The Panthers Progress (from this era to the next)

[Mr. Scot]

Jeff Howe is a former Patriots beat writer recently promoted to a national writer by The Athletic. As mentioned in previous discussions, he's pretty smart and fair with his analysis.

His latest piece is an examination of how the Panthers got to where they are now, and where they might go from here.

(subscription required)

Some insights found in the article...

Where Rhule might have been tempted to be conservative with a lead against the Texans, Brady pushed to stay aggressive and trust Sam Darnold

Brady, who creates the weekly game plan and calls the plays, wanted to keep pushing. And Rhule and Brady have trusted Darnold to execute. As Darnold closed the game with three consecutive scoring drives prior to running out the clock, the quarterback was 10 of 14 for 146 yards, and Brady called an even split of 15 passing plays (one Darnold scramble) and 15 runs, including Darnold’s 1-yard touchdown sneak.

“We’re only three games in,” Rhule said. “But for three games, (Darnold) has protected the football and at the same time been aggressive. With each week, we’ve gained a little more trust – not just in him but just all of us and what we’re doing. I think you saw that last game when we kind of turned him loose in the second half.”

During the offseason, the Panthers did look into Deshaun Watson, but balked at the asking price before the scandal hit

There were more changes. The Panthers replaced quarterback Cam Newton with Teddy Bridgewater in March, and they fired general manager Marty Hurney in December as they sputtered to a 5-11 record, which led to the final segment of the organizational overhaul.

After hiring longtime Seattle Seahawks executive Scott Fitterer as general manager, the Panthers went to work to upgrade at quarterback.

Early in the offseason, the Panthers had multiple conversations with the Houston Texans about a trade for Deshaun Watson, but the Texans wanted three first-round picks and two or three more high-end assets including picks or players – well before 22 women accused the quarterback of sexual assault.

The Panthers also offered the eighth pick in the draft and Bridgewater to the Detroit Lions for Matthew Stafford, but he was ultimately traded to the Los Angeles Rams.

More insight into the process of acquiring Darnold, and confirmation that he was never an "insurance policy"

“We’ve seen him be resilient. When you talk to people, he doesn’t make excuses. He embraced everything at the Jets. He always tried to win. He had a toughness that I liked. In the end, we made the decision to go get him and figured if it works out, then we have an elite quarterback.”

Rhule saw explosive plays, quick reads, the power to step up into the middle of the pocket and an underrated ability to run for big gains. They also believed Darnold would again thrive with wide receiver Robby Anderson, who signed with the Panthers in 2020 after four years with the Jets.

There was no denying some of the concerns, particularly 39 interceptions in 38 starts, and Darnold only completed 59.8 percent of his passes with the Jets. But Darnold, now 24, was the third pick in the 2018 draft. He was young enough to think a change of scenery could be beneficial.

Rhule was confident, so he walked to Fitterer’s office to see if they could pry Darnold from the Jets. Fitterer called Jets general manager Joe Douglas, but the Jets didn’t want to trade Darnold until they were convinced they would use the No. 2 pick on a quarterback. They were still grading Zach Wilson, Trey Lance, Justin Fields and Mac Jones.

The Jets privately determined Wilson was their target over the ensuing weeks. After several trade offers and counterproposals, the Panthers acquired Darnold on April 5 for a 2021 sixth-round pick and 2022 second- and fourth-rounders. They flipped Bridgewater to the Broncos for a sixth-rounder three weeks later.

And yes, the Panthers are indeed thinking of Darnold as a long term franchise option if he continues on his current path

It’s only been three games, but the marriage of the coaching structure and Darnold’s pedigree has offered an intriguing glimpse into the Panthers’ potential future. He has completed 68.2 percent of his passes for 888 yards, three touchdowns, one interception and a 99 passer rating. His three rushing touchdowns are also tied for the league lead.

Darnold is on pace for career bests across the board – completion percentage, yards per game, passer rating and interception percentage. It’s also important to note Darnold has never played more than 13 games in a season, so he will have to prove he can stay healthy to reach that potential.

The Panthers exercised Darnold’s $18.9 million, fifth-year option, so they’ve got him under contract through the 2022 season. There’s been no rush to work on a long-term solution as a result, but that will be the Panthers’ preference if Darnold maintains his trajectory.

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There's plenty more of interest within, including more from the offseason and commentary about the dynamics of Rhule, Brady and Ryan.

Definitely recommend the whole article for subscribers or those considering subscribing.

Edited October 1, 2021 by Mr. Scot

[LinvilleGorge]

I would have LOVED to have had Watson pre-scandal but I think that asking price would have doomed us to continually field a shitty overall roster floated to hopefully be decent by an elite QB. It would be really tough to build a contender giving up three 1sts and 2nds. That's a LOT of cheap potential talent.

