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Observer article: Panthers have a core under 25 they can win with and build around

w280sax

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w280sax Proficient

w280sax

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Article by Ellis Williams - https://www.charlotteobserver.com/sports/nfl/carolina-panthers/article262270997.html

I know there is a paywall on this but it is nice to see a bit of positivity somewhere.  I don't see this posted but if it is, feel free to delete.

There are actually some sources (Mike Tannenbaum amoung other unnamed front office sources) in here stating that they still believe in Rhule which I'm sure will get flamed here.

Maybe I just want to believe it, but I too think our roster is pretty good if we had even average QB play.  

 

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The math isn’t adding up. As the offseason rolls on, prominent sports media publications have universally agreed the Carolina Panthers are one of the worst teams in football. ESPN ranked the Panthers 32nd. Sports Illustrated and Yahoo! Sports each pegged the Sam Darnold-led club 31st, while Bleacher Report and CBS Sports tabbed Matt Rhule’s team as 30th in the rankings.

 

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After consecutive underwhelming five-win seasons, owner David Tepper did hang in there with Tepper and second-year general manager Scott Fitterer. Together, the two (along with a talented front office team) have compiled a roster many around the league respect.

Some of that talent the new regime inherited. Christian McCaffrey, DJ Moore, Taylor Moton, Brian Burns and Shaq Thompson are holdovers from Ron Rivera’s tenure and are still vital pieces to the Panthers roster.

As a part of their annual player tier rankings, Pro Football Focus named all four as top 25 players at their respective positions. PFF ranked McCaffrey a Tier 1 running back and forth overall, behind Jonathan Taylor, Derrick Henry and Nick Chubb.

Moore ranked 25th among receivers, with Odell Beckham Jr., Tyler Lockett, Julio Jones, Michael Thomas, Allen Robinson and Tee Higgins all ahead. Moton is considered a Tier 4 tackle and 10th overall while Thompson was the 12th-ranked linebacker. Burns is a Tier 2 edge rusher and No. 8 overall.

Fitterer has all four of them locked into long-term deals. Burns and the Panthers have been in negotiations this offseason while Moore agreed to a three-year, $62 million extension which made him the fifth highest-paid receiver in the NFL. McCaffrey remains the highest-paid running back in football.

 

 

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“I understand why buzz around the Panthers is low. But for those actually paying close attention, this roster is not far off. Yes, they must improve at quarterback,” an NFL scout said. “Imagine if Matt Corral is that guy. Then their entire narrative changes.”

 

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Mr. Scot Grand Master

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The roster isn't what scares me. I like (mostly) what we've done with it over the last two years.

The coaching is what concerns me, specifically the head coaching.

And I'll add while I get that Phil Snow is a popular guy, I don't think he's that good. His schemes pretty clearly got figured out last year and he wasn't able to adjust.

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ForJimmy Grand Master

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16 minutes ago, Mr. Scot said:

The roster isn't what scares me. I like (mostly) what we've done with it over the last two years.

The coaching is what concerns me, specifically the head coaching.

And I'll add while I get that Phil Snow is a popular guy, I don't think he's that good. His schemes pretty clearly got figured out last year and he wasn't able to adjust.

If Corral shows any potential and we still fire Rhule, we would be a very attractive destination for any coaching candidate. Hell even if Corral doesn’t look the part they could draft their QB from this 23 class. 

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50 minutes ago, Mr. Scot said:

And I'll add while I get that Phil Snow is a popular guy, I don't think he's that good. His schemes pretty clearly got figured out last year and he wasn't able to adjust.

Personally, I think it's too early to say if he's good or not. However, I can confidently say that last season's defense was much better than the defense we had before he arrived. Were there weaknesses? Yes. Losing Horn hurt but what hurt the most was when the offense completely collapsed. Every defense suffers from a total lack of offense. 

The obvious weakness was in the run defense. Was that because we didn't have the personnel? I think so. I don't know if that was because Snow brought in players to fit that concept or if that concept was because those were the best players he had. From what he says, he builds the scheme to fit the players. If that's true then he did an amazing job imo. If that's not true and he brought in players specifically to run that scheme then I'm less confident. 

