What Will The NFL Look Like In 2020 ? / Game Might Not Change Dramatically, But How And Where We Watch It Will

 With seven seconds left in Super Bowl LIV, the Seahawks' Andrew Luck makes the biggest play of his NFL career. The quarterback scrambles right and dives for the goal line. Officials signal the winning touchdown.

Millions of delirious Seahawks fans tear off their 3-D glasses in celebration. Thousands more dial up instant replays on their hologram-projection TVs, reliving the play from every conceivable angle.
Although the London Jaguars say they tackled Luck short of the goal line, the microchip inside the football doesn't lie. The game is over and celebratory fireworks light the sky.

Welcome to the future. This is one scenario illustrating what the NFL experience might be like in the next decade, a 2020 vision, if you will. Chips that determine whether the ball has crossed the goal line? Holograms that simulate the game being played on a chessboard? Teams not only in the United States but also London?

http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/ravens/sc-spt-0130-nfl-2020--20110130,0,3559369.story?track=rss&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+baltimoresun%2Fsports%2Ffootball%2Frss2+%28+Ravens%2FFootball%29

2011 NFL Draft / The Carolina Panthers Select.......

The time has come again to begin looking ahead to the NFL Draft. The NFC and AFC Championship games have come and passed and most teams are in offseason mode right now.

So let's take a look, team by team, at who will go where in the 2011 NFL Draft.

First off, it's time to look at a team that was beyond horrible this season. They earned their No. 1 draft pick and are lucky not to be the second team in recent memory to go 0-16.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/585019-2011-mock-draft-with-the-first-pick-the-carolina-panthers-select

Is Bigger Really Better For Carolina ?

The Carolina Panthers have the hardest decision any No.1 pick has had in the last few years. Usually, there is that franchise quarterback who the team could have started signing after Week 17. This year, the lack of that guaranteed pick (Luck) has created a huge conundrum for the Panthers.

The first Mock Drafts from Mel Kiper Jr. and Todd McShay both have Carolina selecting one of the many dominant linemen. McShay has Carolina selecting Da’Quan Bowers, while Kiper has the Panthers taking Nick Fairley.

I have seen Fairley, and I know how he can dominate a game; just ask Oregon. He had 11.5 sacks while playing in the SEC and this 6'5" monster defines what it means to be a pass rusher. It makes all the sense in the world for the Panthers to select Fairley.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/580537-2011-nfl-mock-draft-is-bigger-really-better-for-the-carolina-panthers

Fan Reaction / Five Ways Ron Rivera Improves Carolina Instantly

When it comes to tough seasons, the Carolina Panthers have certainly now seen what it is like to suffer. By all accounts, 2010 was a nightmare. As a lifetime Carolina Panthers fan, the debacle that was our season was particularly difficult to watch. Now, with the firing of John Fox and the hiring of former San Diego Chargers defensive coordinator Ron Rivera, hope springs eternal. The beauty of a new head coach is that it instantly gives hope where there was none before. Here are five ways that Ron Rivera improves our Carolina Panthers right now, before they ever take the field.

CARRY ON

http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slug=ycn-7598226

Cam Netwon Enters 2011 NFL Draft, Will Carolina Draft Him ?

Cam Newton is entering the 2011 NFL Draft (officially). This news from Cam Newton should improve the look of the 2011 NFL Draft, and gives a rebuilding franchise another option to go after at the quarterback position. This is where the debate will begin about whether he is really someone that should be selected early in the first round.
According to ESPN, Auburn just released a statement announcing Newton's decision, and that he will skip his senior season. Newton had said that the decision was difficult for him and his family, but winning the BCS National Championship Game seems like the best way to put an exclamation mark on the end of a college career.

Newton ended the 2010 college football season with 2,854 passing yard, 1,472 rushing yards, and 50 touchdowns combined for Auburn. Auburn just beat the Oregon Ducks in the BCS title game, netting the Tigers the national championship for 2010. It was a very impressive way to end the season, making it the fifth straight year that an SEC team has won it all.

The new NFL Draft order could definitely affect where Newton is selected, and recent NFL mock draft coverage at Associated Content shows that Newton could be the first or second quarterback to come off the board. Some of the mock drafts out there even have Newton going as the No. 1 overall selection, but that doesn't seem like it would be a good idea for the Carolina Panthers at this time. It still doesn't rule it out though, as the Panthers have a long time to sit on this pick.

CARRY ON

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/6219094/cam_netwon_enters_2011_nfl_draft_will.html?cat=14

It's Official / Ron Rivera Named Fourth Head Coach In Carolina Panthers History

At 5 pm eastern time, the Carolina Panthers introduced Ron Rivera as the fourth head coach in franchise history.

