Hello CSR! Welcome to Brian Answers, part two of your weekly Panthers fan mailbag for everyone! This is your safe space to talk about anything, whether it be Panthers related, football related, or even completely off topic! Let’s dive into your questions and discussions!
SwampPanther: How do the lowly Saints suddenly look like the team to beat in the NFCS? I thought rebuilding/reloading took time.
It appears that Kellen Moore was an excellent hire. And while the Saints appear to have embraced the rebuild
they’ve desperately needed for a long time, they did follow a really good philosophy; build your team to beat your division. Their defense is uniquely capable of limiting the rushing attacks and Moore’s offense can clearly score points against the NFC South defenses. I’m not looking forward to more of this team.
KeepPounding88: Right now it seems like the front office is set on picking up Bryce’s option, and will wait and see when it comes to an extension. Is there anything Bryce can realistically do with only the few games we have left to change their mind either way? Obviously winning the division would help, but in theory the team could carry him while he continues to put up mediocre stats.
I’ve been saying for awhile that I think picking up Bryce Young’s 5th year option makes sense, and even after the Saints loss this past week, that opinion hasn’t changed. I don’t think they’ll opt against it unless Bryce really collapses hard in these last 3 games. I also don’t think they’ll even be discussing an extension unless the Panthers find their way into an NFC Championship run, and even then I’d be 50/50 on the idea. Still not worried about it, that’s a 2027 problem in my opinion.
Irishboy: Wondering Brian, how you feel about Coach Canalas calling plays? I feel that he is a really good HC, and I know all the players love him. But I am skeptical about the play calling. I really thought Sundays game against NO could be a chess match between the teams, and I convinced myself that he would have a plan B and maybe plan C if A was not going according to plan, I didn’t see this.
I think he’s still learning what works. Remember, he was only an offensive coordinator for 1 year before Carolina scooped him up for this role. I still think he’s the right guy for the job, but there will be growing pains, especially considering he inherited a team that has many flaws. His play calling is masterful at times, but that comes with a caveat that sometimes he seems to overthink things. I like the aggression on 4th down, but there’s going to be times where it doesn’t work and we saw those results on Sunday. Clearly there is still a level of distrust with his quarterback, and that’s going to hold back some of his situational play calling at times. We’ll see this week, since its basically a playoff game.
Robholland211: Brian, my wife and I watched in disbelief on Sunday when Bryce took the 9 yard sack in the 4th quarter. She claimed he must be point shaving because he always seems to take a bad sack in a crucial moment of games we should win. Do you think that Bryce is sandbagging the team in games we are favored?
No.
schrodingersblackcat: I’ve seen this come up a couple different places this week, and this seems like a good place to debate it. (Plus, I’m kind of exhausted with trying to make sense of this team at the moment.)
Would you like to see any changes to the kicking rules?
FG?/ OT scoring rules?
PAT?/ Only 2pt conversions?/ 7pt TD?
Kicks?/ Pre or post rule change?/ Onside kick rules?
Punt?/ Takeover on downs?
Does it make the game better or worse that a last minute FG can decide the game? Are the OT rules too convoluted as a result? Is there a better way to maximize/minimize kicks? Should PATs be a relic of the past?
I’m actually fine with the rules the way they are. The kickoff is back to being an impact play, and I like that there’s some strategy involved with it. As far as PATs and punts go, I say keep them. The only thing I don’t like is the onside kick only being allowed at specific times in the game. I think they should go back to being able to do them whenever they want.
e4*: Probably asked as much for cathartic reasons as seeking an actual answer…. When will enough be enough with trotting out this QB and expecting a different result?
Probably not until 2026.
KSUDD: Pure curiosity question. Joe Burrow had a weird press conference that alarmed a lot of people right before the Bengals had a terrible shutout loss against a really poor Ravens team. If Burrow gets traded or requests a trade, which is more speculation than reality right now, what do you think the cost would be? And what team would be able/willing to foot the cost and has a big enough need at QB? I’m not certain there’s a good enough fit between trade cost and need given the penny pinching nature of the Bengals ownership.
