blueandblackattack

On 4/26/2024 at 6:17 AM, Shotgun said:

Cousins is a descent player but not exceptional. He's 35 and only has one playoff win.  

On 4/9/2024 at 6:46 PM, rayzor said:

So much of the time the only way to figure poo out is by fuging things up a lot and fall in your face. But you keep on trying and eventually you'll fall into some good poo.

I'm hoping that's where we are now. I'm willing to give it a shot.

3rd times the charm, right? If it worked for the Texans, it can work for us.

9 hours ago, rayzor said:

nothing really new, just thought an outsiders view on what has been going on in the offseason was interesting.

excerpt:

article linky

it doesn't go into the draft, just talks mainly about how the FA acquisitions give some insight into what they have planned. 

We'll see. We had these kinda reviews for last year too with the coaches and free agents we brought in.

CAROLINA PANTHERS

• Released: C Bradley Bozeman
• Franchise-tagged: EDGE Brian Burns
• Released: TE Hayden Hurst
• Re-signed: LS J.J. Jansen (one year, TBD)
• Signed: G Robert Hunt (five years, $100M)
• Signed: G Damien Lewis (four years, $53M)
• Released: S Vonn Bell
• Signed: DI A'Shawn Robinson (three years, $22.5M)
• Signed: LB Josey Jewell (three years, $22.75M)
• Acquired via trade: WR Diontae Johnson
• Re-signed: WR Ihmir Smith-Marsette (one year, TBD)
• Signed: CB Dane Jackson (two years, $8.5M)
• Signed: EDGE D.J. Wonnum (two years, $12.5M)
• Signed: EDGE K'Lavon Chaisson (one year, TBD)
• Signed: S Jordan Fuller (one year, TBD)

Hunt becomes the fourth guard in the NFL to reach the $20 million per year mark, with the position market exploding this offseason as a response to the interior defender market doing the same for the second year running. Carolina needs to protect quarterback Bryce Young at all costs, and this is a good first step.

With the information we learned about the guard market throughout the first day of free agency, with players like Jonah Jackson signing for $51 million over three years, we really like the value and fit for Lewis in Carolina, even though he exceeded our projection like every guard has thus far. This is now basically a third-tier guard deal, and Lewis had some encouraging play in his 2023 tape with reason to believe he could continue to improve.

Jewell is a good all-around player who will love working behind the duo of Derrick Brown and A’Shawn Robinson on early downs. He can also cover tight ends and backs over the middle in coverage fairly well, even entering his age-30 season.

Good luck running the ball against the interior defensive line duo of Robinson and rising star Derrick Brown. Robinson is a monster up the middle on early downs and reunites with Panthers defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero, who coached him with the Los Angeles Rams.

PFF FREE AGENCY GRADE: C+

https://www.pff.com/news/nfl-2024-nfl-free-agency-grades-for-all-16-nfc-teams

3 minutes ago, CamWhoaaCam said:

Waller is a talented TE, but he is injury prone.

agreed, plus with his contract on the back end, if he doesnt work out after this season we can just cut him and save $$

Got a B grade from WalterFootball, higher than I thought we'd get because of the money:

Panthers sign G Robert Hunt (5 years, $100 million): B Grade
Bryce Young was terrible during his rookie year, but his offensive line was a disaster. Young didn’t exactly get a fair shake in his rookie year, but it looks like the Panthers will be providing one for him in his second season, at least based on this move.

This is more money than I thought Robert Hunt would receive, but I get it. Hunt is a very good blocker when it comes to both pass protection and the running game. He’s a massive upgrade in the interior. The Panthers still have lots of work to do, but this was a nice first step.

He's a RG and I saw a tweet by Mike Kaye  that a few league sources said that this may mean they'll move Austin Corbett to Center.

Maybe this means they'll resign Chinn and give him another shot

1 minute ago, TheSpecialJuan said:

https://x.com/1pantherplace/status/1767272052388442229?s=46&t=xeIgh_-Vr2aKxBkBJdfnKA
 

Looks like power running is coming back, boys!

