Icege

From my understanding, Robinson is the big body on obvious run downs while Turk is the pass rusher.

You've also been vocal about shortcomings in other areas of the team (ie: the defense) without circling it back to Bryce. I think that what you and others are looking for are a game where Bryce statistically takes over in order to show that despite his size he is going to be the hero that fans hope a #1 overall selection can be. In my opinion, he started to show that on film last season after the year before being buried under... well... everything. However, "Watch the tape" doesn't exactly win any social media, sports bar, or message board arguments. Being able to point at a 5 TD, 300+ yard passing game with no turnovers against a championship-caliber team would get even get the attention of the most die hard Stroud Boys. I'm excited to see how the offense evolves this season. We've got some physical playmakers on the outside now that can also big boy DBs in the run game. Shoot... 11 personnel with Tremble + Coker on the field might be just as effective to run out of as it'll be with 12 personnel. Hell, we might also be looking at one of the more complete WR rooms the team has had in its history if TMac + XL put it together. Add Coker + Horn Jr to the mix? Can I get an "ooh wee mayne?" As much as I want to believe that the defense is going to look drastically better... The LB room scares me. With Mike Jackson Sr and CSW showing out well in camp and the potential UDFA gem in Corey Thornton who's done well vs TMac, I'm resting a little easier with the DB room (would still like to see another safety signed but they had better be starting Richardson or Ransom over Nick Scott!). Special teams-wise... I'm expecting even more improvement as the floor for this team's depth goes up. Terrified of depending on a kicker to win, but that can also be addressed next offseason when this team (on the spreadsheets, at least) is set to compete or start over.

Not a whole lot of content today due to the heavy rain. Press conferences are starting up (I won't have time to listen and summarize them today)

Lots of rain today it sounds. Catching up on posts now.

Idk... if pro-tank fans can sit say, "The team can still play and try to win, they're just hamstrung beforehand by front office choices" then pro-culture folks can say, "The team can still play and try to win, they're just hamstrung with trying to keep starters healthy and play-calling vanilla so that the games that count towards the record are minimally effected by the games that don't."

Thank you! That had a lot more info in it than I expected.

A video about the entire team and you find a way to make it about you hating Bryce Young. Impressive.

Summary (finishing up!) Three questions are the core of this video series What was their identity before? What do they want their identity to be now? What is the goal for this season? ID before was a team that could be pushed around in the trenches (defensively). ID for this season is that they want to be the team that pushed back. Offense didn't need that much work. Just needed a year to gel, but also got an infusion of talent. They've got the weapons, they've got the talent, they've got the offensive line, they've got the QB. Just need the defense to get up off of the mat and punch back. Now that the identity is a tougher and more physical football team the goal is the wildcard. Might seem lofty but why not? Downtrodden and with a terrible roster, but one really good offseason that they knocked out of the park could let them into the top-14 Competing with Arizona, Atlanta, and Seattle... go get that 7th seed. Otherwise, why spend all of the money to improve the roster in just one year? "Playoffs is possible" after the last three seasons is a great spot to be in mentally EJ thinks that they want to be the 2nd best team in the division. They won't say that out loud but thinks that TB is the best team in the division with a head start. Carolina is playing catch up and if they can be challenging for the second spot while also threatening the Bucs at the top, that is a big jump from the NFL cellar just one season ago. Being second in the division would be a successful season, but aim higher and aim for the playoffs and even win the division. That's the real progress that builds a football program year over year. Episode was longer than expected because they think the Panthers are more interesting than people expect. Lots of interesting storylines and things going on in Charlotte make them one of the more intriguing teams in the league. Can't wait to see what they look like in December. Saints are next... and it sounds like that video is going to be much, much harsher. "Bring a drink tomorrow."

