Week 2 - Panthers @ Cardinals (practice tweets, news articles, videos, etc)

[frankw]

2 minutes ago, CRA said:

I’m not sure the Cards have it in them to blow us out unless Bryce were to just gift that to them.  Gotta assume Canales will have an even more conservative plan that mirrors something like last seasons. 

It's going to be run heavy but it won't last long either way. Based on how some of our expensive defensive free agent additions performed against the Jaguars and the fact we have so many young players already on the defense unfortunately the odds are high we could once again find ourselves in an early hole on the scoreboard. If the Panthers passing game continues as they have it will be over quickly.

[Candler Cat]

7 hours ago, Panthera onca said:

Cards 28

Kitty Kats 10

 

BY is sent to the bench never to be heard from again.

 

1 hour ago, Ornias said:

I believe we get blown out this week and Evero is fired on Monday. 

 two great posts on the first page

[CarolinaRideorDie]

Can't wait for Panthers.com and Canales to say how great of practice this week is and how prepared everyone is just to lay an egg on Sunday. Cardinals won't forget last years loss to us, they will come out with more fire, urgency, and have revenge on their minds to blow out the Panthers. 

[Mage]

5 hours ago, CRA said:

I’m not sure the Cards have it in them to blow us out unless Bryce were to just gift that to them.   

Lol as if that isn't what is going to happen

[dep]

Excited for the game against my better judgment

[Icege]

14 hours ago, Icege said:

