Mage

The biggest problem with the Panthers roster is the lack of top-end players. Derrick Brown is probably the only guy on the roster who would be top 10 at their position. Maybe Moton would be too, but I'm not going to lie and pretend like I'm familiar with all the right tackles in the NFL. Jaycee Horn could be a top 10 CB... if he stayed healthy. Otherwise, yeah, I agree that this roster is more talented than people think. We've got a bunch of good, quality players and young guys with upside. I think our depth is stronger than it was last year. However those top-end players who can win you a possession are what makes the difference in most games. This is why we need one of our recent high-draft picks to step up and be that player, whether it is Bryce, Legette, Ikem, Sanders, Brooks, Mingo, etc. This is why I'm generally not a fan of trading good players away. Replacing them is not nearly as easy as it seems on paper, although I do think we did a good job bringing in multiple players on the DL to help with the loss of Burns. You need to keep your best players. Say what you want about Hurney, yeah he did overpay a lot... but at least he kept them.

When did I accuse you of making Bryce Young threads? I said you make a lot of posts talking about how bad Bryce Young is in almost every thread that you post in, regardless of what the thread was about (such as this one). This is rich coming from the person who spent the last year complaining about "Bryce fanboys." Now he's giving advice about how to deal with stuff you don't want to read.

Excited if this is how his usage plays out on game-day. While there are questions about his ability as a receiver to run routes and get open consistently, I don't question his athleticism or physicality. He could play that Deebo role for us while he develops at receiver.

Nobody is asking you to root for him. We (or at least I am) are asking you to stop derailing every single thread by bringing up Bryce Young. And you do this constantly. And this isn't me saying that we shouldn't have negative takes about Bryce on this forum, so before you accuse of me of trying to eliminate negative posts about Bryce, that isn't the case at all. However, to me, it is weird to come into a thread that was about highlighting our offseason/OTAs, and unprompted, you go into bashing Bryce Young. There are at least 5 other threads on the first page alone where you could have trashed Bryce. And you know this, because you have in all of them threads. You're a smart guy from what I can tell but your disdain for Bryce has become obnoxious, even if you are right about him. If a Bryce fan bombarded every single thread to talk about how good they felt he was, you wouldn't like it. I know this because anytime this discussion happens you bring up "Bryce fanboys," when in fact everything you accuse them of doing? You do the same thing except from the opposite side.

If I'm being honest, he had me fooled big time. I thought he was going to be the one and didn't understand why we drafted Clausen (which was still a bad move, but only because he sucked). With that said, the coaching staff and front office/owner failed that team big time. It makes no sense that a team with the talent that we had finished 2-14. Matt Moore might not have been a franchise QB but he was a lot better than he showed in 2010.

I think this has to be #1. I kinda get why some are saying 2010, but I disagree. A lot of people were optimistic about Matt Moore. And while yes, we didn't do anything to get better that offseason due to the lockout looming, it wasn't a bad team. Or so we thought anyway. We had one of the best defenses in 2009 and were returning all of our best players (both on offense and defense) outside of Peppers. And if you combined both rosters, which player from the 2024 team would make the top 10? Derrick Brown but that is probably it. I'd say 2024 and 2022 have been the 2 worst. A new coaching staff is the only reason to be excited about this upcoming season.

There is no reason to think the team would stick with Bryce if he continues to look terrible this year. I'm not sure why so many people are concerned about that. Not necessarily saying you are, it is just a sentiment I see a lot around here. The fact of the matter is the leash for QBs has NEVER been shorter in league history. Trey Lance didn't even get a 3rd season with the 49ers. Zach Wilson only got 2 seasons (they didn't plan for him to start his 3rd year) and he's on a new team. And the Panthers have been cycling through QBs like hot cakes under Tepper. There just isn't any reason to think the Panthers won't be willing to move onto Bryce. IMO the only way Bryce looks bad and is still on the starter next year is if the Panthers aren't picking top 3 and can't get a first round QB that they like. And even then, I would expect the team to make a play in free agency. So I don't think they are backing themselves in a corner.

The real issue is the fact that this thread had nothing to do with Bryce Young, and yet once again somehow, someway, someone found a way to talk about how bad he is again. It is just exhausting reading it over and over and over again, like we get it. Bryce sucks. And you can't even blame the "Bryce fanboys" because again, nobody had even talked about Bryce in this thread until that post. Can we not just sticky a "Bryce sucks" thread at the top of the forum?

You have to forgive him. He has to make sure all the Bryce Young fans know how bad he is.