Summary (continued, again) Results weren't there in 2024, but so many lesser staffs and front offices would've crumbled on the road that the team had to go down but Carolina's guys nailed it Nobody thought this was a 1yr turn around because they were down so bad it was a multi-year process. It was more of a matter of how much improvement they can make in 1yr rather than simply turn it completely around. Harold Goodwin, the run game coordinator and assistant HC, was a big part in the team's run game flourishing as was offensive line coach Joe Gilbert. Carolina had talent on the OL but not much development prior to Gilbert. Major increases in a couple of stats with mostly the same talent. Rush EPA in 2023: 25th Rush EPA in 2024: 12th Pressure % allowed on true drop backs in 2023: 24th Pressure % allowed on true drop backs in 2024: 18th Good coaching makes a difference. Good coaching for the OL is a super power that allows you to draft very differently and develop in ways other teams can't. Also allows them to save a ton of money in free agency because if you need an OT you're going to have to overpay for one if you can't draft & develop. Defensive pass game coordinator Jonathan Cooley has a big task in front of him but has more pieces to do it with. Not under the hot seat, but under an area of focus given the struggles the coverage had last season. Talking free agency + draft now Notable losses: Jadaveon Clowney, Josey Jewell, Shaq Thompson, Jordan Fuller, Xavier Woods Notable retentions: Adam Thielen, Jaycee Horn, David Moore, Tommy Tremble, Michael Jackson Sr Jaycee's APY being $25M compared to the top of market's $30M (which will then go up even more as other DBs get paid as well). Contract can age well if he stays healthy. David Moore played ~60% of the offensive snaps last season Mike Jackson Jr played 99% of the defensive snaps last season. Notable additions: Tershawn Wharton, Trevon Moehrig, Christian Rozeboom, Bobby Brown III, Patrick Jones II, Hunter Renfrow Renfrow likely to make the final 53 and could end up the starting slot if Thielen is phased more into the WR4 "Old Man in the Room" role Jones II potentially the starting EDGE until Scourton/Umanmielen are ready Rozeboom now likely a starting LB with the departure of Jewell Most expensive interior DL rotation in the NFL. The team took as many resources as they could to throw at it. Morgan has been consistent in this process. Did the same with the interior OL in 2024 Through the draft and free agency they've assembled a roster with depth that was non-existent last season TMac there's debate outside of Carolina about whether or not he's better outside or inside the slot. His drop rate increased significantly, but EJ isn't concerned because he saw concentration drops rather than ability to drops. More of TMac's drops are from the former, which are correctable. It isn't a vision or a coordination issue, just taking his eye off of the ball and letting some of the basics get away from him when trying to think too far ahead. Carolina is going to lean on him early and often. Going to fit the Colston/Thomas mold as a WR that is good at working the middle of the field, exceptional at reading defenses and finding space, giving his QB easy throws, and YAC. TMac is even better than Colston + Thomas after the catch. Can see TMac being one of the better possession WRs in the league at the end of his rookie season 60% contested catch rate in college 5.1 YAC per reception (!!!) EJ really likes Nic Scourton. Thinks he has 8 - 9 sacks per year potential (10 sacks is not as frequent in the NFL as folks might want to believe). Brett sees a lot of similarity to GB big body edges like Rashan Gary that have better movement then expected for a big guy. Scourton has power and hands but way better hips than most guys his size which will help with finishing rushes. Could've been a late round one pick. A&M tape hurts him because they don't let their guys rush, but Purdue tape was great. Princely doesn't always win late in the downs, but when he wins early it takes your breath away. Has length and size but needs to start stacking moves because he doesn't grind through once his first move is stopped. If he takes to the pass rush coaching he can be a deadly designated pass rusher for them. Great first step similar to Bud Dupree. Princely is a pure speed rusher that wins off of the first step (especially with his snap timing) that can develop into a dangerous piece for the defense should he continue to add to his game. Can also use his speed to be a clean up option that stacks stats. Etienne felt like he was taken too early with other players available. While he's a good player, felt that #114 was too early for him especially with the aforementioned other players still available. Brooks going on to the PUP shortly afterwards showed that they were going in there knowing at the very least that he wasn't playing in 2025 Ransom does lots of things well but nothing great. He has though done a lot and has the potential to be a starter later in his career. More of a generalist than somebody that plays a hyper specific role. In some defenses, it's preferable to have a hyper specific role. Carolina rotating safeties so often means that they're going to want generalists that can do a little bit of everything for their system. Cam Jackson is a mountain of a man and a run stuffer. Don't let the 5th round fool you, there are run-stuffing DTs available in the 5th round. He holds the double team and let's the rest of the guys go hunt. Tremble/Sanders is a good 2TE set-up. Evans can fill in with enough size + speed that he can contribute on special teams as well as sub in. Brett didn't like the Evans pick but loved the Jimmy Horn Jr pick. EJ points out that he is a route technician that was cooking people at the Senior Bowl. Whoever stays healthy between Horn Jr and Renfrow is going to end up being the starting slot in Carolina which is going to be very, very dangerous for defenses to deal with. They become a cheat code on 3rd & medium. Brett comments that Mitchell Evans has a higher chance of making the team due to the other talent in the room, but EJ is a big James Mitchell guy and pulling for him to compete with Evans for TE3 Jimmy Horn Jr would be a starter coming off of the practice squad. Thinks Carolina fans will start calling situations "3rd down and Jimmy" because of what he's going to be able to do. The WR room being so full though puts him at risk of not making the roster just due to numbers. Notable UDFAs: Luke Candra (G, Cincinnati), Jared Harrison-Hunte (DL, SMU), Jacolby George (WR, Miami), Moose Muhammad III (WR, Texas A&M) If Horn Jr is at risk of not making the roster, UDFA WRs definitely aren't but are playing for practice squad spots at this point The team in general has better depth this offseason so most of the UDFAs are competing for practice squad spots. Brett thought Harrison-Hunte was going to be drafted in round 4 and was the best player on the SMU defensive front. Might have to settle for a practice squad spot due to all of the money spent on the IDL. Has a quick first step and can get lateral to attack a gap quickly with heavy hands. Has three-name guy profile like Roy Robertson-Harris, John Franklin Meyers, Sebastian Joseph Day Dan Morgan didn't let the fact that they were building depth sway them from signing UDFAs. So what if they don't make the 53, they're still going to come in and compete. NFL level competition for their practice squad. Lots of talents guys sitting on the 3rd and 4th strings that can potentially make the final roster or at least the practice squad. EJ loves the approach is too much is not enough because we weren't good enough last year and personnel won't be the reason for that again. Talent-wise, the defense is so much better now that they have NFL players (and enough of them). Carolina has primed itself to make a big jump. Final segment coming up

