frankw

I mean you're seemingly egging on someone that's about to get the first OTA thread of the year sent to the tinderbox because he's so personally upset someone said something about Bryce Young he doesn't like. At the end of the day it's on Bryce to quiet the doubts. He's got 38 million reasons to do so. I'm glad we are in general agreement about the outlook for the upcoming season. As far as my position on Bryce. I was pretty plain about my preference being CJ Stroud predraft. There were several posters here at that time who made it their mission to attack and spam poo emojis on anything perceived to be critical of Bryce Young. I was on board and in support once he was the pick. I said all along I was going to give him the season to show performance worthy of where he was selected. To say the absolute least that did not happen unfortunately. I think you are misrepresenting and assigning your own interpretation to the "optimism" about Bryce Young that you claim I take exception to. Optimism is one thing. Fantasy is another. And fantasy is what some of the talk has amounted to. In this very thread the first day of OTA he's been compared to Christian McCaffrey for whatever reason. That's not optimism that's homerism and again we've been doing this for different QB's the last several years. What's the definition of insanity? At some point you just need to see real quantifiable results first. We're all waiting. Hopefully it happens.

I think you and some others have a pretty clear inferiority complex over Bryce Young. People did the same thing with Kyle Allen and Teddy Bridgewater. If that's your path that's cool. Won't make him a better QB any more than the criticism that you rail against will. None of us are better than the other. We're just spectators. But your objections don't change the reality at hand regarding how bad he played last season. Most people want to see improvement and to see him emerge worthy of the first overall selection.

It all sounds nice. Cost wise this would go over better if the team weren't dogshit the last several years. How much are the owners that brag about concert dollars putting up for all this?

The last few pages of this thread are why we can't even have convos about the QB. The first day of basic OTA's in May and some people are already trying to dunk on others over anything. How about we save that for if and when our offense (Bryce included) actually looks formidable in the preseason.

Looks like he's been at least attempting lifting weights. Good to see.

Don't fall into the camp hero trap folks. For right now enjoy camp and wait to see it translate to preseason games. Then we can talk about expectations. Until I see it in preseason I'm in yawn mode.

I'm not going to pile on Dak because we've been horrendous and have watched some truly abysmal QB play. But we don't need to chase any FA quarterbacks. Keep drafting one early and maybe even one in the late rounds until you hit it's that simple.

While it was certainly an eye opening comparison. It wasn't nearly as cringy as the "Steph Curry of the NFL" talk. There's nothing wrong with going all in as a fan when you've had such a hard time finding hope over these last several years. But what made it unhinged was how some people paired that with talk of how CJ Stroud was basically going to tumble down the draft board and go on to struggle to find his footing as a starter in the NFL. People didn't just buy in on Bryce Young they went to lengths to convince themselves he was something that would in his own way transcend the position. You just can't allow yourself to get that invested in a draft pick. This has to be a learning experience for a lot of people going forward.

Matt Rhule was a new vibe once upon a time. Let's see Canales team in preseason and go from there.

Bryce is going to have to play a great deal from under center if we are going to stop being so predictable offensively and more importantly actually score touchdowns. When you pair being in shotgun 90% of the time with the fact no one on defense had to worry about us going deep downfield how could we even have effectively judged our running backs? And even when we had games where the run game was producing our passing game was a downgrade from even Teddy Bridgewater. You can see why Canales wanted a 6 year deal eh? No pressure Dave.

Winning pointless games is QB purgatory. Been doing this the last 5 years now. Either be pretty good and competitive when it actually matters or just be garbage. No more winning a few meaningless games for the team culture that still ends up being awful.

Well here's to hoping we see a lot of it in the upcoming season because the alternative is quite depressing.

Has the definition of the term "big time throw" changed somewhat recently or? Based on some of what I'm reading here one could pull up some of Teddy Bridgewater's Panthers highlights and spot plenty of those big time throws.