[Mr. Scot]

3 minutes ago, LinvilleGorge said:

I would have LOVED to have had Watson pre-scandal but I think that asking price would have doomed us to continually field a shitty overall roster floated to hopefully be decent by an elite QB. It would be really tough to build a contender giving up three 1sts and 2nds. That's a LOT of cheap potential talent.

That would have basically been continuing to do things the Rivera way.

Also pretty much clears up that the whole "David Tepper will pay any price" narrative was always bullsh-t.

Edited October 1, 2021 by Mr. Scot

[t96]

9 minutes ago, Mr. Scot said:

That would have basically been continuing to do things the Rivera way.

Also pretty much clears up that the whole "David Tepper will pay any price" narrative was always bullsh-t.

When in the Rivera era did we ever trade a lot of assets for 1 player?

[cardiackat88.]

8 minutes ago, LinvilleGorge said:

I would have LOVED to have had Watson pre-scandal but I think that asking price would have doomed us to continually field a shitty overall roster floated to hopefully be decent by an elite QB. It would be really tough to build a contender giving up three 1sts and 2nds. That's a LOT of cheap potential talent.

There are pages and pages and pages of threads full of people who cannot seem to grasp this concept.

All of the capitol would have went to him, and he would be crying on twitter again within 3 years after taking a Newton-esque beating.

All the while having no money to pay anyone worth a damn and giving up a TON of talent initially.

It would have wrecked with franchise without a doubt.

[Mr. Scot]

Just now, t96 said:

When in the Rivera era did we ever trade a lot of assets for 1 player?

Not that...

The whole "basing everything on a star quarterback" thing.

[LinvilleGorge]

14 minutes ago, Mr. Scot said:

Not that...

The whole "basing everything on a star quarterback" thing.

Yeah, we definitely completely leaned on Cam. Though we did TRY at WR. We spent a 1st on KB and a 2nd on Funchess, we just chose poorly. The approach at OL though... oh wee mayne. I hope to see is go all in on OL this off-season if Darnold pans out over the course of the entire season.

[Mr. Scot]

1 minute ago, LinvilleGorge said:

Yeah, we definitely completely leaned on Cam. Though we did TRY at WR. We spent a 1st on KB and a 2nd on Funchess, we just chose poorly. The approach at OL though... oh wee mayne. I hope to see is go all in on OL this off-season if Darnold pans out over the course of the entire season.

I've said before that I think we signed stopgaps this year with a plan to build the OL via the draft.

[t96]

1 hour ago, Mr. Scot said:

Not that...

The whole "basing everything on a star quarterback" thing.

We didn't really do that under Rivera though. We put most of our focus on the defense with him. And it worked for a little while and a few seasons. Only season that we actually relied on Cam to carry the team was 2015. 2013 was the D, 2017 was an overall team effort. 

[thefuzz]

Good article, thank you for sharing.

I have no clue why I feel this way, but I think that this staff can alter the trajectory of Sam...if so, and he somehow becomes a top 10 QB...we will be in business.

 

Our window is opening.

[thefuzz]

Just now, t96 said:

We didn't really do that under Rivera though. We put most of our focus on the defense with him. And it worked for a little while and a few seasons. Only season that we actually relied on Cam to carry the team was 2015. 2013 was the D, 2017 was an overall team effort. 

I think he meant....

Ron:  Oh poo....nothing is working today.  "Shula, see if Cam can be superman again this week and bail me out, to hell with him taking a career altering amount of hits."

 

[t96]

9 minutes ago, thefuzz said:

Good article, thank you for sharing.

I have no clue why I feel this way, but I think that this staff can alter the trajectory of Sam...if so, and he somehow becomes a top 10 QB...we will be in business.

 

Our window is opening.

I wonder too if Sam would be willing to take a decent sized discount re-signing here since we were the catalyst for turning his career around and we took a chance on him after a really terrible early showing with NYJ.

[Mr. Scot]

12 minutes ago, thefuzz said:

I think he meant....

Ron:  Oh poo....nothing is working today.  "Shula, see if Cam can be superman again this week and bail me out, to hell with him taking a career altering amount of hits."

Pretty much.

Our offensive philosophy under Rivera was basically the Buddy Ryan approach, i.e. Cam is the offense and the defense handles the rest.

[Mr. Scot]

5 minutes ago, t96 said:

I wonder too if Sam would be willing to take a decent sized discount re-signing here since we were the catalyst for turning his career around and we took a chance on him after a really terrible early showing with NYJ.

I think it's possible if it's up to Darnold.

Not so sure his agent will be quite so cooperative...unless of course Sam tells him to be.