tukafan21

Creepy, I was about to start a thread with this exact phrase in the title. As I said in the Horn thread, this isn't a SB team yet, so ironically, losing CMC for a little bit might be the best thing that could happen to this franchise. I entered this year with literally, one and only one goal... to go into the offseason knowing if we want Darnold to be our franchise QB moving forward. Yes, CMC in the game can certainly make him a better player of course, but there is no better way to know what he's got than to see him have to operate without CMC back there. So yes, for the greater good of this franchise's future, I think playing the next month (or more) without CMC will actually be the best thing that could happen to us long term. As I think if we leave this season thinking Darnold is our QB of the future, we'll be able to lock him up for 4-6 years at 20-25 million a year, which is going to be an ABSOLUTE BARGAIN in a year or two when bottom half of the league QB's are making near 30 million a year once the new TV contracts kick in. This team in 2 years, with a bargain price QB could be SCARY dangerous with guys in their prime like DJ, Burns, Chinn, Brown, Horn, and hopefully a healthy CMC.

The severity doesn't matter if it's actually a broken foot... if he broke his foot, it's at minimum a 4 week injury, and even that would be quick. But let's say he was completely out for 4 more weeks, that means a week 8 return to practice and probably a week 9 return to games. Is it really worth rushing back a guy with his potential to play in 7 more games when we're not going to be serious SB contenders, while risking further injury? If he breaks his foot twice in one year because he was rushed back, forget his top 5 CB potential, we're looking at a middling CB at best. I've always been someone who is able to look at the greater and long term good than short term below average wins. Had no problem rooting for us to lose in 2010, a losing season to get a difference maker is totally worth it in my opinion (and should be in any REAL fans minds). If this team was a legit SB contender it would be different, but even with Horn fully healthy, we're just not there yet. It's no knock on this team, they're great, but just very young and there are teams ahead of them for SB contention. So I'm fine just letting him heal up, worst case scenario not having him out there costs us a game or two and helps us in draft positioning in the end.

IR him with no option of return... I don't care if it's a 4 week or a 10+ week injury... this isn't a SB contending team yet and this kid looks like he has legit top 5 CB potential in this league. If we were actual SB contenders, then sure, do what we can to get him back this year, but we're not, so let him heal up 1,000% and come back next year, don't risk his future as he has super high end potential. IR him and it's like we get 2 first rounders to the team next year. Today was the most depressing loss I can remember experiencing.

We might be the worst 2-0 team, it's a battle between us the Broncos, and Raiders, and I think all 3 are about even, not an insult to any of them, but none of them (or us) are to the level of the Bucs, Rams or 49ers right now. Look, I love what we've done so far, Darnold looks solid, CMC is the best RB in the game and showing it, and the defense looks like a definite top 10 unit. But none of that changes how young and unproven we are, having beat a terrible Jets team and a Saints squad missing half a dozen starters, a bunch of backups, and almost their entire offensive coaching staff, who have also been living on the road for the better part of the last month. I was optimistic coming into the season, and it's grown since then, but you still need to keep things in perspective, despite even the expected 3-0 start to the season, making the playoffs will still be questionable and even if we just miss out, it won't be a disappointment of a season as this team looks to be growing under Rhule. I have high hopes for the next few years, but this isn't our year, we're not there yet.

not to be the wet blanket, but has anyone ever watched this segment before? They do ABSURD predictions, I'd be willing to be that not a single one of them from this segment has ever been correct, literally. As in Mooch, ALWAYS predicts some Kurt Warner record to fall, basically all he ever predicts, they're not serious predictions.

Not gonna lie, after he got his INT and as he was going to celebrate, saw him toss the ball away... my first reaction was, "how can you toss away your first INT which will be a ball that has the Saints logo on it, the team your dad played for, such a perfect ball to have on your mantle in the man cave the rest of your life" Was glad to see one of the photographers noticed this too and picked the ball up to hand back to him.

Not kicking it thru the back of the end zone very well could be a strategy the coaches have implemented. Kicking it thru the end zone helps keep your special-teamers healthy, but with touchbacks now being to the 25, a lot of teams ask their kicker to try and have it land right on the goal line so they're forced to return it and start short of the 25 in most instances. Whether we cover the kick well enough to keep them short of the 25 is another question, but I wouldn't necessarily say he couldn't do it, it might have been asked of him.

I thought the offense looked good in the first half, so maybe we can chalk it up to their halftime adjustments, particularly as their HC was an elite level DC for years.

If you don't live in NC, you've only got 2 options if you don't have DTV..... Stream it at home, or watch it at a bar. Prior to 2020, I had no issue spending the afternoon at BWW to watch games, but I'm still not ready to sit in a bar for 3+ hours to watch the game, so streaming at home is the only option to watch the game. Also... I don't watch on my computer, I plug my laptop into my projector and have it projected onto my wall at the equivalent of a 140" screen, not too shabby of a way to watch the game.

Anyone have some good suggestions for sites to find streams of the game here for week 1? Can't wait for there to be a standalone option since I've never had DTV, definitely will order it on whichever site has it, but for now still need to find those streams unfortunately.

Honestly, would they even be able to sue them? Nobody is forcing them to get the vaccine, even if there is a mandate, they don't HAVE to take it, they just can't be employed by an NFL team. That's still the player's choice in the end to take the vaccine or not, so not sure they would have any legal grounds to sue the NFL. If you could sue over a vaccine mandate, I'm guessing you wouldn't have any schools or employers instituting a mandate as it would be too much of a legal liability.

