CarolinaLivin

Nothing on PJ today?

Haha now lets see what happens next in the huddle

And no this is not a post to hype up bringing in Ha Ha. Just a quick read to generate conversation and opinions

****COULD and IF Signed*** First reported by Pro Football Talk on Monday, the Panthers are bringing in Ha Ha Clinton-Dix to see what the player could potentially offer during their mandatory minicamp this week. The experienced safety didn’t play in 2020 after being released by the Chicago Bears, so it remains to be seen just how this lengthy absence away from the gridiron has impacted him from a talent standpoint. Clinton-Dix got a similar opportunity with the Houston Texans earlier this offseason without anything coming from it. It appears his chances of maintaining his status as an NFL player are hanging by a thread and this opportunity in Carolina might just be his last. The former No. 21 overall selection out of Alabama has started 90 of the 96 games he’s been active during his career, according to Pro Football Reference. Clinton-Dix never quite reached the heights expected and was often found wanting in coverage, but it’s not costing the Panthers anything to see what the veteran still has left in the tank. Chicago obviously saw enough to think Clinton-Dix wasn’t worth keeping around after his one season with the team in 2019, despite the player gaining a highly respectable 74.9 grade from Pro Football Focus as a result of his efforts. What could Ha Ha Clinton-Dix offer the Carolina Panthers? Matt Rhule has been more than willing to take chances on players like Clinton-Dix throughout his first year in Carolina. Individuals who are a little down on their luck with almost no other avenues they can go down to salvage their careers. This has been met with mixed success so far. But the Panthers are at least airing on the side of caution by not giving Clinton-Dix a short-term deal without seeing what he can do first. At least from the outside looking in, there might be an opening for Clinton-Dix to make the 53-man roster. Moving Jeremy Chinn to the backend is sure to help matters in the secondary judging by what we saw from the Southern Illinois product throughout a standout rookie campaign. But Juston Burris needs to raise his game considerably to be considered a viable option moving forward. Depth is also a concern unless someone like Sam Franklin or even Myles Hartsfield can make a leap forward. Adding a little more know-how to the rotation would be a wise move. If Clinton-Dix doesn’t work out, there are some other potential candidates also worth considering. What comes next will ultimately come down to what Clinton-Dix demonstrates at minicamp. It’s a high-pressure situation for the player, who experienced more than his fair share of big game moments with the Green Bay Packers. Fighting for your career is a completely different ball game. So it’ll be interesting to see how Clinton-Dix applies himself and integrates onto a roster that has a tremendous amount going for it next season. Link: https://catcrave.com/2021/06/15/ha-ha-clinton-dix-bring-carolina-panthers/

We should probably focus on our team and QB, it's not like things are perfect over here.

ANY production from the TE spot this year is considered a win lol

Link: https://pantherswire.usatoday.com/lists/carolina-panthers-four-defensive-questions-2021/

1. Can the pass rush build on their 2020 momentum? This team only tallied 29 sacks last season, tied with the Falcons for 24th in the NFL. That might lead one to believe they have a weak pass rush, but that number is misleading. For one thing, sacks are notoriously fickle and often vary wildly from year to year. More importantly, the Panthers’ pass rush came on strong down the stretch in 2020, a positive indicator for how they’ll perform this year. The best example was the matchup against the Packers, when they effectively swarmed Aaron Rodgers and shut him down – holding the eventual league MVP to just 143 passing yards while racking up five sacks. It was a breakout game for rookie DT Derrick Brown, who had two. If Brown picks up where he left off and Yetur Gross-Matos has better luck with his health, a huge boost in production is possible. They’ve also added Haason Reddick to the mix, who posted 12.5 sacks last season. Even if Reddick can’t repeat that stat, his presence makes this a more potent unit overall, which is critical. Strong pass-rushing teams like Tampa last year benefit from a cumulative effect – the more weapons a defense has up front, the easier it us for any one of them to get to the QB. If the Panthers can get that kind of dynamic going, it will help burgeoning superstar Brian Burns unleash his awesome potential. 2. Are they really ready for more man defense? Effective defense is a two-way street and the front-seven certainly has to do their part. That said, the best way for this group to improve will be getting more consistent coverage on the back end. Part of that will come down to new pieces like first-round pick Jaycee Horn living up to the hype. Horn will be starting Week 1 opposite Donte Jackson and likely cover the other team’s top receiver. Even with Julio Jones mercifully out of the division, that’s a daunting prospect for a rookie DB in the NFC South. He will still have to contend with the likes of Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, Antonio Brown, Michael Thomas and Calvin Ridley. Even if Horn is a lock-down corner right away, that doesn’t necessarily mean the Panthers can effectively play more man defense. After all, Horn is only one guy and somebody else will have to cover freakish, mismatch-creating athletes like Kyle Pitts, Rob Gronkowski and Alvin Kamara. The big question is determining just how much man coverage this unit can handle. Matt Patricia's Lions were an excellent example of what can happen when teams stubbornly stick with man without the right personnel. Defensive coordinator Phil Snow might have to adjust fast depending on the results. 3. What's the right combination at cornerback? Yesterday we learned from the Athletic’s reporting that the Panthers told veteran cornerback AJ Bouye he's needed at nickel back. While he seems invigorated by the challenge, Bouye has spent pretty much his entire career in the NFL on the outside, which makes this an interesting decision. Bouye will miss thefirst two games of the year due to a PED suspension, which gives Snow a chance to evaluate other options in the slot. That could be critical if Bouye winds up struggling inside when he joins the lineup. From where we’re sitting, the best option to cover the slot currently on the roster is Donte Jackson, whose aggressive instincts and athleticism have served him well outside. However, Jackson’s size has been an issue at times and he might thrive with a chance to play the nickel spot. Flipping Jackson and Bouye’s roles might be the answer. Whatever Snow decides, the important thing is to keep tinkering until he finds a combination that works. 4. Who takes Tre Boston's former spot? Last but certainly not least, Carolina’s defense has one more huge personnel need to fill: that being the gigantic hole at free safety left behind by Tre Boston’s inexplicable release. For most of the offseason, there’s been no true free safety on the roster. That may change this week, though. According to Pro Football Talk, the team has invited Ha HA Clinton-Dix for a minicamp tryout. At this stage of his career (96 regular season games played), Clinton-Dix is far from a perfect solution, but he’s definitely a better choice than Juston Burris, Kenny Robinson and the other contenders to take over at this position. In any case, rolling into Week 1 with the current group seems like a disaster waiting to happen. If Clinton-Dix isn’t the answer, other notable free agents worth considering include Malik Hooker and Earl Thomas.

