Beautiful or Ugly, Carolina's Victory Over Chicago is Sweet

Yesterday after the game was over and the Carolina Panthers defeated Ron Rivera's old stomping grounds, the Chicago Bears, I had posted to social media something along the lines of "That was about as ugly a win as I've seen, but they all count the same in the end."

Armchair GM: What Should Gettleman do in the 2015 Draft?

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The victory over the Detroit Lions was hard-fought against a great offensive team. The Lions also have one of the premier defensive lines in the NFL, and unfortunately, it showed.

Some of the issues are to be expected. Right guard Trai Turner is a rookie, and he's going to miss assignments at times. It's called growing pains.

Why the Carolina Panthers Will Repeat as NFC South Champions

Yesterday, I posted a rather long piece of sober reality with a laundry-list of reasons why the Carolina Panthers won't repeat in the NFC South as champions. While the odds are stacked against it, since nobody has ever done so, but as the saying goes, "There's a first time for everything."

Why the Carolina Panthers will not Repeat as NFC South Champs

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Okay folks, it's time to get "real" with a single day between the Carolina Panthers and their opening day game at Tampa Bay.

First of all, of course I'm psyched about the season starting and, as always, I'm very hopeful about the prospects for the Panthers this season. They've had a lot of change in the roster, especially at wide receiver, the offensive line, and in the defensive backfield.

I'm Sorry, but Byron Bell is a Liability at Left Tackle

Howdy folks. Today, I'm the bearer of an ice bucket challenge dose of reality: Byron Bell is a liability at left tackle.

There. I said it. For the 100th time, in fact.

Carolina's Loss to Patriots Not Nearly as Bad as it Seems

Yes, we all watched last night's "Fiasco at Foxborough," we all have our opinions on it, and many are worried about the team regressing...even some writers here perhaps.

Well, I'm here to help put many of those fears to rest - I hope - as I see things in a bit of a different light.

1- I think first and foremost, the Panthers' offensive line looked about as clueless as as people who have no idea who Mr. Boddy is. Both tackle Nate Chandler and rookie guard Trai Turner stayed completely out of the game - didn't even dress - so our already thin o-line started the game with quite a handicap. 

When you're trying to "gel" an o-line, it takes time, patience and practice. Getting the o-line to play like the fingers of a hand is always the ultimate goal, but is only achieved by repetitions as a unit. So far, the Panthers haven't had that luxury. Chris Scott was in at RG and Garry Williams, a career castoff, started at RT. I have always liked LT Byron Bell, but I call him "The Turnstile" for a reason. He struggled all night long mainly against Chandler Jones.

Five Takeaways from Panthers Preseason Victory Over the Chiefs

1) Cam was rusty.

Super Cam’s return didn’t start off so super, completing only 1 of his first 5 passes.  Newton stared down his receivers, had trouble getting through his progressions, threw a ball into triple coverage that miraculously wasn’t intercepted, and missed Kelvin Benjamin deep.  It wasn’t until the second quarter that Newton rebounded after piecing together a drive sparked by Jonathan Stewart’s impressive debut and a sharp pass to new tight end, Ed Dickson. Cam looked unwilling to run, whether by coaches’ orders or personal hesitancy. He evaded a few pass rushes, but to be expected, he never pushed on the gas fully. Cam was clearly a little rusty. The worrisome part, however, is that his ankle looked squeaky also.  Hopefully a few of drops of 3-1 oil will do the trick.  I’m sure Jonathan Stewart has some borrow.

Byron Bell's Do Over Opportunity vs Mario Williams

Oh to have a do over.  How many times in your life have you wanted one of those?  The time you didn't say the right thing, or do the right thing.  The time you froze instead of asking that pretty girl out.  Or how about that time on Saturdays where if you could just have that one golf-shot back or that one putt back and the entire round could have been different?  Well we may not get those do-overs in real life, but I know one 6-5 330 lb. Offensive Tackle for the Panthers that is so ready to get his do over next Friday.  You see this young man had a solid season in 2013 with the exception of one terrible day in Week 2 against Mario Williams and the Buffalo Bills.  I attended that game in person and was stunned at how routinely Williams (the former NC State Standout) was able to blow past Bell and get to Cam.  Without that one game last year, Bell's stats would show 4 sacks in 15 games and one that help lead a team to 14 games of over 100 rushing yards.  But you do have to count the Buffalo game where he gave up more sacks in that one game than he did the rest of the year.  Super Mario picked up 4.5 sacks against Bell and probably cut Bell's earning power in half in  one miserable Sunday afternoon that still has Josh Norman in Riverboat Ron's doghouse.