Saca312

Yep, and that's where I'm at. Yes, this is probably by far the worst preseason performance by the Panthers in a while. But I hope the coaches have a reason for this. Perhaps they're looking to see what weaknesses other teams pick up on. If so, then I expect them to scheme around deficiencies and maximize strengths with the all star coaching staff they have. If they continue looking like this come regular season, then I'd have many questions.

again, come regular season if the first few games show the same as preseason, then I'll join the doom and gloom wagon. i could care less about who wins in the preseason, chances are the coaches are just using it as an evaluation style scrimmage as they should. i would suspect that come regular season, these coaches will understand the deficiencies carolina beholds and likely will scheme and adjust for such. i'd much rather see sloppiness and crap in the preseason, bc it's the perfect time to analyze weaknesses. if they gameplanned and actually tried scheming, well those weaknesses would be masked, and they wouldn't be able to adjust in time. so yeah, i'm on the train of thought the coaches understand that and will scheme and adjust for it when games matter. if they don't, then i'll join the wtf wagon.

incredible how the panthers season is over two games in vanilla preseason! clearly this is the panthers best and limit. if the panthers look like this the first few games of the regular season, sure, you can start panicking. but poo, it's preseason football. overanalyzing what amounts to 1v1s, simple playcalling and tryouts for fringe roster guys is simply unproductive.

These quotes from Saleh are the equivalent of some neckbeard in his lifted F-150 mashing the gas pedal to angrily speed past some family in an SUV just trying to make it home, then stopping at the next redlight with the SUV pulling up right beside. Sure, the Truck who put in more effort to the gas pedal was faster at reaching the red light than the family SUV who was cruising, so they beat them there by a few seconds. But ultimately, they both arrived at the red light and have to wait for the green light. Saleh and the Jets are like that F150. Thinking they're in the Daytona 500, scheming and pressing the gas pedal against the Panthers. Meanwhile, all Carolina was doing was cruising along, with a whole different purpose of just evaluating their team, while the Jets wanted to win the game more than the Panthers cared to. So, just like two cars meeting at a red light, so will the Panthers and Jets be when the regular season starts at 0-0. Gloating about a preseason beatdown is hilariously short sighted and Saleh has a lot cut out for him if he's taking too many victory laps over a scrimmage game.

I find it rather amusing some posters still believe in the idea that the strength of most teams from last year will be equivalent to what they will be this year. Every season, there always are teams that surprisingly play better than last year, and there are some that regress unexpectedly. In 2016, the Eagles finished last in their division. By 2017, led by Nick Files of all QBs, they enter a shootout against the Patriots in the Superbowl and come out on top. Everyone predicts the NFC South to remain the worst in the league. I would argue that the teams down in Louisiana and Georgia have improved their teams compared to last year, so it's not like the Panthers are the only ones to have improved. It is not as much a certainty. After one vanilla preseason game, it amuses me how many are already calling doomsday on the season. So, with that being said, who knows how the Panthers record will turn out, and how close to the playoffs they could be. The Falcons and Saints could put up a much bigger fight this year, which entails the Panthers having to likely bring forth a better record than last year at minimum to have a shot. Some extra stats to help temper expectations: - There have been exactly ZERO starting rookie QBs who have ever won a Superbowl. In fact, there have been exactly ZERO to even make the Superbowl. - In 57 years of playoffs, with countless teams, there have only been ten rookie starting QBs who have even won at least one playoff game. Only five have won two playoff games. So, all this talk about playoffs or Reich should be on the hot seat is rather amusing. Frankly, I don't care much about our win loss record as much as I care about seeing improvement. We could be 5-12 for all I care as long as I see this team has more direction and ability than last year. What does that entail? -Improvement on the QB side: Obviously, while Bryce Young is a rookie, I'd hope to see him not stare down receivers and progress through his reads. I want to see him manage the pocket and stand tall, avoiding the pressure and getting the ball off in time while not being too scared. I want him to take significant chances with the ball in the right situation, rather than get scared into a check down. If he does this, he will have significantly improved compared to every QB from last year. -Improvement on Offense: Quite frankly, I don't care that the Panthers could run the ball down the throats of some of the worst run defenses in the NFL. That was very neutered and conservative playcalling from Wilks, and while that got the Panthers to nearly squeak in the playoffs, but against any significant team (cc: Bengals) they got blown out, and rightfully so. Sure, they were one win away from the playoffs, but the rest of the NFC South could argue they were 1-2 wins away as well. So, what do I hope to see improve? -Creativity: I want to see how Young unleashes the offense and allows the Panthers to get more creative. I want to see Carolina start more downfield concepts and letting Young take the reins on that. Get creative, don't rely on the run to get things going. That will help improve the team compared to last year. -Offensive Line: Yes, the O-line was incredible at run blocking last year. Definitely helpful when most plays revolved around that. But, I want to see pass blocking improvements too where the run doesn't have to be relied on as much for them to be effective. When the Panthers couldn't run last year, they were neutered and the o-line leaked like a sieve. While Mayfield, Darnold, Walker and Co. were not world beater QBs by any means, still it'd be nice to see the O-line start gelling out better for when the opposing defense defends for obvious passing downs. I do think the o-line is slightly overrated, and that their athleticism is a notch below being an elite pass blocking unit, but that can be overcome with coaching and understanding stunts and what the defense is planning, so hopefully that gets worked out and the Panthers are able to pass a lot more. -Improvement on Defense: I want to see better pressure. I have not seen a defense perform at 2015 levels in such a long time, let alone 2013. Most pressures were created via blitz rather than the front linemen. It seemed when the Panthers hoped to let their d-linemen make a play, they were unable to do so and often got bullied. Unlike 2013, where the Panthers front bullied offensive lines, or even 2015 where Short wrecked havoc, it has been a long while since pure pass rush has been effective. For once, I want to see the Defensive line start adding pressure of their own. I'd rather not see us be too reliant on the blitz and instead see guys like Brian Burns improve. I would also love to see the run defense improve as well, since that was a sore spot at times last year and even the preseason as well.