Summary

• Week 1 looked a lot like the last couple of years and that's not good. A whole lot of "blah" all around.
• Losing Turk might be big. Him not being on the DL was not the reason for JAX's run game success on Sunday, but proved to be a better run stopper than anticipated. Valued part of the overhauled DL and it's never good to be immediately out after going down. Hopefully isn't as bad as anticipated but definitely severe enough for him to be out 4 - 6 weeks.
• Kaye thinks that Bryce got off to a really good start and that his weapons, sans TMac, let him down regularly though Bryce had his own blunders as well. Also felt that he was much worse after the weather delay. OL wasn't particularly good either.
• Guys were getting out of the huddle late and snapping the ball with very little time remaining. Extended drives that shouldn't have been that long (goes into detail later about this).
• Bryce is fine but does have to be better and this did look more like a regressive moment rather than progressive. Might have overvalued the finish to the season due to not having much to play for other than be spoilers.
• PFF offensive and passing grades were discussed.
  • ADOT: 8.8yds - Not great, but not dump it off Bryce that we saw in 2024
  • ACP - 70%. (ngl, as much as people complain about BTTs being a made up stat it's very difficult for me to take the adjusted completion percentage stat seriously).
  • 12 pressures - Not a way to operate as a QB. Only took 1 sack officially but this means he has to run around to try and get the ball out on time.
  • 8/15 on 3rd down, over 50% is healthy for an offense
• All of that said, there was still 3 turnovers and operational issues on the offense (getting out of the huddle late, getting the snap off late, snap issues, etc). Bryce as a passer on Sunday was okay, but as a QB he was not good.
• Had multiple drives ~5min each when trailing by a score or two. Third drive of the game that took place in Q2 lasted 4:53 the team gained 39yds and got two first downs before punting. Took off roughly 1/3rd of the quarter, effectively running the clock out on themselves. Second one took 5:15 and that led to 55yds net (29yds in actual scrimmage, 26yds from penalties) and was the one that ended at 4th & 1 on the JAX 5. They had another drive that 4:10 where they gained 10yds net and got one first down. How can they operate eating away into their own opportunities? Gave 3 possessions to the opposing team and spent what was basically an entire quarter just burning clock. Poor clock management. What happened on Sunday cannot happen again in Arizona. Game should be close and they cannot afford to squander opportunities especially with a defense that gives up the rushing yardage that they do.
• TMac looked really good and showed a lot of flash. XL... this is back-to-back really good summers but man you have to have some situational awareness. His rookie season was greatly underrated considering what he did in the first half of it.
• Bryce had a couple of throws that weren't turnovers that he'd want back ie: slot fade to Renfrow, 4th & 1 ball that he just threw up. Physically he was very effective as a passer, but from the mental/decision making side he was not as good.
• 4th & 1 from the 5 you need to get, give it to Chuba. Yea they stopped it twice before but if Chuba is the guy that is going to make the offense run you've got to go to him. Neither Mike nor Alex would've gone with an empty set in that situation. Passing game was just not working: guys were dropping passes, mis-running routes, not paying attention properly (like not turning their heads). Wouldn't put that on Bryce given how him and the offense were ineffective for the first three quarters. It was the right call to go for it on 4th & 1. 
• Pivoting to the defense, the run defense is still bad when looking at the numbers. During just the Dave Canales era, the Panthers' defense has allowed 200+ rushing yards nine times (including in seven consecutive games). Even in wins they are getting the ball ran on them heavily.
  • In 35 games as the Panthers DC, Evero's defense has given up 200+ rushing yards 26 times. Only nine games have been under that amount. This scheme does a good job with coverage, especially on the outside, but it's been three years of allowed rushing success. It'd be one thing if they were sacrificing run defense for a pass rush, but not having any pressure in this game while also giving up 200+ yards is very frustrating.
  • Isn't because of being a 3-4 defense, otherwise other 3-4 defenses would have the same issues.
• Young guys on the defensive side of the ball got very limited opportunities vs. veterans even if the veterans were failing. Evero's history does not play into playing young guys early. DJ Wonnum isn't exactly a Pro Bowl pass rusher that can't leave the field, neither is Pat Jones II, and Nick Scott certainly isn't. If those guys aren't ready, what on the field showed you that the guys that are playing are ready? Moehrig had a rough day in pass coverage. Coen had the TEs targeted often against him.
• Jaycee Horn + Mike Jackson have been terrific and the scheme benefits them, and while Nick Scott wasn't terrible he's still a replacement level player. A 30yr old safety with limited upside playing on the backend over Lathan Ransom who had a great summer or Demani Richardson who had a great season last year is being antithetical to what Canales says about playing and teaching none guys.
• Canales said he was going to push for it and people are asking why he doesn't just big boy Evero, but Evero was retained and is the guy for the defense. Scourton and Umanmielen have a lot of potential. Last season's team had no talent on the defense and no depth, but now that they've got these young guys he's not playing them. Hard to be championed as an awesome head coaching candidate if he won't play the kids.
• "Who have they developed on defense over the last three years?" Yeesh... Mike's got a point.
  • Alex responds that Demani is a guy, but he didn't get to play much at all last week.

I'm a little over halfway through but gotta pick up dinner for the family. Will try to finish up tonight or tomorrow morning.

Summary (continued)

