Adam Theilen said he came back to play with Bryce, and he expects the Panthers to surprise some people

[Butterflyj30]

I'm glad Adam came back I think this is going to be a special season 

[frankw]

11 minutes ago, shaq said:

The main focus has and rightfully so been to create an environment built around developing Bryce. Adding another young QB to develop would take away reps and attention from our coaching staff away from Bryce. Dalton serves as the perfect backup due to the fact he is highly experienced, is a good mentor to have in the room and is not threatening Bryce for his job. With how much we invested in Bryce it only makes sense to create the best environment possible to help our return on investment. I’m assuming after this year we will move on from Dalton, until then we have one of the best backup QBS in the league.

Heading into year 3 I think that the mentorship angle is overstated. At this point the simple reality is Andy Dalton is terrible. The Panthers org dragged out a sprained thumb to the point you'd think they were on the verge of amputation. That is how badly they never wanted to see him back on the field.

A little competition in the QB room goes a long way and makes everyone better. For the team with the worst win percentage in all of sports the last few years you'd think it'd be something we'd want to prioritize. Instead we chose comfort. You know what else is known for comfort? Charmin bath tissue. We'll see how these decisions work out over the coming months. Hopefully our starting QB slams the door on these conversations. But nothing is a given.

[PantherChris]

19 hours ago, mrcompletely11 said:

He could have the same year as 2024 and you still would be making excuses for him.  So I guess we're even.  

Ummm no definitely not pre benching... maybe go read my posts instead of mouth breathing.

I was...  not a fan last year to say the least.

[PantherChris]

17 hours ago, frankw said:

It always amuses me to see posts like this. The one guy who would be mad about us actually having a franchise QB no longer posts here. His name was Ickmule.

Oh I remember icky from way back on the scout boards before the huddle guy was always like that.

[mrcompletely11]

55 minutes ago, PantherChris said:

Ummm no definitely not pre benching... maybe go read my posts instead of mouth breathing.

I was...  not a fan last year to say the least.

[Icege]

20 hours ago, CRA said:

I still think if Bryce Young is your QB....the easiest and obvious play for a team....would be a dynamic slot WR, a rec RB, and solid rec TE.  Spread it out.  Let him be the point guard.  I still think this team is being built for a different type QB....one that a Jake Delhomme style QB would thrive more in.  Which is in fact the heart of what Canales has been around and done.  So I nitpick it all. 

If I had thought Bryce Young was going to rebound....I would have NEVER been all in on XL like I was.  I was all in XL because I thought the BY experiment was about to over quick.  Ladd would have made way more sense if you believed in BY IMO.   I don't think this team did.  I think Dave drafted XL because they were mentally ready to move on and did after 2 weeks. 

and I thought the Frank think was bologna from the jump.  I just have hate the pairings and plan every since Rhule year 1.   Rhule year 1 was the last time I really thought this team was in a good place to give it a go.  It went horribly.  But....the zoomed out plan was pretty logical all around.  Rhule just was not ready and a clown on top of that.  

I still think the Dave, BY, XL, Tmac build 3 round pegs and a square one at the end of the day.  Worst thing to happen to BY was to land in Carolina IMO.   Which is often how the NFL plays out.  Where you land and what the org does matters probably more than raw talent/ability often. 

I do not actually have a problem with Adam Thielen in a vacuum.  He is overperforming in a vacuum all things considered.  

It looks like the team agrees with you to some extent: TMac and Jimmy Horn Jr both provide a dynamic X as well as a slot, which allows XL to be the Z which might be a better fit for him. Ja'Tavion Sanders was drafted for his receiving chops as a TE. Jonathon Brooks was one of the better pass catching RBs in his draft class.

I don't think Ladd makes any sense because the team had several slot WRs already and he's never going to be a perimeter guy which was what the team had lacked Bryce's rookie year. Adam Thielen was already signed as well.

Ladd does make much more sense than throwing away Andy Dalton in the name of "competition" though, I'll give you that.

Edited yesterday at 03:36 PM by Icege

[LinvilleGorge]

28 minutes ago, Icege said:

It looks like the team agrees with you to some extent: TMac and Jimmy Horn Jr both provide a dynamic X as well as a slot, which allows XL to be the Z which might be a better fit for him. Ja'Tavion Sanders was drafted for his receiving chops as a TE. Jonathon Brooks was one of the better pass catching RBs in his draft class.

I don't think Ladd makes any sense because the team had several slot WRs already and he's never going to be a perimeter guy which was what the team had lacked Bryce's rookie year. Adam Thielen was already signed as well.

Ladd does make much more sense than throwing away Andy Dalton in the name of "competition" though, I'll give you that.

I get what you're saying but I'm a proponent of drafting the best players and then getting them into camp and figuring out where they fit. Passing a better player for a better "fit" just isn't a good idea. That's how you end up drafting Sam Bowie over Michael Jordan because you already had Clyde Drexler on the roster.

[frankw]

38 minutes ago, Icege said:

throwing away Andy Dalton in the name of "competition"

Who here remembers this one?

Two and a half years ago following what was one of the ugliest displays of QB play any Panthers or Saints fan had witnessed in many years. Not one person here would have been wanting to sign Andy Dalton to a contract. But once he signed with the Panthers and became Bryce Young's backup suddenly the narrative changed. Now somehow Panthers fans regard him as a top backup. Comical.

Edited yesterday at 04:12 PM by frankw

[CPcavedweller]

On 7/15/2025 at 4:10 PM, frankw said:

With the positive press the team has been getting I've forgotten we are paying AT $9 million for the one season. That's fuging insanity. And in 2023 when he eclipsed 1k yards we had the worst passing offense in the league lmao.

Then we're paying Dalton $8 million hoping we never have to watch him throw a football again under any circumstances.

Yeah let's hope these young guys are ready to elevate the team so we don't have to think about these issues.

If healthy, he will be a 1,000 yard receiver. $9 million is a bargain for that clip bro. 

[LinvilleGorge]

37 minutes ago, CPcavedweller said:

If healthy, he will be a 1,000 yard receiver. $9 million is a bargain for that clip bro. 

I honestly hope not. I hope T-Mac is a big time impact rookies and that Legette makes a big jump from his rookie to his second year. Wouldn't mind for Coker to eat into his snaps and targets too. The best case scenario for the Panthers as a team will be for Thielen to play well in spots but largely give way to the youngsters.

[csx]

Is Frank JT O’Sullivan? He's got the most forced and manufactured disdain of Thielen.  

[LinvilleGorge]

42 minutes ago, csx said:

Is Frank JT O’Sullivan? He's got the most forced and manufactured disdain of Thielen.  

Yeah, it's bizarre. These dudes act like Thielen banged their wife or something.

[frankw]

2 hours ago, CPcavedweller said:

If healthy, he will be a 1,000 yard receiver. $9 million is a bargain for that clip bro. 

Brother let's hope he doesn't even have half that many yards. The last thing we need to do is be trying to force him the ball to justify what we paid him. This season should be about the young players emerging.

P.S. thanks for the poo spam. Clearly you like older veterans. Which is ironic considering all the talk in the past about Ron Rivera and his vets.

Edited 2 hours ago by frankw

[frankw]

1 hour ago, csx said:

Is Frank JT O’Sullivan? He's got the most forced and manufactured disdain of Thielen.  

 

39 minutes ago, LinvilleGorge said:

Yeah, it's bizarre. These dudes act like Thielen banged their wife or something.

What's truly bizarre is folks trying to bully others for actually attempting to apply standards to a franchise with no back to back winning seasons no playoffs in going on 8 years and the worst win percentage in professional sports the last several years. You keep on fighting the good fight