Seltzer

Exactly. Fair to say the entire roster overall is perhaps better, but even that is way too soon. Certainly 2015 had a better offensive line and (at least for now) much better QB... Cam will never get the credit he fully deserves for carrying that team to a Super Bowl

It is. Total waste of alcohol consumption

Ah, the feel of Fall... pumpkin spiced-lattes, Oktoberfest, cooler weather... it's the perfect time of year... Unfortunately, Fall just doesn't last.. and winter weather can arrive when you least expect it. Houston knows this well. Back in February, a once-a-century snow storm wrecked their city, leaving millions without power and wondering where in the world this came from... Well, history doesn't repeat itself, but it does rhyme. Tonight, a localized storm of equal magnitude is going to strike NRG stadium. The power may not go out, but all hope generated by the Texans unexpected 1-1 start will be vanquished. To start with, Davis Mills is going to need to take a separate insurance policy out for this neck... Lovie Smith must have Mike Glennon flashback PTSD every time he looks at that monstrosity... It may as well be a strike zone for the 2 most electric pass rushers in the NFL, Brian Burns and Haason Reddick. This is not just a game about victory... this is about imposing our will on an inferior opponent and planting the Panthers flag on the national stage. We have all dealt with the long and torturous slog of these last 3 years in the wilderness, waiting for our Moses to come down from the mountainside... Who knew it would be in the form of a 65-year old grizzled football man who looks like a Sopranos extra that the players affectionately call "Yoda" Phil Snow has gotten his well-deserved flowers this week. This franchise hasn't seen a defensive innovation like this since Dom Capers 25 years ago. But now it's time to bring on the full force of this Panthers rebirth. I want to see Joe Brady & Sam Darnold bring it tonight along with this incredible defense. I want a kicker that can make a freaking kick and special teams that can cover. I want to see a Panthers team that cannot be denied on the national stage any longer. I want to see the ice-cold killer instinct that will send these Texans back to the wintry shadowlands of NFL exile. I want complete victory and unconditional surrender. Here's to being 3-0 for the first time since 2015!! Panthers 37, Texans 9

It was. The was the last play he was on the field

Just to clarify, QB's making their first start are 6-0 against the spread, not in terms of winning the game. Makes sense b/c the line is going to be inflated against a first time QB... That being said, 5 of them did win. This game may present more challenges than we think CBS Sports HQ QBs to make their first NFL start on Thursday Night Football are 6-0 against the spread in the past 10 seasons. Davis Mills makes his first start tonight and the Texans are 8-point home underdogs.

I understand your point, but it's all about resource allocation per position. Many teams have 2 high-priced receivers... that shouldn't cripple a well-managed cap. We can dispute the amount paid to Robby, but locking him up for another 2 years was a good GM move. Solidifies that position and allows you to develop 2 drafted guys (Terrace Marshall & Shi Smith) on rookie deals. Doing this will allow us to sustainably build a good WR corp. The biggest thing missing with Hurney was the bad drafting that forced the team to sign many FA's for higher money (even if they weren't that good) to fill roster spots. Better-ran teams fill those spots with draft picks, which allows them to pay their core elite talent guys and occasionally splurge on a big-ticket FA. With Hurney, too many times we overspent to fill positions that should have been filled through better drafting, and then we compounded the issue b/c the FA's we signed to fill those roles sucked and then we cut them and had to eat dead cap. That's not to say we never had any success under Hurney, but I do think it was a major factor in why the Panthers have never been able to sustain success via back-to-back winning seasons.

Panthers can afford to franchise Reddick if necessary next year. We will have him and Burns together for at least this year and next. After that, a lot more hard decisions will have to be made concerning how to allocate money bc we will have to pay Burns, Donte, DJ, etc along with potentially extending Darnold That being said, let tomorrow worry about tomorrow and just enjoy today. It's been a while since we've had a lot to get excited about as Panthers fans. I'm trying to remind myself to just enjoy this moment for now

Pound for pound he looks like one of the strongest guys in the league. It's amazing what him and Burns both can do not only from a speed perspective but also having the strength to take on offensive linemen when they are giving up 50+ or pounds to these guys on a consistent basis

I think the 2013 Defense doesn't get enough credit bc we didn't have any playoff success, but that still remains arguably the very best Front 7 we've ever had. Other than Mitchell, we had straight JAG's (at best) in the secondary. And they still dominated bc the pass rush was just so dominant. And teams weren't running on prime Luke & TD. Hardy and CJ were straight prototypical 4-3 monsters. Burns and Reddick are speed personified and can be every bit as effective, but they are smaller guys, more like Lamar Lathon and Kevin Greene. If 2021 Defense is speed personified, the 2013 defense was violence personified.

