Grüße und Vorstellung » That was the game that Panthers fans have

been waiting to see. Cam Newton was sharp. Ron Rivera and Norv Turner were aggressive both early and often. The defense generated both pressure and turn overs. These are the Panthers that can make a run at the playoffs. We all knew the team had talent and we all hoped they would be able to put that talent together for a complete performance. That they did so is great Blue Christian McCaffrey Jersey , but not a reason for optimism. It was a confirmation of suspicion. The reason for optimism is that their complete performance led to a 36 point game that saw the Panthers effectively running out the clock for the entirety of the fourth quarter. The question against this team was whether or not they could score enough points in a single game to keep up with the Kansas City’s and New Orleans’ of the NFL. Yesterday they did that against one of the top defenses in the NFL and still had time to tap the brakes.The defense struggled on the first drive before forcing three turnovers and three punts to cap off one of their more complete days of the year. The offense also struggled on the first drive, as well as on their opening two drives of the second half, but otherwise kept the pressure on Baltimore the whole game. They rarely settled for less than a field goal.The closest you can come to saying anybody had a bad day would be Eric Reid’s missed tackle on Alex Collins’ early touchdown run, Dontari Poe’s poorly timed sideline penalty, and Jarius Wright not catching a ball on third down that hit him in the hands. All of these mistakes were easily overcome by their respective units. That is the kind of team that Carolina can be. That is the team they weren’t against Washington.In the waning seconds of the first half, facing fourth and seven and up 21 to seven, Rivera shocked the world by going for it. Not only was the play call not a half-assed draw play to Christian McCaffrey, it was a pass from back-up quarterback Taylor Heinicke. The completion and conversion on that play allowed Graham Gano to kick a 54-yard field goal and gave the team momentum to carry into the second half. This is what I mean when I talk about the kind of team that Carolina can be. Their mistakes weren’t compounded from drive to drive. They scored and then they tried to score again, regardless of how their opponent was doing. Rivera has talked since he got here about becoming the team that “twists the knife” instead of the team that edges out close games. He is finally coaching with that philosophy and you can see the results.I said a few weeks ago that I was done with Rivera. I argued that he was stuck in his old, fuddy-duddy coaching style and had given little evidence that he would change. After eight years, why would he? Yesterday was the game that I never thought I would see from him. The Panthers are prepared to be one of the most dangerous teams in the league, just like I am prepared to eat my words, if Rivera keeps this up for the rest of the season. In the modern NFL you can only retain a finite amount of your young talent, and the Carolina Panthers are basically at capacity."WhiteFanposts Fanshots Sections Keep Sounding PodcastPanthers 2019 NFL DraftCSR Film RoomCarolina Panthers free agency 2019Daryl Williams highlights the dilemma teams face with the salary capNew Christian McCaffrey Jersey 2019 ,41commentsIn the modern NFL you can only retain a finite amount of your young talent, and the Carolina Panthers are basically at capacity.ESTShareTweetShareShareDaryl Williams highlights the dilemma teams face with the salary capBob Donnan-USA TODAY SportsStop me if you’ve heard this tale before. Young and talented NFL prospect waits patiently behind a not as talented veteran until finally being granted his shot at NFL greatness. He seizes it and puts in a nice season of work, just in time for him to enter a contract year and cash in at just the right time. Before he can even get limbered up for the season ahead, he goes down with a knee injury. Then, probably before he was healed but aiming to keep his stock high, tries to suit up for week one and ends up making it a season ending injury.This was the story of an unfortunate year for fourth year tackle Daryl Williams, and one that you don’t like to see play out for anyone. Football is a cruel mistress, and these types of stories represent the peak of her painful nature.But beyond the ramifications for Williams’ future contract amount, it leaves the Carolina Panthers in the worst possible situation. One in which they may ultimately have to let their own homegrown talent simply walk away. Make no mistake, the team would ideally want to keep him on the team next year, but there are so many factors working against that. Such as:Cap space, both in the sense of the Carolina Panthers lacking it, and other tackle needy teams having it.Another player that is exceling at his position (but could potentially be moved).The impossible process of placing value on a player who gave you one good year then sustained a very serious injury (a la Jeff Otah).A general manager whose job is far from assured in 2020 (a la Jeff Otah)The very nature of the NFL, where you can only have so many guys working under their second (and typically largest) contracts due to salary constraints.The last point is probably the most vital and frustrating part of it all. To be successful in the modern NFL Jordan Scarlett Carolina Panthers Jersey , you can really only have a handful of players that you drafted and re-signed toa second contract thanks to their good play. The rest of the team has to be made up of a series of guys making at or just above the veteran minimum, and young guys on their rookie deals that cost very little. MickSmiley is going to explain this perfectly in an article due to drop tomorrow regarding Ian Thomas... But here is a high level breakdown:Carolina Panthers 2019 Salaries by player contract termPlayers that the Carolina Panthers drafted and have signed to their second contracts make up $76,663,727 of the team’s salary cap next season. This includes Cam Newton, Luke Kuechly, Kawann Short, Trai Turner, and Mario Addison (included because even though we didn’t actually draft him, we basically raised him up and gave him his first big deal). That group makes up a whopping 44% of the entire projected salary cap space usage for next year. Compare that number to this one... $25,987,042That number represents the combined salaries of Shaq Thompson, Christian McCaffrey, Vernon Butler, D.J. Moore Jordan Scarlett Jersey , James Bradberry, Curtis Samuel, Taylor Moton, Donte Jackson, Rashaan Gaulden, and Ian Thomas. That makes up just 15% of the projected salary cap usage for next year. Even more insane, is that includes a lofty $9.23 million dollar charge for Shaq Thompson’s 5th year option. Every single one of those players is projected to play significant snaps next season, if not an entire starting workload. The value there compared to guys on their second contract is absolutely insane, and exactly why the NFL Draft is so vital to winning year to year.Now, obviously the Panthers have one absolutely terrible deal on the books that they can do absolutely nothing about in Matt Kalil. That destroys their ability to sign someone like Williams looking forward to 2020 when they might have to pay to retain Shaq Thompson and/or James Bradberry. I don’t think the team can afford all three. Of the three, Williams would be the worst bet as it stands right now. The injury he had coupled with a hyper-inflated market for tackles is probably going to price this team out of the running. The good news for him as that since he plays such a valuable position, he is almost certain to get a large contract despite his injury. The bad news for us is that it probably won’t be in Charlotte.