Panthers Fall to Ravens 17-12 in Preseason Game 1
by Jaxon on Aug 12, 2010 11:29 PM EDT
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PrintHere's my quick thoughts on this game and then my notes on what I saw during the game. Check back for more analysis tomorrow.
First, two players we were anticipating both gave us a good showing. On offense Jimmy Clausen played fairly well, going 8 for 15 and a bogus INT. He read the defense pretty well and made some decent throws under pressure. On defense DE Greg Hardy didn't disappoint either. He collected 5 tackles, 4 for a loss and 2 sacks. Plenty to be excited about for him as well.
Otherwise the good news is sparse at best. Matt Moore looked okay, D-Will is in PB form and Jason Baker is dropping bombs inside the five. CB CJ Wilson recovered a fumble for a TD. The bad...I'll hold off on that for now. Let's hear it Panther fans...more after the jump...
Jaxon's game notes:
- MM missed King on out slant
- D-Will!!!23 yards
- MM 2 miss fires, gets sacked
- Defense bends on first drive, gave up passes for 1st downs but no pass rush; Brayton gets sack on 3rd down against Oher; FG 3-0
- Brayton 2 sacks!! Ankle gets rolled!!! Oh no!
- Gross 3 penalties; killed the drive; To the bench please?!
- Jarrett gets nice 3rd down catch on 3rd and 15 (though called back by Gross)
- Munnerlyn got owned for TD catch 0-10
- Clausen has nice opening drive; gets FG 3-10
- Norwood gets sack and strip! Just get him on the field!
- Sutton looked great..right up until that goal line fumble. Can't have it T-Sut...But still, Sutton is player. Love his burst once he clears the line
- Wilson nice play on ball though slightly weak throw by Bulger
- Nice tip by Conner in coverage
- Gruden in half-time piece from his Clausen QB school session: "...until your brain flies out of your head!". I loved that session for some reason. He said a lot of stuff Clausen needed to hear (though he may have already known it)
- Robinson struggling at RG (per Gantt via Twitter) Makes sense since the Panthers seem to be giving up penetration up the middle
- Hudson nice KO tackle
- I like the way Clausen handled himself; he read the defense pretty well, always the hard part for rookie QBs
- Hardy got a sack; wait make that two
- Edwards looking shaky at PR
- Nice punt coverage by Witherspoon and McClain; but then ST blows the next one
- Cantwell looks shaky on scramble on 3rd down, throws pass behind receiver
- Edwards drops pass after getting hit by Kerry Williams
- Baker drops his second inside the 5 yd line
- Just missed a safety; Neblett
- Norwood nice coverage
- Edwards two straight drops...he's certainly not going to be happy with his performance; don't fret yet Panther fans
- Ivy gets a nice TFL - 4 minutes to go in game 12-17
- Ivy again gets a TFL; Eric Moore playing well too
- Cantwell gets sacked a couple times; didn't seem to have very good pocket presence
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One big surprise for me was Eric Moore at DE.
I wasn’t expecting a guy buried that deep in the depth chart to show up, but he got serious pressure and chased down their mobile QB to the sideline. Fiammetta did well, blocking and catching. That’s very reassuring. Cantwell looks as good as advertised. He’s really improved. Clausen looked poised. Vaughan looked pretty good at RB for a 5th guy on the depth chart. He showed some heart fighting through some tackles, especially early on, and he can catch pretty good. Hudson had some good plays. He might squeeze his way into the roster. I think they have to start seriously considering moving Greg Hardy up in the depth chart. The offensive line held up pretty well throughout the game against the deepest defensive line in football.
There was some good, and just as much bad. They have some work to do, but I liked how close the game was against one of the deepest teams in the league. They might’ve even won it if the pass interference on Gettis had been called on that 3rd down play. Who knows?
stuff 'bout stuff.
I was impressed by Fiametta
He has a tough job replacing Hoover, but he did a good job tonight. Hopefully he can keep that up and translate it to the regular season when it counts.
Greg Hardy – straight up beast tonight.
Clausen looked good, I’d like to see what he can do with the 1’s, even though it would create a QB controversy when there is none. Moore played decent when he was on the field – Gross screwed him over with holding calls, but otherwise Moore wasn’t too bad.
Thankfully no one was seriously injured since the weather turned terrible after halftime. Hopefully Brayton can get back on the field next week and be ready to go after hurting his ankle. Luckily he was able to walk off the field on his own power. That could have been devastating to our defense.
