SCO96

That stat they showed during our last drive said we had scored 32 pts in the 3rd quarter thru 16 games. That averages out to 2 pts for each 3rd quarter. We just got a FG so we beat our average today!!!

I'm glad you and I (and others) are able to acknowledge this. We can't assume we are going to find a team willing to trade up and give up a ransom of picks in return. What would we expect a team to give up it we did trade back and which of the top 5 picks is really worth trading up for? Nor can we assume that we can fill a gap or two on the O-line in free agency. Based on the current situation in Charlotte, why would a top FA lineman want to play for the Panther? We've had 4 straight losing seasons. We've never had back to back winning seasons Our coach seems to be in over his head and somewhat delusional (No Mr. Rhule,the process is not working ) We have no franchise QB Our franchise RB is always hurt. Our team for the past two years literally cannot score points in the 3rd quarter. Every team we play seems to have the ability to shut us down in the 2nd half and DB's openly say "We know the routes the receivers are running pre snap) I just don't see good lineman clawing their way to get here. So, I would have no problem if we stayed put and took the lineman that would have the most impact on out pass protection, even though I see the wisdom in possibly trading down to get extra picks.

With all of the sexual harassment allegations recently, maybe they could become the Washington Predators

We can't assume that Pocic (or any good player) wants to come to Carolina. I can't figure out why any top rated FA would want to come to the Panthers and play under the current coaching staff, unless this is 1) their last stop in their career, 2) their desperate for playing time and want to get off the pine, or 3) we're offering the most money. If someone want to join a team that has a strong foundation and contribute to legitimate contender for the next several years, then they need to steer clear of Charolotte, NC until the team has a drastic make over.

Not saying I fully agree with your point of view about taking a center at #6, but good job laying out your case. I think that the economic aspect is something that needs to be considered especially with highly drafted O-lineman. If we had taken Creed Humphrey at center last year when we had the opportunity we could focus solely on the LT spot. He went to the Chiefs @ #63. Even with two trade downs in round 2 we could have nabbed him at 58. Instead we took a WR .

I've said this several times, but last year when we traded down from our 2nd round slot (twice I might add), and passed on 5 tackles and 3 interior lineman. Fitt ended up tacking TMJ at 58. So far he has 17 receptions for 138 yards in 13 games. I don't blame the player, but he has literally had no impact on the team this season. Imagine if we had taken a solid O-line starter in round 2, BC in round 3, and managed to get a blue chip lineman in round one of the 2022 draft. We could arguably be on the verge of having the best O-line in the division.

Unfortunately, "Thou speakest the truth". It's going to be hard to fix this line in one season...unless BC turns out to be a legit LT (or LG) and Deonte becomes a solid guard next to Moton on the right side. If this scenario panned out, then one blue chip lineman in the top 10 could turn things around in a hurry.

https://www.pff.com/news/draft-2022-nfl-draft-board-big-board 5. OT EVAN NEAL, ALABAMA The mammoth 6-foot-7, 350-pounder is one of the most imposing specimens ever to grace this earth — and he moves like a man 50 pounds lighter. He’s only allowed 22 pressures the past two years between left and right tackle. 6. IOL TYLER LINDERBAUM, IOWA The best center prospect we’ve seen in the PFF College era. He was already the highest-graded center in the country in 2020, but he has taken his game to new heights in 2021, earning a 95.3 overall grade. 9. OT CHARLES CROSS, MISSISSIPPI STATE After flashing traits in his first year as a starter in 2020, Cross became a dominant pass-protector in 2021. He went from allowing 44 pressures on 574 pass-blocking snaps last season to only 16 pressures on 719 pass-blocking snaps this year. 10. OT ICKY EKWONU, N.C. STATE The single most dominant run-blocking tackle in the country. Ekwonu’s 18 big-time blocks in the run game this season are seven more than the next-closest Power 5 offensive lineman. ----- Our O-line is so bad that's I'd be giddy if we drafted any of these guys. But, if Brady could hold down the LT spot the thought of adding Linderman makes me fill warm and fuzzy. Those clips from Sunday's game, and what I've seen all year, shows that our weakest pass blockers are the interior lineman.

