Last chance to see Zach Wilson. 7 PM EST UCF vs BYU. ESPN 12-22 Boca Raton Bowl

[Mr. Scot]

Just now, OldhamA said:

A smoke screen, perhaps.

Seriously doubt it.

[OldhamA]

1 minute ago, Mr. Scot said:

Seriously doubt it.

Seriously doubt the Panthers are telling the world who they want to draft with their Top 5 pick via their Twitter account.

[Mr. Scot]

2 minutes ago, OldhamA said:

Seriously doubt the Panthers are telling the world who they want to draft with their Top 5 pick via their Twitter account.

For one, the "smokescreen" thing is a very overused trope.

More to the point though, any professional personnel guy who doesn't already know the Panthers would be interested in Wilson isn't paying attention.

[OldhamA]

2 minutes ago, Mr. Scot said:

For one, the "smokescreen" thing is a very overused trope.

More to the point though, any professional personnel guy who doesn't already know the Panthers would be interested in Wilson isn't paying attention.

It's not overused if it's accurate. 

The NFL is a cutthroat business - any advantage you can get is used, e.g. signing a player off a PS just to get your hands on an upcoming opponent's playbook / tendencies. 

I'm not saying "the Panthers will not draft Wilson", but I am saying they're happy to add fuel to the fire. It only strengthens their position if everyone THINKS they know who the Panthers want with such a premium pick. 

[Mr. Scot]

1 minute ago, OldhamA said:

It's not overused if it's accurate. 

The NFL is a cutthroat business - any advantage you can get is used, e.g. signing a player off a PS just to get your hands on an upcoming opponent's playbook / tendencies. 

I'm not saying "the Panthers will not draft Wilson", but I am saying they're happy to add fuel to the fire. It only strengthens their position if everyone THINKS they know who the Panthers want with such a premium pick. 

Voth isn't part of the personnel operation, and I'd sincerely doubt he has any involvement in draft strategy or misinformation (especially in December).

He's retweeting a post about a player that pretty much everybody already knows we're interested in.

[GoPanthers123]

Had a look and their schedule has been super easy, has he ever faced a true test that approaches NFL level?

[Woodie]

3 hours ago, Mr. Scot said:

From what I've seen, his arm strength is fine. That's not necessarily the issue.

In the Northwestern game, he was just off. His performance was so bad that the Buckeyes basically stopped passing.

He's gonna need to look really good in the playoffs to make up for that.

Ohio St. had like 22 players miss the game, including his main receivers.  I think Fields' problem was that he didn't trust his receivers and tried to do too much himself.  He also doesn't look like he's playing with much confidence right now.

I like Wilson better than Fields, and have since even before his bad game against Indiana.  But, I still think he can be a really good QB.  I just think Wilson will be special.

[Woodie]

5 hours ago, Rocky Davis said:

A lot of people need to watch tape and get up to speed on Lance.  Wilson actually playing makes more people talk about him, but Lance is the better QB IMO.

I can tell you that Lance is a lot better than most here realize.  The only game most of them have watched was that silly showcase game in which Lance was clearly rusty and pressing.  

But over the summer, several NDSU games were replayed on TV, and since I heard Daniel Jeremiah talk him up, and expected we will be in the market for a QB next draft, I decided to check him out.  And I have to say, he is very impressive.  First of all, he has a strong arm, and is very accurate with excellent ball placement.  He is not afraid to take chances and make the tough throw, but he also doesn't take careless risks.  He typically makes good decisions and sees the field well...rarely did I see him not recognize an open receiver or miss a defender in the area.  He also seems to process info pretty fast, which helps him make quick decisions.  He throws a great deep ball with excellent touch.  He also has a really strong lower body, which helps him avoid sacks, and makes him difficult to tackle...he'll run through arm tackles with relative ease.  