• Continuing on the topic of, "who has developed under Evero?"
  • DJ Johnson, developed or not developed? AC Carter just got here to coach the pass rushers, but DJ Johnson has been here for three years and looks about the same.
  • Jammie Robinson, developed or not developed?
  • Trevin Wallace was atrocious and is a work in progress at best
  • Chau Smith-Wade?
  • Mike Jackson can be argued that he's developed
  • Jaycee Horn has always had the talent, he's just been injured
  • So who exactly has been elevated?
• Evero is a smart coordinator that knows his system very well, but he hasn't done a good job of developing talent. Was good his first season but regressed mightily in year two. Looks like there's no changes in year three. They have a lot of respect for Evero but do not understand the logic in just staying with the same product. You have to hold players accountable and develop them.
  • Trevin Wallace played 86% of snaps. CSW played 71%. Those are the only two guys with a season or less of experience that got 50%+ or more of the snaps. Scourton got 27%, Umanmielen 12%, Ransom played nine total snaps.
• Canales is pushing for young guys to get more time but... isn't he the head coach? Yea Evero owns the defense but you're the one being credited for wins and losses. Based on his messaging though it sounds like he's having general conversations about it without really pressing the pedal down yet. Dave is going to wear this loss and how he handles it for a long time. 
  • Credit to Canales, they have played most of the rookies on offense. Even Mitchell Evans got reps.
• If you're playing nothing but vets and they're not getting it done, then what benefit are you getting with the young guys not getting reps?
• Special teams was one of the biggest concerns because of the lack of talent and a "special teams star" but they had a good day on Sunday all things considered. Kicker was good, kick offs were tactical, and they returned relatively well. Had a punt land on the 2 initially before being downed within the 10.
• Good opportunity for the pass rush to get right against Arizona after logging no pressures against Jacksonville.
  • MHJ had a good week 1, but Jaycee and Mike Jackson are also playing well in scheme and are bigger CBs
  • McBride might have a day against Wallace/Rozeboom/Moehrig
  • Gotta look out for Budda Baker at safety.
• Very worried what a mobile QB is going to be able to do to this defense that struggles against the run already. Do they just have Wallace spy Kyler all day so that he doesn't get eaten up by play action? Even if Kyler isn't a top-12 QB, if a team isn't disciplined and gets out of their run lanes/fits then he is going to eat them alive.
  • More of highlighting how big of a problem McBride can be.
  • Jaycee Horn has proven one of the best CBs in the league and reminded us with the insane INT vs. JAX. WRs should be covered.
• Bryce had success against the Arizona defense last season. That combined with TMac's return to the state (though Tucson is about 90-120min from Phoenix).
• Could be a close game but if they don't play run defense or cover tight ends well it'll be another game where we look back and go, "Man... what can they do on defense?"
• The spotlights this season are on Canales, Evero, and Young. Getting a win in Arizona is a good way to shut us up until week 3, but for now it's not unreasonable to lean towards the Cardinals winning this.
• Alex thinks that Dave has a better day as a play-caller and that the turnovers get rectified. Points at the ugly turnover vs. Dallas and how Bryce bounced back from that to finish the season. Thinks that the Panthers bounce back and win 28-20.
• Through these first four games of the season, the team really needs to get two wins at a minimum not just for a chance at a winning season but also to be competitive. Fans also need something to look forward to for the home opener in week three.
• One of the few things to look forward to is TMac looking like a true WR1. This is also just one game. They're harping on the defense because it's been the same for the last three years. Also think it's fair to criticize Canales on playcalling and operation which were both erratic. Bryce Young, despite being physically fine as a passer, everything else was poor but there's also nowhere to go but up. That's what the veterans are clinging to and what the rest of the team needs to cling to. They're not going to get the benefit of the doubt nor should they.
• Canales + Young need to prove that the last 8 weeks of last season weren't a mirage and Evero just has to stop the run at this point. How they respond in week two will matter tremendously.

Done!

[Waldo]

Another winnable game against a beatable team. It's hard for me to belive the Cards can put a decent game together against the Panthers so who knows. Run the ball and win. Let's see which team is smarter in Toilet Bowl 2.0 2025

[Jon Snow]

22 minutes ago, Waldo said:

Another winnable game against a beatable team. It's hard for me to belive the Cards can put a decent game together against the Panthers so who knows. Run the ball and win. Let's see which team is smarter in Toilet Bowl 2.0 2025

I'm sure Arizona is saying the same thing. I'm feeling another double digit loss coming. 

[Waldo]

11 minutes ago, Jon Snow said:

I'm sure Arizona is saying the same thing. I'm feeling another double digit loss coming. 

Should be but Im still waiting for the other team to mail one in and have the Panthers squeak by for a win and a victory lap of meh. 

[Jon Snow]

14 minutes ago, Waldo said:

Should be but Im still waiting for the other team to mail one in and have the Panthers squeak by for a win and a victory lap of meh. 

Only the Panthers mail it in.