Seltzer

1 hour ago, BlackPanther21_ said:

Scott Fowler has been a clown for quite a while, I would take that with a grain of salt.

I live near Scott Fowler and can 100% confirm he is absolutely the clown he comes across to be.

I use to coach against him and he was shady and always wanting and thinking the refs should help him out since he was a "local celebrity"...

Anyway, the only thing positive I can say if his boys are good, respectful young men (I'm assuming due to the mother)

14 minutes ago, TheCasillas said:

Its a home game, just FYI.

LOL you're right... and I'm going... that was a brain fart

17 minutes ago, hepcat said:

Damn, I forgot what a mess this game was.

First of all. the stands were empty the whole game. The Lions don't have many fans across the country and the Panthers fans had given up at that point I guess. How embarrassing.

Secondly, wow. The Lions attempted to give this game away all afternoon with crummy play, pathetic defense, inept offense, and turnovers. It wasn't really as much of a win for the Panthers as much as it was the Lions being a complete dumpster fire poop fest on this day. As a side note, Stafford looked miserable in this game. I remember him having some rib injury or something and having some of his starting receivers out. What a horrible franchise to play for. 

Onto PJ Walker's performance. Up and down, mostly down. PJ had 5 or 6 really beautiful throws. 1 long bomb to DJ Moore set up an early TD, and another throw was to Curtis Samuel for the other touchdown in the corner of the end zone. Brady schemed him up some other easy throws over the middle that PJ was able to hit. Other than that, he made two mind numbingly stupid throws into the end zone that ended up being INTs, one of which there wasn't a Panthers receiver anywhere nearby. Against a Lions team that seemed to give up in the 2nd quarter, that isn't a good look for 'ol PJ.

Playing against Bill Belichick and the Patriots, a performance like this from PJ probably means a loss. Two red zone INTs usually means your team loses. The Lions couldn't make the Panthers pay for those turnovers. The Patriots will. 

As much as it makes me want to vomit, lets hope Darnold gets all the marbles stuffed back in his skull so we have a chance on Sunday.

 

Your analysis overall is pretty spot on.  The Lions were abysmal when we played them last year, and it will take a better effort to beat the Patriots on the road.

That being said, I honestly thought PJ did pretty good as a backup in that game other than the 2 awful endzone throws.  Nothing great, but he did move the offense.

I think the game Sunday comes down to who makes more mistakes IMO.  The Patriots are well-coached but are definitely not the juggernaut they once were.  IMO, they are going to try to run the ball with much of the same game plan we did last week against Atlanta.

Both defenses have the advantage over the corresponding offenses.  I think it will be a low-scoring physical game.

The QB who makes the critical mistake will be the difference in the game.  I think Mac Jones will develop into a capable starter, but he's still a rookie and our defense can rattle him.  I certainly don't think the QB matchup is really that much of a difference maker, whether Darnold plays or not.

https://www.nfl.com/news/saints-wr-michael-thomas-to-miss-rest-of-season-due-to-setback-with-ankle-injury

For all we complain about the bad contracts the Panthers have given out, the Saints have to regret this contract with every fiber of their being.

Can't imagine Slant Boi will be back at ~$20M per year.  Also doubt he will ever be a dominant receiver again

Would take him over Clay Johnston or Julian Stanford ever though Jaylon Smith isn't the player he once was.

As a starter, no.  But Jaylon Smith is better than the LBers not named Haason Reddick, Shaq Thompson, Frankie Luvu, or Jermaine Carter

Last game proved how important Shaq is to this defense.  We need another capable interior LB besides Shaq and Carter.

Only reason I would say no would be any complications with ST.

Haynes has some value, just lost in the numbers game with the emergence of Luvu.

Haynes has worked hard since he was drafted and deserves a chance to play more somewhere IMO, especially if it nets us at least a 5th

Trent Scott was a pleasant, nasty surprise at RG

53 minutes ago, blackcat said:

Same boat.  Our family has had PSL's since the beginning and now I own them.  I just don't care like I used to.  2015 was fun, but this team has had a history of mismanagement from Day 1 until this very day.  My kids aren't interested and if they were, they'd only want to stay for the first half.  I got spoiled last year watching it at home on the my porch and cooking out.

I still like it when they win and still don't like it when they lose, but it's just not important to me anymore.  I'll hold onto my PSL's and give them to customers/employees, but my days at BoA are over unless my kids want to go.

I feel ya 100%.  My oldest has just started to get into the Panthers, and there has never been as demoralizing a feeling as having him at the Eagles game only to watch complete offensive and coaching ineptitude while the stadium is overrun with Eagles fans.

And at some point, it's even beyond the money wasted.  The disappointment of my son not seeing even a competitive team and wondering why the stadium is full on non-Panthers fans is enough to make even a long-term supporter like me reevaluate what I'm doing...

