top dawg

You may not agree with it, but I think CJ has a point. As for me, I think it was all unfortunate. Admittedly, I'm from a day when players knocked the sh¡t out of each other with damned near reckless abandon: "if you don't wanna get hit, put on a skirt!" But, I guess you could say that Rhule made the right call in light of today's emphasis on player safety. But damn, part of me kind of believes that Rhule was being overly sensitive because a player that he's known for years was laying motionless on the ground. In other words, he overreacted--had a knee-jerk reaction. Plus, he was already pissed off about the unwanted physicality of Saturday night's practice. It was a perfect storm, whipped up by a young kid who lost his head for a moment. Too bad!

You sound a little salty, but I don't blame you. What are you gonna do? Oligarchs and corporatists rule the world!

Not really. Context is key. He was playing a lot on the outside at first--still very sparingly as a rookie. He got hurt on a fluke play (I believe his ankle) in the endzone. His second season he had what was likely an ablation procedure to fix an irregular heartbeat, but was still used sparingly. His third season he was involved a little more, but was still being used on gaget plays and such. After Rhule and Brady came in. Samuel hit his stride because he became a regular part of the offense and was involved seamlessly within the flow of the game. He was put into a position to succeed, so it's no surprise that his production increased as a receiver and an RB. Yeah, you can be cynical and say it was because it was a contract year, but I think it's because he always had it in him, and he actually had better coaches that maximized his skill set, who also understood what Samuel is and what he's not. As to your point about paying him 10+ mil per year, that was never going to happen because we didn't have the money. I'm glad we got TMJ and Shi Smith, but not necessarily happy that we lost Samuel. The NFL is a business however, and it was time for Samuel to move on. We should be better for it (and he should too, but he is going back to Rivera and Scott Turner...).

Why do you just keep saying sh¡t? Don't you ever get tired? I know, this is your major entertainment.

I'm not going to denigrate Ibe because sh¡t happens sometimes when amid action, but you just have to be smarter than that in practice. You don't want to hurt your own teammate, and this was probably emphasized to the entire team after Saturday night's practice.

Put players in the best position to succeed.

I just read an article that said Thomas was doing pretty good. Of course that was before his mistakes today.

We were thin at LB anyway, so the labs to sign new ones likely preceded Shaq's injury.

The YouTubers are 1000 times more relatable, that's all it is.

More notes https://pantherswire.usatoday.com/2021/08/02/panthers-2021-training-camp-notes-monday-practice-week-2/ Omar rolling right along.

None taken.

Jeremy Igo is a celebrity? That's some mental gymnastics right there.

When TMZ, Yahoo Entertainment, People Magazine, etc. report on you for being crazy, and you've been on Dancing With The Stars, you're a celebrity.

Mahomes got paid not that long ago. QBs with legit mobility are a coveted asset. I don't think that's going anywhere, as it is an entrenched part of the game. Perhaps some franchises will slow down on designed runs for QBs, but they're not going to stop QBs from running in order to move the chains. Teams are just going to rely on their QBs being smart enough to avoid big hits, and that's probably the way that it should be.

Half of the population, probably more, doesn't know who half these people are. My son is 23, and I guarantee he doesn't know Scarlett, Pitt, Depp, Cruz or Downey Jr. And unless you like boxing or maybe sports in general, you're probably not going to know who Mayweather is either. It's not like the guy is Muhammad Ali. Celebrity, especially in the new millennium, isn't limited to the big screen, and it is very much a niche thing.

I've heard tale of it, but never paid it any mind.

https://www.panthers.com/news/ask-the-old-guy-mattresses-pork-and-line-play What does the organizational chart look like? Is it David Tepper > Matt Rhule = Scott Fitterer, or Tepper > Rhule > Fitterer? Are the coach and GM considered equals, or does one report to the other? Based on what I know about how Tepper ran his other businesses, my guess is the latter. — Jay, Hermosa Beach, Calif. These questions always feel like traps, because it almost suggests a level of conflict or wielding superiority that doesn't appear evident. To make a long story short, Rhule runs football here. Tepper paid him a lot of money to come here and build something according to his design. He and Fitterer both report to Tepper, but Rhule's in charge. Rhule and Fitterer have a good and complementary relationship, and the chemistry and respect they have shown as they get to know each other seems genuine. But yeah, if you want to make a chart, Rhule is the top non-Tepper name on it. So, there you have it. One of life's mysteries pertaining to the Panthers' hierarchy of power, has been answered by Darin Gantt. And before someone says Hurney had more power, the hiring of Matt Rhule effectively cut Hurney's power off at the knees. But, even if you just stubbornly refuse to accept that "truth", you know who to "blame" from this point forward. Until Tepper says otherwise, the buck stops with Rhule!

That would be OK, but unlike these notes, others' observations (including Igo's) have been that the O-line's play has been less than stellar. But it's just the first few days. Things may turn once the guys can put hands on the D-line.

Y'all do realize that Robby was a YAC leader also?

I love to get every perspective on observations of practice that I can to try and kinda get a 360 view. Here's Rushing Vashee for Panthers Wire giving his very general observations. Here are the things verbatim that may be a little different (except for maybe Jaycee Horn, likely the best corner we ever drafted according to Igo): Jaycee Horn is a press coverage monster The No. 8 overall pick lined up at the line of scrimmage on multiple plays last night and disrupted plenty of routes. He had a notable PBU on Marken Michel, which drew a big reaction from the crowd. Donte Jackson also had a couple of notable PBUs against Robby Anderson and Terrace Marshall. Sam Darnold digs the middle of the field The overwhelming majority of Darnold’s success in 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 drills came in quick 10-yard passes over the middle, where he hit D.J. Moore, Terrace Marshall and Christian McCaffrey for first-down dimes on multiple plays. 2020 training camp star Omar Bayless also made a slightly deeper catch over the middle. Chuba Hubbard is an explosive runner Even though players were not supposed to tackle last night, Hubbard showed amazing burst speed in team drills. Alongside his explosiveness out of the backfield, Hubbard also showed promise as a kick returner. Another thing that I noticed which may not mean anything is that we have Trenton Cannon and David Moore returning punts, along with Chuba Hubbard. I'm surmising very loosely, but there may not be room enough for both Moore and Cannon on the squad after all is said and done. Moore has the 1¼ mil signing bonus though. Bayless spottings are quite the norm... No info on the O-line (except that Moton and Scott spent time with their families after practice)...probably a bad thing... The fact that the defense has a decided advantage over the offense right now due to lack of pads has been said several times, and it needs repeating, so take some of the O-line woes with a grain of salt.

Seriously? Christian Miller didn't come out of college as an unknown quantity. He's hardly worthy of a "Who?"