I’d imagine 3 first round picks and some kind of contract negotiations for some of the dead cap on his contract would be the starting price. I would say maybe the Raiders would be the best situation for it to actually happen, or the Browns because they have two firsts next year. Either way, its going to probably cost about what Deshaun Watson’s trade costed, minus the off field issues. But I don’t expect the Bengals to trade him, I think its all just nonsense.
Bull123: OK…we have all taken an extra day after Sundays debacle, but we now need to do what we need our team to do…know that the season is a long way from over…that is to think completely on this week
will our team be able to do that & come out with the focus & mindset that is needed?
Oddly enough this team seems to respond better to losing than winning. They’ve come out flat after major upsets in the following games, but tend to show up after bad losses. So I think they might bring it for the Bucs this week. Might not bode well for the Seahawks game though!
positivebob: Year’s not over yet, but what’s your grade on Morgan’s 2025 FA class? Martin, Moehrig and Dowdle worked out, Rozeboom and BB3 played some ok snaps, and some not ok snaps. Wharton and Jones did not contribute much and I think Tremble and Dalton were a waste of roster spots, but I get why he signed Dalton. Morgan get what he paid for?
Free Agency tends to be a mixed bag for most teams, unless you’re pretty much a guaranteed Super Bowl contender. I’d give it a solid B. Sam Martin was an A+ for me, he’s been very good for a team that really needs to play the field position game. Tre’Von Moehrig is a stud and I was very happy when he signed, and he’s exceeded my expectations. The biggest question at the time was if the Panthers and Ejiro Evero would use him correctly, and they have. He’s not Earl Thomas, that was never his game. But maybe they’ll bring in a more natural compliment since Nick Scott is not currently signed for next year (this is not a slight on Nick Scott, he’s the leader of this defense, don’t @ me). Rico Dowdle worked out extremely well as a low cost, low risk signing. He’s going to want a lot more money next season and he deserves it, but I don’t know if it makes sense for Carolina to give it to him. I also feel Patrick Jones was a solid addition for the edge rushers even though he unfortunately got hurt, I think he was bringing more to the table than DJ Wonnum.
I have a hard time giving out a bad grade for Tershawn Wharton, he’s been terrific when healthy and I don’t believe he came in with an injury prone tag. Christian Rozeboom has played probably up to the ceiling of what I expected when he signed, he’s good sometimes and awful sometimes, I don’t think the original expectation was for him to be the every down ILB2, but if it was, this is what the coaches should have expected. Bobby Brown III is basically a run stuffer through and through, I only wish they used him more, but Evero tends to use A’Shawn Robinson since he’s more multi-faceted. So yeah, its a solid B from me. They added talent that they desperately needed, nobody seems to have come out as a major bust signing. We can scrutinize contracts, but in this day and age you gotta pay to bring decent talent in.
bolshy: If we exercise Bryce’s 5th year option, what do you think he would be worth in a trade?
If they exercise his 5th year option, they aren’t trading him in the off-season. That’s likely not going to come up until midway through 2026, and that would be if Carolina is either basically eliminated from playoff contention or whatever competition they bring in has won the job. At that point, he’d be worth a mid round pick at best.
Revshawn: Perhaps the real Carolina Panthers are the friends we made along the way.
And the real Clemson Tigers are the potential friends we just missed in passing.
@WTMealey: This is just a thank you. I feel this site is just group therapy for the trauma that is being a Panthers Fan in the Post Cam era. Literally we know there is no predicting what will happen next other than to those unfamilar it will be unexpected, but any combination of wins and losses in the next 3 possibly more weeks is as likely as any other combination with this team.
I don’t want to debate Bryce or Canales anymore. I want the joy of beating the Rams back. I don’t know if beating the Bucs will feel the same after last week. If its like the last Falcons game it might. If its like the Green Bay game IDK.
Again thanks for this site and here’s to a few more ups than downs on the rest of this rollercoaster ride. The Panthers are like the weather I guess. Don’t like it wait a week.
We really do appreciate you guys. This community wouldn’t be what it is without a devout group of fans who are passionate about this team. This particular year has been so much fun, because we really have no idea what to think of the Panthers on a week to week basis. Anyone who has been here and stayed here for the last decade plus, thank YOU.
Enjoy Sunday Panthers fans!
