Navy_football

The question is which Bryce shows up game 1. Do we get week 2 (2024) Bryce, or week 18 (2024) Bryce? 

I will say that his progression after the benching last year was amazing. He literally got better every game - sans Dallas. Like every week he did something we hadn't seen him do before. And it wasn't luck, toss it up for grabs plays like Penix did against Carolina. Penix was just throwing the ball as hard as he could in the direction of a receiver and hoping they'd make a play for him. What we saw from Bryce was different. Decision making, reading defenses, recognizing blitzes and where they were coming from, knowing his hot, avoiding pressure and manipulating the pocket, throwing with anticipation, taking shots downfield, and running the ball surprisingly well. Stats don't always tell the story. Did he miss some throws that he should have made - sure did. But the clutch gene is strong with this one. One score game and Carolina has the ball with 2 minutes on the clock - I'm confident he'll give them a chance to win more than he doesn't. 

I really like David Moore. He's a reliable WR. Smart, doesn't drop the ball and he's where he's supposed to be. Now, he ain't gonna route up a DB. He ain't gonna 50/50 ball a DB. He ain't gonna run by a DB either. But he runs a good enough route and catches the ball - definitely an NFL average WR. Every team could use a David Moore.

Now if this receiving group can force Dan and Dave to let him go, then this team has come a long way since 2023. A LONG way. But I will say that Horn's speed is a big deal. They don't really have another guy with speed and quickness to blow the top off the defense and make guys miss in space after the catch, though he is still a rookie and hasn't done it in the NFL. If he and Renfrow push Moore out, then we might actually have something gents. Plus I see Renfrow as Thielen's replacement in 2026. I just don't think Coker is the reliable, move the chains guy like Thielen. Could be wrong. 

2 hours ago, Gapanthersfan said:

Love smitty, but can you put him ahead of Moss, Harrison, Fitz, Jefferson, Megatron, TO , Andre Johnson, Deandre Hopkins, Evans, Tyreek and several others not immediately coming to mind? 

Smitty only has 9 more career receiving TDs than Marquis Colston (yes, I know Brees). Colston never even made first team pro bowl. It’s painful to say, but he’s not even top 10 when considering his competition 

Yeah, criminally underrated but definitely not top 10 all time. 

Say what you want, but last year Bryce gave Carolina the best QB-play we've seen a very long time. A very long time. Often with rookies at WR and TE, and a RB not known for his receiving abilities. There is much reason for optimism with added weapons, and consistency/ chemistry on the offensive line and coaching staff. Now if the defense can get to average instead of a heaping lump of dog doo, this team should win a lot more games. This season is a turn the corner season. Next season is the year to press the accelerator to the floor.

2 minutes ago, MHS831 said:

OK, switching gears here a bit because I did not want to start a thread about uniforms again because this is tongue-in-cheek humor----or is it?   

Background Information:  My wife is a Taylor Swift fan (A Swiftee).  She says that Taylor Swift puts subtle "clues" in her videos and lyrics, hinting what might be coming soon.  Here is an example of clues that may indicate future releases or upcoming events:   

I see a lot of similarities between Dan Morgan and Taylor Swift.  They both spend a lot of money and time on their hair.  They both have the same vowel (a) in their first and last names.  Taylor Swift has 11 letters in her first and last name and was born in 1989.  Morgan was born in 1978--11 years earlier.  Eerie.  So it is probable that Morgan drops hints when he is on Television.  Most recently, I noticed a shot during his appearance on Pat McAfee's show.  See if you can notice it.  I will give you 30 seconds (30 second pause).  OK, did you see it?

In the bottom left hand corner of the photo, it appears that he has a canister of roll-on deodorant.  I am guess "Axe" scented.  Just to the right of his shoulder, I see a smoothie mixer, probably a Ninja "Bullet."  "Axe" and "Bullet?" We are going to war, it seems. Then there are two mini helmets, one being Morgan's alma mater, but it is also a symbol for "hurricanes."  Fall is hurricane season, the season during which we shall go to war. Between the two helmets, there is a framed, blurry, red herring clue--Morgan's gold-plated volunteer junior deputy badge.  But the real clue is there, in the far right hand corner of the picture---a WHITE Carolina Panther helmet.  Not silver.  WHITE.  Hmmmm.  A WHITE Panther helmet in the GM's office.  What could that mean?  Men with war axes wear helmets.  Men going to war with bullets wear helmets.  Men in hurricanes wear helmets (I am speculating).  White helmets to usher in hurricane season.  The calm before the storm.  I forgot was I was doing here and think I have veered from my point, but you get the idea. 

