SCO96

Im beginning to think Jerry Jones & the Dallas Cowboys have better chance of winning a Super Bowl in his lifetime than David Tepper & the Carolina have of achieving a winning season in Tepper’s lifetime.

I think last year’s squad was worse…at least offensively. This team is probably in the top 10 though.

I think his lazy route running led to the INT that changed the momentum of last week’s game. Now, he’s missing crucial blocks on short yardage running plays. He’s outlasted our last 3 head coaches and last 3 GMs. I can’t believe we haven’t been able to find a more productive TE to suit up on Sundays.

I can't remember a the last time the Panther had a draft class that significantly improved our win total and/or our ability to compete for a playoff s pot in the NFC. Our FO has botched draft after draft by picking mediocre players and trading away premium draft choices. Despite the above fact, I'm surprised that people on this board think "tanking" is going to turn this franchise around. 1) We had the 1st pick in the draft two years and blew it 2) We've picked two massive underachievers at WR high picks in the 2nd round. We traded down twice in round to pick TMJ who is no longer on the team at the expense of missing out on several caliber O-lineman. Mingo has proved nothing in his two years. He was off the team right now it wouldn't affect or passing game because he brings nothing to it. 3) We picked a LT in round 1 a couple of years ago (Ikwonu) who regressed last season. He is playing better in 2024, but I think we all agree that he hasn't lived up to his draft status. 4) We picked his teammate Zavala one year later in round 4. He was so great that we had to spend millions of dollars to bring in a FA to replace him this season. 5) We made bad trades to move up to get Matt Corrall (no longer on the roster) and DJ Johnson (a JAG). I have no problem taking a flier on these guys, but we didn't have to move up a lose picks to get them when we probably could have got the by sitting still. Based on our draft history under Tepper, what make fans believe that trading away guys who can actually play is going to result in the Panther nailing our next couple of drafts?

The Cowboys had a chance to draft Mike Singletary in 81'. He grew up a Cowboy fan, went to Baylor...a Texas university, and was the best LB in college football. Dallas passed on him in the draft because he was 5'11. In those days, Dallas never drafted a LB if he was less than 6ft tall.. Gil Brandt admitted this to Singletary when Mike asked him "why did you guy pass on me?" Singletary went of to have a Hall of Fame career with the Chicago Bears. I don't think Dallas had a LB make a Pro Bowl until Jimmy Johnson took over in and revived the team in the early 90's. The "Doomsday Defense" of the Dallas Cowboys started to decline rapidly after the 1979 season. When Danny White took over from Roger Staubach in 1980, he never had a defense that finished in the Top 10. In contrast, Staubach never had a defense that wasn't in the top 10. Dallas still had a great pass rush in the early 80s and several ball hawking DB's...but no difference makers at the LB spot. It's probably why the lost 3 straight NFC title games from 1980-1982.

The Bear game was a disaster offensively. The other 3 games haven't been bad from an offense standpoint. A defense giving up 34 points a game is hard to over come. Carolina lost 2 top players last season when Luvu and Burns left. We've have been decimated by injuries, have no pass rush, cannot stop the run, and have no impact players at LB or S. When the offense steps on the field they know they have a chance to score some points with Dalton under center. Bryce threw 11 TDs in 2023. Dalton has thrown more than half that total in 4 starts. BY hasn't thrown a TD in his last 4 games and only 1 since Nov 2023. There's a big difference between Bryce Young and Andy Dalton when it comes to keeping the team competitive on the football field.

I don't know about NFL History, but you have a very strong argument for "Carolina Panther History" You can tell Scott thought he was wiser than the other GMs around the NFL. He thought he could trade down in the draft, trade up in the draft, and trade away players and end up with a more talented roster because of his perceived ability to evaluate players. In reality, was a poor evaluator of who would perform well on the Panthers at the NFL level. He and Rhule seemed to be obsessed with RAS scores. I remember us having a draft (2021 or 2022) and a pundit noticed that most of our guys scored on the higher end of the RAS. But, none of those guys ever made a real difference on the field. Sometimes you just need to pick the most productive college player based on the game tape. Jerry Rice is the greatest all around WR in my lifetime. He ran a 4.6 40 at the combine. HB Terrell Davis had a similar time, possibly worse. Both are Hall of Fame players...and you hardly ever saw anyone run them down from behind once they broke into open. "Football/game speed" trumps "40 speed" every time.

I think the following topic came up last week...or the prior week. It was in regard to our scouting department. Someone asked if we thought the scouts were giving the FO bad intel, or if the FO was ignoring their input. I'd love to be a fly on the wall when our draft board is being compiled year in and year out and when our final rosters are completed. I don't see why Fitterer traded down twice and passed over several caliber lineman to draft a WR we didn't need. Was he simply in love with the player? Did scouts over-hype him? I can see spending a 4th round pick, or late 3rd round pick on TMJ. But, I never understood him being picked that high after signing Robbie to a contract( after he was coming off of a 1,000 yard season) and we still had DJ Moore. Then he drafted another underachiever in Mingo. I'd love to know what our personnel department saw in either of these guys to make them top 60 picks when we had so many other holes on the roster and more talented players at the WR position still on the board when they were selected.

