d-dave

As much as the draft is a crapshoot, especially with QBs, I'm fine going all OL this year in the draft. We have to fix that. It won't matter who the QB is if the OL is escorting DL to them and we can't run the ball.

Carter was a 5th round pick. Smaller, not blazing fast, but fiesty. He needs Shaq. Carter is an adequate NFL starter, which is pretty good for a 5th round pick. I think he's a little better than a JAG. I mean, we've seen Whitehead who is kind of the ultimate JAG. When Carter and Shaq are in the game, we play well. Shaq is a really good LB. He's got athleticism, the smarts, the vision, and he sat and learned from two of the best to play in the modern era with 58 and 59. Carter can't man the fort the same way Shaq can, but he's a nice complimentary player who is smart and studies. He just doesn't have the physicality Shaq does. Could we upgrade? Sure, but he's not the issue. Getting our offense to stay on the field and score TDs is the big issue.

I think it's too early to really tell if Rhule is a good NFL coach. He's always had traits: excellent motivational speaker, seems very hands on in practice, and engaged in all areas of the team. The Panthers also haven't quit. They are still fighting. Sure, the offense may go no where, but the D is still bringing it each down. That means something. But he's got some major issues in game management (timeouts, situations), and he should probably back off being a dictator and concentrate more on being a coach. There is nothing wrong with a coach telling the GM the types of players they need, and letting the GM do their job. It's another thing to be the final voice in all decisions. I think if Matt really just let other do their jobs and concentrated more on his own, then it will only do better for the team.

How do y'all think that Miami isn't as much of a cluster as we are? Could be that Watson would rather have the larger city to disappear in with a much more "exciting" nightlife. He could also be looking at the tax situation and thinking that Miami is a better because he keeps more of his cash. He could just love the beach, and Miami is closer to that than Charlotte is. Sure, the complaints about the Panthers are all very valid, but let's also not forget about the non-football aspects of the various locations.

The whole thing is so heartbreaking. He was so recklessly irresponsible. Not just his life, but the lives he ended, and the families and community...damn, it's just so terrible. I've been drinking a long time. I've been driving a long time. Never have I ever driven drunk. That's one of those responsibilities that people need to learn - no matter their gifts or lack there-of. These kinds of stories just make you sick. All the wealth and opportunity wasted, lives lost, and more.

What a cowardly thing to do. Rodgers tried to have it both way. At least people like Cole Beasely wear it on their sleeves. For someone so fond of calling out others despite being a super sensitive snowflake, this should be a much bigger deal. The vaccine isn't as much the issue as the lying and the cover up. Rodgers isn't above the rules both the NFL and NFLPA created.

Moving forward, what happens when teams put 8-9 in the box because we can't pass. Why worry about the receivers when they have dropped more passes than an average team in a season? There's a good chance that any deep or intermediate shot will be dropped or just missed. While it was great to grind the Falcons down, that's not going to happen every Sunday. Again, it's up to the coaches to figure out something that works. They are going to have to do more in the passing game, more variety of routes and stuff or teams are going to run them for us...

I hate that for him. As a human being, you don't want to see this happen to anyone, but hopefully he can get the help he needs to be happy and healthy. Yeah, it's great from a play perspective because he's a really good WR, but beyond the field, you wish nothing but the best for most of these players. They are giving up their bodies for our entertainment, and I just wish him the best.

I was really happy to see how Sam was playing today. Playing in the plays, not doing stupid things. His feet looked better, calmer. It really helped to run the ball effectively, and we're going to have to live and die by that the rest of the season. I will say this: Sam has guts. Running power like that, constantly running and making plays when guys aren't open to convert downs. He also played well despite his guys continually letting him down with drops. He has plenty of issues, but Sam played well today. It's not enough to overcome the bad games, but he just needs to keep playing this this today: under control.

It was a good read, Jake is very insightful. I think it comes down to pressure and expectation. Like in NY, Sam was the #3 over all pick, has all the tools, and the expectation was for him to save a poo franchise. While I think Sam seems like a really nice, if completely bland dude, I'm not sure he has the make up to be the "man." Like, in our first 3 games, there were zero real expectations. The goal was for him play better, which he did. Then after that start, the P word gets tossed around. Everyone expected Sam to continue to elevate. But he folded. So for the team, the question becomes how do you find a way for him to be successful? You have to run the ball effectively. The plays have to work. As Dan Orlovski pointed out, the plays were the exact same. That's not what Sam needs. Sam needs to be guided into his reads and his throws. Think like Kyle Shanahan style offense. Where an idiot can make the read and throw the ball to playmakers. Then let Sam grow in that. I think the yanked the training wheels off too quickly on Sam. Will Sam be our guy for the long term? Probably not. But we need to try to get some value out of Sam. I think fans can deal with us losing, so long as the team doesn't quit. It's one thing when the other team is just more talented. It's another when you just fold. Sam needs to play better, period. Now it's not on all the coaches. Sam has to actually do the things. If he's not/can't, then no amount of coaching will fix that problem. That's where we are now - figuring out which party is liable.

Man, that was fun to watch. I loved Cam in his prime. He made the game so much fun! The problem is we beat him to pieces. Do I think Cam could come in and be productive? Sure, I think so. Would he be the Cam we remember? No. He's still a good runner, but he's not the magic man he was. His passing has improved, but is he good enough for a timing based system where you need to anticipate? No clue there. Cam is not the MVP he was, and I'm not sure he would want to come back considering how Rhule dumped him so hard and fast. But it would get butts in seats for a while. Heck, it might even be fun, in a terrible way.

