Re-Focus: Training Camp Is Coming In Less Than A Week - An Offseason Guide & Review

[Saca312]

It's almost here. The moment everyone's been waiting for.

Football.

After a very exciting off-season and philosophy change, the Panthers look ready to pounce on everyone this year. With a roster constructed by the man Gettleman himself that appears to rival many of the past, it's hard to not get excited about what this team's potential is for this year.

Although recent events concerning our FO flusters have detracted ourselves from the present (and rightfully so), there should be very little to no repercussions towards the team and players themselves. While our seasons after this one are in question, I have no doubts that nothing stemming from this issue has affected our team going into the 2017-2018 season 

So, with that aside, the Panthers entering 2017 have a very stacked roster. With most depth taken care of and solid starters everywhere, this team on paper could be arguably one of our best overall teams ever in franchise history. With a dynamic offense that can pound defenses with size or demolish them with speed and finesse, Cam Newton looks ready to have one of his best statistical years yet.  Couple that with a defense boasting of one of the league's scariest front sevens alongside an up and coming secondary full of playmakers, and this team could go very far.

The Panthers have tooled themselves, evolved, and look ready for one big shot in 2017. It's hard to say when's the last time Panther fans have been this excited about our roster and going into a season with the guys we have.

With football season coming up comes Training Camp, an event where 90 hopefuls compete and train for a roster spot on the final team. Panther fans are able to get their first taste of what the team looks like going forward.

An eventful time that everyone can get excited about.

Training Camp begins exactly one week from now in the blazing Carolina heat, a grueling and trying time for anyone hoping to make this roster. Football activity and news comes flourishing as diehard fans hope to hear the latest about how each and every Panther fan is doing.

So, with that being said, I thought I should help review what we've done so far this off-season and catch everyone up on what we should be excited for:

Defense: An "Aggressive" Approach

The Panthers defense has been upgraded and retooled for the 2017 season. With new additions bringing experience and skill, to the remaining impact players bringing continuity and high level play, this defense looks ready to dominate. Add the fact former Secondary coach Steve Wilks is now our DC (Rivera's original choice before McDermott) and the expectations are sky high.

Concerning our overall defense, it looks really good. Daryl Worley and James Bradberry make a fine starting CB duo, and FS Kurt Coleman & SS Mike Adams are probably one of our best safety duos in franchise history (which isn't saying much, but still). Our front seven is nasty, with solid depth at DE, DT, and LB. Our starters are some of the league's best, and there's no doubt we'll be scaring teams soon.

A few things to highlight:

• Panthers add DE Julius Peppers, CB Captain Munnerlyn, and SS Mike Adams via free agency
• Panthers resign DE Charles Johnson, DT Kawann Short, DE Mario Addison, DT Kyle Love, DE Wes Horton, LB Ben Jacobs, & CB Teddy Williams
• Panthers trade away DE Kony Ealy & 3rd Round Pick For Patriots 2nd Round Pick (used for T Taylor Moton)
• Panthers draft DE Daeshon Hall & CB Corn Elder

Lots of action and excitement along that front.

Links Of Interest

• DC Steve Wilks: What To Expect - @Mr. Scot does an excellent breakdown of what we should expect from our defensive philosophy going forward. With the promotion of Steve Wilks - Ron Rivera's original choice for DC - don't expect a lot of changes, but do expect us to lean more towards the aggressive side.
• PFF Names CB James Bradberry best rookie corner of 2016 - Bradberry, my man.
• Bradberry VS Julio Jones 1v1 - Watch Bradberry lock down one of the NFL's best WRs in the game.
• PFF Names DE Mario Addison & Charles Johnson Both Top 10 4-3 DE Pass Rushers - Mario Addison and Charles Johnson's impact should not be taken lightly. They're pretty darn good
• DE Mario Addison: Every Sack From 2016 - See why Mario Addison is one of the NFL's upcoming pass rushers for yourself.
• PFF Names Kawann Short A Top 3 DT in 2016 -  No wonder we locked him up as soon as we can.
• DE Julius Peppers Has A Lot Left In The Tank - Don't go sleeping on Julius Peppers anytime soon. He's got a lot to show. I go over his sacks and how he's still got plenty in the tank.
• CB Daryl Worley Rookie Season Review - Many say Daryl Worley sucks without context. I say otherwise. I go over his 2016 campaign and provide evidence backed up with film.
• CB James Bradberry Rookie Season Review - Take a look at one of the NFL's best rookie corner's season, and how much potential he brings for the upcoming.
• Rookie Review: DE Daeshon Hall VS Tennessee - A film compilation of the potential this kid has, and the steps he needs to take to achieve it.

