We bring you another part two of our weekly fan mailbag, where we answer all your burning questions!
Hello CSR! Welcome to Brian Answers, part two of your weekly Panthers fan mailbag for everyone! Things have been quiet for the Panthers after OTA’s, aside from a big social media push. But the ride doesn’t stop in the off-season, and I am here to entertain and drive up discussion as the summer wanes on as we anxiously await the preseason. I answered your questions this week, but if you had one you’d like to see answered, tune into “Brian Asks” early next week, and comment with your questions. Let’s dive right in!
Bruce Guild: I have been pleasantly surprised by Mr Tepper’s transition from highly involved and very public to his extended period of being in the background and out of the media. Seems to only show up in a supportive role. Michelle was not in the front row on draft day like we have seen in the past.
It feels like this is a new direction for the Tepper’s. With that how would you rate him now against the other owners in the league if this continues?
He has the cash and is willing to use it, he seems to have surrounded himself with people he trusts and is allowing them to do their jobs and the team seems to be pulled out of all the negative vibe that surrounded it for years. Am I imagining it? Is It smoke and mirrors or do we have what could be an owner that has learned from his mistakes and is going in the right direction?
I’m not going to try and rank David Tepper against other owners just yet, but I will be happy to discuss Tepper’s evolution as an owner. I do think Tepper’s original plan when he bought the team was to let the football minds do the football things, with him as a backseat (though very present) rider. I never had a problem with Tepper being involved in the draft process, I never had a problem with him having weekly meetings and even pitching ideas. I’d liken it to buying a vehicle that someone else is driving for you; you’d still like to know what’s going on under the hood and you’d like to know its being driven capably. After all, YOU bought it!
I think while his goals were in the right place, he did step in when he felt the previous coaches (Rhule, Reich) were no longer doing their jobs effectively. I think him being so involved in the drafting of Bryce Young made sense in a vacuum, but as soon as Bryce struggled so much in his rookie season, the blame quickly shifted to him while the coaching staff on offense struggled to gel. Remember, the Panthers were being lauded as making a heck of a hiring cycle out of that 2023 group, accumulating a group of all star coaches. When it didn’t work out, it was Tepper’s fault. And rightfully so!
I think what the Panthers have now was what Tepper actually envisioned for the team; a GM he trusts with a fundamental understanding of the Panthers and their history, and a young head coach with ideas and a vision for a young franchise QB to ultimately reset the franchise. While your thoughts of Bryce Young as a franchise QB or not may vary, the bottom line is I do think this setup was what Tepper wanted; to be involved and present during the big moments (the Draft, the big free agency signings, the coaching hirings) while letting the coaches and management handle the day to day operations. We’ll see if it lasts, but so far, the Panthers moves and methodology under Dave Canales and Dan Morgan has been consistent and uniform, where the random moves out of left field that we saw in the previous two regimes haven’t been as prevalent. So to sum up my answer, no, I don’t believe what you’re seeing is smoke and mirrors.
Robholland211: In recent years it was almost a guarantee that all of our draft picks would make the roster due to poor depth. It seems we’ve solved the depth problem for the most part (with a few positions excluded *cough safety and inside linebacker cough*) which leads me to wonder if there are any of our draft picks from this draft that may not make the cut?
I think all of the Panthers draft picks should make the cut. I think there’s an outside possibility that Jimmy Horn Jr doesn’t make it due to how crowded the back end of the wide receiver depth chart is, but he does bring a different skillset and value as a returner. The coaching staff also seems to be really high on him. As far as other later round selections, TE Mitchell Evans slots in nicely to compliment the current room, and I think Cam Jackson on the DL brings that element of run stopping ability that this staff was so focused on fixing this off-season. So I think they all make the cut.