Just now, Billy Goat said:

He was projected to get $15/$16m. Seems like a bit of an overpay but I guess that's where we are.

Yup, we're not a destination team anymore with the instability, so we gotta pay a premium to get players to come here.

I wonder if this means they plant to move one of the guards to Center, like maybe Brady Christinsen? Canales did some o-line shuffling to the bucs last offseason too so that may be in the cards for one of the guards currently on the team.

6 minutes ago, Leeroy Jenkins Ph.D. said:

 

Smart move. He's the only cornerstone on our o-line and the most expensive on the roster so far, so we gotta keep him but also find a way to make room. Still pretty young and hasn't missed much time. Very reliable. He's the closest thing to a right side Jordan Gross we've had. We gotta make room if we wanna keep this D intact and have room to make some free agent signings.

According to Spotrac, they track his performance as earning a contract of $21/yr. Not that they ever end up that way, but I really like how Spotrac breaks it down how they come to that calculation based on production around players in their similar performance bracket.

https://www.spotrac.com/nfl/carolina-panthers/brian-burns-29051/market-value/

I thought he missed more time than just a few games, but his best year really was when he had another legit pass rusher on the other side. I love the guy, but he's not a game wrecker without someone else on the other side, at least thus far. But he's 25, so there's still room to grow.

I think up to $25/yr is fair, if we can restructure Moton and make room. But if it comes down to either paying out DB or Burns, I'd honestly go DB. He just has a motor that doesn't quit or slow down, and is a game wrecker without much help. But we'll see how things unfold.

On 2/16/2024 at 1:48 PM, TheSpecialJuan said:

Head coaches Head coach – Dave Canales Assistant head coach/run game coordinator – Harold Goodwin Offensive coaches Offensive coordinator – Brad Idzik Quarterbacks – Will Harriger Passing game coordinator – Nate Carroll Running backs – Bernie Parmalee Wide receivers – Rob Moore Tight ends – Pat McPherson Offensive line – Joe Gilbert Assistant offensive line – Keli'i Kekuewa Offensive assistant – Mike Bercovici

Defensive coaches Defensive coordinator – Ejiro Evero Defensive line – Todd Wash Linebackers – Peter Hansen Outside linebackers – Tem Lukabu Secondary/cornerbacks – Jonathan Cooley Safeties – Bert Watts Assistant defensive backs – DeAngelo Hall Senior defensive assistant – Dom Capers Defensive assistant – Mayur Chaudhari Defensive quality control – Bobby Maffei Special teams coaches Special teams coordinator – Tracy Smith Assistant special teams coordinator – Daren Bates Support staff Senior assistant – Jim Caldwell Vice president of team development – Brian Decker Director of coaching development – Scott Cooper Game management coordinator – George Li Strength and conditioning Head athletic trainer – Kevin King Strength and conditioning – Jeremy Scott Strength and conditioning assistant – Thomas Barbeau Human performance assistant – Timothy Rabas

Thanks for this. I am still holding out hope that Canales will hire a new Strength and Conditioning coach, especially given how much emphasis Canales makes on fitness in his own life, and was pursuing a degree in Kinesiology to be a personal trainer before coaching. Just seems like we've had the injury bug ever since Rhule hired Jeremy Scott, or at least way more than average than the rest of the league.

16 hours ago, Basbear said:

Pat is a great hire.

We'll see. I saw a Greg Olsen interview where he talked about his one year at the Seahawks and him butting heads with the TE coach for trying to make him change Mr. 3K's techniques that got him 3K, so they gave him less reps in games. Jimmy Graham also went there for a big contract and was basically benched too. Doesn't seem like the TE position is really emphasized there. But we'll see, maybe that was Carrolls influence.

