Gapanthersfan

26 minutes ago, electro's horse said:

What about being lightly tapped on the shoulder while diving 

That was a bad look for sure. 

I refuse to believe this is the least talented defense of all time, but yet they’re setting records for badness. The only other explanations are coaching and/or scheme. 

9 minutes ago, LinvilleGorge said:

This will humble us a little bit... WOW. This team really thought they'd arrived and was totally feeling themselves because they had a couple of competitive losses against good teams. I mean... oh my god LOLOLOLOL 

This. 

They needed a history lesson of outcomes against the Cowboys in the regular season, save for the thanksgiving beatdown. 

It re-reminded me that this is still a big man’s game. I still like him and his newly shown moxie, but with a very large bearing down on him, he will continue to be a fumble machine. 

speed rush from blind side is a guaranteed strip sack. 

If this were his second season and we could play around with moving him inside or on the right, I’d be all about it. I actually love the idea, but it’s complicated. 

He’s going to want LT money from somewhere. Wouldn’t you? Say he kills it on the right side. Do you pay LT money to a newly converted right tackle? If he hits free agency, there will be someone who will dish him LT money for sure. 100%. 

Im not trying to be a Debbie downer or a doubting Thomas, but I know how this team does and the best predictor of future events is past events. 

I personally love the guy and loved the pick. I just see a contract coming due that has a high chance of annihilating the progress this team has made, or letting a player walk that could have netted some good assets. 

7 minutes ago, SmokinwithWilly said:

Icky was a typical Panthers draft pick. We passed on the guy who was already ahead of the game in pass pro but needed to develop run blocking instead of the other eay around. Pass blocking is a lot harder than run blocking. Icky will at best be a solid LT that excels at run blocking but he's never going to be a pro bowl pass blocking LT. We can't afford to pay him like one. It's kind of like the Burns situation again. If he wants top 5 money, you gotta let him walk. 

Well said 

Vic Beasley ruined our 2015 perfect season, a speed rusher annihilated Cam in the SB and a speed rusher ended Cam’s shoulder and career. Can you imagine Bryce with a major shoulder injury? 

Ickey sucks at defending speed rushers. His ceiling for improving this is low. It’s always been his biggest knock. You can only scheme up so much help… but then say hello to stunts. 

Playoff teams by and large have edge rushers with explosive speed. I don’t want a wash, rinse, repeat of what happened to Cam.  
 

Is the team willing to a drop massive, cap devastating payday in to the lap of a limited LT? It’s always next year will be better with team, they stay put waiting on said player to take the next step, and he almost never does. 
 

12 minutes ago, CamWhoaaCam said:

Oh this money is coming out of your pockets?

 

Hopefully one day I could, but there’s a 0.0001% chance of that  

Stay on topic bro. 

He stays or goes eventually. Market price on a LT has the potential to devastate our cap for a very long time. He is not going to take backup money. 

1. we sign and gamble while laying out huge $, praying that he improves a part of his game that has always been a weak spot, and pray that he doesn’t disappear. 
2. trade for hopefully good return. 
3. panthers it up and he walks for nothing. 

I’d finish out the season and draft a true early franchise LT who got that dog in him. He’d be starting by game 6 and you start shopping Ickey. 

16 minutes ago, PappyMay said:

 For anything later I’d just like to keep him because after the 2nd are we sure to get a starter? We are already bad, let’s not make ourselves worse.

This I agree with. I’m damn sure not paying tag money if/when it goes that far. 

As it stands today, gun to my head does he become a boss against speed rushers, ever? Big nope. Do you pay BIG $$ to retain a maybe ok speed rusher liability? Don’t kid yourself, that man is not taking backup money. Dan will not pay big $$ to him. So then what? 

Does his trade value diminish the more he plays? Do we gamble that he substantially improves this aspect of his game? It’s not like we’re gambling on a project RB where if it doesn’t pan out and we overpay a little, well then that hurt but not terrible for cap. 

Throwing big money at an LT you shouldn’t have will be cap devastating. Next to QB and all pro DE  it’s the next most expensive position on the field. 

There is a lot at stake here. 

This is not a rash snap to judgement. It’s something I’ve thought about for a while. 

The day will come when we have to make a decision. We either bust open the piggy bank, we trade him, or we panthers it up, he walks in free agency and we get $0.

this is the crux for me: Is he worth more as a backup LT or as trade bait. Do you crack open the piggy bank for a mauler that still sucks against speed rushers, or do you let that be someone else’s problem? Do you keep telling yourself it’ll be better next season? What if he’s the reason your franchise QB has to miss 3 games due to injury? Would he do a disappearing act after cashing in on his second contract? 

