raleigh-panther

Get ready

Having been to games during the Rhule, Tepper, Darnold era, I see no way the franchise can trot Darnold back out there I’m having a hard time even seeing Rhule back out there much less Darnold people who only see this team on tv have no idea how ugly game day has gotten incompetence on a pro level is not easily forgiveable by the home fans I look for the Panthers to get a LT at 6 in the draft if one is there Then, i see them either getting Mayfield or Jimmy one a one year rental for a next year 3rd or 4th if that trading team takes half the salary they may also trade to get a qb in the second rd to groom in addition to either mayfield or Jimmy i would not be surprised at a release of Darnold after all, what’s worse for Rhule then the media constantly reminding him of his mishandling of the most important position on the field then having an $18 million backup as the tv cameras pan to him handling the clipboard if no LT is there, and no trade partner, then all bets are off. DE or Kyle Hamilton, come on down

And I hate him for it if he had a brain in that scruffy ass head of his, year 1, LT or qb second year, the position you didn’t get in year 1 in modern day NFK, these are the building blocks every single thing wrong with the Panthers is self inflicted. All of it

You and I both know he was brought in to hold the place and help groom the qb to be drafted in 2021 this is not news They threw crap on the wall and hoped it would stick. Just like Darnold hopefully mcadoo does better

No, we didn’t when the plays were there to be made, he did not make them Teddy, is, and always will be a backup. He was meant to be a placeholder for one year We know the rest (why and who wanted him in Charlotte) He is backup now. Right now, this franchise and fan base needs competent. I don’t care who it is. Can be a Tannehill clone for all I care if there is another ‘can’t miss prospective ‘ in 2023 as people on here think there is, fine, trade the future draft choices and go get that player. this franchise has zero hope and offense has looked like a total cluster fug

At this point, I just want NFL competent. Just NFL competent Get the ball to the play makers and 1. Don’t look like a deer in the head lights when the first read isn’t there …ie process quickly 2. Don’t be stupid. Surely, somewhere in the NFL universe those two things can exist in a qb for the Panthers I know it isn’t Darnold. It never was going to be Darnold See number 1 and 2 The only person in said nfl universe who thought it was, was Rhule

Posters like to say 1. ‘Keep Darnold’. I do not believe Darnold can be put under center …the players, from reports, do not support him and when he is on the field, there is a total feeling of hopelessness with the fans and I suspect the players as well. 2. ‘trade down’…with who? A team has to have a trade partner who wants to give up something to move up What can’t be allowed to happen is giving away next year’s draft picks for this year 3. ‘No QB in this draft is worth it’. When you don’t have something, you desperately need, ‘worth it’, is in the eye of the beholder. 4. ‘Tank for next year’. Players have contracts with incentives as do coaches. This isn’t going to happen. Frankly, given the QB situation, it May happen naturally who knows However, as George Allen said, ‘the future is now’ the future, who knows the state of the world, the league next year my feeling If a LT is there at 6, take him. one of the big 3 that is If a LT is not there, then try and trade down. If no trade partner, then take the highest ranked player on the board regardless of position post draft, sign whoever is available to a one year deal. A warm body, not named Sam Darnold needs to go under center Nothing like paying for a season that is ‘throw away’ in all likelihood

Matt, you sure spent a lot of time justifying why what you see as fiction. For what it is worth to you, Ellis Williams is pretty respected

Thank you for sharing this very interesting to listen to…

I’m laughing out loud. I’m dying here

Well. The commercials could be entertaining….so, there is that

I was just thinking the same damned thing not only do the Panthers take Jets’ scraps, now they consider Browns’ scraps …and oh yeah, a qb that the 49ers gave up, what three #1s to move up and take to get rid of him I’m, just, I don’t know i’ve got nothin

The stadium is full of opposing team fans thanks to the owner hiring Rhule and the disaster that has followed PSL owners are not going to pay for tickets, parking, gas, lodging, food, and the time investment for a pro team that can’t get a first down or score a TD if we wanted that, we could go watch pee wee football on Saturdays for no cost and a lot more purity also non PSL panthers fans won’t buy individual seats for the same reason but opposing fans will buy, particularly those that can’t see their teams any other way So, there may be ‘wine and cheese’ fans at the stadium but they aren’t Panthers fans and if they are, I assure their numbers are few other than perhaps his ego, Tepper doesn’t care. His seats are sold thanks to 4 year, 6 year, or 8 year PSL agreements