Summary (continued) Brett: "Bryce Young was not the issue and anybody that says Bryce Young was the issue just wasn't paying attention to Carolina." Heavy focus on outside zone in the run game (8th in the league, called 40% of the time) 8th in man-blocking Jab was outside zone, hook was man 53.9% outside zone from under center 32nd in outside zone in shotgun (didn't do it once, but were 5th in man-blocking) Run game wasn't simplistic as much as the team recognized who they were and what they were good at. They were out executing opponents in the run game. The offense didn't have an identity in 2023, but in 2024 they found it in being able to establish the run Coming out of the Bye they played against KC, TB, and PHI in back-to-back-to-back games. Yes, they lost all three but... Lost to KC by a field goal Lost to TB by a field goal Gave Philly a game, lost 22 - 16 but the Eagles were scrapping to stay alive against Carolina "For those of you that are not Panthers fans, if you didn't watch Bryce Young last year, would it shock you to know that he was the 11th-highest rated QB in all of football under pressure in the entire league last year?" Higher under pressure passer rating than Jordan Love, CJ Stroud, Jalen Hurts, and Patrick Mahomes. He was good under pressure last year 4th in big-time throws under pressure only behind Sam Darnold, Josh Allen, and Joe Burrow Didn't start the entire year but was still 4th in the league in that metric He was legitimately a good starting QB last year after a rookie season where everything around him was so bad that it looked like he was wondering whether or not he could play football, but now we're seeing Bama Bryce When talking about the three game stretch Brett had, EJ reminds us: "Typically when you want to see a team climb out of the cellar, the progress comes in little bits. First thing is winning games against the teams you're 'supposed to beat.' Then beating teams in your division who you can really go head-to-head with and then maybe challenging those NFL elites. The Panthers kind of skipped those first two steps." A lot of that was Bryce getting the team to believe in the pros like they had in college Canales did a good job of highlighting the Drew Brees-iness in Bryce Young's game (reading coverages and identifying opening spaces). A lot of the best offenses in the game today operate from under center and run play-action. QBs that can turn, give a hard fake, flip back, and make a split-second decision off of that limited info it's a super power. Bryce's super power isn't his arm or his legs, but his vision and processing. 12th overall in under center rate 30th overall in motion at the snap (don't want that going while the QBs eyes are turned) 10th most passes from under center were play-action (91%) The ability to establish the run (especially under center) with a QB that's really good at play action from under center due to his vision + processing allow him to see things quickly enough to make it work gave them an identity. Same reasons that made Brees and Goff successful. Expecting them to steal from Ben Johnson's offense because everything Goff does well, Bryce does well Coaching staffs aligning with their player strengths doesn't happen nearly as often as we think even at the NFL level, but that seems to be what's happening in Carolina. They went back and built Bryce back up and that has established the relationship that the offense is going to built on going further. Next section is going into the front office + coaching staff. Got to handle a couple of things for work and then continuing the summary/summaries!

