Davidson Deac II

At this point, I only care what he does in 2025.  

I don't think we are getting that much "hype". 

There are thousands of sports analyst today, with each one striving to be different from the others.  So it stands to reason a few of them are going to say positive things about us.  Most of the major publications are going to have us down until we prove something on the field.  

1 hour ago, PNW_PantherMan said:

How can you not afford a guy you drafted?  They are slotted contracts?  This never happens.  This isn't baseball lol.

It sounds like they are having second thoughts about drafting him and tried to insert some weird unique clause into his contract.  They screwed up and now they have to pay the piper.  

14 hours ago, Lame Duck said:

What did Panthers do over the last 6 years to give you any hope?  Or are you vesting into a bunch of unproven rookies and free agents who did not take a single snap for this franchise?  Reminder, Panthers were historically bad last year.  As much as I want them to go to Super Bowl, I want a damn winning season first then let’s talk about the playoffs…. Then maybe a Super Bowl.

I am fairly certain the OP's comment was not serious.

14 minutes ago, therealmjl said:

 

It’s cool to have him back around that's for sure. Unfortunately his time here was cut short because of our tub-of-lard GM at the time.

As far as I know, he has pretty much no direct ties to anyone on the current staff or front office - so it’s random to have him around but I’m glad that we have an open invitation to one of this lowly franchise’s most important players. 

We have one guy here who played with Norman. 

I am sure there are a few guys working for the team that were here in 2015, might be people we would never hear about though.  

6 hours ago, OneBadCat said:

Man if Greg Hardy kept his head straight we would have gone 16-0 and probably dominate a defensive battle in SB 50. He would have been the juice the defense needed to force some extra turnovers. 
 

To this day the best pass rush we ever had was Hardy and CJ in 2013/2014. Damn near every snap was relentless. 

That year was good, but I think 2002 was our best.  Peppers, Rucker, Fields, Jenkins, Buckner, Dan Morgan, and Al Wallace gave us a lethal front 7, and we played a very aggressive style of defense.  
 

Unfortunately, the offense that year was offensive.  

19 hours ago, Mr. Scot said:

John Randle was a psycho on the field, but never had any off field trouble that I can recall.

Then there's Charles Haley, who o don't recall doing anything criminal but who often seriously freaked out his own teammates in the locker room.

From what I have read of him, some of the things he did might now be considered criminal now. 

Sounds good, but I will wait until I see it on the field.  

42 minutes ago, kungfoodude said:

I would LOVE to have the talent that Oakland and NY(Giants) have. They were/are WAAAAAY better rosters. 

I have to disagree with you on this.  Outside of Nabors, there is not a single player on the Giants offense that I would want to start in place of our starters.  Their dline is decent, but the rest of the team is not good at all.  

I might take Gano back. 

There is a reason both of those teams drafted ahead of us, they needed to revamp their talent.  

33 minutes ago, kungfoodude said:

We SHOULD be better overall than last year. I would say this is still, on paper, firmly a bottom 5 roster in the NFL.

I definitely hope that improves over the course of the season.

We were not botton 5 last year imo. The oline was to good to be bottom 5. Maybe bottom ten.

16 minutes ago, kungfoodude said:

It's very few proven commodities and heavy on "what if." 

I am not suggesting it isn't POSSIBLE we are a halfway decent roster but I also don't think it's very likely.

Underwhelming is fine and understandable. I just don't want to see dumpster fire again.

The Running back group imo, should be very good.

Oline is probably the best we have had since the roided up first SB run.

Wide Receiver group is interesting.  

Main questions on offense are can Young continue to play as he did in the last 6 or so games.  And how good are the TE's.

On defense, its a little more suspect, but we certainly could be better than last year.  

11 hours ago, kungfoodude said:

I mean, we are gonna stink at some positions. We have a bad roster, so you just have to expect that on a cellar dwelling team. The hope is that it's a net improvement over last season. If we accomplish that, I am good.

I don't want to see Rhule era panic and more outgoing draft capital in another foolish "a couple of pieces away" campaign. 

