Ask a Panthers' fan- Preseason game four

- On the WRs: Lots of promise, nothing to show for it yet. The WRs across the board have been underwhelming. When Muhsin Muhammad retired it was up to Jarrett or one of the rookies to reach up and grab the spot, nobody has done so yet. It’s worrying to be sure. There is growing sentiment that we need to find a vet like Laverneus Coles to help out until Jarrett or LaFell prove they’re ready.

- On Moore: I’m confident, because there’s no reason not to be. Over his 4 starts last year he was 3-1 as a starter, and finished the season with a QB rating over 90 in games he started. If he doesn’t turn the ball over we can win football games.

- On Clausen: He’s turning heads to be sure. I think it’s safe to say that a lot of fans were dismayed by the pick and saw it as a vote of no confidence in a promising young player. Couple that with all the reports of Clausen’s locker room issues and problems with teammates and it didn’t look good. But, he’s been everything we could ask for and more out of a rookie. He’s remaining quiet, looks humble and doesn’t seem to think he’s owed anything. He’s been working with an atrocious backup OL and the 2nd and 3rd team WRs and looked good.

And do you think Brandon Lefell will take Dwyane Jarretts job this season?

- On Hurney: I don’t think that is the case at all. It doesn’t have anything to do with forfeiting and saving money because the Panthers ultimately paid more out to cut the guys we did than it would have been to keep them on the roster. It was about correcting past financial mistakes with no cap repercussion while preparing for 2011 and beyond. They Panthers didn’t spend money because we have extensions looming for DeAngelo Williams, Ryan Kalil, Thomas Davis, Richard Marshall and Matt Moore looming. As it stands it looks like we’ll have right around $70 million in cap space if a new CBA is worked out. 3rd cheapest roster in the league right now, and that means we have a good shot at keeping our talent.

- See above for Moore.

- Clausen: I don’t think he gets the job by the end of the season unless the wheels completely come off. I just don’t see it happening. Next year is another story entirely.

- The defense looks pretty good thus far. We’re hoping it keeps up, but they’ve dominated the three teams we’ve faced thus far (Ravens, Jets, Titans).

- Armanti Edwards: Our local beat writer reported (and was verified by the Indianapolis Star) that the Colts had planned to take Armanti Edwards 12 picks after where we ultimately traded up to get him. Edwards was the player it seemed every team had on their radar, but they were all playing chicken to see who would pull the trigger. There was no way he would have made it to the 6th round given Indy’s desire to take him. It remains to be seen whether he can live up to his draft position, but he is a huge upside prospect.

- Jarrett v. LaFell: Ultimately I think he does take him job, but he has to work on his hands to hit the next level. Jarrett can’t get separation, but he can catch… LaFell get’s separation but drops easy passes.

Extremely high on him. This was always going to be a ‘sack by committee’ scenario to fill Peppers’ void.

Nobody expected the entire cadre of DE’s to break out the way they did. Right now we have 5 different DEs who have had games with 2 sacks or over each. Greg Hardy is definitely the future at the position, but this season expect to see Everette Brown (2nd round pick from 2009) and Charles Johnson (3rd round pick from 2007) to be the impact players for most downs, with Hardy being a 3rd down pass rusher.

- Lehman is no longer on the roster. He’s in Minnesota now.
- Munnerlyn is cemented as our 3rd CB we used him a lot last year, and I expect the same.
- Goodson will stay on the roster too much upside to cut him now, he’s just raw.
- Brad Hoover was a darn good fullback, one of the most underrated in the league. That being said, Fiametta can catch out of the backfield in a way Hoover couldn’t, and that will help our passing game.

I think the Panthers will be trying to sneak QB Hunter Cantwell onto the practice squad this year. He’s raw, but he has a howitzer for an arm and just needs some maturation.

There are several good WRs that I think could get cut because of the draft commitments we made to the position. Kenny Moore, Oliver Young, Trent Guy… all three have a reasonable chance of being cut and all have their issues, but they are the kind of players who could be special in the right situation.

Rashawn Jackson at FB too. it seems unlikely the Panthers carry two into the season and he was far and away the best FB in the 2010 draft, just went undrafted due to the depth.

For whatever reason he hasn’t been able to translate his athleticism into momentum up the depth chart. He could at least be a good special teams cover guy for some team.

Too close to Wednesday, you know where Coach T. . . I mean Where Arn’s going.

Not that I can see. We’re cutting and shuffling as it is to find the right guys for the 53. Hard to imagine there are going to be any gems we let slip through.

Pouncey is 10 lbs heavier and 2 inches taller. From seeing him play I think he has a little more power than Kalil, but Kalil has more technique.

Time will tell. I thin Pouncey was a great pick where you got him, but I really haven’t seen enough to truly evaluate him against Kalil.