Soon to be former, but maybe not Leviska Shenault is actually crushing this celebrity poker tournament incase anyone is interested. It's live right now

https://www.youtube.com/live/AgcTjYXbhCQ?si=UwSSbnKEXhYqka1B

On 2/1/2024 at 7:34 AM, rayzor said:

sorry...i know you didn't want a book, but 

the first few just talked about his nature and attitude. the guy is really passionate about coaching and has super high energy that is infectious. he's out there and involved on the practice field. the first one was a conversation with tony dungy and he was giving credit to russel wilson for helping him understand the QB position more (this was while canales was working with WRs). 

the 4th clip is from guys at pewter report talking about what they are excited about (a lot of the same things from the above) and what they are seeing from a mic'd up practice.

the 5th is that interview with that lady on the bucs media team, which is a really good interview if you haven't seen it. in it the thing that sticks out to me is that he wants to look at what the team does really well, what passing plays and run plays that work and the team feel confident in so when the team gets in crucial situations he can call plays that make the players excited and confident going into it. 

he's a confidence builder and he gives players a reason to feel confident by making them feel good about what they do well and helping them get better at the things they need to get better at. 

one thing that they also talk about is something that i really try to do with my job in management. i get moved to departments where there is a struggle with morale and a bit of drama going on and a lot of time it kind of stems from management they have had before that either started, contributed to, or brushed aside it all. people come to work already hating their job and dreading their day and it's hard to get a lot out of them and then they leave feeling unappreciated with no desire to come back the next day. i try to get them started off with a bit of a positive tone, usually just laughing at me because i'm a bit of a goofball and when they leave i try not to have any day where i don't tell them that i appreciate them and the job they did.

morale improves, drama level drops, and production stays up. they don't dread the day. they start off with either a laugh or just shaking their head at me because i'm an idiot and they leave hearing someone say "good job" and meaning it. they may not love their job, but i think i help make it more bearable. canales has a different way of doing it being this high energy guy who is constantly trying to motivate and encourage the players and make it not just fun but help the players feel good about being there, which is something these guys really need. regardless of how much you get paid, coming to work each day can be a miserable experience or a positive one and typically management can help it become one or the other.

6th clip is i guess his introductory presser with the bucs talking about his philosophy and number 1 priority being the ball and making sure it's taken care of and that all 11 on the field are working together towards the same thing. 

7th is his idea of culture, which is what that particular group celebrates. what things they value the most as a group. it makes sense. help the group find what drives (or what would drive) them and then build on that. he then talks a bit about how they point out and address the things that they need to get rid of. show clips of 10 plays....8 will be things with a lot of good in them and then 2 will be horrible things they need to correct right away, but in the way you address them you do it in a way that is fun, but to the point...not demeaning to the player(s) involved tearing them down. (another thing i try to do).

8th is basically some life coaching stuff on how to be a decent human that people can depend on. it comes with a christian bent, but for the most part it's stuff that most people can relate to and benefit from. it comes from a place where he recognized his mistakes and what he needed to do to either avoid it or make it right. 

the last one was a lot of personal stuff about his marriage, how he messed stuff up, wrestled with hypocrisy as a man of faith, coming clean with his wife and owning everything, and then getting stuff right in his life. not football stuff, but good "getting better as people" stuff that would help cut down on personal drama with the players and help them get their heads in the game more.

 

Great breakdown, thanks

Came across this small youtuber doing coverage and reactions to Dave Canales interviews and it's really well produced. Give it a watch

9 hours ago, CRA said:

I think more signs point to Caldwell being a Tepper voice than not.   So, I lean that way.  Either way, it comes down to why take the risk of keeping him around given that if you are fan? 

Caldwell was tasked to help oversee a complete dogwater O.  One that failed all season to make adjustments to function.  In fact all it did was get worse and worse.  Same for Bryce.   And at the end of the Game of Thrones.....Caldwell ended up in the best standing with David Tepper.  Not sure how him loving football outweighs all the signs that point to him likely being a Tepper ear guy. 