The biggest flaw I noticed is that occasionally on underneath throws, he doesn't always square up and throw with the same touch he does on deep throws.  However, IMO, much of that was a result of how fast he recognizes the open receiver, and tried to get it to him before properly setting up.  Other than that, he does have some technique issues to work on, just like very young QB.  But overall, there is nothing fundamentally wrong with any aspect of his game, and the few issues can easily be coached up.  I also think sitting a year would do him wonders, just like it did for Mahomes.  

I really like Wilson, and think he'll be ready to play sooner, but I believe Lance is also going to be elite once he develops a bit.  I would be thrilled with either.  

[Woodie]

2 hours ago, GoPanthers123 said:

Had a look and their schedule has been super easy, has he ever faced a true test that approaches NFL level?

The thing I look at when evaluating QB's against weaker opponents is their fundamental traits and their situational play.  For instance, can they complete passes into tight windows, and how do they respond when the pocket breaks down.  Quite honestly, Wilson has excelled in pretty much every situation I have seen.  When his pocket breaks down or there is pressure in his face, Wilson has an uncanny ability to still find an open receiver or scramble for positive yards.  He's always keeping his eyes downfield while scrambling, and he has a strong enough arm to throw anywhere on the field.  Heck, several times this season, I've seen him throw from one hashmark all the way across the field on a rope with perfect ball placement...while on the run. 

He has great vision and the arm strength to make all the throws.  And he doesn't need his receivers to be wide open to complete a pass.  He can zip the ball between defenders with ease, but also does a good job of throwing where only his guy can get it.  Those aren't things that are effected by level of competition.  If a receiver's covered, he's covered, and when there's pressure in his face, it doesn't matter if it's Alabama or Bumfug State.  The question is, does he make the right decision and is he able to make the play.  And Wilson passes all questions with flying colors.

The biggest question on him is how well will he recognize pro defenses when they are scheming ways to confuse him.  But that's the same question every QB new to the league has to answer.  And, IMO, it's probably one of the biggest benefits to playing better competition.  But, like most rookie QB's I expect he'll have some ups and downs, but think once he adjusts, he'll be fine.  

 

The funny think is that although they are technically playing opponents, Alabama QB's worry me much more because they are throwing to wide open receivers 90% of the time.  

[mrcompletely11]

After watching Wilson last night I would be pumped if we drafted him.  Kid is legit and has a live arm.   However I think the jets trade out of the 2 spot and someone leap frogs us for him

[Varking]

1 hour ago, Woodie said:

The thing I look at when evaluating QB's against weaker opponents is their fundamental traits and their situational play.  For instance, can they complete passes into tight windows, and how do they respond when the pocket breaks down.  Quite honestly, Wilson has excelled in pretty much every situation I have seen.  When his pocket breaks down or there is pressure in his face, Wilson has an uncanny ability to still find an open receiver or scramble for positive yards.  He's always keeping his eyes downfield while scrambling, and he has a strong enough arm to throw anywhere on the field.  Heck, several times this season, I've seen him throw from one hashmark all the way across the field on a rope with perfect ball placement...while on the run. 

He has great vision and the arm strength to make all the throws.  And he doesn't need his receivers to be wide open to complete a pass.  He can zip the ball between defenders with ease, but also does a good job of throwing where only his guy can get it.  Those aren't things that are effected by level of competition.  If a receiver's covered, he's covered, and when there's pressure in his face, it doesn't matter if it's Alabama or Bumfug State.  The question is, does he make the right decision and is he able to make the play.  And Wilson passes all questions with flying colors.

The biggest question on him is how well will he recognize pro defenses when they are scheming ways to confuse him.  But that's the same question every QB new to the league has to answer.  And, IMO, it's probably one of the biggest benefits to playing better competition.  But, like most rookie QB's I expect he'll have some ups and downs, but think once he adjusts, he'll be fine.  

 

The funny think is that although they are technically playing opponents, Alabama QB's worry me much more because they are throwing to wide open receivers 90% of the time.  