"The truth will set you free. But not until it is finished with you." ~ David Foster Wallace
Hardy looks to me to eventually be a starting DE
E. Brown showed nothing tonight; C. Johnson deflected one pass and played adequately on his end. But Hardy is just TOO fast with his reactions to the ball, to be on the bench. He’s not just out there trying to outmuscle the OT, he’s aware of where the play’s going, and he’s able to disrupt it – those 2 TFL on running plays (away from his area, mind you) were more outstanding than the 2 sacks he had.
by bigdavis on Aug 13, 2010 12:05 AM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
+1 Had rec that notion
on behalf of tha dirty south: soul food, carolina blue, southern hospitality, and tha queen city
by southtunnel on Aug 13, 2010 12:09 AM EDT up reply actions
+2
hardy really stuck out as a man among boys out there, however we have to remember it was not against 1st stringers.
Unofficial Agent for Armanti Edwards, WR #10, Carolina Panthers
Easy to rectify that, isn't it?
Pretty sure the DC and line coaches would want to test that out, too. Expect to see him in the first quarter next game. He’s earned it.
+3
I walked in after our scrimmage and the first play I saw Hardy was penetrating into the backfield on not only the pass, but the run as well.
Ready for 2010 football already!!!
by Flowing Willow on Aug 13, 2010 10:52 PM EDT up reply actions
I also think
If Hardy plays near this level the rest of preseason we need to start him
by Smitty89 on Aug 13, 2010 12:13 AM EDT reply actions 1 recs
In passing situations
Having Hardy, Norwood, and Brown is beginning to sound pretty nasty. All of those guys know how to get to the QB.
I don't know
At least on thursday Brayton had a much better showing then Brown
I hear ya...
I’m not convinced the Brayton thing is real at all though. I’m considering writing a fanpost about it.
You're not convinced he's real?
In what sense?
He’s a solid NFL player. Sure he’s not elite, but he’s a good defensive end.
"You see, in this world there's two kinds of people, my friend: Those with loaded guns and those who dig. You dig."
Brayton is stout
Especially against the run. It’s just that all of a sudden he’s a sack machine just for this game (and one of the few starters). I just don’t buy it.
Voted Hardy
but I think Brayton was close too. 2 sacks in the first quarter was impressive. Defense looked pretty good overall. Norwood and Eric Moore were doing well.
I think the refs were a little carried away with the holding calls but honestly Gross gets tiresome with his holding penalties….hate to say it but sometimes I wonder. OL backups were ordinary.
Jarrett looked good. Kenny Moore looked alright. I think we should be alright at receiver but Smitty will be the key. LaFell looked good on the end -around but clearly does not have the safest hands. That said I think he has potential.
Matt Moore was also looking alright – I like him leading the offense ahead of Clausen for now. Clausen looked very mature for a rookie but did not attempt any difficult passes (although he is unlikely to do that if they are covered.
DWill and Sutton looked good. Fiametta looked great. RB should be stellar – business as usual.
I also saw Clausen and Kalil having a chat after he was done – pretty sure that they will be working on the QB/Center exchange.
Gotta take a little exception here
“Clausen looked very mature for a rookie but did not attempt any difficult passes (although he is unlikely to do that if they are covered.”
He put a throw into Kenny Moore on a crossing route while blanketed by a Raven DB. The ball was put where Kenny could get it, but I’ll admit it was a better catch than throw. I also saw him thread the needle to Rosario…throwing before our TE had even turned on his route…behind the LB and in front of the safety. Add in the heart-stopping, across the body, inside screen to Vaughn in the middle of several Raven defenders, and I think this shows the kid has no fear.
That Rosario pass was incredible.
Ready for 2010 football already!!!
by Flowing Willow on Aug 13, 2010 10:53 PM EDT up reply actions
Oh yeah
Those throws were great and not that easy to execute. What I meant was that most of throws were to the middle of the field and there were no deep outs or anything that are difficult to throw.
On hindsight this criticism is unwarranted – he did what he could and sometimes more given how the plays developed. So I take that back. However, it would be nice to see him pull these off at some point during the preseason.
No worries...
…I actually understand exactly what you meant (I’m just a malicious contrarian); there were really no completions down the sidelines…no “go route” bombs…no fades (that worked). You’re absolutely right; he took exactly what the defense (or offensive coordinator) gave him. But a couple of those throws were either poor decisions or a badass getting his sea-legs. That’s a mistake on my part…they aren’t necessarily mutually exclusive. :-D
I just liked what I saw; I’ve never been impressed with Clausen’s deep ball (not talking about the $100 Thai sex act), so over-the-middle, screens, check downs, crossing routes, outs, seam routes, slants…toss those suckers all day, Jimmy (again, not talking about Thailand)…and I’ll be a happy fan.
We should keep in mind that we played vanilla for a reason.
