Blessing in disguise

[pdub0702]

I see your point..actually reminds of 2015 when (non fat) Kelvin Benjamin went down and Newton started to spread the ball more

[Scott12345]

Losing cmc is a body blow…without him we have no shot to be an elite team

and losing horn really, really hurts our defense 

just sucks

[Moo Daeng]

I disagree that losing CMC is a blessing. He's a reason receivers can get open downfield.

Edited September 24, 2021 by Moo Daeng

[gorillamilitia13]

Definitely not a blessing because now CMC has had multiple injuries in a short span of time. Not good. 

[SmittysLawnGuy]

10 minutes ago, Moo Daeng said:

I disagree that losing CMC is a blessing.

Come on man I did preface it. I could have worded it better but I was drunk as hell. I'm just glad the words formed coherent sentences. Of course it's not a blessing. Sam the Cat was correct. I should have said silver lining but I think I made my point.

Edited September 24, 2021 by SmittysLawnGuy

[mbarbour21]

I think people are misunderstanding op. No one thinks our team is better without CMC. We do believe however, that it will force our team to be more flexible. When CMC left, our offense looked like a new born baby dear trying to get footing. All of a sudden, there was a huge threat missing, and we looked lost. The whole game plan was predicated on using CMC to frustrate the defense and create opportunities for others. That option was gone.

Chuba catching out of the back posed almost ZERO threat (dropped two passes, one that would have been a score). With CMC out, our line did not hold up well early. The threat of CMC masked that the prior two games. This injury forces us to not be totally lost when and if CMC goes down. If he stayed healthy and we went 17-0 and lost him in the playoffs we would have been destroyed. Against a better team, I don't think we would have been able to bounce back as quick, it looked like we were blindsided. Yes, it could have been a "blessing IN DISGUISE". It does not look like one, HENCE DISGUISE, but in the long run it could help us. I completely agree with op, wording was fine. 

[coffee]

11 minutes ago, mbarbour21 said:

I think people are misunderstanding op.

And there's also the fact that all of us want to talk football because our team won and is undefeated, but we're all in this weird bad mood because of the injuries.  Nice recipe for a lot of good fighting today.

[pantherclaw]

I believe in Sam. 

[mc52beast]

Reminds me of when Benjamin got hurt. Everyone claimed our season was over then Cam did what Cam did.

[panthers55]

8 hours ago, SmittysLawnGuy said:

How do you not see that helping him when he's not there? Now when he comes back, poof magic!

Because McCaffrey not only is a great player he helps keep Darnold from getting killed on many plays by blocking on passing plays. Twice early in the game he blocked a guy running through the line untouched.  In the second half those same guys crunched Darnold when the block was missed. Plus without CMC teams can largely ignore the running game and concentrate on pummeling Darnold when he tries to pass.  With your logic maybe if we lose DJ and Robbie to injury then that would make us concentrate on other receivers and make Brady even more creative. In my way of thinking if you lose critical playmakers our offense then has the talent of the Jets and Darnold will look like he did last year. Especially since the line already looks like the Jets offensive line. You are never better when you miss your best offensive player.

[panthers55]

25 minutes ago, mc52beast said:

Reminds me of when Benjamin got hurt. Everyone claimed our season was over then Cam did what Cam did.

Reminds me of when Smith broke his arm in 2004 and we had a rash of injuries and finished 7-9. Benjamin wasnt a critical piece of the offense it turned out. CMC is totally different.

[hepcat]

Losing Horn is a way bigger blow than CMC. I think everyone on the Panthers, staff and players alike, knew McCaffrey wouldn’t play in all the games this season. Even the fans knew it. They were smart and drafted Hubbard and claimed Freeman. So there’s decent depth there. And without CMC, Darnold is forced to read the field more. He can’t key in on CMC for easy first downs. Just like when Benjamin went down and Cam had an MVP season. I think Darnold might actually benefit from time without CMC.

Losing Horn just flat out sucks. The defense is definitely worse without him. He was on the fast track to being the best shutdown corner in the league. Foot injuries can linger on for years. I just hope it’s minor, he gets time to heal up 100% and he can get back to his promising career. 

[panthers55]

4 minutes ago, hepcat said:

Losing Horn is a way bigger blow than CMC. I think everyone on the Panthers, staff and players alike, knew McCaffrey wouldn’t play in all the games this season. Even the fans knew it. They were smart and drafted Hubbard and claimed Freeman. So there’s decent depth there. And without CMC, Darnold is forced to read the field more. He can’t key in on CMC for easy first downs. Just like when Benjamin went down and Cam had an MVP season. I think Darnold might actually benefit from time without CMC.

Losing Horn just flat out sucks. The defense is definitely worse without him. He was on the fast track to being the best shutdown corner in the league. Foot injuries can linger on for years. I just hope it’s minor, he gets time to heal up 100% and he can get back to his promising career. 

 Taking a defensive player out of a game by not throwing his way is much easier than defending a player like CMC who gets the ball 30 times a game. So of course CMC is more important than Horn. It isn't even close. Horn was playing well but he wasn't a shut down corner by any analysis yet. CMC is our best offensive player and won't be easily replaced. The defense was still potent without Horn. It took a gutty effort by Darnold to make up for the CMC loss.

[shaqattaq]

9 hours ago, SmittysLawnGuy said:

Ok so I'm trying to make cupcakes out of cauliflower here but hear me out. At first we sputtered without CMC. Once Sam knew his baby blanket got cooked to ash he manned up an started making down field plays. I actually believe this could be exactly what we needed. Mind you he needs to figure it out pretty quickly but when Mc is your 1st 2nd and 3rd option how are you growing? By the time CM gets back this guy might be reading D's. See those early wide open receivers down field? He didn't cause guess who he wanted to throw to? May cost us a game or two but it may be well worth it come January.

I AM excited to see how Sam handles this. They sputtered after CMC left the game, but came out strong after half time. When the same thing happened last year, Teddy turned to poo.