a friendly reminder that even though he is out this week, he didn’t play in the Panthers last win against the Bucs.

Those two things go hand in hand quite literally

Panthers need to win against the Bucs so naturally they will lay the biggest egg we’ve ever seen, and I think we all know that even if the game is close, the NFL will definitely not allow the Panthers to win. Then once all hope is lost, the Bucs have clinched the division, the Panthers have 0 playoff chances, they will blow out the Saints in the final game just because who f*cking cares let’s drop 10 draft spots.

The NFL can’t possibly allow this Panthers team to beat old man Brady and stop one last hurrah in the playoffs, right? The Panthers have literally 0 marketable players and a tiny fanbase. If the game is even remotely close I’m 100% sure the NFL will call some rigged penalties to allow the Bucs to win. I’ve watched way too much football over the last 20 years for me to think this will be a fair game. Panthers gotta blow them out to have even a chance.

The Cardinals were never going to win that game. The fact it was even close shows how bad the Bucs are. The Cardinals trotted out their 3rd string QB and probably should have won the game. If the Panthers can’t beat the Bucs, the season is over and damn well it should be. The Bucs are terrible and Brady is old and his head and heart clearly aren’t in it anymore. But I’m about 99% sure we see some rigged garbage from the refs next week because there is 0% marketability in this Panthers team for a playoff appearance. The NFL is going to do everything it can to nudge the game for the Bucs. The Panthers can’t allow it to be a close game or the NFL will give the game to the Bucs, it’s a stone cold fact.

Tampa will win with a FG. Scripted NFL finish

I mean that know ding dong David Newton reporting that but I’ve seen it reported from multiple outlets that it is indeed broken. I’ll wait until we hear it from the team though. Could he, will he, play with a club? I do, I do think so, panthers fans.

Darnold would have played sooner if it wasn’t for the ankle injury. Thanks fieldturf

I did, had a great time watching the classic Christmas Vacation with the fam. What’s your point? I’m not able to watch the highlights and look at the stats after the game

I doubt it because the Bucs would play in prime time two weeks in a row and that’s a lot of screen time for the same team with a small fanbase and a losing record, Brady or not.

He’s basically injury prone Chris Gamble

Baby steps That’s a formula for a lot of QBs to win in the NFL. Most have a system built around them that elevate their strengths and minimize their weaknesses. Maybe you’ve forgotten what the Patriots offense looked like in the early to mid 2000s with Brady? Super run heavy with Brady not needing to do a ton every game. Sure he was clutch, but it’s the same concept. I’m not over here saying Darnold is the answer, but it’s encouraging he has been able to show some progress.

This is true but Darnold has improved on not making crippling mistakes. He’s elevated himself to quality backup and maybe bridge starter with his performances. If he wins another 2 games in a row and puts up a fight against the Cowboys in the playoffs he definitely deserves to be back next season.

I am 100% behind keeping Darnold as the long term backup and potential starter to bridge the gap for a rookie QB. They have to draft a QB next year.

Zero chance the Panthers win this game. Turned it off and watching a Christmas movie. Can’t spend any more time watching these overpaid garbage losers play like pussies.