Jump to content

  • Welcome!

    Register and log in easily with Twitter or Google accounts!

    Or simply create a new Huddle account. 

    Members receive fewer ads , access our dark theme, and the ability to join the discussion!

     

Gil Brandt names six teams that could 'take a step back' this season

Mr. Scot

By Mr. Scot,
in Carolina Panthers

Recommended Posts

Mr. Scot Grand Master

Mr. Scot

Posted
Posted

And yes, we're one of them.  In fact, Brandt considers us the second most likely to regress of the bunch.
 

 

2) Carolina Panthers

No team has repeated as champion of the NFC South since the division's inception in 2002 -- so even if there weren't a handful of other reasons to worry about the Panthers, history would suggest someone will take their place atop the standings.

Cam Newton had a spectacular 2013, but ankle surgery has put a damper on his offseason, keeping him, for the most part, out of early workouts -- where he would have had a chance to begin gelling with what is almost a completely new receiving corps following the departures of Steve Smith, Brandon LaFell and Ted Ginn. Furthermore, the left tackle position is up in the air in the wake of veteran Jordan Gross' retirement. Carolina's defense, which ranked second overall last season, still looks as if it will be potent behind a solid front seven, though there are concerns with this unit, as well. Cornerback Captain Munnerlyn and safety Mike Mitchell -- who really brought a lot of toughness in 2013 -- are gone, while defensive end Greg Hardy's off-field issues might be cause for concern. Ultimately, I think Carolina will miss the playoffs.

 

 

NFL.com

 

The video attached to the story probably won't be all that popular either.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
top dawg Grand Master

top dawg

Posted
Posted

He and others certainly have valid reasons for believing that we will take a step back. I just hope that they are wrong.

And that's pretty much the prevailing story line of our off-season.

Sent from my SGH-T989 using CarolinaHuddle mobile app

Link to comment
Share on other sites
DamnItJake! Grand Master

DamnItJake!

Posted
Posted

A common theme here lately when it comes to articles on the Panthers whether its ESPN, CNN, NFL Network it seems like they love taking shots at the team or a player.. No respect! We will see what this motley crew can do this year hopefully they are better than last year :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Chimera Community Regular

Chimera

Posted
Posted

I don't get the Munnerlyn hate. He's short; so is the best player we've ever had. Big whoop. He was horrible in 2011, but was pretty valuable in the two seasons after that. He was the one player you could count on to respond (on the field) to this so-called bulletin board material.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
lightsout Grand Master

lightsout

Posted
Posted

While I disagree with the analysis, at least it's somewhat reasonable to assume. There is this weird thing of non-repeating division champs. Having a fresh secondary could be a good thing or a bad thing, only time will tell. And our WR corps (while I think improved), haven't had full speed reps enough with Cam yet. So, I see where they are getting it.


However, I think it's really a wait and see thing. I'm confident in this team and this staff. I really feel like we can take off with what we have right now, and we're only going to add to it over the next couple of years. A lot of young blood on this team (considering some of the older guys haven't had much field time in their years, which means less wear and tear on the bodies and more experience in the league, even if it is just practice and ST).

Bulletin board material, for sure. Got a lot of proving to do. My only real concern is the secondary because I haven't NOT been worried about it in years.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Go to topic listing

  • PMH4OWPW7JD2TDGWZKTOYL2T3E.jpg

  • Topics

  • Posts

    • Tr3ach
      NFC South is now ACTIVATED

      By Tr3ach · Posted

      There are several posters that only post negative at all times.   8 wins is a big jump from 5 and we still have 2 games.  Jaguars have a much more talented roster than us and have underachieved for years. 
    • amcoolio
      Todd Bowles is losing his locker room… Canales meanwhile

      By amcoolio · Posted

      All of this noise is just setting us up to lose Week 18 and proclaim life's not fair. If there's one thing I know in my 30+ years of watching the Hornets and Panthers, is that the bad guy always wins in the end. A team can be falling apart internally but we will still lose to them. A team's fanbase can be extra shitty and cocky and they will just win anyway. It always happens
    • MasterAwesome
      shough vs tmac off rookie of the year

      By MasterAwesome · Posted

      Well even if we took diverging paths getting there...our overall assessment of Shough is the same (bolded) lol so I guess that's what matters.  What you call "playing at a level that looks like a veteran starter" is the same thing I'm referencing when I talk about his poise.  Although I still wonder how truly "bad" of a team the Saints are.  Their defense is middle-of-the-road, and their offense does have some good pieces (Olave, Juwan Johnson) outside of running back which is the position most everyone agrees is relatively plug-and-play.  I'm not going to pretend to know anything about the majority of NFL team's o-lines lol but I'm assuming Saints are not great there, although Shough's pressure % seems to have been quite low (and steadily improving) over the last four weeks (20 -> 16.7 -> 15.0 -> 13.0) so maybe they've been playing better as of late, or perhaps Shough himself deserves credit for that.   Some of the language I'm hearing about Shough, including talking about how he's way above league average in several categories, makes it sound like Shough is having a rookie season on par with like a CJ Stroud who established himself as basically a Top 5-10 QB his rookie season.  Maybe that's on me though, I don't mean to attribute anything to you that I'm sure you don't agree with.
×
×
  • Create New...