Gapanthersfan

Grown folks draft

The fresh prince of mint st? Ok, I’ll go now.

I think he’ll go when the price is low enough. It’ll be a flier. “Hey Deion, we’ll take a shot on your kid. If you pull your ish, we’ll just cut him.” Can’t afford to do that with the first 3 picks, but after that I could see a team give it a go. I think he’ll go in the late 4th.

Need to come away from this draft with an LT.

Sorry, I should have been less ambiguous. I have no shade for the kid. You don’t pick your folks in this world. Had Deion just been a normal parent, kid would have been picked by now, but he’s not. Every GM knows drafting the kid is a twofer deal. Sounds like career suicide to me. My glee is seeing the ‘experts’ get pantsed on national TV.

They’re putting in overtime to come up with a narrative that they think people will believe. The delicious slow torture is refreshing. The group speak echo chamber from the ‘experts’ has now been shown for what it is… and now one of their own, who nobody really likes anyway, is getting BBQ’ed and made a laughing stock on national TV.

Hearing the mental gymnastics of Rich and crew to explain (ie. set a narrative) as to why Sanders hasn’t gone yet is insulting to our collective intelligence. It’s simple and obvious. His dad is a helicopter head case. They know it and they know that everyone else knows it, but they have to circle the wagons and do damage control for one of their own who is getting completely embarrassed and exposed in front of 10s of millions of people.

And another no gimmick, not cute, no injured project pick. I think the grown folks have been in charge this time around.

I see this division being between us and ATL this year and unfortunately, ATL is shaping up to be one of the strongest offensive teams in the league. If they play to their potential, they could legit average 30 pts a game. The season after this one as Pennix develops even more team chemistry? That’s going to be pretty painful for the rest of the division. Until last night, Panthers were a team that didn’t even have a legit #1 receiver. We all hoped we would, eventually with Coker or XL, but that’s a long shot, and deep down we all knew it. We really needed ‘that guy’ on offense and hopefully we got him. When your receiver room looks like ours and the opportunity comes to draft a legit #1 receiver who had his level of consistent production, you’ve got to take him. There’s no LB, safety, corner or DT that can shape a game like a legit stud WR1. not even close. The opportunity to get a guy like this don’t exactly come along every day. An all-pro edge guy, yes, but that wasn’t available. Teams that make deep runs have at least 1 ‘that guy’ on offense and defense. Hopefully we can now cross one off the list.

The South shall rise again!

The division will go through Atlanta this year, and probably the next few to come as Pennix continues to evolve. Their entire offense is PROBLEMS. The Panthers defense will not be able to hold that offense back this coming season, and even with a complete defensive overhaul… the season after that. For now the best shot the Panthers have is to find a way to go point for point, unless they want to pray for a wild card spot. WR room is razor thin. No Coker, it’s a wrap. No Thielen? Turn out the lights. XL is not that guy that will elevate JAGs. Moore? When, not if, Pennix comes on… The Falcons are going to blow some teams out this year. They are going to rack up points and not many defenses are going to be able to do anything about it, especially this one. I hope the rest of the draft is defensive heavy, but this was a very good and very needed pick.

Like it on not, this division will go through Atlanta next season and I think Dan sees that. Their offense is filled with problems, and now a dynamic QB who is trending upwards. If the Panthers don’t want to have to settle for a wild card every season for the foreseeable future, Dan knows they better have some thoroughbreds in the stable.

AT THE VERY LEAST, dude will be a very solid NFL talent. This is not a flier. This is not a whiff. This is a ‘good’ and safe pick. Hopefully this move will make our opponents play from behind more frequently. This is the first solid first round pick since when? The division will go through ATL next season. If the Panthers don’t have the dudes to go point for point with them, they’ll be praying for a wild card. That’s a tough go in the NFC. If Pennix comes on, it’s going to be very difficult to keep that team under 30 pts.

When team building, coming away with 3+ solid/very solid starters is FAR more advantageous than getting 1 stud and 1 third stringer. Here’s how that hurts more than it helps. Team is dog doo and manages to sh*t their way in to a generational stud in the draft. The team is still really really bad, but dude on his own studness wins a couple games the team really didn’t deserve (strip sack defensive TD, win by 2)… because he is a man among boys. future draft position while he is doing his thing is now royally screwed. You’re supposed to be 1-2 win team but with him … now a 4-5 win team. That sucks. Dude is on his way to the HOF, our team is stuck in purgatory. I want to trust the draft savvy of the shot callers, but right now I have a really hard time doing so. Please go conservative, Dave T/Dan. Trade back for a mid round 1st swap, get their second and next year’s third. Go BPA in first 2 rounds and draft for need in rounds 3+. This draft HAS TO come away with at least 3 quality starters to begin a ‘window’ build.

