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The huddle already made knee jerk reactions from preseason. Just would be par the course for them to base season projections on the first game too.

Wish we had a few guys with more speed and who can stretch the field. The lack of ability to separate from most of Carolina's WRs is concerning, especially with Chark out. Near 2017 end of season levels of bad. Cam Newton was incredible being able to make something out of those jags. Hoping Bryce Young finds some of that magic too.

Game one of a new regime. Whether you're optimistic or pessimistic, it's the start of a new era. One where Matt Rhule is no longer terrorizing the Carolinas, and one where Bryce Young is the hope of the future. Excited to see the beginning of it, no matter the outcome.

Let Burns walk and watch this defense turn into a bottom 25 overnight lol. We get it. Burns isn't Bosa, that much is obvious. Realizing that this defense literally would not function without burns is also something to note. Whatever contract he gets, it's worthwhile at this point from a team impact value standpoint. Not a single defender on this team is better than him. Otherwise it'll be amusing to see just how bad this defense will look without him, because it'll certainly be a tragic comedy. Does Burns have his issues I'd hope he fixes after a big payday? Very much so, and I hope to see him take a step up in a theoretical system that suits him better. Just know that good DEs don't grow on trees, and 31 other teams would kill to have Burns on their roster.

Name a better player on defense than Burns. I'd be hard pressed to name one. Yeah, he'll get paid. The Panthers would be dumb at this point not to.

Some interesting nuggets from the latest Athletic article. https://theathletic.com/4832487/2023/09/04/panthers-brian-burns-hold-in/?source=user_shared_article On what $$$ Burns is eyeing vs Panthers FO "General manager Scott Fitterer has said repeatedly that he wants Burns around for the long term. But while Burns is eyeing Bosa-type money at the top end of the edge rusher market, the Panthers are seemingly more comfortable with a deal that pays Burns about $23 million a year, similar to what Maxx Crosbyreceived (a $23.5 million annual value) when the Las Vegas Raiders extended him last year." On a potential financial incentive for Brian Burns to go to Training Camp while holding out now: "By coming to training camp, Burns avoided the fines that Bosa and Kansas City Chiefs defensive lineman Chris Jones have racked up. The 49ers have said they would waive Bosa’s fines, which the NFLPA allows for players on their rookie deals." On consequences if Burns continues to miss practice or potential games: "The Panthers could fine Burns if he continues to skip practices. If he were to sit out games, he would forfeit nearly $890,000 a week — or 1/18th of his $16 million salary that was guaranteed when the Panthers picked up his fifth-year option. On timeline for a resolution: "Thompson believes a resolution is needed by Wednesday when the Panthers’ Week 1 work will begin in earnest: 'We know he’s gonna be out there at the end of the day,” he said. “He knows he’s gonna be out there at the end of the day. And everybody upstairs better know he’s gonna be out there by Wednesday. He’s a big factor (in) this defense. He’s the one it really starts with, him and Derrick (Brown). They’ll make it right.'"

He showed promise but had too many lowlights. Understandable to move on. Wish him luck. I had high hopes for him. Maybe the Chiefs will bring that potential out.

Oh yeah, Brady has definitely shown great traits. Solid guy. Overall, I think the o-line will be more akin to last season. I'd like to presume the first two preseason games were an anomaly rather than the norm. Excited to see how they perform during the regular season.

An interesting video, analyzing the schematic aspect of the Panthers o-line vs the Lions. Despite some misshaps explained, seems this brings about a more optimistic perspective on the o-line than most would've taken away: Primary Takeaways: -Zavala does show potential, but did make quite a bit of mistakes. As a rookie, such is expected, but shows he needs time to grow. -Bradley Bozeman - elite center. We've got a good one. -Ickey sack, while he technically did give up, does not make sense in context. Evidently, Bryce Young takes a seven step drop in a situation that didn't seem normal for such. Either QB miscommunication or OL miscommunication likely attributes. Goes along with the coaches comments that it's preseason: they're trying out different stuff, perhaps this was one of those times. Either way, despite Ickey's subpar preseason performance, seems hard to blame when a likely error in miscommunication may be the true factor. -Ekwonu primarily had elite reps vs the Lions and looked solid. Besides the sack, seems he's rebounded nicely through the game. -Overall, the offensive line shows elite traits. Right guard is a slight issue and weakness. A much more optimistic take if they keep this up through the regular season.

Thielen TD!

Bryce looks so fugging natural out there. So excited to see his potential.

This guy is commentating? Ew.

The mismanagement of the Rhule era will take some time to get over. The Panthers did what they had to do to begin with a baseline - finally get a chance at a franchise QB. With next season comes a large amount of cap room, which I suspect the Panthers are likely to fish around for pieces to fill out depth and starters. It'll be a multi-year process to clean up the mistakes of the past regime, but I'm hopeful that they'll manage to do so.