I feel like anyone within the Panthers fanbase no matter where they land on Bryce should agree on this. He's a good kid. He's intelligent. But ultimately is he going to ever be the guy to command a locker room? Obviously none of us can say. But I just don't get any alpha vibes from him whatsoever. Is that a dealbreaker? Not necessarily. Here's the thing though. We had the talk of his generational years ahead of his age leadership trait clubbed over our heads for weeks nonstop before the draft. But after seeing someone like Sam Darnold navigate life as a starting QB I think anyone here should be able to acknowledge homerism there are some similarities to Darnold in terms of personality. That is not what we were sold. All of this takes me back to before the draft. I just can't shake the sense that Stroud just rubbed Tepper or someone the wrong way. Was he too confident? Not subservient enough? Did they feel Bryce was more marketable and media savvy? My gut says these things weighed more into the pick than they should have. If not. Stroud more than likely would have been the selection. What's done is done though. I'm just like you though. I want to see some fire from Bryce at some point this season. But I'm expecting to be disappointed considering his first order of business following one of the worst rookie seasons ever was to detach completely and do nothing. As always. Hoping for the best. I feel like I have to put a disclaimer at the end of this post for the Bryce superfans. I want to see him do well. I don't want this to end in the worst case scenario. There now we can be friends!

Guys just keep in mind it's important to separate in this discussion people who have low or not good expectations for the outcome with people who literally want him to fail. There are some people like this. But they are easy to spot. Probably someone like Ickmule would fit then bill. But these people are few in numbers. The majority of fans don't want the worst possible outcome. But you still have to be realistic about the possibilities and the percentages.

I'll make my prediction after the first few preseason games. Need to see how much fight this team has in it. But at this point 5 wins is highly optimistic.

We have had 2 long term starters at QB in nearly 30 years. People have a right to be skeptical after one of the worst rookie seasons ever. Kyle Allen Teddy Bridgewater Sam Darnold. Tell me right now you feel like he's shown anything that with certainty makes you feel like he's head and shoulders better than any of them. It's like if someone had said this about Jimmy Clausen after the 2010 season. Make no mistake that's the only comparison he's in line with at the moment. I don't like it either but that's the situation. You guys have to stop playing the I'm a better fan card.

Simms is so wishy washy at times it's difficult to listen or take him seriously. But unfortunately he is correct on most of what he's saying about Bryce. Also putting him below Darnold is brutal. At the same time. I just can't argue with it. Darnold at least has the phsyical ability to put the ball wherever he wants it. You don't draft a QB #1 overall if he doesn't have the kind of arm talent that wows you on the tape.

Right we agree. But do you also agree that the defense you are facing has to fear your QB's passing ability or it's over before it starts?

I'm all for criticism. But honestly? Fug Chris Simms.

Our run game was not as bad last year as some insinuate. That's why this newfound emphasis on the run game is being met with an eye roll from some fans. Your run game is supposed to setup the pass. But when the defense and particularly the secondary knows your QB isn't willing to or just isn't capable of pressing the issue in certain situations with his arm your run game means nothing. It's all on the tape from 2023. That's the work our new head coach has in store for him. I hope he's got some magic.

Does it really require deep thinking? If he's the first overall pick in a draft without CJ Stroud there would be somewhat less of a microscope over him. But that's not the case. In fact it was CJ Stroud himself who had the microscope over him before the draft and he literally did nothing wrong and everything that was asked of him as a prospect. Now the roles have flipped and some people can't handle it. It's a bummer but that's life right?

It's hard out here for a Panthers fan that's for sure.

Really one of the biggest talking points about Bryce Young pre-draft that was supposed to translate and separate him from the rest of the draft class was ability to improvise within the pocket and buy himself time to make plays and make use of his processing ability. But then I guess the staff got him in Carolina and got a good look at the footwork and all that went out the window.

Finally making changes to the scouting department? Why only the assistant though? And the Commanders? Ehhh.