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How bout them Panthers!

Blue2010 said:
FWIW, Cam's accuracy is only a talking point b/c he isn't being asked to throw the ball 50+ times per game like the other "accurate" QBs in the league AND b/c for the vast majority of his career, his offensive line has been brutally terrible. When he came into the league his rookie year and was slinging it all over the field en-route to the Offensive Rookie of the Year honor...his accuracy was just fine.
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His lifetime completion percentage is still around 55%... not great, but to his credit his 4th quarter QBR is off the charts good. He's coming through in the clutch this year and that's what you gotta do in the NFL, since games usually come down to one possession.
 
heelmanwilm said:
But to correct something, its not that packer fans travel, its that we're already here in large numbers.easily .
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yeah, that's more accurate than me saying they travel well. Teams like Steelers, Packers, and Cowboys have fans all over, so I almost expect the Nov 8 crowd to be 50-50. Hope not, but it should be a great game.
 
TarHeelMark said:
I have respect for the Steelers and the way they run their organization, but damn I wish those OSU fans would get the hell back to the hell they came from. I used to work for a company based out of Ohio and they were - next to dook bball fans - the most arrogant, annoying sons-a-bitches I've ever had the displeasure to meet.
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Oh totally agree. tOSU fans suck.
 
TarHeelMark said:
His lifetime completion percentage is still around 55%... not great, but to his credit his 4th quarter QBR is off the charts good. He's coming through in the clutch this year and that's what you gotta do in the NFL, since games usually come down to one possession.
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I'm not trying to be an apologist b/c I know everyone went through this, but I think it gets lost here just how much Cam has had to go through in his first few years here. He inherited a 2-14 team from the year before -- with the Panthers having just fired John Fox, so there was an entirely new coaching regime coming in. AND, that was the "lockout" offseason for the NFL, so Cam was not able to even have OTA's that year -- he literally was just thrown to the wolves from Day 1. His incredible rookie year - given those obstacles - probably unfairly placed unreasonable expectations on him. Then the Offensive Coordinator (Rob Chud.) leaves to become a head coach elsewhere...and they bring in Shula, who most people were VERY skeptical of b/c of his coaching past...but they felt his continuity with Cam from college would benefit. Then you add in the absolutely horrendous offensive line situation (the numbers at one point last year showed that Cam had been hit something like twice as many times as any other NFL QB during a 3 year span), a terrible WR corp (sorry, Smitty), an always-injured RB tandem in D.Williams and J.Stew (for a while there, neither could get onto the field).... AND then you find out that Cam played on a ankle that needed surgery (meaning he cannot run effectively), broken ribs, car crash last year...

Just keeping it into perspective...
 
Blue2010 said:
I'm not trying to be an apologist b/c I know everyone went through this, but I think it gets lost here just how much Cam has had to go through in his first few years here. He inherited a 2-14 team from the year before -- with the Panthers having just fired John Fox, so there was an entirely new coaching regime coming in. AND, that was the "lockout" offseason for the NFL, so Cam was not able to even have OTA's that year -- he literally was just thrown to the wolves from Day 1. His incredible rookie year - given those obstacles - probably unfairly placed unreasonable expectations on him. Then the Offensive Coordinator (Rob Chud.) leaves to become a head coach elsewhere...and they bring in Shula, who most people were VERY skeptical of b/c of his coaching past...but they felt his continuity with Cam from college would benefit. Then you add in the absolutely horrendous offensive line situation (the numbers at one point last year showed that Cam had been hit something like twice as many times as any other NFL QB during a 3 year span), a terrible WR corp (sorry, Smitty), an always-injured RB tandem in D.Williams and J.Stew (for a while there, neither could get onto the field).... AND then you find out that Cam played on a ankle that needed surgery (meaning he cannot run effectively), broken ribs, car crash last year...

Just keeping it into perspective...
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I can't disagree with that. And I've been a little hard on him since he was a no. 1 pick. Like I said, I am very impressed with how he's playing this year, especially when the game has been on the line; two 80 yard drives in the last 8 minutes AT SEATTLE was impressive.
 
Blue2010 said:
I'm not trying to be an apologist b/c I know everyone went through this, but I think it gets lost here just how much Cam has had to go through in his first few years here. He inherited a 2-14 team from the year before -- with the Panthers having just fired John Fox, so there was an entirely new coaching regime coming in. AND, that was the "lockout" offseason for the NFL, so Cam was not able to even have OTA's that year -- he literally was just thrown to the wolves from Day 1. His incredible rookie year - given those obstacles - probably unfairly placed unreasonable expectations on him. Then the Offensive Coordinator (Rob Chud.) leaves to become a head coach elsewhere...and they bring in Shula, who most people were VERY skeptical of b/c of his coaching past...but they felt his continuity with Cam from college would benefit. Then you add in the absolutely horrendous offensive line situation (the numbers at one point last year showed that Cam had been hit something like twice as many times as any other NFL QB during a 3 year span), a terrible WR corp (sorry, Smitty), an always-injured RB tandem in D.Williams and J.Stew (for a while there, neither could get onto the field).... AND then you find out that Cam played on a ankle that needed surgery (meaning he cannot run effectively), broken ribs, car crash last year...