I was thinking J.T. Ibe at first

keith taylor

I found one article that kind of speaks on Haha's cut/release from the cowboys. Seems they favored Xavier Woods and Darian Thompson. Seems as if cutting him gave them more options. They don't mention anything about poor play but they do mention that his first-team reps were taken over by Darian and there was high praise for Darian from Mike McCarthy. Link: https://thelandryhat.com/2020/09/05/dallas-cowboys-better-ha-ha-clinton-dix/ Regardless, it is nothing more than a try-out. It could be looked at as a good sign that Rhule is looking under every rock and weighing all options. Keep trying out guys and hopefully find a steal that fits our scheme to develop or a vet that does that while building our young guys.

I don't think he's played a full season either. However I do agree that 19/19 seems a bit much. If he plays a full season for us im still not expecting more than 15, but I am predicting 12.

Teddy Bridgewater ranked 28th in deep ball accuracy from a clean pocket (39.39%) yet was top 8 in deep ball completion percentage (48.48%). How does that happen you ask? With playmakers like DJ and Robby, they make a QB look good. With CMC coming back and the offseason additions at WR and TE... I am eager to see what Sam will do.

Sam Darnold 30+ TD's - We maybe got our franchise guy. Extension/new contract and high praise to Panthers FO 20+ TD's - Shows Progression, gets another year to progress maybe gets an extension 19 TD's and under - If closer to 19 next year will be a prove it year for Darnold, if TD's are around teddy's 15 or lower we will draft a QB or one will land to us in a trade What do you guys think about this? Any changes?

I know there's mixed emotions about PFF here, but here are they're projected passing stats for Darnold and Receiving stats for his receivers. Link: https://pantherswire.usatoday.com/gallery/panthers-sam-darnold-pff-fantasy-projections-2021/ Sam Darnold 2021 passing projections: 4,311.5 yards, 22.2 touchdowns. 18.8 interception DJ Moore 2021 receiving projections: 82.7 catches, 1,251.4 yards, 5.8 touchdowns Robby Anderson 2021 receiving projections: 82.4 catches, 1,006.0 yards, 4.7 touchdowns Christian McCaffrey 2021 receiving projections: 71.7 catches, 534.3 yards, 2.9 touchdowns Terrace Marshall Jr. 2021 receiving projections: 40.0 catches, 535.1 yards, 2.7 touchdowns David Moore 2021 receiving projections: 31.5 catches, 394.3 yards, 2.2 touchdowns Dan Arnold 2021 receiving projections: 25.3 catches, 352.4 yards, 2.0 touchdowns Ian Thomas 2021 receiving projections: 20.2 catches, 170.6 yards, 1.3 touchdowns Tommy Tremble 2021 receiving projections: 11.6 catches, 126.5 yards, 0.8 touchdowns Chuba Hubbard 2021 receiving projections: 4.5 catches, 32.6 yards, 0.2 touchdowns Trenton Cannon 2021 receiving projections: 4.5 catches, 31.4 yards, 0.2 touchdowns

I believe the term "reaction bait" best describes this.

Didn't see that this was posted earlier.