Why show deep go routes, or any exotic formations, when we’re gonna be playing these guys in week 11?
This (and the next game) are designed to weed out the wheat from the chaff — let guys show whether they’ve got NFL potential or not. Nothing more than that. The results are irrelevant. If guys make the same mistakes in the next 2 exhibition games, that they did in this one, they’ll just be cut. It’s a Darwinian process.
We also have to remember that the Ravens are widely viewed as
SB contenders, and rightly so. Other than questions in the secondary, they are a balanced, deep, well-coached team. They have a good mix of veterans and young players. For us to play them close at this stage with such a young team is a “net win” in my opinion (those only count in preseason, though).
Clausen was surprisingly good, period. Matt was what I expected, which is also good. There’s so much love being heaped on Clausen, we’re overlooking Moore’s performance (much of which was erased by Gross). I don’t think it’s a competition yet, but I do think the seed was planted.
Where there’s a will… I want to be in it.
His deep ball last year wasn't great.
He just put it in a position for his receiver to make plays. I think that’s because he couldn’t push off his right foot (torn tendons in his big toe), so those lofted passes were all arm.
"You see, in this world there's two kinds of people, my friend: Those with loaded guns and those who dig. You dig."
The Int was a bullet, Jackson just fell down.
"You see, in this world there's two kinds of people, my friend: Those with loaded guns and those who dig. You dig."
Clausen
I think they should give him some time with the 1’s. While Matt did decent. That’s it and its what we expected he came in and played decently when asked to throw.
Clausen on the other hand came in directing the offense, calling audibles. He recognized blitzes (unlike Moore, who did recognize the obvious blitz from the blind side nor sense it coming which resulted in a fumble), and his pocket presence was amazing. Clausen just looked like a good experienced QB commanding the offense despite terrible O-line and center play.
However its the first preseason game. So all I am hoping for is they arrange for Clausen to show what he has again and against starters.
The only thing I saw that bothered me with him
was that he seemed to just drop when he saw pressure. There was one sack when I didn’t even see the guy touch him..he just fell and curled up. Maybe I looked at it wrong. I understand protecting the ball, but scamble..step up..something…
He did do well tho in the face of so much pressure. Had a very nice throw to Rossario. Perfect between 2 defenders..
In Moore we trust!!!
The play where the LB came through the line untouched?
I don’t know what he could have done there. Scrambling loses you yards in that situation. Throwing the ball away blindly is dangerous. There was nowhere to step up into.
Basically a sack was the best outcome for the Panthers.
"You see, in this world there's two kinds of people, my friend: Those with loaded guns and those who dig. You dig."
Got a question for you.
Am I hearing you say that when Clausen gets sacked by an untouched blitzing LB, it’s okay, even prudent…yet when Moore gets blindsided by 2 blitzers from his back side (the one getting unended beautifully by DeAngelo, but he can’t block 2) you think it’s his fault?
Granted this is directed at your statement in combination with the judgment of jai6y6, but from all I’ve been reading, the preponderence of opinion seems to be that Clausen was this paragon of cool experience, and Moore was … just ok.
Let me remind you Clausen devotees that he may have shown great “QB attitude,” but his results in no way outshone Moore’s. Moore would’ve had about 35 more yards from the 2 fine completions he had to Jarrett and (a TE?), yet those were negated by Gross’ grossness.
I think it’s fine that Clausen showed the poise he did, and that we have the luxury of a promising backup — but let’s not jump this into some “QB controversy.” Moore is the starter, and once the season really begins, Clausen won’t play any more than Kevin Kolb did last year, when McNabb was a healthy Eagle.
I believe what you're picking up on is...
That the expectations for Moore were already high based on his play last year. He largely met those expectations I think. Clausen however was a big unknown and the fact that he played so well and did a lot of little things you wouldn’t expect from a rookie (the audibles, etc.) that people are excited about him and thus buzzing. Also, I would point out that one of those little things that got me excited about Clausen was his pocket presence.
Moore got blasted on the play you mentioned, yet I remember a similar blind side rush to Clausen where he felt the pressure and rolled away from it buying himself more time.
I don’t recall reading anyone here saying that there’s a QB controversy (could have easily missed it though), and most people are simply saying that Matt is now on a shorter leash now which sounds about right.
On that play Moore had a chance to get rid of the ball.
That blitz came from way out wide. If he’s aware of his surroundings he throws that ball away – or throw it to the open guy that the blitzer should be covering.
The Clausen sack, however, there was nothing he could do. Perhaps he made a mistake in assigning the protection, perhaps somebody missed a block, or perhaps the linebacker just made a heck of a play – I’d have to see it again. Either way in that situation I want my QB to stop, drop and roll every time.