Despite the doom and gloom of the offense performing poorly for the most part (some warranted, most attributed to vanilla playcalling vs a jets defense letting go of the reins imo), there were a few positives that can be taken away. For instance, Bryce Young's first NFL (preseason) pass. In particular, take note of Young's head movement. His begins processing the left side, then quickly makes his way through to the right before landing on Thielen for the first. For a rookie QB, this is insane. Super fast processing and progressing through his reads. Something many veterans would struggle with. Young's speed through his progressions and understanding is incredible, and super exciting to see out of a rookie QB. Far from the one read QBs we've had lately and some of the slower processors from the other rookies, Young looks like he belongs. Despite being thrown to the ringer on his first scrimmage, Young looked the part. Once the Panthers actually gameplan and the o-line gets more cohesive, I'm sure we'll see his talent blossom. Was the trade with the Bears worth it? Time will tell, but so far, Young is looking incredible for a rookie. Definitely a lot to be excited about.

It's preseason. Cam Newton's rookie preseason wasn't stellar yet he ran out the gate with 400 yarders the first two games. 2015 the Dolphins had their way with us in preseason and joint practices. They looked by far the better team at the time. Panthers ended up 15-1 in the regular season while Dolphins were poo. We dominated preseason the first drive in 2016 vs the Ravens with Cam Newton marching downfield. That season we ended 6-10 with abysmal WR and oline play. Vanilla plays, vanilla concepts, glorified practice that everyone learns from and where certain things are tested since it's largely meaningless. Not concerned whatsoever.

Lamar Jackson threw 4 picks a few days ago. Not sure what's the worry if Bryce has a few during practice. EDIT: Just read on context. Yeah, not the best throw by Bryce but also not the easiest situation. Eh, it happens and practice is the best place to make the mistakes.

Crazy what a few years will do to players. Both Norwell and Turner significantly declined after they went off to different teams (albeit Turner definitely started such with us the last few years).

To add on, Fitt specifically mentioned wanting to have a bigger edge opposite Burns. More particularly to set the edge and be a presence in the run game day one. They believe that DJ Johnson is the answer for that. Which makes sense and if he is a contributor day one in the run game, makes it a worthwhile pick. We'll see if that comes to fruition under Evero's tutelage.

Yep. Pretty sure during his Heismann year his average time to get the ball out was even faster than CJ Stroud. That was when he had a good oline and jameson williams. In 2022, He extended plays out of necessity with a bad oline and subpar WRs. Feel he'll fare well on the Panthers.

great pick. one of my favorite WRs from the draft.

In a few years we'll look back and applaud our first SB winning QB!

So the same discourse with Cam again.

An interesting development with the draft a little more than a week away. BetMGM apparently has closed their books and no longer accepting anymore bets on the #1 overall pick:

As the draft comes ever so closer, more people are out there scrambling for crumbs on who is the potential rookie QB the Panthers are taking. If you take who QBs follow as an indication, then perhaps the following may be noteworthy: It appears Josh McCown is only following Bryce Young from this upcoming QB class. Additionally, it appears Young is the only rookie following him back. Could it mean something? Who knows, but it certainly adds a positive sign for the Young camp. Oh, and Jonathan Jones also confirms he believes it's Young:

He got traded to the Cowboys a while back.

Could be more smoke to get Stroud to fall after the betting odds shifted in favor of Young. Could be some merit. Either way, these are certainly interesting claims. Appears Stroud has some questions in the eyes of some teams and supposedly the Panthers. Per Wingo, "There are things in the equation that are giving the Carolina Panthers pause about CJ Stroud and that may be why they're leaning back towards Bryce Young:" Per VSIN, CJ Stroud is apparently "not an easy guy to coach." Make of these what you will. All honesty, sounds like smoke and trying to get him to fall now that teams are salivating at the idea the Panthers have Young locked in. Or maybe it has some merit. Just more fuel for the smoky fire that has been draft season so far.

Per Adam Schefter on NFL Live, it looks like the Panthers have made their move by trading up for Bryce Young, confirming other reports that Carolina was dead set on landing him at the beginning. However, he adds a little interesting detail that perhaps, they in fact are sticking with Young. Per him, he notes that the Panthers were checking out other QBs to bridge the gap. Interestingly enough, he says the Panthers believe the likes of Stroud, Levis and Richardson have not shown/done enough to warrant further consideration. Tweet here corroborates what I heard from Schefter. Could it all be just a smokescreen? Maybe, but with more insiders jumping on the Young bandwagon and betting lines shifting dramatically in his favor, it's starting to look like there's some serious fire behind this smoke. At the end, Young may be the next #1 overall pick after Cam after all.

For an organization that's never had an MVP QB or ever been to a Superbowl like Cam, certainly is funny they'd make fun of a potential signing like that.