Offense: An Evolution To The Next Level

Since January, the Panthers have been preaching about evolving on offense. It was a relatively new concept the Panthers have never underwent, as they've relied on the consistent deep-ball offense to compensate for vertical-oriented WRs. No one really understood how this evolution would take place until Gettleman showed his hand.

In free agency, Gettleman worked to attain LT Matt Kalil; A guy who underwent much needed hip surgery to fix his lack of explosiveness. To add on, he sought after WR Russell Shepard - a solid slot upgrade - and WR Charles Johnson, who's great depth as a deep threat. 

However, Gettleman's real work would unfold in the draft.

He went on to draft RB/WR Christian McCaffrey in round 1 - one of CFB's most electric playmakers - and SlotWR/RB Curtis Samuel in the following. He added promising OT/OG Taylor Moton & FB/TE Alex Armah. All these players have had diverse and versatile pasts, indicating they're well acquainted to be match-up problems wherever they're added.

Which answers the question concerning how the Panthers will evolve: by creating the NFL's most horrifying option offense.

The potential of this offense is staggering. Many ways to use these weapons to slice up defenses with Cam at the helm. There's no doubt this could be a top tier offense if executed right.

Links Of Interest

• Reviewing Christian McCaffrey's College Impact & Potential - Explore CMC's recent college season and his talents through a collection of film and analysis, and just how deadly his presence will be on this offense (Think Le'Veon Bell + LeSean McCoy with the receiving skills of a premier slot).
• Reviewing Curtis Samuel's College Impact & Potential - Discover why Curtis Samuel is such a dark-horse when it comes to which rookie will have the biggest impact, and how deadly he is on the field.
• Film Room: OT Taylor Moton -  Review his college career and the potential he brings for the Panthers
• Restart: WR Kelvin Benjamin:The Path To Redemption - Rationalizing what went wrong in KB's 2016 campaign, and how he will improve.
• WR Russell Shepard: His Story, And Potential - A look through Russell Shepard's stint during his 2016 campaign, and how the sky's the limit for him.
• How The Panthers Offense Now Changes What Defenses Do - @PhillyB takes the Huddle on a drunken rampage as he draws out a reasonable analysis as to why this offense is going to scare the poo out of some DCs.
• PFF: Panthers Potential With CMC & Curtis Samuel - An article explaining just how deadly the Panthers versatile offense can be.
• TwoQBs: Reinventing the Panthers Offense & Their Potential - A great article showing off the blunders of 2016, and how the Panthers have fixed that this off-season.
• BR: Panthers Have The Potential To Conquer The NFL With Option Football - A sneak peak at how the Panthers could potentially be the NFL's most dangerous offense by a longshot.

Panthers Staff Changes 

During the off-season, the Panthers management has undergone major shuffling as plenty of highly respectable people have gone through a lot of changes.

A few things to highlight:

• DC Sean McDermott was given a promotional opportunity with the Buffalo Bills, taking on the position as HC. 
• Panthers Secondary coach Steve Wilks was promoted to Panthers DC.
• WR Coach Ricky Proehl retired from his position.
• Former Panther WR Jericho Cotchery was hired to the position of Slot WR coach.
• Stanford RB Coach Lance Taylor was given a promotional opportunity with the Panthers, taking on the position as WR coach.
• Assistant GM Brandon Beane was promoted to GM of the Buffalo Bills. He originally was kept around Carolina as a "GM in training."
• Panthers President Danny Morrison resigned
• Panthers Owner Jerry Richardson Fires Dave Gettleman. Gettleman boasts as being one of Carolina's most succesful GMs ever.
• Former Panthers GM Marty Hurney has been signed as an Interim GM for the 2017-2018 season

A pretty crazy shift indeed. Won't comment on much here.

Cam Newton, His Throwing Shoulder, And Questions About Him Rebounding

Cam Newton. A lot of off-season discussion has been emphasized around him. Ranging from his NFL-worst completion percentage, all the way to his shoulder concerns, many wonder whether how he'll fare in 2017.

To put it simply, I think he's fine.

Just recently, Cam Newton went on his annual trip to Baltimore with his receivers. He practiced throwing to them for the first time since shoulder surgery, and no issues appear to have come out of it.

After all, we're talking about a guy who was chucking 60+ yarders even with a torn rotator cuff throughout last year.

For those concerned about his "poor performance" last year and point out Cam's completion percentage, don't worry.

Cam Newton is the 4th most accurate QB on all throws that go beyond five yards, trailing Andrew Luck, Drew Brees, and Aaron Rodgers. His inaccuracy is a myth developed by an unreliable completion percentage statistic, which favors the short passers.

Cam Newton threw less than five yards on 32.43% of his throws; the least amount in the NFL. In comparison, Sam Bradford threw fewer than five yards on 62.13% of his throws. Bradford boasts having the best completion percentage of 2016, while Cam Newton was dead last.

See the trend?

