SCO96

https://www.derp/2022/1/11/22877328/big-mo-how-the-buccaneers-pillaged-the-panthers-in-week-18 With essentially all of the Panthers starting secondary missing this game, CJ Henderson was tasked with playing 100% of the team’s defensive snaps against a motivated Tom Brady. Henderson had four tackles on the day, but was largely invisible, which is exactly what you want to see from a cornerback. An invisible corner often means he’s locking up his man and the quarterback has to look elsewhere. Per PFF, Henderson played 40 coverage snaps and was targeted seven times. Those targets yielded just 34 yards and a passer rating of 81.2. The three other Panthers defensive backs who were targeted each surrendered passer ratings over 100. Let’s hope Henderson can build on this outing and justify the 2022 third round pick the Panthers traded to land him. ------ We now that it is highly unlikely that we will be able to retain both Donte and Stephon as cornerbacks for the 2022 season. We may not be able to retian either one of them depending on their contract demands. Jaycee should be back next year. Keith Taylor has shown some promise. I know we have to account for Brady not having AB or Chris Godwin in the Tampa game, but if CJ lived up to his original draft slot (Top 10 pick in 2019), Could we ride with those guys as our top 3 corners next year and use the money we'd need or Gilmore and/or Jackson to fix up the line, address some other weak areas, and resign a valuable like FA like Reddick? Could this team succeed without either Donte or Stephon in 2022? Note: On the record, I'd really like to keep Gilmore...but I realize it may not be possible, especially if he want to play for a contender during the final years of his career.

I understand the logic. That would be an even more ideal scenario than the one I proposed. Here are my fears about your suggestion. 1) Is there anyone on the draft board that you think another teams values enough to trade up for and give up later draft choices? 2) Are we expecting a first round pick next years draft in return for the trade? I'd be cool if we could get a #2 and a #3 or even a #2 and a #4 after moving down a few slots. I think a lot of Huddlers feel we shouldn't make a deal unless we got a #1 in the 2022 draft. 3) How far back can we afford to trade back and be assured he'll still be on the board when we pick? Knowing our luck someone will snag Linderbaum a pick or two before us (like Justin Herbert in 2020 and Penei Sewell last year). Are there any teams out there who could use Linderbaum as much (if not more) than us? If so, we've got to account for them wanting to trade up or us going too far down and losing out on him.

The fat lady is singing

In an ideal scenario, Brady and Deonte would become solid starters at the LT and RG spots. Moron would continue to hold the RT position. We could draft Tyler Linderbaum at number 6 and watch him become the top center in the league for the rest of the decade, and then snag a high quality LG that drops to the 4th round and start him in 2022. PRESTO...a rebuilt offensive line with 4 new starters for the 2021-2022 season with very little damage to our salary cap.

Hey, you left out a few : Ryan Leaf, Demarcus Russel, Andre Ware, EJ Manual, Todd Maronivich, Johnny Manzel, Tim Couch, Cade McNown, Akili Smith. The last 3 all came from the class of 1999 which had 5 QB's taken in the 1st round, which means you had a 60% bust rate that year. Never draft a questionable QB in the 1st round out of desperation. Everyone one of those teams experienced a setback for years after making poor draft decisions.

Take a look below at a definition I found on the web for the term "mediocre" "The definition of mediocrity is the quality or state of being just average. When you are in the middle of your class and don't really do anything to stand out or do better, this is an example of mediocrity." --- Given the sorry football we've been subject to since the hiring of Mr. Rhule, a mediocre offense would a significant improvement from the garbage we saw for most of the 2021 season. Our offense is several rungs below mediocrity. It was a hard and unpleasant experience to watch Carolina's offensive performance week in and week out this year.

After our 1st pick at #6 in round one, we don't pick again until Day 3. We don't have much opportunity to add any top OL (or any players) after the 1st round. I could see taking a risk on a QB if we had 2nd and 3rd round draft choices. Rhule's "brilliant" trades have left the team with very little draft choices this off season.

We'd be all in on a QB if you had a great prospect in the 1st round this year. However, almost every pundit feels that none of the guys in this year's draft is worthy of a top 10 draft spot. If we draft a below average talent out of desperation it'll only set us back more. This team is now a year behind on the rebuild due to our terrible 2021 season. If we can fix the O-line in 2022, any QB we acquire afterwards (draft or FA) should be in a good position to succeed. No one is going to thrive behind out current line.

I think a lot of us see it from an opposing view. I don't think you can properly assess a QB on your roster if he has a crap offensive line in front of him. We couldn't have had a good feel for what Fields or Jones could do if we had drafted either of them this year. If you put any of the QB's in the class of 2022 behind our current OL they will all look like busts. Just look at how up and down Trevor Lawrence's first year went in Jacksonville. He's considered a once in a generation talent. He didn't look like one this past season because of a woeful OL and a team with limited roster talent. It's time we fixed the line. Ironically, if we hadn't traded down twice in the 2nd round, or given away our 2nd and 3rd rounders this year, we'd probably be set at OL after the 2022 draft and heading into the regular season.