His knock on handling speed was noted even at his time at NC State. If it was going to get better, wouldn’t it have done so by now? It has been a pattern over and over again. After a while, you are what you are. Having to constantly roll help to his side shouldn’t be needed so frequently. 

Playoff teams will have speed rushers. It’s how they got there. Ickey will get his lunch money taken. 

We need to draft a stud LT early. Ickey would make a good guard, but we’ve got that one locked up already. Center is a nope… so this leaves him as a backup if/when we find our true franchise LT. he won’t want backup $. 

Bryce sucked flat out today. Bad decisions on throws. He owns a large stake in this loss…. BUT… a common theme, Bryce’s worst games come when a blue chip speed rusher lines up opposite to Ickey. 

Serious question. would this team benefit from trading Ickey? Do they give him one more year? If his ability to handle a speed rusher would have come around, it would have been seen by now. 

This team will get abused in the playoffs if they have to constantly scheme around his shortcomings. 

Trade and Get a 2nd or 3rd for Ickey before they make a mistake and back themselves in to having to shell out big $$ to a one trick pony with questionable dog in him. If a franchise LT is there in the draft. Pick him. Cut bait. 

When Bryce worries about his blind side, it’s a wrap. He knows physics. He’s 180 lbs, max, but even that number is in question. A 240 lb grown ass man tearing off on a small guy from behind… there’s going to be something wrong with him afterwards. 

This team desperately needs a true LT. Ickey ain’t it. Trade him (controversial.. but he’s very replaceable). If there is a blue chip LT in the draft, get him. No QB will thrive when a speed rusher gets home like they do off of Ickey. 

1 hour ago, NAS said:

He’s trying too hard to glaze the Cowboys

I thought I was just being too sensitive. 

Thus far total team failure. THE WHOLE TEAM. From top to bottom. Bad. All bad. 

Ickey getting exploited. 

# 88 in the house!!!

38 to 17 good guys… hey, it could happen? 

ANYONE who can survive the Rhule and Reich era while battling injuries, especially at RB… that dude’s really alright with me. You pay that guy. You send a message to the team. 

Next up is Horn. Pay the man. Bro like that doesn’t just fall in to your lap every day. He is HIM. 

51 minutes ago, PNW_PantherMan said:

He's gonna do it on 17 carries

I wouldn’t bet against it. 

Each one of them dudes has at least a $2,500 bag in their hand that they weren’t expecting. I really think we see what appreciation looks like this Sunday. 

Also, calling it, Chuba goes off for 175 and 2 TDs on Sunday. 

I’m sitting and popped a handful of tums, watching the fine ladies at Dillards wrap Mrs. Gapanthersfan new Christmas present LV bag and wallet (or whatever she called that thing), I can understand how strong of a gesture that was. 

I feel a ‘team’ starting to gel together. Haven’t felt this in a while. 

59 minutes ago, cardiackat88. said:

 

Almost everyone seems to do better after we inevitably eff up their contract and they go somewhere else.

 

Yes, yes they do, but I will contend that YGM is exactly the same as he was when he was here. Flash game. Disappear the rest of the season. 

I like pool and try to play when I can. CJ Wiley is a pool player who had a pretty high gear in his prime. I’m not sure if he came up with this philosophy, but he said he has a shout out for it in Tiger’s caddy’s book. I can’t substantiate it. 

There are no hard or easy shots. They all are just shots.

He attributes that thought process in him taking the next step in his game. The brain reacts differently in what it perceives to be easy or difficult. Instead, just look at a shot as a shot… or a catch is just a catch. 

X has made some stud, crucial catches and dogged some ones that he has no excuse dropping. There may, and probably are, other factors at play, but this perspective could be really helpful. 

Every year there is a GM whose job is in peril and they desperately broker a dumb trade on draft day. Hopefully one comes calling. 

1 hour ago, SazmoRanger said:

I think he meant swap this year's 1st rounder with someone and they give us an additional 2nd rounder and next year's 1st rounder. 

 

This is correct.Roughly similar to how the Bears robbed us. 

Trading #4 could net us a real haul. If someone wants to trade this year’s first and give us this year’s second and next years first… I’d probably take that action. 

I’d go LB in the first round as unpopular as that may be.