That was an interesting segment. The problem is, we have no other choices. No offense to PJ, but his execution of the offense is probably not much better. His accuracy along with WRs who have been dropping the ball like crazy the past few weeks is not a good recipe for success. I don't know that a practice squad QB is going to do anything either. The reality is that the Panthers coaches have to fix things on their end. They have to coach Sam, make a competitive game plan, and figure it out. I'm not holding out much hope for the rest of the season, but that's what needs to happen. No one is coming to rescue you.

Again, fug Alec Baldwin. Don't care as much about him. But he does play a large role in this as a producer of the film. Producers do a lot of "making stuff happen" in the film industry. They know people, they hire people, they negotiate contracts, etc. Baldwin would have been in on these negotiations, and my understanding is they cheaped out and did no go union (IATSE - professionals) for many of their contracts. That lead to the crew walk out as well as unqualified people doing important safety jobs. I also understand that the weapons were used for target practice earlier in the day. I can't imagine that. I will hulk-rage when people mess with show props, even weeks out. If I was the armorer for this show, I would have been keeping those guns under lock and key, and I would have mad a big, flashy, dramatic exit if I found out people had been playing with my gun props. There's noting weird about people telling stories, even with things they don't agree with. Like I don't agree with the Nazi's, but if I had the chance to direct The Dairy of Anne Frank at a youth theatre, I'd jump on that because it's an important story for young people to learn. It's a story, and guns or uniforms are simply props to give context and sell the audience so they can suspend their disbelief for a little while. The more that comes out, the more I think Baldwin needs to be done. He didn't directly kill that woman, but he set up an environment where it could more easily happen. He, as well as the other producers, need to answer for that.

To be honest, our draft position is fugged anyway without 2nd and 3rd round picks. It would require someone willing to trade up if we go high. Me thinks the Panthers got too drunk on themselves after that 3-0 start...

I agree, 1,000%. During TC, the narrative was that the OL was going to be an issue, but most teams have OL issues. I'm just so disappointed in our coaching staff, for not at least being competitive. The team just seems so listless - which goes well beyond all the other issues this team has.

I think BC should have been playing LT from the get go in rookie camp, etc. Flipping him around the entire line has not been great for his development. Sure he's an old rookie, but he's still a rookie. They should have been grooming him since May... Again, the coaches are just as much to blame for the poopy execution. That being said. He did have some good reps. I'd say he needs to play LT from here on out. May as well see if he does improve.

I think from a running perspective, Chuba looks the part. He could be a good, quality NFL back. CMC is a different animal. Now the injuries have sucked, but we're stuck with his massive contract. Hopefully he can get heathy during this time on IR, and come back this season. While the temptation to protect him from himself is high, he's getting paid a poo ton of money, may as well make him earn it. Now if he does come back, and the offense changes for the better, then we need to get rid of all the offensive coaches lol. I get that CMC is really important, but if after a season's worth of games, you haven't figured out how to still score point and convert 3rd downs... You are a piss poor group of coaches. I love CMC, and I love watching him play. Our draft is fugged up like no other right now without 2nd and 3rd round picks. May as well try to have the best and most productive season as possible and play CMC. Then re-evaluate everything in the offseason. There will be coaching departures. Either from college or from firing. I'm not sure who does what, but I'm pretty sure things will look different in 2022.

Wow...just freaking wow. I thought it was pretty gross for this stuff from anyone. Someone died. Someone who had a full life, career and creative vision ahead of her. Fug Alec Baldwin. He's a rich movie star. Sometimes he's funny and worth watching, others not. Taunting him is in pretty bad taste considering that this was completely preventable and still under investigation. What it seems like too many people do is they forget the victims of gun violence while they lord their points over each other.

Oh, and one more thing - Party foggers heat up the liquid, which can set off fire alarms and smoke detectors. Yet another reason I'll never use them personally or professionally. Well, that and the smell makes me want to puke. I had a teacher ask me one time if we could just get the fire marshal to turn off the alarms... I laughed and told them I had zero interest in that amount of paperwork and oversight. I'd rather just use dry ice which looks better for a haunted house anyway.

I saw that this morning. Absolutely tragic. This is why you have people in charge of props and especially weapons. Why was a live round in the gun? As a theatre person, educator, whatever, I'm always triple checking safety when dealing with anything that could cause injury. It's just terrible because the DP he accidently killed was an up and comer. Just crap.

Yeah, I don't think Carolina can put together enough, even at a discount for Watson right now. We need to really work on fixing that OL for whoever throws passes for the Panthers.

Is there such thing as bad attention? Talk about being relevant again... I agree 1,000% with your sentiment there. Would be a total poo storm.

I just don't think the Panthers have the draft ammo to beat out the Dolphins or Colts. Do we want to trade away some of our great defensive players for a guy who has massive amounts of baggage, and who may or may not return to his MVP level form? I'd love to get the player Watson was before his "issues" emerged, but who knows how he will play after going through all of that? Plus, we still need that draft capital to rebuild our OL... Watson would still be running for his life behind our terrible line.

Thanks for the input. @LinvilleGorge, I have two dogs(pit and a boxer mix) who lose their bananas anytime someone comes to the door, a cat walks near the house, and anytime FedEx or UPS deliver. Amazon drivers are ninjas to them. I'm not super worried when we're at home thanks to those two! I think I'm leaning towards SimpliSafe as it seems to have the best options for us regarding price, quality, and service.

For a long time, we've had CPI, despite knowing they were more expensive than some of the newer systems. We liked how it just worked and was pretty consistent. Well, now we're running out of patience. It took them two weeks to find an appointment to come and fix our panel's radio, which require a new one. Then they didn't properly run power and the board is dead. Now we have to wait another week before we can even be worked in. So instead of sitting on my hands, I'm looking around at some of the DIY systems that offer live monitoring. Do y'all have any experience with things like Ring, Safelite, Abode or any of them? I tried to call ADT, but I'm not going to sit on hold for a sales call to get a quote.