d-dave

Thank you for all the release metaphors! It's helped make my morning But no...just eww..

I agree. Father Time is undefeated. Linebacker is a physical position, and Shaq's injuries are piling up. Sometimes you have to just know your time to hang'em up. I don't think anyone should denigrate Shaq's leadership or his history with the team, but that's all in the past. If it's week 4 and we're down all our LBs, sure, bring him in. But for camp and the season, we need youth. Jewell is the elder statesman here, but even he's had his fair share of injuries. So at this point, I'd rather live with youth and mistakes while they learn instead of older vets who will get hurt more frequently.

I wouldn't be surprised given how the NFL swings, but I'm not getting my hopes up for that. Regardless of win totals, I want to see the following in 2025: 1. Continued development and improvement of Bryce and the offense. This is coaching and player-related. 2. An improvement in the defense from historic bad to mediocre. Anything beyond that is great. Even at mediocre, we could have pulled off a few more wins last year. 3. The development of a strong core of leaders and a team identity emerge. Wins? I expect 6-8, some improvement, but we're not quite there yet. Injuries are the greatest equalizer in the NFL, and we lacked depth across the board last year. Maybe we're healthier this year? Or our depth shows well when injury strikes. I don't know. Now look, we could go on a tear and win 10+ and the Division. I wouldn't be sad at all there, but I also don't see it as being likely. But it would be cool!

20 years or so here... God, I am getting old, this sucks lol

Yeah, my family did the Charlotte Area Book Crawl last week, and we got to see a LOT of the city. It's changed! Some good, some bad, but at the end of the day, there's a lot going on in town.

Fox Media has really been killing it, right? Lots of great and smart choices like that to inspire confidence from the shareholders!

I think it's just doing due diligence. Maybe they decide to take him at 8? Maybe they trade back to 15 and pick him? Maybe it's just a smoke screen so people think we're interested and either feel the need trade up for him or it lets one of our defensive player we desire slide?? I love the intrigue of the draft!

This is why these guys get paid the big bucks. It's their job to assess not only the raw evaluation of a player, but also how well they fit the scheme and team. Often we hear the phrase "dropped of a team's board" in relation to a medical or personal evaluation. I do enjoy the draft season so we can see all the hot takes from national media heads down to the loudmouth in the next cubicle over who is a Jets fan. I've taught with several Jets fans...and I don't feel out of line with my judgement

Funny thing, didn't Gettleman talk about quarters and dimes??? Just a funny memory of bygone era of Panthers FAFO....(Free Agency/Front Office, RIGHT???) Carter is the best edge in the draft in the pre-draft process. I think that's the general consensus. But we're not an edge away. We need talent at every position aside from QB (for now, we'll see), and MAYBE RB. But the rest of the team needs young players hungry to take a vet's job. I'd rather have more shots at the dart board with the hope that we can get some meaningful depth and maybe starters out of this.

This is why you have to be careful, just everyone. Green needs to be careful of who he surrounds himself with. All it takes is even the hint of suspicion to open up an investigation against him. I'm not saying all NFL players need to be choir boys who got to bed by 9PM with a glass of milk, but he needs to have a strong support network that is watching out for him. That doesn't mean covering things up for him, but guiding him to better decision making for the future. An NFL team that wants to drop a major investment into the young man also has to do it's research. I'd talk to every ex GF he's had. I'd bring a behavioral psychologist as well to see how they react and read body language. Lots of guys can clean up their image in short order, but if there's an underlying issue, there are signs even that can't hide. His talent is undeniable. Dude could be an excellent edge defender for many teams in the NFL. But if he goes to jail, it's hard to play. If he becomes a pariah, it's hard to pay him. Look, billionaires aren't clean people, they are just rich enough to keep their secrets safe. Any team considering drafting Mike Green is going to have to do a LOT of research and investigation into someone with that kind of background, innocent or guilty. After all, you don't want to invest a high pick in Green, only to lose him and the value to the team.

Our offseason mantra needs to be "the draft is a crap shoot!" Right??? Now Carter is very interesting. Some talking heads consider him the best, safest pick in the draft because his skills are translatable. His floor is a high end pass rusher, ceiling perennial DPOY. He played through injury at Penn State and was a force in his final game. Dude has all the tools. Who is graded out better? Well...there you have wide variety of opinions. The biggest question would be: do the Panthers have a high enough grade for him? If he drops, I think you really have to think hard about it (depending on your board). What's the dawg count in him??? Or do you take the best edge you can at 8 and let the rest fall where it may? The draft is always surprising and full of "no duh" moments. But if Carter falls to four, I think NE is going to have a LOT of calls.

Well, Nat is a LOT more plugged in that most of us So it looks like we're going to have balance the idea of a stupid high "tools" guy versus a more proven player. Drafting for traits over production... Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose.

I saw Dane Brugler from the Athletic ask someone there and since the 40 was hand timed, the three he trusted most were in the 4.53-4.57 (4.55) range for him. So take that for what it's worth. Honestly, were I a GM, I'd want to see his GPS figures to see how well he changes directions and his actual game speed when running routers and running away from people. Tet's game is size and short area movement, not long speed. Would it be helpful? Yes. Can he rush the passer? No.

I will say if he makes this trade/contract - it's going to define his term at GM/Boss Boy of Football. It could be a great move for him and the Panthers. Or it could be a massive overpay for a 2nd tier WR who can't carry the load or value of a $30 million a year contract. I'm not an NFL insider, I have no idea, I'm just spouting my thoughts and ideas.

I feel better grabbing a good run stuffing DT and an interior pressure guy. Adding one of the best safeties on the market was a good grab as well. Keeping Horn and Jackson together could be good. Now we just need to find pass rushers from the edge. So I am feeling better on paper, but at the end of the day, it's just paper. It depends on how well they coaches can coach...