A comment in a presser today

[KB_fan]

Rhule or Snow (sorry, I forget now which it was) mentioned something in today's presser that got me thinking about something.

He reminded the media of how few games a lot of the rookies played last year, while making a comment about the importance of managing player reps and needing depth. (I think it was Rhule talking about why it's so impressive that Jaycee is already acting like a pro in terms of caring for his body). This 17 game season is going to be BRUTAL for a lot of our rookies.  The rookie wall could be way more evident than normal since many played so little last year.

Makes me think it might be wise to temper expectations for the late part of the season. Hopefully youth will be an advantage and our guys will stay strong. But 17 games is going to be a shock to them mentally and physically.

[hepcat]

I feel like rookies played a LOT last year....

[KB_fan]

6 minutes ago, hepcat said:

I feel like rookies played a LOT last year....

Do you mean the Panthers 2020 draft class?

I think Rhule was talking about the 2021 rookies. Many colleges had short seasons due to Covid.

[Mr. Scot]

It's a valid observation.

Might be tough for some of the older veterans too, especially those dealing with prior injury issues.

(of which we have a few)

[NAS]

Rookie wall

Sophomore slump

we will have issues 

[LinvilleGorge]

Joe Horn played 12 years in the NFL. Jaycee has a major leg up on most rookies in terms of knowing what he's in for at the NFL level, both physically and mentally.

[kungfoodude]

19 minutes ago, KB_fan said:

Rhule or Snow (sorry, I forget now which it was) mentioned something in today's presser that got me thinking about something.

He reminded the media of how few games a lot of the rookies played last year, while making a comment about the importance of managing player reps and needing depth. (I think it was Rhule talking about why it's so impressive that Jaycee is already acting like a pro in terms of caring for his body). This 17 game season is going to be BRUTAL for a lot of our rookies.  The rookie wall could be way more evident than normal since many played so little last year.

Makes me think it might be wise to temper expectations for the late part of the season. Hopefully youth will be an advantage and our guys will stay strong. But 17 games is going to be a shock to them mentally and physically.

We need to temper our expectations in general because of our youth. Not many teams this young are strong playoff contenders early on. It takes time for them to get the experience and polish.

[KB_fan]

1 minute ago, kungfoodude said:

We need to temper our expectations in general because of our youth. Not many teams this young are strong playoff contenders early on. It takes time for them to get the experience and polish.

Yeah, a few years back when I was doing more stat crunching, i dug into this a bit. Definitely true that more experienced teams had greater success in getting to playoffs.

I will try to dig up that old spreadsheet (it's on an external hard drive...). It's like 4 or 5 years old. Maybe I can update it a bit too... though PFR now limits much of its data to paying subscribers.  I might subscribe... will see if I have the time / energy to make it worthwhile.

[SmittysLawnGuy]

Need to temper back half expectations anyway. It's murders row.

[Scott12345]

Agreed…but every team is going to have injuries with the longer season…coach is definitely looking at big picture

[Ivan The Awesome]

48 minutes ago, KB_fan said:

Rhule or Snow (sorry, I forget now which it was) mentioned something in today's presser that got me thinking about something.

He reminded the media of how few games a lot of the rookies played last year, while making a comment about the importance of managing player reps and needing depth. (I think it was Rhule talking about why it's so impressive that Jaycee is already acting like a pro in terms of caring for his body). This 17 game season is going to be BRUTAL for a lot of our rookies.  The rookie wall could be way more evident than normal since many played so little last year.

Makes me think it might be wise to temper expectations for the late part of the season. Hopefully youth will be an advantage and our guys will stay strong. But 17 games is going to be a shock to them mentally and physically.

I think this is where what Fit has been doing is essential for a good season. He's added so much Depth in this team that when it is later in the season if there is an injury or two or people are banged up, the depth will show and it will be for the better, maybe give time for those starters or people that need time to heal. This feels good to know and to have said depth. 

[BudFox]

9 minutes ago, Ivan The Awesome said:

I think this is where what Fit has been doing is essential for a good season. He's added so much Depth in this team that when it is later in the season if there is an injury or two or people are banged up, the depth will show and it will be for the better, maybe give time for those starters or people that need time to heal. This feels good to know and to have said depth. 

Bingo... Managing the depth chart will be a competitive advantage

[kungfoodude]

38 minutes ago, KB_fan said:

Yeah, a few years back when I was doing more stat crunching, i dug into this a bit. Definitely true that more experienced teams had greater success in getting to playoffs.

I will try to dig up that old spreadsheet (it's on an external hard drive...). It's like 4 or 5 years old. Maybe I can update it a bit too... though PFR now limits much of its data to paying subscribers.  I might subscribe... will see if I have the time / energy to make it worthwhile.

I am down to split a subscription if you want to do that. I really like PFR.

[KB_fan]

8 minutes ago, kungfoodude said:

I am down to split a subscription if you want to do that. I really like PFR.

Thanks, I'll check out the price and let you know.