Carolina Panthers: 5 big riddles Matt Rhule must solve at 2021 camp

[classics]

16 hours ago, bigdavis said:

I don't see anything original in the questions raised above, that hasn't already been covered extensively on the Huddle.

Pretty sure at this time of the year, just about every question is just going to a rehashed post/question as there's really nothing new to talk about.

As far as click bait to his site, I personally don't have a problem with it but then I'm not on this site that much so wouldn't find it annoying.

And finally, if you don't like the question/content, then just hit the back button and you can go back to looking for that original question. 

[MHS831]

16 hours ago, SBBlue said:

link:Carolina Panthers: 5 big riddles Matt Rhule must solve at 2021 camp (catcrave.com)

Can the Carolina Panthers rely on Joey Slye?  If the hold was the problem, then yes.  These strong legged kickers tend to settle down and become more accurate. Gano did.  My friend from college was a kicker and had some accuracy issues--strong leg.  At the end of his career, he was the Colts' all-time leading scorer.

 

How can the Carolina Panthers maximize Jeremy Chinn’s impact?  FS is not going to do that--I think he ends up at SS.  Chinn seems to be very instinctive, so he could become one of those head hunting S who shortens  shortens WRs' arms and careers.  We'll see.  Having 21 players in front of him could be significant for him.   He will still be all over the field.  FS is where he will line up presnap.

How can the Carolina Panthers keep Christian McCaffrey healthy?  Better OL, Chuba, and Tremble.  Last year was a fluke. One injury led to the next-but he is probably not injury prone.  You run him 90% of the time and you have a crap OL in front of him, and guess what happens? 

How can the Carolina Panthers build Sam Darnold’s confidence?  Protection, a strong running game, and winning.  Let him play through mistakes. 

 

[Pejorative Miscreant]

I think the answer to questions 4 and 5 is that you develop the backup RB (maybe Hubbard) and a reliable threat at TE to give DArnold a release valve in addition to CMC.  

[MHS831]

My top 5 questions:  Link--right here.

1. Who will win the OL jobs and where will they play?  (Some of you are penciling in Moton at LT--however, would it be a dickish move to sign him during his prime on a RT contract and move him to LT?  Not sure, but I would love to see it if he can improve LT while the RT drop off is minimal)

• 1a. LT:
• 1b: LG:
• 1c. RG:
• 1d: RT:

2.  How solid will our CBs be?  (Jackson and Horn and Bouye {Nickel} can play man, and that is what we are going to do a lot.  Bouye/Melvin at nickel is a huge question that should be answered in preseason. NOW ask the Chinn at FS question.  It makes more sense.)

3.  Can the front 4 generate enough pass rush to prevent the need to blitz as often? (Brown was better vs. the pass, not as good vs. the run, according to the expectations of some experts.  Fox and YGM should be solid, and Reddick and Burns could make QBs shake.  Pressure on the opposing QB without costing us a DB or LB is big).

4. Can Rhule show signs of his "3-year turnaround" success in college on the NFL level? (A 10-win season would suggest that he has done just that.  If you want to gauge his success, note the UDFAs and the day 3 picks who are contributing--but focus on the UDFAs.  They are players he "recruited" and they are marginal to inferior, for the most part.  Franklin, Hartsfield, Smith, Stokke, David Moore, {rookies to watch, FB, G}, etc. for example)

5. Darnold, of course, but not his confidence, but the key QB measures of confidence: leadership, performance when the game is on the line.  Both suggest confidence, but these are how QBs are forged in the NFL. Teddy had numbers, for the most part, but when you needed a field general, he fled the battlefield.)

 

 

Edited July 17, 2021 by MHS831

[Snake]

7 hours ago, kungfoodude said:

His usage rate in the three games last year was basically at Rivera levels. That is what is concerning. I get it, he is a fantastic weapon and he is the highest paid player at his position. But....if we don't control his usage better, it will eventually come back to bite us, if it already hasn't.

That was 3 games. Let's be frank you're not putting CMC on the bench right now for Chuba. He will probably spell him 30% if that much. Still in two years that number will probably be closer to 40% or more.

[CPsinceDay1]

19 hours ago, SBBlue said:

PJ Walker looked good against Detroit except for the ints in the RZ/EZ.  To me he's a suitable backup and if given the chance to grow, could actually get good.  He has the arm and mobility.  I'm not saying he'll be a QB1 but I could see him becoming a legit QB2.  Grier, its like he chokes.  I don't know why he looks so bad.  

Ryan wasn't hired until January and don't know what the theories of the previous QB coach was.  All I was saying was that frank's post reminded me of the Ryan interview.

I agree we'll have a good idea by midseason.

If Sam blows the lid off the place first game, we are going to be stoked.

If Sam sucky sucks by mid to late season, I'll be switching camps.

Right now, I'm on team Sam.  Partly because I see the logic, and partly because I have no choice.

 

[iamhubby1]

17 minutes ago, Snake said:

That was 3 games. Let's be frank you're not putting CMC on the bench right now for Chuba. He will probably spell him 30% if that much. Still in two years that number will probably be closer to 40% or more.

 

If you are the Panthers Head Coach, fighting for wins. Why would you take your best weapon off the field, when you have no capable back-up?

