Seltzer

LOL you're right... and I'm going... that was a brain fart

Your analysis overall is pretty spot on. The Lions were abysmal when we played them last year, and it will take a better effort to beat the Patriots on the road. That being said, I honestly thought PJ did pretty good as a backup in that game other than the 2 awful endzone throws. Nothing great, but he did move the offense. I think the game Sunday comes down to who makes more mistakes IMO. The Patriots are well-coached but are definitely not the juggernaut they once were. IMO, they are going to try to run the ball with much of the same game plan we did last week against Atlanta. Both defenses have the advantage over the corresponding offenses. I think it will be a low-scoring physical game. The QB who makes the critical mistake will be the difference in the game. I think Mac Jones will develop into a capable starter, but he's still a rookie and our defense can rattle him. I certainly don't think the QB matchup is really that much of a difference maker, whether Darnold plays or not.

https://www.nfl.com/news/saints-wr-michael-thomas-to-miss-rest-of-season-due-to-setback-with-ankle-injury For all we complain about the bad contracts the Panthers have given out, the Saints have to regret this contract with every fiber of their being. Can't imagine Slant Boi will be back at ~$20M per year. Also doubt he will ever be a dominant receiver again

Would take him over Clay Johnston or Julian Stanford ever though Jaylon Smith isn't the player he once was. As a starter, no. But Jaylon Smith is better than the LBers not named Haason Reddick, Shaq Thompson, Frankie Luvu, or Jermaine Carter Last game proved how important Shaq is to this defense. We need another capable interior LB besides Shaq and Carter. Only reason I would say no would be any complications with ST.

Haynes has some value, just lost in the numbers game with the emergence of Luvu. Haynes has worked hard since he was drafted and deserves a chance to play more somewhere IMO, especially if it nets us at least a 5th

Trent Scott was a pleasant, nasty surprise at RG

I feel ya 100%. My oldest has just started to get into the Panthers, and there has never been as demoralizing a feeling as having him at the Eagles game only to watch complete offensive and coaching ineptitude while the stadium is overrun with Eagles fans. And at some point, it's even beyond the money wasted. The disappointment of my son not seeing even a competitive team and wondering why the stadium is full on non-Panthers fans is enough to make even a long-term supporter like me reevaluate what I'm doing...

Tepper needs to take notice. Apathy has already set in among a lot of fans even before this season. Little star power relative to the 2015 era squads most fans remember. It's reflected in the stadium. This forum is full of more dedicated fans, but the last few years (really the entire Tepper era) have taken it out of us. I've had PSL's for the past 16 seasons, and I'm beginning to contemplate letting them go. I love the Panthers and always will, but it takes a lot of financial and time commitment to support them like I do, especially to do it in-person when a large percentage of seats are sold to the opposing fans. It gets harder by the year. I really bought into Rhule and the idea he was turning this thing around, but the mismanagement of the QB position (and to a lesser extent the offensive line) would be comical if it wasn't my team. It really is hard to screw up QB any worse than Rhule has done. And I'm an optimist. Many on this board are not. I was surprised at how Jeremy had turned against the current administration at first, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized how right he is. This season will just be playing out the string, the same as the last 3 seasons and counting. And the worst part is there is no discernible plan to turn this around. That to me is the most demoralizing thing. I don't know what good firing Rhule after this season would do. Brady will abandon this ship the minute the season is over to jump to LSU. It's not outside the realm of possibility Rhule will also. This seems like a good place to finish. Things are never usually as good as they seem or as bad. Maybe that's true, but after last Sunday's debacle, it's getting harder to have perspective. I know I've never seen such incredibly awful QB play from a (non-injured) QB the coaching staff bought and sold to the fanbase. Anyway, like many of you, I'm just trying to fight this apathy and continue (yet again) to hope for better days, which I know are not magically around the corner.

Based on what exactly?

I'm not totally exonerating Sam, but this is not all on him and he showed more moxie on that last drive than Teddy ever did in spite of unacceptable drops. I'm not saying he's the answer but it's hard to scapegoat one guy when there is such a colossal amount of blame to go around

I like seeing the fire from CMC in his press conference. Joe Person and David Newton should be thankful they don't have to go against CMC in a blocking drill after the equal parts asinine and invasive questions they kept hammering him about his health. It would be like CMC asking Person if he's been rocking that same goofy hairstyle since high school or asking if David Newton has job security at ESPN b/c of his mental retardation condition...

