Part two of this week’s CSR mailbag, answering all YOUR questions as we get to week one!
The Panthers FINALLY kick off REAL football again on Sunday! And with that on the horizon, it brought all sorts of season projection questions from the CSR faithful. To recap, Brian Asks and Brian Answers are a two part CSR mailbag for everyone! You can bring your Panthers related, football related, or even off topic questions each week, and in part two later in the week, we’ll answer them. Without further adieu, let’s dive in!
Bruce Guild: Better chance at 150 yards rushing or 300 plus yard passing?
That Saints front seven is stronger than people give them credit for, while the Panthers new look passing offense makes its debut. I’ll take the passing yards, don’t mind my Bryce Young optimism. Also, technically if Dalton finishes the game passing, it still counts.
Bruce Guild: MVP of week 1
If the Panthers manage to pull of the win, I bet the MVP is the offensive line. If we have to pick a single player, probably Ikem Ekwonu. I expect the Saints to go after him aggressively in the pass rush.
Mtndancersr: Will we see our entire 1st team OL playing together finally? And will Corbett have any bad snaps?
None of the starting offensive line is on the injury report, so I would say YES! Hopefully they can stay healthy. As far as Corbett goes, I think the bad snaps were overblown in the off-season. Canales said himself he didn’t see any more errors than you’d normally see with a starting center on the QB-C exchange. But, we’ll see if that was just blowing smoke or creating cover.
egon petri: Who starts at CB opposite Horn?
Who starts at OLB opposite Clowney?
We need to have answers there before we can rely on our D to be functional.
Mike Jackson is already confirmed to be the starter there, though Troy Hill could factor into plans since he’s been slated in as the starting nickel since day one of this off-season. At OLB, currently it is DJ Johnson, however if the Panthers haven’t figured out this answer yet I imagine its going to be a committee approach with the other healthy ones they have until Amare Barno and DJ Wonnum get healthy.
Irish boy: What is your win/loss prediction for the season, and how many wins would you classify as a successful season?
I’m in the 5-6 wins ballpark, and I think 6+ wins is very successful. But, I do expect growing pains in several facets of this team. I’ll be more excited if they are competitive in the majority of their games.
DannyLimes: How many points will we beat the saints by?
76 is my conservative estimate.
plancos: Which Practice Squad player or waiver wire pick up is your deep sleeper to become a quality player for us (assuming the churn slows down before you have a chance to answer).
I’m very excited to see what Jamie Sheriff has to offer. The fact that he made the final 53 after being picked up on waivers and now holds one of only 4 OLB spots leads me to believe he will be at least rotationally relevant. It might just be Carolina continuing to throw stuff at the wall to see what sticks, but he has about as good an opportunity as any of the new faces.
ericbuck: Have you ever put salted peanuts in your coke as a quick snack? Dubbed “farmers coke” apparently.
Saw a couple Brits trying it on social media and it brought me back to my NC days lol. Even brought it into a couple exams and got some weird looks from my Canadian brethren.
I can’t say I have, but this sounds like an excellent combo. Salt and sweet combined in peanuts generally turns out to be a savory snack. I’ll have to try.
Swampanther: Why does New Orleans smell like an old lady fart passing through an onion?
That’s just the vibe they were going for!
kimbersdad: End of year rookie stat line prediction??? and rookie MVP?
I’m only going to do this exercise for the draft picks.
- WR Xavier Legette-550 yards receiving, 4 TDs, 100 yards rushing, 1 TD
- RB Jonathan Brooks-600 yards rushing, 4 TDs
- LB Trevin Wallace-45 tackles, 2 forced fumbles, 1 interception
- TE JT Sanders-400 yards receiving, 3 TDs
- CB Chau Smith-Wade-20 tackles, 4 pass deflections
- Rookie MVP-Wallace I think will continue to work his way into the defense, but I’ll hedge my bets against the conservative approach with him and say JT Sanders.
IsItDraftTimeYet: How many sacks does Brian Burns finish with? Same question for Clowney.
Burns-9
Clowney-6
That’s all for this week Panthers fans! Enjoy your week one, and KEEP POUNDING!