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A Reminder That It's Not 2022. It's A Whole New Season and League.

Saca312

By Saca312,
in Carolina Panthers

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Saca312

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I find it rather amusing some posters still believe in the idea that the strength of most teams from last year will be equivalent to what they will be this year. Every season, there always are teams that surprisingly play better than last year, and there are some that regress unexpectedly.

In 2016, the Eagles finished last in their division. By 2017, led by Nick Files of all QBs, they enter a shootout against the Patriots in the Superbowl and come out on top.

Everyone predicts the NFC South to remain the worst in the league. I would argue that the teams down in Louisiana and Georgia have improved their teams compared to last year, so it's not like the Panthers are the only ones to have improved. It is not as much a certainty.

After one vanilla preseason game, it amuses me how many are already calling doomsday on the season. 

So, with that being said, who knows how the Panthers record will turn out, and how close to the playoffs they could be. The Falcons and Saints could put up a much bigger fight this year, which entails the Panthers having to likely bring forth a better record than last year at minimum to have a shot. 

Some extra stats to help temper expectations:

- There have been exactly ZERO starting rookie QBs who have ever won a Superbowl. In fact, there have been exactly ZERO to even make the Superbowl.

- In 57 years of playoffs, with countless teams, there have only been ten rookie starting QBs who have even won at least one playoff game. Only five have won two playoff games.

So, all this talk about playoffs or Reich should be on the hot seat is rather amusing. Frankly, I don't care much about our win loss record as much as I care about seeing improvement. We could be 5-12 for all I care as long as I see this team has more direction and ability than last year.

What does that entail?

-Improvement on the QB side:

Obviously, while Bryce Young is a rookie, I'd hope to see him not stare down receivers and progress through his reads. I want to see him manage the pocket and stand tall, avoiding the pressure and getting the ball off in time while not being too scared. I want him to take significant chances with the ball in the right situation, rather than get scared into a check down. If he does this, he will have significantly improved compared to every QB from last year.

-Improvement on Offense:

Quite frankly, I don't care that the Panthers could run the ball down the throats of some of the worst run defenses in the NFL. That was very neutered and conservative playcalling from Wilks, and while that got the Panthers to nearly squeak in the playoffs, but against any significant team (cc: Bengals) they got blown out, and rightfully so. Sure, they were one win away from the playoffs, but the rest of the NFC South could argue they were 1-2 wins away as well. 

So, what do I hope to see improve?

-Creativity: I want to see how Young unleashes the offense and allows the Panthers to get more creative. I want to see Carolina start more downfield concepts and letting Young take the reins on that. Get creative, don't rely on the run to get things going. That will help improve the team compared to last year.

-Offensive Line: Yes, the O-line was incredible at run blocking last year. Definitely helpful when most plays revolved around that. But, I want to see pass blocking improvements too where the run doesn't have to be relied on as much for them to be effective. When the Panthers couldn't run last year, they were neutered and the o-line leaked like a sieve. While Mayfield, Darnold, Walker and Co. were not world beater QBs by any means, still it'd be nice to see the O-line start gelling out better for when the opposing defense defends for obvious passing downs. I do think the o-line is slightly overrated, and that their athleticism is a notch below being an elite pass blocking unit, but that can be overcome with coaching and understanding stunts and what the defense is planning, so hopefully that gets worked out and the Panthers are able to pass a lot more. 

-Improvement on Defense:

I want to see better pressure. I have not seen a defense perform at 2015 levels in such a long time, let alone 2013. Most pressures were created via blitz rather than the front linemen. It seemed when the Panthers hoped to let their d-linemen make a play, they were unable to do so and often got bullied. Unlike 2013, where the Panthers front bullied offensive lines, or even 2015 where Short wrecked havoc, it has been a long while since pure pass rush has been effective.

For once, I want to see the Defensive line start adding pressure of their own. I'd rather not see us be too reliant on the blitz and instead see guys like Brian Burns improve. I would also love to see the run defense improve as well, since that was a sore spot at times last year and even the preseason as well.

 

 

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LinvilleGorge Grand Master

LinvilleGorge

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Not really concerned about our strength of schedule, strength of division, or NFC, or anything else. Just want to see improvement from the Panthers. Because that team we saw yesterday isn't beating anyone. It's easy to say "Oh, it's the preseason. It doesn't matter." But it's another thing when you watched a good chunk of the games in week one and we were the worst team I saw by a significant margin.

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CamWhoaaCam Grand Master

CamWhoaaCam

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Im not here to tell people what to believe.

