Thoughts and Impressions - Preseason Week 1

[Mr. Scot]

Some hopefully coherent ramblings on tonight's game...

First up, it sure is nice to see play designs that look like they belong on an NFL offense. To that, I'd add that it's pretty clear Norv Turner knows how to use Christian McCaffrey in ways that Mike Shula did not. That could be a really big deal this year.

On the flip side, Kevon Seymour...Lord have mercy. Buffalo targeted him all night, and it was a smart move. Adds insult to injury when the quarterback is Nathan Peterman. Granted, Peterman may be better this year, but I guess we'll see.

Really liked what I saw of Buffalo RB Marcus Murphy. I haven't looked at their depth chart so I don't know where he is, but I'd certainly consider trading a late round pick for him if Buffalo doesn't necessarily plan on keeping him. Would love to see what Norv Turner could do with him.

As far as our own running backs, he might have been running against backups but I like what I see out of CJ Anderson. Of course, I've liked Anderson for a few years now. Really glad we got him on the team.

Backup quarterbacks: Nerves aplenty to start off for both Gilbert and Heineke, but both looked much better after they settled down. Garretts touchdown pass was about as perfect as you can throw. Heineke probably has a skill set that's closer to Cam Newton than Gilbert does (way faster than I expected) but he was reported to have looked terrible in a recent practice. I don't think this decision is made yet, but at least based on what I've seen so far, I wouldn't support going after a veteran.

Love what I see of D J Moore so far. Turner said his run-after-catch skills really need to be seen in an actual game situation, and I wouldn't argue with Norv on that. Kind of wish they hadn't left him in the game so long though. That made me kind of nervous.

Kudos to Ian Thomas also. he had one catch close to the goal line that he made look ridiculously easy. And although he had one big mistake, a lot of good to say about Jermaine Carter Jr.

The rest of the rookie class...didn't really show up on the radar much. They still have some time to distinguish themselves one way or the other, of course.

One thing about preseason: If you're going to show up on a highlight reel, make sure you're on the right side of it. Elijah Hood did that tonight. Damian Parms did just the opposite. He got juked out of his shorts and wound up sitting on his ass. That's not something you want the coach to see when he rewinds the tape.

Special teams weren't perfect, but at least for the moment I'd say they look decent. Hoping Chase Blackburn succeeds there. Mick Mixon mentioned that we're starting this season with new coordinators at every spot. Offense and ST look okay so far. Jury is out on the defense.

And lastly, I'm pretty sure I heard the phrase "Tepper era" several times. I don't know if it's correct to call it the Tepper era in preseason, but hey...

Overall, a mixed bag for the evening. I've said before and I stand by it: Never put too much stock in your team's first preseason game. There are lessons to be learned and players to be evaluated, but the real action is still a few weeks away.

Here's to seeing Panthers football again.

[LinvilleGorge]

I wouldn't trade a wet paper bag for a RB right now. CMC looked good, Anderson looked good, Hood looked like a guy who should supplant CAP in the #3 spot if given the opportunity to do so. If we swing a trade, it better be for an OL or a DB.

[Mr. Scot]

5 minutes ago, LinvilleGorge said:

I wouldn't trade a wet paper bag for a RB right now. CMC looked good, Anderson looked good, Hood looked like a guy who should supplant CAP in the #3 spot if given the opportunity to do so. If we swing a trade, it better be for an OL or a DB.

I'd take Murphy over Artis-Payne right now, and he's two years younger, so there's that (don't forget CAP is already 28).

Hood had a couple of good plays. Murphy had several.

I think you could probably get away with stashing Hood on the practice squad if you really want to keep him.

[gmonjimbo]

Was pleased with the offense overall. Played with good tempo. Finally saw PA and rollouts for Cam. 

I liked how routes were tailored to each individual's skill set. I remember them running screens for Bersin last year, when he gets tackled by a blade of grass on a regular basis. 

[LinvilleGorge]

1 minute ago, Mr. Scot said:

I'd take Murphy over Artis-Payne right now, and he's two years younger, so there's that (don't forget CAP is already 28).