I think for me, at this point, I’d like to just see a competent team. I don’t care anymore how they get there ..meaning, a well coached team, that has a competent game plan and a competent qb to run it and make in game adjustments …a qb who does not look like deer in the headlights …a defensive coordinator that sees all the runs to the left and fixes it before 100 yards are amassed on that side alone tired of being everybody’s get well game The QB1 position has been fuged up with Rhule he may fug it up again, but all I know is the Panthers cannot trot Sam Darnold out there again and expect to have anything outside of opposing teams in the stadium and boos raining down on Rhule’s head pro football lives and dies on entertainment and hope and right now the panthers are neither entertainment or full of hope

That’s what the Panthers do, right….Coming off shoulder surgery on top if it when I read the part about ‘Jimmy gets in trouble when his first read isn’t there’ all I could think of is we already have that with Darnold

Jimmy Garoppolo could be a great fit for Panthers, but Carolina should wait on a trade BY ELLIS L. WILLIAMS [email protected] 2 hours ago Before the NFL playoffs, an NFL executive told The Charlotte Observer they did not consider Jimmy Garoppolo a substantial enough upgrade over Panthers quarterback Sam Darnold. This executive then provided a caveat: Garoppolo’s reputation around the league could change depending on how he performed in the playoffs. In three playoff games (two wins and an NFC championship loss to the Rams), Garoppolo completed 59 percent of his passes, averaged 178 passing yards per game and threw two touchdowns and three interceptions. Because of the winning, those numbers are respectable at best. After the Senior Bowl, another NFL executive told The Observer that the quarterback class underwhelmed them in Moblie. When asked if they thought Panthers should pursue Kenny Pickett (Pitt), Malik Willis (Liberty), Sam Howell (North Carolina), Desmond Ridder (Cincinnati), or Matt Corral (Ole Miss), the executive said: “Not with a first-round pick.” Just two months ago, some in NFL circles did not believe Carolina had a viable solution to solve their quarterback problem. Garoppolo was not good enough and none of the rookie quarterbacks were ready. But then the Panthers lost out on acquiring former Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson. He chose Cleveland over Carolina, Atlanta and New Orleans, which forced them to re-enter the veteran quarterback market. Only Garoppolo and a newly disgruntled Baker Mayfield remain available. Carolina has been doing its homework on Garoppolo all offseason. It’s no secret the 49ers are trying to trade Garoppolo, who is owed $26.9 million in 2022 if San Francisco does not cut him. In March, he also had successful surgery on his right throwing shoulder. The procedure will prevent him from throwing a football for up to 16 weeks, which complicates his trade value if he cannot throw for teams until August. The 49ers have the third-most-expensive quarterback room behind only Tennessee and Kansas City. That will change. Eventually, the 49ers will cut Garoppolo unless a trade market unexpectedly appears. The Panthers are primed to add him if and when that happens. Especially if it’s between him and Mayfield. “Jimmy G is a better option,” a former NFL general manager told The Observer. “He is a winner and his experience is so much greater. But would Garoppolo fit within new offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo’s system? Let’s unpack that question. What is a Ben McAdoo offense? The Panthers hired McAdoo in hopes he’ll reshape their passing game. Last season, Carolina ranked 31st in passing according to Football Outsiders DVOA metric. (DVOA measures a team’s efficiency by comparing success on every single play to a league average based on situation and opponent). Over his 16-year NFL coaching career, McAdoo’s system has helped manufacture efficient, high-volume passing seasons out of Aaron Rodgers, Eli Manning and, most recently, Dak Prescott. At all three stops (Green Bay, New York and Dallas), McAdoo installed a high-tempo west-coast system predicated on shotgun throws, quick deliveries, and playmaking opportunities. Let’s focus on his time in New York since that’s where he had the most influence as offensive coordinator and eventually head coach. Equipped with Manning and a young Odell Beckham Jr., McAdoo called