firstdayfan

I'm no expert but him and brown definitely look like upgrades over the guys in front of them.

Just in case you decided to not watch the second half...may want to change your mind. First time BC has been on the left this preseason. Already, helped open a big hole on the TD run.

That's kind of the issue right now, the one thing we won't know about Sam is how he deals with pressure, how he plays when the game is on the line, and how he overcomes adversity in game. Those are things you just can't simulate in practice. I'm happy with what I've seen though.

Darnold to Arnold... https://youtu.be/EwLwxr0QAyU

Grier was definitely ahead of walker, in warmups, every drill and even team periods. I know a lot has been said about Grier over the off-season but he seemed slightly better than walker to me. I didn't actually notice the long snappers. I did see a kid with a Jansen jersey leaving the stadium, I thought that was odd. Maybe his kid?

Just wanted to put a few thoughts and observations from my view of fan fest tonight. I am no scout or expert, just been a fan since the beginning and have been lurking around here for quite a while (12 years) and I also know people crave any kind of content this time a year so here you go. I was in section 107 right near the corner of the end zone where the players entered and exited the field, I had good view of Defensive Line Drills, 1v1's and the 7 on 7's but the 11 on 11 went the opposite direction and most of the offensive line stuff was on the opposite side as well. It didn't really matter a ton because the practice wasn't in pads (as has been mentioned) and it was a really light practice. The first team offense only had a handful of plays during 11 on 11. I think that was because of what McCaffrey said about the field, and speaking of which, despite all the gripes during the offseason I had forgot about the field until I was driving home and saw his quote. It looks really good and isn't noticeable at all, what IS noticeable are the new luxury boxes in the opposite endzone from the panther eyes. I feel like several players will end up there throughout the season, I believe Trenton Cannon almost went over the wall at one point. Ok, now to practice. So again, it was a light practice so there wasn't a ton to take away but I'll start with the defense. Just based on drills it seems that the starting defensive linemen (if we are in a base 4-3 set) would be Burns, Brown, Jones, and Fox. Fox is a veteran and seemed to fit in nicely with the other players. Gross-Matos ran with the 2's along with Marquis Haynes. It was interesting to see Reddick do drills with both linebackers as well as defensive linemen, you can tell they are going to have him all over the place. In the 1v1's, Jaycee Horn was like a blanket on the receivers, just smothering them (which could be an issue with flags down the road). But considering 1v1's favor the Wide Receivers heavily, this was really impressive to see. That's kind of it for defense, again, there was no hitting and it was almost like everyone was going kind of 3/4 speed (again, the turf). I do have several thoughts about the offense, and I will start with the guy I was most impressed with. Terrace Marshall Jr. Despite all the good things I've read about him from Jeremy and other guys that have been at camp, I was still really blown away by his size, athleticism, and how he just plucks the ball out of the air so effortlessly. But that's not all, he is so smooth in his routes and so fluid in his motion its just amazing for a guy his size. Here is a quick clip of him just absolutely abusing a corner right off the ball, unfortunately I missed the first part but he juked the corner nearly out of his shoes. 20210806_194710.mp4 Another winner in my opinion at the Wide Receiver spot was Shi Smith who beat Troy Pride in 1v1's on just an absolute dime by Darnold. It happened right in front of me and it was awesome to watch (more on Sam later). Smith also has some smoothness to his game, but you can just tell he is not on the same level as Marshall. Still though, I was impressed with Smith and Omar Bayless as well, who was a favorite target throughout practice and seems to be a very polished receiver. Given how much attention he has received, I'd be extremely disappointed if Bayless didn't lead us in receiving during the preseason. Another thing I noticed is the fact that Trenton Cannon has been running with the Wide Receivers, something that has been discussed throughout camp. I think I heard it first on the PNP podcast and Rashad said it best, Cannon will probably make the team based on his versatility, he was also the first man up on kick returns when they did some special teams work (Hubbard was second). It will be interesting as to who's spot he takes, depth at WR and RB is crazy right now. Sticking with the offense, I want to talk about the tight ends for a sec. I came away very impressed with Tommy Tremble. I never saw him drop a pass and while most of his routes were very short I thought he was extremely fluid and caught the ball well. Ian Thomas on the other hand was pretty much what we've seen for the last couple seasons, he flashes and then he dashes. I saw him drop a few easy balls but he also came back in 11 on 11's and bailed out Sam. I really don't know what to make of Thomas but I do feel like Tremble will overtake him at some point during the season, easily. I also came away very happy with the Darnold to Arnold connection, it is real people, and I know its been talked about extensively over the last two weeks but I can confirm that it is an exciting combo. Here is a clip during 7 on 7's where Sam kinda holds onto the ball a little long but then delivers a strike over the middle to Arnold (very Greg Olsen like), and you can also see what that 6-6 frame can do for a QB. 20210806_195659.mp4 Being a light practice, there wasn't much to take away from the offensive line, I did make a note that Trent Scott was running left tackle with the second string, I know Little had got some reps there earlier this week. Now to the elephant in the room, what did I think of Sam Darnold? I was happy with his performance and feel much better about the upcoming season after watching him tonight. He has everything you want in a QB, size, arm talent, mobility, and its incredibly obvious when you see him out there spinning it. Grier and Walker just don't even look like they're in the same league as Sam. Another thing I liked was his energy, he just looked like a leader out there, messing around with teammates, playing it up to the crowd. I just liked everything I saw, in 1v1's his touch, velocity and deep accuracy were excellent and after some of the doom and gloom of the first week of camp I am completely happy with him as our QB right now. Obviously this could change once real bullets start flying but I'm telling you, he has all the tools, if the coaches and offensive line can help him succeed, I have no trouble believing he could have a solid season and turn into a top 15 starting QB. One final note. I feel like DJ Moore is so close to being an elite level receiver in this league and no one knows it but us (especially not the people at EA Sports). He is such a cool guy, outside of McCaffrey he seemed like the most popular player on the field, all while Smitty looked down in approval. Thanks guys, hope you enjoyed.

