frankw

This does certainly look interesting. On a side note I've always been a very big fan of Nicolas Cage's work but I was surprised to learn he has a son who he supports that practically beat his own mother to death last summer and all he got was 2 years in a mental health program. I guess that's wealth and fame for you.

The NBA is so laughably against any level of parity between big market teams and small market teams it is absurd beyond rationalization. The only time the league has thrown a small market team a bone in many years is when they gave the Pelicans the first overall pick to select Anthony Davis and that is because the league owned the team at the time! And even then that was over Charlotte who had the worst single season win percentage in league history. Then the league turned around and gave the same franchise another first overall pick to select Zion Williamson only 7 years later. Meanwhile the Hornets haven't had a first overall pick in 34 years. Viewership has already been down. It's certainly not going to go in the other direction once the last few old school stars retire. The newer generations of stars can barely play half a season in some instances so they certainly aren't going to carry the league. And the small market teams that the NBA has poo on for years will eventually struggle to fill seats. Then you get to the product itself with all the flopping and players making hundreds of millions of dollars in earnings complaining about fans. The writing is on the wall. They're only speeding up the inevitable. Let it all come falling down.

Unfortunately it wasn't just the Hornets. The Jazz and Wizards got bent right over with no lube. The NBA does not give a single fug about non relevant small market or mid market teams. In fact they piss on their heads. The fact that San Antonio and Dallas were even in top 3 is a travesty. Just don't give money to this poo league anymore. Honestly it's only a matter of time before things get even worse with these newer generations of "stars" anyways. Guys can't stay healthy they loaf around up and down the court then they have the nerve to complain about fans while making in some cases MLB money for barely even playing half a season if that. The NBA is going to tumble sooner or later this is only the beginning.

Wow the league really just looked at the years long rumors of the lottery being rigged and said "you're fuging aye right it is" to the world. At this point I hope this poo league goes right down in flames.

The best thing about the pick is he's only 20 and he already checks many of the boxes. He also has the right mentality his personality is a very welcome addition for this team culture. Just have to give him time.

The ironic thing is if we had to go QB with that pick we would have been better off just drafting Howell like a number of people were clamoring for. He didn't have the personal baggage that Corral brought along. I empathize with Matt I was hoping he would overcome those struggles. He did not. But in fairness to him I think there was a disconnect between Rhule and the front office at that point where Matt Rhule was just being a bitch and basically did what John Fox did with Jimmy Clausen and fed Corral to the wolves because he wanted no part of a rookie QB. In that regard Corral was setup to fail from the jump. I mean there's no other way to look at it with how Rhule let Ron Rivera's team tee off on Corral behind that 3rd and 4th string OL in the preseason. That's a coach who never wanted that player.

I certainly hope they're right. But I have little to no expectations right now. Anything will be a pleasant and welcome surprise.

As far as RB i think most people were expecting us to draft a back in 2023 and were fine with that. But we didn't need to do that in the 2nd round to get an impact player at the position. Sure there are the McCaffrey's and the Barkley's but those are rare talents and even then selecting them with a high first is debatable for the team drafting them. The position is largely a mid round investment now. One could reasonably argue the FO is taking an unnecessary calculated risk with Center. They're going to have to invest a pick in the position next year. Idk what the class looks like but it's as close as you can get to an automatic need for investment regardless. It's overdue.

If you're insinuating Bryce Young is the only player people here have been critical of we don't even need to discuss any further because folks who have actually seen the threads knows that's factually incorrect. That's the issue and where the disconnect begins. You perceive an honest assessment and basic straightforward acknowledgment that while we can like the player on a personal level ultimately the pick was a mistake given what we know now and the other prospects that were available. None of that is the personal slight you perceive it to be. Honest discussion is not doom and gloom. If someone wants to reject the reality that is front of them in favor of another that is more convenient for their POV that is certainly their prerogative. What I'm trying to tell you is you are never going to find the dialogue you seek as long as this is your basis for the framework of discussion about our team. I'm not asking you to leave. I do believe you bring legitimate value here. I'm simply offering you an alternative if you insist on rolling out this same approach when the season rolls out. Because although optimism is high right now sooner or later we might hit a bump in the road. And conversations will likely get the opposite of glowing positivity. But that's alright. That's the rollercoaster of sports fandom. We'll survive.

I have to say it's quite fascinating seeing you pivot from months and months of wailing and agonizing about threads derailing into Bryce Young slingfests only for you to turn around and do the same thing. And just for the record. Nobody in life ever attained wisdom and clarity from mistakes by having people blindly fawn over them and tell them they are above reproach and incapable of making mistakes. Our front office is just as human as we are. And based on the fact that front offices across the league outside of a handful of teams change on a fairly regular basis it's safe to say they are certainly no more infallible than the average Joe even though they possess significantly more knowledge usually. If you want a utopia where all you do is shine shoes for anyone associated with the Panthers you go right on ahead and create yourself a new community sir. More power to you.

Doubling tripling and quadrupling down on this subject in defense of the pick is reminiscent of a certain mindset that has overtaken the political world. This conversation will become less contentious and dragged out to the point of becoming a dead beaten horse if rational minds can simply agree that we made a mistake missed on a potential franchise center and we will learn from it. All this coping is unnecessary.

*Shows up to rookie mini camp* BUST ALERT 🗣 Definitively premature.

With the additions we've made to our roster combined with the state of the division and the conference as a whole there is no excuse for this team not to make a legitimate push for 8-9 wins. Anything less is honestly inexcusable. There will be no more free passes for being a doormat in this iteration of the league where even mediocre teams are competing for playoff spots.

This is hilarious. Derek Carr isn't such a bad guy. Anyone who fugs over the Saints is alright in my book. We better push to win this division this year is all I can say. No excuses.

Nobody making millions is truly "hurting". But he's not talking about the highest paid players in the league making upwards of 100-200 million or more. He's talking about rookie second round picks who would be making what 5-10 million at absolute most and have no guarantee of not getting a career ending injury before the end of their rookie contract. I don't think anyone is asking you to shed tears for them because you shouldn't but the perception of siding with Billionaire owners of a league that brought in over $23 billion in revenue last year is going to raise an eyebrow or two just saying.

I think there's a degree of sour grapes at play here. At the same time regardless the FO really needs this young pass rush to step up. Just don't want to end up in a situation where things don't go according to plan and then the second guessing starts. Evero better bring the heat this year.

At some point it becomes elder abuse. But hey you only live once. Have fun Bill.

If that sounds far fetched it's because it is. He went down last season in a noncontact scenario. What other sign do you need? Unfortunately it was a high probability he was going to get hurt again regardless of where he was drafted. You don't trade up into the second round for already injured players. It has nothing to do with any perception of the Panthers fanbase or the fans perception of the pick. It's simply basic common sense from an organizational standpoint and this organization better learn from it going forward.

So is greed.

Things like this are only going to become an inevitability over time anyways. NIL has opened the door for it and honestly I don't blame these young players one bit. This money is a drop in the bucket compared to profits the league makes. No pity party for the owners here. The only thing I'd say in relation to the Panthers is going forward we better start drafting well because if you're going to get held over a barrel by a draft pick they better damn well not end up being a bust.

10k on one single game?

Just shy of $5 million guaranteed and may never have to play another down in the NFL. Not a bad gig if you can get it. Meanwhile the guy who went 5 picks later...

It's wild how from an organizational and culture standpoint the OKC Thunder are in another universe compared to our poverty franchise. And didn't we offload Gordon Hayward to them too? Hilarious.