Quote :

"Losing Benjamin no doubt hurts our chances against the Seattle's and Green Bay's of the league, but I still think we're deeper, more talented, and better positioned for a playoff run than any team in our division. 2014's rookies will be better, Cam is healthy, and the defense is easily the best in the division."

definitely agree.

Remember last offseason everybody running to proclaim TB as a darkhorse and it seemed like nobody was picking the Panthers to repeat? I'm hardly in the "the media hate us" camp, but it seems like there is a lot of the same this offseason. Panthers have won back to back division titles. And folks continue to look for reasons why the won't win it again.

And I'm not saying the Panthers are going to be great this year. But I'm not convinced that anybody in the division is going to be significantly better than the Panthers. And I see no reason the Panthers can't win the division again this year.

[Edited on September 10, 2015 at 11:12 AM. Reason : d]

9/10/2015 11:10:28 AM

Quote :

"Namely, we upgraded the biggest hole on our offensive line, which was LT."

we upgraded from a F to a C-

an upgrade, yeah, but nothing to be excited about

I find absolutely no fault in Barnwell's outlook. we're all fans and he's not.

9/10/2015 12:41:06 PM

Kuechly deal done. 5 years/62 mill

9/10/2015 12:44:14 PM

Steve Reed is hilariously slow to report things on twitter

it's pretty much the only reason to follow him

9/10/2015 1:35:35 PM

Quote :

"we upgraded from a F to a C- an upgrade, yeah, but nothing to be excited about"

I mean, it's not like starting caliber LTs grow on trees and even 1st round draft picks aren't sure things at that position. Oher may not be an "A", but he's given up zero sacks or pressures during the pre-season.

9/10/2015 2:29:53 PM

he's been in the league for 7 years

a lot better to judge what he has done while playing real football as opposed to exhibition football.

again, he's an upgrade. that doesn't mean he's something to boast about, though.

[Edited on September 10, 2015 at 2:44 PM. Reason : 7, not 5. ]

9/10/2015 2:42:32 PM

He's looked pretty good in the preseason. Can't really judge him based on anything else until Sunday.

9/10/2015 3:45:13 PM

Yeah, you can. You can fairly judge him on his entire NFL career up to this point.

9/10/2015 3:53:29 PM

Like when he was starting left tackle on the Super Bowl champs less than 3 years ago?

[Edited on September 10, 2015 at 4:01 PM. Reason : starting right tackle actually]

9/10/2015 3:55:12 PM

yep, he was the reason they won

they loved him so much they let him walk in free agency

9/10/2015 4:22:58 PM

Yeah, Donkey Kong Suh really sucks. After all, the Lions let him go in free agency...

The Panthers let Ted Ginn go in free agency. They must hate him and would never bring him back

[Edited on September 10, 2015 at 5:02 PM. Reason : .]

9/10/2015 5:01:47 PM

Quote :

"After all, the Lions let him go in free agency..."

I, too, like to compare a team being unable to match a 6yr/$114M deal with a team being uninterested in matching a 4yr/$20M deal

If you're hoping Oher suddenly becomes good b/c he's on your team now, I hear ya & good luck with it. I like watching Cam play, so I'd love to see him have a better O-line to free him up some more

But pretending that Oher hasn't been mediocre up til now is just silly (he's given up 93 pressures in his last 27 starts, all of them at right tackle, & Pro Football Focus graded him as a bottom 5 tackle in the league last season & a bottom 10 tackle the year before that)

9/10/2015 5:19:07 PM

Different offensive scheme, different teammates on the line. I'm not gonna judge him until Sunday. All I've seen so far with him on this team is pretty solid play during the preseason. Comparing what he did as a nice player on the Ravens or a shitty player on the Titans is dumb.

9/10/2015 5:28:06 PM

Quote :

"as a nice player on the Ravens"

Sources?

All I'm saying is he sucked on 2 different teams. Maybe the lightbulb turned on for him after getting cut by the Titans after the first year of a four year deal. Having a bad tacle become average after going to a new team has happened recently (Dunlap from PHI to SD), but I'm just saying I wouldn't be expecting it

9/10/2015 5:33:32 PM

He played every game for 5 years for the Ravens. If he wasn't a nice player they would've gotten someone else.

9/10/2015 5:39:30 PM

it's not like he's been an under-the-radar player during his time in the league

he's been known as a below-average tackle who is famous for his backstory

it'd be awesome if became a solid player for us, but I'm not going to pretend that he's an unknown quantity without a history just because my favorite team signed him

9/10/2015 5:49:27 PM

https://www.profootballfocus.com/blog/2012/07/12/three-years-of-pass-blocking-efficiency-offensive-tackles/

That covers his earlier years in BAL. As I already said, they rated him as a bottom 10 tackle in his last year there & a bottom 5 tackle last year in his lone season in Tennessee

Maybe PFF sucks at rating offensive lineman or they just hated the movie about him, but seeing as how he signed for 2 yr & $7M, it would seem most NFL front offices also agree with their assessments

9/10/2015 5:50:05 PM

I'm not saying he's gonna be a Pro Bowler. But what I've seen with him with this team, granted in preseason, has been fine. Every team has weaknesses. You don't have to have an All Pro LT to win games.

