Ron Rivera's Training Camp MVP: Armanti Edwards

[CPcavedweller]

My apologies

I've seen you posting about AE before, so I figured you were an App State fan.

The majority of App State fans are homers and though you might think that your post is a joke, many App State fans have made posts like that before (i.e. Armanti Edwards is a better QB than Newton).

So it's not really easy to decipher when an App State fan is being sarcastic or not when Armanti Edwards or their football team is involved in the conversation.

I "grew up" as an App St fan since I'm from Hickory and only finished high school in '09 so Armanti was there making things happen while I was shopping around colleges and it's always nice to see quality, homegrown football. UNC, Duke and NC State really lack the atmosphere of excellence App exudes. It's obvious the football players for the most part have talent, but the golf clapping UNC gives for a penalty I can do without. When your at an App game there is a roar.

I'm hoping us Panthers fans can get over praising mediocrity by winning and winning big games, that starts with each and every player working hard and selflessly to get better. This is why Armanti is a good player to have on the team, he sets an example that will bring wins and positive attention to the area when wins come.

I'm not an armanti homer and expect him to become nothing more than the occasional slot reciever, although he could produce more depending on if he really "gets" it and has help from a solid offense. He will not be a game changer in a stagnant offense like we had in '10 though.

[Zod]

At the very least its nice to see app homers have moved on from calls for AE to play QB in the NFL

[CPcavedweller]

ginn has been hyped but ginn has also dropped a lot of balls, armanti hasn't

the top three recievers in camp have been AE, Lafell and Smith because of consistency and big play making ability.

ginn hasn't been consistent

I just hope when Ginn comes in, it won't be in a situation where you say to yourself, " here comes the deep throw to Ginn after Cam bounces around for a minute" hopefully they use him creatively and on some run routes to open up some running lanes on slants on the other side of the 50.

[CPcavedweller]

At the very least its nice to see app homers have moved on from calls for AE to play QB in the NFL

Hopefully Clausen is benched Friday to see what Armanti can offer as QB. It'd be good work for him and we can see what he really can do. Beat Michigan with a bunch of scrubs, how's 7-7 for 127 yards and 3tds in one half against the end of the year #18 BCS team sound? Better than the bears third string defense.

I kid.(would be gratifying though)

[Oldschool Leroy]

I've seen Armanti make more receptions from Cam than Ginn or HIxon

Same here. I have seen him at every camp since he signed. The difference from last year to this year is night and day. He 100% looks the part of a legitimate NFL receiver. He has made catches for TDs with coverage draped all over him. He has caught balls that Cam threw that only he could make a play on the ball. Someone said earlier in the thread that it may just be that our secondary is weak. But if it is true that a good throw beats good coverage every time, then Armanti has proven so far that he can get the job done. I am a big Gettis fan but Armanti has stolen the show this year. I will be VERY surprised if he does NOT make a steady contribution this year.

[chef17]

The huge difference is this...

When it comes to Brandon Williams, it's "He's having a great camp, I really think he'll be a good player".

When it comes to Armanti Edwards, it's "He won't be able to do it during preseason".

It's mind-boggling...

Williams and AE are both project players (one is learning how to play wide receiver, the other is trying to pick back up football after a two year hiatus), they're both doing well in practice (against the same secondary), and they are both Carolina Panthers.

But for some reason, most people are only giving the benefit of the doubt to one of them.

I just can't wrap my mind around that.

 

One guy is in his first year. One guy is in his fourth. If you can't understand why people react differently the problem is on your end.

 

On topic, this is just the beginning. Next is Superbowl MVP

 

[CPcavedweller]

One guy is in his first year. One guy is in his fourth. If you can't understand why people react differently the problem is on your end.

On topic, this is just the beginning. Next is Superbowl MVP

You're just trying to come around to be an Armanti fan. I know it's hard to pull for anyone on the team and they are never good enough. However, your starting to sound a lot like Ryan with all this Super Bowl talk, keep your pen and check book put away my friend.

Not one person on here has hinted any homerism, no he should be above Lafell or will take Smittys spot one day. So you, I sense you have a lot of hate. You cannot be trained to be a fan, the hate will cloud your judgement and you would soon turn the huddle into a desolate wasteland whereby everyone with something positive to say would be banned.

Long live Armanti as a Panther and here's to considering a 40 catch 3-6 TDs and 300-600 yards a successful season.

One thing I haven't seen mentioned, imagine signing with an NFL team straight out of high school, that is essentially the learning curve Armanti has had to overcome.

[chef17]

You're just trying to come around to be an Armanti fan. I know it's hard to pull for anyone on the team and they are never good enough. However, your starting to sound a lot like Ryan with all this Super Bowl talk, keep your pen and check book put away my friend.

Not one person on here has hinted any homerism, no he should be above Lafell or will take Smittys spot one day. So you, I sense you have a lot of hate. You cannot be trained to be a fan, the hate will cloud your judgement and you would soon turn the huddle into a desolate wasteland whereby everyone with something positive to say would be banned.

Long live Armanti as a Panther and here's to considering a 40 catch 3-6 TDs and 300-600 yards a successful season.

One thing I haven't seen mentioned, imagine signing with an NFL team straight out of high school, that is essentially the learning curve Armanti has had to overcome.

 

I've never met Armanti so it's impossible for me to hate him

 

[top dawg]

 

I gotta give you some dap on that one. I know you've been waiting a long time to get that one in. Thing is though that I think that you should have waited until the regular season...but, then again, get it in while you can, just in case.

[CarolinaPanthers8789]

One guy is in his first year. One guy is in his fourth. If you can't understand why people react differently the problem is on your end.