 

Im speaking for me only I expect us to compete and win this division. Playoffs is my goal for this team. Im not expecting us to win a SB. I just want a team that is on the rise. We got the #1 overall pick at QB. Bryce Young is expected to be great.

 

I know others aren't expecting these high expectations and that's fine. Just don't try to poo poo on my parade. I don't come here everyday to talk about a bad team. I just want a change. It's time we start winning again. Times are so much fun when this team wins.

 

 

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Jackie Lee Grand Master

Jackie Lee

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5 minutes ago, LinvilleGorge said:

Not really concerned about our strength of schedule, strength of division, or NFC, or anything else. Just want to see improvement from the Panthers. Because that team we saw yesterday isn't beating anyone. It's easy to say "Oh, it's the preseason. It doesn't matter." But it's another thing when you watched a good chunk of the games in week one and we were the worst team I saw by a significant margin.

Yeah, going 0-2 in division games to start the season is now a concern. I think most teams use preseason week 2 as dress rehearsal now so we better not hear about generic play calling or whatever on Friday if we still look lost. 

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OUCPFL Community Regular

OUCPFL

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11 hours ago, LinvilleGorge said:

Not really concerned about our strength of schedule, strength of division, or NFC, or anything else. Just want to see improvement from the Panthers. Because that team we saw yesterday isn't beating anyone. It's easy to say "Oh, it's the preseason. It doesn't matter." But it's another thing when you watched a good chunk of the games in week one and we were the worst team I saw by a significant margin.

As another person said in the "think of this as 2011 thread." We beat the Bills 21-0 last Preseason. Most of our fan base thought we were world beaters after that one. 

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csx Grand Master

csx

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19 minutes ago, WhoKnows said:

Hmm, weird. Don’t recall CMC in the Super Bowl. Was Purdy starting for the Eagles? Damn, must have missed that trade.

fug ....I'm stupid

But we lost a meaningless practice game. Tank time I guess

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csx Grand Master

csx

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11 hours ago, Jackie Lee said:

Yeah, going 0-2 in division games to start the season is now a concern. I think most teams use preseason week 2 as dress rehearsal now so we better not hear about generic play calling or whatever on Friday if we still look lost. 

Generic play calling is an entire preseason thing. Honestly surprised that people we who post on a football message board every day haven't noticed this trend. It's discussed every August 

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CRA Grand Master

CRA

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1 minute ago, csx said:

Generic play calling is an entire preseason thing. Honestly surprised that people we who post on a football message board every day haven't noticed this trend. It's discussed every August 

Jets were running generic stuff too…..and didn’t play a lot of their studs. 

we got abused in a game basics. 

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TheMaulClaw Mentor

TheMaulClaw

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Yeah so most number 1 picks go to the worst teams in the league.  Very rarely does the number one pick go to a team that was one game out of the playoff hunt the previous year.  This is the reason why rookie qbs typically don't make the playoffs, and why a guy like Brock Purdy made the playoffs last year.  It's a misnomer to say that rookie qbs just aren't good enough yet to make the playoffs.  Because so much has to do with how the team they are drafted to are built.   

When we drafted Cam we didn't make the playoffs his first year, but we saw a five game improvement with an exciting offense.  We saw glimpses of the talent the moment he stepped on the field, and if we had a slightly better defense, we would have made the playoffs in 2011.

So when your team drafts a QB at number 1, it isn't wrong to expect improvement.  If we went 9-8 and missed the wildcard would that be ok....yes.  It's improvement.  

Would it be ok if the team back slides and loses more games then last year,  no it isn't.  We were in position to compete this year, base upon our cap space and the way that last year finished.  We weren't an old team and didn't need to rebuild.  It would imply a mismanaged team by the FO.

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    • CRA
      Where would the Panthers be if they sat Bryce Young last season?

      By CRA · Posted

      And I’m fine with that.   But, with an impatient owner….that carries high odds of just him employing a new HC in the not distant future.  The “we will see if the scheme that doesn’t fit our #1 overall pick QB works or not” approach seems like a rocky plan for all.  If I was Canales I would give it shot but demanded I need to be able to sign a legit backup QB in case what I was given just doesn’t work and can transition at the end of the year 
    • PNW_PantherMan
      Where would the Panthers be if they sat Bryce Young last season?

      By PNW_PantherMan · Posted

      That's really unlikely to happen.  The reality is, they are building for what Canales wants to do.  That's what all coaches do.  And if Bryce can't do that, he's another peg that has to be replaced.
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      Where would the Panthers be if they sat Bryce Young last season?

      By Gapanthersfan · Posted

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