d-dave

Man, it's almost like there is some major systemic problems in our communities making crime, violence and drugs a viable alternative to whatever else.

I've lived in Charlotte since 1985.  I've been going downtown pretty readily for the past 20 years.  I will agree, there is a lot more to worry about.  It has gotten worse as the services and social safety has been cut and undermined.

There is also a major problem in our homes and families.  Kids don't just decide to jump into gangs and drugs.  They do that when there are no opportunities or hope.  That's not a political statement, but it's straight from the Framework for Understanding Poverty by Ruby Payne. 

8 hours ago, emcannon said:

The detached-from-reality part of my brain keeps wondering if we enter the Parsons sweepstakes

 We can all dream

10 hours ago, JPPT1974 said:

Really think that it would be both a pro and a con. As it could help the environment. But also wonder over in gas mileage there is a difference with an ordinary car to that over in an electric vehicle.

Most EVs are in the 90+ e-MPG meaning some measurement house somewhere compares the EV to a similar ICE model and works out how much is costs to charge (on average) versus fill up as a point of comparison.

Talking long term, in the hundreds of thousands of miles?  No clue.  Some early signs are that EV batteries maintain 80% charge over 400k miles.  So there's that.  

The challenge and charm of an ICE vehicle is being able to park it under a tree, get your jack stands out and tinker with your engine.  There's just not that same level of complexity in an EV.  I saw someone estimate there are 200 or so moving parts in an EV, and 2000 in an ICE vehicle.  I'm not a part counter so I can't really speak to that.

I think that the EV is more the future than any type of combustion engine.  Those will still be around in specific purposes, but for most people - an EV will be the superior option in terms of efficiency.  I say that as someone who loves stupid horsepower numbers out of turbo 4 bangers and inline 6s...  I am one of those tinkers when I can be.

A bigger issue for EVs is going to be the ownership versus lease.  Right now, there are INSANE leases on EVs, which is great, but what do you have at the end of that lease?  Nada, maybe some equity if you're lucky.  Where as I'm almost done paying for my car, and plan to keep it until the wheels fall off (or my son wrecks it when he starts to drive).  Will EV makers do the smartphone thing and build in planned obsolesce?  Stop updating software?  I love the tech in EVs, and I think getting more cars and trucks off the road is a good thing.  But I am still just a little concerned.  Capitalism has gotten far too extractive.

24 minutes ago, LinvilleGorge said:

To be fair, you can't do any worse than 32nd out of 32 since Tepper bought the team. You or me could've been calling the shots and we couldn't have done any worse than last.

Fair for sure.  Though I'm pretty sure I would make it all worse

We could also have a team that no one wants to play for, with no hope of ever getting better.  I don't think we're in 2000-2010 Browns/Lions territory yet.

Now we are the worst team for the 2020s.  We're half way through this decade.  Will the Panthers turn it around?  Maybe.  Will they continue to suck because Tepper is poison to winning?  Maybe?  

Back to Moton, he's been a very good and consistent RT for a LONG time.  Yes, he's had a few injuries, but I don't think that the Panthers wanted to leave a bunch of uncertainty at the position.  Regardless our opinion on the FO staff, they see Moton daily.  They have a MUCH better picture of his knees and how much longer he can play at a high level than we can from where we are.

5 minutes ago, Jay Roosevelt said:

You do know that most NFL players have to manage chronic wear-and-tear-related injuries once they get into their late 20s, right? This isn't unusual. There's a difference between long-term management and dealing with a major injury.

Do you think they'd have paid him this much if they hadn't had the knee thoroughly examined and were comfortable with what they found? Honestly?

You know how air chair football managers are around here.  They all know better.  Just no one in the NFL has picked up on their incredible acumen yet.

On 8/18/2025 at 1:17 PM, HaricotVert said:

Brought home a 2025 EV last month and love it.  My previous car was almost 20 years old and woefully under powered - this one is tourqey as hell, has great acceleration, and so far dirt cheap to operate.

 

With the Lease+Insurance costing me significantly less than my employers monthly mileage expense allowance this is a car that's paying me.

 

325 mi range on a full charge - 265 @ 80% charge

top trim package

MB, Tesla, Electrify America, and Charge Point locations all over

 

Very nice!  Congrats!