I’m a Panthers fan first and foremost. I’ll get behind Moore this season. He’s the clear starter of this team. That said I still think Clausen provides us with the best chance of finding a franchise QB.
"You see, in this world there's two kinds of people, my friend: Those with loaded guns and those who dig. You dig."
If you watch Peyton Manning, he does the same thing. And he’s only missed one notable snap in his NFL career. It’s a way of protecting his body and living to fight another down.
Brett Favre did it once too...
But that was so Strahan could break the sack record….
"The truth will set you free. But not until it is finished with you." ~ David Foster Wallace
Manning is the master at buying time in the pocket and adjusting his protection.
He also never takes a big hit. He’s going to play till he’s 40 (if he wants to).
"You see, in this world there's two kinds of people, my friend: Those with loaded guns and those who dig. You dig."
There is a race scheduled next week.
Who gets to the QB first. Hardy or Brayton.
Least I hope thats what happens.
Unimpressive.
Impressive
Greg Hardy
Jimmy Clausen
Tyrell Sutton
Tyler Brayton
Expected
DeAngelo Williams
Tony Fiametta
Unimpressive
The rest of the team.
I was let down by our secondary. I was let down by our offensive line. I was let down by our starters in general, save D-Will, Brayton, and Fiametta. In fact, outside of those three, as well as Clausen, Sutton, Hardy, Norwood, and E. Moore (the last two to lesser extents), I was let down by everyone. I know it’s the first pre-season game but we have a long way to go in just a month.
My let down player of the game is a tie between James Anderson and Everette Brown.
Overall Panthers Draft Grade: A
when you came up with the list
did you consider penalties. i’d rather hear nothing from a guy than have him kill drives with false starts and holding.
by usana_gaines on Aug 13, 2010 4:52 AM EDT up reply actions
well the refs were horrible tho..
Even one of the replays where they were praising Cody, he had a blatant face mask that wasn’t called… I wouldn’t read much if anything into this game. Very excited about Hardy and norwood. Didn’t get to see the first team cause Armed Forces Network (AFN) was busy showing the Masters…(any military members you understand how bad AFN is)
In Moore we trust!!!
I'm more disappointed by Brown.
To be honest I kind of expected Anderson to disappear once he was moved from the weakside. He’s basically like a younger Nai’ll Diggs if even. But Brown had high expectations from all of us, and he didn’t show me anything to justify them last night. I don’t think I even saw his name on the box score.
Ready for 2010 football already!!!
by Flowing Willow on Aug 13, 2010 10:56 PM EDT up reply actions
I'll try to be an optimist...
And say that the defense was very vanilla… Let’s hope he does more later although last night was very discouraging.
All in All i came away happy/ Hardy and Norwood showed promise. Moore showed some things on D. Clausen looked very poised rookie or not. Matt Moore completed some nice passed to jarret. I really want to see this team with all of our pieces in play. Not until then can we say what we have or not.
"I’m the UFC heavyweight champion and I will be until the day I decide I don’t want to be. And that isn’t anytime soon." - Brock Lesnar
Munnerlyn didn’t get owned on that TD. He was clearly pushed in the back and was waiting for the call to be made. On a side note, those commentators were terrible on espn. There are some cobwebs that need to be cleaned out especially on offense but this is preseason.
"It's a bad day to have a bad day" - Coach John Fox of the Carolina Panthers
Oh yeah it was a push off
That’s why captain fell and why he was looking at the refs looking for a flag
Get ready for a Media cry for Clausen...
Matt Moore is our starter i understand this and he has show up very well in games but Damn Clausen was poised out there last night. He was ducking tackles and getting the ball out right in the knick of time. Only thing i could think is why would he look like with the first string talent. Online would protect better the int would of been thrown to smith and i can guarantee he wouldn’t of slipped. Those shuffle passes would of been to Dwill or Jstew. This guy defiantly impressed me tonight. Checking plays reading the defense and the QB vision he has already is something else. Matt Moore is a great guy but Jimmy has been preparing for this since he was a kid. Dude had a QB coach at 10 lol seriously who does that.
"I’m the UFC heavyweight champion and I will be until the day I decide I don’t want to be. And that isn’t anytime soon." - Brock Lesnar
What impressed me with Clausen
was he threw it away when he had to and took a sack when no one was open. Very mature for a rook.
The guy looked like a Pro in his first NFL game. Thats insane to me
"I’m the UFC heavyweight champion and I will be until the day I decide I don’t want to be. And that isn’t anytime soon." - Brock Lesnar
As I've said a billion times, it's cos he's been through the fire with that ND O-line.
