Panthers Addict

I personally believe everyone is overreacting. While it is concerning that Bryce threw 2 picks and his demeanor seemed to be defeated, I don't necessarily believe, offensively, that we are that bad. Our O-Line played extremely well, and will likely be aided in the future by a better rushing attack (58 yards, even the worst rushing attack, per game, in the league last year was 89.8 yards, so it only goes up from here). Coach Canales also puts a major emphasis on taking care of the football, and has proven his ability to do so at Seattle, and in Tampa, where they finished top 10 last season in both interceptions thrown and fumbles lost. The turnovers this game were uncharacteristic of a Canales offense, and forced our defense into tough situations. Something else nobody is really considering is we had the most turnover of any team in the league last year. We were top 5 in free agent spending, signing an entirely new starting O-Line, 3 new starting edge rushers, drafting and trading for 2 new starting receivers, drafting a new starting TE, signing two new starting corners, hired an entirely new coaching staff, and we also have two captains that playing for the first time in since returning from season ending injuries last year (Jaycee and Shaq). And people are wondering why we looked so terrible week one, and are already calling for the coaches and QB's head. Having said that, it still seems as though this may still be a rough year, but I don't think we're as bad as everyone believes right now. Everyone needs to take a deep breath, and relax. Time will fix these things.

It seems more likely that the Vikings are going to be selling rather than buying at the deadline (given their record and no healthy Cousins or Jefferson). I would much rather poach their OG/OT Ezra Cleveland. He's 25 on an expiring deal, and has been a quality lineman. Most analysts say it would take around a 4th to get him.

I'll solve all of our issues in just a couple moves. Trade a future second round pick for DK Metcalf. Trade a future fourth round pick for G/T Ezra Cleveland (expiring rookie deal with Vikings, likely sellers at deadline). Pay Burns. Retain our defensive pieces. Solves our deep threat issues, gives stability to the offensive line being able to place Cleveland wherever we need him. Defensively, we're fine. With an offense that seems to be slowly gaining traction (despite what the scoreboard shows), and key guys returning in a few weeks on defense, I'm not too worried about our defense going forward.

He probably currently is, but most owners were either born into their ownership and knew how franchise/football operations worked, or they've owned a team for many years. Although he needs to start to cleaning up his act sooner rather than later, we need to remember he is still one of the newest owners in the league. I remain cautiously optimistic because of his passion for the teams success, which seems to be rivaled by very few owners. He cares a lot more about winning than bottom line, which isn't as common as you'd think among franchise owners. He's admitted his failures with hiring a college coach and previous bandaid QB's, and took a different approach with our current QB and head coach. Even if they don't end up working out, he's clearly trying to learn from his mistakes, and change his approach, which is rare among NFL owners. Over time, that should start to translate to team success. But right now, he's still trying to find his footing.

Literally was thinking this right after the game last night. He can get the ball out quicker than most QB's, and his processing is also quicker than most as well. My concern is the play calling and not having enough receiving help. Coaches tend to get stuck in their old ways even if what they're doing doesn't work for this group of personnel, and receivers are hard to come by in this league. The offensive line will clean up over time (injuries, free agency next season). This year may end up being a tough one due to the lack of weapons and accumulating injuries on both sides of the ball, but going forward I'm confident that we have our guy.