For me, I'm pretty excited.  I always am.  I want to see a more competitive team that last year's squad.  I want to see Bryce continue to play well.  I want to see our running game put the hurt on teams.  I want to see better play from the defense.

Now, am I expecting a Superb Owl in the future?  No for 2025.  We still have a LOT of weak areas, and we just don't know if last half of season Bryce is the real Bryce?  Or was that just a flat in the pan?  

If the team sucks and is unwatchable, that's fine.   It sucks, but I'm not going to cry about it.  If we're better, then I'm all aboard the excited to see fun football again.

Hendrickson is going to be part of this negotiation.  No team is going to trade valuable assets for him without already having a contract agreement in place.  I don't think the Panthers have the ammo outside of draft capital.

And I hope they don't.  We do need to get better, but we also need to develop our young players.

It's funny that some people think Perkins is going to change things.  He was fun to watch in the XFL.  Great athlete, but there's a rather substantial difference between Spring and Fall football.  He's going to play a lot against Pittsburg, hope he's a quick study.

Look, if Perkins became the next great rags to riches QB story, please serve me up the crow.  I'll eat all of it.  But remember what happened with the last XFL MVP QB we had...

This is Bryce's year to put up or shutup.  That's just the reality.  Either he proves himself a high level starting NFL QB or we trade him and move on.

What I saw (as an idiot with a keyboard) to finish out the season was a young QB who was starting to get it.  He made plays with his feet and with his arm.  He threw some insane dimes!  Now, the production wasn't eye popping from a numbers perspective, but the dude made plays.

Its up to Bryce and Dave Canales to make it all work.  I hope it does!  I want to see my Panthers succeed!  Conversely, if Bryce stinks it up, let's work on drafting an upgrade.  But, right now in May, I'm full of Hopium and will continue to choose that line of thinking for now.  I HOPE that all the moves we made this off season lead to a better record in 2025!

Thank you for all the release metaphors!  It's helped make my morning

But no...just eww..

3 minutes ago, Khyber53 said:

Look, I love Shaq and have cheered for him since Day 1. I'd love to see him back but those injuries were all pretty major and they started coming one after another. That's usually the sign for a professional athlete that it's time to turn the page.

I think he's been an excellent linebacker throughout his career and when he took to the field beside Luke and TD, he was very much a man among equals there. I think that sadly, it is time for a new page for him, just like those other stalwarts. 

But please, ask him to come back and retire as a Panther. We'd be honored by him if he did.

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!

9 hours ago, Bear Hands said:

I see we’re at the stage where everyone is trying to showcase how OG they are lol. 

20 years or so here...

God, I am getting old, this sucks lol

On 4/21/2025 at 2:23 PM, scpanther22 said:

Funny enough Charlotte is one of the more trendier cites at the moment, 

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.

2 hours ago, MechaZain said:

Imagine paying $375 million to replace a guy up for his third Emmy in a row

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

20 minutes ago, PNW_PantherMan said:

Is the Tet visit just smoke?  Maybe they'd consider him in a trade back scenario?  I can't see them picking Tet at 8 with so much of the focus on defense.

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!

9 hours ago, Jon Snow said:

The problem with saying just take bpa is who's bpa are you talking about? Not everyone is going to agree on who's the best player available at that pick. Teams see the best player available as who's the best player for their system at their pick among the players available. We just assume the rankings are all the same but they are really not. 

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.

4 hours ago, TheSpecialJuan said:

Our very own Verge 

https://x.com/nat_nfldraft/status/1904034087309902172?s=46&t=xeIgh_-Vr2aKxBkBJdfnKA

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.

6 minutes ago, LinvilleGorge said:

I like T-Mac as a prospect but I also definitely don't think that he's a legit mid-4.4s type. If he could legit run a 4.48 he would've done it at the Combine. Him posting 4.48 at the Combine would probably make him an absolute top 10 lock, maybe even a chance to go top 5. Everyone always runs faster at their Pro Day. Hell, remember when Funchess ran 4.7 at the Combine then magically ran a 4.48 at his Pro Day? Devin Funchess was NOT a 4.48 guy.

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.

6 hours ago, TheSpecialJuan said:

Yeah apparently we’re going after Tee Higgins 

https://x.com/panthersstate/status/1899999924965576948?s=46&t=xeIgh_-Vr2aKxBkBJdfnKA

Dan Morgan had stated to follow him 

 

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...