The 2016 Carolina Panthers - Highway to...

[moonpie23]

cam and the guys get back in the groove showing kelvin benjamin's ability to dominate a match up....then, some stupid stuff...



w

[mattman91]

cam and the guys get back in the groove showing kelvin benjamin's ability to dominate a match up...then, some stupid stuff...



w

I'll take it.

Cam picking up right where he left off. It is SO nice to have KB back!

[DUKIECB]

I'll take it.

Cam picking up right where he left off. It is SO nice to have KB back!

Wow! They have got to clean up the silly mistakes. That game should have been a 30+ point blowout and half way through the 4th it was a one possession game. Lots of positives though...the points, Cam not getting hit, defense continuing to take the ball away and KB is back!

Big game next week with the Vikings coming to town. With Green Bay and Seattle losing yesterday the Panthers are back on even ground with the other 3 big teams in the NFC (Packers, Seahawks, Cardinals) as they are all 1-1.

[DUKIECB]

I'm starting to think this Super Bowl hangover thing is for real. I'm also starting to think the Vikings are for real.

Hopefully this wakes the Panthers up. Way too many unforced errors the past couple of weeks. Cam looked very bad today.

[gurufrisbee]

When you lose at home to a team without their starting RB or QB, you might reconsider what realistic goals for the season are.

Of course right now NO ONE in the NFC has looked very good (no, Minnesota and Philly really haven't either).

[chris13]

When you lose at home to a team without their starting RB or QB, you might reconsider what realistic goals for the season are.

Of course right now NO ONE in the NFC has looked very good (no, Minnesota and Philly really haven't either).

You might want to revise the Philly opinion. They just dismantled the Steelers. I only saw part of the Panther game but Cam was under siege in the pocket. It was 7 sacks for the Vikings when I stopped watching.

[Highlander]

Narrative in Charlotte seems to be that the Vikings Defense was that good, moreso than the Panthers being that bad. Time will tell if that is just wishful thinking.

Through 3 games, the Panthers have had little to no push with their front 4 on Defense. This is bad, because the Panthers play zone coverage. Give an NFL QB enough time, and they can dice up a zone all day long. Vikings made no passes over 20 yards, just a lot of dink and dunk stuff, but their QB was rarely under pressure. If this doesn't change soon, the Panthers could be in a lot of shootouts. Good news is that the Panthers still play in the NFC South, and Atlanta and NO have two of the worst defenses in the NFL so far.

Second issue is that their offense has looked very pedestrian outside of the SF game. O line was shredded vs. the Vikings, but performed well against SF and played OK against Denver. The loss of Stewart really hurts, as Fozzie and CAP are fairly pedestrian RB's. Cam is not looking to improvise at all, and is holding the ball way too long in the pocket. The safety on Cam was just horrible - defender was clearly in his field of vision the entire time.

Lastly, the unforced errors on Offense and Special teams are a huge problem. Benjamin has been called for 3 penalties in 2 games, one of which cost us a TD today and was completely unnecessary. It is rare for WR to get called for penalties, much less 2 in a game. Several other offensive penalties killed otherwise promising drives, as our passing offense is not built around the short game. Special teams miscues are starting to add up. Missing 2 50+ yard FGs is nothing to lose sleep over, but you expect your kicker to connect on at least 50% of those. So far Gano is 0-2. And once again we give up an unforgivable punt return TD on special teams.

Bottom line, we do not have a strong offensive line, and struggle mightily against teams with a solid pass rush. We do not look at all like the team that ran roughshod through the NFL last season. We look old.

[DUKIECB]

Narrative in Charlotte seems to be that the Vikings Defense was that good, more so than the Panthers being that bad. Time will tell if that is just wishful thinking.

Good analysis Highlander, I agree with everything you said. The line I quoted is the money quote. Did we catch lightning in a bottle last year or have we just faced two blitzing teams that are Cam's kryptonite? In 11 career games where Cam has been rushed/hit or sacked at least 14 times he is now 0-11. The O-line has to do better. The other thing that hurt us yesterday is we didn't take the ball away from them. Our defense is so good because what it lacks in statistical matters it more than makes up for by simply taking the ball away from opponents. If we had turned them over even once it could have completely changed the momentum in the game but we didn't.

My take away from the first three games is we really aren't that different from last year but the silly penalties and brain fart plays have got to go. The line between success and failure in the NFL is razor thin and you just can't shoot yourself in the foot and expect to win. Clean some of those things up and I think we will be fine. As Aaron Rodgers proclaimed last year, "Relax"

Now, if we lose next week that's a different story and it might be time to hit the panic button!

[moonpie23]

shula was terrible...

[DUKIECB]

If the Panthers want to go to the superbowl this year they are going to need to buy a ticket. This performance in a week where y know it's on the line has been pathetic.

Secondary looks terrible. Ryan is picking them apart time after time.

Offense is non existent and against one of the worst defenses in the league.

The magic is gone.

[Devilwin]

If the Panthers want to go to the superbowl this year they are going to need to buy a ticket. This performance in a week where y know it's on the line has been pathetic.

Secondary looks terrible. Ryan is picking them apart time after time.

Offense is non existent and against one of the worst defenses in the league.

The magic is gone.

Panic button mashed. The o line is horrible, the secondary is pathetic, no spark anywhere. They better get it together and doggone soon!

[fuse]

Maybe the thread should be renamed "road to the playoffs"

[Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15]

Jinx thread

[gurufrisbee]

After giving up 300 yards to one receiver, one has to wonder if the right call was to kick your best CB out.

I'm guessing I'm far from the only one to suggest that.

[DUKIECB]

After giving up 300 yards to one receiver, one has to wonder if the right call was to kick your best CB out.

I'm guessing I'm far from the only one to suggest that.

I'll have to admit that I was wrong about Norman but that is far from being Carolina's only problem and it's actually not even the only problem in the secondary. Losing Peanut Tillman along with Norman is huge because you have no veteran leadership back there. We weren't just beaten athletically yesterday but it was busted coverage time and again as well.

For whatever reason, and I'm a huge fan so it pains me to say this, Cam has regressed this year. He is not as accurate, he's holding the ball too long and his decision making has been suspect at best. Now, some of that has to do with being hurried and hit so often which blame should go to the offensive line. They are not deep there and it showed yesterday with Oher being out. The O-line is also to blame for a very stagnant running game so far. Not to mention the numerous holding calls they have piled up.

All in all, this has been a very frustrating start to the season. I didn't expect them to go 15-1 again but I did expect them to compete and right now they are in danger of missing the playoffs if something doesn't change quick.

[moonpie23]

well, looks like 1-19 for this year...

[Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15]

Could be time to change the thread title

[JasonEvans]

Could be time to change the thread title

May I suggest: "The 2016 Atlanta Falcons - Road to the Super Bowl..."

Has a nice ring to it...

-Jason "I just jinxed them for the game against the Seahawks, didn't I?" Evans

[BD80]

Could be time to change the thread title

Maybe just delete the year in the title.

The Lions have been on the road to the Super Bowl. For a long, LONG time.

Amazing how fragile a football team can be from year to year.

Things are going to get really tough for the Panthers once Cam's rookie contract expires.

[Bob Green]

The Lions have been on the road to the Super Bowl. For a long, LONG time.

So there was that guy down below who was always smiling no matter how hot old Lucifer made it. So old Lucifer decided he'd make it snow to teach the guy a lesson. When they guy was jumping around happier than ever, old Lucifer had to ask him what gives...

"The Lions won the Super Bowl!"