electro's horse

Buccal fat removal and one plastic surgeon on YouTube thinks he did.

Panthers entered the year with high expectations. They stumbled out of the gate, and when the dust settled they had one win, tons of losses, and were complete afterthoughts in regards to the playoffs. To make matters worse, they had lost their best offensive player. However, things began to stabilize and the team started to play better. They began leaning on an afterthought running back. Their line solidified, helped in part by a first rounder playing his first season at left tackle. The defense began playing very well. They were led by a young DE, and first round draft pick corner, and a veteran linebacker who was playing out of his mind. By the end of the season, the Panthers were poised to make the playoffs, and were generally considered a team that no one wanted to play. All they had to do was beat two teams: the Bucs and the Saints. of course that was 2004, but the similarities are....interesting. Both teams failed to live up to expectations but for far different reasons. In 2004 the Panthers were coming off a close Super Bowl loss (less said about it the better). This year was the fabled third year of "the process" and the NFC south was prime for the taking. In 2004, the Panthers season was derailed by injuries. In 2004, the Panthers lost Davis, Smith and Foster within the first five weeks of the season. On defense, they lost Kris Jenkins (the teams best player in 2003), and Dan Morgan was in and out with several injuries. In 2022, the Panthers have been derailed by...Matt Rhule. The panthers were in even worse shape record wise in 2004: they were 1-7 compared to 1-5. The one early win in 2002 was in Kansas City, which was most memorable for a TD pass Delhomme threw backwards while literally being spun around. In 2004, Steve Smith broke his leg the first game of the season against Green Bay. Thankfully Moose was in Contract Year Mode so the significance was readily apparent at the time, but Smith had just signed a new contract, was considered the future of the team, and I always like to think back on how we would have done if he'd been healthy. In 2022, the Panthers also lost their best offensive player. Instead of injury they traded him instead. A big part of the ship getting righted in 2004 was the offensive line. Gross switched to LT from RT due to some injuries and shuffling around, and by midway through the season things had really solidified. Today, the line has been solidified with another young high draft pick LT. Since losing CMC, the panthers offense has played much better. Foreman is a better fit for what they're doing right now and the talent they have at the QB position. It's weird, but the team just isn't good enough right now to maximize him. Back in 2004, it was Nick Goings, who was averaging close to 100 yards a game as the Panthers lead back in the 2nd half of the season. He wasn't fancy; he just leaned his head forward and took what the line gave him. In 2022, it's Foreman and a couple other nobodies. If the circumstances were different, I think the Foreman acquisition would compare favorably to Stephen Davis...just with less broken jaws after Michael Westbrook haymakers The two defenses have a lot of similarities. Obviously we have Burns, Horn, and Luvu now, but back in 2004 it was Peppers, Gamble, and Fields. Burns is good, but I don't think anyone is going to confuse him for Peppers. Peppers was probably the best player on the team in 2004, and in my opinion it was his best season as a Panther. He was just unstoppable at times. Reminder, he did this all without Jenkins. Horn isn't a rookie per se, but he didn't play much his first year. Gamble was a rookie in 2004 and played lights out. Most people don't remember that his 2005 campaign was actually somewhat of a disappointment compared to his 2004, and in 2005 he would be supplanted as the "number 1" corner by Ken Lucas. I think I'd take Horn over Gamble any day, but I think he's also the Real Deal, and have always thought Gamble was overrated. Luvu is a heat seeking missile and one of the most fun players on defense to watch, but he's no Mark Fields. Fields finally got over his treatments for NHL about halfway through 2004. Recall that Fox and Del Rio had actually designed the defense around Fields. We all know the story; at half-time of the niners game in 2004, Fields called everyone together and told them to get their poo together. Panthers came back at halftime and went on a tear. Fields was a monster for the rest of the season. Luvu has a flare for the big play, but he's not the constant presence Fields was back then. And hey, look how we finish the season this year! Back in 2004, both the Bucs and the Saints were flagging. The Bucs Super Bowl window was firmly shut and they were desperate for an infusion of young talent. They ended the season losing 5/6 games and the Panthers routed them. The current Bucs are probably a season away from something like that. They're a banged up team led by a washed up tom Brady who's barely effective. They're winning close games against bad teams due to Brady's "intangibles," but this is a team clearly on the way down and staring at a likely full rebuild and new coaching staff regardless of whether or not they make the playoffs. The saints are currently staring at a big rebuild too, without draft picks to boot. Back in 2004, they were kinda in perpetual 8-8 hell. Heading into week 17 against Carolina, they'd won three in a row to get to 7-8. The panthers were "win and they're in" and most people assumed Carolina would blow them out. But the Saints could ALSO make the playoffs if a bunch of other stuff happened. The panthers defense came out and destroyed the saints on their first drive; I remember this because I was at the game and Delhomme came out onto the field to celebrate with the defense when they forced a punt on the Saints first possession. Unfortunately, the Saints defense just murdered the Panthers that day. Jake took 6 sacks and they couldn't get anything going. It was the kind of game where, in the stands, everyone realized very early that New Orleans had come to play and the Panthers had not. Of course there was another game late in 2004 towards the end of the season that ended in an overtime loss and we are absolutely not going to talk about it ever again. Lots of difference between the two seasons, obviously. But I don't think these teams are really heading in the same direction. In retrospect, 2004 was kinda the last best chance at a Super Bowl for that first wave of the Fox panthers. Yeah they beat Chicago in Chicago in 2005 (top 5 panthers game ever) but that team was very inconsistent. The offense was very weird (the 2nd leading receiver was Deshaun foster) and a lot of the older pieces, especially on the offensive line, started showing their wear and tear. Looking back 2004 was the best chance for a SB in the Fox era, and in my opinion would have been a better team than 2003 if not for the injuries. I think this Panthers season is actually closer to 2002. That season, they had a new coach, they had a lot of early growing pains, but by the end of the year they were playing very good football, and everyone on the Super Bowl team said the strong finish in 2002 propelled them into the next year. All they needed were a couple of draft picks, hit on a couple of free agent choices, and bada bing bada boom Super Bowl. Oh yeah, that kid returning punts is actually a hall of fame player, so uh, time to step it up Shi Smith if we want this comparison to continue.