 

If Chubba can find success, that just might allow Rhule to actually sit CMC once in a while. At least that is the hope anywho.

[MHS831]

Run some 2 back.  Both can catch. 

 

[kungfoodude]

4 hours ago, Snake said:

That was 3 games. Let's be frank you're not putting CMC on the bench right now for Chuba. He will probably spell him 30% if that much. Still in two years that number will probably be closer to 40% or more.

I mean, we had a very effective guy in Mike Davis that we let sit when CMC played. 

That is ultimately my problem with the CMC situation. You invested this crazy amount of money in him but work him at an insane rate. We need him to last the entire length of his contract.

[Snake]

10 hours ago, iamhubby1 said:

 

If you are the Panthers Head Coach, fighting for wins. Why would you take your best weapon off the field, when you have no capable back-up?

 

If Chubba can find success, that just might allow Rhule to actually sit CMC once in a while. At least that is the hope anywho.

Well there is going to be no argument that probably for the next 3 years CMC is the most dynamic weapon in the NFL. Its hard to take him off the field because the defense has to commit two players two him. A LB for the outside run and a safety for the passing game. I'm not knocking Chuba. He's a great runner but his fall was because he isn't the best pass catcher. So its really hard to take CMC off the field because he's so dynamic. I would say in three years though CMC will probably not be as much of a runner as he will be a pass catcher and running will go to another back.

[Snake]

2 hours ago, kungfoodude said:

I mean, we had a very effective guy in Mike Davis that we let sit when CMC played. 

That is ultimately my problem with the CMC situation. You invested this crazy amount of money in him but work him at an insane rate. We need him to last the entire length of his contract.

He's probably the most dynamic player in the NFL. He's not going to get pulled off the field too much. Probably in two or three years he will be more of a pass catcher than a production back though. Also Mike Davis was as ordinary as it comes in the NFL. So ordinary we didn't even offer him a contract. Chuba is a better back right now than Davis is and Hubbard could actually turn into a really dangerous weapon with his speed.

[kungfoodude]

5 hours ago, Snake said:

He's probably the most dynamic player in the NFL. He's not going to get pulled off the field too much. Probably in two or three years he will be more of a pass catcher than a production back though. Also Mike Davis was as ordinary as it comes in the NFL. So ordinary we didn't even offer him a contract. Chuba is a better back right now than Davis is and Hubbard could actually turn into a really dangerous weapon with his speed.

Well he was an "ordinary" guy that had over 1000 yards of offense and 8 TD's for us. 

Like I said, if we keep running the wheels off of CMC, the bill is eventually going to have to be paid(if it isn't already). We have too many weapons on this offense to be running the entire thing through a non-QB. That is going to have to change eventually.

[frankw]

3 hours ago, kungfoodude said:

Well he was an "ordinary" guy that had over 1000 yards of offense and 8 TD's for us. 

Like I said, if we keep running the wheels off of CMC, the bill is eventually going to have to be paid(if it isn't already). We have too many weapons on this offense to be running the entire thing through a non-QB. That is going to have to change eventually.

You just can't talk to some of these folks. Look 22 is a supremely talented athlete but at the end of the day he is still an rb. He can't throw to himself and he can't block for himself. He is a great decoy but Carolina has tried and failed multiple times to make him our very own swiss army knife. Where has it gotten us? 10 wins in two years and perpetually stuck in the bottom of the division. A big part of that has been starting multiple quarterbacks but through it all we have not been particularly good in the redzone at converting touchdowns which should still be a plus if we have one of the top running backs. Last year we were at 50% and in 2019 in CMC's banner year we were at 58% which sits us at 28th and 15th in the league. If we are to have a top back in the nfl we should be scoring touchdowns simple and plain. Guess who has been atop the redzone percentage since 2019? Tennessee. Why? Well it helps to have an offensive line and not settling for scrapheap as starters while you spend a boatload on the backfield.

https://www.teamrankings.com/nfl/stat/red-zone-scoring-pct?date=2021-02-08

Edited July 18, 2021 by frankw

[kungfoodude]

10 minutes ago, frankw said:

You just can't talk to some of these folks. Look 22 is a supremely talented athlete but at the end of the day he is still an rb. He can't throw to himself and he can't block for himself. He is a great decoy but Carolina has tried and failed multiple times to make him our very own swiss army knife. Where has it gotten us? 10 wins in two years and perpetually stuck in the bottom of the division. A big part of that has been starting multiple quarterbacks but through it all we have not been particularly good in the redzone at converting touchdowns which should still be a plus if we have one of the top running backs. Last year we were at 50% and in 2019 in CMC's banner year we were at 58% which sits us at 28th and 15th in the league. If we are to have a top back in the nfl we should be scoring touchdowns simple and plain. Guess who has been atop the redzone percentage since 2019? Tennessee. Why? Well it helps to have an offensive line and not settling for scrapheap as starters while you spend a boatload on the backfield.

https://www.teamrankings.com/nfl/stat/red-zone-scoring-pct?date=2021-02-08

Hence everyone's continued frustration with our inability to put together a decent OL during most of his career. Imagine having this weapon with huge gaps being blown in the defense by our OL? The sad thing is, we aren't that far away from having a dominant offense.