@WTMealey: 2 min left to win a game-lets make it a playoff game A FG wins it
B- Oline B+ WR and C+ RBs A+ kicker
You get Delhomme in his prime or Cam in his prime
Ball on the 15yd line
Pick your QB and tell us why
Jake Delhomme was always a comeback kid, but Cam Newton would definitely be my preferred guy. He could make the plays with his legs, and prime Cam Newton could deliver strikes deep down the field among the best in the league. Give me 2015 Cam every time in a game winning situation, especially if a field goal wins it. Graham Gano rarely missed in those situations.
Bull123: Guys that I’m looking at to step up are our 2nd yr rookies
XL, Wallace, Sanders as starters, these guys need to be really good
wade and chumley to make positive contributions
Can we expect them to be players for us?
I think Xavier Legette and Ja’Tavion Sanders both take a step forward simply because its year two in Dave Canales’s offense, and the team added Tetairoa McMillan which should take away the opponent’s best pass defender in many situations. Trevin Wallace should theoretically be the starting ILB opposite Josey Jewell, but he’ll definitely need to take a big step forward into being a more well rounded defender in 2025. However, I think you can expect all 3 to at least take a marked step forward this season.
Chau Smith-Wade at CB is currently slated as CB3, and while he had his moments as a rookie he’s far from someone I would call a sleeper at the position. I do expect the Panthers to add someone to compete at that role. Jaden Crumedy is most likely a practice squad candidate just based on the sheer amount of attention the Panthers spent on the defensive line during the offseason, but I would think if he lands there he stands to be elevated to the active roster multiple times during the regular season.
dayneB12: I’ve seen plenty of reports about possible Panthers interest in Justin Simmons. What are you thoughts on the idea of bringing in Simmons?
I think Simmons is waiting on the best possible landing spot with the most reasonable money for his services. Teams like the Eagles, 49ers, and Raiders have also been mentioned as landing spots. I think the Panthers make a ton of sense, since Simmons has the familiarity with DC Ejiro Evero from their time in Denver. I also think at 31 Simmons wouldn’t necessarily have to play 95% of the teams snaps on defense, as there’s a clear plan to use rookie 4th round pick Lathan Ransom as part of the rotation sooner or later. It will really just depend on the money, but Simmons probably isn’t in a rush to sign somewhere like Carolina since he shouldn’t need a ton of prep work in Evero’s scheme due to his familiarity.
schrodingersblackcat: in response to the Panthers “Leave Your Mark” videos posted on social media this week
But your comment spurred a question. How would you personally go about changing the team’s presentation/brand? Yeah, we could get into another CSR uniform debate, and I never mind it when that inevitably comes back around, even though it’s clear that the uniforms have been 100% perfect since 1995.
But more specifically I’m wondering if anyone has any ideas for changing up the team branding, media, the game day experience, fan engagement, new traditions, etc.?
I saw a lot of comments on social media about how the Panthers seemed to be phasing out “Keep Pounding” with this social media push. I don’t think that’s the case. I think the Panthers are trying to push this season as the start of a new era, and creating a new campaign is a great way to do it. The players have stated they are tired of losing, the coaches seem to be optimistic that this team can actually compete this season, so in my mind, creating a certain mindset and mission is absolutely the right way to go. I think modernizing some of their logos and chants in the stadium would give the Panthers the new feel they are trying to go for. I am definitely NOT saying to move on from “Keep Pounding”, but if you want to make this team feel like a major step forward and a change on the horizon, marketing the team in a fundamentally different way is definitely a path to differentiating this iteration from what the Panthers have been since 2020.
Good_Ol_Boy: Non-football question: What was your favorite amusement park you’ve ever been to? Are you a rollercoaster fan?
I haven’t been to one of the major amusement parks aside from Six Flags and Hershey Park (great spot in PA) since I was a kid, but my favorite back then was DisneyQuest. I was a gamer through and through as a kid, so all of that technology and VR stuff was really cool and totally different from the other stuff you would get as Disney. I was a big rollercoaster fan, and still am to this day. Just don’t get to go on them as much!