On topic, this is just the beginning. Next is Superbowl MVP

You left out the fact that Armanti Edwards was a quarterback at a D1-AA school with no experience at wide receiver.

He literally had to learn an entire new position against high quality players. It's one thing to learn a new position in high school where not every kid is All-State and SEC bound, but to do it at the NFL is almost impossible; especially if you are a college quarterback. It's not like he was a cornerback and just switching to the offensive side of the ball. AE had to forget everything he had done at App State and pretend he was a high school kid learning a new position again.

It was obviously going to take time for him to adjust. On top of that, multiple wide receivers have said Coach Proehl gives every player their reps; which is something that they said hasn't been done in the past.

So not only is AE trying to learn a new position, but he's trying to do so with limited reps; another near impossible task.

You never really know what you have in a player, until you actually give that player a chance (something Rivera does but Fox did not).

Finally a lot of fault goes on the fans for expecting too much based on where he was drafted. Most people expected him to come in and succeed right away because he was a top pick.

The fact is AE has finally learned the wide receiver position, been given a chance, taken advantage of that chance, and now it's time for him to show what he's got in actual games.

As far as Brandon Williams goes, he actually has an easier route in my opinion. Yes, it took him longer to get to the NFL and yes his story is more unique; but remember this guy was going to be playing college ball at Oregon and physically he is off the charts. Williams doesn't have to learn a position and he doesn't have much competition for reps.

In essence, Williams just has to get up to speed on the NFL game and he should be good to go; something that might only take two years.

[CPcavedweller]

You left out the fact that Arnanti Edwards was a quarterback at a D1-AA school with no experience at wide receiver. He literally had to learn an entire new position against high quality players. It's one thing to learn a new position in high school where not every kid is All-State and SEC bound, but to do it at the NFL is almost impossible; especially if you are a college quarterback. It's not like he was a cornerback and just switching to the offensive side of the ball. AE had to forget everything he had done at App State and pretend he was a high school kid learning a new position again. It was obviously going to take time for him to adjust. On top of that, multiple wide receivers have said Coach Proehl gives every player their reps; which is something that they said hasn't been done before. So not only is AE trying to learn a new position, but he's trying to do so with limited reps; another near impossible task. You never really know what you have in a player, until you actually give that player a chance (something Rivera does but Fox did not). Finally a lot of fault goes on the fans for expecting to much based on where he was drafted. Most people expected him to come in and succeed right away because he was a top pick. The fact is AE has finally learned the wide receiver position, been given a chance, taken advantage of that chance, and now it's time for him to show what he's got in actual games.

Paragraphs are your friend( and mine) I agree with pretty much everything you said here, in year four though its time to step up and contribute. If not, the panthers will just have spent four years training a WR that another team will pick up and do something with.

[TheRumGone]

I gotta give you some dap on that one. I know you've been waiting a long time to get that one in. Thing is though that I think that you should have waited until the regular season...but, then again, get it in while you can, just in case.

 

lol "now or never" mentality

 

[Monday Night Shyamalan]

My hesitation with AE is...

Last year, on his two "huge plays".....is he didn't impress on them. He was put into position to really do something special....and couldn't.

Thus far, bc collectively we are homers....our secondary is being spun by us as not poo. On paper it is poo in coverage. AE blowing them up would support that as he has shown surprisingly little to no playmaking ability up until our secondary reached this sad state.

Our best cover corner and cover S left and we weren't impressive with them. And yeah, Sherrod Martin was our best coverage S.....and that isn't an endorsement of him.

That isn't AE hate. Everyone Panther fan would love for him to explode.....but not thinking that is likely isn't hate

 

Here is my hesitation to your comment...

 

Football being a team sport and all, AE ultimately helped his team win those games. Did he himself score a TD, no, but it doesn't negate the fact that he setup two scoring drives that helped put the games out of reach.

 

82 yard reception: Away game, only up by 8 points in the 4th qtr, plenty of time for the Skins to come back, AE makes huge catch to put them in the redzone, few plays later = TD, AE helped put the game out of reach by that point.

 

69 yard punt return: Away game, only up by 10 points in the 4th qtr, plenty of time for the Aints to come back, AE with a huge punt return to put them in the redzone, few plays later = points on the board, AE helped put the game out of reach by that point.

 

His "huge plays" put the team ahead, but I guess he didn't really do something special with it.

[chef17]

You left out the fact that Arnanti Edwards was a quarterback at a D1-AA school with no experience at wide receiver. He literally had to learn an entire new position against high quality players. It's one thing to learn a new position in high school where not every kid is All-State and SEC bound, but to do it at the NFL is almost impossible; especially if you are a college quarterback. It's not like he was a cornerback and just switching to the offensive side of the ball. AE had to forget everything he had done at App State and pretend he was a high school kid learning a new position again. It was obviously going to take time for him to adjust. On top of that, multiple wide receivers have said Coach Proehl gives every player their reps; which is something that they said hasn't been done before. So not only is AE trying to learn a new position, but he's trying to do so with limited reps; another near impossible task. You never really know what you have in a player, until you actually give that player a chance (something Rivera does but Fox did not). Finally a lot of fault goes on the fans for expecting to much based on where he was drafted. Most people expected him to come in and succeed right away because he was a top pick. The fact is AE has finally learned the wide receiver position, been given a chance, taken advantage of that chance, and now it's time for him to show what he's got in actual games.

 

Most people don't give the benefit of the doubt to a fourth year player. I'm not saying it's right but that's how most people operate. A first year player is a completely different situation. I'm not arguing whether either of them should be given the benefit of the doubt or not, just stating that it shouldn't be mind boggling.