45catfan

Yep and next draft was the "this year" for me. I just hope with the patchwork offensive supporting cast, there's enough for Young to work with and not stymie his development. Right now our WRs are getting about as much separation as Siamese twins.

We could have used that draft ammunition this year and next. Would we have to trade up next year for a QB if we went the weapons route instead drafting Bryce? Sure, but the loss of future draft stock would have been in 2025 and beyond when the team would be more complete. I totally get why we were impatient and went QB this draft, losing sucks especially amid roster uncertainty, but I honestly feel we jumped the gun by a season.

Or the supporting cast is so bad that you ruin the rookie. I think Bryce is stronger than that, at least hopefully, but that's the reason rookies plopped onto decent teams generally fair better than clubs that draft a QB during either a full-blown or partial rebuild.

^^^This. We needed to build this offense and drop in a rookie next year. This is not a shot at Bryce, but this offense was always going to be a major 'work in progress' this year and make it that much more difficult for a rookie QB; Young or any other of his fellow QBs in this draft had we gone that path.

Ouch, people can't really defend this guy anymore. Yes, he's on a bad team and yes, the Bears have struggled to get him weapons, but damn, you can't miss that read.

I got it. The kid had potential and I totally agree, but scouting is an inexact science. Like you said he was trending up, but a lot of kids trend up during their college careers. It's cases like this where hindsight is 20/20, 'man, how did this guy slip through the cracks.?' How many other flyer picks never work out though? Answer is: countless. I mean, Tyreek Hill was a 5th rounder.

Quietly, I like the subtle depth signings of some vets for cheap. That being Justin Houston, Deion Jones, Chris Wormley, and Tarik Cohen. All have had success in the League and are coming back from injury. If they can get even close to their former level of play prior to injury, these will be some sneaky good signings.

Yep. Planning on hitting up two places (one brewery, one craft brew bar) a quick dinner (probably Mexican) and then coming home to watch the game and polish off some more craft beer in the fridge; hoping the Panthers win and I don't feel like arse going to work in the morning.

I know traditionally they are made with lamb, but I prefer gyros with beef or chicken. Yes, they are delicious.

Yes, but the seasons leading up to that weren't spectacular. His Junior year was decent and he barely saw the field his two years at Washington. Point being, there are some stats there that shows he had some potential, but hardly enough to reach on day two. That's why teams take flyer picks like this. There are hundreds of kids each draft that have had at least one solid season, especially their senior year, but had a mixed bag of results otherwise.

Fitts has done okay. Not great, not horrible. My thing is to see how this year and next pans out without Rhule AND Tepper meddling. This draft was--meh--for me. Zavala was a solid pick on day three. I did like re-signing Luvu, snagging Jusitn Houston late in camp, signing Dalton as a bridge or mentor QB, bringing in Hurst and Thielen. Vonn Bell was a solid signing. As much as we dislike to say it, this is a rebuild on the fly. Not a total rebuild, mind you, as the defense and STs were largely intact. Starting the offense over from spare parts with a rookie QB was never going to be an easy task. That's not totally on Fitts. I will say that I didn't mind the Sanders signing in FA, but as it turns out, we paid too much. That one is squarely on Fitterer.

The kid was pretty good in college. Nobody had him as a second day, though. Some rookies just get it, but also have to find themselves in advantageous situations with the staff willing to give them the reps--that wholly trusts them, especially as a low round pick. That's the reason it's pretty rare to see something like this. It has to be a perfect storm type of scenario.

16-13 Panthers. Both defenses will be locked in. This game will come down to field position and one key error.

What? Not a corner, LB or guard??? That's crazy! Seriously, I was wanting another RB, but he isn't it. Actually, just the opposite...a bulldozer.

Burns has two options to stop seeming petty. Re-work the last year of his deal to get some extra money like Chris Jones, Jacobs and Barkley did and wait to the offseason for a new deal or just drop this crap. Either way he's going to get paid in the spring, here or elsewhere. Unless Mrs. Cleo told him he's going to have a season ending injury, I don't understand the urgency to get paid RIGHT NOW. Take a reworked deal for this season, which I'm sure is an option since several other players have done it and stop being distraction. Prove he is worth Nick Bosa money with his play this season.

Maybe Stroud can break the OSU curse with NFL QBs. It's real.

He's under contract and has rebuffed the Panthers offer for a new deal, which they DO NOT have to give right now. If Burns wants Bosa money, he can go to a team that wants to pay him that. If he's betting on himself, call off the negotiations and hit FA signing with the highest bidder in the spring. Obviously he's testing the Panthers and I hope they call his bluff. Dragging this into the season is complete BS. Again, this is BURNS causing this distraction with his demands, not the Panthers.

Hopefully we do the same with Burns, a short term bump. I DO NOT want a long term deal with the way he's handling this and on the heels of the Bosa deal. It's not like the Panthers aren't at the table, Burns' camp just ain't biting at what the team is offering. Amend his current contract for a pay raise this year and revisit before the onset of FA. If he's still sniffing around Nick Bosa type money, let another team pay him.

Eh, Boas is getting paid now, and his twin brother Nick Bosa. Seriously, once these dudes get paid, it seems like they aren't hungry anymore. His stats were pedestrian at best yesterday. That's what scares me about Burns. I'm cool with him getting an extension, but he's probably looking for a monster payday.

No, just the past couple. I was willing to see the Darnold experiment, at least year one, through. What I have been harping on for the past several drafts was OT (check--Ickey) Safety (Chinn?) and TE. Add WR to that list now along with edge rusher. With the M*A*S*H unit at corner, might as well get some insurance there too.

Wouldn't have to tank and the QB class is much deeper than this one. I hope Bryce works out, but several teams are getting some great QB prospects in next year's draft. I was in the wait camp, but alas, it wasn't to be.

Snap counts: https://www.panthers.com/news/snap-counts-week-1-at-atlanta You can see why we signed Wormley, the defensive front is THIN...basically 4 guys held down the D-line all game (Ray got one play). For those big boys, they had to be gassed. Kudos to Brown for playing all but TWO defensive snaps at 320 in the game. You know his butt is tired today.

At this point, take a swing at some veterans since we are not on the hook if they don't work out. There's few guys on the 53 that can be cut and will most likely clear waivers.

Hopefully not. There's an open PS spot and we are really heavy at 3 positions when looking at 53 man and PS. I've already stated my preferences.

If, big IF, that was the way to go, we should have done it game one and then eased Bryce in after a few games. At this point, there's no going back.