Seltzer

T-Mac put up good numbers for 3 consecutive seasons on teams without a good QB situation, and in an environment where T-Mac got game planned against weekly and still performed. Teams threw all kinds of defensive coverages against T-Mac, and he still found ways week in and week out to contribute at a high level. XL was basically a 1-year wonder. Doesn't mean he cant be great (and I think him & T-Mac will compliment each other well), but i think T-Mac is the more polished of the 2 right now. This certainly isn't a perfect comparison, but I hope XL & T-Mac can approximate what we had with Smitty & Moose (Although i think T-Macs ceiling is higher than Moose and XLs ceiling is lower than Smitty). Both those guys were multiple Pro Bowlers and even All-Pro. T-Mac & XL have a long way to go to actually being comparable, but the potential is there. And regardless of how this season turns out, you can actually see a strategic plan being executed. On paper, I think this offensive roster has as much talent as any Panthers team since 2017. Defense is still a question mark, and it's unrealistic to think we will go from being historically bad to great in 1 year, but based on historical and statistical data, we stand a much better chance of turning the defense around in 1 year than the offense. I still want us to potentially add at S, CB, and ILB, but this roster is exponentially better than the roster heading into the 2023 season. Which still begs the question of how & why the team thought they were in a good position to trade all the way up. Regardless, it's in the past, and while the past 2 years have mostly sucked, we are strategically in a much better position than we have been in years. This is easily the best WR group since 2020 IMO (Moore, Anderson, Samuel). I'm super excited about what T-Mac can bring to this offense and team, and I'm really hoping we continue to build off where we ended last year offensively, and hopefully we've made enough improvements on defense to be competitive. I've also been vocal for the most part in supporting BY9. He came into an awful situation and to a team that was in no position to make such a trade. Still, this is Year 3. And this is a team that IMHO has both the talent & depth on offense to score and score a lot. Most QBs that ever amount to anything are competing by Year 3. There are no excuses for the offense not to perform. I think BY9 knows full well what's riding on this year in terms of his long term future. And I think T-Mac is a massive piece in helping Bryce and the team get over the hump and back into playoff contention.

Again, he led the NFL in big-time throws with what was objectively might have been the weakest WR group in the league, including going toe-to-toe with both SB teams. Some of these posts aren't grounded in reality. Delusion then was not thinking Bryces career here wasn't in jeopardy after Week 2 of last year. Delusion now is currently thinking Bryce hasn't done anything to prove he belongs both in this league and as the face of this franchise heading into next season

Dude led the league in big time throws after Week 8 throwing to freaking David Moore, Jalen Coker, butterfingers XL, and 100 year old Theilen and people here still want to trash him... Seriously, why be a fan of this team?? Nobody is crowning him MVP but Bryce unequivocally proved he should go into this season as the starter. Sometimes I genuinely wonder what some people look for in being a fan. I've watched almost every snap in this franchises history, and this is the most excited I've been heading into a season since 2018. This team on paper could be a Top 10 unit without hyperbole or exaggeration. Who knows how well the defense will gel, but after years of borderline unwatchable offense, I'm signing up for this immediately. The Bryce hate is pathetic at this point. Literally everyone across the league who knows ball is excited to see what BY9 can do this season without the almost comical dysfunction he came the league into and you have goobers on here you have staked so much on Bryce sucking they just can't let it go...

I 100% agree about the kicker. However, depending on who we still sign in FA, there is a legitimate chance for an UDFA at S, CB, or ILB to make the team. I guess it's not inconceivable at WR either

Give me all the priority UDFAs we can get for S, CB, and ILB. Still have some open spots there in filling out the 53. It's been a while since the offense looked this solified leaving the draft

I get your frustration but I think it's evident now we are going to sign at least 1 FA safety and maybe 2, and i still think we use one of our final picks on it

Kyle Pitts and OJ Howard were both top-10 TE picks by the Falcons and Bucs. Howard was a bust (and I think out of the league) and Pitts has been a massive disappointment so far. They both were seen as incredible prospects. TE might be the hardest position in the entire NFL to project. Greg Olsen was a 1st rounder who showed some flashes, but he didn't really flourish until he came here. Many TEs have their best seasons several seasons in... just far too many unknowns for a team that still has so many major needs.

Vegas had the preseason projection for Washington at 6.5 wins last year. I feel more confident that we will exceed that number than any time since before the 2019 season

I remember hearing good things about Nick Scott and the whole safety group coming into the season. I had expected this to be a good group. Fuller especially was hyped up. And then Jordan Fuller, Xavier Woods, and Nick Scott all were hot garbage. Demand Richardson ended up getting playing time over these bums. Nick Scott for depth & ST? Why not i guess, but safety is still one of our biggest needs

Wonnum and Clowney also. Still need another guy who can dependable rush the passer. There were times last year Huddlers could have provided about as much pass rush as we were getting out there

We still need to add another WR or Edge before the draft. I will feel pretty good about just taking BPA in that scenario. If we can find 2-3 impact players from the draft, this could be the best team we've seen in some time

Nothing, literally nothing would make me happier. But I'll settle for Tee Higgins

You need 2 starting caliber RBs and I don't want to waste a high draft pick on one. Could we get lucky and get a guy in the later rounds? Absolutely, but why take the risk when we signed a proven RB with the money we saved from cutting Miles Sanders. We're still almost certainly going to draft at least one RB and probably add another undrafted guy. This was objectively a good move

Lord knows I don't agree with you on everything, but you are spot on about the bust rate for TEs drafted high. It's simply too high to justify it on a roster that still needs significant defensive help. I know Warren is a great prospect, but it would be criminal to pass on the Edge talent that will be available at 8 given our needs.

JT Sanders is on year 2 of a 4th round rookie deal also. Not bad resource allocation at all IMHO. The TE market is bone-thin. And Tremble has shown far more promise than Ian Tomas ever did. Tremble is by all accounts and incredible teammate and hopefully an ascending player. I think him and Sanders and a decent young TE pair, and i still think we add another TE either FA or the draft

Austin Corbett was playing at an elite level and the Oline was a top 5 unit with him out there. He also has been an iron man in terms of playing before these last 2 injuries. I think people need to see the numbers before they freak out. Does anyone really want to not have a good Oline again next year? I genuinely don't understand the hate for this move

Not resigning him is one of the worst mistakes Fitterer made. He was better than Burns when he was here. I understand being wary of signing him for too much money. But he would be a nice addition IMHO

I would be 100% down if he signed a reasonable deal. He was electric here and in Philly. Not sure what happened last year with NYJ but would love to have him on 1 year deal

100% agree. This line could be Top 5 with a healthy Corbett

This is good news, as long as the deal is team friendly. Corbett has been rock solid, even at Center, when healthy. TD had 3 ACL tears and still had a Hall of Honor career here with multiple Pro Bowls and an All-Pro. The injuries suck, but it's nothing that has been career threatening. He's been an above average player when healthy. If he's willing to structure a deal to protect the team, I'm 100% on board.

100% true. And I'm a Cam fan. He came into a roster in 2011 that was much, much better than the 2023 roster, especially on offense.

I've been on this board for damn near 20 years, and this is one of the most insightful and spot-on posts of all time! Could not agree more

Matt Rhule really thought looking like a slob was endearing... Got to give the man credit... somehow he has convinced multiple people to throw millions of dollars at him

Yep. He could have went really negative and demanded out after all the crap he's had to deal with here over the past 2 seasons. The fact that he wants to be here and lead this team back to respond speaks volumes about him as a teammate and leader

100%. If anything, he will restructure/extend for cap purposes