There's been quite a bit of debate over whether or not to select LSU defensive tackle Michael Brockers with our first round selection this April. Proponents of the pick say Brockers has the potential to be a top ten player at his position in the league, he is 6'6, 306 at only the age of 21 and has plenty of room to grow. Detractors argue that we need an immediate impact player and Brockers is too raw, not to mention we have a full stable of DT's that doesn't need a new addition. CSR user Efury posted some tape of Michael Brockers in the SEC championship game against Georgia, and it garnered some mixed opinions. Most of what was said though was general overviews of the tape, I didn't see anyone really break it down play-by-play and show the results. So here goes.

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It's safe to say that this offseason has been the most unique in recent memory.  With the lockout and subsequent uncertainty and confusion, things that have been constant for as long as I've been following the league have been turned on their head.  Free agency, usually in March, has yet to occur, and only close insiders even know who will be free agents.  Will it be players with four, five, or even six years of accrued experience?  Teams aren't allowed contact with their players, including drafted rookies.  While this is tough for most teams, the Carolina Panthers are hit especially hard.  A combination of a new coaching staff, and a highly drafted rookie QB with expectations to start immediately mean that we have a harder road than many other teams.  Every minute Cam spends with the new coaching staff will be vital.  So what will the end result on the field be? 

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With the recent release of many 2012 mocks I've noticed one common similarity through nearly all of them.  They all have Carolina picking in the top five yet again.  The experts aren't the only ones with a grim outlook, many of us here are predicting a poor season.  Now I'm not saying we'll make the playoffs, but I'm not really one for doom and gloom.  Especially given many teams are going to be going through exactly the same struggles we are.  We aren't the only team breaking in a rookie QB, we aren't the only team who struggled on offense last year, we definitely aren't the only ones adjusting to a new coaching staff, and we aren't the only ones who brought in practically no free agents.  The naysayers point to our strength of schedule, the hardest in the league.  However SOS is almost never accurate from one year to the next.  Parity is the name of the game in the league, and we saw it with Miami and Atlanta in 2008.  They were worse than we were it could be argued, and they both made the playoffs with a new coach and QB the following year.  So let's take a closer look at the schedule, see if we can find a reason to hope. 

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The #1 overall pick comes with many things.  Attention from the media and draft world for months.  Discussion over who we will select and why will dominate draft talk on TV and the web from now until April 28th when the commissioner walks to the podium.  And excitement from the fanbase at the opportunity to pick a great, possibly even legendary player.  That is the dream for us all at #1, and given the season we just had I'd say we deserve a player who'll make us and everyone else forget.  But the other side of the coin is just as ugly as this side is beautiful.  The #1 doesn't gurantee you a great player, far from it in fact.  In reality it's just another draft choice, with an equal chance of hit or miss.  The most egregious difference is the fact that if you miss on the #1, the stigma and consequences are usually much, much greater.  Everyone knows who Jamarcus Russell is, and the Raiders will never be rid of his name.  Failing to select the right player at #1 also usually results in some severe financial handicapping.  But the league and draft are changing.  Things everyone once thought were true are being challenged.  So Panther fans, let me ask you this.  Do we really have to hit on the #1 overall pick? 

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Happy New Year CSR!  I've had some thoughts on Clausen I've been wanting to share, and I figured this would be a good time to share them.  So in honor of the holidays, I'd like to take a look at what Clausen needs to change to become an NFL QB, in the form of a resolution list.  I think most of us agree that at this point in his career, he lacks many of the qualities needed, but that he can improve in time.  So what does he need to do? 

More after the jump....

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Going into the year, many of us had high hopes for our offense.  We were returning what we thought was the best ground attack in the league, featuring a monstruous, road-grading offensive line featuring four potential Pro Bowlers and two other guys who had shown well in extended action the previous year.  In addition, we had a stable of backs we were confident in; DeAngelo Williams was just two years removed from leading the league in scores and Jonathan Stewart had destroyed every defense he had faced during that end of season run.  Not to mention a revamped passing attack, led by a young, promising QB throwing to what we thought were talented, albeit inexperienced weapons.  For whatever reason, none of the above really showed their potential, and we are left with an offense that is historically bad.  But just how bad are we?  Let's see how we compare to the benchmark of futility, the 1992 Seattle Seahawks. 



More after the jump....

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Hey guys, I'm kind of unsure if this deserves its own fanpost, but I have to admit, we really need your help.  My high school, South Iredell, has it's homecoming game this upcoming week against Bunker Hill.  We are in the running for game of the week on WBTV against Freedom v. Burns.  And we're currently losing.  We are only a 2AA school, but we are undefeated at 4-0 (5-0 if we beat West Caldwell tomorrow like we should), winning games against 4AA Lake Norman, and 3A Statesville and West Iredell.  From what I understand, Freedom and Burns are both much larger schools.  So if you guys could go to this link, http://www.wbtv.com/, and help us even the odds, that would be fantastic!  :) 

There's been a lot of talk about how our QB's played Thursday.  And while I've seen a few posts about the game, I haven't seen one devoted to the QB's.  They have been the position I've been most eager to see play this year, DL included.  I missed the first half because my high school football team had a scrimmage, but luckily I had access to a DVR.  Unfortunately it malfunctioned a little bit, so Moore's first drive and Cantwell's two minute offense are not included.  So let's see what the tape says, starting from the sack fumble of Moore...... 