Panthers trade #8 for a mid round 1st swap and a 2nd. amass some ‘solid’ starter level/quality depth. This team is still paper thin when it comes to quality depth at very key positions. WR? LT? Center? QB? CB? Edge? The next few days have to be about amassing as large a quantity as possible of dudes that can at the very least do their damn job. Blue chip dudes are vital to winning championships, but If they end up with 1 stud and 1 practice squad guy it’s actually a step backwards. The stud may win you 2 games that you don’t deserve and screw up next season’s draft. It screws up the window timing. I’ll take 4 solid starters all day long.

The corollary in all of this: the 2001 and 2002 drafts enabled the 2003 team to go toe to toe with the GOAT in what was one of the greatest SBs of all time…. But then they were never able to put quality depth on the team to account for key injuries. Those back to back drafts will never hit like that for us ever again, but it sure would be nice.

Unforgivable. 100%. Oh, we also let Darnold and Mayfield walk. Oh yeah, we also turned down a kings ransom for Burns that could have REALLY fast tracked a rebuild. There is no way football people piloted that ship. This is illustrative on just how destructive it is to whiff on first and second rounders at all, but especially numerous years in a row.

2017 had 2 all pros, 1 damn fine receiver and an RT who would start on most teams and has been a beacon of consistently good play for almost a decade.

2013 got disrespected on that list. Star and Short were pro bowl/all pro caliber and Klein was a hell of a player who would have started on most teams.

I doubt it. I don’t think Tepper has the patients to play the ‘long game’ with the draft and team building (hopefully I’m dead wrong). He has been largely radio silent, which is good, but the draft has to be like Christmas to him. I think he likes his (singular) guy, and is going to get his guy. Trading back is an even bigger gamble that his guy is still going to be available.

Cracking this cold one open again since the ‘what do we do with Ickey’ conversation has again resurfaced. Some good commentary. I’ll temper some of the shade I may have thrown at him. I am trying to generate optimism in his progression to reliably pick up speed rushers like the big boys do.

The needle is trending positive and I like the guy. I will continue to say it, the veteran leadership they infused last offseason was worth every penny, regardless of what it cost. I don’t envy Dan at all. This is like Phil Ivey just shoved on you on the turn and you’re holding top 2 pair. Sweating bullets. Ickey is a quiet, low key dude who is improving but it’s hard to fade the memories of him getting straight exploited and beat like a drum in his sophomore slump. He had no answer for speed rushers…. And that is what will keep Dan awake in this decision. Biggest Ickey questions: has he found a way to handle the speed rushers and does he have that dawg in him. If the answer to those 2 questions isn’t a resounding yes, I don’t see how they can throw huge money at him.

Yes, and it also gives them time to shop him if they can hit lotto in the draft this season and score an LT of the future. If they shock everyone and go LT in the first or second round, it will send a crystal clear picture of how they see Ickey. The prospect of having him play LG… that ship has sailed. It’s just not in his nor the org’s best financial interest. He is going to get LT $, like it or not. This team can’t afford to dish LT money to a guard. Horn got his because he is that dude and is a DAWG through and through. Him sprinting down the sideline last season to take on defensive lineman in the ruckus… that’s all I needed to see.

You beat me to it. Charisma. You can hear how much Greg LOVES football. He’s enjoyable to listen to. I could only imagine seeing him and Luke team up on a Fox crew. Brady was awful. Smug. Greg could be a devastating offensive coordinator if he chooses to get back to the field.

I have no doubt that he will show improvement this season, but to what is the motivation attributed to? Has the fire been rekindled or does he know there is a contract on the line. There is no doubt at all that he has been stuck in a God forsaken situation since he was drafted. Judging him off the last 3 years is unfair which is why this is such a hotly debated subject. Dan has been in the biz long enough to know that paying the wrong guy franchise LT money is career suicude. It’s salary cap devastating. sit a guy that expensive? Yeah, right. He’s also the one most likely to get the QB killed if he doesn’t do his job. Ask Cam (I think Watt came from the blind side). If Ickey turns himself in to a top 15 pass blocker and rips off a few glorious unnecessary roughness calls for unbridled violence after the whistle then by all means please pay the man accordingly.