Deangelo is right. We just can't assume we can just trade down to acquire more picks. In order to move down, someone needs to be willing to move up. I don't see anyone coming out of this years class who is so great that a team is going to want to give swap place in the first round, lose a high draft choice in round 2 (or 3) and give up a 1st next season. Personally, I'm not a fan of the Jimmy Johnson draft chart. I understand why he and the Cowboys developed it to gauge the value each draft choice. The problem is that the whole NFL decided to use it as a guideline for every team and every trade. Those first 5-10 picks are overvalued in comparison to the other 1st round slots. No one should "have to give up a first round choice" the next season to move up in the draft. If you swap picks voluntarily and receive a two or three high picks in the same draft that should be enough. If I were a GM I'd NEVER trade up into the top 10 for anyone unless I had a glaring weakness and was literally one person/one person away from competing for a Super Bowl title.

What draft slot we have now?

That stat they showed during our last drive said we had scored 32 pts in the 3rd quarter thru 16 games. That averages out to 2 pts for each 3rd quarter. We just got a FG so we beat our average today!!!

I'm glad you and I (and others) are able to acknowledge this. We can't assume we are going to find a team willing to trade up and give up a ransom of picks in return. What would we expect a team to give up it we did trade back and which of the top 5 picks is really worth trading up for? Nor can we assume that we can fill a gap or two on the O-line in free agency. Based on the current situation in Charlotte, why would a top FA lineman want to play for the Panther? We've had 4 straight losing seasons. We've never had back to back winning seasons Our coach seems to be in over his head and somewhat delusional (No Mr. Rhule,the process is not working ) We have no franchise QB Our franchise RB is always hurt. Our team for the past two years literally cannot score points in the 3rd quarter. Every team we play seems to have the ability to shut us down in the 2nd half and DB's openly say "We know the routes the receivers are running pre snap) I just don't see good lineman clawing their way to get here. So, I would have no problem if we stayed put and took the lineman that would have the most impact on out pass protection, even though I see the wisdom in possibly trading down to get extra picks.

With all of the sexual harassment allegations recently, maybe they could become the Washington Predators

We can't assume that Pocic (or any good player) wants to come to Carolina. I can't figure out why any top rated FA would want to come to the Panthers and play under the current coaching staff, unless this is 1) their last stop in their career, 2) their desperate for playing time and want to get off the pine, or 3) we're offering the most money. If someone want to join a team that has a strong foundation and contribute to legitimate contender for the next several years, then they need to steer clear of Charolotte, NC until the team has a drastic make over.

Not saying I fully agree with your point of view about taking a center at #6, but good job laying out your case. I think that the economic aspect is something that needs to be considered especially with highly drafted O-lineman. If we had taken Creed Humphrey at center last year when we had the opportunity we could focus solely on the LT spot. He went to the Chiefs @ #63. Even with two trade downs in round 2 we could have nabbed him at 58. Instead we took a WR .

I've said this several times, but last year when we traded down from our 2nd round slot (twice I might add), and passed on 5 tackles and 3 interior lineman. Fitt ended up tacking TMJ at 58. So far he has 17 receptions for 138 yards in 13 games. I don't blame the player, but he has literally had no impact on the team this season. Imagine if we had taken a solid O-line starter in round 2, BC in round 3, and managed to get a blue chip lineman in round one of the 2022 draft. We could arguably be on the verge of having the best O-line in the division.

Unfortunately, "Thou speakest the truth". It's going to be hard to fix this line in one season...unless BC turns out to be a legit LT (or LG) and Deonte becomes a solid guard next to Moton on the right side. If this scenario panned out, then one blue chip lineman in the top 10 could turn things around in a hurry.

https://www.pff.com/news/draft-2022-nfl-draft-board-big-board 5. OT EVAN NEAL, ALABAMA The mammoth 6-foot-7, 350-pounder is one of the most imposing specimens ever to grace this earth — and he moves like a man 50 pounds lighter. He’s only allowed 22 pressures the past two years between left and right tackle. 6. IOL TYLER LINDERBAUM, IOWA The best center prospect we’ve seen in the PFF College era. He was already the highest-graded center in the country in 2020, but he has taken his game to new heights in 2021, earning a 95.3 overall grade. 9. OT CHARLES CROSS, MISSISSIPPI STATE After flashing traits in his first year as a starter in 2020, Cross became a dominant pass-protector in 2021. He went from allowing 44 pressures on 574 pass-blocking snaps last season to only 16 pressures on 719 pass-blocking snaps this year. 10. OT ICKY EKWONU, N.C. STATE The single most dominant run-blocking tackle in the country. Ekwonu’s 18 big-time blocks in the run game this season are seven more than the next-closest Power 5 offensive lineman. ----- Our O-line is so bad that's I'd be giddy if we drafted any of these guys. But, if Brady could hold down the LT spot the thought of adding Linderman makes me fill warm and fuzzy. Those clips from Sunday's game, and what I've seen all year, shows that our weakest pass blockers are the interior lineman.

