Peon Awesome

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.

As an aside, wasn't Elflein designated for return a few weeks ago? I think if he's not active this week, he'll have to stay on IR for the year which puts a dent in our already weak G depth.

Huddle logic: Saints are simultaneously so terrible that us thoroughly dominating them in week 2 means nothing but also so good that there is no way we can compete with them for a wildcard spot even after they lose their starting QB for the season.

I try not to dwell on negatives but came across this really interesting stat and felt compelled to share. It compares how many receiving yards a player actually has compared to how many they'd be expected to have based on expected completion probability and expected yards after the catch, e.g. factors that account for how good/bad the pass was and the defense your facing. Robby Anderson is worst in the NFL, almost twice as many yards left on the table as 2nd worst (Calvin Ridley). DJ Moore's yards and expected yards match almost perfectly this year. On the other side, Jamarr Chase is otherworldly, outperforming his expected yardage by roughly 400 yards. You can go to the original twitter page to see more of these diagrams.

McCaffrey is the single most impactful non-qb offensive player in the NFL when healthy. Hubbard is a fantastic backup and a competent starter but to say the drop off is marginal is a horrendous take. Darnold has been bad the last few weeks but I have to think he'd look semi-competent with McCaffrey out there. Even his presence helps make receivers more open and when they're not, he's pretty much a guaranteed 10 yards on a check down play. Him being out is definitely the most undertalked about part of the Panthers slide and really can't be overstated.

New fantasy football strategy: pick up the defense playing the Panthers

Couple points: you're suggesting the defense watched the offense lead a game tying 96 yard drive to force overtime and were so demoralized, they let the Vikings march down the field? I mean dear god, it's one thing to be upset by the offense's poor play for the majority of the game, but if you can't regain your intensity after that drive, just quit professional football. Also adding Stephon Gilmore and getting back your defensive captain (Shaq) both within the next couple weeks might change some attitudes quick.

I mean our offense is pretty anemic without McCaffrey but he's also the single best offensive weapon in the entire league, so yeah, it hurts to lose him. Let's hope the time on IR allows him to be 100% in 3 weeks.

I think it was a good honest answer. Basically said that at minimum they figured they'd be solid versatile backups and they recognized offensive line was a position of need and wanted bodies so they didn't feel desperate to reach for them in the draft. We can complain all we want but offensive line in general is seriously lacking in available talent. Not too many gems that reach free agency. They're either too old, too injured or just not good.

There is so much parity this year, honestly there are 25 teams that could realistically have playoff aspirations and we are definitely one of them. We need to show some resilience and get back to our winning ways first but I have no doubt we are capable. It also helps that there are 7 teams that qualify in the NFC and probably at least 1 9-8 team getting in. Outside of the NFC west runner up, who can you even pencil in for wildcard slots?

Unfortunately for the Colts, overtime often comes down to field goals and it's hard to think of a bigger mismatch than Justin Tucker vs a hobbled Rodrigo Blankenship

What is the obsession with tackles? Our interior offensive line is getting destroyed every game and we have 2 tackles that looked at least decent yesterday and are under contract for at least 4 years. Let's fix the actual problem, not find an expensive solution to a lesser issue.

We just need a healthy CMC and a convincing win against the Vikings and all this doom and gloom will be on the back burner. Until then, we're sitting on a 2 game losing streak after a completely uninspired game against middling competition. I'm choosing to keep my head up but we need to get back on track fast because even my positivity has its limits.