bigdavis

Seems to me that there are sooo many skill players on Offense, that the possibilities are open-ended. I don't see how any D can cover them all. And Tremble has the moves and the speed to pick up blitzers, and to lead block on both sweeps and up the middle runs, so that passes and rushes have to be accounted for on every single play. I didn't like it, but recall that last year, we'd start off a series with CMC up the middle (usually with only 2-3 yds to show for it. If Tremble's in on those 1Ds, even those calls should yield a few more yds, at least. CMC had to get it all on his own last yr.

Seems to me that what a Panthers' fan would be commenting on, not what color somebody's wearing -- should you guys be on a fashion blog?

@Madwolf, I am 47 years older than you, and I can assure you age has no correlation to cynicism. Despite more blows in life than you can name, I remain eternally optimistic. It's just a more rewarding and enjoyable way to get through the journey. I was a Dolphins fan in the 60's, living there and surviving the early George Wilson days, until it finally gelled in the 70's, and culminated in perfection. Now I've lived here since '81 and have cheered the Panthers on from their inception, too. We are on the cusp of wonderment. Tremble will play his part, even if only as a blocking machine for CMC. More than that is gravy on the mashed potatoes.

I can't agree with that "ridiculous continuity" statement. It's a common idea that each SB champ will be the next year's favorite to repeat. But as this list shows, it doesn't work out that way; https://www.topendsports.com/events/super-bowl/winners-list.htm No repeaters in the last 10 years! If anything, THAT's continuity -- the inability to repeat. In fact, only 3 of those last 10 winners even GOT to the SB the next season. Why? Complacency, salaries, trades, parity through drafting? Who knows; but it is a trend, not an outlier that SB winners don't repeat, regardless of "experts" forecasts. I grant you that Tom Brady has won 4 of the last 10, but that's HIS continuity, not the team's. Anyway, don't anoint them just yet.

Great post, @classicsI'm a big fan of Tremble's, but you've opened my eyes on this guy. He has raised high-ball contested catches to an art form. With the new height of Arnold and Marshall, the corners of our opponents' EZs will be full of TD catches, for a change.

Oh, I understand the concern that you, and others, have. Yet -- for myself -- I'd rather go for the extra wins that risk-taking can provide (especially with the large number of skilled play-makers on the Panthers team, as opposed to that of the Jets) -- over the risk-averse close-but-no-cigar record we suffered under the high %, low results we got from Bridgewater. But then, it may just be that I'm a gambler, and enjoy risks. In this case, I rely on Rhule and Brady to manage those risks, and am optimistic that Darnold can harness his talents to achieve the desired results. We shall see. What makes sports so enjoyable, and addicting, is the excitement of the unknown.

Agree with @rayzorthat Rhule wins Coach of the Year. How could he not when he pulls this off?: Last year, Panthers only averaged 21.9 PPG (10 behind GB). This year that jumps to an average of 30.6 per game. And couple that with our D only allowing 20.2 per game, vs the 25.1 a year ago. (from -3.2 to +10.4. Surprise winner of the Division. 15 TDs for CMC.

60 for 950, 9 TDs -- and a place in your heart, when it's all over (oh, and those numbers don't include post-season)

"Makes me tremble"

Until he passes him, on his way to the EZ.

Can't agree with that, at all. Teddy was way too quick to take the safe throw -- it was exactly the pressure in his face that caused his risk-averse tendencies to show up. He wasn't "comfortable" so much as skeered. Darnold, on the other hand, can be seen many times extending plays with his feet, 'til somebody downfield got open.

You are WAY underrating this player's talents. With his routes and hands, at 6'4", and a nose for the EZ, I think he catches more balls, for more yds, and more TDs, than Robbie. He is a HUGE draft pickup. (and to @Mr. Scotand his sharp comment about rub routes, that's a natural component of trips formations, isn't it? With Marshall's abilities from the slot, he'll be a big factor there, too.)

Here's my bold prediction; The juxtaposition in quality between the thread you have introduced, vis a vis that of SCP yesterday, is as stark as it can ever get.

Wrong. It IS ALL about "what you think." This thread is nothing but your way-too-often repeated 3 statements: 1) that we "mortgaged the future," a spurious claim put to rest by several posters 2) the whole "opportunity cost" theory of yours, that you say isn't understood by anyone but you. Not investing idle cash is a valid example of a lost opportunity cost, not the selection of one investment over another. Opportunity cost includes the decision taken between two or more options. The cost is the price paid for choosing one option over another. When Horn was chosen over Fields, that "cost" was unknown; it would only be created if Fields far outplays the combined contributions of Darnold + Horn. AND THAT IS SOMETHING AS YET UNDETERMINED. 3) your factually incorrect claim, oft repeated, that Darnold is a failed reclamation project, and they hardly ever pay off for the reclaimer. I have never seen a more soundly thrashed theory than by @grimesgoat's recent list of salient comparisons. Bravo to him! I say you should stop the debate now. The luster of your past record of fine posts is being tarnished by a stubbornness to yield. No-one (not even you) can say with a certainty how either of these QBs will play. I do know this: Darnold is the Panther QB, not Fields, and the Draft team didn't flip a coin; they made a reasoned judgment. They know more than any of us. Go. Panthers!

Always hard to repeat in the NFCS. What happens to TB if Brady goes down? I took Car to win the Division, and got 10-1 on the bet. Seems reasonable to me.

Epic post, sir! I wasn't here when you left -- sure glad I'm here for your return. Keep it up. You dispelled a lot of stale air that had accumulated.

Mark my words on Tremble -- by about Game #5, he'll have DB's so used to getting steamrolled by his blocks that they'll leave him alone for an uncontested TD pass in the EZ. Then our offensive options will be pretty much unlimited.