According to Brandt: Robby Anderson will ease new quarterback Sam Darnold's transition to Carolina, given that Anderson was a favored target of Darnold's in 2018 and '19, when both players were with the Jets. And you couldn't ask for a better pass-catching option coming out of the backfield than a newly healthy Christian McCaffrey, who twice set a single-season record for receptions by a running back (in 2018 and again in 2019) before losing much of 2020 to injury. But I really like Darnold's chances to build a rapport with DJ Moore, who is coming off a second straight 1,000-yard season. Moore figures to be a key deep threat for Darnold, given that he ranked third in the NFL in yards on deep targets (440) in 2020, finishing third in yards per deep target (18.3) and catch rate above expectation on deep targets (+16.9%) among those with 20-plus such targets, per Next Gen Stats. Link: https://www.panthers.com/news/sam-darnold-dj-moore-qb-wr-combo-exciting-2021

Right away, you knew the Panthers were going to be in rebuild mode but they didn't make the transition gradually, they just ripped it off like a band-aid. In Rhule's first draft as the Panthers' head coach, Carolina used all seven of their picks on defensive players. Among that group, they found two studs in DT Derrick Brown and S Jeremy Chinn. Defensive end Yetur Gross-Matos could emerge into a quality player as well but still has some room to improve and develop. Fast-forward to this offseason and the defense got even better. They used the eighth overall pick on South Carolina cornerback Jaycee Horn and then in free agency signed pass rushers Haason Reddick and Morgan Fox and shored up the linebacking unit with the additions of Denzel Perryman and Frankie Luvu. To go with Horn in the back end, Carolina signed A.J. Bouye and Rashaan Melvin. To say the least, the Panthers' defense should be vastly improved in 2021. The pieces are there in every level of the defense for it all to come together. Wednesday afternoon, defensive end Brian Burns talked about the additions the team has made this offseason and how they will help him take his game to the next level. "It's going to help me a lot. It's going to take up a lot of attention. We've got a bunch of guys that's going to help me out. They brought in a lot of guys to help me out and we got a lot of pieces. I feel like we are kind of complete now, to be honest." "He's [Haason Reddick] going to make me go even harder because it's going to be a competition to see who gets a sack the fastest but he's also going to take a lot of attention off of me so that the o-line can just slide to my side or anything like that. They're going to have to pick their poison. We've got DaQuan Jones on the inside, Derrick Brown is coming along pretty good, Morgan Fox, Bouye, all of these guys are going to help me out." Last year, it was all about setting the foundation and really just learning defensive coordinator Phil Snow's system. There were moments where the Panthers struggled mightily such as 3rd down efficiency and getting pressure on the quarterback but they seemed to improve down the stretch. "We had a lot of rookies that needed to step up," Burns said. "They got better each and every single week so toward the end of the season, everything kind of came along. Going into this season, it's going to be their second year, and have that first season under their belt so now that they've got their feet wet they should be fine now. We are up and running now. I don't feel like a lot of things can stop us this year." Burns says he has his own personal goals that he hopes to accomplish but ultimately, he wants to be a part of one of the best defensive units in the entire league. With the pieces that are now in place, Burns has full belief that it can happen. "As a defense, I just want to be completely dominant throughout the course of the season and I feel like we can really do it now. You know how the saying goes 'defense wins championships' so I feel like they're putting a lot of emphasis on it and bringing guys in like [Jaycee] Horn, [Jeremy] Chinn, [Derrick] Brown, and myself. Hopefully, we can put on a show with this defense this year. I'm excited if you can't tell." Link: https://www.si.com/nfl/panthers/gm-report/carolina-panthers-de-brian-burns-pleased-with-additions-to-defense

I do believe he would best at slot corner. Just wanted to see people's opinions of IF he got moved to that position. Like I said, unlikely to happen.

Adam Rank, NFL Writer, writes article on the state of franchises... specifically the link below is his write-ups on each franchise in the NFC South. Too much to Paste in here. Link: https://www.nfl.com/news/state-of-the-2021-carolina-panthers-sam-darnold-matt-rhule-must-take-next-step-t Where does your franchise stand heading into 2021? Adam Rank sets the table by providing a State of the Franchise look at all 32 teams, zeroing in on the key figures to watch and setting the stakes for the season to come.

The veteran tight end believes Sam Darnold is the answer. SCHUYLER CALLIHAN So far, it seems like new Carolina Panthers quarterback Sam Darnold has been impressing his teammates with his work ethic, the way he demands the huddle, and so on. Last week, running back Christian McCaffrey complimented Darnold saying, "He's very sharp and I think that's something that's very exciting early. Obviously, he's very talented and he throws a great ball but his decision-making has been very good. He's smart, he knows where to go with the ball. He's confident. I love how everyone is responding to his urgency." Wednesday afternoon, tight end Ian Thomas had a chance to speak with reporters and echoed some of the same sentiments but even went a step farther in his praise for Darnold. "It's been pretty good. Sam is a great quarterback. He's a great guy, he does everything right, he wants everything to be perfect and I think that's the quarterback that we need." Link: https://www.si.com/nfl/panthers/gm-report/ian-thomas-on-sam-darnold-hes-the-quarterback-that-we-need

I was playing madden the other day and downloaded an updated roster (with all the new additions) and the guy that created it had D. Jackson at FS. Obviously this would be with Bouye taking his spot at the CB2 position (after his suspension). This is probably unlikely, but I wanted to know what some people think about this idea.