panthers55

Martz didn't value the tight end position so he saw Olsen as expendable. Gregg came in here as a first round draft pick who was underused and immediately started connecting with Cam. Honestly I wanted to draft him in the first round when he went to Chicago.

I don't remember if it was Tremble but last year one of them remarked that it was the first year the tight ends were treated like wide receivers and taught how to actually play the position and how to get open versus shuffle downfield 5 yards and turn around.

Let's hope our starters stay healthy. Otherwise it could be a long year if a bunch of injuries show up.

I want us to win at home and make BOA a tough place to play instead of the joke it is now.

You could tell with all the smiling when he screwed up that he wasn't taking it seriously and half-assing it when he was in.

Truth is X showed some fire. Yeah it was stupid but I have no problem with it. We need dogs on both side of the ball.

So our depth is suspect for sure. Who didn't know that. It has taken us all offseason just to find starters at every position. And it will take all the guys time to gel. What is preseason for? Finding your 53 and who can contribute right away. Did we find a few dogs in Thorton and Bartholomew? And we get to see some guys who we will want to stash on the practice squad. Overall I thought our tackling was much improved and effort was good. They say teams improve the most between the first and second preseason game. Let's hope so. Dalton was awful and he would be scary going in as the starter. And our back seven outside of starters were pretty porous. Keep steadfast and lets see what happens.

Our backfield is finally got the potential to be top 10 surely more likely top 5. Everything suggests that you should have a strong running game to complement your passing game but it isn't running backs that determine that as much as your offensive line. How many years did we go with a mediocre line and then wonder why we gave up so many sacks and were persistent running the ball but not that successful. Getting better at play action and using backs in the passing game as well as running game should make Bryce's job much easier to distribute the ball and get YAC instead of threading the needle.

It reminds me of the wall the Vikings had with the Williams Brothers. You just couldn't run up the middle. It allowed linebackers to flow to the edges and seal the outside. Plus they can blitz without worrying about the draw for example. Teams will have to pass because we won't let them run.

Don't think it is garbage. In general we have a younger team and there will be a learning curve for some guys. But our talent level has improved and a lot of our depth players got valuable reps starting for injured guys last year. Plus I think that this group of coaches are good at teaching fundamentals and they have embraced their role teaching the young guys how to be pros. I expect us to be much improved over last year especially on defense.

You could always stash him on some type of injury reserve if he isn't ready day 1. But his upside as long as his gut issues don't return justify hanging on to him for the time being.

What is a win in the preseason? Figuring out your play calling timing, working on checkdowns and protections, developing consistency cutting down penalties, trying out different down and distance calls. Very little emphasis is on gameplanning for the other team. It about creating depth and gaining game type reps for everyone.

He thought because people praise him for telling it like it is, that he could do that in other arenas and he was wrong. I didn't like his announcing but I respected his offensive game planning when he was coaching in Tampa. But I didn't think he managed his quarterbacks well and think Canales is got a much better temperament for success. Chucky was never great managing players but overall his players liked him.

Not sure that is true. Our starters will compete. Depth is going to be an ongoing issue but injuries killed us last year and that is hard to predict. As long as we stay healthy I expect us to be competitive this year.

Given the tendency to practice against preseason teams before you play the game lessens the value of winning or losing a preseason game. It isn't about culture so much as giving your starters plenty of practice in a controlled fashion and playing well against their starters. Sure you want to win with whoever is on the field but not to the point you leave starters in the game too long and risk injury. You need to develop depth and find out who you are going to use to fill out the roster. That is more important than winning or losing. So yes you need to try and win the game but coaches will tell they are trying different combinations and specific players in specific situations. The truth is teams with the best defense tends to win in the preseason. Baltimore is a prime example.