I was actually thinking the same thing you posted. Some people have said that trading down could actually get a decent 1st round pick and solid 2nd round pick as well. This is suppose to be a strong year for o-lineman in the draft. If we could draft two solid starters to pair with Moton and Christensen we'd be a lot better heading into 2022. And...if Deonte Brown could perform at RG, we could have the best o-line in the NFC South for the next 3-4 years. Here's a link with a breakdown of the the top 2022 draft prospects. Four lineman, including the IOWA center you mentioned (Tyler Linderbaum) are expected to go in the top 10. https://www.pff.com/news/draft-2022-nfl-draft-board-big-board

I think you "might be correct in your assessment of BC", but we still don't know for sure. He's only started 2 games at his natural position, and each game was against teams with strong pass rushes. Tampa won the SB last year, and the Saints shut them out 9-0 two weeks ago on a nationally televised game. The Saints have beat Brady and company 4 out of the last 5 times they've played...and would have beat them in the playoffs last season if Brees had been healthy. Considering who he played against, and the lack of starts at LT, I think Brady did "ok", not great, but "ok". If Rhule had allowed him to play most of the season at LT, we'd have a really good feel for what to do going forward. All that said, if we could get a top notch LT in the first round and put BC at LG, we could be set on our left side for the next several years. But, if we rolled with Brady next year and took the best interior lineman in the top 10, that would still be a major upgrade over this season's terrible O-line play.

To be honest, I think we were quite competitive last year. Our 5-11 record looks terrible on paper but we had a legit chance to almost every game we played last season. Eight of our 11 losses were by 8 pts or less in 2020. The reason why Teddy Bridgewater is gone is because his record in game winning drives in the 4th quarter was 0-8. The very fact that we had 8 chances to win or tie a game on our last drive of the game means we were competitive. Despite the poor record, I never got bored watching the games. I just felt a big letdown after we seemed to snatch defeat from the hands of victory almost every week. I didn’t expect to make the playoffs in 2021. I thought we could get to 8-10 wins and knock on the post season door. Robbie and DJ both went over 1000 yds. I thought getting TMJ would give us even more pop in the passing game. Tremble should have given us another passing options and helped the run game with his blocking. Hubbard seemed to be a good pick as a backup/situation starter. I assumed out Oline picks would help improve the Oline performance. Darnold has almost thrown for 20 TDs twice in the past. I thought he would at least approach that number this year. Rhule would have another year of experience and a full offseason after the Covid disaster in 2020. So yeah, I admit that I expected a better team performance this season, even if we missed did end up missing the playoffs or finished below .500. I didn’t expect the debacle this season. Not only are we going to have a fourth straight losing season, but he Panther offense is just painful to watch. This is one of the worst NFL offenses I’ve ever seen and I’ve been a regular NFL viewer since the late 1970s.

I know the offensive line is terrible, but it seems like we should be able scheme around it better than we are currently doing. Sam, Cam, and PJ are all above average in mobility, but we don't seem to get those guys on the edge with called roll outs to move the pocket. I don't see us throwing many screens to slow down the pass rush. TE's Thomas and Tremble have a combined 36 catches on the year. If each guy caught 2 passes a game over the course of the season they'd have almost twice that number in combined catches. TE's are an after thought in this offense. I'd be practicing every trick play I knew (reverses, reverse passes, HB options, hook and ladders, etc) to keep the chains moving and to compensate for the poor line. As you pointed out, we just seem to run the same routes over and over. Even with this line, the upper echelon coaches would be able to get 8-10 wins with the current talent, and possibly more depending on the strength of schedule.

12 TD's over the course of a 16 game season in a pass happy league...that's shocking! Our 3rd leading receiver has missed over 50% of the games this season. The next closest player in receptions is a RB Ameer Abdullah (26 receptions). I don't think Abdullah started the year with the team and he's only played in 10 games. That's shocking! We extended R. Anderson's contract in the off season and now he averages less than 3 catches per game. It's shocking just how much his production has fallen. Our skill position players and QB's are among the worst in the NFL in terms of productivity. Frankly, I'm shocked we've played this poorly. Last year's offenses was much better...and that's saying something considering our inability to pull out close games in the fourth quarter in 2020.

https://www.espn.com/nfl/team/stats/_/name/car The Panther passing game has been so anemic this year that: 1) Our 3rd leading receiver in terms of receptions (37) and yardage (343) is Christian McCaffrey; and he's only played in 7 games this season. 2) Our #2 WR is Robbie Anderson. He's played in all 16 games and only has 46 receptions and 469 yards. 3) Brandon Zylstra is our 3rd leading WR (18/250/1 TD) and his 18 receptions tie him with Ian Thomas and Tommy Tremble for 6th place on the team. Zylstra has been more productive than our 2nd round draft pick Terrace Marshall Jr. (17/138/0). Yesterday, Bengal rookie Ja'marr Chase had more yards in one game than our #3 and #4 WR's have in an entire season. 4) Darnold, Newton, and Walker have a combined of 12 TD passes on the year. Forty-four year old Tom Brady has more than 3x that many (40). Even with a poor oline, the offense shouldn't be this bad. I can't see things improving next year unless some drastic changes are made.

