Stuart Smith

I could possibly give Rhule some slack, and have tried to do that in my mind. However, looking at how he has managed the Offensive Line and quarterbacks in preseason leads me to believe he has not learned as much as he needs to. Frustrating to watch.

We need him to be ready at Center, I agree!

I agree on Higgins.

Baker, Austin Pleasants, Cade Mays. Even Steve Smith mentioned Austin Pleasants. When I look at Pleasants I think of Andrew Norwell, hope I am not disappointed.

And I hope Tepper is paying attention.

I have to wonder how much emphasis has been on preparing Corral so far. I think the consensus has been to bring him along slowly, I imagine he has not been a priority. The main thrust of preseason has been Darnold-Mayfield. The OL protection Corral had today looked like what Darnold had in some games last year. We cannot jump to conclusions based on one preseason game.

I agree, but Barno and Smith were impressive if just for today.

One bright spot for me was the fact that receivers did a solid job on balls that they had a legitimate chance on. I hated to see Kirkwood get a tough hit.

This may be the first year in a long time the offensive line may not as big as a concern as the defensive line. Is it just me or is the defensive line (especially the interior) a concern to anyone else?

I hope Bozeman is here a long time. He and Nikki have been huge in the community. I know it depends on the on field performance, but building a rapport with the fans is important too.

I sure hope you are right. If Elflein and Michael Jordan start it will be bad news.

If I remember correctly Steve Smith was thinking Shi might be a find. Guess we’ll see how that goes.

Does anyone have any information of what decisions if any have been made on the future of Damien Wilson and Shi Smith with the Panthers?

Every season there are teams that are predicted to do well, but for different reasons have much worse records than predicted. If you look strictly at strength of schedule it is formidable. However, by the same token there are teams that rise from the ashes. In 2014 the Panthers were 7-8-1. In 2015 the Panthers were in the Super Bowl. We shall see.

To be fair, didn’t he get a lot of double teams?

Thanks for sharing this. The 93 defensive line was awesome, the entire year was amazing. Great memories!

I have the same thought.

I will never forget Bountygate. Remember Cam Newton was on their “bounty list.” Payton got suspended a year and rightly so. That speaks for his character. Hard pass.

I just don’t see the pessimism I have seen the last two days. The Panthers have retooled the OL, McCaffrey will be helpful. Much stronger coaching staff and and the quarterback room has improved. This will be a much improved team. The tweet by Skip Bayless about the Panthers being dysfunctional and the one place he did not want Mayfield to go will come back to bite him like so many of his comments. Career wins: Deshaun Watson 28 and 26 Losses. Baker Mayfield career wins 30 and 30 losses. Cleveland paying $55.5 million for 2 quarterbacks this season. One is in Charlotte and one will be suspended. Who is dysfunctional?

Duke would fit in the big East which is predominately a basketball league. Wake and Va Tech?

I may be alone in my thinking, but if another team has a quarterback go down in trading camp I can see Darnold being moved. This may seem unlikely, Carolina would have to take back a lot of salary. Also, is Sam considered so damaged no one would come calling? I know the “competition in training camp” is being talked up, but I believe Mayfield was brought in to be the starter.

I cannot think of another team in the NFL that has changed their quarterback and offensive line as drastically as the Panthers in such a short time. I know there are some negative Nellies but I am impressed.

PJ hoping Sam goes elsewhere now or he’s (PJ’s) gone.