SCO96

it seems like no 6'4/260 TE gets tackled as easy in the open field as Ian Thomas. He goes down on first contact LIKE NO OTHER.

I don't believe that this has been posted. If it has I apologize. https://www.derp/2024/11/18/24299579/carolina-panthers-injured-reserve-ian-thomas-amare-barno-caleb-farley The Carolina Panthers have exited the bye week with a handful of roster moves that may have more impact down the stretch than on their Week 12 matchup with the Kansas City Chiefs. The biggest news it that they have placed tight end Ian Thomas on injured reserve again with another calf injury. This one was suffered during the Week 10 win against the New York Giants in Munich. Thomas started two of the five games he appeared in this season, with three receptions for seven yards on six targets. This may be the end of Thomas’s time in the Carolinas as his contract is up after this season and younger athletes like Tommy Tremble and Ja’Tavion Sanders have taken over the tight end rotation. Thomas started two of the five games he appeared in this season, with three receptions for seven yards on six targets. ---- I know KC is tough, but I was hoping we could at keep the game close...or even pull off an upset...with Bryce leading our dynamic passing attack. All of optimism has vanished with yesterday's news. How can we pull off an upset without our most dangerous receiving option on the field? How will the Panthers replace Ian's production this season and everything else that Ian Thomas brings to the table?

I don't foresee Justin Fields ever being an elite QB so I wasn't disappointed when we passed on him in the draft. That said, if Carolina took a swing at him to legitimately compete with Bryce (or replace him) in 2025 while the team spent the draft and FA to rebuild the defense, then I could at least understand the reasoning. If Fields were signed for 3 years at a reasonable price, you could look for a QB in 2026 and groom him to take over by 2027. I also believe Canales would be arguably the best QB coach Fields has had in the NFL if he ended up in Carolina. Ideally, with us having a top 10 pick in 2025 and a 2nd round pick on day 2, a solid QB prospect would fall to us without having to trade away everything like we did to get BY.

I have no idea what our FO will do this off season. I will ask you guys the following question. If you were in Dave Canales' shoes, would you want to bet you future on Bryce Youngs ability to play QB in the NFL? I Wouldn't.

I pretty much agree with you except for on one position missing from the list. A great LB (middle or OLB) can really change a defense. If there's a Luke Kuechly, Patrick Willis, Ray Lewis or Jon Beason is in the top 10 we need to grab them if the best pass rushing DE is off the board. If a Micah Parson or Derek Brooks is sitting there, we need to consider grabbing them too. Players like that have to be accounted for every week. We don't have a LB on our roster like that. Elite LB's make everyone better. However, as you pointed out about the safety position they have to be better than good, they need to be great/exceptional.

That's how I remember it too. He "influenced" Ron Rivera to go that way before he fired him. It was a mistake. As you pointed out, we've never had to right players to effectively run that scheme week in and week out; especially against the better teams in the league.

We just had the # 1 pick in the draft two years ago. We really nailed that one didn't we (sarcasm intended). It doesn't matter where you pick in draft, it's WHO YOU PICK IN THE DRAFT. We have a talent deficit at every position on the defense. I'm not going to be upset if we pick the best defensive player on the board in round one. In fact if we picked up a solid QB at starter via trade or FA for 2024, I wouldn't be upset if we went all defense in the 2025 draft. That way we could have a stacked deck when we if (preferably when) we do find our guy. FYI. Here's a list of every QB taken #1 overall since 2000. Several of these guys had solid careers, but only two have actually won SB's (Manning & Stafford). And Eli was the only one to do it with the team that drafted him. Stafford had to join McVey and Aaron Donald in LA to get his ring. The tanking thing is asinine. A couple of years ago I remember people on the board advocating "tank for Tua", then "tank for Trevor". Good thing we didn't do that. 2023 Bryce Young (Alabama) Carolina Panthers 2021 Trevor Lawrence (Clemson) Jacksonville Jaguars 2020 Joe Burrow (LSU) Cincinnati Bengals 2019 Kyler Murray (Oklahoma) Arizona Cardinals 2018 Baker Mayfield (Oklahoma) Cleveland Browns 2016 Jared Goff (California) St. Louis Rams 2015 Jameis Winston (Florida State) Tampa Bay Buccaneers 2012 Andrew Luck (Stanford) Indianapolis Colts 2011 Cam Newton (Auburn) Carolina Panhers 2010 Sam Bradford (Oklahoma) St. Louis Rams 2009 Matthew Stafford (Georgia) Detroit Lions 2007 JaMarcus Russell (LSU) Oakland Raiders 2005 Alex Smith (Utah) San Francisco 49ers 2004 Eli Manning (Ole Miss) San Diego Chargers 2003 Carson Palmer (USC) Cincinnati Bengals 2002 David Carr (Fresno State) Houston Texans 2001 Michael Vick (Virginia Tech) Atlanta Falcons