Baker looked good against a Raiders team that can lose to anyone and a Broncos team that has completely quit and might be in open revolt. He looked like...Baker...against the Packers. Obviously I'm happy for the guy and I don't hold any ill will towards him. Things were a poo show here in Carolina for his sting, and McAdoo is on record saying he didn't want Baker coming out of college and didn't think much of him. But he's had 2 games against dead teams, and he's with probably the best offensive mind in the league.

hell, same

If it’s a close game in the fourth then all of the flags will fly.

Brady is washed and the window is almost completely shut on Tampa but there's no way in hell they're losing to the Trace McSorley led Cardinals

oh and ftr I work ortho trauma on the side so I literally look at, set, reduce, and splint broken bones all day and I am working on xmas day and if you argue with me about this I fuging swear to god

I generally only worry about "injury prone" if they're soft tissue, non contact, or neurological. he broke a bone in his foot on probably the worst field in the NFL that is actually large palettes of grass that are just kinda stuck together. It's a crime that this field is allowed to exist but the McNair family just HAS to be able to host the annual Texas cattle suck and fug or whatever it is. This wrist looks like it was from a team mate slamming in to him from a weird angle while he was making a tackle. Bones break, it's what they do. Wrist is a weird area where there's a long of vasculature and nerves and you risk SERIOUS life long injury if you don't listen to the doctors. It sucks but he went the entire year on his foot without issue and it's not like he's Julio Jones with a hamstring that locks up every 2nd quarter.

By all accounts from the beat writers, baker looked better in practices.

well in his defense he's shown very good hands this year

absolutely not

hm?

he literally just deflected that pass he can't control the refs and there's Luvu, doing Luvu things

that's a bad call

honestly pretty amazing drive.

might have looked different on television but he was a tackling machine yesterday. I think the big thing with him this year overall, especially over the past 3-4 games, is he's looked hesitant and I'm kinda suspicious he's injured. but he played fine yesterday, again from the stands at least.

Specifically, there absolutely is a talent gap between the panthers DB depth and Pittsburgh’s WR depth. Steelers just poo WR and very few teams can match them DB-WR. generally, not sure how you can watch yesterday and say there’s not a talent gap. Sure looked like a more talented team beat a less talented one yesterday.

Horn was fine from what I saw. “don’t get beat deep” is the hallmark strategy for a team with poor depth/talent in the secondary and that’s exactly what the panthers are.

Like I said, I don’t think they have the personnel to make the adjustments.

Seahawks just last week.

I wrote this on another forum that isn’t panthers specific so pardon some of the ”no poo” observations The lack of radical or desperate in game adjustments, that frankly the panthers don’t have the personnel or coaching to make, make me think Wilks has been told he has the job I was at the game so some details might be off here but it’s based on what I saw from 126. Steelers called a perfect game to take advantage of the panthers weaknesses. On defense they played cover 1/0 and dared darnold to beat them. As I can recall he only went deep twice; one was a badly under thrown ball to Marshall, and the other was to Marshall and drew an end zone PI. On offense, they did what a bunch of teams have done with their run game against the panthers which is head to the outside. Panthers are bad at contain; burns struggles when the ball is run at his side, and they don’t really have a good DE opposite him. Additionally, the panthers can’t cover wide well with their linebackers; just not a very fast group. The previous two problems are so bad I wouldn’t be upset if the panthers went LB or DE in the draft, pending what they do with coaching/qb to make matters worse, the Steelers feasted on the panthers fifth string DB. Keith Taylor jr should not have been single covering anyone, but I don’t think they have the personnel to make up for it. Chinn (played well yesterday) was needed in the box, and woods is garbage. Pretty clear that strategy was just to not get beat deep and hope the blitz could get trubisky. They only completed one deep pass, and that was an uncalled OPI (and a badass catch on top of that so I’m not upset) Anyway, the panthers never panicked and changed anything. The panthers played like they understood their weaknesses and limitations, and that they aren’t changing that this year, to say nothing of halftime. Sorta struck me as the actions of someone who’s had a conversation and been given some assurances. You’d think if Wilks was feeling like he’s gone with a loss he would have changed the game plan, limitations be damned. they would have gone for it on fourth down in the red zone, or taken more deep shots or something. And in a better situations there are definitely calls I question, but it is what it is right now. if another team limits turnovers and takes away our running game it’s going to be difficult for the panthers to win. The players aren’t on the roster. We play fox balls and frankly I think that’s the right move for the team right now. Anyway that’s my thought on the situation

I actually think he coached today like he has been told he has the job. conservative game plan, Steelers came out and played better, didn’t go nuts because his qb is Sam darnold, etc

How did no one get this

The blood of Chufk Knoll is all but spent, its pride and dignity forgotten. It is because of The Steelers that the Rapist Roethlisberger survives. I was there Zod. I was there twenty six years ago, when the strength of the Steelers fell. It should have ended that day, but the Steelers were allowed to endure.

Does this breakdown adjustments the panthers made after halftime