If he acted like a normal college QB in college he wouldn’t have made it to his Jr year. He had to learn how to deal with pressure quickly.
It’s why I think he could easily start as a rookie and why he has such a high upside.
"You see, in this world there's two kinds of people, my friend: Those with loaded guns and those who dig. You dig."
Interesting thing about Clausen
Usually QBs who play behind bad OLs have a hair trigger and don’t let the play develop for fear of becoming permanently dead. Clausen, seems immune to that pressure. Maybe it is because he had very good receivers, or his confidence is so high.
It's definitely a situation where guys sink or swim.
By the looks of things he has extreme confidence in himself. Having Tate, Floyd and Rudolph to throw to with Weis calling the plays definitely helped though.
"You see, in this world there's two kinds of people, my friend: Those with loaded guns and those who dig. You dig."
The Good, the Bad, the Ugly...................
Good—Hardy is a beast. Clausen was better than expected. Very polished for a rookie.
Norwood looks good. DL better than expected. Fiametta good blocking for running game
Bad—Lb not good at all, especially on the screens. Put JB back in the middle, move DC to strong and JA to weak? Secondary not terribly aggressive.
Ugly—Sutton’s fumble on the 1. Penalties from vets. Bernadeaus shotgun snaps
Don’t panic. It’s preseason. We’re in good shape at QB with Moore and Clausen.
Sutton's a good #3. He's fighting it out with Goodson for that role.
- (Vaughn?) is cannon fodder though. Saw absolutely nothing I liked from him.
I have no issue with the LBs either. It’s going to take time for them to gel, but the current alignment is the best scenario for the team with the players available. Connor is a very talented player, but he’s a natural MLB. Beason was drafted as a WLB (yes we moved him to MLB, but he played his college career on the weakside).
"You see, in this world there's two kinds of people, my friend: Those with loaded guns and those who dig. You dig."
They'll fix it
Fox and his staff will fix the problems seen last night during the game…
Remember, every preseason, and I mean EVERY DAMN preseason, Jordan Gross… False Start… damn. How many false starts can we get from the O-line each game? COME ON!!!
Hardy needs to start. He’s a BEAST and reminds me of how that other dude used to play but, and get this, he didn’t take plays off! How awesome is that? Hardy wants to make the team and it showed last night. He looked like Peppers. Couple him with Brayton and we might be looking at a double-sigit sack year for each of them.
Beason looked like he was not comfortable playing WLB… more time and he’ll do fine I think so it’s nothing to panic about yet.
Sutton… damn. We might have a 3 headed monster going into the season.
Moore looked good for starting 8 games total.
Clausen looked good for never starting a game. His shovel pass to Sutton was nice. His pass to Rosario was, as the announcers said, led him open… Rosario wasn’t open when he threw the pass almost into double coverage.
Armanti Edwards… got his clock cleaned by Cary whatshisname… laid out like he was hit by the hitman and didn’t hold onto the ball but it was ruled incomplete… welcome to the NFL.
Captain was pushed off on. Plain and simple. It looked like it in the replay… it should have been challenged.
The defense sack and fumble recovery and TD was awesome! CJ Wilson. Good job.
I’m encouraged that special teams is going to be better than last season… but they’ve got to make the freaking tackle!!! Wrap him up!
From what I saw, did the WR’s not get open or what? It seemed that Moore and Clausen were always doing the check down to the TE or Sutton or short passes to the WR’s…
I know it’s the first preseason game and the playbook was probably limited but the team showed some life and there are some guys that really want to make the team. Hardy’s one of them.
It's way too soon for Hardy to start.
He’s making the case for serious playing time in a rotation, but there’s guys ahead of him at the moment.
"You see, in this world there's two kinds of people, my friend: Those with loaded guns and those who dig. You dig."
Linebackers
Why is no one talking about the linebackers here. I thought it was a big mistake putting Beason as the WILL and Connors in MLB position. This is not looking good. Beason is a natural MLB and a BEAST. It looked like last night the BEAST looked domesticated.
I agree
I don’t think Connor looked so great at MLB either. Maybe I’m just used to beason being there though. Besides Norwood is playing well I want to see.
DE-Tyler Brayton
DE- Greg Hardy
DT- Not sure yet they all looked capable
MLB-Beason
OLB- Norwood and Wiliams/Anderson in some fashion not worried about which side i’m sure foxy can decided
I would like to see this as the front 7 starting next week.
I would really like to see Moore still start but I’d like to see Clausen get a series or two with the starters then continue with the second team. As much as I like moore I don’t want us to pull an ’09 and play the wrong QB. And if I had to base who would start at QB based solely off last night Clausen would be my pick. That fumble by moore worries me. He had no idea it was coming even though it was clear before the snap the blitz was coming. Looked very Delhomme-esque.
