State of the Franchise

[GoPanthers123]

It was a smart offseason.   We had to get younger because going into 2018 we were one of the older teams.  I expect a slower start due to lots of new players, and we peak around December sweeping both New Orleans games. Yeah!

[CPcavedweller]

23 hours ago, FakePlasticTrees said:

A pretty good analysis of 2019 Panthers:

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000001034726/article/state-of-the-franchise-ron-riveraled-panthers-at-a-crossroads

2019 VIPs

 

Head coach: Ron Rivera. Riverboat Ron! You know, sometimes I wonder if that nickname is more myth than reality. Rivera had a fourth-and-short on the opening series at Atlanta in Week 2. But instead of going for it with one of the greatest QBs in NFL history, he allowed Gano to kick a 54-yarder. And maybe it's because I'm a Bears fan and I don't know what it's like to have trust in a kicker who can boot 50-yarders, but that disappointed me. That notwithstanding, Rivera has been the most successful coach in club history, having led the team to three consecutive NFC South titles from 2013 through '15, a run that included that famed 15-1 season that ended in an NFC title.

But consistency has been a bit of an issue, as Rivera has yet to have back-to-back winning seasons. Which might make you say to yourself, "Rank, you really must be eating paint chips because you just said he won three straight NFC South titles a few years ago." Which I did just write, but remember the Panthers won the 2014 NFC South title with a 7-8-1 record. And with Carolina fresh off a promising-turned-disastrous campaign, the Panthers' head coach is under pressure to show second-year owner David Tepper that he's still the right man to steer the ship. But here's the good news: Rivera has been down this road before and his teams have always responded. This could be the last stand for Rivera in Carolina, so he's going (forgive the expression) "all in" by taking over defensive play-calling duties, a move he first made during the middle of last season.

Quarterback: Cam Newton. You might have noticed I referred to Cam (we are first-name cool) as one of the best quarterbacks to walk the planet, and I fully believe that. He's the most-disrespected great quarterbacks ever. He is typically an afterthought when it comes to ranking signal-callers, but to me, he's one of the best that I've ever seen play the game. And here to illustrate that is this Sporting News ranking of today's quarterbacks: Cam is No. 19. That's right, behind such luminaries as Jimmy Garoppolo and Kirk Cousins. Both are fine quarterbacks, I suppose. I mean, if I were playing a pickup game of football in Newport Beach, I would certainly want to be on their teams. But they are not better than Cam. Our own Gregg Rosenthal was better, having Cam all the way up at No. 15. And here is a list from Chris Simms, who has him ahead of Tom Brady. And, no wait, that's too far, Chris. Chris! I like the spirit, but let's be realistic at the same time.

Listening to Simms talk about Newton, though, I really do agree with a lot of what he's saying. Cam is certainly not going to be a guy who lights up the stat sheet, passing for 5K yards and 51 touchdowns (which can be frustrating to fantasy dorks like myself at times). But he is a matchup nightmare for defensive coordinators. You can't get comfortable against him, and he's a better passer than he's given credit for. Cam can stretch the defense by throwing darts, but he can also tuck it and run to do his damage. And he's one of those players who's just absurdly physically imposing, something that's often taken for granted. He's the best.

So, if he's good this year, the Panthers should be good.

 

Cam scored 55 touchdowns including the playoffs in 2015. I really wish people would begin to make note of that. That is insane and something that may not count toward official career stats but it's an amazing feat. 

[TheSpecialJuan]

whack