Carolina Panthers 2015 Season Thread

[Thanatos 2,847]

The lone panther around here will start this up again, I suppose.

 

We've started the season 2-0, tied for first with the Falcons. Neither team has looked particularly good in so doing. The Birds victories are against the Giants and Iggles two teams that have, shall we say, underperformed this season, while the Panthers managed to somewhat narrowly beat the Jaguars and Texans.

 

Our defense has looked rather good, Top-5 in the league at the moment. However, the Panthers did start out against the Jaguars and Texans, two teams that most would consider bottom feeders.

 

I would remiss if I did not point out that the Jaguars offense looked perfectly capable in their win over the Dolphins last Sunday. And the Texans have a fantastic defense, despite their offensive woes.

 

The Panthers have beaten two teams they were supposed to beat. This is good. Two more teams are upcoming that they also should beat, and they should go into their break 4-0. The game against Seattle after the bye, which will almost certainly be a loss, should tell us something about Carolina. (Ron Rivera has never won a game after a bye week, 0-6).

 

The offense revolves around one player: Cam Newton. This team will go as far as Newton can carry them. No player on any other team in the NFL is asked to do as much for his ballclub as Newton is. I don't think that's an exaggeration. You look at other young QBs in the league- Wilson, Luck, Bortles, Carr, Bridgewater- they have multiple weapons. Wilson has Lynch and Graham and the Legion of Boom to back him up. Luck has Hilton, Fleener, Allen, Moncrief, Dorsett, and Andre Johnson. Bortles is probably closest to Cam, although their front office did go try to get him a big target in Julius Thomas, he simply has been injured. Carr of course has Amari Cooper and Michael Crabtree, while Bridgewater and the Vikings have Adrian Peterson and Mike Wallace was added over the offseason.

 

Carolina? Ted Ginn is our #1 WR. Ted Ginn, who currently has 3 drops through two games, including two likely TDs. Sure, he bounced back with a TD catch against the Texans, but his case of the dropsies will kill us against a competent squad.

 

Ted Ginn is, at best, a speedy deep threat who is best suited in the slot or as a #3 WR. Philly Brown is our #2. He's basically a carbon copy of Ginn. Speedy, bad hands, deep threat, no real receiving skills.

 

Cotchery is an old veteran who has good hands, (although he had a big drop against the Jags on opening day), but isn't very fast, and is also best suited as a #3 WR.

 

Funchess is far more raw than Benjamin ever was. Olsen is the only reliable receiving target Cam Newton has. So the offense has evolved. Newton has been running more through two games than he has since his rookie season.

 

The zone option might work for awhile, but its going to take something of a minor miracle for Carolina to be a serious playoff threat running what amounts to a college offense. Mike Shula doesn't have the offensive coordinator skills necessary to figure out how to fix this- he has trouble with running a competent offense, much less a sub-par one.

 

The defense, on the other hand, looks great so far. The players that were put in at the end of last season, when the Panthers went on that great run to win the NFC South, are still performing at that level. Josh Norman has taken a great leap forward and is evolving into a true #1 corner, (I hate the term shutdown corner, its entirely overused). Bene Benewikere is perfectly suited as the #2 corner. Gettleman has done a great job finding defensive gems late in drafts.

 

Even without Star and Luke, the Panthers defense is 5th overall in the league through two games. Again, yes, those games were against Houston and Jacksonville. We shall see what the Saints can do against our defense, but both Star and Luke look to be back for that game.

 

The major issue of concern on the defensive side of things is the pass rush. Kony Ealy/Mario Addison/Wes Horton as a rotating trio on the other side of Charles Johnson does not seem to be putting much pressure on opposing passers. (Addison broke through late against Jacksonville, however). Ealy in particular has had a frustratingly inconsistent season. Against Houston he had a very good game, except he nearly blew the whole thing at the end by giving up two penalties, a boneheaded roughing the passer penalty on 3rd and 6 that would have forced the Texans into a 4th down where if they failed to convert the game would have been over, and then an offsides penalty on 3rd and 3 that would have put the Texans in the same situation.

 

Shaq Thompson saw a severe snap count in week 1, but with Kuechly sidelined he played far more in week 2 and was fantastic in his limited work, especially when he stopped Jonathan Grimes in his tracks on a 4th and 3 early in the 3rd quarter. Look for more out of this guy as the season progresses. The Panthers LB corps is going to be scary good this season.

 

Special teams has an issue. Two blocked FGs in two weeks is unacceptable. This is the same team that last year had Kam Chancellor nearly block two FGs in a row by jumping the line. I know Rivera has sentimental attachment to the ST coach, but he needs to go. FG blocks at this rate is absolutely and completely absurd.

 

Through two weeks, the Panthers have done what they need to do if they are going to make the playoffs this year. Win the game they are supposed to win. They may not have looked pretty doing it, but 2-0 is still 2-0.