And in other news will Jarret finally start playing!!
I thought
Cantwell was more Delhomme-esque than any of the others. He just doesn’t seem to have very much pocket presence and though he has a strong arm, he can’t scramble either(much like Delhomme)
Superbowl Champs 2010!!!!
by Panther4Life!!! on Aug 13, 2010 9:12 AM EDT up reply actions
Moore doesn't have any pocket presence either
As far as cantwell goes…. I just wanted him off the field. He has an arm but he is very inaccurate, and wtf was with the pump fake with a D-lineman at his feet.
I actually liked Cantwell's accuracy.
He has a fantastic arm. He just doesn’t have anything else going for him.
"You see, in this world there's two kinds of people, my friend: Those with loaded guns and those who dig. You dig."
Eh
A few of his throws weren’t anywhere close, for example the one that sailed over everyones heads
And yes i’ve had this site up all night =D
I thought that one sailed 'cos he was pressured?
Like I said – he has no poise.
"You see, in this world there's two kinds of people, my friend: Those with loaded guns and those who dig. You dig."
From the beginning
I never liked Cantwell as our QB of the Future. Like you said he doesn’t have poise, he’s probably worse than Delhomme when it comes to scrambling. And he likens to Delhomme in the sense that if he’s going to be sacked, more than likely he’ll fumble the ball.
Superbowl Champs 2010!!!!
by Panther4Life!!! on Aug 13, 2010 9:42 AM EDT up reply actions
Oh yeah I never bought into the hype.
Give me a QB that has it going on up top rather than a kid with a golden arm.
From what I’ve seen of Pike in college – he knows where to go with the ball. He’s a project, but with Moore and Clausen ahead of him there’s no pressure for him to start anytime soon.
"You see, in this world there's two kinds of people, my friend: Those with loaded guns and those who dig. You dig."
He got 3 snaps. I guess they wanted to see Cantwell in a 2 minute package.
"You see, in this world there's two kinds of people, my friend: Those with loaded guns and those who dig. You dig."
I'm fine with that
Clausen really impressed me last night, and I was one of the skeptical Panther fans. Though I really would like to see what Pike can bring to the table. If he can play half as decent as Clausen played I know he should beat out Cantwell for the third spot.
Superbowl Champs 2010!!!!
by Panther4Life!!! on Aug 13, 2010 9:51 AM EDT up reply actions
I don't think he'd look half as good as Clausen.
He’s nowhere near ready. He’s a project.
He needs a year in an NFL conditioning program for a start. Plus he needs to work on his footwork – he’s taken snaps from shotgun throughout his career.
"You see, in this world there's two kinds of people, my friend: Those with loaded guns and those who dig. You dig."
I still think
he has more upside than Cantwell does. And with a full year of NFL conditioning I think he’ll be a force to be reckoned with.(At least for a backup role)
Superbowl Champs 2010!!!!
by Panther4Life!!! on Aug 13, 2010 10:07 AM EDT up reply actions
I think so too.
"You see, in this world there's two kinds of people, my friend: Those with loaded guns and those who dig. You dig."
That throw to Edwards was spot on.
He just got rocked.
Ready for 2010 football already!!!
by Flowing Willow on Aug 13, 2010 11:02 PM EDT up reply actions
Yep. Hence why I like his arm.
"You see, in this world there's two kinds of people, my friend: Those with loaded guns and those who dig. You dig."
That's because
We had a porous o-line out there TRYING to protect him, but failing miserably. Last season in those last five games the o-line didn’t let nearly as much pressure come in as they did last night. Most of the time he was out there the d-line was already up in his face as soon as the ball was snapped. I think Moore had WAY more pocket presence than Cantwell did considering the circumstances.
Superbowl Champs 2010!!!!
by Panther4Life!!! on Aug 13, 2010 9:40 AM EDT up reply actions
Moore's on a different planet to Cantwell.
That said he didn’t look comfortable in the pocket last night. Partly due to the O-line playing poorly, but some of that is also down to him not recognising the blitz.
"You see, in this world there's two kinds of people, my friend: Those with loaded guns and those who dig. You dig."
Beason was moved to MLB 'cos he was the most talented LB on our staff.
Connor is better suited to the position though, in my opinion.
"You see, in this world there's two kinds of people, my friend: Those with loaded guns and those who dig. You dig."
For our first go
It was very unpolished, but i do see potential to be great this season. MM has never lit up the show in preseason anyway, and I think they’ll fix the holding problems with gross. Like everyone has stated before Hardy/Norwood/Brayton made us forget all Juliuis Jalape~nos, but I was really impressed with Fiametta’s performance. I guess he really paid attention with his time behind Hoover.
