Gapanthersfan

It’s nobody’s business how XL lives his life, football related or not. It’s his bank account. Just as it is with any other career, in the NFL, everybody is replaceable. I’m sure his contract has numerous infractions that will result in a breach.

Didn’t realize Renfro did returns! Thank you for that It’s his (Renfro) to lose then, which he won’t.

I would think so. If things got dire in the RB room, finding someone to match his production ain’t too hard. He made the team based on his ability to not muff a punt and make a decent attempt at a return. I will say it was nice to see someone sure handed back there but I can’t remember a single big return he ever had for us. Horn has to be penciled in as the default returner unless things look really bad at camp. I can see him as being a very special kick return guy.

Profit sharing among owners. More ‘desirable’ matchups garner more viewership, leads to more revenue generated and more profit for everyone invested. Y’all don’t think there will ever be a Titans vs Panthers SB, do you? lol, yeah right. Tampa vs Jacksonville? Now that’s funny. Now, do I think there is ‘the man’ who overlords over all of this? Nah, but bias, even among refs, owners and media can, will, does, and always exist when there is $$ involved. Refs are people too. Probably football fans, and as such, probably have a favorite team and a favorite player ( why would a non-fan ever become a ref). There is no way officiating will be completely impartial when this is the case. Might be an interesting idea (not in a stalker ish way) to see where each ref grew up/lives, then you could see their likely allegiance. What if 2 refs officiated the same game and they both grew up in say SF, Dallas, Philly or New York? Impartial officiating. Nah. Would you be? Panthers need a FG to advance in the playoffs, it’s third and long with 45 sec left in the game… obvious hold on your Your team’s center? You calling that? Don’t lie, you know you wouldn’t.

If you can stall out 2 drives on team A, and keep a stalled drive alive for team B, team B will win the vast majority of the time.

I see them keeping everyone mentioned and could see Blackshear getting sent packing as Horn takes his place. I like Blackshear but he’s a JAG returner and RB. Horn has far more upside with his speed. With drafting Travis, this would automatically put Blackshear as RB #4. Do teams normally carry that many on the active roster?

I was more referring to the actual following each team has. The above teams except for maybe NO have MASSIVE followings. You can go to any sports bar anywhere in the country on a Sunday and there will be all of the above teams’ jerseys represented. Yes, the Panthers occupy a large geographical area, but the number of people that actually care about the franchise or can name more than 5 prior players is still very small. South Carolina is largely Clemson/SEC country and it’s not even close. There is a Panthers contingency, but it has to compete. Like it or not, Panthers are still not all that relevant in the NFL. We’re a 30 year old team based in a transplant state that loses more often than not, has never had back to back winning seasons, no SB victories and is stuck squarely in college football country. It’s tough to grow our brand until more consistent winning goes our way. Most fans of sports teams are Luke warm bandwagoners. No one jumps on a broken down bandwagon. It’s not hopeless but until we start seeing consistent success it won’t change.

It was completely disgusting and the most obvious fix I’ve ever witnessed. Deflating. It’s probably gone on for decades but high def TV has truly outed the egregious ‘officiating’. When was the last time a small market team was allowed to win a SB? Offensive holding is it, and it’s so predictable. 2nd and 7 turns in to 2nd and 17. Defense pins their ears back, covers the slot guy and TE roaming the middle, and watches for the WR/RB screen. D line needs to maintain gap integrity. The deep shot to the WR down the sideline is a low percentage play so no real worry there. Most average O lines won’t be able to convert. Loser getting too close to FG range in a close game? Holding. Winner needs a short field? Holding. DCs love them some obvious passing downs. Narrows down the playbook and significantly puts the odds in their favor. Put a team in 2nd/3rd and long all day and they are NOT going to win that game. It would be interesting to do a statistical analysis of the relationship of holding calls and game outcomes. This is where having skill position people that can go yard on any given play is so valuable.

The easiest way for officiating to affect the outcome of the game is with offensive holding. It’s easy pickings. There’s some degree of holding on every snap by the o line but impossible to see by casual fans unless it’s shown on replay in slow motion. There will always be a holding call available at a ref’s whim. A few non-calls for one side and a few ‘untimely timely’ calls for the suckers and it’s a wrap. The odds of converting 2nd and 20 twice in 1 drive… very slim. It’s a devastating penalty. 10 yards? Why so extreme? Why isn’t defensive holding 10 yards, along with first down? I’ve never gotten over the SF playoff game or the 2015 SB.