Hood had a couple of good plays. Murphy had several.

I think you could probably get away with stashing Hood on the practice squad if you really want to keep him.

What I'm saying is that we're fine at RB. I wouldn't be willing to part with any assets what so ever to add a different #3 RB. Not when we have razor thin depth along the OL and at the moment we're going to have DBs on the roster that just plain lack NFL caliber talent.

[Shocker]

I think Hood could start and be really good.  CAP is a fringe player that just won't ever do much.  I'd keep Hood on the roster and give him some carries on short yardage and kill the clock situations.

[Mr. Scot]

Just now, LinvilleGorge said:

What I'm saying is that we're fine at RB. I wouldn't be willing to part with any assets what so ever to add a different #3 RB. Not when we have razor thin depth along the OL and at the moment we're going to have DBs on the roster that just plain lack NFL caliber talent.

Not even if they'd swap CAP for Murphy straight up?

[LinvilleGorge]

4 minutes ago, Mr. Scot said:

Not even if they'd swap CAP for Murphy straight up?

If CAP has any trade value (which I seriously doubt that he does), then let's shop him for OL and/or DB help. Rivera seemed pretty excited about our backup LBs tonight in his post-game presser. If we're really happy with them, we may want to dangle Mayo out there too. We can't afford another OL injury and we don't currently have a secondary.

[CashNewton22]

“Lord have mercy” is right in regards to Seymour. My goodness he was a green light target all night. I know the Buffalo staff knows his game pretty well since they’re the ones who traded him to us but I just thought at some point he’d say enough and hold his water. I thought wrong for a game at least....he has to play a whole lot better if he wants to start. 

 

I have a full on man crush on DJ Moore now. I know it’s just one game and I don’t lose sight of the fact that he did a lot of damage to the 2nd and 3rd string of the Bills but man was he impressive. Pretty confident in saying barring injury it’s a matter of when not if for DJ this year.

[panther4life]

Hard to remember the last time we had this many offensive weapons on the roster or WR depth. Certainly feels good. 

Both backup QB's looked no worse than DA if not better.

Seymour is trash and should not make the roster. Someone else needs to step up aside from Bradberry and Jackson.

I do think our front 7 will be good enough to mask the secondary some much like in years past

Outside of the secondary and o-line I am feeling pretty optimistic so far

[Mr. Scot]

1 minute ago, LinvilleGorge said:

If CAP has any trade value (which I seriously doubt that he does), then let's shop him for OL and/or DB help. Rivera seemed pretty excited about our backup LBs tonight in his post-game presser. If we're really happy with them, we may want to dangle Mayo out there too. We can't afford another OL injury and we don't currently have a secondary.

I don't really think he does have that much trade value. But sometimes if you're friends with the guy making the trades, you can get a sweeter deal than you might have otherwise. More likely would have to trade a 6th or 7th rounder, though.

But with all that said, it's definitely not yet decided whether the Bills would even want to part with him. The McCoy situation kind of has their backfield in flux right now.

[Proudiddy]

Murphy's short-area explosion was AMAZING.  I thought rhe same thing on that Parms play...  "whew, you don't want that being the last impression on your coach's mind."  It's rare you see someone get floored like that in football...  Murphy was very impressive.

[Mr. Scot]

One other thing worth noting, though it's based on a pretty small sample...

Norv Turner has said he wants Newton to get the ball out quicker. My feel is that he did at least a little, but the jury is still out.

No plays where we came to the line with only a few seconds left to snap the ball though, at least not that I remember. That's a plus.

[LinvilleGorge]

3 minutes ago, Mr. Scot said:

I don't really think he does have that much trade value. But sometimes if you're friends with the guy making the trades, you can get a sweeter deal than you might have otherwise. More likely would have to trade a 6th or 7th rounder, though.

But with all that said, it's definitely not yet decided whether the Bills would even want to part with him. The McCoy situation kind of has their backfield in flux right now.

I just wouldn't be investing any time, effort, or potential resources in addressing our RB situation right now. We're fine there. We have a five alarm dumpster fire raging in our secondary and we're another injury away from the same on the OL.