Marshall was tendered for one year for $1.759 million. Davis was tendered for one year for $3.268 million. Carolina isn’t really signing anyone long term until the new bargaining agreement is inked. I wouldn’t consider either one of them locks to be resigned after this year. Marshall may ask for too much money for his talent level, and Davis has injury concerns.

in how many of them wouldn’t be dressed.

Guys, come on. I’m getting a repetitive stress injury from scrolling past all your pictures….

He’s an average QB, and will put up average numbers. Getting a fresh start on another team will probably help him get back to his old self.

Right now, I’d say defensive end is the deepest position on the team. Carolina has the number one or two defense is virtually every category this preseason, and they’re a big reason why. Carolina is first in sacks. Charles Johnson, Everette Brown, Greg Hardy, and Eric Moore have all taken up residence in opposing backfields. Tyler Brayton, who won’t be playing until the regular season, had two sacks himself in one quarter before getting injured in the first game.

I think Carolina will be anywhere from 9-7 to 11-5. At this point, it really depends on how Matt Moore plays, or Clausen if he replaces Moore during the season. Moore hasn’t done as well this preseason as he did at the end of last year. They don’t have to have a good passing game to win. They’ve won in the past solely on their running game, and Carolina’s schedule is much softer than normal this year. However, to be a playoff team, they will need Moore to do well.

One thing you have to watch about Delhomme are those fourth quarter comebacks. You can’t go to sleep on that guy, ‘cause he’ll sneak back up on you.

Delhomme will be in a west coast offense. Not requiring him to make any deep throws will definitely help him in Cleveland, he’s also used to having the tall possession receiver, and the smaller faster receiver in Smith and Muhsin Muhammad, so working with Mohammad Massaquoi and Josh Cribbs wont be entirely foreign, even if neither is as talented.

Defensive end looks to be the deepest position right now with four guys looking like starters right now.

Floor is 6-10 and the ceiling is 12-4. We have a favorable schedule on paper, but I’m always wary of relying on that. Basically if Matt Moore plays like he did at the end of last season, we have a WR or two step up, and the defense continues looking the way they do then there’s no good reason we can’t win the division. If these three areas all falter it’s going to be a long year.

Pass rush is looking insanely good right now. I’m definitely of the mindset that Julius Peppers is one of the most overrated players in the NFL (even when he was a Panther) but you don’t replace double digit sacks overnight.

As it stands the Panthers are 1st in the NFL in preseason right now with 18 total sacks. Of these 18 sacks 13 have come from our DEs (3 to Everette Brown, 3 to Greg Hardy, 3 to Eric Moore, 2 to Charles Johnson, 2 to Tyler Brayton). Everette Brown needed to come into camp bigger and stronger and he added 15 lbs of muscle to his frame and it’s making all the difference in the world.

Watch out for Greg Hardy as a backup too… it’s not just Panther fans who think he could be the steal of the draft as the 6th round DE out of ole Miss has posted 12 tackles and 3 sacks this preseason.

Defensive tackle was the area most fans thought the focus would be on during the draft, but the organization didn’t see the value at the position compared to others so they didn’t pick one.

Last year we had starting NT Maake Kemoeatu go down in camp so the team scrambled to trade for Louis Leonard of Cleveland, right now he looks to start at NT. We also traded with Kansas City for former 3rd round pick Tank Tyler who looked lost in a 3-4 system and figures to be in the mix. We brought in Ed Johnson formerly with Indianapolis who Ron Meeks coached when he worked under Tony Dungy and Johnson is making a case to start.

No household names that’s for sure… but they all seem to be stepping up right now.

Norwood will end up at OLB. In 2010 he may be a designated pass rusher, but barring injury we wont see him a lot. I actually think Norwood could be the future on the weak side, provided the team decide not to bring back Thomas Davis… but that’s a lot of speculation based on how he returns from his second torn ACL.

The defensive tackles are playing fast and with a lot of heart. They’re shutting down the run game very well, holding to their gap assignments, and providing a push up the middle on passing downs. I’m as surprised as anyone. I hope it carries over to the regular season, though I don’t see them going from 2nd to mediocre over night. It’s looking like the defensive line is somehow the strength of the whole team.

No guarantee Fox is fired… I get the opinion it will be more about whether Fox wants to leave for the Giants job rather than us firing him.

Carruth is in jail, where he belongs.

I don’t care what the man did. For all we know he could’ve turned his life around and become a way better person than any of us. People change all the time. It’s not right to hold someone’s past against them. We’re all human and all capable of the same things, if given the right circumstances and experiences. I’m not making an excuse for him, ’cause there is no excuse, but, like I said, we have no way of knowing what kind of person he is now.

Gotta go prep for this hurricane.

YUM!