BC was a solid pick. I agree that Rhule made a major blunder by not allowing him to play LT initially, which was/is his natural position. I’d love to see him stay but I wouldn’t blame him for wanting to catch a 1-way ticket out of Charlotte. Imagine how things would be in Carolina if the team hadn’t wasted a 2nd round on TMJ at #58 and picked Alabama center Creed Humphrey instead and then nabbed Brady in the next round. We could have been set at RT (Motion), LT, and C for most of the decade then drafted some solid players in the mid rounds to solidify the guard positions on the interior line. With the exception of Moton, all of those guys would still be on their rookie deals and we could have used our draft picks and cap money to build a stronger roster with better talent.

I’m not familiar with this guy, but what you and several others have posted has me intrigued. Rourke is not playing for a traditional NCAA power or a blue blood program. Yet, he’s putting up the numbers and winning games in a power 5 conference. He’s appears to be the type of QB that can do more with less. Those kind of players seem able to adjust to the NFL and succeed. If their NFL team is weak at a couple of areas they just keep chugging along because they never played with stacked teams in their collegiate careers; and they know how to put a team on their backs if they need to. I’ll be keeping my eye on him for the rest of the season. I’d never heard of Brock Purdy until just before he was drafted. I asked a rabid college fan if there was a player who could be a late round steal for Carolina. He said keep your eye on Brock Purdy because he wins games and puts up solid numbers with less talented rosters week in and week out. We see how that has turned out for him and the 49ers.

Thanks for posting this. While this was far from a great performance, this critique shows what some of us noticed last week. Bryce played "a little better". There is some talent there. But, as you pointed out we really don't have a great pass blocking line for dropping back each down when we are behind. BY has got some bad habits and physical limitations. At times his teammates let him down. The play calling isn't always the best. I hope he can learn from last week and show us some improvement in the Saints game.

The data in the below table is somewhat dated. It covers the NFL offensive starters from 2017-2021 by where they were drafted. Interesting data. There are certain positions that usually need to be drafted as high in the first or 2nd round (QB, LT) in order to have a greater likelihood of success. Other positions have a good chance of finding starters even after rounds 1-2. The table below shows that 25% of the guards starting in round in the NFL during that period and 37% of the centers were found on day 3 (rounds 4-7). If you include UDFA those numbers climb to 45% and 53% for those positions. Of course this data doesn't take into account how good these players perform on the field. It only considers the fact that they are starters for their team. I'm going to try and find some information on defensive starters. After seeing the success rates of players taken in round 7, I now see I was justified in trading away those picks away to move up in the draft on the Madden Franchise Mode. According to the below table, UDFAs had a greater chance of starting for a team than players drafted in round 7. https://www.windycitygridiron.com/2022/7/13/23206891/where-was-the-average-nfl-offensive-starter-drafted-by-position OUR 2025 DRAFT PICKS (SO FAR) First round pick Second-round pick (via LA Rams) Third round pick Fourth round pick Fifth round pick Fifth Round pick (via Ravens) Fifth-round pick (via NY Giants) Seventh round pick Seventh-round pick (via 49ers)

Not the janitor! Maybe the scouts and FO, but leave the janitor alone man. He's not the reason our team sucks!

I agree. We now have 3 picks in the 5th round. That more than makes up for not having a pick in the 6th round. Ideally we would draft 3 solid contributors in round 5 for 2025. Or, we could package two of those picks to move up into round 4 and get additional pick to go with ours if we see a player we want sliding down the draft board. As you stated, the key is to draft good players! It doesn't matter how many picks you have during the draft if you waste them picking JAGS and/or busts.