Asset management. Sign the defensive guys to keep the defense strong. Reddick and Jackson are musts in my opinion. Gilmore is wait-and-see... No reason for either party to commit until he's on the field consistently To your greater point, like Fitterer said, you almost have to build an Offensive Line through the draft b/c there is such a dearth of good linemen and teams aren't going to let them go under hardly any circumstance. Plus, you have the benefit of a lower cost structure for your offensive line so you can pay other players Good drafting is ultimately the key to all this working long-term b/c it allows you to build your roster with a substantial number of guys on rookie deals while having the cap space to reward the guys who have earned it and allows you to augment selectively through free agency. Hurney could never produce a consistent winner b/c his drafts really did suck after the 1st round when you view his tenure in its totality. The Panthers were usually very top heavy with little depth and a few injuries could and did derail multiple seasons. Especially now with a 17th game, drafting well and churning the bottom of the roster is of even greater importance due to how many guys you need to play over the season. Rhule & Fitterer are much more forward thinking in both seeing and planning for this attrition.

Mods need to lock and delete these nonsense threads

Great guy- just can't handle the mental pressure of being a NFL kicker. Which is a shame b/c he has elite physical talent as a kicker But ultimately nothing matters if you can't put it through the upright when it counts

Before the start of last season (meaning pre-draft/ pre-free agency), the Panthers had really only 1 somewhat proven blue-chip defensive player in Brian Burns Now, by my estimation, we have arguably 6 : Brian Burns Derrick Brown Haason Reddick Shaq Thompson (he finally looks like a worth successor to Luke/TD) Jeremy Chinn Donte Jackson More importantly, we have 5 other players that are on the cusp and/or have blue-chip potential: Jaycee Horn CJ Henderson Morgan Fox Daviyon Nixon (Definitely top-end talent on film) Yetur Gross-Matos That doesn't even include the other non blue-chip guys on defense who are still solid contributors: Jermaine Carter Frankie Luvu DaQuan Jones (good player but older) Marquis Haynes (honestly could see him signing elsewhere for more opportunity b/c he could start for some teams) Juston Burris Bottom line is this, In less than 2 years, this team has added high-end talent across all levels of the defense. Truly remarkable what Matt Rhule & Phil Snow have done

Hoping for a physical, brutal game that ends in an OT tie with the Cowboys tired for next Sunday

Wild card. It's hard to envision winning an actual playoff game with this offensive line. Now, having said that, this defense is going to keep us in most games. But TBH, Darnold and CMC have overcome this offensive line more so than actually benefitting from it... and I don't see the team being able to magically upgrade until after the season. Hope I'm wrong, but honestly, even sniffing the playoffs after almost every national pundit picked us to finish last or near last will be vindicating enough for this year.

Who could we possibly draft in the 2nd round better than what Sam Darnold has been? Who could we draft in the 3rd round that fits the athletic profile and potential of CJ Henderson? The answer to both is no one... Enjoy what we're building here... we finally have people who know what they're doing

People hate on Ian, but he has looked ok as a pass catcher, and much, much improved as a blocker. Thomas completely cleared his guy out of the way on Tremble's TD run

It is amazing how well everything is working out with the team rebuild. This team is in much better shape roster wise than I would have thought possible after where we entered last offseason (arguably the worst roster on paper in the league). That being said, we still have 14 games left with a bad offensive line that I'm not sure can be improved much until after the season. Darnold has been tough and Brady is trying to scheme around it, but it is going to be an ongoing issue that can hold us back. Also, special teams is still bad. The defense can and has masked a lot of our deficiencies, but they still remain. I do think we can compete for the playoffs this year. I still question whether we can beat the top teams with this offensive line especially.

This is the type of secondary you need (combined with this insane pass rush) to truly have a chance against the elite offenses

Thank you... that's the real question... if you are picking up more talent than you are trading away it's a win... This version of Sam Darnold for a 2nd round pick?? Absolute no brainer A top 10 CB pick with 3 years left on his rookie contract plus the 5th year option for a 3rd (Dan Arnold was probably worth a 5th which we got back so Henderson basically cost us a 3rd)?? Absolute no brainer Think of it as just using your draft picks early... and from that perspective, the Panthers are absolutely killing it... And we have plenty of cap space for resigning guys, FA, to boot

You can never have enough good coverage guys in the modern NFL.

Haason Reddick has been a revelation... him and Burns are box office together.

Nah... Bouye was brought here to start, and was looked at to be the starting nickel/slot CB after we drafted Horn and Jaycee looked capable of starting. Bouye I would think will be starting next week and for the foreseeable future with Horn out