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As our season draws closer, the season previews will start to appear.  Some may be ridiculously early, but when they start they will flood in regardless.  One thing I have noticed about the people on this site is how optimistic we are generally.  There's a few Negative Nelly's, and some Sensible Sal's, but mostly we are all Optimistic Olly's, especially the self-proclaimed Olly Aussie James.  :)  As a result, any season predictions will most likely be on the positive side.  I've seen most range from 11-5 to 13-3, with the occassional above and under.  What I want to do here is not give an exact prediction, but more of a prognostication.  There are two things I've learned in my (five) years of watching football, one; it's unpredictable.  There is no way to accurately predict a season, there are far too many variables.  Every play depends on a series of movements by eleven men on both sides of the ball that must be in perfect timing to work the way it's designed.  It rarely does.  Two; every student of the game, casual or hard core, has biases, and those are reflected in his analysis of the game.  Those biases are in personality and team or player preference, usually.  For example we'll have people like Steven who are wildly optimistic about the season and players, compared to people like El Bacon who are more cautious, even borderline negative.  Heck, you'll see my personality, and team and player preference in the below article despite my best attempts to remain objective.  What I'm getting at from all of that is that generally the truth is somewhere in the middle of both extremes.  With that in mind, let's see what the middle ground is. 

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There's been a lot of complaining in Pantherdom about our modus operandi this offseason.  We have a huge need at wide receiver, and we've missed out on some goodies.  Anquan Boldin, Santonio Holmes, and possibly Brandon Marshall could have been had well within our price range.  However, while we haven't pulled the trigger on any of those players, their acquisitions by other teams have been more beneficial to us than you might think.......

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Enjoy!  :)

UPDATED: McNabb trade and Colts pick. 

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After Jake Delhomme was cut and subsequently signed with the Browns, many wondered what Delhomme's legacy with Carolina would be.  No question he deserves a special place in our hearts as fans, but what type of recognition should he get from the organization?  I'm sure most of us can agree he likely will receive a spot in the Carolina Hall of Honor, along with Sam Mills, Mike McCormack, and the PSL owners, but should his number be retired?  This post will look over the pros and cons of retiring #17.  And hopefully when I finish, we will have a much clearer picture on the issue. 

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There's definitely going to be some movement, the Combine shook up a lot of things.  Any criticism will be well received, I'd prefer constructive but some of you don't roll that way. ; ) 

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This offseason, we have many hard decisions facing us as a team.  One byproduct of the injury-riddled season is that we developed a lot of depth.  However, because of that we may be cutting guys who in other seasons would be assured a spot on the roster.  One such area that you will see that happen is at wide receiver.  This is widely recognized as a top need of ours, and there are multiple ways we can address it. 

Pictured Citadel WR Andre Roberts via www.nfldraftdog.com

Currently on the roster, we have one of the best in the league with Steve Smith.  What more can I say here about him that hasn't already been said?  He isn't going to be here forever though, so we should start looking for a replacement.  It also wouldn't hurt to have another scoring threat to take away attention from Smitty.  We also need a possession type receiver to make the tough catches on third down and to be a safety valve for Moore.  We have multiple options for those two slots, some of them may even be on the roster.  Former 2nd round pick Dwayne Jarret really came on late in the year.  I'm not talking just the touchdown he scored in the finale.  Starting with the Jets game, Jarret was running great routes, getting open deep, and making some excellent catches.  Look at his highlights vs New Orleans, that's exactly what we drafted him to do. 

We also have Kenny Moore and Charly Martin.  Martin is a good STer, and may have some upside as a slot receiver.  Moore's ceiling is a slot role, he doesn't do anything really well, but he does a lot decently.  Working out with Smith like he did last offseason will help.  Really the only guy I see being the answer is Jarret at split end.  Having said that, Jarret hasn't been called a bust these past few years for nothing.  He still has a lot to prove.  More on our options after the jump. 

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Pre-combine edition, two rounds.  Fire away.  :)

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Good morning everyone on this wonderful Super Sunday.  I hope your day has been enjoyable so far.  The game has brought something to the forefront, the need for a franchise QB to be successful.  Both teams have average run games, the Saints have a decent ground attack, not on the same caliber as a team like Carolina or the Jets, but very serviceable.  The Colts are just bad on the ground, but they do have the edge on defense.  Both D's are a little soft, the Colts can be run on, the Saints can be passed on.  The thing that gave them the edge over the rest of the NFL was a guy taking snaps who could execute their schemes and get it done in the clutch.  That's how I define franchise QB, not an All-Star like Manning or Brees, but a guy who is competent in your scheme, can make the throws necessary, and who can be trusted to deliver with 1 minute left down by four.  With that in mind, let's move on to the checklist I use to grade prospects coming out at QB. 

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Going into the offseason, there is one matter that dominates all conversation.  What will the Panthers do with Julius Peppers?  We have four options, we can let his salary expire, we can extend him, we can tag him and pay him 20 million to play this season for us, or we can tag and trade.  Personally I have very little faith in the first option, as it is uncapped, we can afford whatever is going to happen.  I remain a firm believer that he will re-sign with us, but his agent is testing my faith.  I believe Hurney has learned what happens when you pay a guy that much of your cap, so he won't make that mistake again.  So that leaves tag and trade, or an extension.  And for the sake of a topic, lets assume the former.  What would trading Peppers leave the landscape looking like? 

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