BrianS

This is what I fear fans are expecting. That last bit there "If Cam has his deep ball back". He doesn't. That cannon he had attached to his shoulder is gone. That doesn't mean he can't / won't be an incredibly effective player for us. He can still get a ball downfield under the right conditions. Not 60+ yards, but if he's set I suspect that he can get it 50-55 yards. I know that his sense of touch has grown by leaps and bounds. His short passes are much more catchable than they were. His decision making is greatly improved. It's a much more sustainable and consistent style of play. He's no longer a freak athlete - though he is still quite athletic. I have high hopes for a healthy, happy Cam here surrounded by weapons the likes of which he has never had before.

I think you're forgetting about the first half of 2018 (pre Steelers / Watt). Go back and watch some of those games. Norv and Scott coached him up. His completion percentage jumped way up to a career high. His TD percentage was the second highest of his career. He made better decisions. He ran less. While his arm wasn't quite 2015, he could still throw lasers when he was set, and with that coaching he was set a lot more often. Unfortunately TJ Watt happened and he lost a lot of velocity. That doesn't change the fact that Cam is a much more refined player than he was. But it didn't start in Foxboro. It started here.

Based on what evidence? Lest we forget, Ron Rivera was the coach of the 31st ranked defense here in Carolina two years ago. Riveras' first two years in Carolina began with a defense ranked 26th and ended with one ranked 18th. His offense began ranked 32nd and ended ranked 18th. "Ok, I guess". This while drafting and employing the most dynamic QB the league has seen. Rhule began work with the 31st ranked defense and the 20th ranked offense. Two years on we now have the 2nd ranked defense and 21st ranked offense. This while making some serious mistakes at QB.

His catch rate prior to last year was terrible as well, which we also forget. One of the reasons we perceive that he was so good last year is that his catch percentage went from mid 50's for the first three years to 80 in 2020. To me, that says less about how he was used and more about him making the most of his opportunities. In a contract year.

The only guarantee for our season is that if we go undefeated the rest of the way we'll get in. That's a tall order, yes. However, if we do manage it, no one will be able to say we don't deserve to be there. Past that, you're rolling the dice.

Really? I can: Dude got 11 per season. He's now been injured all year. VERY glad we aren't the ones paying for that. On Donte, I like him as a player, but how do you write a contract for him that incentivizes this level of commitment? Because before this year, I wasn't at all sold on him. I hate players that don't do anything until that contract year.

This guy does a pretty nice job of showcasing some of the changes Shaq has made this year, focusing on what he did against AZ. Worth a watch imo.

See, lens of negativity? In your "best case" of Sam balling out they get an extra year to work it out at a lower rate. Cap flexibility to go all in on a Super Bowl even. More options open. In the other, we will never know what that might have looked like. Maybe it went first half of the season Sam goes 3-6, has maybe 14 TD's and 13 INT's. Second half of the season Sam goes 6-2, 18 TD's and 5 INT's. In that scenario I'd want to see Sam kick off the next year as he finished this one, and work out that contract then. Now, if you've got a time machine, I'm sure Rhule and company would love to have a chat. Otherwise, we are where we are. Stuck with it. You can scream about how "right" you were all day long, and it won't change the situation.

Here are two: 1. Sam balls out and shows everyone it was Gase + Jets at fault. If we're sitting here today at 8-2 with Sam balling 18 million next year looks really good. 2. Sam shows steady improvement toward becoming the guy. With a young QB showing steady improvement toward becoming a franchise QB, 18 million looks cheap. Yes, 18 million is a lot of money. Kirk Cousins is hitting the Vikings for 31 million. That's an immense amount of money for a good not great QB. Dak will hit next year for 34 million and would be the barometer for successful young QB contracts. When you view 18 million through the lens of failure, yes, it looks like a lot. When you view it through the lens of success, it looks a lot more reasonable. At the time the decision was made, the team didn't have the benefit of the last nine games to look at.

If you want to look for inspiration from prior years, you should probably look at 2018. Prior to TJ Watt ending Cam's shoulder, our offense looked really smooth. Watch the Ravens game from that year if you want to see what Cam can look like with less Shula and more playmakers.

You're missing the point. We have one QB on our roster who is demonstrably capable of being an actual NFL winner. Is that the guy you want taking unnecessary hits? I DON'T. How long do RB's last in the NFL? Most don't make it much past 30. Cam is 32. I just cannot comprehend how people don't see that Cam's value to our franchise goes so far beyond a few runs per game. Do we just not believe in Cam's ability to complete a pass? Cam is a more rounded passer now than he was in 2015. No, he can't make those amazing 60 yard bombs off his back foot. But he can anticipate much better. He has a touch now that he never had before. He's learned that checking the ball down can be a great play. He can read a defense more reliably. I'm way more interested in seeing Cam extend his career by another 2-4 years by becoming a more complete QB than seeing him run the read option for this year and maybe part of next. We have a defense that is playoff ready, right now. We have skill players. All we lack is some talent on the OLine. It's a real possibility that we become consistent contenders in the next couple years. If we have an actual NFL QB on the roster who is healthy.