 

I look for the division this year to be between Carolina and Atlanta with neither team going very far into the playoffs.

[BwareDWare94 723]

Who's been your leading rusher, so far?

[CampinWithaMissingPerson 2,025]

https://twitter.com/josephperson/status/647027897887277057

[Thanatos 2,847]

Cam, of course. Another reason why he's asked to do more than anyone else.

[Thanatos 2,847]

So tomorrow we have the all-but-dead New Orleans Saints.

 

This game screams trap-game to me. With Brees out and Luke McCown in, the Saints are probably going to run the ball a lot, which is what New Orleans should have been doing the first two weeks anyway. You don't get rid of Kenny Stills and Jimmy Graham and get Max Unger and then just keep acting like you have the same receiving corps you've always had. Ingram is going to pound the rock a lot.

 

Fortunately, we will have Star Lotulelei back for the first time this season. He will be a big help in stopping the run.

 

Luke has been ruled out for the second straight week and I wouldn't be surprised to see the Panthers sit him until after the bye week.

 

Panthers should win comfortably so I'm very nervous about this one.

[Thanatos 2,847]

Well I was right to be nervous. Without Josh Norman's ridiculous pick in the endzone to seal this one, we lose.

 

McDermott just constantly goes into soft defense in the late 4th quarter. 8 minutes and a two-score game does not mean we win, Sean. Please.

 

Cam was on point today with a rushing TD, two passing TDs, and over 300 yards in the air. More importantly, no turnovers.

 

Greg Olsen exploded in this one. He seemed to get really mad after the refs called a pick play on Richie Broekel, (which was the right call), and spiked the ball after the touchdown right under a Saints player. He ended up with a career high in receiving yardage and added two TDs as well.

 

Cam and Ed Hochuli had words after Cam wanted to know why he hadn't got a roughing the passer call on a play that I have no idea whether or not it was because Fox refused to show the hit. But it was Hochuli's explanation, according to Cam, that really ticked him off, "You're not old enough to get that call."

 

Now for my money, Ed was probably joking with him, the NFL's explanation was that the QB was out of the pocket and therefore a runner- but that dodges the issue, as late hits don't take that into account. A late hit is a late hit.

 

Devin Funchess continues to get pushed around. He made one hell of a catch over the middle where he got absolutely destroyed by Keenan Lewis and got a flag as well, but he hung onto the ball. Other than that, he was getting out-manned by smaller corners with ease.

 

We're 3-0, but they have been some ugly-ass wins. If we can get one more against Tampa next week, which I would hope we can, we'll be 4-0 and sitting pretty heading into the bye week.

 

And dear god do we miss Luke. He is the captain of that defense and it shows. Without him, we looked completely lost for long stretches of the game. I love AJ Klein and he has done a serviceable job, but he isn't Luke.

Edited September 27, 2015 by Thanatos19

[Thanatos 2,847]

This guy though.

 

He's gonna get paid this offseason:

 

https://pbs.twimg.com/tweet_video/CP734p2WEAANiFs.mp4

Edited September 28, 2015 by Thanatos19

[ATL_Predator+ 1,196]

Your Panthers hype is admirable...yet mistaken...

[Thanatos 2,847]

Your Panthers hype is admirable...yet mistaken...

I don't want to hear anything from a team-hopping bandwagoner.

[Thanatos 2,847]

37, 23

 

4-0 after a turnover-filled day by Jameis Winston.

 

We're 4-0 without Luke for all but two quarters. I don't care if they have been against shitty teams, it's still impressive to me.

 

Josh Norman. What else can one say about this guy? He's going to get a hell of a pay-day this offseason, he bet on himself and won big. We'll cross that river when we come to it. For now, he is playing at an All-Pro level and is consistently making big plays. Evans didn't catch a ball when Norman was on him, and Norman had two picks covering V-Jax.

 

Ryan Delaire is the Panthers sack leader. He played this week, and only this week. For a guy that on Wednesday was stowed on the Redskins practice squad after being cut by the Bucs, ironically, that's pretty good. 2 sacks and 5 QB hurries. Jared Allen may have done next to nothing, but Delaire made an instant impact.

 

Shaq Thompson is getting better every week. Saw some great play from him today.

 

Newton's stat line may look ugly. 11/22 124 yards, 2 TDs, 0 INTs, 12 rushes/51 yards. But he is doing whatever we need him to do and he really isn't making bad throws. Outside of two misses today, one of which Lavonte David should have picked off and that would have changed the game a bit, he's been on point.

 

More drops from the Panthers WRs. Really don't see how we can be a true contender without going out and getting someone with a trade or something. Brenton Bersin was the leading receiver with 4 catches for 54 yards.

 

Cameron Artis-Payne needs more playing time. The rookie isn't exactly lighting up the stat sheets, but he made several great cuts today when everyone knew we were going to be running the ball and got 3 yards or so when he should have lost yardage.

