Good feels, but we see the elephant in the room

[panthers55]

2 minutes ago, top dawg said:

But what bothers me is that we seem stuck in a loop. The not-so-good O-line is not going to play well with our QB, so it's going to get a little nebulous as to how good or bad our QB is, which may lead to QB being a priority again.

 

I could argue that the reason Cam never really became what he should have been was in large part because of the O-line. Perhaps, more importantly, I could argue that an O-line that left a lot to be desired is why there's no Lombardi trophy in Charlotte. So, looking through the PFF or Football Outsiders rankings, they're really hollow when you have at least one pig with lipstick on. 

Basically, you're as strong as your weakest link(s)!

Kind of an off note: When you take a QB who hasn't made the best decisions under pressure and stick him behind an O-line that gives up pressure, ultimately nothing else really matters. 

I'll keep hoping for a "good" season, however unfulfilled, and maybe we can fix the O-line come next year...

 

And I can argue that the Oline was the least of our issues with Cam. How about no receivers to throw to? How about poor gameplanning in the Super Bowl. How about poor officiating  that allowed head hunting on Cam which has largely been reversed. We played 3 top 10 defenses that all brought pressure and blitzes which is exactly what we wanted this preseason.  Sure we had some struggles particularly early but this was the only preseason  most of the starters had and they had little time together with all the new pieces. We could go back all the way to 2011 and I bet the trend would continue. Our O line is middling and has been since Gross left.  It isn't a strength but isn't the huge problem and cause of all our woes  as you seem to suggest. And after going against this D line every day will only get better.

[top dawg]

13 minutes ago, panthers55 said:

And I can argue that the Oline was the least of our issues with Cam. How about no receivers to throw to? How about poor gameplanning in the Super Bowl. How about poor officiating  that allowed head hunting on Cam which has largely been reversed. We played 3 top 10 defenses that all brought pressure and blitzes which is exactly what we wanted this preseason.  Sure we had some struggles particularly early but this was the only preseason  most of the starters had and they had little time together with all the new pieces. We could go back all the way to 2011 and I bet the trend would continue. Our O line is middling and has been since Gross left.  It isn't a strength but isn't the huge problem and cause of all our woes  as you seem to suggest. And after going against this D line every day will only get better.

Top O-lines, not middling ones, are conducive to championships.

[Jon Snow]

6 minutes ago, top dawg said:

Top O-lines, not middling ones, are conducive to championships.

Bingo! We have a ways to go in that department. 

[Sam the Cat]

If there is an elephant in the room, slap some back numbers and line em up on the field, He could be a beast! Lol.  

[Scott12345]

We are really, really weak in the middle, starting with paradis at center

dont think every team we play doesn’t see it

[MHS831]

1 hour ago, kungfoodude said:

Everyone could see that OL was going to struggle. The coaches pretty much telegraphed it the entire offseason by constantly shuffling them and making the "best five" comment. What he meant is "competent five" and they are still searching. But, that is basically what you get when you don't invest properly in your OL. 

IMO, just roll with the young guys, let them take their lumps and hope over the 17 games you see some improvement and chemistry develop. All these journeyman and JAGs that are getting waxed over and over......let them ride the pine for those paychecks.

Appreciate the similes like a fat kid when the ice cream truck breaks down in front of his house and the driver faints from heat exhaustion.  Seriously, well written and accurate.

[kungfoodude]

2 minutes ago, MHS831 said:

Appreciate the similes like a fat kid when the ice cream truck breaks down in front of his house and the driver faints from heat exhaustion.  Seriously, well written and accurate.

I'm surprised I can even be coherent with this hangover.

[MHS831]

1 minute ago, kungfoodude said:

I'm surprised I can even be coherent with this hangover.

What?  Kidding.  Always appreciate your candor.

[Tinamedina]

57 minutes ago, kungfoodude said:

I didn't see a lot of holding up long enough to throw anything more than Teddy passes. I have little to no belief in Sam Darnold but it's going to be hard to judge him well if that line is getting blown up as quickly as it was last night.

 

Then sam needs to improvise, use his athleticism. 

[Tinamedina]

42 minutes ago, glenwo2 said:

 Yeah let's go with that so it supports your narrative.

Okay.

[kungfoodude]

4 minutes ago, Tinamedina said:

 

Then sam needs to improvise, use his athleticism. 

I mean....that's easy to say but even Pat Mahomes, Tom Brady, Cam Newton, etc all start to break down when they are constantly getting shelled. No QB can withstand constant pressure, especially when it is coming straight up the middle like it often was. 

Furthermore, Darnold is precisely the kind of QB you DON'T want to see that kind of pressure on because his history with the Jets shows he will attempt to make a play that isn't there and turn the ball over. 

Darnold's history is exactly why it is even more important to protect him.

[Navy_football]

Offensive coordinators should be able to scheme around weaknesses on the outside. It's much more difficult to scheme around a weak interior line. That ish will kill ANY QB in the league. Even the GOAT (Tom Brady) couldn't overcome it. Even the most prolific passer of our time (Brees) couldn't overcome it. 

[top dawg]

5 minutes ago, kungfoodude said:

I mean....that's easy to say but even Pat Mahomes, Tom Brady, Cam Newton, etc all start to break down when they are constantly getting shelled. No QB can withstand constant pressure, especially when it is coming straight up the middle like it often was. 

Furthermore, Darnold is precisely the kind of QB you DON'T want to see that kind of pressure on because his history with the Jets shows he will attempt to make a play that isn't there and turn the ball over. 

Darnold's history is exactly why it is even more important to protect him.

I think he's trolling.

[frankw]

I thought we would be able to get another season out of Paradis but it's looking iffy. We still should have had a solid backup alternative in mind if not just good depth as a precaution. With all the talk of left tackle center has been overlooked as if we had a younger Ryan Kalil there and that just isn't the case. Now we've snapped back to reality