plays for the Giants’ offense in 2014 and 2015, leading to two explosive seasons for Beckham Jr. OBJ won Rookie of the Year in 2014, averaging a league-high 108 receiving yards per game. “When I think about a Ben McAdoo offense, I think about quick throws out a shotgun, and a high-tempo, basketball-type offense,” The Athletic’s Diante Lee told The Observer. “One thing that he has done everywhere he’s been is improved his quarterback’s completion percentages by giving them more options underneath to throw the football, and I would imagine that that will be the same thing in Carolina.” Sounds like DJ Moore, Robbie Anderson, and Christian McCaffrey should have plenty of yard after the catch opportunities under McAdoo. This may sound familiar to Panthers fans, who endured 1.5 seasons of an inconsistent Joe Brady offense that promised similar playmaking chances. Lee said McAdoo understands protections better and will not deploy as many spread looks as Brady did. McAdoo also implements multiple tight-end formations, unlike the Panthers’ former offensive coordinator. Lee said sometimes McAdoo’s Giants offense lacked explosiveness. It’s been four seasons since McAdoo called plays. He spent last year as a senior offensive consultant for Dallas, where he was exposed to a more diverse system. Perhaps McAdoo added to his playbook learning from Cowboys offensive coordinator Kellen Moore. Now that we’ve defined the system let’s decide whether Garoppolo would fit. Would Jimmy Garoppolo fit with the Panthers? On Wednesday, I wrote about whether Mayfield would fit in a McAdoo system. Initially, the fit seemed ideal. Lee said Mayfield would benefit from a McAdoo offense. He’d play in more shotgun sets. There would be a faster tempo and Mayfield would have more opportunities to feed favorable matchups either underneath or outside the numbers. But when I asked Lee about Garoppolo’s fit, he thought Jimmy G was a much better option in Carolina than Mayfield. This surprised me. The universal knock on Garoppolo is that he’s been supported and protected from Kyle Shanahan’s quarterback-friendly system. It will be a major change for him schematically,” Lee said. “Especially on early downs because of everything that Kyle Shanahan has done to use a running game to help set him up where he can be efficient. He’s only really got to work on one or two reads within a progression, obviously a heavy amount of play-action usage. So that would be a change for him.” Because of that, there is not much reason to breakdown Garoppolo’s tape and envision him in a McAdoo offense. He hasn’t run an offense that is at all comparable. Similarly, watching Mayfield’s tape from his time with Kevin Stefanski doesn’t suffice either. Why do Lee and other football minds around the league believe Garoppolo in Carolina would work? First, Garoppolo thrives at mentally processing the game. Part of the reason he’s held on to his job for so long in San Francisco is he’s efficient and knows where to go with the ball. Things go wrong for Garoppolo when his first read is unavailable. With McAdoo, Garoppolo would play in a more spread-out offense that focuses on pre-snap reads to determine favorable matchups. There are also shades of Eli Manning’s game in Garoppolo. Before McAdoo called plays for the Giants in 2014, Manning had back-to-back seasons completing worse than 60 percent of his passes. Manning’s completion percentage jumped six points in his first full season with McAdoo. Playing outside Shanahan’s system also gives Garoppolo a chance to redefine and prove himself as a quarterback. Unfairly or not, he’s labeled a one-system quarterback. Thriving in Carolina gives him a shot at a big-money contract after the 2022 season. Last season the Panthers ranked third in offensive giveaways behind only the Giants and Bears. Twenty of their 30 turnovers were interceptions. Paring Garoppolo with McAdoo would correct Carolina’s turnover problem immediately. “In terms of the turnovers and awful plays of the last season, a lot of those would be eliminated day one,” Lee said. “If his completion percentage is in the 70 percent to 73 percent range, he has a low, low interception number and he doesn’t take a bunch of sacks out of shotgun, then that would prove enough. (Garoppolo) can compete to start as a quarterback just about anywhere.” For a team that wants to run the ball, win with defense and find one more bridge quarterback, adding Garoppolo makes a lot of sense.