Just keeping it into perspective...
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Oh I completely agree 100%. He just tends to overthrow at times, and for the most part, that's fine. The dude doesn't have to be perfect. I'm pretty sure everyone here knows I've been defending Cam since the day he got here.

If you're a defensive coordinator, you cannot plan anything against Cam Newton, you just can't. You can't tell whether he's going to throw it, hand it off, or run it himself, and when he runs it, he can elude defenders or straight up run over (or jump over) them, and as a quarterback, that just isn't fair. Considering his receivers are a punt returner, a second year guy who wasn't even drafted, and a journeyman, hell, I'm shocked his completion percentage isn't worse than it is. It's amazing what he's been able to do given all the circumstances.

Oh yeah, and Greg Olsen, keep giving it to him, please. Why doesn't he get double-covered more often, anyway?
 
TarHeelMark said:
Yeah, he seems to be getting better with his mechanics, as I've seen more nice touch throws from him this year. But he still tends to throw off the back foot, and his passes sail high on the receivers. Funchess has had way too many drops this year; maybe it's just getting more PT and getting a better feel for those fast-balls coming at him, but the dude really needs to step up.

And, if Cam will target Olsen more.... that would be nice too. 88 is a stud TE.
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How much better would Newton be if he used Olsen like Brady uses Gronk?
 
UNC71-00 said:
How much better would Newton be if he used Olsen like Brady uses Gronk?
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That's what I'm thinking too.

I did notice that the Panthers kept Olsen (and the other TE) in as FB at times to help block, which helped Stewart and the run game, so that cuts into his targets. But the dude is money. I've seen him drop maybe one pass all season,
 
UNC71-00 said:
How much better would Newton be if he used Olsen like Brady uses Gronk?
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That's not on Cam obviously. Belichick has perfected the TE game in the NFL. Brady is the beneficiary of that. And as good as Olsen is, he's no Gronk.
 
gunslingerdick said:
That's not on Cam obviously. Belichick has perfected the TE game in the NFL. Brady is the beneficiary of that. And as good as Olsen is, he's no Gronk.
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True on all counts, but my point remains that Cam would be better if Olsen got more looks.
 
This might be beyond my level of football knowledge since I'm not a coach, but I would answer it this way -- New England uses Gronk essentially as a Paul Bunyan-Sized WR...whereas Carolina uses Greg Olsen in a lot of different ways...he is asked to block for Cam and the running game FAR more than Gronk is, which limits the number of times he would be used in the passing game.

Again, I could be off-base, but that would be my reasoning here.
 
UNC71-00 said:
True on all counts, but my point remains that Cam would be better if Olsen got more looks.
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Agreed. And I too second the thought that Cam has been pretty impressive with a banged up line and a no-name cast of WRs. But as you know, I'm a traditionalist. And for some reason, I just don't particularly like Cam's game. It's not pleasing to the eye to me. He does make some "wow" plays. But even in a stretch when he's been as good as he has, I'm always waiting for him to make a gigantic gaffe. I guess I just don't trust him.
 
Blue2010 said:
This might be beyond my level of football knowledge since I'm not a coach, but I would answer it this way -- New England uses Gronk essentially as a Paul Bunyan-Sized WR...whereas Carolina uses Greg Olsen in a lot of different ways...he is asked to block for Cam and the running game FAR more than Gronk is, which limits the number of times he would be used in the passing game.

Again, I could be off-base, but that would be my reasoning here.
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I agree with that.
 
Gonna be rough at work in the morning. 5:00am comes early but we'll worth it
 
Amazing thing is they have learned to survive. I expect green bay to be the toughest game so far this year.

On a side note, they could have put the game away much earlier.
 
It's almost better for the Panthers to be in a one score game throughout. They can't seem to handle a good working margin.... prevent defense nearly prevented them from winning.
 
Grayhead said:
Amazing thing is they have learned to survive. I expect green bay to be the toughest game so far this year.

On a side note, they could have put the game away much earlier.
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Agree on both points. BTW, Green Bay will be the first team the Panthers have played this year that has a winning record. However, they will find a way to win.
 
HookUNC75 said:
Agree on both points. BTW, Green Bay will be the first team the Panthers have played this year that has a winning record. However, they will find a way to win.
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All but one of them would be .500 or better if they'd beat the Panthers, so it's not like all the opponents have been having dumpster-fire seasons.
 