I don't expect we will be good this year, but I would put a small bet on those odds. We play in the worst division in the NFL and the best QB in the division (Cousins) is coming off a torn Achilles. Patriots and Titans have to deal with tough divisions and good QBs. Broncos have Mahomes and Herbert in their division. So if you are a betting man and planned to put money on any of the bad teams going into the season, then the smart play very well could be the Panthers.

I think this defense will be a lot better than non-Panthers fans are expecting. Although that will require Horn staying healthy. I don't know how many wins I'm expecting. We're a young team, so even if we do show a lot of improvement, that could still mean only 5-6 wins.

I literally said in my other post that we still deserve criticism, so what are you talking about? Do you even know what my initial post was about? Never once did I say it was okay to draft a bust because other teams draft busts. Mods, feel free to put me in my place if I'm going too far. But it needs to be said. Some of you need to start reading posts in full instead of making it ALL about Bryce every single damn time. Ultimately my point was that drafting QBs is hard, and if it wasn't the Panthers mistake, it would have been another teams. Just like Trey Lance, just like Mac Jones, just like Blake Bortles, just like Blaine Gabbert,... I can go on and on. Yes, Panthers screwed up (assuming Bryce doesn't improve). Yes, we should be criticized. But it happens. The guy asked how it happens and I was just answering his question. That teams miss on QBs every year, because getting a QB is hard and teams will take every opportunity they can to get one. But I'm not about to sit and discuss this with someone who thinks Levis even had .001% chance of going ahead of Bryce. That tells me all I need to know. No reasonable person would even throw him in the discussion.

I like how everyone is so fixated over this one thing as opposed to my overall point, which is that drafting QBs is hard. You really think if Stroud went No. 1, the Texans weren't going to take Bryce? And if the Texans took Richardson, the Colts wouldn't have taken Young or traded it to someone who would? Some of ya'll really be acting ridiculous. Bryce was not dropping out of the top 3. And almost certainly would have went #2 to the Texans if the Panthers took Stroud. It really blows me that some of you are saying otherwise, when even the most glued-in Texans beat writer has said the Texans wanted Bryce. But I'm sure you know better than him.

Bruh, just stop. Levis was not going over Bryce lol. "Doubtful" come on now. No disrespect but that is just a foolish take even with you acknowledging how doubtful it was. Levis didn't even go in the 1st. Seriously, what are we doing here?

Okay. I don't care to argue about who the Texans preferred. My point still stands. Had the Panthers taken Stroud, Texans would have taken Young. Either way a team was going to make the "mistake" because drafting QBs is hard.

Regardless, Bryce Young would have fell no lower than 3rd overall. My overall point still stands. Teams miss on QBs all the team. Do we deserve criticism for that? Absolutely. However again the same mistake we made, another team (regardless of the team) would have made in the top 3. Because finding a QB is hard and teams overdraft QBs every year.

Because drafting is hard, especially at the QB position. The same "mistake" the Panthers made was the exact same "mistake" the Texans had every intention of making had they picked first overall.

I thought Bryce looked like mini-Mahomes at times last year. Passer rating can only tell you so much. Bryce made a lot of big plays that don't show up on the stat sheet.

Eh, you never know in the NFL. Teams turn it around quickly all the time. Look no further than the Texans. I'm not saying we'll do it. But you never know. Hell maybe we end up with the No. 1 pick in 2025 again and fleece a team like how the Bears did us.

You don't think Bryce Young is a good QB?

Obligatory Jonathan Stewart stiff arm gif

But they did win.

That isn't because he wasn't trying to push the ball downfield. His receivers just sucked.

If you only look at measurables, Mingo and Legette might seem similar. But when you actually look at them and watch them play, they aren't close to the same. And this is coming from someone who is skeptical about Legette, although ultimately I believe he will work out. I've just always disagreed with the comparisons to Mingo. Mingo tests better than he plays/runs, whereas Legette plays/runs as well as he tests.

As bad as things were with the Panthers last year, we still had 4 other games outside of the 2 we won that we came very close to winning. Could throw the Falcons game in there too, it was tied going into the 4th. I'm not really sure what to expect this year. I don't think we'll make the playoffs. However, we play in a very weak division where no team has a standout QB. On paper, our OL should be good, and could be great if Ikem improves. That alone could help mask a lot of problems on offense. Should allow us to run the ball better. Even if Bryce doesn't improve, the OL should at the very least give him more time to make the easy throws underneath and let a guy like Legette work his magic after the catch. And I think this defense in a 2nd year with Evero should, at the very least, be in the top 16. I'm expecting our run defense to be as good as it has been in years. I think this team could push for 7-8 wins. But it could also finish with 2 wins again. That is just how the league works. Jets offense was miserable last year, and yet they still won 7 games. We won't really get a good feel of it until after the preseason, and even then, who knows.