You ok bro? Too much offseason left for you to be going full "crazy" like this. 

1 minute ago, TLGPanthersFan said:

2016 will go down as one of the worst drafts I have ever witnessed. 

#1 defense in the NFL. A bunch of rookies wasn't gonna help that unit. Yet out there with UDFAs starting on the oline and nutting up the Super Bowl.

18 hours ago, jfra78 said:

He dismantled a superbowl team, can't ever forgive him for that

Stupid! Run the defense back, and beef up the oline with high draft picks, high pedigree players. Instead, let's draft all defense and completely ignore the reason we lost the Super Bowl - oline!!!!

18 hours ago, TheSpecialJuan said:

AJ and Free are the only 106 and Park hosts I recognize. The show was dead to me when they replaced them.

Big shoes to fill with that name. "106 and Park" on BET was one of the most popular shows in the African American household at one time. Many actually cried when it was cancelled.

22 minutes ago, OneBadCat said:

Man if Greg Hardy kept his head straight we would have gone 16-0 and probably dominate a defensive battle in SB 50. He would have been the juice the defense needed to force some extra turnovers. 
 

To this day the best pass rush we ever had was Hardy and CJ in 2013/2014. Damn near every snap was relentless. 

Bro, they terrorized QBs! Especially Brees and Ryan. I loved it!

42 minutes ago, tukafan21 said:

I like these two picks more and more every day and think there is a very real chance we found our two outside edge rushers of the future in this draft.

In today's NFL, there are 4 positions that are more important than the others.  QB, Edge, LT, and WR, and if Bryce ends up being that guy for us, there is a legitimate chance we filled all 4 of those positions in the last 4 drafts with Bryce, Scourton, Princely, TMac, XL, Coker, Horn Jr, and Ickey.

If these guys pan out in the end, that's a generational run of drafting, especially when you take into consideration how poorly we've tended to draft over the years

And they're so young. This group could be around for another 10 years.

3 hours ago, Gapanthersfan said:

I don’t see it taking very long before Coker supplants himself as the firm #2 option in the WR room. It’s a crowded WR room, but he’s easily capable (IMHO) of a 700 yd 8+ TD type season. 

Very possible. But, I think TMac and XL both have much higher ceilings than Coker. Will they get there is the question. 

4 hours ago, MHS831 said:

Regardless of an early June injury, the WR room, at least on paper right now, has never been deeper.  AT needs to be the slot possession WR (Ricky Proehl) and Coker is quite possibly his long term replacement, if not a solid #2.  Renfrow could give us a solid few years as well. XL will probably improve with the TMac competition.  TMac is goofy, but on the field, he has done nothing but produce. Horn is sneaky fast, and I wonder if he would not have done better in college at a university that did not have Hunter.  He is a deep threat and was on a team with a bad OL, so his numbers were a bit low.  In fact, there are two WRs who signed UDFA contracts who will probably go to the PS and wait for a season.  We are in fine shape at WR, if everyone progresses.  

 

 

That's the caveat that many of us are skimming over. And it's a big one. Most of that room is really young, and we've seen our share of early success in Carolina at the WR position that quickly faded into obscurity. 

50 minutes ago, PNW_PantherMan said:

Yea give me the guy that can get 3 basically 100% of the time when a legit drive stalls out.  I don't understand the moon shot kicker fixation.

Well... chicks do dig the long ball

11 hours ago, LinvilleGorge said:

Maybe. Similar situation to us. Young potential but very little proven production.

Not sure why I keep hearing how good this receiving group is. They have potential. Yes. Reality of what we're counting on - 2 rookie draft picks at WR - one was a 6th rounder, another 2 rookie UDFAs at WR, 2 second year WRs - one with suspect hands and the other with suspect speed, 2 thirty years olds WRs - one closer to forty and the other hasn't played in 2 years, a rookie TE and another second year TE. That's not exactly a group I'd hang my hat on. Not yet anyways. 

13 hours ago, Donald LaFell said:

Exactly. Can’t have pressure up the middle when our QB is 5’10”

Wasn't that Brady's kryptonite too? Middle pressure doesn't allow any QB to step up to avoid speed rushers, or allow them to step into their throws. Not just a small QB issue.

