Khyber53

Stewie doesn't do preseason and he tends to get hurt each year. Can't remember a year when he didn't have to sit out one or two games at least. He's neither soft nor lazy, but he can be a bit fragile. He's had the benefit of splitting carries with Williams for years, and when he plays he is a monster, but he has some weak spots. Now, he is the lead back and Williams isn't on hand to either spell him or soften up the defense. It's all on his shoulders. I think he can do it, but heaven help us if he gets dinged up early.

I started out as a Falcons fan back in like 1977 and carried through with them until the Panthers franchise was born. Heck, I even remember pulling for the very short-lived Charlotte Hornets WFL team in first grade. Growing up as a Falcons fan through the 70s, 80s and 90s was a long string of disappointment, and honestly it got my butt kicked on the school bus a time or two by Dallas and Pittsburgh fans. I still hate those teams to this day. When the Panthers came along, I dumped the Falcons fast... I deserved a change and had earned it. Haven't regretted it since.

Simms stayed in for a few more plays after the big hit, if I recall. He wasn't short on toughness. It's kind of petty to call him a wimp because he spleen was ruptured and he was never able to get his career back on track. The kid was stuck behind a terrible O-line that day and the Panthers turned him into a tackling dummy that day. He's lucky to be alive, really. Rough moment aside, though, as broadcasters/talking heads, the Simms deserve a lot of criticism. It's like they thought they should have been where the Manning family is today in football and the bitterness just seeps through.

Those two games almost swirl together to make one game in my memory. Such a year! That first game was something else. It started off so badly with Peete that I was just like, "Well, here we go again" with another lost season. Then Fox pulled Peete and sent Jake in. I was like, "Del-what? Who's this guy? Some back-up from the Saints? Goodbye 2003, maybe next year..." Then this pretty non-descript Cajun dude with a bad haircut proceeded to show everyone that he might not have the pedigree, but that he sure had a helluva lot of fight in him. That game set the tone for the entire team and built a fanbase that started to believe it ain't over till that last second ticks away. And on the next week's game, I believe it might have been Jenkins that blocked the extra point, though Peppers had some pivotal blocks during the year. Coach Fox also cemented his reputation for taking teams off of the trash heap and getting them competitive again.

2003 Tampa Bay game, we'd won the week before, but this was the game where the Cardiac Cats were born and Jake Delhomme showed he could pick a team up and bring them back from the brink of defeat. Last minute blocked extra point, a team digging in and beating a division rival. You could just feel something magical happening. That was just an incredible year: 11-5 regular season record, 5 overtime games (one double overtime in the playoffs), Super Bowl ... it was the Bad News Bears making it to the World Series. Magical year even if we walked away without the Lombardi trophy.

I like your take on the Panthers, obviously. Tampa has some serious team issues, something that might be systemic dating back to the 1970s. I don't see this as being the year that Lovie turns it around there, maybe next year. Atlanta peaked a few years ago and have fallen apart since, dragging in retreaded heroes in an effort to get that magic spark. I think they are still in rebuilding mode and will be for another year. New Orleans just had a fire sale of an offseason. Brees has been great, but the team got itself into a cap nightmare that they haven't still gotten over. While they are still sitting in their sweat-soaked bed, Brees is looking around at a team that has no defense and lost a weapon on offense. Graham, I believe, was little help here anymore as NFC South defenses had already figured out that Graham had a glass jaw and would roll over after a couple of hard shots. (Look at how TD would target him on the first couple of plays each half).

I hope he doesn't turn out to be another Jamarcus Russell. It's sad when someone has it all and just completely destroys it. I do feel Winston, however, does have some serious red flags popping up. Hopefully he has grown out of the troubles and matures quickly. There's a lot of money and more careers than just his riding on it. NFC South... let's not get to uppity yet. 2014 was historically bad for the entire division last year. We'd be greatly improved to be considered a mediocre group of four.

