Mage

This game is more winnable than people think. However, like the entire season, it largely depends on Bryce Young. He needs to be able to make some plays. Saints didn't bring anyone notable onto the team during the offseason. They are old and have a bad OL, especially with Ramczyk out. And how good will their defense be? They are relying on a lot of older guys. Davis is 35, Jordan is 35, Honey Badger is 32. I'm expecting a low-scoring game. Whoever controls the LOS best will win. Sounds cliche but I think that will be the biggest difference in this game. Both teams have questionable OLs, but Panthers brought in talent to upgrade there. Saints did not.

Would you like for us to cut JJ Jansen or Andy Dalton?

Frankie Luvu is what we all thought Shaq Thompson was going to be.

If Bryce can't make it work, then we move on.

At the end of the day it is the quarterback position at the top and everything comes after. I feel like RBs get a bad rep because it is the position easiest to evaluate and notice. Nobody knows about a 4th round guard that's playing well on whatever team, but because of stats and fantasy, you WILL know about the 4th round RB who is doing good. That doesn't mean it is easier to find a late-round gem at RB than it is RG or WR or CB or whatever. Like, is a DE more important than a RB? Sure, but at the end of the day you just need a good team. Other than QB, no one position is going to make a huge difference in the win column. Reggie White wouldn't have saved the Panthers last year.

Top 15 rushers from 2023 CMC (1st Round) Derrick Henry (2nd Round) Kyren Williams (5th Round) James Cook (2nd Round) D'Andre Swift (2nd Round) James Conner (3rd Round) Najee Harris (1st Round) Joe Mixon (2nd Round) David Montgomery (3rd Round) Raheem Mostert (UDFA) Travis Etienne (1st Round) Tony Pollard (4th Round) Breece Hall (2nd Round) Rachaad White (3rd Round) Bijan Robinson (1st Round) The next 2 RBs after Bijan? Saquon and Gibbs, also 1st rounders. If you want to argue RBs are a devalued position, be my guest. But lets not act like random 4th rounders and beyond are routinely playing as well as 1st and 2nd rounders. Like every position, you can find quality players in any round, but your best bet will be in the first 3. Only 3 of the top 17 rushers were drafted past the 3rd round.

I'm excited for his arrival. The ACL doesn't concern me that much. And I do agree we probably shouldn't have taken him in the 2nd. But what's done is done, and at the end of the day he's a very talented runner.

Crazy how many years it would have benefited us to pick No. 1 in the draft and we won some random games. Then the one year we finally earn it again, we don't even have the pick. It really can't get much worse than that.

Most people didn't care because they realize that the consensus #1 QB in the draft (which Bryce was, despite what so many people on here attempt to argue otherwise) tends to not throw at the combine (ie Caleb Williams) https://x.com/jacobinfante24/status/1761955928184607023 Now if you want to argue that Bryce wasn't as good as those guys, go ahead. I'm not getting into any "Bryce bad/good" debates. All I'm saying is that as the guy who was largely considered No. 1 during the college football season and before the draft, it made sense from a business perspective for him to not throw and that is why it didn't raise any flags with most people who pay attention to these things. Just like most people didn't care about Caleb Williams not throwing (although as always you have your small % of people who insist it matters).

And? That is true for most teams. Can't predict injuries. Any team is a couple of injuries away from not being as good as they were. Yeah our depth isn't great I will agree with you but at the end of the day most defenses can't survive multiple injuries. Our defense was top 12 in run and pass defense efficiency last year, and that was despite Horn and Shaq being hurt. I don't see why (other than injuries) they can't finish top 15.

On paper, the run defense should be amazing. Admittedly the rest of the team looks like straight garbage, but that was one thing that stuck out to me. That is one hell of a front seven when it comes to run defense. It is what guys like Brown, Robinson, Clowney, Jewell, Shaq all do best. If Jaycee can stay healthy, this should be a top-15 defense.

This is probably the least I've kept up with the Panthers before the season. I don't think I could tell you a single thing that has happened during camp. Has Bryce Young looked that bad?

I mean there are hella starters who don't play a lick of preseason. Rams are notorious for it. Maybe Bryce should play, but whether he does or doesn't won't make a lick of difference in the locker-room. Everyone understands this is a business and the starters will be protected more than the back-ups.

Lol the summer league... Panthers haven't even played a preseason game yet, so seems unfair to compare.

Bro the 49ers are ridiculous

Panthers seem to do the best when fan morale is at its lowest... but I've said that for the last 9 years lol But I do think we will be better than we were last year. Would be hard to be any worse.

It blows my mind the Dolphins haven't won a playoff game since 2000 Raiders and Commanders kinda make sense because you know how bad their ownership was for so long. But how haven't the Dolphins just lucked into a playoff win by now? I mean think about how rough it has been these last 9 years for us. And that still doesn't come close to the length of time it has been since Dolphins last playoff win.

Increasing punishment only deters crime to a point. The vast majority of people who drink and drive are doing it with the expectation that they won't be caught (and 95% of the time, they are right, which is why they keep doing it; they don't consider the possibility of something bad happening and facing punishment). Making the punishment more severe isn't going to change that, especially when this decision is made by those who aren't thinking clearly to begin with. If cutting down on drinking and driving is the goal, then the solution isn't making the punishment more severe, but by making alcohol less accessible. But that will never happen.

I appreciate the bluntness. Something we have lacked from our HCs over the years.

It just dawned on me that Ian Thomas is the 3rd longest tenured player on offense/defense, only behind Taylor Moton and Shaq Thompson (4th if you include special teams' JJ Jansen).

The traditionalist in me hates all these active player and coaches podcasts.

Panthers aren't in a great spot, but plenty of examples in teams in spots similar to us turning it around within 2-3 years. All it takes is one. Hell, look at all the takes about the Texans 2 years ago. Yeah they got CJ Stroud, but who knows what is in store for the Panthers? Maybe we get our CJ Stroud in 2025 or 2026. You just never know. I don't think you can call a 2-3 year turnaround unrealistic though.

The biggest problem with the Panthers roster is the lack of top-end players. Derrick Brown is probably the only guy on the roster who would be top 10 at their position. Maybe Moton would be too, but I'm not going to lie and pretend like I'm familiar with all the right tackles in the NFL. Jaycee Horn could be a top 10 CB... if he stayed healthy. Otherwise, yeah, I agree that this roster is more talented than people think. We've got a bunch of good, quality players and young guys with upside. I think our depth is stronger than it was last year. However those top-end players who can win you a possession are what makes the difference in most games. This is why we need one of our recent high-draft picks to step up and be that player, whether it is Bryce, Legette, Ikem, Sanders, Brooks, Mingo, etc. This is why I'm generally not a fan of trading good players away. Replacing them is not nearly as easy as it seems on paper, although I do think we did a good job bringing in multiple players on the DL to help with the loss of Burns. You need to keep your best players. Say what you want about Hurney, yeah he did overpay a lot... but at least he kept them.

When did I accuse you of making Bryce Young threads? I said you make a lot of posts talking about how bad Bryce Young is in almost every thread that you post in, regardless of what the thread was about (such as this one). This is rich coming from the person who spent the last year complaining about "Bryce fanboys." Now he's giving advice about how to deal with stuff you don't want to read.

Excited if this is how his usage plays out on game-day. While there are questions about his ability as a receiver to run routes and get open consistently, I don't question his athleticism or physicality. He could play that Deebo role for us while he develops at receiver.