I recall a lot of doom and gloom when we signed him, probably myself included. Haven't heard much bashing of him in the last month though because he's played fine.

[Edited on September 10, 2015 at 5:54 PM. Reason : .]

9/10/2015 5:54:23 PM

preseason play means absolutely nothing

especially for a 7 year vet

9/10/2015 5:56:40 PM

so going against 3-4 other teams' starting defensive ends and not giving up a sack means nothing at all? k

9/10/2015 5:57:21 PM

no, it doesn't

9/10/2015 6:01:17 PM

do you think players don't try in the preseason or something?

the first half of the 3rd game might as well be a 7 on 7 drill, amirite?

[Edited on September 10, 2015 at 6:18 PM. Reason : .]

9/10/2015 6:18:01 PM

you love arguing on the Internet far too much if you really want to argue that the preseason matters

good for you, I guess?

9/10/2015 6:20:45 PM

According to you, if he had given up a dozen sacks in the preseason, it would be completely meaningless

9/10/2015 6:27:40 PM

so you think that offenses and defenses scheme/use their best packages during the preseason?

9/10/2015 6:29:39 PM

You think players don't try?

Maybe you're confusing preseason with the pro bowl

[Edited on September 10, 2015 at 6:32 PM. Reason : . ]

9/10/2015 6:31:14 PM

did I say they didn't?

9/10/2015 6:32:05 PM

Did I say teams game planned during the preseason like the regular season? And if he had given up 12 sacks would you st8ck to your guns that it's completely meaningless?

9/10/2015 6:37:30 PM

you're equating regular season play with preseason play

if a player struggles against vanilla schemes/preseason effort, that's a major red flag. it's also why players get cut.

success against the same vanilla schemes/preseason effort isn't the same for obvious reasons

9/10/2015 6:45:00 PM

Quote :

"I'd rather they go after James Jones, or Duron Carter, or someone not old as balls."

What about Terrelle Pryor?

9/10/2015 6:50:24 PM

Lol Pat Kirwan has us winning the division at 8-8

^^what is "preseason effort". Seems you think the preseason is the pro bowl

[Edited on September 10, 2015 at 8:37 PM. Reason : . ]

9/10/2015 8:35:45 PM

and D Williams gets the first carry of the season

9/10/2015 8:42:54 PM

^^ the effort given while playing in the preseason

9/10/2015 9:19:01 PM

If you don't play at full speed, you get hurt. I still think you're confusing the preseason with the Pro Bowl. Unless you're telling me that you know more than all the former NFL players I've heard say that on NFL Radio and other local and national stations? I'm wondering where you're getting your opinion. I'm just parroting what a bunch of people who actually played on Sundays have said...

9/10/2015 9:24:12 PM

hahahahaha

9/10/2015 9:27:46 PM

not sure why you find that funny. what sources are you using to form your opinion?

9/10/2015 9:30:18 PM

but did they have their fingers in the dirt, tho?

9/10/2015 9:31:47 PM

you have a weird way of conceding

9/10/2015 9:33:41 PM

Dude looks decent without an air mailing qb

9/10/2015 10:37:24 PM

only a couple carries so far, but stewart looking strong

9/13/2015 1:11:47 PM

I didn't see much of a push-off from Olsen. Maybe it was just a bad camera angle.

9/13/2015 1:18:30 PM

yeah i agree. couldn't see anything from the two angles they showed.

9/13/2015 1:19:06 PM

Nice drive TBH, sack and horseshit PI call killed it. Oher did get beat clean on that sack though......

9/13/2015 1:25:00 PM

yeah Oher got beat badly...announcers acted like Cam should've dumped the ball off quicker, but i really don't think he had time to do so.

only two series in, but D is looking strong.

9/13/2015 1:27:11 PM

These receivers lol......

9/13/2015 1:29:29 PM

Well we're getting separation at least. Brown isn't dropping them yet.

9/13/2015 1:29:29 PM

O-H-I-Oh shit he can't catch

9/13/2015 1:30:22 PM

the ted ginn family is not delivering

9/13/2015 1:30:23 PM

Yep this "no WR" thing will not be fixed. This season will be long as hell.

9/13/2015 1:32:14 PM

Funchess, Ginn, Philly and Cotchery might be the worst receiving corps in the league. Gettleman better get on the phone asap to work out a trade or something

Cant believe Ginn dropped that pass

9/13/2015 1:32:33 PM