Love smitty, but can you put him ahead of Moss, Harrison, Fitz, Jefferson, Megatron, TO , Andre Johnson, Deandre Hopkins, Evans, Tyreek and several others not immediately coming to mind? Smitty only has 9 more career receiving TDs than Marquis Colston (yes, I know Brees). Colston never even made first team pro bowl. It’s painful to say, but he’s not even top 10 when considering his competition

My long and rambling post: The guy is all heart, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he came back even better next year. He’s exactly the guy you lock up. The money won’t ever change the way he plays. It was a big fumble, but what 1,000 yard back fumbles once in an entire season? Pride. This team is FINALLY seeing guys who obviously take the game very seriously. Hunt, Chuba, Thielen, Brown, Horn (CB), Coker, Bryce (IMHO). Bye bye, Spider-Man. I don’t see these dudes being OK with teammates half-assing practice or in games. I can see Brown and Horn coming over to talk to somebody. Good team? Ummm, maybe, but will still likely lose more close games than they win unless this last draft turns in to LOB part 2. That’s a stretch. Pretty good/decent team. Yes. They finished the season as a pretty good team. I know I sound like a broken record harping back to it, but going in to ATL and putting a 40 burger on them en route to an OT win. A bad Panthers team would have had their brakes beaten off. We’ve seen it. Rose colored glasses on and bonging a 40 of hopium: There are watershed moments that occur that change the course of franchises, both good and bad. If Fox doesn’t pull Rodney at halftime, the epic journey that was 2003 never happens. On the negative side, Cam taking that one hit from Watt was the end of any and all Panthers relevancy and we’ve been the biggest losers in all of pro sports as a result. Watershed moments. LOB draft. Vinny goes down and the goat is born. Will the ATL game be the spark that this franchise has desperately needed? Could it be that they hit the mega million jackpot with Princley and Scourton as eat QBs for breakfast? Sure would be nice having 2 all-pro edge guys on the cheap for the next 4 years. A lot of unknowns, but at least it actually feels fun again.

My feeling is they had to make it relatable for generations that came after the gen -x’ers. Can’t have too many old heads on the list. NOBODY wanted ANYTHING of AD or LT. Brees. If teams kept prime Brees from 3 or fewer TDs and less than 275 yards, in the dome, then Brees had a bad night and would make up for it the next game. Best field surgeon I’ve ever seen. Brady had the damn shining, but Brees was something else.

This. He knows where the seam is about to open, cuts, and accelerates hard. He’s slippery and tacklers always seem to be taking awkward angles to get to him. No dancing. Runs low and powerful. Almost never goes backwards for a loss. We’ve rarely had the guy who bounces off of tacklers. It’s nice seeing another one.

AD and LT were Barkley before there was a Barkley. If they got a seam, it was over. Wrap. Drew Brees on the practice squad is criminal. He was a better QB than Manning. There I said it. Mannings walk on the water so he had to be #2, only because they could never sanely justify him over Brady. Manning had Marvin Harrison. Brees had some dude out of Hofstra. 80,000 yards passing. Come on.

Or Adrian Peterson

it’s really just the ones who want Bryce gone and never want him in a Panthers uniform, ever, regardless of how well he does. Those who are hopeful for Bryce doing well have an optimistic slant on the season. The incessant Bryce knockers, the never Brycers, don’t see the season amounting to anything. It’s weird psychology.

Knowns: top 10 o line 2 proven, quality RBs 2 proven, WRs who get open and catch everything. 2 others who show a lot of ‘potential’ A QB who improved greatly in the last few games of the season, topped off by putting up a 40 burger win in OT in this franchise’s kryptonite house. What will transpire this season is yet to be seen. defense has far less proven. 2 very good CBs, a stud DT (coming off a major injury) and the rest is, again, ‘potential.’ A DC that is essentially starting the season on the hot seat. This is not 2003, but it could be good. 2003 was the most stacked roster from top to bottom that this team has ever had. This squad finished on a big upswing, yes, but we’ll see. I think it all comes down to how spiked your hopium is. The running game is where it is for the team. This is not a defense that will win 3 points games. Just not. To win, this team will have to dominate TOP and come up with 2+ more 3rd down stops each game. Again, do-able and should be good for at least a 7 point differential in our favor, ‘hopefully.’ I will say that it is nice seeing talent that actually belongs in the NFL on our roster.

Being vulnerable usually makes one more cautious, ie no helmet laws in Florida. I appreciate the ability of Bryce to avoid a hit, but also not being afraid at all of contact. That last part has shown me a lot. On numerous occasions, he’s put his head down and taken the hit when we needed an extra 2 yards.

Needs the beard

I’ll keep saying it. The feeling of intensity is palpable. This is going to look like Dan Morgan brand football. ‘No more shinings, Billy.’

You have your opinion I have mine. You don’t have to call me a liar in the process. I wrote what I wrote to explain why I feel the way I feel. Nothing more than that.

One theme I’m already noticing… players are taking this season very seriously. I’m getting the vibe that there won’t be a lot of laughing on the sidelines this year.

Poo me, but Cam really tarnished his image in my eyes with the MVP over SB thing. I don’t want to rehash it as everyone already said their piece, but it killed what little interest I may of had in Cam off of the football field. That said, I still wish him success.

Thing with Renfrow is, he didn’t take time off due to a football injury. It’s not like he’s coming back with a bad knee, hip, back or shoulder. He needs conditioning, but if his UC/Chron’s is well controlled, he should be the same guy from a physical perspective. This bodes well.

This.