The Panthers are 22-42 since Tepper took over the team with for straight losing seasons. Matt Rhule has a 10-22 record over the past two seasons, and that loss record will in all likelihood reach 23 due to the additional game. Tepper said that he didn't want to continue with the sustained mediocrity. Right now "mediocrity" would be a massive upgrade for the franchise. This may be the worst offensive team Carolina has ever fielded.

I didn't write this. I found this post over at the Cat Scratch Reader site. I decided to post because I found the content to be quite depressing, but a true statement on the past 3 seasons in Carolina. ---------- In addtion to the myriad problems with the current Panthers, don't forget that only 3 times in the first 24 seasons of this franchise have they won less than 6 games. Now, here in seasons 25, 26, & 27, we're going for 3-in-a-row less than 6 victory seasons. With an extra game this year.

I didn’t waTch one snap of today’s game which was a first for me this season. Based on the score I don’t think I missed much. However, I’m curious to know if Brady started at LT today, and if so, how did he play.

I may be in the minority, but if I were a GM there’s no way I’d move up to from the mid teens to number 6/7 and give Carolina this years number 1, this year’s number 2, and a number 1 in 2023 for a QB in this draft class. I’d feel like I’d been robbed. If we’re expecting a any team’s first round pick in 2023 I think we may end up being disappointed.

Jimmy Johnson was a great evaluator of talent, and he was really was the key to the rapid turn around in Dallas. But, you're right about that trade. He wouldn't have been able to win those Super Bowls as quickly if not for the extra draft choices. When he got to Miami he was able to field a competive team and drafted some good players (Sam Madison, Zach Thomas, Jason Taylor), but he didn't come close to accomplishing what he did in Dallas. Some of that is because he wasn't able to draft as many top players as quickly as he did with the Cowboys. Here's what Jimmy Johnson received after fleecing the Vikings. https://bleacherreport.com/articles/140116-the-best-trade-in-nfl-history In 1989, at the peak of Walker's NFL career, the Cowboys sent Herschel Walker to the Vikings for five players and six draft picks. The players were LB Jesse Solomon, DB Isiac Holt, RB Darrin Nelson, LB David Howard, and DE Alex Stewart. The picks turned into players such as Emmitt Smith, Russell Maryland, Kevin Smith, and Darren Woodson. ------

Here’s the ironic thing about this post, it would probably be a good pick for us most years considering the need at linebacker. Penn State has a poor NFL track record at the QB but they tend to put out solid linebackers on a fairly consistent basis.

I'm glad I wasn't drinking anything when I first read this post. I laughed so hard that I would have spit it all over my keyboard.

That's not exactly true. Tom Brady is still starting after being picked over 20 years ago in the 6th round. I know Brady is an outlier, but Dak Prescott and Kirk Cousins were 4th round picks who are starting for their respective teams and both have played well this season. Jalen Hurts has 16 TD/9INTS and still has the Eagles in playoff contention. He's shown a lot of improvement during his second season and he's a 2nd round pick. The Eagles felt comfortable enough to replace Carson Wentz (a first round pick) with Hurts. Most of the starters in the NFL are first rounders, but you can find quality goes on Days 2 and 3 of the draft. QB evaluation is still a mystery to me. Guys like Kurt Warner and Tony Romo are undrafted, but guys like Ryan Leaf, Jamarcus Russel, Mitch Tribinsky, and gulp....Sam Darnold go in the first round.

The way BC was handled is one of the reasons Rhule has caused so much animosity among the fans. Christensen should have been starting at LT (or dare I say it...a guard position) by at least mid-season. We would have been able to to see whether or not he could be counted on to hold down one of the positions. Then we could go into the off-season knowing exactly which position(s) to address. Now, we still really don't know what he have. I don't know if a 3 game sample at season's end is enough to make a sound decision on the LT spot. But, if he plays well to end the season, I'd focus on the interior lineman in the draft after seeing how we were man handled by Tampa yesterday (and all season for that matter)

You bring up a valid point. A lot of Panther fans seem to think some of our problem areas "can be addressed in free agency". In theory that is correct. But, if Rhule comes back next year, how many players do you think will be saying "I just can't wait to play for Matt Rhule and the Carolina Panthers"? Why would any player in the prime of his career want to play here given the current circumstances? We may be able to get some one trying to hang on for a few more years after realizing that his services aren't valued anymore by most teams. But, I just don't see anyone else coming unless it is someone buried on a depth chart and wants an opportunity to start.