Panthers fall in new ESPN Power Rankings

[pantherj]

Putting us that low is clearly a vote of no confidence in Sam Darnold. SI must think Sam is a bag of poop to push us that low.

[Khyber53]

16 hours ago, stbugs said:

We didn’t sign proven starters.

This 100%. Doesn't mean that the guys we got won't go out there and have the best seasons of their careers, though. And with the right coaching and schemes they all just might. 

But from the outside looking in we're just a bunch of JAGs in Carolina blue.

[kungfoodude]

10 hours ago, KatsAzz said:

The Carolina Panthers have a lot to look forward to in 2021 and i am not buying into ESPN'S 25th power ranking for the team. 

They have a  crop of impressive young talent, headlined by Christian McCaffrey, Brian Burns, DJ Moore, Jeremy Chinn and Derrick Brown is preparing to take the next step in their football journeys. 

Their bountiful draft class is full of value and potential.  Heck,even seeing what Sam Darnold can do in here in Carolina could be fun.

I am not sure I would describe the anticipation of watching Sam Darnold play as "fun."

Watching Teddy play last year was frustrating enough. Sam Darnold has never been as good as Teddy was last year. 

I can't wait to see the 2021 Panthers....but I am not at all looking forward to seeing Darnold play. More like an impending sense of doom.

[Scott12345]

Who cares what espy says, or any other pundits for that matter

win games, it all takes care of itself

[Wolfcop]

22 hours ago, Shotgun said:

Seems fair, we were terrible last year and adding Darnold is never going to move you up in power rankings. 

That's the thing - we were not terrible. 8 one-score losses. We upgraded in a lot of areas, but the bottom line is how does Darnold do. 

[hepcat]

22 minutes ago, Wolfcop said:

That's the thing - we were not terrible. 8 one-score losses. We upgraded in a lot of areas, but the bottom line is how does Darnold do. 

Exactly. If the Panthers had drafted Justin Fields or traded for Deshaun Watson, pretty much done anything other than trade for Darnold, they would have moved up. Darnold invokes memories of his horrible play on the Jets. 

[kungfoodude]

2 hours ago, hepcat said:

Exactly. If the Panthers had drafted Justin Fields or traded for Deshaun Watson, pretty much done anything other than trade for Darnold, they would have moved up. Darnold invokes memories of his horrible play on the Jets. 

Or not had the Rams scoop us in the Stafford deal.

[frankw]

3 hours ago, Wolfcop said:

That's the thing - we were not terrible. 8 one-score losses. We upgraded in a lot of areas, but the bottom line is how does Darnold do. 

Terrible no but in fairness the defense did give up a record number of consecutive third downs. Teddy didn't do enough with his opportunities but the secondary will need to be much improved going against our division.

[Mr. Scot]

You don't have to be terrible all around to give up a lot of third down conversions.

All that's necessary for that to happen is for your team to have one or more exploitable weaknesses.

We definitely had that in our secondary, which is why the team looked to improve that area this year.

[PootieNunu]

10 minutes ago, Mr. Scot said:

You don't have to be terrible all around to give up a lot of third down conversions.

All that's necessary for that to happen is for your team to have one or more exploitable weaknesses.

We definitely had that in our secondary, which is why the team looked to improve that area this year.

I think by removing whitehead and boston our d got better. 

[MHS831]

On 5/20/2021 at 10:45 AM, Shotgun said:

Seems fair, we were terrible last year and adding Darnold is never going to move you up in power rankings. 

Our LT and QB have been called first round busts.  Sam and Cam.  However, if we can help them reach their potentials, it will send us up the board very quickly.

[CarolinaLivin]

What do you predict/expect us to be ranked by mid season?

(Making the playoffs is gonna take us having a very strong first half of the season, as our schedule is easier in the first half)

 

My Prediction: Between 15-18 with a 5-3 record

Edited May 21, 2021 by CarolinaLivin

[Shotgun]

4 hours ago, Wolfcop said:

That's the thing - we were not terrible. 8 one-score losses. We upgraded in a lot of areas, but the bottom line is how does Darnold do. 

We did lose a lot of close games but we still lost them. 5 wins in a season is pretty bad and I don't really see Darnold as an upgrade to Teddy. That being said, I hope Darnold can turn it around. 

[MasterAwesome]

7 hours ago, kungfoodude said:

I am not sure I would describe the anticipation of watching Sam Darnold play as "fun."

Watching Teddy play last year was frustrating enough. Sam Darnold has never been as good as Teddy was last year. 

I can't wait to see the 2021 Panthers....but I am not at all looking forward to seeing Darnold play. More like an impending sense of doom.

If we’re strictly talking entertainment value, Teddy is about as bad as it gets with his risk-averse conservative style of play. You’re not excited to see a strong-armed gunslinger like Darnold take a crack at this offense with these WRs, after a year of Dinky Dunky Teddy? A common sentiment towards the end of last year was putting in PJ Walker instead of Teddy, not necessarily because he gave us a better chance of winning, but because “at least he’s more exciting to watch”.

Whether that excitement translates to wins, remains to be seen. But I guess I’m one of the few people whose enjoyment of the Panthers isn’t entirely 100% dependent upon winning or losing. I have fun watching the Panthers no matter what, although that Teddy offense was cutting it a little too close last year.