Wishful thinking

This is not a short review. If you are a TL/DR person. Baker is viewed as backup. McAdoo, in all 3 stops, runs a high tempo West Coast offense utilizing shotgun per ELlis. He does note that Mayfield did well in the Kitchens offense which is similar McAdoo but he did not fit Stefanski’s. Jimmy G better than Baker and the Panthers should work that angle if they do not draft a QB Bottom line, the expert Ellis spoke with feels the Panthers are better off drafting a qb vs getting either Should the Panthers trade for Baker Mayfield? Here’s why it makes sense, and why not BY ELLIS L. WILLIAMS [email protected] 20 hours ago Initially, there was little reason to theorize about estranged Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield playing for the Panthers. Pro Football Network reported there was “mutual disinterest”between Mayfield’s camp and Carolina after the 2018 No. 1 pick requested a trade out of Cleveland. Mayfield was upset the Browns (like 13 other teams) were courting embattled quarterback Deshaun Watson. Eventually, Watson choose the Browns, leaving Mayfield without a team. He’s under contract in Cleveland via the fifth-year option (worth $18.9 million against the cap) but no one expects him to stick around for training camp. It would be a surprise if he participated in the offseason workout program that begins next week. The open market has evaporated for Mayfield. He has little trade value. The Browns may have to pair him with a draft pick just for a team to take on his contract. If that doesn’t happen, then Cleveland will either trade him while agreeing to pay part of his salary or simply cut him. Those last two scenarios could intrigue the Panthers. Or at the very least, make them reconsider bringing in Mayfield to compete with former 2018 No. 3 pick Sam Darnold. But would Mayfield fit within new offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo’s system? And is he a better option than 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, who is also available? Let’s unpack both of those questions. What is a McAdoo offense? The Panthers hired McAdoo in hopes he’ll reshape their passing game. Last season, Carolina ranked 31st in passing according to Football Outsiders DVOA metric. (DVOA measures a team’s efficiency by comparing success on every single play to a league average based on situation and opponent). Over his 16-year NFL coaching career, McAdoo’s system has helped manufacture efficient, high-volume passing seasons out of Aaron Rodgers, Eli Manning and most recently Dak Prescott. At all three stops (Green Bay, New York and Dallas), McAdoo installed a high-tempo west-coast system predicated on shotgun throws, quick deliveries and playmaking opportunities. Let’s focus on his time in New York since that’s where he had the most influence as offensive coordinator and eventually head coach. Equipped with Manning and a young Odell Beckham Jr., McAdoo called plays for the Giants’ offense in 2014 and 2015, leading to two explosive seasons for Beckham Jr. OBJ won Rookie of the Year in 2014, averaging a league-high 108 receiving yards per game. “When I think about a Ben McAdoo offense, I think about quick throws out a shotgun, and a high-tempo, basketball-type offense,” The Athletic’s Diante Lee told The Observer. “One thing that he has done everywhere he’s been is improve his quarterback’s completion percentages by giving them more options underneath to throw the football, and I would imagine that that will be the same thing in Carolina.” Sounds like DJ Moore, Robbie Anderson and Christian McCaffrey should have plenty of yard after the catch opportunities under McAdoo. This may sound familiar to Panthers fans, who endured 1.5 seasons of an inconsistent Joe Brady offense that promised similar playmaking chances. Lee said McAdoo understands protections better and will not deploy as many spread looks as Brady did. McAdoo also implements multiple tight-end formations, unlike the Panthers’ former offensive coordinator. Lee said sometimes McAdoo’s Giants offense lacked explosiveness. It’s been four seasons since McAdoo called plays. He spent last year as a senior offensive consultant for Dallas, where he was exposed to a more diverse system. Perhaps McAdoo added to his playbook learning from Cowboys offensive coordinator Kellen Moore. Now that we’ve defined the system let’s decide whether Mayfield would fit. Would Baker Mayfield fit with Panthers? During Mayfield’s rookie season, the Browns fired head coach Hue Jackson and named then running backs coach Freddie Kitchens interim head coach and play-caller. Mayfield responded by setting the rookie passing touchdown record (27, which was broken two years later by Justin Herbert’s 31). He and Kitchens (aided by a soft defensive schedule) blended nicely together at first. Playing in Kitchens’ system is an example of what Mayfield would look like under McAdoo. Mayfield regressed in 2021 largely because he played with a torn labrum which he suffered in Week 2 against the Texans. But there were also major disagreements about the offense between Mayfield and head coach Kevin Stefanski. Under McAdoo, Mayfield would play in a system similar to what Kitchens ran. He’d be in shotgun more often, play uptempo and be allowed more freedom to pick his matchups either outside the numbers or underneath. Let’s review some plays of Mayfield’s from 2019 when Kitchens was the head coach. The above play comes from Week 4 of the 2019 season. The Browns beat the Ravens in Baltimore 40-25, improving to 2-2. Mayfield completed 20 of 40 passes for 342 yards and a touchdown. On this play, the Browns faced a third-and-long. Baltimore rushed four and dropped seven defenders into a Cover 4 spot-drop look. Mayfield did an excellent job stepping up in the pocket while keeping his eyes downfield. After a pump fake, he threads a bullet to Odell Beckham Jr. and picked up the first down. This is an example of Mayfield working to his second read while feeding an outside receiver on a deep route concept. This next play highlights a quick-timing throw which Mayfield excelled at. On second-and-10, the Ravens again dropped seven and played quarters defense (Cover 4). By making a pre-snap read, Mayfield identified zone coverage because only one defender aligned over tight end Ricky Seal-Jones and slot receiver Jarvis Landry. At the snap, Mayfield immediately locked in on Landry. He made the decision pre-snap Landry was his primary target. Once Landry bends around a dropping linebacker, Mayfield resets and hits him for an eventual 65-yard gain. This last play showcased quality play design and a great pre-snap read from Mayfield. The Browns faced thrid-and-3 in the red zone. Again in shotgun, Cleveland ran a mesh concept underneath, tagged with two outside verticals and a quick release wheel route from the running back. Beckham and Seals-Jones cross on short under routes, which opened up Seals-Jones for an easy score. Mayfield or Garoppolo? After all that, you’d think Mayfield would be a perfect fit in Carolina, right? Not quite. “Jimmy G is a better option,” a former NFL general manager told The Observer. “He is a winner and his experience is so much greater. Baker (Mayfield) is better than Sam Darnold but I’d rather get a QB in the draft.” Lee agreed.

