A Very Good Read From NFL1000: Panthers' Additions of McCaffrey, Samuel Will Give Defenses Nightmares

[DaveThePanther2008]

2 hours ago, Moorgan said:

Another aspect of this forum is to to ferment team hype. And pooing over Huddlers that want to bask in the optimism of a new season seems a down right useless thing to do. Ok you want to be seen as the voice of pragmatism or realism? Ok great. But since you don't know any more than the rest of us, how about leaving a modicum of hope and excitement instead of a never ending trail of pessimism. I don't actually mean you because you're a good poster. I'm actually referencing a whole lot of people on here that aren't you. So this is more a statement to everyone else, being excited about this team is not your opportunity to show how negative you can be and root to fail so Shula is gone or what. This is a team fan zone. If you're rooting against fug off.

Again, this isn't directed at you @Hoenheim personally. I'm using your post to speak my mind. You are good and aren't the problem. It's the constant negativity that is useless. We go through this every year. DG sucks, Shula sucks, Rivera sucks, ...get over it. It's a simple life decision...are you a fan of the team or not? Yes criticize the team moves as you see fit but join @RoaringRiot and help us all cheer for the team we love.

Well said.  I could see pessimism if it were pre-season and all the plays just floundered one after another.   This is after the draft.  Be optimistic for gods sake.

If you get defenses even being remotely worried about Samuel or McCaffrey that is going to open things up for Stewart, Olsen, KB and Cam.  Just putting them on the field makes Cam  more dangerous.

 

[MHS831]

5 hours ago, Hoenheim said:

For me I think it was a good draft but there's a lot of stuff still up in the air. Yeah McCaffrey and Samuel seemed like world beaters at times in college , but its anyone's guess how well they will perform in the pros and you are a fool if you simply assume they will catapult us into a 13+ win season and deep playoff run. There's been lots of high round draft picks over the years that have busted terribly , so you have to at least have some sort of realism in your outlook on how rookies affect the team in their first year. The best you can really do is be hopeful they turn out well which is basically how I feel.

I think alot is hinging on still the Oline and also Cam's accuracy as usual, if these two things are again a problem then there's only so much McCaffrey and Samuel can do .  Also you're going to have to hope like hell McCaffrey's elusiveness is going to translate well in the NFL or he'll be dead in the water as a RB since he doesn't have much of a power game. 

I've noticed theres alot of huddlers are very quick to jump on and degrade people for anything resembling a negative or more realistic comment on the Panthers which is pretty ridiculous if you ask me. Thats the whole point of this forum besides delivering news, is to offer your opinion hwether it be "good" or "bad". 

Good post, but I think there were other  moves that might be added to the equation that have inspired optimism for me.  The main thing that I think will be huge is the veteran leadership--on defense, the band is back together (Peppers, Munnerlyn, and CJ) and you have to think there is a sense or urgency there.  Throw in Adams, KK, Coleman, Star, TD, and Luke--and you have some players who want rings--it could be the best we have ever been on D, and that is saying something.

On offense, we lived and died with Cam.  Last year Cam got rattled and injured, and it showed.  Furthermore, we became the target--the team all others want to beat.  Let;s face it--Philly Browm was not scaring anyone and he was invisible much of the year. That, if you ask me kept Funchess and Benjamin from developing.  Cam did not want to run, we could not run, and the WRs were large lumbering players who were not getting separation.  Cam had to throw them open, hoping their size would win out.

And Gano cost us 2 games.

So, if you think about it, the speed is just part of puzzle and you are right--we have no idea how it will go.  I like the moves.

[JawnyBlaze]

6 hours ago, Hoenheim said:

Catapult to 6-10? We were also 6-10 this past season. 

And before you say anything i watched every single game that season. Yeah it was great and we were in a lot of the games we lost, but don't act like he took us on a deep playoff run his first year

And for all the hullabalo and fuss made over Ezekiel Elliot and Dak Prescott, they STILL couldn't win a damn playoff game. No one will care of Zeke gets 5000 rush yards next season if they can't win a playoff game they are essentially the Bengals. 

