Icege

INJECT IT DIRECTLY INTO MY VEINS

I am so for trading back and being in range to land Green and/or Ezeiruaku.

I think that I'm going to have to put Fadil Diggs (Syracuse) on here...

Sawyer splashed when the eyes were all focused on Ohio State, but in 16 games this past season his stat sheet reads 9 TFLs, 9 sacks, 1 INT, 7 PDs, 3 FFs. Compare that to his teammate, JT Tuimoloau, who in the same amount of time racked up 22 TFLs, 12.5 sacks, 3 PDs, and 2 FFs. Speaking only for myself, that bothers me. There are five things that I specifically look for in DL + EDGE prospects: College production Violent/technical hands Burst off the snap Ability to set the edge vs. the run Can they convert speed-to-power vs. NFL OL? Sawyer's production bothers me, but he's got a great motor and never stops giving effort. If he can convert speed-to-power and set the edge vs. the run, he's got a chance in the league. Mike Green has a nasty pull slide that gets him a lot of mileage. If you want to see him takeover a game, watch him annihilate Coastal Carolina. I'm surprised the OT didn't quit football by halftime. Donovan Ezeiruaku has some plays where he seems to just slip by the opposing OL as if he were an RB slipping passed a defender... dude has some burst!

Still got several games to watch, but I don't expect any major changes to my personal rankings for this year's edge class: 1. Abdul Carter (Penn State) 2. James Pearce Jr (Tennessee) 3. Mike Green (Marshall) 4. Nic Scourton (Texas A&M) 5. Donovan Ezeiruaku (Boston College) 6. JT Tuimoloau (Ohio State) 7. Kyle Kennard (South Carolina) 8. Princely Umanmielen (Ole Miss) 9. Mykel Williams (Georgia) 10. Shemar Stewart (Texas A&M) 11. Jack Sawyer (Ohio State) 12. Antwaun Powell-Ryland (Virginia Tech) 13. Bradyn Swinson (LSU) 14. Landon Jackson (Arkansas) 15. Jared Ivey (Ole Miss) 16. Ashton Gillotte (Louisville) 17. Jordan Burch (Oregon) 18. Tyler Baron (Miami) 19. Ahmed Hassanein (Boise State) 20. Josaiah Stewart (Michigan) 21. David Walker (Central Arkansas) 22. Kaimon Rucker (UNC) 23. Sai'vion Jones (LSU) 24. JJ Weaver (Kentucky) 25. Que Robinson (Alabama)

I am sky high on Mike Green and Donovan Ezeiruaku.

For folks looking to find out more rather than just tossing out frustrated hot takes, check out the interview he did with The Athletic. I can see why Evero brought him with. https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/podcast/286-the-playcallers/episode-9/ Spotify link:

#1 GM me

Nooooooooooooooooooooooo Cooley is a really, really good teacher/coach.

Fortunately, that works with Evero's scheme. He likes to blitz an LB while using his best pass rusher to draw double teams. If Morgan can restock the secondary with the talent needed, Walker could be a great fit. I can see him taking over Shaq's role (though without the current leadership Shaq brings, of course).

Let's go Big Rob!!

Very cool to see Bates get to work as the ST coordinator for the East. Looks like some solid rosters. Got my eyes on... Raheim Sanders, RB, South Carolina (East) Tahj Brooks, RB, Texas Tech (West) Phil Mafah, RB, Clemson (West) Antwane Wells, WR, Ole Miss (West) Theo Wease, WR, Missouri (East) Ricky White, WR, UNLV (West) Will Sheppard, WR, Colorado (West) Jimmy Horn Jr, WR, Colorado (West) Ben Yuroseck, TE, Georgia (East) Luke Lachey, TE, Iowa (West) Jack Conley, iOL, Boston College (West) Antwaun Powell-Ryland, EDGE, Virginia Tech (East) Fadil Diggs, EDGE, Syracuse (East) Ahmed Hassanein, EDGE, Boise St (West) Tyler Baron, EDGE, Miami (East) Nazir Stackhouse, DL, Georgia (East) Tonka Hemingway, DL, South Carolina (East) Shavon Revel, CB, East Carolina (East) Zy Alexander, CB, LSU (West) Jabbar Muhammed, CB, Oregon (West) Cobee Bryant, CB, Kentucky (East)

Walker + Tuimoloau would be an awesome first two rounds

Panther

Yea man, he definitely looked like he belonged in limited action. Smooth athlete with solid vision... sucks to have the setback that he had. Fully expecting him to start on PUP and then depending on the possibility of a postseason either shut him down until next season or work him back in so that there's fresh legs if needed.

