Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
Which Panthers are under the most pressure heading into a particularly important 2022 season?
2022 may very well serve as a fork in the road for the Carolina Panthers. It’ll be a season, from the top on down, where we find out who stays and who goes as the franchise enters Year No. 4 of a supposed five (or six . . . or seven)-year rebuild.
But which Panthers (besides head coach Matt Rhule, of course) are facing the most pressure to produce? These ones . . .
Whether he’s a panther or a bear, Sir Purr still isn’t impressing Panthers WR Robbie Anderson.
The Carolina Panthers have one of football’s most talented mascots in Sir Purr.
He can play the keyboard. He can give the seven-day weather forecast. He can Dougie in a Snuggie. He can bungee jump. Heck, he can even down a live punt.
But, despite his eclectic mix of talents, he still cannot impress his co-worker Robbie Anderson.
On Sunday, a Panthers fan offered an interesting suggestion to liven up the on-field product a bit after three straight painful five-win seasons. And to that—the six-year wide receiver agreed, and even took a harsh shot at Sir Purr in the process . . .
Facts not dat silly ah Bear… https://t.co/6JwUYOatNb
— Robbie Anderson (@chosen1ra) May 31, 2022
The “Bear” Anderson refers to is Sir Purr. Now, obviously, the mascot of the Carolina Panthers is a panther.
Robbie’s tweet, however, is a brilliant callback to the time he actually didn’t know what Sir Purr was.
During the Carolina’s 2020 season opener against the Las Vegas Raiders, Anderson’s very first game with the organization, he asked teammates DJ Moore and Curtis Samuel what “that bear” was doing on the Bank of America Stadium video board.. That bear was, in fact, Sir Purr—who was just innocently trying to cheer the team on.
Robby Anderson is WR1 pic.twitter.com/l2H8P7gHUU
— Bootleg Fantasy Football (@BootlegFantasy) September 16, 2020
Well, if the Panthers wind up replacing Sir Purr with real panthers, then hopefully his skills as a musician, weatherman, dancer, bungee jumper and special teams gunner can serve him nicely in his next line of work.
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A handful of Carolina Panthers took the podium following OTAs on Tuesday. Here’s what we learned.
The Carolina Panthers sent quite the lineup to the podium on Tuesday—a group that included head coach Matt Rhule, quarterback Sam Darnold, running back Christian McCaffrey, safety Jeremy Chinn and cornerback Jaycee Horn.
So, with many questions finding their answers following the first two sessions of organized team activities, here’s what stood out most.
Panthers HC Matt Rhule isn’t concerned about WR Robbie Anderson’s absence at voluntary OTAs because they’re, uh, voluntary.
The Carolina Panthers have held the first set of their voluntary offseason team activities (OTAs) these past two days. And before we get into anything else, please note the “voluntary” part of the term.
Head coach Matt Rhule certainly did, particularly when he was asked of Robbie Anderson’s absence from Tuesday’s session. Rhule, with his No. 2 wideout not on the premises in Charlotte, said he has no concerns.
“No, this is voluntary,” he stated during his post-workout presser. “I actually believe in it being voluntary. I think it’s great. The guys that are here, are here. The one thing about Robbie—you know Robbie’s gonna be in the best shape of his life. He was here for a while. So, not a concern for me.”
Hopefully for Anderson, who is coming off the worst season of his career, he’ll indeed be in the best shape of his life. Fresh off a two-year extension, the sixth-year receiver posted career-lows in receiving yards (519), yards per reception (9.8) and catch rate (48.2 percent).
Nonetheless, with a slight name and number change heading into 2022, the artist formerly known as Robby is as determined as ever to get himself and the team back on track.
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Whether he’s Robby or Robbie Anderson, the Panthers WR doesn’t seem interested in taking shots at Sam Darnold on Twitter.
The artist formerly known as Carolina Panthers receiver Robby Anderson is now Carolina Panthers receiver Robbie Anderson. Oh, and he wasn’t taking shots at his quarterback on Wednesday.
