d-dave

Look, it wasn't just Cam and CMC. The ENTIRE TEAM got whooped in all three phases. Who stood out as being exceptionally good? No one. I appreciate the frustration, but generally speaking, CMC and Cam have been quite successful running the read option. Sunday, no one played well.

That sucks. Just all around. I know we can talk the contract all day long, but the fact is CMC is a competitor, who makes our offense better. He and Cam are quite deadly with the Read Option game. Who hired the strength and conditioning coaches? Was that a team or a Rhule thing? I've wondered if Rhule knows how to manage NFL players.

The best advice you can give is to: 1. Learn to set a budget and stick to it. 2. Save as much as you can, finance as little as possible. 3. When paying off debts, go from the smallest amount to the largest and roll the payments into the next highest debt. Those are all really hard to do. That's why people end up in crippling debt. The biggest challenge is for people to learn to do things that are really hard to do. Like saying no to impulse spending. Taking amazon off your phone. Living on cash. Those are skills that take a while to learn. My wife and I have been working really hard to get debt paid off, and despite the challenges of life, we're making progress. I check out those kinds of articles from time to time, but they all come down to the same basic thing: live within your means.

I think Deonte is on year long, IR. I think you HAVE to put different players out there. Let's let Brady play LT. If he figures it out, great, if not, we can look for another one. Heck, why not bring Teckenburg out to play Center? Elfine can't snap the shotgun for poo. I'm all for looking at our depth guys at this point. Fug it all!

Troll post or not, I don't think some of us need to take a step back. I mean, this is a great place to vent about how crappy our team is. But some of the heated stuff just shows that some of us are taking the team a little too seriously. Look, it's just a game at the end of the day. We love to celebrate when we win and gripe when we lose, but at the end of the day it's just entertainment. I'm tuning out a bit. Sure, I'll gladly keep up, but the games are really turning me off. So I'm just going to work on enjoying life more than obsessing over a team that's going to need A BIG OLE REBUILD this off season.

It's fair to say the entire team has a crap game yesterday. All around failure. Did Cam give up those long pass plays, or let the Dolphins run over him? No. Cam did throw two ugly picks. Was it his unfamiliarity with the offense? Yes. Were they plays he should know better? Yes. Can it be a combination of all the factors? Yes. Was Cam the only reason? Nope. Did PJ "light it up?" Nope. Sometimes, you just get beat, and we got beat like a drum. That's a failure on the coaches part. They were playing to stay in the play offs, which will now require some serious magic to reach. The coaches were out coached, plain and simple. Oh, and we did not do enough to invest in quality OL so we couldn't run or keep passing lanes open...

Rhule said they weren't going full playbook, but rather the game plan. The thing is, Cam needs to get the timing with the guys down more than anything else. Cam's thrown all of the routes in his career. They just have different names. So long as he and the receivers are close, then WFT has to respect the pass. I still expect a LOT of running the ball. The main hope for most of us is competency. We don't need to throw for 400 yards and 5 TDs. We do need to string drives together. We do need to convert downs, and score points. If we can score 25ish points a game while having good ball control, then that's about all we could ask for. If we pop off for another 30+ point game, I won't complain! But I don't think anyone is expecting a miracle. That reminds me of something I heard: Who is under more pressure? Cam or the Coaches? While I know Cam wants to win, it's really up to the coaches to make it happen via the game plan.

I'm not sure in "team history" because it's all still a bunch of unknown. Am I excited? Yes! I can't wait to see Cam run out of the tunnel, the "juice" in the city and stadium, it's all going to be there! BUT! The team still has to execute. What happens the moment a ball is tipped and picked? Or Cam throws a bad pass? Or he get's smothered half a second after the snap of a ball? Many of us are living high on excitement (myself included!), but the reality is a football game must be played. I have NO idea what will realistically happen. I have hopes, and that's enough to get through this weekend!

Yeah...was it Bill Voth or Darin Gantt or @Zod who said that Cam Newton makes people stupid. I feel like that is really appropriate in this circumstance. I mean, I get that the dude is stumping for a group of people who have questionable beliefs in anything, but if we just look at football, it's not even close. The Golden Calf of Bristol was a fun story, but even God couldn't help him secure a long term starting gig. TGCOB was a great college player who never had the ability to play in the NFL. Anyone with 30-40 working brain cells can see that. Now folks don't like Cam because he's himself? Welcome to 2021. Cam helped to break the mold of the dad jeans say nothing QB. I mean, people didn't like Joe Namath because he was authentic. For every QB who had an outsized personality, there were always detractors. Now QBs are much more free to be who they want. Want to be a white new balance, bowling shirt and acid washed jeans Russel Wilson? Go for it! Want to be a whiney melomaniac? Feel free Aaron Rodgers! Braided leather belts? By all means Matt Ryan! Cam took the heat, and made it much easier for QBs to express themselves as the person they were - not just the boring mouthpiece of a coach.

I've heard and read a fair amount of nuance on this very topic. I think it played out like this: Everyone happy to work together. Cam wasn't willing to give up money/security to make Rhule & Co feel secure. Based on his injury history the past two season, Rhule & Co didn't feel great about rolling with Cam and Kyle Allen. Brady & Rhule wanted Teddy because of system familiarity and they loved the guy. Cam is Cam - both the good and the bad of things. Rhule decided to break with Cam over contract/health issues. A business decision for the team. Then began the complete cluster fug of QB mistakes leading to tons of money to Teddy and Sam when the guy they needed was always there... I think it was a decision that seemed good at the time, but it's very easy to point to who wrong it was. And heck, maybe Cam needed his current experience to realize how important being a Carolina Panther was to him? You can't go back in time and play what-if games. Instead, you have to keep going forward!