Green Bay scares me. No way Aaron Rodgers gets held in check for two straight games. The offense better be ready to score because the defense may help some in this game, but don't expect Aaron Rodgers to be stopped.
 
I hope they can keep this going and beat the Packers, but even if they lose, If you told me before the season that they would be 7-1 at the halfway point, I'd say sign me up!
 
JuleZ '02 HEEL said:
All but one of them would be .500 or better if they'd beat the Panthers, so it's not like all the opponents have been having dumpster-fire seasons.
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That is very true, @JuleZ '02 HEEL , but on the same token those teams could have just as easily lost to one of the teams they beat. In the grand scheme of things it really doesn't matter and I shouldn't have even brought it up. The job of the Panthers is to just win against whomever they're scheduled to play. I was really just trying to reinforce @Grayhead 's point that Green Bay would be the toughest opponent to date.
 
Word of advice -- do not attempt to kick sturdy objects while not wearing any shoes. Pretty sure I badly damaged the big toe on my right foot. (Thanks Ted Ginn...)

Green Bay doesn't scare me at all, actually...I think the Panthers will have to score 25+ points to win b/c Aaron Rodgers will get his, but I'd be willing to bet he's gonna have to throw the ball 50-60 times to get to that mark against this defense.

Call it what you will - the weather last night was a HUGE factor. Once the rain let up, you saw both Luck and Cam get into a rhythm. Point being -- Rodgers should get his...but so will Cam. And I like Carolina's D to slow GB's offense enough to give Carolina a good shot.
 
HookUNC75 said:
That is very true, @JuleZ '02 HEEL , but on the same token those teams could have just as easily lost to one of the teams they beat. In the grand scheme of things it really doesn't matter and I shouldn't have even brought it up. The job of the Panthers is to just win against whomever they're scheduled to play. I was really just trying to reinforce @Grayhead 's point that Green Bay would be the toughest opponent to date.
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Yeah, totally agree GB will be tough. Just reading that comment though, it sounded like the schedule was all Sister Mary of the Poor which isn't really the case. Panthers just gotta keep winning one at a time. Been a fun ride so far!
 
I'm a life long packer fan and i can tell u the packers will show up with a serious chip on their shoulder. They were totally embarrassed by their showing sun night. (As they should be). U can expect one of their best efforts.
 
heelmanwilm said:
I'm a life long packer fan and i can tell u the packers will show up with a serious chip on their shoulder. They were totally embarrassed by their showing sun night. (As they should be). U can expect one of their best efforts.
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Indeed - and I would hope they would be ready to show up.

That said - I would say the same about Carolina. Many of these guys were there for that debacle in Lambeau last season...and the game last night was less than stellar as well. I'd expect them to also have that "chip."
 
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Cam is money when it counts. He's not in the top 20 in 1st half qb ratings but he's #12 in the 2nd and #9 in the 4th quarter. He just gets better as the game progresses.
 
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tarheelbybirth said:
Cam is money when it counts. He's not in the top 20 in 1st half qb ratings but he's #12 in the 2nd and #9 in the 4th quarter. He just gets beter as the game progresses.
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I saw an article where last year when the Panthers were 3-8-1, Rivera and Shula changed up the offense philosophy to use more no-huddle (not so much to play at a faster pace) but to give Cam more time to assess the defense and get them to tip their hand, plus give him more time to audible if needed. Whatever they did sure has helped.... Panthers are 12-1 since then (11 straight regular season wins).

I don't expect them to beat the Packers, but they definitely can. If they do, that would give them a two game lead for the no. 1 seed in NFC.
 
How does 8-0 sound baby!!! Good weekend for football teams with Carolina in their name
 
I would prefer that the Panthers not make a habit of blowing huge 4th quarter leads as they have the last two games, but I'm very happy they pulled those games out. Should never have been as close as they were...
 
Cam made one bad throw late in the game to put GB back in the game. Outside of that, they played quite well. It was GB by the way and they don't go down easy. I would not call us elite, and we can be beat. But we do the right thing at the right time.
I really feel that our offence strikes so fast, that it leaves our defense on the field alot. By the fourth quarter, they are winded
 
Grayhead said:
Cam made one bad throw late in the game to put GB back in the game. Outside of that, they played quite well. It was GB by the way and they don't go down easy. I would not call us elite, and we can be beat. But we do the right thing at the right time.
I really feel that our offence strikes so fast, that it leaves our defense on the field alot. By the fourth quarter, they are winded
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Kind of reminds me of the Heels on Defense...
 
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Cardiac Cats is right, but I'll take it. In years past, the Panthers lose these games. They have learned how to win. And to think they get Charles Johnson back in 2 weeks... This team is really starting to put the league on notice.
 
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