I hope so and believe the current management is setting the team up for sustained success, but objectively speaking, it's hard to find a team in the modern NFL that competes perennially that doesn't have a true franchise QB. Injuries are too much of an unknown on otherwise good teams. A franchise QB can cover for a lot of other deficiencies... exhibit A was Cam in 2015 elevating the offense mostly on his own. I'm excited about this team and the culture Rhule is creating, but that alone can't elevate this team without an above-average to elite level QB play. Sam has surprised me by how well he has looked, but it's simply too small of a sample size to make any pronouncements. If anything, it may take the whole year. If Sam can be that guy, I certainly think Rhule can create a perennial contender. Otherwise it's back to drawing board again. But, I do think Rhule is smart enough to know all of this, hence why we got rid of Teddy so fast. Nothing, not even great coaching and personnel, can ultimately substitute for a truly elite QB

You're right of course, but maybe after so many things going against us for the last 3 years the football gods took pity

Aaron Wilson @AaronWilson_NFL Texans ruled out Danny Amendola (hamstring), Deshaun Watson (non-injury reasons), Terrance Mitchell (concussion). Kamu Grugier-Hill (knee) questionable. Justin Reid (sprained knee) is questionable and not expected to play against the Panthers, according to a league source This is on top of Tyrod being out... absolutely no excuses not to show out in this game

Absolutely. Our whole schedule early on is shaping up to be quite manageable. But everyone should look at the 4 games we end with... We are going to need every bit of luck and staying healthy to put us in a position for those games, and hopefully we are still in the hunt. I look at it as basically the playoffs starting 4 weeks early, b/c those games are really going to show where this team is at the end of the year relative to 3 of the very best. If we can compete in those games, it will prove this time is on our way to being a true contender.

Exactly... we are going to have a 4-week gauntlet at the end of the year with the Bills in Buffalo, The Bucs in Charlotte, the Saints in New Orleans, and finishing with the Bucs in Tampa. We will have a chance to show where we fit in the league hierarchy then... until then... This is a young team that needs to continue to get better and more confident. Being able to stack wins, regardless of the circumstances, is the best thing for now.

Yep... maybe Phil Snow was secretly plotting the end of Phil Leotardo... In the end, there can be only one Phil... long live King Snow!!

Literally no one... what a play call!!

At the game... what's so bad about it?

Couldn't tell a difference from the stands (at least from the upper deck) unless someone slid and kicked stuff up... that looked different from normal grass but otherwise it looked the same. As far as speed, turf is supposed to be faster but TBH I didn't see a difference Biggest thing is I hope we don't see a major rise in injuries from it... week 1 was a success in that regard. Hartsfield was hurt but not bc of turf. Don't think any of the Jets injuries were due to it either.

No just that they would have made him leave the game to be checked and miss plays

Cool response bro... I'm assuming you're the guy who thinks everyone is laughing with them...

Right... we have two 1k+ receivers and a healthy CMC... no problem at all... There is a 0% chance Lattimore plays this weekend BTW Stains fans wonder why everyone hates them and they constantly conjure up images of a league-wide conspiracy against them... No one cares nearly as much about the small markets Saints as Stain fans wish they did... ultimately, you choke every year and have won 1 SB in 50 years. It's like Croatia thumping their chest for having made 1 World Cup Final in 100 years... Literally no one outside of your little Swamp bubble cares... Some of the more mentally deficient ones among you act like you invented the wheel Panthers fans at least know our place in the greater world... And FYI, your other corners ain't stopping Robby, DJ, or CMC Sunday. Who Shat!

Zero chance the refs wouldn't have made Cam get a concussion check. Was negligence to not check him

Correct, but that was more to Hartsfield looking really good b/c Elder looked decent. Probably the best signing we could have made until Bouye is back in Week 3 Regardless, the Saints will be missing both Davenport and Lattimore next week, so no excuses

Underrated player and huge success as an UDFA. Glad it's not season ending b/c Hartsfield has become an actual defensive contributor in addition to playing ST's.

Saints will be without Lattimore & Marcus Davenport. Will take all the help we can get to get this offense going.