Give me a reason to be excited about the future of this team

[toldozer]

3 minutes ago, poundaway said:

We just played the #3 and #4 Ds in the league, by yards allowed.  Seattle is 31.  If the O sucks next week, Reich has some reflecting to do.

 

They're number 3 and 4 because half their games were against us

[Ricky Spanish]

Just now, ickmule said:

I can’t. 

The list is:

• Luvu
• Bozeman

That's all I got. Woods and Bell maybe?

[poundaway]

1 minute ago, toldozer said:

They're number 3 and 4 because half their games were against us

Exactly.  Was it because our O sucks or because they have excellent D's?

Atlanta spent a fortune on D and the Saints D was 6th last year. 

We'll find out Sunday.

[ickmule]

6 minutes ago, Ricky Spanish said:

The list is:

• Luvu
• Bozeman

That's all I got. Woods and Bell maybe?

I will give you Luvu and  Boz.  

[Ricky Spanish]

5 minutes ago, ickmule said:

I will give you Luvu and  Boz.  

The cupboard is getting bare and we aren't replacing the rations we use.

It's fun and all to trade but I don't know if I trust Fitt to be the one to do it anymore. We have only gotten negative returns on almost every trade we've done. And unless Bryce ends up our Franchise QB, that's another nail in the coffin for him.

I dunno, I've said recently I wouldn't be heartbroken if we moved on from Fitts, but I wouldn't be upset if kept him one more year. If he stays next year it's a make or break year for him though. 

[LegioX]

Let the Carolina Hurricanes owner buy the Panthers. At least he knows what he’s doing

Edited September 20, 2023 by LegioX

[onmyown]

it’s not the players or coaches it’s ownership.
who wants to bet should Tepper have any success he’ll be back in the public trying to take credit and get love from fans acting like nothing happened lol

what an egotistical dumbass

when we takes his hands off is when there’ll be hope. the fact he thought he should be still calling shots after Rhule and Hurney tells you something. 

[grimesgoat]

No one has tried to address the initial question.  Just more whining.  Here are some possible reasons to be optimistic...

• We cleaned out the stench of the prior coaching regime.  The current group has a history of producing in the NFL.
• We have a brand new QB that may develop into a franchise QB.  I'm willing to give him more than 2 games before passing judgment.  I guess I'm the only one that did not consider him a finished product after 2 years of college.
• 5 of the top 6 most important positions in football are all accounted for - QB, LT, DT, DE, CB, (WR).  Its a really good group when all are healthy and playing (assuming QB develops into something). We are missing a #1 WR however I am willing to wait and see if Mingo can develop into that guy.  I believe that is the expectation.  He is physically that guy and has been compared to AJ Brown.  Maybe we can reassess after a few more games, but to give up now seems incredibly short-sighted.
• With key positions accounted for, we can use our draft picks on complimentary pieces.  Fortunately we still have picks 2,3,4,5,5,6 available for a CB, G, RB, and LB.  These are the rounds to get these guys.
• We have been hamstrung with huge dead money, restricting our options in free agency.  Dead money ranks since 2021 were 30th, 23rd, and 29th highest.  We are dedicating 42m of our cap to 3 guys who are not playing for us (DJ, CMC, Chosen).  Situation should be much improved next year.
• The 3 teams in our division are nothing special.  Carr, Ridder, and Baker do not frighten me.  I believe Young will eventually be better.

While the last 5 years have been rough for us fans, this is what a slow rebuild looks like.  3 years ago, we had a stinky coach, no lockdown corner, no franchise LT, no hope at WR, an all-pro expensive RB that was always hurt, and 2 very young and developing D-linemen.  We are in significantly better shape today.

 

[ickmule]

21 minutes ago, onmyown said:

what an egotistical dumbass

1000%. 

[AceMan]

[toldozer]

41 minutes ago, onmyown said:

it’s not the players or coaches it’s ownership.
who wants to bet should Tepper have any success he’ll be back in the public trying to take credit and get love from fans acting like nothing happened lol

what an egotistical dumbass

when we takes his hands off is when there’ll be hope. the fact he thought he should be still calling shots after Rhule and Hurney tells you something. 

Can he just go ahead and sell? He's doubled his money with a piss poor product. Cltfc sucks too

 

Where else can you buy a company,  drive it into the ground and double your money. 

