BlitzMonster

Good topic ! I am really encouraged by the solid run defense & 3rd down D in game 1. It's a huge improvement from last year. As you mentioned, the offense still needs to get the TE involved a lot more. That's a problem from last season which is still hanging around. Maybe doing so would also help our poor redzone performance. And take some of the burden off of CMC as well.

Wasn't a perfect game by any means. I thought the D took its foot off of the gas in the second half. Whether that was Snow's schemes or the players just getting complacent, I don't know. But there were still a lot of good individual plays and plenty to build on for next week.

overuse of CMC - spread the ball around more kicking game looked atrocious

I really wanted the D to go for the jugular in the beginning of the second half and just shut the Jets completely down. But we clearly eased up and the Jets stuck around until the end of the game. That's not what great teams do. They deliver the knockout punch as soon as they can to just demoralize the other squad. I don't know if it was soft playcalling or if the players relaxed a bit. But the Panthers didn't have the aggressive attitude in the 2nd half as much.

absolutely agree I'd like to see some of the CMC screens go to the TE. Get Arnold / Tremble / Thomas several catches each per game. And some redzone success with them as well. Getting the TE involved would take a lot of pressure off of this offense.

All off-season the Huddle has talked up our defense. And, for the first game, they really came through: 6 sacks a beautiful interception by Shaq Thompson solid play for most of the game Sure the Jets stink and we were playing against a rookie QB. But the defense did its job. Well done guys.

Yeah, CMC is back ! I'm so glad to see that. But how long is the guy going to last ? At the rate he played today CMC is going to be worn down to the nub by mid-season. The offense has to be spread around a lot more to keep CMC fresh this year.

I came away from this game really impressed with Wilson. Good mobility & can keep a play going. Great arm. Accuracy was impressive at times. And I like that he came back from a rough first half and played much better in the 2nd. All in all Wilson seems like he's got what it takes to be an NFL QB. I just wonder (and even doubt) whether the Jets will surround him with enough support (good receivers, OL protection, running game) to help him fully develop his talents.

Panthers OL was mostly invisible. Which is exactly what you want. I've got no complaints for the first game.

Looked mostly like a pretty savvy vet out there. Cool. Calm. Collected. Good arm strength. Accuracy was a bit off but I think that will come through with more reps & gametime. All in all a fine first game. Loved that QB draw. Don't know if that decision was his or Brady's with no Safety deep. But that's what good teams do - make the D pay for their mistakes.

I want to be in the redzone and have our QB throw a TD to the TE. And then, over the course of the season, repeat that a dozen times.

7 to 9 wins the defense will be one of the better units in the NFL OL will have two rookies starting by the end of the year

that's with JJ Jansen being 1000 years old don't count special teams and the Panthers might be the youngest in the NFL

I think you are spot on. A backup QB is a guy who can come in and win a game or two if the starter goes down. For this team, that isn't really necessary. The Panthers are almost surely not in playoff contention this year so the extra losses don't matter. A good backup QB will be much more important in a couple of years when this team is much more competitive. I'd be a lot more interested in adding a PS quarterback this year that is really raw but has potential. He could learn our system for a season and maybe contribute in the future.

Their play on the field will ultimately determine the worth of this draft class. But so far, I am really impressed. The team made a bunch of moves to get additional mid-to-late draft picks this year and all of them have made the first round of 53 (the LS fake injury notwithstanding). The Panthers will definitely have one of the youngest squads in the NFL for 2021. Good to have new blood on the roster. Also really good for the salary cap with all those cheap rookie contracts.

for sure the team will have 1 RB (or more likely 2) on the practice squad

Initial thoughts: 4 TE plus Ricci as a FB/H-Back/TE -> maybe the team sees more of a role for Tremble catching passes and don't want to get him stuck just as a blocker. Also expect more 2TE sets. The entire 2021 draft class stays on the team (with a bit of trickery) JJ Jansen survives for another year ! Deonte Brown and Brady Christensen both set up well to become starters later this year (or next season) 4 SS ?? - one or two cuts for newly claimed players will come from this group

If I counted correctly, the team's first take at 53 are already listed in the Panthers Depth Chart: https://www.panthers.com/team/depth-chart

All off-season I've assumed Ian Thomas would be cut due to his salary and relative underperformance. Now, however, I think Thomas could make it. A double TE base formation would be a big help to the Panthers current shaky OL situation.

That's what you want in a long snapper - invisibility. He never screwed up so nobody thinks about him. The dream of any coaching staff.

I think the Panthers best OL would be something like this: LT Moton LG Daley C Paradis RG Miller RT Christensen with Erving & Elflein as (expensive) swing backups & Deonte Brown to play in Jumbo packages It would be a nice mix of mixture of experience, youth, size and athleticism

Supply and demand I guess. How many guys can hurl a baseball 100 mph ? With very good accuracy. Not many. Of the 32 NFL kicking slots available every season most are held by someone who's been at the job for years. So the actual number of new kickers needed is quite low. And the college ranks graduate 20 or 30 kickers every year who could hit a 50 yard field goal.

like any good boss (business, military, etc) make your expectations perfectly clear "guys who keep making mistakes are going to be unemployed very soon"

For high school kids, it's probably effective For grown men who have been playing for many years (and with a paycheck on the line), it's pretty lame and likely ineffective. The biggest consequence of the DBO sign -- it makes the coaching staff look like they don't know what they are doing.

depends on how much the team wants to use 2 TE sets but for $2M, I think he's too pricey as a backup TE maybe the Panthers can trade him to a TE needy team for a late round pick ??