Not deserving of first ballot, but I also have a higher standard for first ballot than most, I think they should be reserved for the a very few upper elite of even HOF standard, such as a Peyton or Woodson this year. Love me some Smitty as much as anyone else here, but he's not on the level as someone like those two. I don't think Calvin should have even sniffed a first ballot, great career, but it was shorter than most HOF careers and he did it in an offense and a QB that just chucked it downfield all game long, no kidding he was able to put up stats. I was unsure of Smitty ever getting in when he retired, just cause of the log jam of WRs still out there, but a lot have been getting in finally since he retired, and as someone else noted, him being on the NFL Network has been huge, particularly since he's entertaining to watch. He'll likely get in somewhere in his 2nd to 5th year of eligibility, which I think is fair for someone who had the career he did, if he won a ring I think he'd push for a first ballot.

The only numbers we should have retired right now with no questions asked is 89 and 90. While I understand that you can't retire all numbers, and we're still a young franchise, those two players represent the next level of greatness, it's hard to enter into the NFL after 40 years and be competitive in less than 10 years as a franchise, those two are the reason why, no if's, and's, or but's about it, retire both of those numbers yesterday. I'd put 59 VERY close to being a lock to be retired, probably like 90% currently and after he ends up a first ballot HOFer I'd put it in that same category. If it were up to me, 51 wouldn't even be retired... as much as Sam means to this franchise, it's not really because of what he did as a player, it was when he was a coach. We've completely adopted "Keep Pounding" so much that it's stitched in our jersey's and is a set in stone motto of this team forever, to me, that's more than enough respect for what Mills meant to this franchise, more than retiring a jersey ever could mean. I'm guessing most football fans couldn't tell you he even played for us, let alone what number he wore, but I'll bet many of them who have no idea about those things, still know the Panthers motto is "Keep Pounding." Then it comes down to #1... while I wouldn't retire it right now, I still wouldn't allow anyone else to wear it, and then when Cam retires and ends up back in the Panther family, just like Smitty did, that's when it gets retired. Those are the players that built this franchise, anyone after them is going to take something truly special to break into the retired number status, as most franchises have less than 10 retired numbers, and they've been around 2-3x as long as we have. And yes, that even includes guys like CMC, he's been great so far, but he'll still need to make a Luke-esque impact, if not greater, to get to that level. And to be honest, if he changes to 5 from 22, he has to start from scratch, nothing he accomplished in 22 counts towards getting either number retired, love the guy, but he's not Kobe. Beyond that, I see no current players even in the discussion to get on that path, love me some Chinn, Burns, and DJ, but it's FAR too early to even consider putting them in the discussion of even being on the path to jersey retirement.

My favorite part is that these guys are sure to be caught thanks to the cameras. In a time where EVERYONE has a facemask right now, why you'd break into a multi million dollar home and NOT put on a mask before doing so, is just so dumb, you have to assume/know that the house likely has cameras.

Great to hear the little guy came thru the surgery well, here's to a speedy and full recovery so the entire Olsen clan can hopefully pound the drum before week 1, that would be one hell of a sight to see.

Honestly, I'd prefer we have no legitimate backup QB. This team is not built to be competitive with a backup QB, if Darnold sucks and/or gets hurt, I'd rather we have a scrub in at QB who will cost us games and thus drive up our draft pick for next year to either draft a stud QB, or if Darnold is good and just misses some time due to injury, it gives us high picks each round to continue building out the roster

Man this is some bittersweet news, awesome for the Olsen family, but as you said, as awesome as that is, it’s equally sad knowing it means another family just lost a young child.

I don't mean this to come off wrong, but I'm honestly not educated on this kind of stuff and I'm curious, but... Is this a good or a bad sign? Is it good that he's on the list or is it bad in the sense that it means the situation is more urgent and dire for the little guy now and that's the only reason he was just put on the list? Or maybe it's a bit of both? Either way, my thoughts and prayers are with the Olsen family, nothing but an absolute class act from day 1 and will forever be among the all time great Panthers. Keep Pounding TJ!

While I wouldn't be upset if we traded I'm if we got something really good in return, but while I don't really expect/want him to be back next year, I still want him around this year. I think it would be good to have Marshall as the #3 this year to learn and not have as much pressure on him. Then after this year, if Robbie just loved Rhule so much that he's wiling to stick around on like a 7-10 million a year deal, then I'd love to have him stay. But if he's going to want 10-15 that he likely could get if he puts up another 1,000 yard season, then we just have to let him walk as the money is better used elsewhere. And I'm not so sure I even want to get a comp pick for him, I'd love it if we were active in Free Agency next year and brought in a difference maker or two, who would cancel out any Robby comp pick.

It will be Dallas since the league can force them to do it, short of someone else major, like KC or TB, deciding they want to do it, nobody will bring in bigger ratings than Dallas, so the league is likely to go that route.

If CMC wants to change his number, Tepper should just cover the cost, it likely would net him more money on the backend when they sell even more CMC jerseys due to the new number

If I was the Chargers, I'd go all in to get him. They just did an impressive re-build of their OL this year, Herbert looks legit, and putting him behind that line with Allen on one side and Julio on the other, would be near impossible to defend

Hard pass, no thank you It would likely take our next 3 firsts, plus a solid player or two, at minimum to get him. I'm not sure we're a SB contender quite yet if you add Rodgers, especially as we'd likely need to give up a couple solid starters to get him. So why mortgage the future to get him for a couple years before his age starts to catch up to him? I'd rather do what we're doing right now, build the team the right way to have sustained success in the long run.

Weird that it says he was considering 21, I wonder if that means Chinn has already told the team he wants to change numbers

I've been growing my hair out since the start of Covid, seeing this makes me re-think that decision LOL