Not sure we have a bad roster.  It has been almost completely rebuilt from two seasons ago. Will take about 8-10 games to see if its significantly better.  

That being said, with the CAP and the high cost of QB's even SB teams have weaknesses at a few spots.

Btw, as crazy and violent as Hardy turned out to be, there is only one panther who should not be named.  

19 hours ago, PootieNunu said:

Kraken was a beast for a 6th rounder, too bad he is also bat poo crazy

I think being crazy is why he was a 6th rounder.  He certainly had first or second round talent.  At that time, probably worth the gamble for us that he would turn out ok.  I wish it had worked out.  With him at defensive end, we might have beaten Denver.  Unfortunately for him, us and a few people he assaulted, he couldn't keep his head straight.  

Hubbard might see reduced carries this year since we picked up the Cowboys free agent.  

15 hours ago, Seltzer said:

Exhibit A for why WR depth is so crucial.

Quality depth at almost all positions is crucial. 

1 hour ago, LinvilleGorge said:

And it's why they have no receiving corps. Paying QBs big money makes you make hard choices. Paying an absolutely TRASH tier RT big money further limits your options. LOL

Their receiving corps has not performed well because they have drafted poorly.  Or the guys they drafted haven't really gotten the hang of it yet.  But over the last three drafts, they have spent a first and two seconds on their receivers, with not much to show for it.  Worthy did play well at times last year, and was probably their best offensive player in the Superbowl, so they might improve in that regard.  

Buddy of mine went, said the show was great but the traffic was a nightmare leaving.  

On 5/19/2025 at 2:38 PM, Navy_football said:

Agree in theory. But this offense is VERY young with new players. 

Same with the defense. 

May take a couple of games for the rookies to figure out the speed of the game and both rookies and FAs to figure out what they're supposed to be doing. 

Maybe, but the oline is a veteran group.  That will help a lot.  And there are some veteran skill players, mainly Chubb, Dowdle, and Thielen.  My guess is that we will lean on them while the younger guys learn the ropes.  

On 5/22/2025 at 7:56 AM, CRA said:

I'd say there are a fair amount of examples of tank attempts by NFL front offices over the years.   It definitely is a thing.   But it's stupid. 

and you can look at  our last tank attempt as why it is stupid.  

I don't think we have ever tanked.  Dumping big contracts when you think the season is pretty much over, in order to reset, is different from tanking.     

16 hours ago, jfra78 said:

Anyone want to tell me whether the links are worth clicking on or not?

https://pantherswire.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/panthers/2025/05/22/panthers-scouting-cole-spencer-robert-haines/83805574007/

Quote

As first reported by Joe Person of The Athletic on Thursday, the Panthers have let go of director of player personnel Cole Spencer and college scout Robert Haines.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/obituaries/george-wendt-cheers-dies-76-rcna208080

Quote

Actor George Wendt, who once played the ever-loyal Norm on "Cheers," died Tuesday morning at his home at age 76, his family confirmed in a statement through his publicist.

Fwiw, I feel some sympathy for DJ Moore.  One of the better receivers in the league, and has never ever had a qb that could consistently deliver the ball to him.  If he played for Buffalo, KC, or Green Bay, he might be a pro bowl wr.  

7 hours ago, BEASTfromdaEAST said:

Bears won and it's not even close

Both teams were not very good last year, so at this point, its a wash.  

4 hours ago, ForJimmy said:

More like Daniel Jones 

Imo, Purdy is better than Jones, not as good as Hurts.  

My point was that Jalen Hurts was thought of as a qb who would doom Philly to mediocrity.  I remember us losing a game to him during the Rhule term and some of the post were "we lost to a team qb'd by Jalen ffing Hurts"  

I think Purdy is a adequate qb.  He has proven that with the right team around him, he can win.  It might be hard to win Superbowls, but then only one team a year wins those anyway.  The forty niners have to do what they can to put their team in the playoff discussion and then let the chips fall.  Constantly reaching for the next great qb is almost always a losing proposition.