Raleigh PF

OLine, DLine and LB play. On paper, the team looks like it could be a .500 team, but that only happens if those three units come together quickly.

Re: 2 minute drill...

Was the offense bad or was the defense that good?

5 minutes ago, electro's horse said:

so he's gonna do a year in studio is what you're saying

Auburn (SEC) and Nebraska (Big 10) would be intriguing options for any coach. Their names still carry weight.

Need to be looking to see if there are any decent college football coaching positions coming open this year. If so, I wouldn't be surprised in Rhule jumped ship before the year is over with McAdoo being handed the reins (at least temporarily). 

How I see this going, potentially.

- NFL/Harvey level the suspension at one year. Justification is, the original arbitrator ruled on four cases only whereas the NFL is taking into account the remainder of the cases. Settled cases do not indicate innocence or guilt, but the number of accusers filing suit is considered in the decision.

- Watson and attorney go to court to contest the decision. This would likely last the entire NFL season.

- Goodell places Watson on the exempt list.

Question is, would a court injunction overrule the commissioner's exempt list? 

Edited to add...

Have to wonder if Houston is going to be handed a pretty massive fine (including the loss of draft picks) for their actions. I don't think Cleveland has done enough to warrant a fine against them, unless you can fine a team for utter stupidity.

The NFL is in a tough spot of it's own making. The process was setup to provide the appearance that an impartial 3rd party would make rulings, then the NFL did the worst thing possible - they only submitted four cases. 

Why?

Likely a couple of reasons:

1. Timing. This needed to be completed before the season started.

2. They expected that the evidence in the four cases would be enough to result in a significant penalty. The problem is, the arbitrator chose to include precedent. Her hands were essentially tied to previous bad decision making and the amount of evidence couldn't override the precedent (in her mind).

It gets worse. If the NFL imposes a stricter punishment, lawsuits will be the result. Watson will play until the case makes it way through court. This could take a while. In the meantime, it is very likely Watson would be able to play THE ENTIRE SEASON this year. Court processes are not speedy.

Many are missing the point that the ruling was based upon FOUR cases, not the entirety of the accusers cases.

Why? Time. They interviewed several of the accusers and found the best evidence with four of them. They knew they needed to submit something and have a ruling applied before the season started. So this is what they got.

If the NFL appeals, they are undermining the very system they put in place. And now, most of Watson's cases have been settled. After reading that, I don't know that there will be any further penalty. 

Bear in mind, the NFL only submitted five cases to be reviewed. I could easily see the NFL stating that this was the penalty for those five. For the other umpteen cases out there, an additional six games (or more) could be applied. 

The five cases had the most evidence, so they carried the most weight, but the sheer number of remaining cases makes adding more games reasonable. It's not reasonable to delay a decision while all of the other cases are explored further.

12 games is reasonable for ALL of the cases. Six is not.

5 minutes ago, Mr. Scot said:

Don't really find it hard to believe. Lord knows there have been rumors the Seahawks were ready to trade Wilson for years.

I get that part of it. I don't understand those four teams turning down that trade offer if it was indeed offered.

19 minutes ago, Mr. Scot said:

A bit of history...

Our current GM was still with the Seahawks at the time.

Man, how different would things have been if that 2018 trade offer would have been accepted.

I have a hard time buying this one. Teams picking after the Browns:

Giants

Jets

Broncos

Colts

You're telling me either Seattle ONLY offered to the Browns OR ALL OF THOSE TEAMS TURNED DOWN THE OFFER????

Naw, didn't happen.

Pros: If they are provided breakfast, the food would be good and the coffee hot.

Cons: Hopefully, Wofford's cafeteria doesn't provide the breakfast.

Pros: Best parking spot. Avoid most fans and media who aren't early risers.

Cons: Have to don Sir Purr costume for the first hour.

Robby and DJ accounted for 17 of the Panthers 28 drops last year. Hubbard added another 7, but he was trying to fill a role not suited for him.

I know Darnold is not a great passer, but seemed like there were several instances in which both receivers had alligator arms, especially after Terrace Marshall, Jr. suffered a concussion trying to catch one of Sam's patented hospital balls.

DJ at least caught 57.1% of the passes thrown his way. Robbie only caught 48.2%. The real question is, with Baker at QB, are DJ and Robbie going to suffer the same affliction this year? 

25 minutes ago, Panthers Fan 69 said:

Let me ask y’all this? Anything short of a Stanley Cup or Eastern conference finals win would be a disappointing season. What do you think? What is our bar next year? Is it Stanley Cup or bust?