Individual players aren't responsible for group success. Cam had a historic rookie season and we did win 4 more games than the previous year. I think our offense was ranked like #10 or 6 or something like that after being like 30 the previous year.  So I would certainly say he was a big factor in catapulting our offense up 20 or so spots. 

[panther4life]

I posted it another thread but perhaps the biggest reason for excitement is we actually made some heavy investments on the offense for the first time in a very long time.

It dates back further than Cam but the only draft capital we have used since Gettleman arrived on offense before this past weekend was.

1.Benjamin- 28th pick in 14

2. Funchess - 41st pick in 15

3 Trai Turner 91st pick in 14

Sprinkle in a few picks outside of the top 100 ands that it.

The biggest impact free agent on offense before this year was Tedd Ginn. Who is gone again.

The tackle's who have taken the most snap counts for us in the past 4 years were

1.Remmers. 2.Byron Bell. 3.Oher 

4. Nate Chandler

3 of those were undrafted and amongst the worst 3 starting tackles we or the league has seen in this time period. 

One of our top receiving options was also an undrafted player in Philly Brown.

Yes I know Norwell was undrafted too but we all should know we got lucky there.

Our offense has not seen this many upgrades in 1 year like this in a long time and certainly since Gettleman got here.

These 2 kids are also only 20 years old and are extremely unique from anything we've had in the past. So yes some of the excitement may be hyperbolic and what not but this draft is our only reward for enduring the last place finish in the South last year.  

 

[Saca312]

I'm gonna have some very nice gems to quote coming next season.

[OBXPantha]

Like someone else said in another post,  we lost 6 games by 3 points or less last year.  Even with injuries and 33 different variations on the o-line.  We are not that far off.  I know a loss is a loss but to me it would be different if we were being blown out every game last year.  I'm really optimistic about this season.

[TheMaulClaw]

9 hours ago, GoobyPls said:

They're rookies....

 

I don't expect two rookies with zero NFL experience to catapult our offense. Cam, the O-line and WR have to play better first.

Really?

Here's a list of first rounders who've had an impact their rookie year for us and still on the team.  Luke Kuechly. Cam Newton. Thomas Davis. Shaq Thompson. Kelvin Benjamin.  Star Lotulelei.  Jonathan Stewart. Julius Peppers (technically but he proves the point). 

This list of 2nd rounders who've had an immediate impact is impressive as well.  James Bradberry. KK. Ryan Kalil. So that's 11 players in our current starting lineup that have had immediate impact as rookies. 

In the case of many offensive players especially RBs sometimes their presence is felt more the younger they are.  

Do all rookies help their team? No, but is there really any reason too think that at least one of these two guys aren't going to ball out?. 

[tiger7_88]

9 hours ago, TheMostInterestingMan said:

That's a pretty negative look and isn't actually as realistic as you intend it to sound. Tell Ezekiel Elliot and Dak that rookies don't make an impact. Tell Odell that rookies don't make much of an impact. Hell, tell Cam Newton and Kelvin Benjamin that rookies don't make a big impact.  Just a couple examples (of many) of rookies revolutionizing offenses in recent years.

I'm not saying their impact will be that massive. But to simply write them off is not only foolish but unrealistic. They were drafted high for a reason. They will play key roles in our offense this year and no doubt make an impact.

Dude, they were not the EXACT rookies that Gooby demanded from Gettledouche, ergo THEY WILL FAIL.

You haven't figured Gooby out yet?

[d-dave]

We need to balance expectations.  I'm as much on the hype train as any other fan.  I love my Panthers, I'm happy with the draft picks.

While I think (and HOPE) that this leads to a real evolution of our offense and how we attack defenses.  I think these two specific draft picks will go a long way to giving us that big play ability we've lacked, despite Cam and Olsen's heroics these past few years.

All it's going to take is a few big plays in the first few weeks to make defenses respect them and what they do.  That will open a lot of things up.  If we can run and pass from the same look, then we become much more deadly.

While there is a very real chance of a complete busting of everything, I'm going to stand on the side that is full of hope and excitement for the season.

[KB_fan]

1 hour ago, d-dave said:

While there is a very real chance of a complete busting of everything, I'm going to stand on the side that is full of hope and excitement for the season

Well said!  Otherwise what's the point of being a fan? 