 

Caldwells only task was to act as a sounding board for Frank Reich and Thomas Brown, who are the ones who were actually tasked with putting the playbook together, and even Frank said that Thomas Brown put together about 80% of the playbook during last offseason. So I don't see how any of it falls on him if the offense did bad. By that logic, would you say Dom Capers was the real architect for the defense last year and should get all the credit over Eviro? I don't think so, he had the same role as Caldwell, just on defense.

All im doing is putting dots together between Caldwell, Dungy, and Canales that he may keep him for that reason, but thats up to the coach so we'll see. I wouldn't have a problem with it either way. We can only go up from here after last year.

6 hours ago, CRA said:

Jim Caldwelll needs to go.   And quick.   

Not sure why so many don’t seem to care he is still hanging around.  What was his job last year???  And on top of that, who is still in Tepper’s good graces after the Game of Thrones reporting on Frank? Caldwell certainly seemed to of skyrocketed in standing in Tepper’s eye.  I don’t view that as good at all. 

Jim Caldwell was a winning head coach, even with the Lions, and has worked with qb's most of his career. His temperament is more like Dungy, cool calm and collected, which will be good for a young new head coach doing the job for the first time to lean on. Plus they probably know each other already since Canales is good friends with Dungy too, so there's definitely a connection there. Caldwell doesn't need clout, or angling for a head coaching job, which both of those things combined doesn't tell me he's one of these 'snitches' that were happening last year. He just loves the game.

1 hour ago, PNW_PantherMan said:

Probably deserved, but its funny how the perception of Campen went from OL whisperer to dog poo in 1 season.

I'd give him the benefit of the doubt since it only changed when Frank Reich came here, and probably told him to change their blocking scheme to match his playbook, even though our line is built for smash mouth football. But it's all speculation.

Per the Charlotte Observer:

Ron Rivera has some advice for new coach Dave Canales — and for the Panthers’ fan base

Good article, one of the quotes I like from it are

"You have to make sure you are surrounded by people that are going to help you. You want them to tell you what you need to hear, not what you want to hear.”

Hopefully Jim Caldwell, or maybe a new hire, will help with that.

Read more at: https://www.charlotteobserver.com/sports/nfl/carolina-panthers/article284724866.html

7 hours ago, Raleigh PF said:

Morale may be a problem, but I think a MUCH larger problem throughout Rhule's and Reich's tenures has been the absolute lack of leadership. 

Rhule really screwed up when he let Olsen, Cam and Luke walk out the door, not because their of their skillset, but the leadership they provided. There hasn't been a leader in that locker room since then. 

The coach can provide some leadership, but you also need the players to provide their own. Who is going to hold their feet to the fire when the coaches aren't always around? 

Until that problem is addressed, I don't think the Panthers move forward. 

Now, it's possible Derrick Brown steps up. I could certainly see that happening. And maybe Bryce will, once he establishes himself a bit more, but I don't see any other obvious candidates.

I hear ya, I feel the same way too, it's all been an issue. I think Canales has those tools after being with Carroll for over 10 years, and just his demeanor in his interviews and press conferences, I'll just say I'm cautiously optimistic. The fact is we weren't gonna make a splash in this coaching cycle, given how the last 3 years have gone, so finding someone thats younger that isn't daunted by the project he has in front of him is what we needed, instead of like Reich who treated us as an auto-pilot team.

Make no mistake, there is a problem(among others) in the Carolina locker room, and it's morale. Morale is at an all-time low, and you could see it in their eyes when you saw sideline shots, that players are kinda getting used to this circus, embracing apathy because really we haven't had the consistency or the right head coach to teach them otherwise. I've been very impressed in my deep dives finding interviews by how he commands a room and is able to articulate any question with ease, and I really hope that same positive attitude will land here as well. Cuz a team that believes in themselves and each other is a dangerous team.

This has only 382 views as of this post so I know most fans probably haven't come across it yet, so thought I'd post it here to give us a glimmer of what will hopefully turn this thing around.

He even address this positivity culture at 3:36 as the interviewer asks him that that can be perceived as weakness, and he had a great answer for that too.

Here's part 2