Depends on if they believe the window is opening or closing. As of this moment, only 11 players are under contract for 2023 and that doesn't include any goaltenders. Likely Stahl calls it a career and the group of unrestricted FAs includes:

Pacioretty, Fast, Case, Gardiner, Andersen and Raanta.

Taravainen, Aho and Pesce the year after that. 

The Canes better hope their young guns begin to produce or they'll be chasing their tail every year.

I just don't see this group making the finals. I think it's possible they are in for a regression.

2 minutes ago, Anybodyhome said:

Now, if the Flames were to move Tkachuck to the Blues in a 3-way that would land Tarasenko or Buchnevich in Carolina, I'm okay with that, too.

Same. And I am hearing more about the Blues and New Jersey than any other team. 

Keep in mind, the Canes were in on Eichel as a mystery team until the very end.

Just now, Anybodyhome said:

This is worth mentioning:

"The Flames selected Tkachuk with the No. 6 overall pick in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft. According to The Athletic, he has given Calgary a list of teams with whom he would agree to a long-term contract and according to a source of The Athletic, the teams include the St. Louis Blues, Vegas Golden Knights, Florida Panthers, Nashville Predators and Dallas Stars."

The Hurricanes are nowhere on that list.

Also have a tweet from a respected NHL journalist saying that list is incorrect.

15 hours ago, MillionDollarCam said:

I’d give Jarvis, Necas, Koivunen, and a first rounder for Tkachuck; he’s exactly what we need.

How about Necas, Teuvo and a 1st? It would certainly make cap sense by including Teuvo.

2 minutes ago, Anybodyhome said:

So, Nino was making $5.25M in Carolina and signed a deal that will pay him $4M in Nashville for the next 2 years? WTF is going on in the Canes front office and what does this say about the organization that guys will sign elsewhere for less money? Carolina could have easily kept Nino. Instead they will now likely spend upwards of $5.5 - 6.5M to find a third line winger.

It tells me a couple of things:

1. The front office didn't value Nino to the tune of 2x4M. 

2. Could be withholding that money for cap room in a possible trade.

What if they are sneaking in talks with Calgary about Tkachuk? Granted, the Canes would have to give up a lot, but it would be worth it. They don't have enough players with elite scoring ability.

I don't think there were many who thought Nino was going to return.

Don't really care if Baker has a strong arm or not as long as he makes throws.

Jeff George had a cannon for an arm. Look how many championships and Super Bowls he won.

They almost landed Marchment before Dallas swooped in and took him.

No doubt the Canes are not as good a team today.

2 minutes ago, kungfoodude said:

Oh poo.....related???

I don't think so. Tripp seemed happy enough sabotaging his own life. I hope he makes it back soon.

I doubt Abby is the first reporter to have an affair with an athlete. Typically, athletes are rather private so the risk is minimal, but for her to do so with a married man with children? 

And let's be fair, they are both at equally at fault. I hope Cole is dumped and really don't care what the return is.

Different sport, but Tim Duncan was a massive gamer and admittedly addicted to WoW. Would stay up until 3 or 4 in the morning playing.

I think he had a decent career.

https://www.sbnation.com/lookit/2017/3/28/15086530/tim-duncan-world-of-warcraft-guardians-of-the-galaxy-spurs-podcast

Sounds like TonyD wanted more than the Canes were willing to pay.

11 minutes ago, Mr. Scot said:

But with Tepper, the NFL’s richest owner, dug in, the Panthers ended minicamp with Mayfield still on Cleveland’s roster.

Sounds like Tepper was the voice of reason in this whole process.

Too many "ifs" for this team to predict more than a handful of wins. 

IF CMC can stay healthy (wonder what the Vegas line on that is?)

IF the revamped line can come together

IF Moore/Anderson/Marshall can produce

IF the TE position isn't a disaster

IF the defense can stop the run (Hi Derek Brown!)

IF Horn returns to form after serious injury

IF Baker returns to 2020 form

IF the coaching staff - the brand new coaching staff - can form a unified team and stop giving away games in the third quarter.

None of these are small "ifs". Good teams contending for playoffs don't have that many major question marks. For the Panthers, just about EVERYTHING has to go right for them to win enough games to contend. 

2 minutes ago, kungfoodude said:

I think the ceiling probably moved from 2-5 wins to something around 4-8 wins.

 

I think that's a fair assessment. Still lacking leadership overall, which I think is crucial in close games.