panthers55

https://www.espn.com/blog/carolina-panthers/post/_/id/37744/andy-dalton-embraces-role-with-bryce-young-but-still-believes-hes-among-top-32-qbs

https://www.si.com/nfl/panthers/gm-report/panthers-2023-roster-bubble-wide-receivers Byrd is the word. I thinks he makes the 53.

https://www.nfl.com/news/panthers-rb-miles-sanders-almost-every-running-back-is-underpaid-right-now His 4 year 25 million signing was the biggest in the offseason but it is well below what top backs got in the past.

Next year you can make the argument we overpaid for him when his cap hit goes to 10 million if he doesn't put up big numbers but his cap hit is only 3 million in 2023 which is pretty small. And cap hit is all that matters. Tepper has tons of money but still has to fit it under the cap.

You are right they did have a plan which is run the ball. They had more rushing yards than passing yards. You are right that Andrews had the most targets but that likely reflects Jackson's limitations as a passer rather than a design. Tight ends caught more balls because Jackson was liimited in what he could throw. That makes you tight end friendly by default not design. In 2020 Baltimore threw for even less yards than 2019 and Brown was the leading receiver not Andrew's. Part of the reason Andrew's got 700 yards was because he didn't have to share with any other tight ends. And again out of 2700 yards TEs accounted for around 1/3 of all passing yards. So no Baltimore wasn't tight end centric by design.

In 2018 Baltimore passed for 3550 yards and all 4 tight ends accounted for roughly 1000 yards They had 235 passes and tight ends had 86. Snead, Crabtree and Brown were wide receivers who all had more yards than Andrew. Sorry but if your best tight end is 4th in catches that doesn't make you tight end centric by my definition.

I get that nothing is proven until the end of the season but this whole reticence to get excited because we sucked under Rhule is understandable but annoying. Fan is short for fanatic and the Huddle is usually full of then but this whole let's wait and see is weak sauce. It is sad to see.

We started last year as a bottom feeder but actually finished pretty strong once Darnold came in. So if we went 6-6 under Wilks why should we revert to worse. Coaching is much better. Players have been upgraded. Bryce reportedly isn't processing or practicing like a rookie. So why won't we do better and contend for the division.

More likely both Hurst and Andrew's were young and needed experience. Neither were great those 2 years. I don't think you can blame Hurst for not having a great rookie year especially splitting catches with Andrews. Hurst isnt great but with a cap hit of 3 million this year he should earn his keep.

The Ravens werent tight end centric the 2 years Hurst was there. In 2018 Hurst had 13 catches and Andrew's had 34. In 2019 they both doubled their production. Hurst had 30 as the number 2 TE and Andrew's had 64 as the number 1 TE. But that was less than Andrews had in 2021 alone. Are they tight end centric now? Yes. But Hurst played behind a future probowler but when he caught the ball averaged over 10 yards a catch. So his production was understandable. In Atlanta in 2020 he was the number 1 and upped his production to 56 catches and right at 600 yards but fell to 26 in 2021 when Kyle Pitts had 64 catches for 1000 yards. Of course Pitts was injured and in 10 game had 28 catches for under 400 yards in 2022. So other than 1 great year by Pitts neither team was tight end centric when Hurst was there.

I wanted him too. I would have taken him in the second but that is me.

Absolutely. So we looked at the talent , athleticism and potential and decided to take a shot. For what is is worth Olsen only had 500 yards his first season here so he was somewhat of a gamble that paid off. Especially trading a 3rd rounder. Do you think Hurst has been well used where he has been or could he be suffering from offenses that were not tight end centric. His cap hit is 3 million this year which is cheap and we have a year to develop him before his cap hit goes up to 10 million next year. And we can dump him after 2024 with a 2 million cap hit. Was he a deal? No. But there isn't the huge difference you suggest.

If Hurst was a bust with 1700 yards in 5 years but we got him for free, would you trade a 3rd round pick for a 1st rounder who had 2000 yards in 4 years or would you think he wasn't worth that?? Glad we didn't think that when we traded Chicago for Greg Olsen.

Sounds like a plan....

If you can't put in the effort when you are getting paid millions to do your job I don't know what is wrong with you. One thing for sure, you will be replaced.

I am aboard this hype train already. Gonna go to camp this year for the first time since Rivera left. Even bringing a few of my grand nephews to get them autographs and convert them to Panther fans.

