Jay Roosevelt

There's a difference between taking sacks and literally having 3 defenders in your face within half a second of getting the snap. OL is THE single biggest problem on a team with a LONG list of them. That's 100% on Fitterer. He's the one who insisted the OL was "fixed" during the offseason.

Everyone, hopefully.

This may be the worst OL in franchise history. To think Fitterer thought the OL was "fixed" after last year. Bozeman is garbage. Ickey is trending toward being a bust, and Throckmorten is a JAG at best. The only remotely capable NFL OL we have are Moton and Corbett.

Atlanta? Surely not.

I predict the baby will be born on its birthday.

You have to also consider the change in blocking scheme and, of course, the turmoil at left guard beside him. Chandler Zavala, despite having played with Ickey in college, was an absolute disaster and Calvin Throckmorton is a JAG at best. I don't think it's a coincidence that as soon as we started having problems at LG that Ickey began to struggle. But in general I agree 100% with what Wahle is saying here. Guys like Ickey can get by in college with being bigger and stronger than the opposition to the point that they don't have to be technically sound in order to succeed, but you HAVE to be a good technician at the NFL level to succeed. A couple quotes from Wahle that I think sums up Ickey perfectly: "Great feet, poor footwork." This speaks to having all the athletic ability in the world, but needing to refine his technique and improve his consistency. As much as he has struggled at times this year, there have still been those flashes of the guy who was the #6 pick in the draft. "Campy is a good coach who has helped produce a number of really great OLs, but this kind of talent has had years of people saying ‘good job’ instead of perfecting technique. Takes time and a general desire to improve." This is something that can be applied to players at any position coming out of college. These guys are all great athletes - sometimes ELITE - who have dominated against lesser athletes for coaches who are OK with that because their job is to win, not develop players for the next level. That said, I think if Ickey WANTS to be great, it's only a matter of time. He's shown he can play at this level, just not consistently yet. I also think we have a good OL coach who can get that out of him as long as Ickey is willing to put in the work, which we haven't seen any indication that he's not willing to do. Only time will tell. I think his floor is a good starting guard, and that is an option if he continues to struggle, but I think we have to give him every opportunity to develop as a left tackle before using that 'break glass' option.

I still think Ickey can be a great LT, but he needs to start showing more progress and consistency for sure.

The OL is the single biggest problem on this team. Until that improves we're not going to see any significant improvement from the offense as a whole.

I'm more optimistic about Bryce after the last 2 games than I've been since before preseason. The switch to Thomas Brown will be huge in the long run, IMO. Still, until the OL improves and we get him some better receiving options the results are going to continue to be mixed. It's nice to see Bryce show his toughness by getting up time after time after taking these hits, but it's absolutely not something we can allow to continue happening if he's ever going to reach his full potential. As much as we need to upgrade the weapons around him, the OL needs to be the #1 priority, IMO. Whether it's the scheme or personnel something has to change.

Be careful what you wish for.

Chase Young is the Jaycee Horn of DEs.

Why do so many people care so much about what happens to coaches and players who leave here? I truly couldn't care less once they're no longer with the Panthers.

Montez Sweat traded to the Bears for a 2nd rounder. No chance we get a 1st for Burns.

PANTHERS GET: CB Jaylon Johnson EDGE Yannick Ngakoue 2024 2nd Round Pick 2024 3rd Round Pick BEARS GET: EDGE Brian Burns WR Terrace Marshall, Jr. 2025 6th Round Pick

Can you imagine if Miles Sanders would have jumped up and tried to catch that pass and ended up costing us the game? Charlotte would burn to the ground

The Eagles OL, apparently.

I'm not quite ready to give up on Ickey at LT just yet, but if he doesn't show significant improvement by the end of this season I think we have to consider LT a need and move him inside to guard.

At this point I'm over the debate. Either pay him what he wants or trade him. He's not going to take less and if we're not willing to pay his asking price then we can't afford to let him walk without getting something in return.

Game ball to Bryce on offense, Luvu on defense.

I was on the Cross bandwagon. Tried to tell y'all, but everyone wanted Ickey or Evan Neal.

Not kicking Ickey Ekwonu in the balls after the game was over.

He'll show you flashes and then poo the bed. Hard to say if he's a bust or just needs more time to develop. People forget he was viewed as a very raw player coming into the draft. He played well as a rookie but not as good as many seem to think. We shouldn't jump the gun with him but if he continues to struggle at tackle we need to move him inside in the offseason and sign or draft a true LT. For the record, I was a Charles Cross fan in that draft and had him as the #1 tackle prospect specifically because he was a good pass protector. You can have all the big "hog mollies" up front you want but if they can't protect the QB then it doesn't matter how well they are in other areas. Having said that, Ickey would be an outstanding guard so I don't think all is lost if he doesn't turn it around and left tackle.

Good lord what a punt.

Can't win for losing.