The issue with Bama is that they haven’t, in years, played against opponents that out talent them, offensively. You can’t recruit good enough defenses in college to stop the likes of Jeudy, Mechie, Ruggs, Smith, Waddle, etc... while also being able to stop their running backs. 
 

As for your last line... that’s just college football, honestly. Outside of Trask throwing 50/50 balls to Pitts and Grimes you turn on a college QBs highlights and like 80-90% of the highlight is throws to players with like 5+ yards of separation. 
 

Even last night watching this game with Wilson look at the majority of the chunk plays:

*Touchdown on a reverse flea flicker with the closest defender being like 10 yards away. No defender in front of him, defender to his left like 20 yards away and the defender behind him is 10 yards away. He’s wide open and he is waiting on the ball.

*Touchdown pass right down the middle of the field with five+ yards of separation against both defenders near him to his left and right. He doesn’t lead the receiver with the ball but like the previous play when the guys are this wide open the throws don’t have to be perfect.
 

*There were like 9 runs where a UCF defender doesn’t touch the running backs until they are 5+ yards down the field.

*Wilson himself had a few runs where defenders didn’t touch him for 10 yards.

*His tight window touchdown throw here probably isn’t a completion in the NFL. He hits hit receiver almost in stride here but the throw is at hip height, at the hip. A defender in the NFL is going to knock that down if not intercept it. The ball should thrown over the head of the receiver so only he has a chance at catching it. 
 

However, anyone watching this game without bias even being critical can see a few things:

1) The arm talent is real. I never understood people comparing him to Clausen. Clausen never had this arm talent. 
2) My favorite play of the night was where Wilson stepped up and two the right after his drop back and he throws the ball back across the left side of the field where a receiver makes an amazing dive to catch the ball. Outstanding throw and outstanding catch. It was a beautiful spiral and it was in a spot where only the receiver could get it.

3) People need to stop dogging  BYUs offensive talent around Wilson. Going into last nights game their top three running backs were averaging over 5 yards a carry, over 6 yards a carry and their lead back was over 7 yards a carry. They had 19 touchdowns on the ground going into last nights game. And while Wilson was averaging less than 4 a carry he had 8 touchdowns going into last night. Their offensive line was better than every defensive line they faced all year outside of CCU. 
 

They had 6 receivers get 10 or more catches this year and every single one of them averaged over 10 yards per catch. 
 

4) Hes big armed and mobile enough to succeed in the NFL. For the critical eye there’s a lot to like and the good far outweighs the bad. I’d definitely be completely happy with drafting him at 4 if Fields isn’t there and he absolutely cemented himself, in my eyes, in front of the likes of Lance, Trask and Jones. We have no shot at Lawrence but if Fields or Wilson get announced as our pick I’ll smile. If it’s any of the others I am going to be disappointed. 
 

INTERESTING NOTE I LEARNED YESTERDAY: Was listening to Dilfer break down Lawrence and Fields on a podcast yesterday and they said Dilfer went back and watched all of Russ Wilson’s college tape and out of all the passes he threw his last year of college ONLY SIX OF HIS COMPLETIONS WERE NOT HIS FIRST READ. The whole season he threw to his first read on 99.99% of his passes. 

[Kentucky Panther]

6 hours ago, OldhamA said:

I think I'm one of the few people on here that wants to see the Panthers win football games.

Winning the next two would be beyond pointless. We will be better next year with a higher pick 

[TheRumGone]

Yeah I would not be upset if we drafted Wilson even tho I think Lance is gonna be the truth. He made some jaw dropping throws last night. I know UCF’s defense is trash but he was still really impressive. Reminded me of Rodgers with some throws. This is a very good group of QBs. My only hesitations on Wilson is his frame and his surgery on his throwing arm but his arm still looks great. Lance just has a higher ceiling which is why I prefer him. 

[mrcompletely11]

3 minutes ago, bull123 said:

Regardless, looks like we are going to have several choices to get us a game changer in the draft

Yep unless we win and have to try and trade up