Rivera, who will take over as a head coach for the first time in his career after serving as a defensive coordinator for the Chicago Bears (2004-2006) and Philadelphia Eagles (2008-2010), signed a four-year, $11.5 million contract.
How refreshing it was to hear a new voice and opinion speaking to the Charlotte media. Not once did I hear old adages of "it is what it is," or any other number of old "Fox-isms" that Panthers fans have become so accustomed to over the last nine years.

CARRY ON
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/569749-ron-rivera-named-fourth-head-coach-in-carolina-panthers-history

Luck Or Not, Bowers Is Obvious Pick For Carolina

With the first pick in the 2011 NFL Draft the Carolina Panthers select ... Da'Quan Bowers, defensive end, Clemson.

Clemson fans, Bamberg natives, let that sink in for a moment. With Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck announcing Thursday that he is returning to college for another season, the chances of Roger Goodell walking to the podium to open the NFL Draft at Radio City Music Hall April 28 and saying that should now be all but a lock.

Sure, things change, sometimes drastically, as players are poked, prodded and tested by NFL teams heading into the draft, but today, Bowers is the pick and it is hard to imagine that changing.

http://www.thetandd.com/sports/article_065b2cf4-1a18-11e0-8f30-001cc4c002e0.html

Local Fan Perspective / Richardson Continues Stubborn Streak With Carolina's Coaching Candidates

Jerry Richardson obviously likes defensive coordinators. Right now, he is looking at Ron Rivera, Greg Manusky and Perry Fewell to fill the vacancy left behind by John Fox's departure. Each of these guys are from the exact same mold as Fox, and most every other head coach the Panthers have had in their short time in the NFL. Perhaps his one time of trying an offensive minded coach, the disastrous hiring of George Siefert, scared him off that forever. Perhaps he is just a stubborn man that refuses to acknowledge that an offensive mind is needed in Carolina. Either way, he is headed for some serious heartbreak unless he gets really lucky.

With all the potential offensive candidates out there that could bring the Panthers new offensive life, it is mind boggling why Richardson is being so hard headed. The truth is, offense costs money both in player and coaches. Richardson is so locked into the possible labor strike that he is cutting corners at every opportunity. At a press conference this week, he actually was unapologetic about the horrendous season he brought on with the cuts. In addition, he had the nerve to tell Panthers fans that he was not signing any free agents until an agreement was reached.

CARRY ON
http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slug=ycn-7538366

Luck's Next Move Is Clear

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla.


Sprinting through the underbelly of Sun Life Stadium on Monday night, nearly an hour after Stanford’s 40-12 victory over Virginia Tech was complete, quarterback Andrew Luck was still excited
“Touchdown!” Luck yelled, an unexplainably random comment that revealed the raw jubilation of the moment.

This was his time, the best it’s going to get on this level outside a national title.

“Very few times in life does anybody get a chance to be a champion at something, and we’re the Orange Bowl champions,” Stanford coach Jim Harbaugh said. “And congratulations to Andrew being MVP. Very few people get to be MVPs in anything.”

http://msn.foxsports.com/collegefootball/story/orange-bowl-stanford-virginia-tech-andrew-luck-crowning-performance-010311

Stanford QB Andrew Luck Enticing To Think Of In Panthers Uniform

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- For many Carolina Panther s fans, Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck represents hope for a beaten-up franchise that will officially finish off the NFL's worst record and its entire coaching staff today.
There is no such thing as a surefire NFL savior. But after getting a firsthand look at Luck and talking to many around him over the past few days, I'm convinced Luck is as close as you can get.

Luck, a redshirt sophomore, has until Jan.15 to decide whether he will enter the 2011 NFL draft. If Luck does enter - and that decision won't be made until sometime after Monday night's Orange Bowl - the Panthers would be absolute fools not to take him with the No. 1 overall pick they hold. Luck has the heart of a defensive lineman wrapped in the 6-foot-4, 235-pound prototype body of an NFL quarterback.

Luck's teammates and coaches love him for his unselfishness - he always turns off ESPN whenever he sees his face on the screen - and stand in awe of his ability. He has an uncommonly cosmopolitan background and a thunderbolt for a right arm, but the best stories I have heard about Luck mostly involve him running over people.

http://www.sacbee.com/2011/01/01/3293357/stanford-quarterback-andrew-luck.html







 

DE Johnson Isn't Mad Over Pro Bowl Snub

Every season there is someone who gets snubbed from the Pro Bowl.

This year isn’t any different, and Carolina Panthers defensive end Charles Johnson is this year’s poster child for that unfortunate selection.
Despite having at least one sack in six consecutive games, Johnson was past over for bigger names such as former teammate Julius Peppers, Atlanta Falcons defensive end John Abraham and New York Giants defensive end Justin Tuck. The fourth-year pro has emerged as a first-year starter, and he has produced 11.5 sacks, 61 tackles, 27 hurries and one pass defended this season.

http://www.examiner.com/sports-in-charlotte/panthers-de-johnson-isn-t-mad-over-pro-bowl-snub