Not sure if this has been pointed out yet or not but Rhule still hasn't selected an offensive player in the draft. Lol.

Pretty sure Hurney had the same pattern. /theory.

Is a long term contract for a 28 year cornerback who has only had 1 all pro year of play (in a cover 3 scheme) under his belt REALLY the best case scenario for the Panthers?

I feel like PFF is the exact opposite. They are extremely objective and grade the game by what a player does good and bad. As a casual observer or a fan we can look at Cam's performance and subjectively say "well he carried the whole team on his back and willed the team to victory when it seemed everything else was against him". But the PFF team isn't interested in that sort of thing. They simply grade a player on the plays they make or don't make. I personally think PFF is great at exactly what they do, which is to give a completely unbiased, objective view of what the players do on the field. Are they always right? Of course not, but they are one of the most accurate sources for info like this around, feel like we should understand it for what it is.

Just for reference do you think they didn't take the game seriously last season, or did fans not take it seriously? I feel like preseason has always kind of shown where we would be weak or strong but this season is a little more difficult to decipher. I feel like the offensive line has played tremendously but the running game has been abysmal outside of the couple nice runs from guys that won't be active on gameday and jordan todman. I also feel like the defense hasn't tackled well throughout the preseason, not in the slightest, and the pass rush has been non existent outside of a few plays, but then again its hard to criticize too much because we haven't had Johnson, Star, or KK so far. And the special teams have been awful as usual. I feel like that will continue to be an issue throughout the year, although I think we have better guys touching the ball in those situations. So for me it has been a mixed bag which means that the Patriots game should be a great test to see if all these things come together or if this team will continue to be an enigma. If they aren't perfect I won't care, but if the issues I listed above hold true tomorrow night I feel we could be in for a long season.

I realize the point you are making but thinking that any receiver on the roster besides Funchess could elevate into a number one wide receive role is either crazy or just shows how long its been since we've had a true number one receiver in Carolina. No wide receiver fits the mold, has the talent, or creates the mismatches that a number one receiver provides, unfortunately Greg Olsen is our number one, the best we can hope for is for someone to step up big time and be a number two.