The first part to being the best version of yourself that you can be is taking an honest inventory of your strengths and weaknesses. No one screws up on purpose. They make mistakes that typically they find out about after the fact. So the goal is to be honest with yourself and then pick a path to get better results by doing things differently. Frankly I appreciate him acknowledging that he went on cruise control at times and didn't put in the work last year and he is committed to getting better. If more players were less defensive and more honest with themselves there would be a lot more growth and much less regression because most players don't want to look at anything but their success.

I have to admit that after the first 2 games last year this would have been a steal. Of course then, it wouldn't have been considered a possible deal. The still unbelievable turnaround by seasons end and the possibility of even more with more weapons makes panther fans laugh at the deal now especially at the steep cost. Murray seems to have peaked to me while Bryce hasn't scratched his potential. Besides I have a THE BRYCE IS RIGHT T-shirt I bought before his rookie season that I am finally going to be proudly rocking at some home games this season.

Who gives a crap what our ranking is in July. Now December that is different. Makes for great locker room material for Canales to use to prove em wrong

The problem with these summary stats and rankings is that they flatten out progression and assume an even performance throughout the year. His first 3 or 4 games of the season don't really tell you anything about his current level of capacity but more about where he started and what his floor was last year. Given his last several games were against playoff teams, that gives you an idea of his current ability coming into the season. But it will serve more as a floor than a ceiling given the upgrade in talent on offense. And a better defense should give us more stops which results in shorter fields and more opportunities. And going into his third year there is no reason to suspect he will regress. His success wasn't based on being superhuman but being smart and taking what was the defense was giving him. Distributing to the other guys not trying to do it on his own. He was great at the end when pressured and consistently moved the ball. That makes him a great game manager which is what we need. Something that is easier to do and relies on everyone else rather than having to be a top physical specimen or do it on his own. No one can predict the future but to say we haven't improved much is crazy given just having the Browns anchoring the defensive line will shut down the run and make sure QBs won't be stepping up in the pocket. Assuming Evero got the message to can the prevent defense and bend until you break philosophy.

Sure Bryce will have good and bad games but why think he will come out looking like week 1 and 2 last year versus him picking up where he left off? You could see the progression when he was put back in. He was throwing on time anticipating where the receiver will be instead of holding the ball. Instead of backing up he climbed the pocket and began running and throwing for big gains. Those are now in his repertoire when he needs them. The game has slowed down. He is confident and having fun like he did in college. And he has the same coach with a better cast to expand on what he did last year. Frankly I expect him to be better than last year.

The difference is about how much player input is allowed and encouraged in the decision making process. Top down teams tend to dictate to players how everything is handled. Disagreements are handled by the coach and players are expected to do what they are told regardless of what they think or feel. Players are perceived as commodities to be used until we find better. In player led teams player input is encouraged and valued. Players and especially leaders are expected to settle their own disagreements and be accountable to the team but mostly to each other. Players are family to be appreciated and supported in their growth. Is the reality of football the same in both? Yeah there are limited positions, football is a business and winning is the bottom line. Coaches get final say and run the program because that is their job. But in player led teams they feel valued, appreciated, part of a larger whole. Most people who have worked at multiple jobs know exactly what I am talking about. When players try to run the show and don't value coach input that isn't a player led team, that is a circus which we surely are familiar with in our past.

One of the best decisions in John Fox's career was starting Jake in the second half who was listed as the third string QB at the time. But Fox said he had a feeling at the time that Jake had something.

Hype away..... it is the dead space between mini-camp and training camp. The hype is for fans. Players know that you have put in the work and by all reports they seem ready to do it. After all, the last few years the only hype we got was early as we sucked down the road. It is sad panthers fans can't enjoy the hype for fear it isn't going to work out.

Lets hope he can stay healthy. When he was on the field he was very productive. We passed not because he is old or cant do the job but because of injuries.

Like you said, teams have been accused of tanking for a specific player but why would players or coaches go along when they know every game is a resume that goes with them. Sure like in our case the tanking was getting rid of quality players for peanuts and teams can trade their assets. But players are going to play hard for many reasons. And get out of dodge as soon as they possibly can.