Bear Hands

12 hours ago, ForJimmy said:

They are projecting him to be cleared by training camp. He appears to be ahead of schedule. They still should ease him in early on. 
“Honestly, as far as rehab goes, it’s good,” Brooks said. “I’m out there, I’m running, I’m about to start cutting. So I’m progressing well. I’m right on track on where I need to be. For me to get back to camp, it’s also just a blessing. I feel like this injury’s a blessing from God just being that it gives me a chance to focus on a lot of other things.

Thanks for this. Good to hear this stuff from the player himself instead of guesswork prognosis.  We’ll get him out there when they think he’s ready, and sounds like it could be sooner than some think.

Having a guy who should be our RB1 moving forward in JB (that can pass catch) allows for us to just grab guys they think can be good fits. Penny at his pro best looked damn good to close out 2021, much better than anything we’ve seen recently, so I welcome it.

I’m not content with much on this team and offensive skill positions need some damn competition.  Tired of presuming content just bc we filled a need before we even know what they bring. Make them fight.

43 minutes ago, Jackie Lee said:

WW

We're top of the waiver wire til regular season week 3 when they start the new rankings

If there’s any year to be aggressive with it, it’s this one.

I saw an interesting point the other day about our type of situation.  It could have been wise to hold him off for 1-2 weeks, but that would not have anything to do with Bryce and you could easily communicate that from a PR standpoint.  

Why? Well, we just brought an entirely new staff into town, new offense for the returning OL, and had wholesale turnover elsewhere.  So just run Dalton out there the first game or so to see how things are shaking out.  Dry run to make sure we won't kill the kid.  We weren't eyeing the SB.  Get a sense of the line, the receivers, the playbook. 

It gives you a glimpse of what Bryce would be stepping into and a good barometer on where things stood sans him.  I suppose we sort of did that with Dalton, but that was a reactive switch and like @Ricky Spanish mentioned, it was against an injured SEA defense where we threw a ridiculous amount. 

Who knows, maybe we could have at least won a game or two more that way.  You can adjustments prior to Bryce stepping in, better tee it up for him, and maybe we end up winning game 1 or 2.

Last year was such a sh*tshow.  One of the worst seasons I've ever experienced in any sport for any team.  Absolutely nothing made sense together.  Happy we cut the cord early, but should have never hired that crew in the first place.   

I'd say one of those relatively short ~5-6' ones with some buoyancy in the thread so he doesn't hurt his neck.  

Let's get to the hard stuff Panthers.com...

I want to know where they stand on Kendrick vs. Drake lol

4 hours ago, Martin said:

To do this with an older rookie is really weird. Love needed to sit for a year or two as he was inexperienced and young. Penix is probably the most ready to start rookie in this class. To stash and sit an older top 10 pick for +2 years… when you are in a win now mode? It also eliminates some of the major benefits you get from a rookie QB, a cheap QB room. 

Exactly this as well. 

Beyond age concerns--by the time they find out if they have something in Penix, they'll need to work on a new contract not long after.  The newer league winning QBs have gotten extensions by year 3 (ie. Burrow). 

So, if Penix somehow lights it up year 3, he could turn around fairly quickly, probably by year 4, and ask for an extension.  ATL has really no buffer time in easing the bucks off the QB room to build a team around him. 

Not to mention, they'll be needing to make decisions on Terrell, London, Pitts, Bijan, a lot of high end investments BEFORE seeing Penix through, and that's IF he works out.   Lindstrom's contract is backloaded too and they can't cut Matthews until after 2026.  

Just a terrible use of resources as it relates to timing & salary allocation, no matter how you look at it.  

You're in win now, so get a talent to win now.  

Sometimes it’s obvious that we made a ton of reaches, panicked, got fleeced in trades or on the rare occasion got great value and nailed a draft.

This year, we landed promising talent, mostly around their projected spots per consensus. Made some nice dealings, gained a pick back next year and ended up with a draftee in every round 1-7z

I like the guys we drafted, we got every offensive skill player (RB, WR, TE) for the worst offense in the league. Landed a a really high ceiling LB fitted for our defense, and some developmental DBs and a DL. Not bad. 

First draft in a while where I’m not walking away scratching my head.

9 hours ago, Jon Snow said:

Penix will not see the field unless Cousins gets injured. If something as unfortunate as that were to happen I would think they would be praying he balled out. If he doesn't then things will get interesting in Atlanta. 

Penix is going to see the field first and work with the first team probably up until preseason due to Cousins rehab.

Thats what’s even more awkward is their 1-8 investment is going to get all of this chemistry and trust gained this offseason and just handoff to a vet right before the season starts.

9 minutes ago, CRA said:

I think he was zone to start last year and the O was horrible.  Think they shifted and it went to okay.

But yeah, his O last year was very Fox/Delhomme-ish,   Which big picture might make even less since then Frank for Bryce.  It’s lives off the deeper shots off run 

Yep.  Hainsey, Stinnie and Mauch were absolutely awful in run blocking last year so it's really hard to see how effective DC's offense will be with an even average run game.   Just hard to tell but the passing game started to click down the stretch.  Will be interesting to see.  Could be more SEA esque given the personnel in Tampa not really showing it at full effectiveness.

56 minutes ago, ForJimmy said:

Yeah I don't think he is ready day 1 for this role but I think we saw this as a bigger need than a Ladd slot WR type role.  