1 hour ago, TheSpecialJuan said:

100% I strongly believe he engineered the 2nd round trade with Denver:

The Carolina Panthers and Denver Broncos swapped four picks in the 2025 NFL Draft so the Panthers could move up and select outside linebacker Nic Scourton with the 51st pick

Here’s how the trade broke down:

• Panthers traded: Picks 54, 74, 111, and 230 to the Broncos

• Broncos traded: Picks 51, 85, 122, and 208 to the Panthers

 

Now take a look at how much we gave up in 2024 2nd round trade with Colts (Eager hadn't been hired yet) 

In the 2024 NFL Draft, the Indianapolis Colts traded back six spots in the second round in a deal with the Carolina Panthers

Here’s how the trade unfolded:

• Colts traded: Pick 46 to the Panthers.

• Panthers traded: Pick 52, plus two fifth-round picks (142 and 155) to the Colts.

This move allowed the Colts to gain extra draft capital while still selecting within the second round. The Panthers, on the other hand, moved up to secure RB Jonathon Brooks

 

The biggest concern with taking Jonathan Brooks so early was injury. Had he not been coming off an ACL, he would have been a huge contributor last season. A bigger, stronger Bucky. 

Just now, TheSpecialJuan said:

https://x.com/pantherstopic/status/1928155996389511236?s=46&t=xeIgh_-Vr2aKxBkBJdfnKA

If Dan signs Ramsey and Blackmon...!!!

He's the GOAT Panther GM of all time! Not really a high bar, but still...

13 minutes ago, CRA said:

deep diving into the fact YAC is non-existent in this offense is just mind-blowing.   They got to solve that if they hope to get this pass game out of the NFL gutter.    

and, I think that largely falls on Canales.  

Guys are running free in Carolina's secondary all the time. Why don't we ever have guys running free in secondaries?

2 hours ago, CarolinaLivin said:

TE Tommy Tremble had successful back surgery last week, per Dave Canales. They fully expect him back for training camp. OLB DJ Wonnum had his back flare up so they kept him off the field. WR Jalen Coker is dealing with a soft tissue injury. #Panthers

https://x.com/mike_e_kaye/status/1927422905358385512

Soft tissue injury? Where? That's such a vague statement.

1 hour ago, jfra78 said:

Bryce doesn't always lead recievers and alot of times they have to stop or reach back to grab the ball.  But your not going to admit that

Of course I'll admit that. He doesn't have the strongest arm either. On top of that, he tends to not throw with a lot velocity on purpose, opting to anticipate where the receiver will be rather throwing it to him where he is. 

Will you admit that our receivers (at least in the last 2 seasons) couldn't make defenders miss in the open field?

4 minutes ago, jfra78 said:

YAC isn't just on the reciever

You're right. The QB and playcaller have alot of input too. 

But screens are a tell. That's just a guy being a playmaker. It was bad. And Canales knew it. You should be able to call a screen to make defenses stop blitzing and being so aggressive. He even tried to get the little speed guy involved at the end of the season because none of the regulars could do anything with the ball in their hands. They had tons of opportunities to make plays and rarely ever delivered. Diontae was elusive, but... Sanders and Tremble seemed like the biggest YAC guys after he left. I remember one play when Legette made a few guys miss, and one long run on a busted coverage by Coker. Neither of them were screens. I honestly can't recall another play where receivers outran defenders after the catch or shook guys in the open field. That puts a lot of pressure on the QB to constantly move the chains when teams stack the box. 

1 hour ago, CRA said:

flip side of that coin, I wouldn't say Bryce looked better than Nix either though

Yeah, Bo surprised me a lot. I don't like his game, but it's effective. He's a real gunslinger!

13 hours ago, Seltzer said:

I am not sure if we have done 

enough on defense to be great, but the offense has no excuses.

They were the worst receiving group in the NFL last season after Diontae lost his mind. 

We're putting a lot of faith in 2 second year players developing, 2 rookies (1 being a 6th rounder), a 30 years old that hasn't played in years, and a bunch of UDFA. Hopefully Dan and Brad can work their magic. 

16 hours ago, tukafan21 said:

Not really, the only QB's (other than Anthony Richardson) ranked below him are new to their teams as a placeholder starter or drafted in 2024 or 2025, not a lot of gymnastics to get there.

It's not about how many that is, if it's 20, 12, or 2...

It means there isn't a QB who's team has committed to them for the long term right now that they have ranked below Bryce.

That's not a great thing.

So 2024 draftees count if they're ahead of him, but not if they're below?

Probably better to just compare him with QBs with equal or less NFL experience? There are only 3 other first or second year QBs ahead of him. So he's 4 of 11, and on the rise. We'll see if Jayden and Bo can hold their spots. Either way, all of them had better receivers than Carolina. Hopefully your boy TMac can help in that department. 

Watching the games, CJ and Bo didn't look better than Bryce the last 8 games to me. Now Jayden was friggin lights out. That kid can spin it.