A good assessment about the CB group. Here's my overall grade: A+. This was a scheme based draft, IMO. They considered where, as they saw it (and how THEY saw it is infinitely more important than how any of us armchair GMs saw it), they needed to address our biggest failings from last year. Here I am assuming they agree with me on 2 of those failings: 1) inability to get off the field on 3rd and long. How many times did we play solid D on 1st and 2nd downs, and put the opposition in that bind, only to see them convert with a sideline out? This is why they took Horn as their #1. If he can defend passes in those situations (and that's his forte, not INTs), then we force a punt and get the ball back. 2) our RZ scoring was atrocious. And they addressed that failing in 2 steps -- first, in Rd 2, they picked up Terrace Marshall, who AVERAGED 104 YPG last year, and has never dropped a pass in the EZ. He has the height we need for corner fades in those goal line situations. Then, to overcome our inability to pound it in from short yardage, they got the best H-back blocker there is in Tremble. From these 2 pickups, watch our RZ efficiency number sky-rocket. After those 3, the rest of the picks are fine -- but those 3 are SUPER fine for what we needed to cure problem areas.

I commented late on a previous thread, and doubt many of you read this, so I will repeat it here. My thought on Tremble is that he is a big piece of the puzzle that -- now assembled -- will show a pretty unstoppable offense. He is not a skill player; he is an enabler that will serve to heighten their skills. They also serve who only block. This is a FANTASTIC scheme fit! You guys who are fixated on his hands, his drop rate, etc. are way off the mark. He wasn't drafted to catch passes. There's been talk about Armah and Tolbert, but they're not the comparisons to make. Go back further, back to the days of Double Trouble (probably a lot of you weren't around then) How do you think Stewart and Williams gained over 1,000 yds each in 2009? It was because of the mammoth holes in the DL that were created by Brad Hoover. ("Hooooov") This young man loves to block like Hoover did, and CMC will be looking at second level space like never before. Or put the kid in motion from the right side and let him chip the DE to help out our LT. This is a brilliant draft choice, and fits our scheme maybe better than it would any other team in the league

This is a FANTASTIC scheme fit! You guys who are fixated on his hands, his drop rate, etc. are way off the mark. He wasn't drafted to catch passes. There's been talk about Armah and Tolbert, but they're not the comparisons to make. Go back further, back to the days of Double Trouble (probably a lot of you weren't around then) How do you think Stewart and Williams gained over 1,000 yds each in 2009? It was because of the mammoth holes in the DL that were created by Brad Hoover. ("Hooooov") This young man loves to block like Hoover did, and CMC will be looking at second level space like never before. Or put the kid in motion from the right side and let him chip the DE to help out our LT. This is a brilliant draft choice, and fits our scheme maybe better than it would any other team in the league.

Unlike all you haters, I see this as well thought out. It's likely that Sewell was our pick until he got snapped up. But after that, we could've taken Fields, or Jones, or some one of a dozen choices as a LT. But the issues with Fields and Jones don't translate to either being better than Darnold, who has NFL experience they don't have (and who should improve dramatically here, what with better coaching, a RB in CMC, and targets to hit -- none of which he had in NY.) It should have been obvious to all that Darnold was gonna be our QB, and why waste another #1 choice in a ? rookie? Horn, on the other hand, is the best of the CB crop, and this (lest we forget) was a BIG reason we couldn't get off the field on so many 3rd downs. No way to quantify it, but I'd estimate at least 4 of our losses were due to that. Think back on all those 3&15 passes that got caught, that kept opponents' drives alive. Maybe Horn doesn't gamble in coverage in order to pad his INT #s, but those gambles so often lead to TDs, too. It's Passes Defended that result in punts coming our way, and extra possessions. Our Defense now looks to be a solid, young, and deep, unit, that will reduce scores against us dramatically -- and last I checked, that's as big a factor in wins as points we score. So yeah, y'all might say, he can't pass block, so how's he help us there? Our next picks will settle that problem. There are way more talented OLmen still around than there are starting CBs.

Joni Mitchell -- she wrote 'em, she sang 'em Hejira

This is a great pickup! We sorely needed to shore up our run defense in the middle. This could knock 2 yds off our previously abysmal rushing yds allowed. People talked about going after Sheldon Richardson, but this guy is a year younger, healthier, and -- from the tape John Ellis provided -- plays with an attitude of hurt. I imagine Luke wishes this front was there when he was playing...

Would it have to be either/or? If Pitts and either Sewell or Slater were there at #8, everybody here is voicing opinions as to why one is better than the other. Why not have our cake, and then go ahead and eat it, too. Take Pitts at #8, then trade our 2nd round pick, plus our #1 in 2022, to Denver, and get the OT we need with their #9. (If you experts in swap values think that's not enough, add to it until it is.) Balls to the wall, boys. If you all think Sewell/Slater are #1 picks this year (and they are), then they're equally worth next year's #1.

Interesting -- and somewhat ironic -- that you should invoke the name of Smitty in this discussion. Smitty was a downfield threat, on any play -- because he had Jake as his QB, who could get the long ball to him. Moore is not that threat (yet) for the inverse of that statement. Hell, even Robby Anderson (who'd be catching lots of 50 yard bombs from Jake) couldn't be the downfield threat he should have been last year. To carry my argument further, just imagine, if you can, that Smitty's career would've been restricted by the limitations of Bridgewater throwing him 12 yard outs. My guess is, he would've punched him out in frustration. I shouldn't be commenting in such a moronic thread, but I hated to hear Moore's accomplishments -- in the glaring light of his limited opportunities -- be besmirched.