Summary Acknowledges that most people watching aren't Panthers fans, but tells a familiar story: A football fan is sitting and eating snacks and gets curious about a random football team, so they turn the game on and watch them. The result? Pure entertainment. Potentially the most entertaining football game of the season. The Panthers are going to be that team that the entire league becomes a fan of during a random week this season. Brett is more optimistic than most Carolina fans: "They're a solid football team." First half is going to be discussing everything that went wrong, second half is what they believe is getting right EPA ranks 32nd in points allowed, points differential, rush defense 31st in pass defense 26th in passing offense 23rd in points scored 11th in rushing offense The main reason the defense was awful: Derrick Brown got hurt. Nobody realized how important he was to the team until he wasn't in the lineup. The pass rush had evaporated as well, but without DB it completely gutted the run defense as well as the pass rush due to how much revolves around him. They weren't a talented enough unit to even approach making up for his absence. Had to blitz as a result. 10th highest blitz-rate in the NFL with a bottom-4, bottom-3 pressure rate (worst pass rush in the NFL when not blitzing). Couldn't tackle in space, couldn't cover, got blown off of the ball in the run game Folks will point to DB's sack numbers as him not being as impactful as they're saying. He had 12 QB hits in 2022, 15 in 2023 so while he isn't finishing sacks he's still the straw stirring the drink. 32nd in DL pass-rush win rate, 32nd in DL pressure-rate with a 3rd down blitz-rate of 47.2% (2nd in the NFL). Couldn't get home early, couldn't get home late, just couldn't get home. Early downs they were even worse. 4th most snaps with light boxes (due to safety rotation) (32nd in quarters call) Couldn't stop the run even though they majored in cover 3, couldn't rush the passer even though they blitzed a lot. Bad on 1st down, worst on 2nd down, and apocalyptic on 3rd down. Physically impossible for the defense to be worse this season coming. The team tried to duct tape things around and lean on Shaq after DB went down, but then he went down and the wheels fell completely off Had pocket crushers that could hold their place on the line but nobody that would come screaming off the edge Would've been able to "hold its own" but when the keystone went down so did the rest of the unit and the strategy built around it Evero did a good job of scheming up free runners in the backfield to set up TFLs but guys just kept missing tackles. One of the risks of leaning on safety rotation is that it can create awkward angles for safeties in the run game as they're rotating while the ball carrier is starting up. Safeties that struggle to tackle in space are going to miss even more tackles because of that. Rotated from middle open to middle closed to 243 times which was 53% of their cover-3 snaps. Allowed 6.7ypc in the run game against these rotations (2nd worst in the league) 5th worst average depth of tackle on those rotations at 5.47yds Most missed tackles in the league on those rotations at 40 12 of those missed tackles were from LBs 16 from DBs Improving tackling alone would raise the team from dead last in every single metric to at least 20th which Panthers fans might be good with at this point Brown, Brown III, Wharton, Scourton, and Umanmielen on 3rd down? They can work with that. The DL is going to be the rising tide to lift the pass rush boat Conversation is pivoting to the offense. Going to grab a quick bite to eat and then continue the summary in 15min!