Superbowl Champs 2010!!!!
by Panther4Life!!! on Aug 13, 2010 9:11 AM EDT reply actions
The BIG worry for me was the amount of muffed snaps.
How many times did Clausen have to pick up the ball from the floor in the shotgun? Not to mention the ENTIRE offence, but the centre moving on a snap. I’ve never seen that before.
"You see, in this world there's two kinds of people, my friend: Those with loaded guns and those who dig. You dig."
Wasn't a starting center though
Not worried about Kalil doing that.
And if Kalil goes down? Gotta have a reliable back up.
"You see, in this world there's two kinds of people, my friend: Those with loaded guns and those who dig. You dig."
I think Armanti did okay in his first NFL game
His punt returns weren’t spectacular, but he did have one nice return early on for about 20 yards. The important thing was that he didnt muff any of them, even in extremely poor conditions in the 2nd half.
He also had a nice catch and run for a first down with Clausen under center, but once Cantwell came in he really couldn’t buy a good throw. The snap and throw pass to him where he got a minimal gain, the pass was low and after adjusting to that he didn’t have time to really evade the defender. On another throw… Cantwell sold him out and he got absolutely leveled, you can’t really expect a first time WR to hold onto that ball.
But I have no doubt he will improve. It was an average first showing, but for someone learning the ropes at two new positions, it was good.
Unofficial Agent for Armanti Edwards, WR #10, Carolina Panthers
He looked lost to me. I expected a special athlete (from the hype).
Instead he’s just an NFL quality one – which is why he was so effective in college. Put an NFL athlete at the QB position (one that’s a threat to throw the ball) and you’re going to cause all sorts of match up nightmares.
I’m sure he’ll improve as he gets used to playing receiver, but the Smith comparisons are way off. He doesn’t have Smith’s explosion.
"You see, in this world there's two kinds of people, my friend: Those with loaded guns and those who dig. You dig."
Thats why you are dissappointed
You are looking for Smitty 2.0 in a rookie thats been playing WR for 2 weeks
I don't mean as a receiver, I mean as an athlete.
Smith always stood out, even when he was just returning punts.
I’ve heard Edwards is quick when he gets into top gear – so I’ll believe that. He doesn’t have the initial burst to return punts though, or turn smoke routes into 80 yard TDs.
"You see, in this world there's two kinds of people, my friend: Those with loaded guns and those who dig. You dig."
Look at Smith's physique then look at armanti
Smith is ripped, armanti looks like he might break. No way Armanti will have smiths burst anytime soon.
Edwards has a receiver's build.
He looks long and mean. Smith has a running back’s build.
I’m not saying he can’t be a fantastic slot receiver – but those saying he’s Smith v.2 are kidding themselves.
"You see, in this world there's two kinds of people, my friend: Those with loaded guns and those who dig. You dig."
As far as punt returns are concerned.....
Edwards just needs to cut down his number of moves. Returning is similar to the RB position….you have to make one cut and GO. He’ll clean that up and be fine IMO.
I agree.
I think he spent to much time dancing, and that is left over from college in his time under center. He would put a lot of moves on people just to try and buy time to throw the ball, which of course in that case is appropriate because you aren’t necessarily trying to advance the ball by running.
It’s an old habit that will die hard, but one of the best parts about Armanti is that he is very very coachable, and he will learn from the tape and what the coaches tell him to adjust.
Unofficial Agent for Armanti Edwards, WR #10, Carolina Panthers
I'm excited about Edwards' potential
I don’t think he’ll ever be Smitty 2.0, but I think he’ll be a pretty darn good receiver when he gets used to the position. He’ll be an important playmaker for us in the future.
Superbowl Champs 2010!!!!
by Panther4Life!!! on Aug 13, 2010 10:12 AM EDT up reply actions
Armanti has always looked a little awkward in uniform
He has pretty wide hips attached to a fairly narrow torso. I think this is why people think he looks fragile. he could definately stand to thicken out a little in the middle as long as he doesn’t lose any speed doing so.
He does have freakishly large hands though, and those legs are pretty darn strong.
Unofficial Agent for Armanti Edwards, WR #10, Carolina Panthers
Guess that depends what you're looking at..
Steve Smith’s first regular season game (because I can’t find stats for his first pre-season game) seen him catch one pass for 16 yards and take 3 punt returns for an average of 8 yards, his longest return being 20 yards. Armanti’s first pre-season game seen him catch 2 passes for 13 yards, and return 4 punts for an average of 7 yards. The only major difference I see is kick-off return, where Smith broke a 93 yard TD run on one of his three returns (averaged just over 19 yards/return on his other two). Armanti only returned one kick for 17 yards. Again, that’s comparing pre-season to regular season. I don’t think we’re really going to be able to tell anything about him until the regular season gets under way.