They have a strong DL, even without Chase. If we can keep the energy, play for the home crowd, I think we can win this. On Defense - don't get beat by McLaurin - a real star in the NFL. If Taylor get's time, he's going to hit #17, and that's going to be rough. Still have to control the line of scrimmage and keep them from establishing the run. I just hope that Panthers don't get cute. Play good solid football, protect the ball, force some turnovers and get after the QB. If we can do that, then we'll be good.

He's been so sneaky good! I think we have to try to keep him, but if someone is going to overpay, then we'll have to figure something else out. If nothing else, he's been great for Brown's development as a run stuffer for sure.

It was an incredible moment. As far as all time history? Meh, I'm not sure there. We've had some incredible plays over the past few decades of the team. BUT! If the Panthers turn their season around and make the playoffs - then this moment is transformational for team for sure. It really needs to be followed up with more wins. A fantastic moment, I was jumping up and down and making a deal in my house. My dogs were quiet worried. My wife just smiled that sad smile of "I said yes to this?" I will remember that moment for a while. I was so pumped up! But for that to really be a franchise altering moment, then this team needs to win, win, and win some more. If Cam is able to elevate this team, and we truly become contenders; then this is going to be a turning point moment for sure. I hope it is!

It's not a matter of getting cute, in my opinion. It's much more a matter of giving yourself the best chance of winning. If Cam is able to get the offense under his belt, that's a great step. Another part is to get his timing with his receivers down. What Cam can do with CMC is pretty magical, they have excellent chemistry. I think it's going to depend on how quickly Cam and the WRs get comfortable with each other. I have no problem is PJ starts, plays, and Cam has more packages. We NEED to win next week. Our margin for error this season is so thin.

I'm not tape guy, but I did see a lot more pocket space for PJ. Someone was making the right calls and adjustments. Was it Elfein? Was it PJ/Cam? I have no clue. All I know is that it looked SO MUCH BETTER. So I'll take that!

A fan doesn't have to qualify their fandom. How insecure do you have to be. You can not like the Cam signing. That's fine. You can't deny that this helps to reenergize the fans base.

Man, I hope that's the case! Rhule needs to really concentrate on making the team better on the field. Let Fitts do his job. I agree 100% that this was to get the fans back in seat. Getting butts in seats, buying soda, beer, programs, whatever is a LOT of revenue. It also doesn't hurt that every QB decision Rhule has helmed as backfired spectacularly... Cut Cam, Sign Bridgewater to $31 million guaranteed, then trade after a season, trade for Sam, not sign a vet backup... Just a bunch of piss poor decisions. I have no idea what Cam has left, but it was about the best move the team could have made. If it upsets rule, he's got $70million to cry into. Tepper showed he gives zero fugs about spending cash to improve the team. Speaking the Boss man, I think back to the 88/58 retirement, when Tep made it a point tell them that they would bring Cam home when the time was right, or something a long those lines. Guess it's that time.

I don't think we'll be back to Cam getting 20 carries a game, but I do think the strategic use of the zone read is going to help slow defenses down and open up the rest of the offense. He'll also be the redzone threat he's always been. I have no doubt that Cam can do anything Darnold could do, just better. God, if he cut down on the turnovers, got us 3 more 3rd down conversions a game, that's MILES better than Sam.

Well, Brady is a "boy genius" of an OC so this should be pretty easy, right? The reality is Brady has worked some zone read into his plays the past few years with Teddy and Sam. That's now a much more important aspect of the playbook. Cam can still make all the throws so as soon as Brady and Cam get on the same page, there should be zero training wheels. Honestly, the team needs to let Cam be Cam. Don't pull him unless he's hurt. If he has a bad game, let him bounce back. No more training wheels. Heck, Brady should be thrilled at this development!

My son just loved Cam "Newkun" Newton (he called him Newkun when he was 4), and he would actually watch games with me to see Cam give balls to kids in the stands. He loved that. Since Cam got released, he has shown considerably less interest in the Panthers. Today, when my wife told him, he ran around the house in joy, dabbing and doing the Superman. Who knows what the final tale will be this season, but he brings excitement and joy back to the team. That's got to count for something!

Looks to me that Cam wants to remain here. I think this will be an interesting off season. Going to have to pull some cap magic if Cam turns out to be a good QB for us.

So....spot.....on!!!

I have no idea the value of any of this. I just know I'm so pumped right now. I'm so excited again! I love that. I was pretty much meh on the rest of the season. I'd rather scrub toilets on a Sunday than watch the Panthers. If nothing else, that changes for a while. I'm excited again! If Cam helps us score more points, covert 3rd downs, then we will be a MUCH better team. He doesn't have to be a Madden Cheat Mode, he just needs to be competent. Now if our OL can give him some time...

Right now, it's hope. I'm thrilled to have Cam back. He's meant so much to this city, team and community. I don't expect 2015 Cam, but I'd love to see a QB who makes good decisions and throws the ball with some accuracy. If Cam can help us score some points, covert some 3rd downs, then we will be so much better.

Thinking more immediately, we need to go back to what was our success in the first three games - quick passing game. Spread guys out. One of the problems we've had with packing it in for running plays is that it gave defenders a shorter route to the ball. Rhule can say he wants to be a pound the rock team, but that's not going to happen. If you look back at those first three games, there was more shotgun, spread, and passes that were ready when Sam dropped back. We were also more willing to throw into that 2nd level. This team was made to run this Joe Brady version of the Saints offense. We don't have the big bodies to pound people into submission. I have no idea what the future holds, but going back to what they actually spent TC doing probably won't be worse than what we're seeing now.