Just started my armchair scouting this week with the EDGE guys. Not very impressed with Mykel Williams, was disappointed that JT Tuimoloau seemed to decline a bit from last season, and was impressed with Jack Sawyer's motor but he reminds me of YGM with better hand-fighting. To be fair to all of them, I've got only two games each reviewed so far. Abdul Carter is a freak. I'm very eager to dive into the Mike Green film. Got a feeling that he's long gone by the time the Panthers get to make their second selection (whether or not they trade up) but going to hold on to hope!

They've gotten some solid production out of Olamide Zaccheaus and Noah Brown as well, but yea McLaurin, Ertz, and Ekeler alone are proven NFL playmakers. All three of those guys are savvy vets that are great security blankets for a rookie QB. I'm interested to see if Jayden can continue making plays with his legs after leading the team in rushing this season because that's going to be a tough wrinkle for opposing DCs to deal with.

Link to article 1. Fix the run defense Panthers' 2025 defensive accolades: the fourth team in history and the first since 1980 to allow 3,000 rushing yards in a season; allowed the most points (534) in league history Morgan/Canales say scheme wasn't an issue, that it was a combo of players and coaches. LB + DB coaches were let go, front office has to go get better pieces Keep an eye on DJ Jones, who signed a 3yr, $30M deal with Denver in 2022. Ranks fourth in stopping the run compared to Shy Tuttle (130th). 2. Get Young another playmaker Per a league source, Diontae racked up fines and wasn't practicing much when the team decided to trade him to Baltimore. XL had the league's 22nd-worst catch percentage (58.3%) which was still higher than Diontae Johnson (49.3%) and David Moore (56.1%). Coker was a good find and Thielen still produces, but they need another field stretcher whether it be Chris Godwin or Tee Higgins. 3. Overhaul the safeties Fuller and Scott were disappointments. Woods and Franklin Jr would make plays, but both attracted the attention of officials (4 penalties each). Demani Richardson was solid, but look for Morgan to double down like he did with the iOL last offseason. Colts' Julian Blackmon, pending medicals, could be a value signing. 4. Lock up Horn Earned his first Pro Bowl berth. Upped his offseason regimen after playing just 22 of 51 games in his first three seasons. Reached career highs in tackles, sacks, and pass breakups. 5. Tackle the offensive tackles' contracts Moton was PFF's 20th-ranked pass protector and Icky improved his pass blocking this season as well. Likely scenario is that Moton is extended to knock down his incoming $31.3M cap hit (11.5% of the cap). Have to make a decision on Icky's bonus option, which could cost an estimated $18.4M against the cap.

From everything I read it sounded like they were slow playing his return and being extra cautious. Do you know somebody in the training room that knew otherwise? What was weird about it?

https://www.panthers.com/news/two-coaches-participating-in-all-star-games-daren-bates-jim-caldwell Looks like they're sending Coach DB to find some DAWGS

Yea, I was NOT expecting that. Found the plays DB talked about where Dirty Dan burned the opposing DBs... Dan Chisena is fast.mp4 Dan Chisena is really fast.mp4

Lord help us if he decides to watch Netflix

Assistant special teams coach Darren Bates returned to his podcast, Raw Room, and spent ~15min early in the episode reviewing the Panthers' season. Panthers' portion starts at the timestamp. For folks that have problems with XL's accent (or accents in general), put on closed captions because DB's Memphis accent is probably going to beat the dog poo out of you.