As Sam Darnold’s interview with the Bussin’ With The Boys podcast made its rounds last night, Robbie hit the send button on a few interesting tweets. One of which, as captured below by who may apparently be a hybrid being of rapper Bobby Shmurda and Los Angeles Clippers guard Reggie Jackson, caught the attention of many fans.
Robby Anderson’s open dislike for Sam Darnold is one of the funniest things ever pic.twitter.com/7eKLraOPMA
— REGGIE SHMURDA 🥽💰 (@ReggieShmurda1) April 7, 2022
Now, was Anderson referring to Darnold? Well, it was kinda conceivable to believe so.
Darnold took a laissez-faire approach to answering questions about his own job security, telling host Taylor Lewan that “whatever happens, happens.” One may say that it was, indeed, lame. Also, in the hubbub of the Carolina faithful forming their own opinions on the matter, Anderson deleted the tweets just a few hours later.
He didn’t delete these ones, though, in setting things straight on Thursday evening.
If I was talkin bro I would @ him y’all reaching leave da drama and me out if it in New York I’m focused on positivity success and getting to my promise land with the FAM🙏
— Robbie Anderson (@chosen1ra) April 7, 2022
I been such a good guy why they shit on me 😔
— Robbie Anderson (@chosen1ra) April 7, 2022
So, there you have it. If he wanted the smoke, he would’ve brought it to Darnold’s doorstep. Alas, he does not and did not.
Whether it’s Robert, Robby or Robbie—he’s not very interested in creating drama on social media at the moment. He’s only interested in success.
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The Patriots and Panthers have discussed Robby Anderson trade talks.
The New England Patriots have inquired about Carolina Panthers wide receiver Robby Anderson, according to multiple reports and as first reported by Boston Sports Journal’s Greg Bedard.
The talks between the two teams were exploratory, and there is nothing imminent at this point, according The Athletic’s Joseph Person.
Anderson comes off a season that saw him record 53 catches for 519 yards and five touchdowns. Those numbers were down from 2020, when he recorded 95 catches for 1,096 yards and three touchdowns.
His best game for Carolina last season came in week 14 against the Atlanta Falcons. He caught seven passes for 84 yards and a touchdown.
Patriots have inquired about Panthers WR Robby Anderson. Conversation was exploratory and nothing imminent at this point, sources tell @jeffphowe and me. @GregABedard first on the Patriots’ interest.
— Joe Person (@josephperson) March 5, 2022
Wide receiver is a position of need for the Patriots. They have already met with several at the NFL Combine. Both free agency and the draft are possible avenues for the Patriots to get a playmaking wide receiver. As Bedard’s piece indicated, the Patriots seem to be leaning more towards a veteran wide receiver. Anderson would fill that need, and give Mac Jones another weapon to work with.
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WinDailySports’ CEO Jason Mezrahi checks in with his top Week 5 DFS fantasy football for FanDuel and DraftKings
Top-ranked daily fantasy sports pro Jason Mezrahi, founder and CEO of WinDailySports.com, breaks down his favorite DFS plays at various salary ranges for Week 5 of the NFL season.
Even though we have had great results in picking top DFS plays in this article every week, I’m going to let you in on a little secret: Our projection model at WinDailySports.com has been firing on all cylinders for the first three weeks so what I will do in this article is list some of our highest projected players based off raw points and our highest point per dollar plays based on DraftKings.com pricing.
Special Huddle Member Discount: If you would like to give our membership at Win Daily a try, take advantage of a FREE 2 week promotion where you will gain an all access gold pass to our DFS & SportsBetting package. Use promo code “thehuddle” at checkout for 2 weeks FREE for both our DFS & SportsBetting Packages. Sign up now.
These are some of the players Jason will be locking in his lineups on DraftKings and FanDuel for this weekend’s slate.
