1. Just How Much Will Chris Gamble Regress?
There quite honestly is no length to the amount Chris Gamble is likely to regress.
The signing of Ron Meeks as defensive coordinator would mean, to the uninitiated, that the Panthers were on the verge of switching to a completely different defense. On the surface, yes, this makes sense. To anyone that knows Fox, Meeks, and the way the Panthers run things, it does not.
Meeks ran Dungy's defense in Indianapolis. Dungy, along with Monty Kiffin, were pioneers of the Tampa 2. It was a revolutionary defense that has become mostly useless in the wake of may teams reverting to power running games (Panthers, Falcons, Giants, Skins, Cowboys, Vikings, Bears, Niners, just in the NFC). He was a y
es man, hired to just relay what Dungy wanted to the rest of the troops.
What does that sound like?
Meeks was hired to take Fox's orders. With that in mind, expect a ton more of the same. Corners dropping ten yards away from the receiver in coverage, hoping against hope that a defensive line made up of a bunch of scrubs can get to the quarterback before Chris Gamble gets distracted by a shiny object in the stands.
I've seen this from Jar Jar before. In 2004, he looked like a legit cornerback. After that, he looked like Dough Evans' corpse. Now that he's been paid, he has no incentive at all to play hard. I expect more of the norm from Gamble: spacing out at an Adam Laroche pace, closing his eyes during tackles and whiffing, and staring up angrily at the Gods, wondering why he wasn't blessed with the mental faculties to best take advantage of his physical skills. We're talking 2006-2007 play here from the OSU shit head.
Fuck you Chris Gamble.
2. Will Jake Delhomme recover and return to mediocrity?
Everyone think of the Cardinals playoff game.
Got it? Good. Let's never speak of it again.
Jake Delhomme is an interesting character. During most games, he's a top 13 quarterback. He'll chuck it up to Steve Smith, he'll hand off with the best of them, and he'll throw about 1.5 TDs to every interception. When the Panthers need a massive play, he'll turn into Jesus Christ incarnate and pull something out of his ass so ridiculous you'll bow down at his feet and swear to the alter of Jake Delhomme.
Those days are over.
On his best day, jake Delhomme is an average quarterback with a top flight receiver. Those days are gone. jake has collapsed. Whatever glue and grit were holding his psyche together are gone. I predict the rise of Matt Moore after the bye week, and we shall all be beholden to his glory as he leads the Panthers to the promised land.
And yay, verily he said what was good.
3. Will DeAngelo repeat his orgasmic 2008 performance?
DeAngelo is the best running back in the history of the Carolina Panthers. As long as they keep handing him the ball, he'll do fine. With the offensive line as amazing as it is, there's no reason he shouldn't get another 1200 yards and 15 touchdowns.
For fun, by FBO standards, he was the best running back in the NFL last year.
4. Will Ryne Robinson turn into the best WR/PR combination in the NFL?
Yes.
5. Where will the traitor Julius Peppers end up?
This is an interesting case. On one hand, at the end of the year, Julius usually has eye popping numbers. On the other, fuck him. He plays only a half of football a game. He line dances with offensive tackles in the second half. He vanished against the Giants. I'm not sure he even showed up to the Cardinals game in the playoffs. He's a quiet dick (like mine oh snap) who doesn't care about the Panthers or anything but himself. Fuck him.
that said, NFL cunt rag Adam Schefter seems to think he'll end up on the Chiefs. As long as the Panthers get some picks in return, I don't care. I want the picks. I want the cap room. I want him gone. Fuck him. FUCK HIM. FUCK HIM!
