Because the 1st week of the Sunday Ticket was "free".. I a good part of the Panthers game.. I really don't care too much about the yards Cam racked up.. some of that was the product of mistakes on the defenses part.
What impressed me was Cam's poise and demeanor upon the field.. the Cards sold out a number of times in pressure (helping create some of the mistakes) and were getting there with some success. But it seemed not to rattle the kid much.. he didn't pull the ball down and take off like many young athletic QB's do. No, instead he navigated around in and out of the pocket and kept reading down field.
But he didn't stop there.. no he even delivered the ball very accurately from both the pocket and on the run. He didn't always make the correct read, but he also didn't miss on very many of the Cardinal mistakes in coverage either.
I don't think he is a great QB at this point.. but he was more advanced in his performance than I expected.. and overall the Panthers on offense looked light years ahead compared to last season.
I think the Panthers defensive depth and overall collection of talent is going to be more of a concern to them than their offense.. which is a flip of the role from last season for them.
Of course this is all based off of a single game and could be an aberration, but it is what I seen in watching them in the vacuum of a single game.
I think the Packers expose them on defense early and often, and if the defense plays to expectation the Packers are working on the depth of the playbook in the second half.
That isn't that I am taking the Panthers lightly.. more or less, I think the Packers have the better overall talent and if special teams are a wash, the Packers wear down a game Panthers team.
I expect Cam and that offense to make some noise on Sunday.. I am just not sold that it will be consistent enough to keep pace with the Packers offense.
"The oranges are dry; the apples are mealy; and the papayas... I don't know what's going on with the papayas!"