Just rewatched the game, I have thoughts.

[UpstatePanther]

1) There’s a lot of great young talent on this team. From CMC to Jackson to Obada, the youth of the team is balling out. We are a good team right now, but as these guys come along... OO WEE MAYNE. I have faith we will remain a contender with these guys on the roster.

2) Mentioned this in another thread, but Jackson is going to be GOOD. Like, damn good. Give him some time to settle into the league and he’ll give our defense a spark every Sunday. I love the attitude he brings to the game. It’s a toughness and swagger I haven’t seen on our defense since 2015 and I couldn’t be happier to see it return. It will come in handy in the playoffs this year.

3) We are witnessing the coming out party for CMC. Yesterday was just a taste of how integral he will be to this team. I really think he will be Cam’s next go-to guy in the mold of Olsen. I’m most impressed at how well he is running between the tackles now. Great to see. 

4) Might be an unpopular opinion, but hear me out. Cam didn’t have his best game yesterday. Don’t get me wrong, he had a great game. 4 touchdowns and no turnovers is freaking wonderful. What I’m talking about is his incompletions. Yes, I’m well aware he had a 62.5 completion percentage yesterday. I’m NOT saying he wasn’t accurate. But on at least 4 of the incompletions yesterday (a couple to Funchess, a couple to Torrey Smith, that I can remember) Cam didn’t throw the best passes. The passes were high or behind the receiver. What is good, no, GREAT about Cam right now is that even when the ball doesn’t come off his hands quite right, he is making the RIGHT CHOICES. The receivers he is throwing to are usually open, or have enough separation/leverage to make the play. And here comes my point... if Cam can have a game like he did yesterday with all of its positives, imagine how good he’s gonna be as the season goes on and he get in rhythm with these receivers. Our offense this year may well be BETTER than 2015’s. And that should scare the chit out of the League.

im buying this team right now, no homer glasses. We are going to be damn good when we get TD back off suspension and start getting some of these injured guys back. With teams like New Orleans, Atlanta, Pittsburgh, and Philly looking beatable, there is not a single game on our schedule that we can’t win. We could realistically hit 13 wins this season. But, as the team preached in 2015, all we can do is win the next game. Let’s get it.

#KeepPounding #OneCarolina

[RumHam]

Just now, Carolina-Chuck1000th said:

Give us Thomas Davis back sign MIKE MITCHELL

You're mike mitchell aren't you. No one is asking for this wash up.

[X-Clown on 1]

In my opinion, on offense (compared to 2015) the only thing we are missing is that consistent deep threat play.  Torrey Smith is not going to duplicate what Ginn did, but we have a couple guys getting healthy during this bye week that very well just might be able to.  Just imagine how much more our offense is going to open up when now the defense has to protect 40+ yards down the field as well.  I think Samuel with some Byrd sprinkled in there is going to transform this offense into a monster.  There is not one defense in this league that is equipped to handle Cam, CMC, Samuel and Moore all at the same time on every single play given how different and dangerous all of their abilities are.  

[Shaqil915]

I just hope Samuel gets playing time when he returns.

[CPcavedweller]

Called everything you said after the third preseason game. I hadn't seen a performance in Week 3 of the preseason like we had this year since 2015 when we played the Ravens. 

[The Lobo]

Very good post. I just wish we could stop dropping easy passes. It’s going to happen, but man they are drive killers.

[jtm]

19 minutes ago, The Lobo said:

Very good post. I just wish we could stop dropping easy passes. It’s going to happen, but man they are drive killers.

This. 

WR drops are my only real concern with this team at this point.  Cam is going to air mail some passes and we need WRs to catch the ball when it is in their zip code.   

[4Corners]

49 minutes ago, Carolina-Chuck1000th said:

Give us Thomas Davis back sign MIKE MITCHELL

CarolinaChuck is BACK, baby!

all you lightweights, trolls, and rabble rousers better take notice or you’re sure to receive a good rag dolling courtesy of Chuck!!

[tiger7_88]

2 hours ago, UpstatePanther said:

Might be an unpopular opinion, but hear me out. Cam didn’t have his best game yesterday. Don’t get me wrong, he had a great game. 4 touchdowns and no turnovers is freaking wonderful. What I’m talking about is his incompletions. Yes, I’m well aware he had a 62.5 completion percentage yesterday. I’m NOT saying he wasn’t accurate. But on at least 4 of the incompletions yesterday (a couple to Funchess, a couple to Torrey Smith, that I can remember) Cam didn’t throw the best passes. The passes were high or behind the receiver.

Holy poo.

I mean...

HOLY.

POO.

[Fox007]

I am currently re-watching the game (youtube TV is actually pretty damn good btw). Good post and i'll add Torrey Smith is even worse upon the 2nd viewing....waste of 5 mil.

[Saca312]

2 hours ago, UpstatePanther said:

But on at least 4 of the incompletions yesterday (a couple to Funchess, a couple to Torrey Smith, that I can remember) Cam didn’t throw the best passes

One of them was high. It happens. Tom Brady overthrew Dorsett yet no one would remember it. Cam’s gonna miss some just like the Brady’s, Rodgers, and Brees will.

I don’t have a gripe with saying he’ll have moments. I do have one with people thinking this is a consistent issue when it’s probably as much overthrows/incompletions as any other good QB in the league.

Funchess and Cam had a big miscommunication. Funchess tried going for the back-shoulder while Cam assumed he was still committing to his go route. That’s where Cam bombed the ball into no man’s land.

The one to Torrey Smith on the first drive should’ve been caught. It was catchable. And yes, it could’ve been placed better given the direction Torrey was going. I remember reading an analogy from another person. It’s like Cam hit the backboard for a three pointer instead of swishing it in. Both got the job done, except one looked less pretty than the other.

[Sevy87]

2 hours ago, RumHam said:

You're mike mitchell aren't you. No one is asking for this wash up.

Yeah F Mike Mitchell we got his ass paid in Pittsburgh for being a below average talent. We desperately need safety help like right now. Trade nothing lower then a 5th, unless he’s solid & will commit to be here for a few yrs.

[PantherNation123]

2 hours ago, bull123 said:

Still pissed about losing Ginn..that’s all on gettleman

i hope we destroy the giants

Honestly losing Ginn wasn't terrible IMO.  Not that we still don't have receivers that drop balls, but Ginn seemed to drop so many crucial passes, often ones that would've gone for TD's.  

[FakePlasticTrees]

Obada was a great surprise; however, I am worried about our defense. IMHO, they have now had two straight subpar performances. I worry that age at key positions may be rearing its ugly head.

Also, like most everyone else I am very worried that Colin Jones is being relied on to play important minutes. RR is only partially correct when he lays the blame for Jones' deficiencies in coverage at the feet of pass rushers. I believe he is referring to the TD given up after Dalton broke contain. However, by the time the player caught the ball in the end zone Jones was still 4 or 5 yards away. Furthermore, there were many other times when he was simply, flatly beaten.

This team is built to be defensive minded. Even the playcalling on offense reflects that emphasis. Unfortunately, it appears as though that emphasis is increasingly misplaced. Maybe the ship will be righted during the bye week. If not, the ceiling for this team may be a top 15 defense, which translates to a need for more scoring. That translates to a need for reidentification, which will necessarily mean a repackaging of our offensive philosophy.

With all of the rule changes and different rule emphasis that favors the offense, perhaps this is a change in emphasis that was destined to happen anyway.