I was actually thinking the same thing you posted. Some people have said that trading down could actually get a decent 1st round pick and solid 2nd round pick as well. This is suppose to be a strong year for o-lineman in the draft. If we could draft two solid starters to pair with Moton and Christensen we'd be a lot better heading into 2022. And...if Deonte Brown could perform at RG, we could have the best o-line in the NFC South for the next 3-4 years. Here's a link with a breakdown of the the top 2022 draft prospects. Four lineman, including the IOWA center you mentioned (Tyler Linderbaum) are expected to go in the top 10. https://www.pff.com/news/draft-2022-nfl-draft-board-big-board

I think you "might be correct in your assessment of BC", but we still don't know for sure. He's only started 2 games at his natural position, and each game was against teams with strong pass rushes. Tampa won the SB last year, and the Saints shut them out 9-0 two weeks ago on a nationally televised game. The Saints have beat Brady and company 4 out of the last 5 times they've played...and would have beat them in the playoffs last season if Brees had been healthy. Considering who he played against, and the lack of starts at LT, I think Brady did "ok", not great, but "ok". If Rhule had allowed him to play most of the season at LT, we'd have a really good feel for what to do going forward. All that said, if we could get a top notch LT in the first round and put BC at LG, we could be set on our left side for the next several years. But, if we rolled with Brady next year and took the best interior lineman in the top 10, that would still be a major upgrade over this season's terrible O-line play.

To be honest, I think we were quite competitive last year. Our 5-11 record looks terrible on paper but we had a legit chance to almost every game we played last season. Eight of our 11 losses were by 8 pts or less in 2020. The reason why Teddy Bridgewater is gone is because his record in game winning drives in the 4th quarter was 0-8. The very fact that we had 8 chances to win or tie a game on our last drive of the game means we were competitive. Despite the poor record, I never got bored watching the games. I just felt a big letdown after we seemed to snatch defeat from the hands of victory almost every week. I didn’t expect to make the playoffs in 2021. I thought we could get to 8-10 wins and knock on the post season door. Robbie and DJ both went over 1000 yds. I thought getting TMJ would give us even more pop in the passing game. Tremble should have given us another passing options and helped the run game with his blocking. Hubbard seemed to be a good pick as a backup/situation starter. I assumed out Oline picks would help improve the Oline performance. Darnold has almost thrown for 20 TDs twice in the past. I thought he would at least approach that number this year. Rhule would have another year of experience and a full offseason after the Covid disaster in 2020. So yeah, I admit that I expected a better team performance this season, even if we missed did end up missing the playoffs or finished below .500. I didn’t expect the debacle this season. Not only are we going to have a fourth straight losing season, but he Panther offense is just painful to watch. This is one of the worst NFL offenses I’ve ever seen and I’ve been a regular NFL viewer since the late 1970s.

I know the offensive line is terrible, but it seems like we should be able scheme around it better than we are currently doing. Sam, Cam, and PJ are all above average in mobility, but we don't seem to get those guys on the edge with called roll outs to move the pocket. I don't see us throwing many screens to slow down the pass rush. TE's Thomas and Tremble have a combined 36 catches on the year. If each guy caught 2 passes a game over the course of the season they'd have almost twice that number in combined catches. TE's are an after thought in this offense. I'd be practicing every trick play I knew (reverses, reverse passes, HB options, hook and ladders, etc) to keep the chains moving and to compensate for the poor line. As you pointed out, we just seem to run the same routes over and over. Even with this line, the upper echelon coaches would be able to get 8-10 wins with the current talent, and possibly more depending on the strength of schedule.

12 TD's over the course of a 16 game season in a pass happy league...that's shocking! Our 3rd leading receiver has missed over 50% of the games this season. The next closest player in receptions is a RB Ameer Abdullah (26 receptions). I don't think Abdullah started the year with the team and he's only played in 10 games. That's shocking! We extended R. Anderson's contract in the off season and now he averages less than 3 catches per game. It's shocking just how much his production has fallen. Our skill position players and QB's are among the worst in the NFL in terms of productivity. Frankly, I'm shocked we've played this poorly. Last year's offenses was much better...and that's saying something considering our inability to pull out close games in the fourth quarter in 2020.