Peon Awesome

Not everything in life is about making a cheap buck. Some people use Cameo to connect with fans knowing the interaction can make a lot of people's day. There's a doctor who does a lot of comedic content on social media and has a pretty big presence particularly among the medical community. He has a Cameo and donates 100% of the money to charity. As much as Steve Smith made in his playing career and currently makes as an analyst, I really doubt he's doing these for a hundred bucks here and there.

We actually control our own destiny. Win out and we're division champs no matter what the Bucs or Saints do. Obviously a monumental task but 10 games into the season, it's nice to be able to say that.

Our biggest weakness on offense since Rhule and Brady took over has undoubtedly been short yardage and red zone situations. It honestly doesn't even matter if Cam's shoulder doesn't hold up or he struggles to connect on passes more than 20 yards. His threat as a runner is one of the greatest redzone/short yardage weapons in the entire league. With only a few days to practice and implement plays for Cam, the team already looked worlds better in that department. The worry over Cam running it in freed up Robby on the TD catch and later on a 3rd and 1, with the option to McCaffrey, the focus on Cam held the defender long enough for McCaffrey to EASILY break through for the 1st and much more. It was a beautiful thing to see. With McCaffrey as a surehanded 5-10 yards on every target as the checkdown, we honestly don't need the big play threat. We're perfectly content to slowly march down the field with 10+ play drives, extended by 1st downs on 3rd and shorts, and punctuated with 7 points whenever we reach the redzone, not 3. Cam helps ensure that. I'm admittedly a major homer and optimist, but I'm bullish on the Panthers prospects. We've got the potential to make some real noise.

So the lesson is when you make a mistake that hurts your team, just keep compounding the mistake, cause like, you've already done worse, so who cares? It actually makes it a hell of a lot more important that we don't. We've wasted enough money on our QB situation. But sure, let's go with your attitude. Why not sign Josh Rosen and Dwayne Haskins this offseason? We literally signed 2 QBs who failed at their last stops. We are way past the point of worrying about whether 2 more might fail.

Is that how you see it? We got a 6th round pick and saved $4.5 million by trading Bridgewater. Much different than straight cutting Darnold with no picks or cap savings whatsoever. To me cutting him makes zero sense. If you can't trade him, at least keep him as your backup. Stupid to pay Darnold $18 million anyway and then have to pay for a backup qb on top of that. Just lighting money on fire.

Some of the takes on here are so laughably bad I can hardly believe it. Who in their right mind would trade a 2nd round pick to get rid of Darnold? That is the most absurd thing I've heard. We have 1 of the best cap situations in the NFL. There is literally zero problem resigning whoever we want, even with Darnold's contract. The Saints were $90 million over the cap, barely cut anyone worth a damn and resigned a few key contributors in the process and still had a bit of caproom to spare. So why do we need to do a desperation move to free up cap we don't need? Also keep in mind that a good 2nd round pick brings in more than $18 million in excess value. Look at Chinn. He's got a 4 year, $5 million contract. How much would we spend on a veteran starting SS for 4 years that's even 80% as good as Chinn? At least $30 million. So the net value is easily $25+ million in that case. I would keep Sam as a backup unless someone surprises and offers a Bridgewater type compensation. You want to trade Darnold and a 7th for a conditional 6th while eating half the contract, ok whatever, I don't hate it. Otherwise keep him in the vein of Nick Foles in Chicago and move on in 2023. Darnold's problem is mostly mental. Have him spot start a couple games due to injury when there won't be any pressure or expectations and he could be ok. Plus if a starter on a contending team goes down with an injury before the trade deadline, maybe they'd give a late round pick out of desperation. Cutting Darnold for nothing and then having to spend even more to sign a different backup just doesn't make much sense.

If we're worried about a 3-5 team knocking us out of playoff contention, we probably don't deserve to be in the conversation. I'm just impressed at how dominant our defense was against the same team that dominated this Niners team shutting down the high powered Rams offense.

We can sign all 3, easily. The question is whether that money is better spent elsewhere. I'd sign Reddick, no question. You aren't replacing him. Then play semi-hardball with the corners and see who will accept a reasonable, team friendly offer. If neither, roll with Horn, Bouye, Henderson, Hartsfield and Keith Taylor Jr. That's still a good secondary. I feel like a 2 year, $20 million contract for Gilmore would make sense and let the young guys grow into their roles. Patrick Peterson is a good comp and he just got 1 year, $8 million. Just not sure if the market will dictate more than that, and if so, not sure if it's worth it.

Panthers would be in the playoffs as the 7 seed. They're also only a half game behind the 6th seeded Saints. The team is clearly pumped with Cam joining the fray and for the first time in a while there's a tangible confidence in this team. Gonna enjoy this 180 feeling compared to where we were this time last week.

