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!

     

Barnwell puts Panthers in top Super Bowl contender tier


Cary Kollins

Recommended Posts

Bill Barnwell expects the Panthers to rebound with top ten units on both sides of the ball. FWIW, he has the Falcons in the same tier as the Lions and Cowboys.

Carolina Panthers

Super Bowl odds: 3.1 percent (tied for ninth)

The numbers suggested that Carolina was likely to decline last season, but nobody saw them falling from 15-1 to 6-10 after winning the NFC Championship in 2015. The Panthers went from 6-1 in one-score games in 2015 to 2-6 last season, so while they declined significantly, it wasn't quite as big of a drop-off as their raw win total might indicate. They also lost their two best players for stretches of time when Cam Newton and Luke Kuechly went down with injuries. Ideally, the Panthers won't need to give Derek Anderson two starts.

Since-fired general manager Dave Gettleman built his offseason around protecting Newton, and while I might take issue with the decision to give new left tackle Matt Kalil a five-year contract with $31 million guaranteed, it's at least a new body with some (distant) track record of success. New receiving backs Christian McCaffrey and Curtis Samuel should provide useful intermediate targets, with McCaffrey also helping to shoulder some of the running load that had been thrust upon Newton and Jonathan Stewart. If James Bradberry continues to improve and develops into a No. 1 corner, the Panthers could look more like their 2015 selves.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 minutes ago, TheSpecialJuan said:

This is also the same guy that predicted we would blow away the Broncos in the Super Bowl. 

That being said, the same could be said for just about everyone on this website. We all had egg on our faces after that one.

But here's to 2017!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

14 minutes ago, Cary Kollins said:

 

I'm not going to bother pointing out the differences between the 2015 SB Panthers lineup and the 2016 season opener lineup that lost by a missed field goal.

Surely you don't mean the lineup that got dominated by an all time great defense?

Besides, everyone and their mothers said our 2016 team would be better than the 2015 team. Added KB back to the mix, lost Josh. Upgraded from Harper to Boston. Finnegan to Bene.  Allen and Cotchery were let go. Got a better punter. Our core remained unchanged. On paper we got younger and faster plus the experience of knowing how they'd come at us. They came at us the exact same way and the the game ended in another loss.

They beat us and they did it both times with bad QB play. That team was just better than ours. Not a chance we beat them 4 times in 2015. 2016 would have been closer.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

26 minutes ago, UnluckyCharms said:

Surely you don't mean the lineup that got dominated by an all time great defense?

Besides, everyone and their mothers said our 2016 team would be better than the 2015 team. Added KB back to the mix, lost Josh. Upgraded from Harper to Boston. Finnegan to Bene.  Allen and Cotchery were let go. Got a better punter. Our core remained unchanged. On paper we got younger and faster plus the experience of knowing how they'd come at us. They came at us the exact same way and the the game ended in another loss.

They beat us and they did it both times with bad QB play. That team was just better than ours. Not a chance we beat them 4 times in 2015. 2016 would have been closer.

 

Jonathan Stewart was injured on like the first carry of the game, multiple fumbles all going the Broncos way, Remmers 1v1 vs. Miller because Shula is an idiot, extremely poor and fluky special teams plays etc etc. The Broncos played their best game of the year and the Panthers played their worst by a mile. It happens in one and done games.

 

The Panthers were the much better team in 2015. Football is fluky sometimes.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, Cary Kollins said:

 

Jonathan Stewart was injured on like the first carry of the game, multiple fumbles all going the Broncos way, Remmers 1v1 vs. Miller because Shula is an idiot, extremely poor and fluky special teams plays etc etc. The Broncos played their best game of the year and the Panthers played their worst by a mile. It happens in one and done games.

 

The Panthers were the much better team in 2015. Football is fluky sometimes.

Absolute truth! No one will ever convince me the Broncos were better that year.  The Falcons beat us once that year also but they surely werent better.  That was so frustrating of a game.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

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


  • PMH4OWPW7JD2TDGWZKTOYL2T3E.jpg

  • Topics

  • Posts

    • I originally hated the Miller deal but with the cap projected to rise nearly $10M next season the Canes struck some pretty good deals between Miller and Ehlers. Most of the team is locked in for the next few years. Nikishin will need an extension probably in the $6M AAV range. And Blake will need one if we don’t move him. Personally I’d move Blake, picks, and any prospect not named Nikishin/Nadeau/Artamonov for McTavish as I don’t see any any of the big time players moving teams next year. Realistically the Hurricanes should just target Gustavsson next year to fix the goal tending issue. But I’m all for moving Blake, picks, and prospects for McTavish this year. Ehlers - Aho - Jarvis Svechnikov - McTavish - Stankoven Martinook - Staal - Carrier Hall - Kotkaniemi - Robinson Jost - Jankowski Slavin - Miller Nikishin - Chatfield Gostisbehere - Walker Reilly Andersen Kochetkov I’d do Blake, Felix-Unger-Sorum, and 27 2nd for McTavish.
    • Very true on the length but stuff like this is never where we shine. We aren’t a good team at drafting.
    • Homerism aside, the more I see from Dan, the more impressed I am.  His player evaluation instincts. Last year his 2 premier FA signings, Hunt and Lewis COMPLETELY changed the line and I have a feeling his success in choosing blue chip guys will continue.  Look at the panthers’s rep for FA signings in the past. By and large, it’s been guys 1 year past their prime who had an injury and suckered our GM in to a crippling contract. We never get nice things. When was the last time this team signed 2 young blue chip studs  in the same offseason to contracts worthy of their impact? Ever?  Im telling y’all, players respect and trust Morgan. 
×
×
  • Create New...