 

Ted Ginn dropped another pass, though it would have been a tough catch, but he made a great TD catch in the 2nd quarter and had another on a crossing pattern that put the game on ice. He still isn't a #1 WR, though.

 

I thought that if the Panthers were going to make the playoffs they needed to be 4-0 at the break, and we are. Week 6 @ Seattle will tell us a lot about the caliber of this squad. Until then, time for some rest and relaxation and letting injuries heal. Normally I don't like the early bye weeks, but it comes at a great time for us now.

Edited October 5, 2015 by Thanatos19

[Favre4Ever+ 4,476]

If you ever want to get rid of Josh Norman, hit me up... lol. Dude knows how to cover.

[Thanatos 2,847]

I do not at all, just not sure what he's gonna ask for now. Probably around 12mil/year.

[Thanatos 2,847]

Don't think I've ever seen a 4-0 team given so little chance to beat a 2-3 team.

 

The Seahawks are still the defending NFC champions, but apparently because of Carolina's soft schedule and lackluster offense we have no shot. (Remind me again who the Hawks have beaten? Oh that's right, the Jimmy Clausen-led Chicago Bears, and they really should have lost to the 0-5 Detroit Lions, albeit on a technicality. Even without it, it's fair to say they struggled to beat the Lions at home.)

 

"Beast Mode is back!" Woop-de-doo. Carolina has shut down and/or held Marshawn Lynch in check in each of the last four games between these two ballclubs. Not to mention, Carolina gets back the captain of our defense, Luke Kuechly.

 

The Hawks offensive line has had struggles galore, and their receivers are about to go up against possibly the most underrated secondary in the NFC.

 

I would not be at all surprised if Seattle pulls this one out, given that its in Seattle. But 6.5 point favorites against an undefeated ballclub when you are 2-3? Disrespect galore. I hope the team feeds off of that.

 

Especially given that few question their rivals, the Falcons, who have all of the same issues, (soft schedule, one-half of their team is very bad: 27th in the league on total D, 30th against the pass).

 

This is the first of four games in a row that will test the mettle of the 2015 version of the Panthers: Seahawks, Eagles, Colts, Packers. With the exception of Green Bay, Carolina can beat all of those teams. (Packers would be a miracle win to pull out given how good both sides of the ball is playing for the Pack.) At this point, anything less than 6-2 at the midway point would be a major disappointment.

 

Carolina is due for a win against the 'Hawks. They are struggling, on both sides of the ball really. (Giving up 17 4th quarter points is not Legion of Boom-esque.) Cam is playing the best football of his career, stats be damned, given his completely lackluster supporting cast.

 

Don't be shocked if the Panthers pull off the "upset."

Edited October 16, 2015 by Thanatos19

[Thanatos 2,847]

Don't be shocked if the Panthers pull off the "upset."

 

27

23

 

5-0!!!!

[Bay 2,003]

I repped you before the game because I could see the Panthers winning this one. Maybe in years past Seattle gets it done, not this team though. Enjoy it man.

 

I'm not the biggest Cam fan ha but I can admit he is a good QB at least. Teddy Ginn has been playing solid ball it seems.

[Thanatos 2,847]

Ginn had 1 catch for 18 yards, though it was on that final drive. This was the Cam Newton, J-Stew, and Greg Olsen show on offense.

[Bucman 891]

Good win for you guys. Rep the NFC South well. Cause the bottom 2 teams sure aren't

[Bay 2,003]

Besides this game Ginn has been solid in fantasy the last few games.

[Thanatos 2,847]

Well he had 2 catches for 18 yards last game, just so happens both were for TDs.

 

Ted Ginn is okay, but he is a far cry from a #1 WR.

[Zack_of_Steel+ 3,014]

Carolina is for real (and so is Cam Newton)

https://www.profootballfocus.com/blog/2015/10/19/carolina-is-for-real-and-so-is-cam-newton/

Edited October 19, 2015 by Zack_of_Steel

[Thanatos 2,847]

While I do think Newton is having his best year so far as a pro, I'm hesitant to trust PFF after their grade of Aaron Rodgers the other night. Shit was laughable.

[BJORN 679]

While I do think Newton is having his best year so far as a pro, I'm hesitant to trust PFF after their grade of Aaron Rodgers the other night. Shit was laughable.

What was their grade on Rodgers?

 

I have to eat SOME crow, though I still have some doubts about the Panthers, the the Seahawks are out of whack seemingly but it's still an impressive win. The fact they are winning and Cam is killing it with what he has at WR is truly impressive.

[Thanatos 2,847]

Missed this Bjorn. They gave Rodgers a -0.8 grade for the Chiefs game.

[ATL_Predator+ 1,196]

Aaron Rodgers has been playing pretty mediocre to the standard we've seen him play, it's not really that outlandish.

[Bay 2,003]

68%, 8.2 YPA, 115 passer rating, 15:2 TD-Int. I will take that mediocre man on my team.