I tend to believe in the first scenario and everything they say points in that direction as well, but we'll have a better idea about that after this season. They did attempt to address the issue in the off season though so hopefully those additions at DT and LB pay dividends. I also think adding Woods should help further in the passing defense enabling us to utilize Chinn more. 

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hepcat Grand Master

hepcat

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1 hour ago, Mr. Scot said:

The roster isn't what scares me. I like (mostly) what we've done with it over the last two years.

The coaching is what concerns me, specifically the head coaching.

And I'll add while I get that Phil Snow is a popular guy, I don't think he's that good. His schemes pretty clearly got figured out last year and he wasn't able to adjust.

he doesn't know how to stop the run and literally nothing has changed in that regard

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panthers55 Grand Master

panthers55

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I am pretty optimistic that we are on the way up. While I am not a Rhule fan, if he sticks to coordination, overall vision, motivation and game day decisions related to timeouts, challenges etc. he can be actually decent. This is the first time that the offense, defense and special teams have coaches who are well respected and very knowledgeable about football.  They arent yes men. Our line coaches are good and Wilks is going to help Snow learn the NFL game. Snow is smart and has a lot of experience in college. He tried to bring that to the team with funky formations that filled teams for a while but then were predictable like that prevent defense 3 man rush. Wilks is actually pretty good at adjustments and game planning. His failed head coach experience taught him a ton. Snow may run the defense but Wilks will control the backend which has been the reason we sellout on the rush because our secondary couldn't hold up.

And special teams is immensely improved. We have the best punter who is reiterated by the challenge and a coach considered one of the best in the league. Imagine running them back for scores while not giving up a bunch in return.  When was the last time we ran a kickoff back for a score?  I had to look it up. Trenton Cannon in 2020. 

TLDR: I am thinking NFL coaching will actually be seen this year under Rhule. He has plenty of experienced head coaches on his staff to help him out. He better listen and stop micromanaging. 

Edited by panthers55
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Waldo Grand Master

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Yeah I would be excited with another coaching staff. Rhule is just a salesman and Snow sounds to be doubling down on his Ds weakness with gift-wrapped personnel indications of what he can and can't defend. McAdoo is way overrated around here.

The only coaching I am excited to see is DBs, ST and hopefully Oline.

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Mr. Scot Grand Master

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29 minutes ago, Panthers Rhule said:

Personally, I think it's too early to say if he's good or not. However, I can confidently say that last season's defense was much better than the defense we had before he arrived. Were there weaknesses? Yes. Losing Horn hurt but what hurt the most was when the offense completely collapsed. Every defense suffers from a total lack of offense. 

The obvious weakness was in the run defense. Was that because we didn't have the personnel? I think so. I don't know if that was because Snow brought in players to fit that concept or if that concept was because those were the best players he had. From what he says, he builds the scheme to fit the players. If that's true then he did an amazing job imo. If that's not true and he brought in players specifically to run that scheme then I'm less confident. 

I tend to believe in the first scenario and everything they say points in that direction as well, but we'll have a better idea about that after this season. They did attempt to address the issue in the off season though so hopefully those additions at DT and LB pay dividends. I also think adding Woods should help further in the passing defense enabling us to utilize Chinn more. 

It's how they built it, though.

They emphasized speed and filled the ranks with mostly undersized players. Then once teams realized they could run on us, we had no answer.

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rippadonn Grand Master

rippadonn

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11 minutes ago, Mr. Scot said:

It's how they built it, though.

They emphasized speed and filled the ranks with mostly undersized players. Then once teams realized they could run on us, we had no answer.

That's the hallmark of the 3-4 nonsense that Tepper wants to run. Derrick Brown and YGM are better suited for 4-3, even BB got his weight up. To get to the next level competitively gotta go back to 4-3 WE learned about the weaknesses of 3-4 with Dom Capers here. Zone blocking would consistently gash our D. After Dom left we had to transition back to 4-3 with a bunch of tweener 3-4 personnel still left.

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musicman Proficient

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I spent several hours with the team (players and coaches) today and they seem tight, having fun and really enjoying each other. I see a different team vibe and I believe we are going to see a better team, of certain guys can stay healthy. 

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