Carolina Panthers Rookie Camp - Thoughts and Musings

[Captain Morgan]

2 minutes ago, Ivan The Awesome said:

I thought that by not releasing him at a certain date those 5 mill would essentially be wasted either way?

 

my understanding is that his contract is not guaranteed, so we can cut him whenever we want and save whatever we haven't paid him.

[MHS831]

Yall are going to have to be patient with Little.  He is a project, but the upside is there.  Picking a LT out of college has become as much of a gamble as QB.  A LOT of his success depends on who we have at LG--the LT / LG combo is where the focus should be.

[trucpfan]

3 hours ago, MHS831 said:

Yall are going to have to be patient with Little.  He is a project, but the upside is there.  Picking a LT out of college has become as much of a gamble as QB.  A LOT of his success depends on who we have at LG--the LT / LG combo is where the focus should be.

Who’s your top pick for the LG spot right now?

[Seltzer]

22 minutes ago, trucpfan said:

Who’s your top pick for the LG spot right now?

Darryl Williams 

[Proudiddy]

I posted a pic of Von and Brian side by side in one of the draft threads and said something along the same lines...  despite the comparisons, Von was much more proportional with a thicker lower half, and my biggest concern of Burns was just how slight he appeared to be from the waist down compared to Von.  He may be able to put on some anchor weight, but it looks like he is just built with skinny legs regardless

Despite that, I still believe he will be a great pick.  Out of the 3-4, his lower body strength/weight isn't going to matter very much when he's already around the tackle's shoulder in a tenth of a second.

And as far as Holyfield, I still cant believe no one drafted him.  Yes, his 40 time sucked, but if you watched him in college, he never appeared to lack for explosiveness...  maybe didnt have the highest top-end speed, but he certainly could get loose quick and get big yardage.  Excited about his addition as well.

[Panthers8969]

17 hours ago, Jeremy Igo said:

Now that I have had 24 hours to digest the Carolina Panthers rookie camp over a bottle of Crown, I submit to you the following thoughts. 

- Seeing Brian Burns and Christian Miller play the edge in a 3-4 set is really exciting. However, when they moved down into the 4-3 set together with their hands in the dirt it was equally as concerning. I doubt we ever actually see that in a game. Neither have the size to handle a NFL OT nose to nose.

- Burns could put on some lower body strength, which he no doubt will over the next year. People compare him to Von Miller which is great, but Miller seems more physically proportional. 

- Kyle Allen was probably the most impressive player in rookie camp. For the first time in a long while rookie camp had a QB that didn't struggle for the majority of the time. Sure, he had bad throws, but the number of good throws outnumbered them by far. 

- Will Grier had a typical rookie camp. New scheme, new coaches, new players. Not exactly ideal for any rookie. He struggled for most of it. Ron Rivera said he was impressed with how fast Grier is picking up the offense, so thats good. 

- I don't believe Grier and Allen are fighting for a roster spot. Grier makes the team no matter what. Kyle Allen and Taylor Heinicke are fighting for a jersey. To most fans Allen seems like the sure fire winner here but that isn't exactly how it worked out last season. Who knows with Rivera. 

- WR Terry Godwin looked very impressive. It just isn't clear where a small rookie receiver fits on this team. Perhaps if they release Torrey Smith?

- Greg Little is big. That's really all that can be said about him at this point until contact is allowed. He got most of his looks at left tackle. 

- RB Holyfield is slow I am told, that is why he was not drafted. However, he looked like a NFL RB to my eyes. The fact that he caught every single pass thrown to him is encouraging. 

- My shoes are still not dry from Friday's practice. 

 

Can you expand on how the rooks looked bad in a 4-3 when, correct me if I’m wrong, pads weren’t on and contact wasn’t allowed? I would assume they’re both better in a 3-4, but what exactly made you concerned about them in a 4-3?

[Sasquatch]

15 hours ago, Ivan The Awesome said:

I thought that by not releasing him at a certain date those 5 mill would essentially be wasted either way?

 

15 hours ago, Captain Morgan said:

 

my understanding is that his contract is not guaranteed, so we can cut him whenever we want and save whatever we haven't paid him.

If he's on the roster week 1, his salary for the year becomes guaranteed. 

[jtm]

We know nothing until the pads are on and full contact. 

I like Holyfield a lot because he has a well deserved chip on his shoulder coupled with production in college. 

[Jeremy Igo]

5 hours ago, Panthers8969 said:

Can you expand on how the rooks looked bad in a 4-3 when, correct me if I’m wrong, pads weren’t on and contact wasn’t allowed? I would assume they’re both better in a 3-4, but what exactly made you concerned about them in a 4-3?

They look more like Thomas Davis than Julius Peppers.

[Tbe]

On 5/12/2019 at 7:27 AM, Jeremy Igo said:

- Kyle Allen was probably the most impressive player in rookie camp. 

 

He should have been. He’s not a rookie.

[Pejorative Miscreant]

1 hour ago, Jeremy Igo said:

They look more like Thomas Davis than Julius Peppers.

I kinda view them both as OLB who are really good at rushing the QB. Not really a traditional DE.  Hence the adaptation of the “edge” terminology. 

[pantherclaw]

On 5/12/2019 at 8:40 AM, GoPanthers123 said:

Well having 3 competent QBs is a good problem to have.  I am behind Cam all the way but if we let Allen sign with another team down the line and he proves to be a great starter I would call for Ron’s head there and then.

I don't get the sentiment. We can't keep all players, I would like to think that most players can improve oh, and get another chance with other teams.

[caatfan]

15 hours ago, Proudiddy said:

And as far as Holyfield, I still cant believe no one drafted him.  Yes, his 40 time sucked, but if you watched him in college, he never appeared to lack for explosiveness...  maybe didnt have the highest top-end speed, but he certainly could get loose quick and get big yardage.  Excited about his addition as well.

For skill positions the NFL seems to put 40 times ahead of on the field performance. A slow 40 for Kelvin Harmon gave the Skins a steal in the 6th round. He's a keeper. Hopefully so is Holyfield. 

[kungfoodude]

54 minutes ago, pantherclaw said:

I don't get the sentiment. We can't keep all players, I would like to think that most players can improve oh, and get another chance with other teams.

Exactly. You can't keep everyone. We hope Allen DOES turn into a starting quality NFL QB. We can either trade him and make out well or have an excellent backup if Cam gets injured. But if it comes down to him having the opportunity to sign a big contract elsewhere, what exactly should be do? Get rid of Cam? Keep two QB's on big contracts?

Some of these situations are just gonna happen. It is what it is.