Ricky Spanish

*In many defenses these days not related to Ron Rivera

Some will be butthurt but they shouldn't be. Ron was Luke's Coach all but the final few games of his career. He grew up in the league with Rivera as his mentor. I think he mentioned there were tears when they found out Ron was getting the axe so there's a tight bond there. Say what you will about Ron, but the dude knows linebackers/linebacking. Even our backups went on to be starters on other teams. Good for Luke and good for Ron.

*Technically yes, but that list of LBers also includes Pass Rushing OLBs in 3-4 schemes (Vonn Miller, Kalil Mack, etc.) 4-3 Inside LBer rankings he's near the top.

Smith and Jones 1a and 1b homerism aside. Both deserve top spot for different reasons. Jones, physically, one of the most dominant WRs in the league and has had a great offense around him to take pressure off ever since he got into the NFL. Smith, pound for pound, the best Receiver in the NFL. Played like he was Megatron's size and put up top 10 all time receiving numbers on a run first offense his entire career. Evans is #3. Most consecutive seasons to start a career with 1k receiving yards in NFL history, and like it or not, dude has a lombardi to his name.

Not Mandatory yet. I'll worry about it when it is.

The bad man can't hurt us anymore!

I know there are some naysayers that think our defense was terrible last season and will be terrible again next year, but I am in the camp that they overperformed FAR above my original expectations. I was expecting a bottom 5 of the league defense and we were much closer to middle of the road even after we lost the best LB of a generation, our pro bowl caliber CB, Short got injured again, Tahir whitehead was our MLB, and we started 5+rookies throughout the year. The foundation is now in place with guys like Brown, Chinn, and Burns, I can't see how we don't improve with the additions of Reddick, Horn, Perryman, Fox, and Bouye. I'm usually not one to make bold predictions but I think our defense is going to be sneaky good this year, If we aren't a top 10ish defense I will be surprised/disappointed.

I nominate myself. Doubt I make it to air though. FCC would have a field day with what I say during games. "Darnold under center, drops back to pass, - Ohhhh, Little completely whiffs on his block, Darnold goes down. poo. What the fug was that Greg? fuging turnstile - at least stand in the god damn way"

I don't know what you're talking about, they canceled the super bowl that year.

No need to delete, just merged them.

I'm going to throw Dan Arnold on that list - At least in terms of fantasy breakout. I don't expect him to get a ton of yards this year but I would not be surprised at all to see him haul in 6+ receiving touchdowns from his height advantage in the redzone.

And good for him. Stupid rich, Retired at 30, handsome, all the time in the world to dick around with his hobbies. Killing it. Good for him.

I have blocked THAT game from my memory, and always forget just how bad it was until it is brought to my attention.

Speaking form experience... They do?

Hey did you guys know that Otah wasn't a bust he just got injured? Not sure if that's been mentioned at all in this thread.

Prepare for a ton of injuries and tears moving forward.

Gano 10 out of 10 times if the money is the same.

I just want to see us get a decent kicker

Member that bleacher report article about Cam being a huge bust and the writer would do something if Cam was the starter in 2015 or so? I member.

Me, who wasn't born in the Carolinas but moved to Raleigh as a child, lived in NC until I was 26 then moved to Indian Land after I got a job in the Charlotte area and has rooted for the Panthers since their inception:

I think it can be done as long as it's an AL team and not an NL team.

I would love a local team. I was reaaaaaaaaaaally hoping that the Rays would move up here because their stadium down in TB is a craphole and all the players were on the Durham Bulls.

Fake it till you make it homie.

Yes. Interpreting the comment as if he is scared implies that the stage and spotlight are too big for him and he might not have the willpower/testicular fortitude to be a great QB in the NFL. Interpreting the comment as he got bamboozled is understandable, because at the time I believe he was the youngest QB in the league going against the GOAT coach with one of (If not the) best defenses he had ever put together. That has the potential to be fixed by watching film and working with his coaches. It's ultimately up to him to make those changes so he doesn't see ghosts anymore. I'm not sitting here and saying Sam is the answer and will be an all pro next season. I am saying there's enough tape of the kid out there to show he has what it takes to make it if he hasn't been completely broken by his previous coaching staff. He's a giant question mark next season either way, and I am really rooting for the kid to turn his career around with us.

BTW, some huddlers were crapping all over Darnold for "admitting he saw ghosts" and "No pro QB should ever admit that". Those people are ignorant and don't know what that phrase means. Seeing ghosts just means he was seeing things that weren't there - as in he thought that he saw the Patriots doing one thing pre snap, and it was disguised as something else. That's all. He wasn't scared. He wasn't afraid. The Pats and their league leading defense just confused one of the youngest starting QB's in the NFL. Talking heads and ignorant people ran with it.