Khyber53

I really want to see Burns have a big year, I really do. In all honesty, though, he has got to make a major step up to even enter the top tier of DE/Edge players in the league. He's close, soooo close, but he hasn't gotten there yet. Yes, he did have a couple of games last year where he was the dominant player on the field and there were times throughout the year when he was able to cause havoc. But he has not joined that group of players that are elite pass rushers yet. He's got more help now and he's maturing (he's still learning the pro game and putting on muscle) so the conditions are all there for him but I think for us to just swoon over him and declare him a strong or sure DPOY candidate in June is just ludicrous homering.

Cool, good for them!

You forgot C, PR, KR, but otherwise 100% right. We talk like there are some great players we just picked up/drafted but we don't know anything about them yet. Outside of CMC, DJ and Moton, we don't know if anyone else out there is going to live up to the hype, hit their stride or just fade away right now. Outside of those three, I don't see a guy that doesn't have some questions. Even Jeremy Chinn (who I think was a revelation last season) you have to wonder if there might be a sophomore slump, especially if there's a change to pure safety work this coming season. He's a gifted athlete and displays great football IQ, but he could see his impact fade if he has to help cover deficiencies of other players.

It also points out to how hard it is to build a consistently successful NFL team and how those teams need to be set in amongst some really bad competition. There are just a handful of them and they continually put space in the wins/losses column between themselves and everyone else. Just think of the Patriots. How many years, decades, have they been feasting off of the truly horrible teams in their division? The Colts did the same during the Manning years. The Packers have played in the second weakest division for two decades. The Panthers have been in a division with relative parity, where the last 20 years have them all close to an 8-8 average record. Similar situations can be seen in the NFCWest and AFCWest, and the NFCEast has been a paragon of parity for just lousy teams over that span.

Hmmm.

I think with Rhule he will get the chance to prove it. If he is as good at LT as RT, then there are some major big bucks coming his way next year. Maybe from us, maybe from someone else. If it doesn't work out, he's still an excellent RT and he's going to make really good bucks, but probably from us. The guy has a major opportunity and a lot riding on this season personally. Hope the pressure doesn't affect his play one bit.

Jon had great leadership skills, really right behind Luke and just ahead of Minter. If Chinn can be that guy, then wow! And the kid has that knack for being in the right place at the right time. Some of that is knowledge and some of that is just one of those cosmic things. There's no measurable stat for it, but you can see it when it happens. Julius Peppers had that, along with an epic ability to make those things happen.

Thanks for the info on this. You've seen a lot of these offseason training opportunities over the years and your judgement is pretty educated. Do you think Chinn is going to become a Mike Minter back there at safety? Before Luke came around, Mike was the best at reading offenses and moving his chess pieces around to put us in good position. Also, any sightings of Christian Miller? Linebacker or DE?

It's a struggle this year to keep up with it all. There's been turnover, of course, but there's something else. Rhule and Co. haven't been picking up well known names in free agency. They are deep diving a bit more than we've seen in a loooong time. Combine that with this being one of the youngest teams in the league (if not THE youngest) and it might be more than my tired, old brain can keep up with. All 90, no way... I might get to 50 if I really worked at it and most of them would be carry over players. Still, I'm really in hopes that they find some uncut diamonds in all of this recruiting/drafting, some folks that aren't well know right now but who will be unforgettable after this year.

Not sure that if you're 30 and on the downslope this is a team looking to give folks a victory lap season. Now, a couple of years ago, for sure! They had even gone to serving soft food in the cafeteria and wear your slippers day on some Sundays!

Good vid OP. Even if he does just become a blocking TE, having a talented blocking TE/HB would be a massive pick-up. If he can get better at receiving that'll be excellent. Let's let him take to the field before we crown him the new Kittle, though. That's a giant mountain to climb for a rookie.

If there was ever a Panthers coach that would surprise cut an underperforming/overexpensive vet, Rhule's the guy. Please see last year.

I think we've carried Ian Thomas' development as far as we can. If he isn't there by this point, well, let's grab someone with potential left. Miller may be ready to go and make an impact now. We really know nothing about him anymore. That last roster spot, though, should really go to an undrafted rookie. I'm hoping OL David Moore gets to hang on. There's some old dudes and some injured dudes ahead of him on the roster, he could see himself move up quickly. LB Paddy Fisher could also be that guy. Some fellows ahead of him on prove it kind of deals. Solid back-up and special teamer could be a good role.

Dude, your wishfuls are showing.

I'm not that kind of girl.

That he concusses them during training camp? Geez, I hope that's not his plan.

It comes down to the injury bug (getting it or avoiding it) and a few key players in the league getting old over night. In our division, the Bucs could find themselves in the getting old overnight group. The Saints already did and are in cap hell. The Falcons failed bigtime last year and just lost Julio. We're the unknown and if our coach meets his potential, we could take the NFCSouth. The NFCNorth will be a bloodbath this season if Rodgers goes missing. The NFCWest could beat itself to death in hard competition. The NFCEast will probably be won by the team with no name. I mean, it could happen that we slide through some great happenstances.

No offense to Sam, but Jake was a winner out of the gate as a starting QB. Pedigree be damned. Now if Sam can come out and be Jake 2.0, I'll sing his praises. Or if he can live up to his earlier promise, that'll be big, too. There's a lot of pressure on Sam right now. Here's hoping that he handles it well.

Hoping he goes easier on rookies as an exec than he did as a player.

Trying to not get over optimistic about this season, but honestly, I like that set up. Sounds better than most of what we've fielded for a decade.

I'm looking forward to that. Should spice things up and he's proven to have broadcasting chops.

I think Jackson needs the sideline to help him, and that's not necessarily a bad thing, it's just his strength is speed more than scheme. I think this trio might work well for us, really well. If we can get success from our safeties (and Chinn is pretty much going to scare some receivers) then we're going to see a major shift in our win-loss ratio. If we can get more aggressive in the front seven, then it will be great.

Sure, nothing terrible or odd about this. He didn't join the coaching staff, didn't come out of retirement to play for WTF. Just spoke to some linebackers during OTAs.

So, I guess we throw Brady Christensen into the practice squad or are we just cutting him? Did I miss something that the great minds at CBS caught?