Yes, let's be realistic about the obstacles ahead and the weaknesses of our team & coaches.  Not to do so just creates false expectations.  But right now, I see so much reason for optimism.  What I like most is that DG & the coaches seem to have been pretty brutally honest in self-evaluation in the off-season and have recognized weaknesses & seized opportunities to address them.

1) Dynamic offensive playmakers

2) Strengthen veteran presence on the D - especially in the secondary.

3) Shoring up the situation at OT

4) Better anchor our D-line / more stability at DE (moving on from Kony's maddening inconsistency) and also Bringing in a young DE to develop

5) Speed

6) Competition at kicker

I'm sure I could add more things to the list...   But almost every problem we fans have been crying out for the team to do something about, they've actually DONE SOMETHING ABOUT!  That's pretty rare in my experience, so I'm wanting to enjoy it.

Yes, now it's up to the coaches to coach (and Shula & Wilks to develop good plays...) and up to the players to execute.  I'm not counting chickens before they hatch, and am trying to temper my enthusiasm until we actually see the team on the field in the pre-season...  But for now the team is WELL SET UP for success.  They could still squander the opportunities, but the opportunity is there to be seized.

 

[dpm0409]

18 minutes ago, KB_fan said:

But right now, I see so much reason for optimism.  What I like most is that DG & the coaches seem to have been pretty brutally honest in self-evaluation in the off-season and have recognized weaknesses & seized opportunities to address them.

I'm sure I could add more things to the list...   But almost every problem we fans have been crying out for the team to do something about, they've actually DONE SOMETHING ABOUT!  That's pretty rare in my experience, so I'm wanting to enjoy it.

 

 

Very well said!  It's what has me excited as well.  As you mentioned multiple times, it's smart to temper expectations, but I am very optimistic about 2017!

I believe the long awaited brutal honesty regarding the internal evaluation of the team has a lot to do with people's seats getting warmer and warmer.  But hey, whatever it takes! Ha

[TheMostInterestingMan]

2 hours ago, tiger7_88 said:

Dude, they were not the EXACT rookies that Gooby demanded from Gettledouche, ergo THEY WILL FAIL.

You haven't figured Gooby out yet?

Fair point. Honestly I should have known better.

[tiger7_88]

1 hour ago, KB_fan said:

What I like most is that DG & the coaches seem to have been pretty brutally honest in self-evaluation in the off-season and have recognized weaknesses & seized opportunities to address them.

Know what I think brought this about?

Even though they would probably never admit this out loud, methinks after they got behind closed doors they not only came to the conclusion that things were no longer working, they also finally admitted to themselves that they were MURDERING their starting QB and if they kept driving down that same road they were going to finish the job.

As you said, a commendable job of self-evaluation and change (if true).

My only doubt comes from @Jeremy Igo's insistence that Fournette was on the top of their board.  And that, to me, would have been doubling down on the QB hit job.  So I'm not 100% convinced it was change due to self-evaluation.  I think there's a chance it could also have been change due to circumstance (i.e. Fournette was picked ahead of pick #8), but we'll never know.

[GoobyPls]

6 hours ago, TheMaulClaw said:

Really?

Here's a list of first rounders who've had an impact their rookie year for us and still on the team.  Luke Kuechly. Cam Newton. Thomas Davis. Shaq Thompson. Kelvin Benjamin.  Star Lotulelei.  Jonathan Stewart. Julius Peppers (technically but he proves the point). 

This list of 2nd rounders who've had an immediate impact is impressive as well.  James Bradberry. KK. Ryan Kalil. So that's 11 players in our current starting lineup that have had immediate impact as rookies. 

In the case of many offensive players especially RBs sometimes their presence is felt more the younger they are.  

Do all rookies help their team? No, but is there really any reason too think that at least one of these two guys aren't going to ball out?. 

Do I have to copy and paste my other reply?

 

First off Shaq barely did anything his rookie season, the same with Butler. Funchess didn't even get 500 yards, our offense got worse with KB

 

Based on what you are saying if Mccaffrey and Samuel don't produce you can't use the rookie excuse.