$6,900 DRAFTKINGS, $7,900 FANDUEL
We can no longer use the Bill O’Brien excuse in Houston. The man is finally gone and I personally can’t wait for Adam Gase to be dealt the same fate. We can only hope Watson can get back on track this week and come out of the gate with something to prove. Watson has been good but not great to start this year. His schedule had a very tough start with matchups against the Chiefs, Ravens and Steelers. The good news is Will Fuller is still healthy and the Jaguars rank 20th against opposing quarterbacks and allow 261 yards passing per game. Coming off a 300-yard, 2-touchdown game should provide some confidence in rostering Watson in Week 5.
Watson provides a safe floor at his price tag and is one of the best values on the entire slate. Vegas has the Texans putting up 30 points and without a elite running game most of those points should be rolling through Watson. We have him only a couple points behind Patrick Mahomes, Dak Prescott, Lamar Jackson and Josh Allen on our projection models currently but, given the discount, we love the value he provides.
$6,100 DRAFTKINGS, $7,700 FANDUEL
The Falcons are struggling mightily and confidence is at a all time low in Atlanta. Ryan is more of a DraftKings only play for me, where I want to price enforce the $6,100 cost for a quarterback with one of the best matchups on the board. If Vegas is right and the Falcons put up 28 points, we can hope that Matt Ryan puts up 3-4 touchdowns in this matchup.
We have to look out for the status of Julio Jones, if he is out I may lower my exposure to Ryan and bump up my exposure to Calvin Ridley and the rest of the receiving core. If Jones is out feel free to pivot down to Daniel Jones or up to Mahomes, Prescott or Jackson in Week 5.
MIKE DAVIS, CAR
$6,400 DRAFTKINGS, $6,800 FANDUEL
I never would have thought I would be highlighting the two running backs I am about to dive into but here we are in Week 5 of 2020.
I saw a great tweet this past week that read “We are heading into the 4th quarter of 2020, lets hope we are playing the Atlanta Falcons”
Davis and the Panthers are playing the Falcons and you best believe he is salivating due to the opportunity they present. With two touchdowns in his past two games since he took over for Christian McCaffrey, Mike Davis is now a stable force in the Carolina backfield. He has produced over 22 DraftKings points in his past 2 games and now gets the dream matchup versus the Falcons, who cant stop a nose bleed. He might be highly owned but take the 20+ points and lock in Davis in Week 5.
$5,800 DRAFTKINGS, $6,400 FANDUEL
McKinnon dominated the backfield touches in Week 4 and has produced in each and every week of this season. This trend should continue in Week 5 with a matchup versus Miami, who rank 19th against opposing running backs.
McKinnon scored a touchdown in each of the four games this season and has averaged 16.6 DraftKings points. It looks like its McKinnon’s backfield after he received 14 of the 17 rushing attempts and also had 9 targets in the passing game. If Mostert is still out in Week 5, look McKinnon’s way and lock in the value in order to pay up at other spots.
$4,800 DRAFTKINGS, $5,800 FANDUEL
I told myself that I am done rostering any players from the Jets or the Giants for the rest of the season and then I witnessed again how bad the Cowboys defense truly is.
If the Browns can score 49, the Giants should score at least 24 right?
This is truly a play on the Cowboys defense and not the Giants offense. Lets look at what the Cowboys have allowed as far as scoring this year. Here are the game totals: 20, 39, 38 and 49. The targets for Slayton have been there each and every week, but the production has yet to follow. At $4,900 versus this Cowboy defense I am willing to take the calculated risk on Slayton or Evan Engram, who I will mention later in this article.
$5,900 DRAFTKINGS, $6,200 FANDUEL
Leading into this season and every week so far to start the season all the hype has been on DJ Moore. The outcome has not lived up to the hype and each and every week the production has been gobbled up by Robbie Anderson.
Averaging 19.7 points on the season, its been obvious to me that Robbie is the No. 1 receiver in this offense and has out-targeted Moore 34-32 with a way higher catch rate. With two 100 yard games (and a 99 yarder), there is a clear rapport with Teddy Bridgewater. He has been a fantasy darling all year and I expect that trend to continue with his plus-matchup against the Falcons in Week 5.