Well, it’s unfortunate that the Panthers are in this self inflicted place but they are my opinion if they come out of this draft with a starter at LT or QB1 potential starter, it’s important no one, other than opposing fans, are going to pay to see Sam darnold. They have seen him up close and personal They don’t want to see him again end of story nor should the Panthers bring in more veteran scraps there are skill players on the team whose careers are being wasted They are not going to be thrilled with Darnold staying either Too, remember those skill players have incentives in their contract I see the panthers taking a Qb, either through 1st rd or moderate 1st trade down with Seattle. If they can’t find a trade partner, then Duane Brown will be brought in as a stop gap LT they also need to hope that McAdo is capable of pro QB evaluation and he keeps Mr Huggy Bear in control, never, ever underestimate the power of hope to a pro sports fan. Right now, Panthers fans have none

Thanks for sharing

He is a narcissist. …pity about all of this….all self inflicted by a narcissistic moron…every single piece of it I think if they want an LT, they need to trade down with Seattle in rd 1. Pick up a second from them this year and get a lower ranked LT and a QB like Riddler or Corral or they sign Duane Brown, who is in decline, still trade down to at least get back the two or at least a third seattle maybe intrigued with Willis plus, the ties with Fitterer and Seattle and it’s not too far down that they can’t get good value Who knows.

I think it’s more an audition…..if you know what I mean

Talk about an oxymoron

Tepper is worth $16.7 billion he paid an idiot $65 million if he wants this bad enough it can be done with tax breaks and incentives to make it worth his while I don’t care what he does or does not do. rock hill was stupid to go for a pipe dream with a snake

I always appreciate your posts it is really difficult to believe that Tepper approved the Darnold trade. If he did, zero respect for him. I know I know. He doesn’t care about my respect or anyone else’s but, I guess that’s just as believable as hiring a mediocre Div 1 coach, paying him more than the very best pro coaches, and handing him the keys to a nfl franchise with Marty Hurney as the doorman