Some will point to Cam Newton's accuracy numbers on the short throws as the reason the Panthers go deep so often. Cam Newton's 89.83 percent on throws behind the line of scrimmage (24th in the league) and 67.86 percent in the 1-5 yard range (32nd in the league) all appear as if Cam Newton's an inaccurate passer in that area.

While it is true Cam's not going to be a top 5 passer in the 0-5 yard range, he is not as bad as statistics make him out to be. When studying Carolina's receivers, it's a miracle that Cam Newton even had some short passing opportunities:

Quote

Newton’s receivers are big but they aren’t good. They don’t adjust well to the ball in the air and they can’t create separation. 59 times last year Newton threw an accurate pass only to have his receiver ruin the play. Only Aaron Rodgers lost more receptions to receiver error.

Newton played in an offense that was designed to push the ball down the field with linear receivers who couldn’t run shorter routes to get open. Throwing downfield was difficult, it is difficult in the best of conditions, but especially so because his receivers struggled to get open and he was constantly delivering the ball from condensed pockets. Throwing short was an even greater challenge because receivers such as Kelvin Benjamin, Devin Funchess and Ted Ginn aren’t good at releasing from the line of scrimmage. Even Greg Olsen is largely just a vertical threat.

Without any true receiver that can play in the short passing game, Shula and Cam were handicapped. Forced to draw up deep passing plays to compensate for lack of talent, Cam Newton suffered. It was a pitiful sight with checkdowns rarely forming with collapsing pockets and short options being unreliable.

So, do expect our additions in the off-season to alleviate & help Cam Newton to the fullest.

Links Of Interest:

• Digging Deeper To Understanding Cam's 2016 Season - I combine a lot of research in one main thread, presenting an argument that shows Cam Newton's one of the NFL's best QBs even in 2016. I also talk about how our new additions may help Cam Newton to have one of his best statistical years ever.
• Cam Newton's Deep Passes From 2016 - A detailed twitter thread on the former league MVP Cam Newton, and why he still had a lot in him in 2016.
• Cam Newton's 2016 Season Film Review - Jonathan Kinsley of The Deep Ball Project analyzes Cam Newton's 2016 season and why he thinks Cam performed like a top 3 QB.
• Cam Newton Is As Inaccurate As Stephen Curry - Exposing completion percentage as the inaccurate stat it is, and finding out the best way to determine accuracy.
• Cam Newton: Beyond the Completion Percentage  - A deep dive in learning the truth about Cam's 2016 season.
• Reviewing Cam's Running Ability - Watch how CMC adds to the dynamic potential of Cam Newton & the Panthers.
• Twitter Thread: Reviewing Cam's 2016 Season - Discover through a film guru's eyes what Cam's 2016 season looked like. A deep study critiquing and praising an elite QB.
• Matt Harmon: Cam Newton NFL's Most Aggressive QB - Why Carolina's scheme hindered Cam Newton, and why his receiving core didn't help matters.

Final Notes

The Panthers are ready for a run in 2017. Nothing that happened this week changes that. Training Camp will be competitive and fun all around with so many talented players around fighting for a roster spot.

I stand by my original statement saying this could be a 13-3 or better team. Our team as a whole could give teams all around the NFL huge headaches due to the mismatches/skill-level we're at all around. With a dominant defense and a shifty offense, NFL teams aren't going to be able to handle what we're throwing at them.

The Panthers have had a very successful off-season. They put together a juggernaut that will challenge the NFL.

Get ready, and get excited. There's a lot of reason to be.

[Saca312]

If the Panthers miss anythint short of the playoffs, I'll be really disappointed.

This team will and should go far.

[nctarheel0619]

Gettleman got fired, and Worley still sucks.  

[Saca312]

16 minutes ago, nctarheel0619 said:

Worley still sucks.  

[PntherPryd]

For any fan that actually took the off season to heart <cough>, this is must-read stuff here. Many thanks!

[MCCNASTY]

Finally a post of reason and positive information.  Thank you. Camp cant start soon enough.

[Saca312]

26 minutes ago, MCCNASTY said:

Camp cant start soon enough.

Indeed. I really can't wait to hear about CMC and Samuel in action.

[MCCNASTY]

Im ready to see Cam throwing to both of them. 

[mc52beast]

Great post, finally something other than how the team is going to fall apart...

Gotta say that the Hurney hire could effect this team in that he'll be making roster decisions( who stays, who goes, who gets picked up). 

[Hogmolliesmaht]

Hopefully, the start of camp will make me feel better but right now I just can't look at it with the same eyes as I could a week ago.

[Saca312]

4 hours ago, MCCNASTY said:

Im ready to see Cam throwing to both of them. 

That's going to be beautiful.

[Saca312]

@Jeremy Igo By the way, is Curtis Samuel's hamstring fine for training camp?