frankw

That there are dumb humans out there willing to risk their freedom for a joyride should be one of the least suprising things you can see in this country. The American value system on screens big and small via social media and reality television drills it into kids heads at a young age that the key to happiness and fulfillment is having the nicest car or the nicest house. Crowding overpopulated prisons for nonviolent crime isn't going to change anything but the system will keep repeating anyway.

It's not weak enough that we can't get by this year but we can absolutely upgrade and Scott Fitterer will be seeking to do so beginning in '22.

They were elite for their position. Shaq to this point has not been. Not all of that has been his fault but reality is reality. I will assume you have missed a few replies in here because I have already discussed Shaq and his contract and how it lines up with the current on field returns. Some fans view things differently and that's okay. But change is always around the corner and I have no doubt our new gm has plans that don't involve overpaying for average play.

I had a more detailed response to this that disappeared. But my overall point wasn't that we didn't have a pass rush at all but that Luke and Davis were integral to the overall success of the defense. Between them they had 6 and half sacks and 8 interceptions. In regards to those sack numbers though it's a shame that didn't show up in the biggest game. Kony Ealy was a top contributor with 3 sacks and nobody here would say he was very good. Damn shame.

I'm not holding the contract against them I'm sure Hurney did what he did with that and market value is what it is. But we didn't help matters by dragging him through the mud publicly and tanking any value he had. That was on us. I hope that and the public turmoil with Newton was a lesson learned moving forward.

The Teddy fiasco overall says otherwise. Fitterer wasn't involved obviously but Rhule and Brady really need a win with Darnold.

But sadly it has been the same ol Panthers my friend. We haven't sniffed a divisional crown in half a decade now. Let's hope Sam is the answer.

True but age and those concussions had caught up with him by that point. Which is why people are now being more realistic in regards to the positional group. Its easy to forget that Luke is only 30. He retired only two years older than Shaq is now.

In 2015 did we have an elite defense overall or did we have a very good linebackers group and an opportunistic secondary? We didn't have that much of a pass rush from the dline but we were still formidable. Our strength was in guys like Luke and TD.

People are leading with their emotions instead of their eyes. Nobody hates Shaq. He's been pretty beloved here overall. But he has not fully lived up to his first round status and sizable salary cap allocation. That could change but by the end of his contract he will be 30 with a nearly 20 million dollar cap hit and history is not on his or our sid in that department. When I look at this discussion I'm reminded that there were people who rejoiced in 2010 when we retained that roster and overpaid. At some point folks have to learn because the Panthers repeat the same mistakes. That is why Fitterer was brought in with a different mentality and approach to the draft instead of overindulgence in linebackers and running backs. Well at least that's what we hope.

I dont understand why Ian Thomas can't put it all together yet. Even Ed Dickson stepped up and dropped 175 yards that one time. That was a fun game. Ian makes him look like an all pro.

They just did a restructure in March.

Hopefully that doesn't equate to a loss of speed. Shaq is a likeable guy but one big change we need with Fitterer is how we invest in linebackers. An 18 million dollar cap hit for a 28 year old linebacker will only go one of two ways.

Who said we need a hall of famer in order for them to be a leader? And you talking about analysis is rich considering your entire shtick here is dumping on others while rarely offering original thoughts of your own.

Well we need to be honest with ourselves. If we want to shed basement dweller status we need someone other than our starting running back to be the defacto leader. Across the league for the majority of successful teams who are in the playoff hunt that lands on the shoulders of the qb. We glaringly lacked that last year and you see where it got us.

That depends entirely on how desperate we may or may not be by the fall. Opinions vary but what cannot be denied is there must be some semblance of a solution by September. I do not wish to see Darnold's blindside protected by a revolving door. Been there done that.

The pecking order begins with 89 bottom line. Julio is really good but if Smith went up against the corners Jones dumped on for 300 yards Steve would have put up 500 in his prime.

Hard to take this analysis seriously when it completely glosses over the fact that the team still doesn't have a clear answer at left tackle. That in itself is as big a question mark as Sam Darnold because our depth along the line isn't much to write home about either.

As someone who has seen enough of the Panthers struggling to field a competent receiver core over the years I'm definitely not penciling in any unproven rookies over Anderson until some games have been played. Not to mention we haven't had the best luck with injuries and it's a 17 game season now. For now we need him we can talk about next year when the time comes.

Few even care. Charlotte is beginning to resemble any other generic big city. You would think it wouldn't be a discussion met with ridicule considering everything the world has been through the last year and the increasing wealth gap only growing larger along with the net worth of many of these billionaires. But heads will remain buried in the sand. It is the American way and the wealthy don't want educated consumers they want that cash flow.

Look Cam was not the most prolific passer and most unbiased fans will agree. In his prime he could sling it no problem but what made him an intimidating force were his rushing abilities which were and still are in very rare company historically especially in the red zone. He has the most rushing touchdowns in league history and he is second all time in rushing yards. At his best the man was a human cheat code and he absolutely changed the position and the way teams look at dynamic ability now. Because Cam was not the slam dunk first overall pick in the minds of quite a few analysts and coaches ten years ago. If you ask any of these younger quarterbacks now who also have similar ability they will tell you the impact Newton had on how they wanted to play in college and the pros.

Stadium funding has been talked about for years though. Outrage isn't anything new. As for examples of privately funded stadiums it is obviously less common but it has happened. See below. https://californiaglobe.com/section-2/california-leads-the-way-in-building-new-stadiums-and-arenas-by-not-using-taxpayer-money/

That new stadium isn't as far off as people think. Just remember guys billionaires have feelings too

You just aren't going to get through to some of these people. There were folks trying to shut down any dissent about Teddy Bridgewater until the bitter end last year. Optimism is good but shifting blame in all directions and then grasping for any favorable comparison before a real snap has been taken is unnecessary. Let him show us something. The opener is the perfect opportunity.