Honestly that Z role you are referring too seems to fit Diontae's skill set to me.  Great route runner, can shake coverage, and can rotate in and out of slot.  I know he will start as our X since he is our most polished best WR by a good margin, but if we do extend him and XL develops like we want you could slide DJ into that Z role, Mingo into the big slot, and XL to the X.  

This offense will be a working process (which I think is why Canales wants to be strong in the running game) for a while as it was awful last season plus we have a new system, plus some young players (XL, Sanders, Brooks) that will need some time.

Yeah it’s going to take another year to come together. The three guys this year are all great high-ceiling foundational pieces.  It’s a start. 

And if Diontae vibes well, maybe we give him a 2-3 year deal. 

17 minutes ago, ForJimmy said:

XL's size and strength puts him in a better spot to beat press coverage.  Maybe he isn't there today but his physical playing style and his size project him to line up outside in the NFL.  I think he is still pretty raw, but DC sees him as a Evans type X WR who will win jump balls and can line up on the outside.  He was one of the best in college at winning downfield which is what you want from your X IMO. 

He consistently won downfield, posting an FBS-leading 97.7 PFF receiving grade on 10-plus yard throws

The good things about Diontae is he can pretty much play all 3 WR positions.  He is a solid weapon to have if he can keep his head straight.  

Yep I think you laid out the role XL will ideally fit into long term. But I won’t be surprised if we start him out only outside in RZ and particular looks.

He’s not ready to be fixed at the line of scrimmage going up against press —that’s clearly Dionte’s role. 

He’ll likely be a combination of what we used Shenault and Mingo for in one dude (at least starting out)

Still think a speedy primary Z who can rotate into slot and shake off coverage is a big need. That’s pretty much Thielen’s role rotating in and out but he’s slowing down. He can get open but he’s not doing much once he catches it. Still think we need more shifty, short area quickness on this team that can quickly beat zone for Bryce. It’s missing.

5 minutes ago, ForJimmy said:

This is getting overlooked IMO. It was a great trade and we still got the player we wanted in Brooks. It’s nice to be on this side of a trade for once…

Yeah this was one of the best trades we managed in a while. Gained our second back from the Bryce trade, likely got the guy we wanted anyways. 

I'm rooting for him because the WR still feels incomplete to me.  It's a combination of our slot guys not having either speed or the short area quickness to beat better NBs and break big plays, and also not really having resolution at flanker.

Gosh, loving some of these WRs haha.  Javon Baker was a riot in his opening presser.  

Kind of wish we double dipped in the 5th or 6th for a shifty/joystick type dude like Malik but oh well. : /

2 minutes ago, Martin said:

Ward could fly up the rankings with a good year.

I agree.  I've been following him for the last 2 years and am a big fan.  Think he has all the tools to be successful.  Tough in the pocket, strong upper body and mechanics, he'll take risks (doesn't play the safe/stat friendly game), and he noticeably progressed as a processor last year.  

Big year for him in a new setting.  Will be interested to see how he performs in the ACC.  

Quote

Cam Ward threw three touchdown passes and only five incompletions in Miami’s spring game Saturday, surpassing 300 yards through the air on an afternoon when the Hurricanes’ secondary tackled poorly and looked like it could use a boost from the transfer portal.

https://theathletic.com/5413234/2024/04/13/miami-football-spring-game-cam-ward/

Some notable stuff re: the idea that this was a "reach":

• The guys at Underdog (Norris and Winks) really like Trevin.  Had him ranked as a 3rd.
• Brugler w/The Athletic had him as a 3rd rounder.  
• PFN had him #73 overall.  One of the top LBs, and ahead of Junior Colson.  
• The Steelers were reportedly eyeing him in the 3rd, and they honestly had a great draft.  They have good instincts.  

So I'm excited.

2 hours ago, Martin said:

I wasn’t looking for a RB, but Brooks is really really good, he is a complete back, he can run, catch and pass block. He is heads and shoulders above our current guys. He’s also close to 220 lbs., so he’s not a small guy 

Not to mention only ~235 carries in college total so he's got a lot of miles on the horizon.  

2 hours ago, 45catfan said:

Another year, another crappy draft. 

One of the bigger things that holds younger TEs back is the lack of true flex experience in college. Having both in-line and big slot looks. 

Last year-LaPorta had the high volume college experience, same with Kincaid & Kraft.  3 guys had it this year- Bowers, Sanders and Sinnott.  Stover a bit.  

It's reassuring to have a guy who has the experience and volume.  We're not relying on some upside and these 20-30 reception college years for 250ish yards.

This is a dude.

I've always appreciated this guys takes.  He's a big fan of Legette and is starting to convince me otherwise of our direction at receiver (linked to Panthers timestamp):

Just now, WhoKnows said:

It’s basically the same crew as the last 3 drafts. It really seems like we have a hard time going outside of our visits/interviews for late round picks. We don’t see to do well at all with guys who dropped that may or are be better overall players than guys we met.

I can agree with this.  We keep our focus on our top likes and don't let notable droppers influence our decision-making.  Even if those droppers align with needs.  We'll see.  The WR room still has me pretty nervous.  

7 minutes ago, *FreeFua* said:

this draft class is shaping up to be very similar to most of our recent draft classes 

Well it's entirely the same scouting room, same guys who've done all the reports the last 3 years.  Only difference is Fitt and his chins aren't there.  

Must not like Beaux Limmer or Brenden Rice