Overall Panthers Draft Grade: A
Smith was a PR fumbler when he started out.
Don’t you remember?
He had his issues technically, but that's neither here nor there.
I was referring to him purely as an athlete.
Anyway, didn’t he return his first NFL punt for a TD?
"You see, in this world there's two kinds of people, my friend: Those with loaded guns and those who dig. You dig."
He's also used to lining up...
…5 yards behind the O Line, able to scan the field for weakness before making a decision. He doesn’t have that option with either of the positions in which he has been placed thus far. I personally think we should be lining him up as a halfback in some shotgun sets (in addition to WR, PR, and possible Wildcat), so he can come out of the backfield as a receiver or take the inside handoff on a draw/trap.
I'm not questioning his ability.
I’m just saying that the hype of him being an uber athlete looks to be just that – hype. He’s clearly an NFL calibre athlete though, so if he works at his craft I don’t doubt that he’ll be a very good player for us.
"You see, in this world there's two kinds of people, my friend: Those with loaded guns and those who dig. You dig."
Yeah I gotta be honest.
He was fast, but not fast fast. Maybe he was tentative in his first start, but he didn’t look explosive.
Ready for 2010 football already!!!
by Flowing Willow on Aug 13, 2010 11:05 PM EDT up reply actions
+1
I think he’ll improve considerably over the next few weeks and i believe he’ll be an impact player by mid-season maybe.
Superbowl Champs 2010!!!!
by Panther4Life!!! on Aug 13, 2010 9:43 AM EDT reply actions
depends on your definition of impact i guess.
I dont think we see Armanti as an impact player THIS season. he may find some ways to contribute by mid season… but before he can be an impact players he needs some NFL experience and time in a conditioning program.
Unofficial Agent for Armanti Edwards, WR #10, Carolina Panthers
With his athleticism
I think he’ll be a factor sooner rather than later.
Superbowl Champs 2010!!!!
by Panther4Life!!! on Aug 13, 2010 10:19 AM EDT up reply actions
Who voted for CJ Wilson??!!!??
He got beat over and over. The TD was a gift! And what’s with his TD celebration? What was that?
He also...
…had a diving pass deflection on a short out by a Ravens defender. I’m not saying that should make up for anything else, but it WAS a great play on the ball that was a certain catch, otherwise.
That was a nice play
He seems to do better when he’s got the receiver on the sideline. Those were the type of the two plays I saw him make at FanFest. But after that one play he made against the Ravens, on the very next play, he gave up a first down, and then a 20+ yard catch later that series. Not to mention the other big plays earlier in the game. I hope it was just a bad game, and he improves.
But for people to consider him the player of the game is a little silly. I thought Hardy was the clear choice IMO.
why dont we
switch the linebacking core up i don’t know about yall but all looked uncomfortbable last night beason said it himself he’d prefer mlb so put the man at mlb! it should be Jamar williams and weakside, beason in middle, and conner and norwood at strongside (norwood should be there on passing downs)
damn i wish we still had thomas davis.
davis,beason,conner how beast would that be
by Martin LatinFire Gonzalez on Aug 15, 2010 1:24 AM EDT reply actions
I agree. I was originally in favor of the move, but
after rewatching the 1st qtr last night in slo-mo, it was apparent only Connor seemed comfortable, but he was a big drop off from Beason at the Mike. At the WiLL, and contrary to my expectations, Beast seemed “lost in space.” The screen pass series by the Ravens really exposed his indecision, and who’s afraid of a tentative Beast. Anderson got buried on runs and screens, and was very average in coverage. If we stay in this alignment, we can only hope for enough improvement to make it work by the regular season.
Where there’s a will… I want to be in it.
Anderson can play the Will - we saw that last year.
This is all an experiment to get Connor on the field.
With Jamar Williams hurt, we can expect it to continue next game. When Williams can get back on the field, I’s like to see him at Sam, with Connor sitting. This puts Beason back where’s he’s most effective (IMO).
What I wistfully really wish we had was a big, nasty, NT, so we could play some 3-4. Would love to see Beason and Connor as ILB’s, and getting Norwood outside. But that ain’t gonna happen, so I’ll shelve that idea.
Simple solution to the big nose tackle issue....
Jordan Gross can tackle like a mofo. :-)
Where there’s a will… I want to be in it.
Hell, then it'd just be a bunch of Defensive Holding calls.
10 yards of one; automatic first down of another.
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