Link to article Because of the fieldhouse construction at the practice fields, Saturday marked the only opportunity for fans to see the Panthers in person during training camp — this summer and next. A good-sized crowd — more than 45,500 tickets were distributed — watched the rain stop just before the team took the field for the scrimmage-like practice. What they saw was mostly a microcosm of the first two weeks of camp — a steady performance by Bryce Young, some good and bad from rookie receiver Tetairoa McMillan, and physical play by a defense that was the NFL’s worst in 2024. As the Panthers prepare to welcome the Cleveland Browns for a joint practice and preseason game this week, a look at seven things we’ve learned through the first two weeks. 1. Young is in a better place than last summer During training camp last year, Young was learning his second offense and working with his third play caller since the Panthers drafted him No. 1 in the spring of 2023. It didn’t help that his only reps in a preseason game came on the opening drive at Buffalo during the third exhibition. When Young looked listless and ineffective during a pair of blowout losses to begin the season, Canales benched him in favor of Andy Dalton. Fast forward to this summer, when Young has demonstrated a command of and comfort level in Canales’ system. That’s not to say he’s been on-point every practice: Nickel Chau Smith-Wade baited him into an end-zone interception last week. But Canales likes the way Young is running the offense, hitting most of his throws and making off-platform throws — his signature at Alabama and over the second half of last season. 2. Kicking competition is going to last a while longer The sense here has been that undrafted rookie Ryan Fitzgerald is the favorite to win the kicking job, and you wondered how long the Panthers would keep two kickers on the roster. But after Fitzgerald went only 1-of-3 on field goals during FanFest, it’s reasonable to think Canales will keep the competition open through at least the first preseason game or two. 3. Don't crown Princely just yet — and don't bury Ickey Princely Umanmielen, the third-round pick from Ole Miss, created a stir during the first practice by beating left tackle Ikem Ekwonu and inadvertently making contact with Young, causing him to fumble. Umanmielen got by Ekwonu on an inside move the following day, causing some consternation among fans on social media — which Umanmielen tried to shoot down by defending Ekwonu. It’s also worth mentioning that those plays came during shorts-and-helmets sessions, when defensive linemen typically have the upper hand. During Saturday’s full-pads practice, Ekwonu did a nice job locking his arms out against Umanmielen and protecting Young’s blind side. Still, you have to think Umanmielen — with his length, bend and explosive first step — is going to make an impact as a rookie. 4. Dan Morgan may have uncovered another undrafted gem Anyone who attended FanFest got a long look at undrafted cornerback Corey Thornton, who saw a bunch of first-team work with Jaycee Horn getting the night off. The Panthers love the 6-1 Thornton’s length and physicality, which was on display Saturday with his press-man coverage against McMillan, the first-round pick from Arizona. Thornton played four seasons at UCF before transferring to Louisville last year. He’s impressed coaches with how he goes about his business. 5. The Panthers also may have found a couple of dawgs The Panthers’ safeties weren’t particularly good at tackling last season. But Moehrig and Ransom don’t mind lowering their shoulders into teammates — sometimes when coaches would prefer they don’t. That was the case Saturday when Ransom, a fourth-round pick from Ohio State, came in high to hit receiver T.J. Luther in the end zone on an incompletion. That prompted a tackling lesson from Canales. “I love the physical play. (But) that’s gotta be a left shoulder hit,” he said. “You try to get your right shoulder across, your head will be involved. You will be getting mail from the league office. It’s an educational process.” 6. Panthers' receiving corps is deeper — and faster Young has more playmakers around him this year. That means even on nights like Saturday, when McMillan never got untracked, there are other guys to step up in the passing game. Xavier Legette caught a short throw from Young and took off through the middle of the defense for a 40-yard touchdown. Jimmy Horn, the sixth-round pick from Colorado, pulled down a pair of TD passes from Andy Dalton. 7. A few other young guys to watch Rookie running back Trevor Etienne made a nice cut Saturday to get to the second level, where a defender knocked the ball loose (it appeared to be after the play had been whistled dead). Etienne, a fourth-round pick and the brother of Jacksonville Jaguars RB Travis Etienne, is expected to displace Raheem Blackshear as a returner and No. 3 back. Bam Martin-Scott, an undrafted rookie from South Carolina, made a shoestring catch to intercept Jack Plummer late in FanFest. Martin-Scott seems like a lock to make the roster as a depth linebacker and special teams regular. Former Stanford WR Brycen Tremayne has made the most of his reps. The 6-4, 212-pounder spent the last two years on Washington’s practice squad, and should get opportunities in the preseason games.

I'm very, very high on Jimmy Horn Jr right now. His speed and agility is going to be a huge asset.

I can't wait to pay for another roster update and hope that the team ascends in-season.

Got the notification email and ready to redeem myself!

No new vids from what I've seen today, but @RoaringRiot put up a fun compilation

This thread is weird. There's clearly content out there.