This is exactly what I was referring to earlier. Panther fans have been so traumatized and disappointed they can't bring themselves to believe we will be good this year no matter what folks say. I would rather be optimistic all summer and early fall and then get disappointed versus being unwilling to dream big for fear we will suck again As a half full guy I predict we will win the division. Feel free to remind me of this if we do suck. But I am already on this train and really looking for a great ride.

I would rather have four good receivers than an elite guy or two and JAGs. Defenses can gameplan to take away any player if that is the goal. But if you have multiple good players they cant gamelan everyone and you can feed the hot hand.

Who lauded Joe Brady as all that great outside of the same pundits that routinely get things wrong. Remember how everyone talked about Snow as being so creative while other DCs couldn't wait to play us. Truth is we were hoping that the college staff could hang in the NFL but go back to my posts and I didn't like Rhule at all and was very vocal about Snow and his prevent defense. Our staff is not unproven. Capers, Caudwell, Reich are proven entities. Josh McCown, Evero and Thomas were considered top talent to be a head coach. No we havent won anything this year yet, but when you mix proven winners and top young talent you are hardly unproven. Anyone who doubts this staff don't have a clue. Nothing tells me this group won't be successful. My bigger fear is that we will lose the young guys after this year to head coach gigs after the success we are going to have.

Easy you look at all the factors and you make a projection based on context looking at everything past and present. Your analysis of last year is based on a team playing college ball with no credible offense. Wilks who is clearly not an offensive genius was able to go 6-6 by relying on a run game without their best weapon in CMC and a depleted coaching staff He harkened back to our Panther history and our tough physical presence on offense and defense and he turned the season around. So then Reich comes in who was one of us and talks about physicality and toughness. He brings in a number of tough physical players and invites the Panther greats to practice to mentor the team. What is changing is the Panthers are returning to the things that made that 2015 team great. Cam used to say if you don't like the dab then keep me out of the endzone. Truth is you don't need elite players to win. You need players who understand their roles and complement each other. You need a system that is player centric getting the most out of every player. The gestalt of the team will be better than its individual parts. While we aren't going far if we do win the division there is every hope that we can do it this year. I love how everyone slobbobs on Carr yet he has rarely been in the playoffs and has yet to win one.

And he is motivated to prove he still has it and that the Vikings shouldn't have let him go. Everyone who has played football knows that desire and playing with a chip on your shoulder can elevate your play beyond what is expected. He might not have a chip on his shoulder as big as Smitty but I expecIt Thielen to look very good this year.

And you sound like every casual fan looking at stats with little context. TMJ did have 500 yards on less than 30 catches but he averaged 17 yards a catch. He was rated number 1 in go routes meaning he is a great downfield threat. With Chark as the other deep threat how often will teams load the box? It lets Thielen and Shenault and Sanders operate underneath with more space. So with an expanded role and perhaps 55 catches he could get 800 or more yards. And he is our third receiver. I could do a similar analysis with other players as well. Football is a team sport and when coached well, the sum of the parts is better than the the parts evaluated separately. And that is what is going to happen this year. For every fan who overestimates our talent, there are 10 more who are so traumatized and beaten down by the Rhule years they cant see that this is a totally different team and we are ready to have the best ride in our franchise. Yeah 2015 was amazing but we couldn't sustain it. This is starting to feel different to me. Feel free to play small ball and doubt our potential but for me I fully expect to win the division this year given the other competition.

I have always thought that creating a great system which is quarterback friendly was the best way to make average or even below average players better. And that coaching was as important as raw talent. So we have our first offensive head coach who is reportedly very good and a great staff with supposedly a quarterback friendly system and according to the pundits we won't do better than we did under Rhule and Wilks who were not offensively minded. Wilks didn't have any say in his personnel and he went 6-6. With this staff, even below average players previously as likely to look much improved. Guys like Tremble, Marshall, and Shenault are going to be much improved. I know it is way too early to say that much but I am going to enjoy this season flying under the radar while kicking butt more weeks than not.

I agree that we have more talent than we are given credit for here and elsewhere. Sanders had 1259 yards on 259 carries for a 4.9 yards a carry. That is very good. And both Thielen and Chark are proven vets. We lost DJ and Foreman but other than that we are ranked similar to last year. Just the coaching changes alone should account for a higher ranking. But as I said before, the only thing that matters is how well we do on the field. I hope we ride under the radar all the way to winning the division which I think we will do.

He got screwed in Indy when he had a parade of qbs after Luck retired and got little support from management. Which is why he keeps praising Fitterer and Tepper for giving him what he wants and needs. He knows how hard his job is without support from the front office.