The only problem is that teams will stack the box and come after cam hard. Three yards in a cloud of dust still ends in a punt. I'll be honest, Cam isn't Peyton or Tom Brady, he needs good/great receivers to be successful. We still have Olsen but that's really it, everyone else are role players at best.

You know its funny, sometimes when a player falls in the draft further than people think it doesn't mean you are getting a steal, sometimes it means you are getting a player that no one else wanted. Look at ajayi this year, he dropped to the 5th round because of his knees and the dolphins thought they had a steal. And now he can't even move past lamichael James on the depth chart. Gettlemen might have made that pick with an eye on hardy and the situation we have now, which isn't a bad idea, but Ealy just hasn't panned out so far. But I will saysay this, I thought the entire defense played like garbage during that game. From Thomas Davis down to that Regis kid who essentially started. I don't think it means anything particularly bad, just that they need to step it up next week.

This is such an interesting statement. At first I thought, this is ridiculous, but in reality it makes sense. Yes, execution shouldn't involve whether you think it will work but it definitely affects it. Imagine if your boss gives you a project that you think is doomed to fail miserably and in the process make you look stupid and incompetent...would you give it 100%? I'm not giving these guys a pass becaus ultimately, even for the worker in my scenario it is the wrong thought process, but hey, we are all human. This may be more of a reason that we give credit, stagnant offenses are generally that way because of poor execution. But in a classic chicken or egg situation, which comes first? The terrible play call or lack of conviction from the ones executing it?

Igo is begging for this guy to make the team and contribute so we can listen for months how he was right about Ward. I like Ward and hope he makes the team but I'm not sure that's going to be worth it.

I guess the bigger philosophical question here is if giving away trophies to only the winners of children's sports actually damaged our generation. For instance, creating a generation of people who would think giving out too many trophies make children "pansies". It amuses me when people just assume that because something was done in the past that it has to be right, especially when so many other things prove otherwise.

Yeeeeeah, I guess I was more referring more to the part about the 2x Super Bowl thing. But yes you're right, he had a terrible first half to that game. And since you brought it up, here's a much more relevant stat that makes Russell Wilson who he is and what separates him from "Alex Smith". During OVERTIME in the PLAYOFFS of THAT GAME, he was 3/3, 80 yards 1 TD and won it for his team. Defense never even got off the bench. Lynch rushed twice for 8 total yards. Questions?

You don't really believe that right? Like seriously? You're just basking in the Russell Wilson hate, you know, the kind that reminds me of when a friend gets a nicer car and you make fun of him because he doesn't get good gas mileage.

Soooo we've gone from hating luck to hating the whole franchise? That seems about right.

The thing with Bersin is that he has reached his ceiling. Hard to get excited for s guy who's at best a third down chain mover. I mean I think he's good in that role but that's about it.

Agholor is one of those prospects that will go much earlier in the draft than people expect because the media hype hasn't caught up the scouting. Strong is big and fast and showed out at the combine, the media slobbered all over him and in the process made people believe he was the second coming of Megatron. But in reality, on teams boards, Agholor has probably been ahead of him the whole time.

What I love about Gettlemen so far in his short time here is that he usually brings in free agents that fill holes on the team so he doesn't HAVE to draft a particular player in the draft. I believe this is his plan and it allows him to go BPA no matter what.

I'm sorry. With all due respect I can't agree under any circumstances that you pay a guy more money than another player who has taken his team to 2 super bowls and 1 won of them. I love Cam and feel like he should get paid but I don't think saying he deserves more than Wilson is anything close to being objective. Using the "doesn't have more weapons" argument is getting ridiculously old.

It sucks that it has taken this long to simply draft quality starters but its nice to know we might be to a point where we can actually groom draft picks to replace aging higher priced veterans. That's how its supposed to work. Its what Baltimore and new england have been doing for years.