Rules say the Panthers can replace captains who are injured. Two of our offensive captains are on IR. That said, Cam doesn't need a patch on his jersey to demonstrate that he's a leader. Anyone with eyes can figure that out.

All these folks wanting to see Cam run a bunch of read option have clearly forgotten that this is a QB who hasn't had a fully healthy season since 2015. I think you run just enough read option to force defenses to account for it, but not enough that Cam is getting hit. You need to bubble wrap the only QB on your roster who has won significant games in the NFL, not subject him to a bunch of hits that other players could take. You don't scheme to Cam, you scheme to your team. We have good players in the skill positions and less talent in the line. This is not the 2015 team where Cam has to carry us. Cam just has to get us in the right play and distribute the ball to a very talented supporting cast.

A lot of people tend to forget when talking about Kaep that he OPTED OUT of the last year of his contract. Not like, club declined it, but he opted out. "Nah, I'm good". That part always told me everything I needed to know about him. For The Golden Calf of Bristol, doesn't it really say everything when your old college coach won't even give you a roster spot? The NFL is one place where ability will almost always trump any other consideration. If you are good enough you will have a place to play. VONTAZE BURFICT stayed in the league. MICHAEL VICK got a second chance. What does Shannon Sharpe always say? "If you play good, they pay good"

PJ had one pass further than 10 yards in the air. It was intercepted. Staff tried to push the narrative that it was because the game dictated. I don't think I buy that. At the very least, you take some shots instead of showing your next opponents that you can't. Sure maybe they're all sideline shots so they are either incomplete or out of bounds. But you don't keep it all inside 10 yards unless something is very wrong.

Said it in another thread, I'll say it here. You have to ask yourself two questions: Is there anything PJ can do that Cam cannot? . . . . Is there anything PJ does better than Cam? If you answer no to both those questions you start Cam and don't look back.

We're screwed. Got it.

I think it's a little soon. Cam has brought us energy, yes. We needed it, 100%. Our defense is playoff ready, NOW. But I need to see us able to drive the ball 65+ yards and score TD's consistently before I'll be convinced we are a contender.

There was an interesting shot toward the end of the game yesterday with Cam on the sidelines hugging teammates while the clock was running down. You hear how big he is all the time, right? But he's hugging teammates and he hugs this guy who is a good 4-5 inches shorter than he was and you're thinking, that's a big man right there. Then you realize the guy he just hugged was Shaq Thompson. Now I've met Shaq. Shaq is not a small man. He's a big dude. But damn. Cam? Whew.

It changes a lot. When you say 11 rushes for 79 yards you're thinking to yourself "Oh, he gashed the! 7 yards per rush!" That's not the case at all. Minus that run, he was under 3 yards per carry. Cam is not as fast as he was. He still has power, which is great. But do you really want your only decent QB running power? I don't. I'd love to see 4 or 5 runs per game from Cam - especially read options. Enough to establish that he CAN run, but not enough to see him take hits consistently. Enough to make the defense prepare. We need to be very careful about protecting a guy who can still be "the franchise". He's been hurt before. I'd rather not see that again.

To be fair, 50 of his rushing yards were on one play. However, one thing you will notice if you watch that game is that Cam displayed a very deft touch on the ball that he NEVER showed while he was here. He tossed a really nice lofted ball for a TD that MVPCam would have tried to simply rifle in. His check downs were no longer too hot to handle. I'm hopeful.

Well, in fact, they haven't. That 18 million can't be paid until next year. We've committed to pay it, which is in fact exactly what I said. But our cost for QB's in the 2020 and 2021 seasons is NOT 60 million, which is what King said. Our cost for the three seasons starting 2020 until 2022 will be 60 million plus whatever we pay for our starter next year. The way King is stating it is the equivalent to saying that we've paid $350 million for our team this year. That's not even remotely true. Yes, we've committed to spend 169 million next year. But you can't add that to our number for this year. It's dumb, and wrong. Committed spending for next year doesn't count this year, and the only way you can come to that $60 million King wants to troll out there is by adding committed spending from next year.

CMC was excellent, but to me this was even more encouraging: He only played 60% of the snaps. That's a MUCH more sustainable level. If we can maintain that, I look forward to watching him make defenders look silly for years to come.

Also, you've got a guy with a TREMENDOUS amount of coaching experience on the defensive side of the ball as well. Phil Snow started coaching defense at the high school level in 1976. He was Boise State's DC in 1983. Think about that for a minute. Bottom line is that Snow has seen so much, that his evaluations probably mean more. We already know Rhule trusts Snow implicitly. Joe Brady? I dunno, he may be bright and a good play designer, but he just doesn't have the experience. That's all I can come up with.

I dunno man, it looked more like the Bucs beat the Bucs and the WTF's just happened to be on the field while it happened. I don't think it will be "easy", but our defense is on a different level.