Bozeman speculation

[panthersphan]

I’m a Bozeman fanboy… really hope we resign him. Integral part of the Panthers offense and locker room.

Edited February 8, 2023 by panthersphan

[Stuart Smith]

On 2/5/2023 at 10:00 PM, stbugs said:

What? In what reality is Bozeman a top 10 C let alone top 3? JFC, he’s not that good. I don’t mind retaining him but dear lord he’s not even close to top 3.

He is the best and most consistent center we have had in years. The intangibles he brings such as leadership matter too. 

[Khyber53]

He has been a major upgrade, although it seems he didn't get enough time as a starter to really evaluate what kind of impact he had on the team. I can say that once he took over, the entire line performed better as did the team. 

Really good centers can do that and they are the cornerstone for building long term success in an offensive line, which gives a good working environment for a QB, which opens up the game for running backs and gives WRs more time to get open. 

Yeah, it's an important position to get right. Unless there's an injury issue we are unaware of, Bozeman is absolutely the right choice for this team now. Whether he was the number 3 or number 10 center in the league on someone's arbitrary chart really doesn't matter. He was the absolute number one there for us.

 

[theinstrumental]

I would really like to not overpay Bozeman. The hidden key to our run game last year was offensive line health. We only lost Elf through the first 16 games. It’s already guaranteed that we’ll be less healthy next year, so there’s a good chance that we’re about to pay more money to our O-line just to watch it regress anyway. I just hope they don’t get swept up in thinking that continuing to throw all of our assets at one spot is going to be the answer. 

[Khyber53]

1 hour ago, stbugs said:

I’m sure people don’t think this but Bozeman and the IOL is a bit overrated. The Saints and Falcons didn’t have good rush Ds this year. Lions and Seahawks were terrible as well.

We had 6 games of 64 or less rushing yards. Baltimore and Pittsburgh stonewalled us. Our OL did well and they gelled but they weren’t spectacular against good Ds. We feasted on bad ones, which is a good thing but I think we aren’t as strong in the middle as we think. I would like to resign Bozeman but if there’s a Humphrey staring at us on day 2, I hope we don’t overspend enough to avoid him because we overplayed.

Good point but both the Steelers and Ravens are really built to combat the run, it's a necessity in their division and for the climates they play in. 

Personally, I wanted us to draft a center early last season and snag one of the best. I still kind of wish we had, not because I don't like Bozeman (I do, I really do) but just the cost savings would have been considerable.

Still, Bozeman and the IOL were night and day improved over where they had been. Tackles, too.

[Toomers]

1 hour ago, Khyber53 said:

Good point but both the Steelers and Ravens are really built to combat the run, it's a necessity in their division and for the climates they play in. 

Personally, I wanted us to draft a center early last season and snag one of the best. I still kind of wish we had, not because I don't like Bozeman (I do, I really do) but just the cost savings would have been considerable.

Still, Bozeman and the IOL were night and day improved over where they had been. Tackles, too.

The Steelers are not built to combat the run. The Falcons ran for 147 and the Ravens 215(without LJ) in the previous two weeks. Their biggest weakness was on the DL. They are trying to replace their NT, 5DE and both ILBs. That’s not a team that was built to combat the run. 

[Khyber53]

16 minutes ago, Toomers said:

The Steelers are not built to combat the run. The Falcons ran for 147 and the Ravens 215(without LJ) in the previous two weeks. Their biggest weakness was on the DL. They are trying to replace their NT, 5DE and both ILBs. That’s not a team that was built to combat the run. 

I stand corrected.

[Dex]

On 2/5/2023 at 2:04 PM, LinvilleGorge said:

Yeah, I'm sure the Bozemans do love it here. Gotta be a breath of fresh air to get out of that hell hole that is Baltimore.

As someone who lives in downtown Baltimore i felt this.

[MHS831]

On 2/6/2023 at 9:58 PM, NavyVet said:

I'm a Panthers fan currently living in the Columbia/Baltimore MD area. Baltimore does have it's problems for sure but the city does have some nice qualities. They have some tremendous restaurants in the city and the downtown is very walkable with a of attractions to enjoy. You do have to be carful and aware of your surroundings like you do in any other big city. As far a Charlotte being a bland city I guess that's a matter of opinion. The city have three professional sports teams, plenty of restaurants and bars, mostly all the major concerts and plays and other forms of entertainment come to the city so I don't understand the criticism. But like I said different strokes for different folks.  

I lived in the Baltimore area and the Charlotte area---my entire life.  I have not been to Baltimore in several years, but I liked it.  The Inner Harbor was being fixed up and was pretty nice--some of the streets around the nice areas are a bit dangerous--but that is true about Charlotte.  I can say that the women in Baltimore (before I was married) were more aggressive and eager than in Charlotte...what was my point again?

[TheSpecialJuan]

BRADLEY BOZEMANC, CAROLINA PANTHERS

ESPN's Field Yates expects the Panthers to re-sign OL Bradley Bozeman.

Bozeman finished 2022 as one of the league's top centers, posting a 96% pass-block win rate over 11 starts. With Pat Elflein ($7 million) a likely cap casualty, the Panthers plan to re-sign Bozeman to anchor their line. After playing for $2.8 million last season, Bozeman is expected to land a long-term deal of $10 million per year from the Panthers this offseason

[shaqattaq]

On 2/5/2023 at 1:46 PM, Jmac said:

Better sign him. Two steps foward and three steps back with the Oline if he leaves.

3 steps back is Elflein's preferred blocking scheme.