LMAO they want the McCaffrey special. Not gonna happen.

The 2008 Lions and 2017 Browns were 4-0 preseason warriors. Guess their regular season record? Yep. 0-16. 2009 Colts were 1-3 their preseason. Their regular season record? 14-2, and went to the Superbowl. What does this mean? Preseason success does not indicate regular season success whatsoever.

While I'm pretty much on board with not making any judgments until the season starts, since schematic issues and miscommunication can be adjusted for, on 1v1 efforts it's a bit concerning to see the oline falter, especially Ekwonu. I remember someone saying that a large reason for the o-lines success last year was due to a huge emphasis on the run. By allowing the o-line to use their strength and big bodies, they were able to be successful when they did not have to pass protect as much. But when it comes to making athletic plays, the o-lines lack of such is evident when opponents use stunts and athletic maneuvering around them. Now, part of that can be made up for with proper schematic placement and organization within the o-line. They need to be on the same page. Today's preseason showed a lot of miscommunication and mental errors, especially from Icky. Hopefully it's just preseason jitters and not a continuing trend. I'm still firmly of the belief the staff will adjust and compensate for the team's weaknesses come regular season. There's too much experience not to. Otherwise, a lot of questions will need to be answered for.

It's pretty hard to correlate when coaches go into games with different mindsets. Perhaps some coaches want to evaluate certain schemes in different situations, some may just want to get through it healthy, others may want to boost morale. With the preseason hinging on a very wide variable of coach intent, it's hard to really get a good statistical hypothesis on team success based on that.

A friendly reminder from the Panthers longtime RB... Again, it's preseason. The 4-0 2008 Lions and 2017 Browns went 0-16 the regular season. The 1-4 2009 Colts went 1-3 in the preseason and 14-2 in the regular. Is there work to be done? Of course. Perhaps the players are only putting half effort to minimize injuries, but o-line protection confusion and certain 1v1 looks have looked bad. But then again, preseason is the best time to show these weaknesses, because that allows coaches to prepare to scheme/coach these deficiencies before the regular season. The goal of preseason? Evaluate, get out healthy, and learn what weaknesses exist and adjust for it. Good teams don't play to win in preseason, they play to get reps to their players and evaluate. Come regular season, if the Panthers look bad, feel free to panic. For now, no matter how the preseason ends up, the Panthers will be 0-0 when the regular season starts, and then is where I expect improvement and schematic adjustments for the Panthers strengths. That's when you can actually get a grasp at what kind of team the Panthers are.

Yep, Brown's in charge of the second half.

Yep, the only valid concern that I'm sure will be adjusted for and corrected.

I'm watching a preseason game, where good teams don't care about the score and just want to get out of it healthy and a better idea of what their players look like in 1v1s. Half effort? Who cares, as long as people are healthy. The players are clearly fine on the sidelines and not freaking out about the score. I suspect that they've been drilled to keep healthy, and to not worry so much about a preseason score. It's preseason. Come cry if they look like this during the regular season and I'm ready to cry with you all. I expect the coaching staff to adjust when games count and for the team to look much better resultingly. If not, then it's panic mode time. But for now, it's just typical preseason football. Not worried at all.

Yep, another valid theory. Chances are perhaps the players have it drilled in them to consider their health above all during these meaningless preseason games. We don't know what the coaches plans are. A sign that the players are chill and relaxing on the sidelines indicates there's not much care to the score, but more so to get it out of the way until it really matters. Again, doom and gloom if the Panthers look like this in September. I'd like to give a benefit of the doubt that perhaps, they may actually be much better when the games count.

And if the Panthers had gone into preseason with the goal of 4-0 and scheming every game, I'd be pissed. 2008 Lions, 2017 Browns were preseason 4-0 winners turned 0-16 regular season losers. 2009 Colts were 1-3 preseason losers turned 14-2 regular season juggernauts. Y'all are quite funny if you think a respectable team actually aims to win each preseason game and not evaluate. It's more encouraging to see weaknesses since that means a good coaching staff will have that on tape and actually scheme around that. Now come regular season if the coaches don't use this great opportunity to adjust for the Panthers weaknesses, then can them. But for now, it's preseason and last thing that matters is how we scheme in scrimmage.

Any coach that coaches to win in preseason and not evaluate weaknesses/strengths is a fool. Again, preseason matters zilch. 2008 Colts proves it. Good coaches use preseason to evaluate, not win. Nothing matters until the regular season. For those of y'all quitting before game one of the season, well I don't know what to tell you.

Yep, I do recall that. I also recall the 2008 Lions went 4-0 preseason and 0-16 as well. And the 2009 Colts 1-3 preseason, then 14-2 regular season.