$6,600 DRAFTKINGS, $7,100 FANDUEL
The George Kittle breakout game finally came in Week 4. Kittle is absolute beast and I wouldn’t want to step in his path once he got the ball in his hands, because his goal is to hurt someone.
Coming off a 15-reception, 183-yard game, ownership maybe high, but with all the value on the slate I think this is the week to pay up at tight end and lock in some points. I am fine with either paying up for Kittle or Mark Andrews and avoiding any potential land mines at the value tight end spots.
I don’t like suggesting New York Giants players, but when I do they will be playing against the Dallas Cowboys. Do I have to remind you how bad this defense is? Baker Mayfield and Jarvis Landry were dropping dimes all over this defense last week as crazy as that sounds.
The Cowboys defense is terrible and their offense is good/potentially great. Which means the Cowboys should open the game up with the lead, allowing the Giants to play catch up the entire game. Engram’s production has seen an uptick lately and he is the best value at the position so lock him in and lets be present for his breakout performance.
$4,200 DRAFTKINGS, $4,800 FANDUEL
How good is Bill Belichick? He is the best in the business and almost beat Patrick Mahomes with a combination of Brian Hoyer and some leftover scraps on offense. There hasn’t been a better coach in my lifetime and he is a defensive wizard who finds ways to disrupt the entire game plan of the opposing offense.
Give Belichick a young quarterback on the opposite side of the field and watch him dismantle their scheme and cause turnovers galore. If you have the cash to spend up at defense, roster Belichick and the Patriots.
$2,600 DRAFTKINGS, $3,700 FANDUEL
We can only hope that the Texans come together and play some inspired ball and cause some havoc for Gardner Minshew and the Jaguars. They are the cheapest defense I am willing to roster. Minshew will make mistakes and cough up the ball Sunday. With 10 sacks on the season, we can hope for 2-4 sacks, 1-2 turnovers and for the Texans to finally win a game and control some clock late. Their defense has been bad to start the year, but their schedule hasn’t been easy. Look for a bounce back performance out of the Texans at home in Week 5.
Jason Mezrahi has been a professional, top-ranked Daily Fantasy Player on FanDuel and DraftKings for more than eight years. He has won FanDuel’s $155,555 King of the Diamond competition and placed second in DraftKings’ Fantasy Basketball World Championship, earning him $300,000. He owns and operates WinDailySports.com, which supports the DFS and Sports Betting community with resources such as tools, projection models, expert chat, in-depth written analysis and podcasts, plus much more.
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Jets quarterback Sam Darnold covered a wide variety of topics Tuesday: From the draft to free agency to Tom Brady leaving the division.
The Jets’ 2020 roster will look a lot different than it did in Sam Darnold’s first two years in the NFL, and that’s a good thing.
Darnold saw the Jets’ beef up the offensive line, attempt to solve questions at wide receiver and even improve areas of the defense as well this offseason. There will be great expectations for Darnold now as he enters his third season in the league and second with Adam Gase as head coach.
Darnold spoke to reporters Tuesday on a variety of the biggest topics facing the Jets this offseason. From the draft to free agency to coronavirus and more, here are the most interesting things Darnold said.
Douglas did a great job giving Darnold some help this offseason in free agency and he continued the pattern with his first two draft picks. He took tackle Mekhi Becton in the first round and wide receiver Denzel Mims in the second round to fortify two positions of need on the Jets offense.
Darnold pointed out the obvious with Becton: He’s a “big guy” with his 6-foot-7, 364-pound frame. “He’s a freak athlete and a large human,” Darnold added.
Mims, who should line up outside with fellow wideout Breshad Perriman, flashed at Baylor with ridiculous numbers. Darnold likely saw the highlights and noticed Mims’ ability.
“He’s a great playmaker,” Darnold said. “He’s got a lot of potential.”