Big Tep daddy said he wouldn't stand for mediocrity and boy has he delivered.  I would kill for a mediocre next 5 years

 

Edited September 20, 2023 by toldozer

[d-dave]

The sun will rise tomorrow.  The actions of a sports team are pretty inconsequential to the basic pattern that has existed on this planet for millions of years, and will continue long after the biosphere recovers after humanity dies off.

The long and short of it is it doesn't matter.  Don't get too up or down because as much as we love football, its a foolish waste of time and money, especially since we aren't players earning millions.  Fan however you want to, but if the Panthers drag you down to a point you have to go online and attack people...get help.

The Panthers aren't ready to be exciting yet.  Reich and staff, for all their accolades, still have a limited offense.  They are trying to be something they can't be.  They need to be pounding the rock like we did last year.  Sanders and Hubbard can wear down teams.  Keep them honest, and use the play action.  Stop pretending we have the players to be a high flying offense.

We aren't fast enough outside, we don't hold up well enough in the Oline, and Bryce is feeling far too much pressure and getting hit too much.  let's go back to running the ball.  Running helps o-lines get confident and comfortable.  We are dealing with young guards until Corbitt is ready to return - run the ball, make their lives easier.  Let Bryce have that benefit.

The Panthers need to get simple.  They need to give the defense time and control the clock.  Is it the most beautiful thing?  Depends on who you are (for me, I ADORED the Steve Wilks offense last year).  But it's what we need to do until we build a better team.

 

[onmyown]

11 minutes ago, toldozer said:

Can he just go ahead and sell? He's doubled his money with a piss poor product. Cltfc sucks too

 

Where else can you buy a company,  drive it into the ground and double your money. 

Big Tep daddy said he wouldn't stand for mediocrity and boy has he delivered.  I would kill for a mediocre next 5 years

 

If we can get 8 wins I am hosting a season bowl party

[UNCrules2187]

1 hour ago, grimesgoat said:

No one has tried to address the initial question.  Just more whining.  Here are some possible reasons to be optimistic...

• We cleaned out the stench of the prior coaching regime.  The current group has a history of producing in the NFL.
• We have a brand new QB that may develop into a franchise QB.  I'm willing to give him more than 2 games before passing judgment.  I guess I'm the only one that did not consider him a finished product after 2 years of college.
• 5 of the top 6 most important positions in football are all accounted for - QB, LT, DT, DE, CB, (WR).  Its a really good group when all are healthy and playing (assuming QB develops into something). We are missing a #1 WR however I am willing to wait and see if Mingo can develop into that guy.  I believe that is the expectation.  He is physically that guy and has been compared to AJ Brown.  Maybe we can reassess after a few more games, but to give up now seems incredibly short-sighted.
• With key positions accounted for, we can use our draft picks on complimentary pieces.  Fortunately we still have picks 2,3,4,5,5,6 available for a CB, G, RB, and LB.  These are the rounds to get these guys.
• We have been hamstrung with huge dead money, restricting our options in free agency.  Dead money ranks since 2021 were 30th, 23rd, and 29th highest.  We are dedicating 42m of our cap to 3 guys who are not playing for us (DJ, CMC, Chosen).  Situation should be much improved next year.
• The 3 teams in our division are nothing special.  Carr, Ridder, and Baker do not frighten me.  I believe Young will eventually be better.

While the last 5 years have been rough for us fans, this is what a slow rebuild looks like.  3 years ago, we had a stinky coach, no lockdown corner, no franchise LT, no hope at WR, an all-pro expensive RB that was always hurt, and 2 very young and developing D-linemen.  We are in significantly better shape today.

 

While I largely agree here, my only quibble is the 5 of 6 key positions accounted for bit. Accounted for in the sense we have someone there? Yes. TBD on whether or not they are the actual answers or no:

QB - rookie #1 overall pick; way too early to tell if he's a hit or not

LT - 6th overall pick, young, shows flashes, seems to have regressed/struggled more than expected so far but willing to give more time

DT - agreed, but he'll be seeking a big, big raise after this year

DE/Pass Rush - for now...if this team starts 1-5/0-6 and Burns still doesn't have a new deal, I wouldn't be surprised to see him dealt

CB - can't agree here; when healthy, Jaycee is a lockdown corner, but so far the guy will have missed at least 22 of a possible 39 games (14 in '21, 4 in '22, minimum 4 in '23 and that's giving him credit for the Atlanta game where he got hurt before halftime and it will be more than that given he's probably not coming back until the 2nd half of the year at best). Until he can be shown to be relied upon for at least 80% of a season, not sure you can say we have CB locked down

Edited September 20, 2023 by UNCrules2187