I'm thinking you have a problem making comparisons. One is a case of an altercation between brothers that got out of hand, the other is allegations of rape with a potential cover-up by local police and the University, and petty theft that was probably a case of immature entitlement by a king jock, who then made fun of it again on draft night. One guy just about lost it all, found himself and a family and now has a shot, a small chance, to reach the dreams his actions once almost denied him. He has a chance to show the depth of his character and maybe earn a spot for himself on a roster. The other guy has it all, has been shielded from the repercussions of his actions, has been anointed as the savior for a franchise, showered with attention and glory. He's also the one who might be our next Jamarcus Russell. Big difference between the stories. One I hope works out as a great redemption story, the other that I worry may become a cautionary tale.

So, basically, it's Carolina and Denver in the Super Bowl now? I can deal with that.

Well, can't spend the entire off season crying over spilled milk.

Cam has the big arm, he can run like no one else, he is an incredibly gifted athlete with charisma and he shows both football and real world intelligence. He's pretty much everything you want in a franchise quarterback. Except (and here's where everyone goes completely apesh*t), he is just now figuring out the most important aspect of being a franchise QB: leadership. Up until late in last season, if this team was down, Cam was down as well, head held low, hiding under a towel on the sidelines. After the traffic accident last year, he did seem to change, he seemed to commit to that leadership role, and that is a huge step. He's got to continue with that maturation this year, though. And he has to be able to do what good leaders must do, he has to lift those around him, inspire them to better performances. When things get down, he's got to be the one others can look to and see that the game isn't over yet, that if they dig down they can still win. (Here's where I get crucified again), Jake Delhomme had that ability, and that may have been the only thing that made him a good QB. He led the team back time and time again. In practice, he challenged players to keep giving and working. I think Jeremy even noted how he would always get everyone to run up the hill at the end of the summer practice sessions, even though they were all gassed out by that time. It seems like such a simple thing and to Madden players and fantasy football fanatics, it's a pointless thing. In the real world of football, where the good teams are so incredibly close on paper, leadership is the difference between a decent team and a team that competes for championships. We've got that on defense now with Luke and TD, but Cam is the face of the franchise ... he's where everyone is going to look when there's a need. I just hope that the guy who led the last four regular season games last year can carry on and become even better as this year goes by. He's good, he's really good, but he needs to rise to greatness.

His innocence still needs to be proven before I think we should even discuss him as a Panther.

Wasn't one of the knocks on this guy that he didn't work very hard? What's the chance that with all of this, he'd show up at a training camp out of shape and uninspired?

David vs. Goliath. I hope Pac Man beats him like a borrowed mule.

Projected as a guard, experienced as a tackle. Kid looks like a monster right tackle.

Tall but not fast, seems there's a bunch of them... The Forest. Catch, Forest, Catch!

Catch and Release

Run support blocking by our WR corps should be pretty sturdy, like Moose and Smitty levels now.

I hate that I missed reading this in my original pass through the topic. Brilliant explanation and you have me convinced and excited to see Shaq on the field. Great read!

Didn't think he'd be our pick, but you've just got to watch the kid's highlights. He's going to be phenomenal. He'll someday replace TD, but in the meantime, we should have the dominant LB corps in the league. And the idea that he could play RB? Whether you like the pick or not, Shaq's a Panther now, so start cheering for him!

I just completely had a brain fart on that. Sorry.

If you're in Greensboro, hit up the Big Burger Spot. Fantastic, HUGE salads, $6-$8 range. Enough for two or three people.

Just going to have to watch 'em in turn, I guess.

Apparently not in math class. 1995 start would make last year our 20th year of play. My bad. Well, there goes any significance.

Haven't seen the spoiler episodes yet, but I think they are going to have to seriously change the Jon Snow storyline from the books. When I read it, I just kept shaking my head that Martin had painted himself into a corner with that one. I really think that will be one of the big fixes he hinted would come in the show rather than the books. And my bet is that Little Finger doesn't survive the season. Great character and remarkably well cast, but they've gone further in his story now than the books have, and that leaves me feeling that they are going to close down this branch of the tree.