top dawg

I don't believe anyone took the time to start any because after that shank it was just an expectation that he was just camp fodder. He turned it around fairly quickly though and has been a damned good kicker ever since.

I will say: that's a man you run away from, not towards...

TMJ might be unstoppable in this unit...if we have time to get it to him. This offense can really be a pick-your-poison type of squad. It's all dependent upon the QB having time.

I specifically thought about that, but I thought it would've been overkill to mention it.

It's what I've been suggesting. You're the one intimating that it's all good. "So what if the interior of the O-line implodes during preseason, like we've seen continually, at the end of the day we'll be middle of the pack." That's not good enough.

No, my wife walked in and distracted me bringing in dinner and finishing her exercises, so I likely didn't hear it.

Bingo! Especially not against backups!

I never said "the sky is falling." I said what I said. Let me make it easy for you. If we go into the season without upgrading some deck chairs, we're in for a long one. That's not the sky falling, it's just the same old sh¡t.

If we don't improve the interior of our O-line, we're going to have another unfulfilling season, point blank! Chicken Little that!

I really don't see it as being a Chicken Little as much as I see it as being realistic. I guess it's a matter of expectations. In any event, I don't know how anyone can feel good about Paradis, Elfein and Miller last night. And that was basically against backups. "It was preseason" is about the best sugarcoating you can put on it.

I think he's trolling.

You realize that that's not really proving anything. I think Rhule just goes with the best option. You'll see this when he picks Grier.

Middle of the pack isn't a good thing. As for Horn or Slater, we'll have to wait and see. If both play well, then it's a matter of philosophy.

I rely don't understand your rationale. If Smitty had an ax to grind, he'd be dogging out the organization and airing dirty laundry. He loves the Panthers and wants what's best for them. And, unfortunately, that's not Joey Slye.

I don't know about that, but that kid had some quick hands on that INT.

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

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 that's the real elephant: not a sucky O-line, but the franchise's seeming inability or unwillingness to develop one that puts out QB in the best position to succeed. It's a story that we've seen for going on a decade.

It's preseason. That's all I can really say about beating the blocks off an incomplete Steelers squad. I know everyone feels good that we finally got a win in the books, but we were not facing the Steelers' best, and we were really supposed to beat them pretty handily, and we did. Our defensive unit looks pretty amazing! It really does. The addition of Haason Reddick and Daquan Jones brings instant dividends. I don't think many statuesque QBs and anything less than a stout line will have a chance against them. They're going to give the opposition some problems. As long as the backend holds up their end of the bargain, we'll easily be a top 10 unit. I was definitely encouraged by Jaycee Horn's lockdown prospects last night, but even more encouraged by Donte Jackson's sure tackling. Moreover, our safeties, as a unit, may be better than advertised. They have some attitude, and look to know what they're doing out there, but we'll see in September. One thing I hope that we don't see next month is the O-line getting pushed around like styrofoam peanuts on breezy day. I mean, the interior implodes time and time again, like you're looking at the same bad scene of a video on loop. I don't have to explain the repercussions. Darnold will NEVER be all that he can be--Darnold v. 2--nor will he be able to effeciently play with all the great new toys in his toy box if he's running for his life. And, I don't even know if CMC can negotiate the waves of hands and arms as they come crashing into the backfield like a storm surge on the "dirty side" of a hurricane. Now, of course, it's preseason...Maybe we haven't seen our O-line's best. Maybe we've seen the vanilla version--yes, I'm being sarcastic--like that's really a thing for the offensive line. Imitation vanilla! [*chuckles*] Rhule needs to stop mixing it up! The offensive line needs to gel--develop chemistry and comfort, not be playing some ill-conceived version of musical chairs because this leads to an effective riot in the pocket and in the backfield. I mean, every series you're beginning to expect a jailbreak by the opposition. You're holding your breath like when Joey Slye is attempting a field goal. And, I'm not necessarily talking about how just fans are feeling, Sam Darnold could easily be feeing the same thing. We have roughly a couple of weeks to get our sh¡t together on the O-line, or this season might just become one helluva fait accompli on many levels. The O-line play is not acceptable, and unless they can pick someone up, or maybe scheme around deficiencies, I'm afraid that the term "big uglies" is going to be more literal for Panthers fans in 2021.

I have to see more. He was somewhat uneven. Our O-line didn't help matters.

"The only person madder than him is probably a postal worker!" LOLOL

He's fine! The collapsing of the O-line has caused a little happy feet. Sam has been off target a little bit, and should've had one picked. But he's doing OK.

I was like, "What the fug?" His career stats (if you can call them that) aren't too inspiring.

Step on up Luvu!

I remember, not too long ago, when some Huddle experts were telling me how Perryman was so much better than the dude that essentially made him expendable.