I couldn't watch the game in Spartanburg today. Most of the residents here still don't have power since the storm. I'm encouraged by what you guys have posted and the recaps on a couple of other sites All we needed was competent QB play to keep us competitive. Had B.Young played like Dalton has these past 2 games he'd still have a job and most of us would be excited about his (and the Panthers) future.

That is a valid point. I could see playing him during the back end of the season “if” he was medically cleared. I just wouldn’t want to rush him back to the field prematurely to justify the 2nd selection in the 2023 draft. I’d rather have 100% in 2024 than 75-80%in 2023 and risk a medical setback.

If Chuba keeps playing like this, Sanders performs ok in a complementary role, and the offense can stay in the middle of the pack or better, I wouldn’t try to rush Brooks back…even if it meant keeping him off of field into 2025.

I know he's been playing bad for awhile, but that stat almost made me jump out of my seat! I had to go to https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/Y/YounBr01/gamelog/2023/ to see that with my own eyes. Wow! I knew we had only scored 13 points in out last four games dating back to last season. I knew about the inability to convert on 3rd down (1 in each game this season). But, Bryce has only thrown 2 TDs since Nov 19th! He's lucky he wasn't benched at the end of last season.

Sam Howell played his first two years in under Ron Rivera. A fairly conservative coach. He only got to work with Eric Bienemy one season as an OC. I think Howell would be worth the risk if you could get him for a 4th or 5th round pick. I hate to come off as a Bryce basher, but Howell has already proven that he is a more effective passer in the NFL than Bryce Young. Last season Howell had 21 TDs/21 INTs, and 3,946 passing yards...on a bad team, with not much of a running game. If Bryce had put up stats like that we would have had a chance to win 5-6 games last year. The INTs would obviously need to come down in year 2, but not a person on this board would have been saying "Bryce is a bust".

Hard to play a strong defensive game when you're on the field all the time. Carolina has converted 2 3rd downs in their last two games. And as you pointed out, how can you give it your all for the entire game when you know once the other team scores more than 10 points you have no chance of winning?

Dalton threw for more TDs (2) and scored more points (27) in his one start in 2023 than Bryce has in his last 4 starts: TD (0), Points (13)

Those stats would have great in the 1970's. They seem pedestrian in today's pass oriented NFL. That said, If Bryce had posted those numbers in 2023, or by the end of the current 2024 season , we'd all be ok with those numbers and he'd be firmly entrenched as our starter going forward.

The Lollipop Kids in the House!

Believe it or not...I can. Terry Bradshaw was benched at the start of the 1974 season for Joe Gilliam. He got his job back midway thru the season. He led the Steelers to a their first SB win that year. Pittsburgh won 3 more over the next 5 years. Once again, in terms of talent, there is no comparison. Bradshaw was 6'3/215lbs, could throw the ball a mile, and in his prime I've heard he could run a 4.5 forty...no kidding.

I'm probably older than you, but I do have someone who did all of the above. Jim Plunkett. He had a terrible start to his career. He was the first pick in the 1971 draft for NE. He was traded in 1976 to the 49ers. They released him after the 1977 season. He sat on the bench all of 1978 and 1979. He comes off the bench in 1980 after Dan Pastorini suffered an injury and won a SB. In 1983, he came off the bench again and took the Raiders to a SB win. Plunkett had one of the most unique careers in NFL History. All that said, He was a much more gifted physical prospect than Bryce Young.

While I think Bryce will never be a legit starting QB in the NFL, I love this post. Bryce didn't earn his job. It was given to him. Sitting on the bench "could" light a fire in him. This could be speculation on my part, but from what I've seen on the field and read thru media, I don't get the impression that football is his top priority. I don't see a player who spent the offseason trying to improve his conditioning, arm strength, or throwing mechanics. Maybe he needs to hire a personal QB coach. Maybe he should try to reach out to Drew Brees, Doug Flutie, or Kyler Murray. Ask them "how do/did you find throwing lanes and manipulate the pocket to find the open guy. Jim Plunkett was considered a 1st round bust. He played for two teams before winning won 2 SB's for the Raiders after starting the 1980 season a backup.

I said that yesterday. The Panthers are hurting him (and the team) by keeping him on the field. The best thing Canales could do for him right now is to bench him. Some will say "if you do that you'll destroy his confidence". Well, he isn't playing with any confidence now. And, if taking a seat on the bench b/c of his atrocious play breaks him mentally, then he doesn't have the mentality to lead a team and it's time for the Panthers to find another guy.

What you said in your post is one of the reasons he needs to be benched. Not only is he hurting the team, he is also probably damaging his mental health at this point. He’s playing worse in his 2nd year than he did in his first. That has to be mentally devastating.

Sanders, Mingo, Legette are experiencing QB hell right now. With Dalton they would at least have an opportunity to get several targets per game that travel more than 5 yards in the air. We have no way of knowing how good they can be with Young behind center. And as you pointed out, Plummer couldn’t look much worse than Young has the past 4 games.