I'd definitely consider replicating today's formula with a heavier dose of Cam if you think he needs a little more seasoning/conditioning/mastery of the playbook, etc. But once he's up to speed, he gives you more than PJ can; you let him fly. That's not to take anything away from PJ; he deserves major props for a very solid day today.

Feel like Elflein in for Paradis ended up being a sneaky big upgrade. Auditioning for starting center in 2022.

In the grand scheme it's a pretty meaningless snap, but I love the fact that they had PJ throw it on 3rd and 6. They are making a statement. Done are the days they're going to play scaredy, not to lose football. We're gonna stomp on their throats. Let's keep that energy going.

How much is it going to cost us to resign Reddick? Gotta think $20 million per year at least.

I love the gameplan in getting Cam some reps and easing him into game action. 1st play a rush, then a couple quick short passes and then let him sling it downfield. Better than starting from scratch next week with nearly a year between regular season play. So much for Cam sitting the sidelines as maybe the emergency qb. The coaches are planning smart for maybe the first time all year. Love to see it.

I mean it was a foregone conclusion that Walker would have at least 1 turnover. But if it had to happen, that one wasn't the most backbreaking. Probably would've punted if it was incomplete which means maybe a difference of 15 yards in field position. Still annoying.

We just got into Zane Gonzalez field goal range

Getting Burris and Hartfield back is an underrated boon to our defense. Hartfield in particular has looked excellent in coverage

Best kicker in Panthers history

The defense has shown flashes of dominance all year; that part isn't surprising, especially against a team missing their starting QB and WR. What surprises me is Robby Anderson actually becoming sure-handed. Cam effect? Small sample size but it very well could be. I'll happily take it regardless.

It's honestly not that tough to explain. If they were that worried Sam was going to be so bad they'd regret spending $18 million on him next year, they wouldn't have given up a 2nd, 4th, and 6th round pick for him. Maybe a conditional 3rd at most. You don't give up 3 picks for a 1 year rental that you're going to be obligated into an expensive multiyear deal if he ends up working out. So it all comes down to their initial evaluation. They thought they could turn him at least into a serviceable starter with the upside of potentially being a franchise qb, in which case, 2 years, $23 million and a 2nd round pick is a pittance. Wish it had turned out that way but that had to be the thought process.

I have good news for you. The rate of myocarditis is much higher for people infected with COVID than from the vaccine, so rest easy bud! No need to exclude him. But to the original post, I'd be surprised if he's in shape to contribute. I'm definitely not opposed to working him out but I doubt he's the answer.

The trade was always seen as a buy low, future thinking move on a guy with insane potential. Nothing about that has changed so far. I don't care what Arnold is doing in Jacksonville; we were barely using him and he was mostly taking snaps better reserved for Tremble. We swapped a 3rd for what will probably be the 2nd pick of the 5th round; you can't ignore the latter aspect of that, especially considering OP is touting the rise of Taylor who was drafted in the latter half of the 5th himself. It could absolutely ultimately be a terrible trade. That determination can be decided in about 2 years. We have no need for CJ this year when we're stacked in the CB department. Who cares if he's inactive where he can focus on getting healthy and learning the defense, vs seeing 15% of snaps per game, especially with the defense playing as good as it is now. With Gilmore and Jackson free agents, CJ can be a cheap option to replace one of them. And it saves us from being desperate to overpay either/both or draft a replacement in 2022 when we were already down our 2nd and 4th. It's not hard to envision CJ elevating to a 3rd/4th CB next year with significant time during inevitable injuries by starters, then turning into a solid starter the following year. Then the trade is justifiable. If not, then yeah, you win some, you lose some. Getting upset about it now is silly.

Is Darnold's shoulder hurting so bad he can't throw it out of bounds? These throws into the dirt are just baiting the refs to throw intentional grounding penalties.

What I read was that they adjusted his contract at his request so he's due his full salary but becomes a free agent after this year. The idea behind that is that he's more likely to clear waivers and get to pick his destination, since not many teams are going to want to pay him that rate for a half season rental. Most of the teams with the available cap space are not angling for a playoff spot; we're one of the few exceptions which is why I think our name was thrown out in that article. I wouldn't want him mostly cause I think the negative locker room effect is likely to outweigh the on field benefits. Plus, as far as wr expenditures go, I'd rather roll the money forward to help pay for a DJ Moore extension

The most disappointing part is that the guy who shellacked Darnold literally ran past Erving on the way to him. Erving didn't even need to make some big athletic play down the field. Just turn and stick his arms out a little and it would've at least slowed the defender down enough that it wouldn't have been such a vicious hit. You have to hope at minimum the coaches are highlighting this play in film study and correcting that.