4 hours ago, Squid Game said:

I hate to say it but Joe Judge is a better coach than Rhule. 

Based on what exactly?

I like seeing the fire from CMC in his press conference.

Joe Person and David Newton should be thankful they don't have to go against CMC in a blocking drill after the equal parts asinine and invasive questions they kept hammering him about his health.

It would be like CMC asking Person if he's been rocking that same goofy hairstyle since high school or asking if David Newton has job security at ESPN b/c of his mental retardation condition...

Asset management.  Sign the defensive guys to keep the defense strong.  Reddick and Jackson are musts in my opinion.

Gilmore is wait-and-see... No reason for either party to commit until he's on the field consistently

To your greater point, like Fitterer said, you almost have to build an Offensive Line through the draft b/c there is such a dearth of good linemen and teams aren't going to let them go under hardly any circumstance.  Plus, you have the benefit of a lower cost structure for your offensive line so you can pay other players

Good drafting is ultimately the key to all this working long-term b/c it allows you to build your roster with a substantial number of guys on rookie deals while having the cap space to reward the guys who have earned it and allows you to augment selectively through free agency.

Hurney could never produce a consistent winner b/c his drafts really did suck after the 1st round when you view his tenure in its totality.  The Panthers were usually very top heavy with little depth and a few injuries could and did derail multiple seasons.

Especially now with a 17th game, drafting well and churning the bottom of the roster is of even greater importance due to how many guys you need to play over the season.

Rhule & Fitterer are much more forward thinking in both seeing and planning for this attrition.

Mods need to lock and delete these nonsense threads

Great guy- just can't handle the mental pressure of being a NFL kicker.  

Which is a shame b/c he has elite physical talent as a kicker

But ultimately nothing matters if you can't put it through the upright when it counts

Hoping for a physical, brutal game that ends in an OT tie with the Cowboys tired for next Sunday

Wild card. 

It's hard to envision winning an actual playoff game with this offensive line.  Now, having said that, this defense is going to keep us in most games.

But TBH, Darnold and CMC have overcome this offensive line more so than actually benefitting from it... and I don't see the team being able to magically upgrade until after the season.

Hope I'm wrong, but honestly, even sniffing the playoffs after almost every national pundit picked us to finish last or near last will be vindicating enough for this year.

15 minutes ago, shaqattaq said:

Definitely won't make up for zero 2nd and 3rd round picks, but can make a late 4th an early 4th.  

Who could we possibly draft in the 2nd round better than what Sam Darnold has been?

Who could we draft in the 3rd round that fits the athletic profile and potential of CJ Henderson?

The answer to both is no one...

Enjoy what we're building here... we finally have people who know what they're doing

7 minutes ago, countryboi said:

he must have been way way better than expected, I bet Thomas and Tremble both were better than expected

People hate on Ian, but he has looked ok as a pass catcher, and much, much improved as a blocker.

Thomas completely cleared his guy out of the way on Tremble's TD run

It is amazing how well everything is working out with the team rebuild.  This team is in much better shape roster wise than I would have thought possible after where we entered last offseason (arguably the worst roster on paper in the league).

That being said, we still have 14 games left with a bad offensive line that I'm not sure can be improved much until after the season.

Darnold has been tough and Brady is trying to scheme around it, but it is going to be an ongoing issue that can hold us back.

Also, special teams is still bad.

The defense can and has masked a lot of our deficiencies, but they still remain.

I do think we can compete for the playoffs this year.  I still question whether we can beat the top teams with this offensive line especially.

6 minutes ago, Mage said:

#1 priority is making sure Horn is healthy, so I'm cool if we don't see him again until next year.

But if he's back for the playoffs?  Oh boy.  OH BOY.

This is the type of secondary you need (combined with this insane pass rush) to truly have a chance against the elite offenses

5 minutes ago, Fox007 said:

But we are getting 1st round pick additions like Reddick and now this guy also a #9 overall. 

Thank you... that's the real question... if you are picking up more talent than you are trading away it's a win...

This version of Sam Darnold for a 2nd round pick??  Absolute no brainer

A top 10 CB pick with 3 years left on his rookie contract plus the 5th year option for a 3rd (Dan Arnold was probably worth a 5th which we got back so Henderson basically cost us a 3rd)??  Absolute no brainer

Think of it as just using your draft picks early... and from that perspective, the Panthers are absolutely killing it...

And we have plenty of cap space for resigning guys, FA, to boot

5 minutes ago, Cdparr7 said:

So that gives us:

Jackson

Bouye

Henderson

Taylor

Thomas-Oliver

and Elder on the PS. Not bad.

You can never have enough good coverage guys in the modern NFL.

Haason Reddick has been a revelation... him and Burns are box office together.