An open letter to Hurney (Re: Jay Cutler)

Dear Marty Hurney:

I don't exactly know where you are right now. In the midst of free agency, one of the most important events for a general manager, you're probably popping bottles of Cristal in Saint Lucia and buying call girl services.

It has floated around the NFL world that Jay Cutler is being shopped by Denver in a trade. Now I know how you love Julius Peppers and would rather have him half-disgruntled playing this year on a team than a solid QB, I mean god-forbid anybody challenge the infallible Delhomme. But just think of it for a second. Cutler has a strong arm, has years ahead of him and I never saw him throw 5 picks in a game. Just think about it.

Of course though if you like your QB to totally blow the whole season in the playoffs by all means disregard this message.

The Auction Has Commenced. (RANT ON SNYDER)

Free agency is well underway. ....you'd even know it if you didn't notice because if you turn on ESPN they're showing free agents and talking about the Redskins and specified dollar amounts.

Dan Snyder continues his legacy of overpaying, or what I call just bending over and letting the FAs take whatever they need and threw up a 100 million dollar deal for a player who hadn't had a better year than his contract year (Haynesworth). But that's not all, they also gave a 50+ million dollar deal to DeAngelo Hall. AND they've been interested in Chris Canty and Ray Willis. Where the fuck do they get enough money under the cap to pull off this shit?

Dan Snyder has ruined free agency for other teams. This fucker has constantly overpaid, which sets the standard asking price higher and higher for players every single fucking year. For teams like my beloved Panthers who want to spend their money wisely and I don't blame them, for instance, Chris Canty, a person that I think would be valuable for the Panthers defensive line if the price was right, will probably get a 40 million dollar deal even though he was pretty much a role player in the Dallas defense, not really a featured guy. It's fucking ridiculous.

Dan Snyder has all but made sure you can't get any value off of top FAs. They're hurting themselves by signing these guys for wayyyy more money than they're actually worth on the field, for instance, Haynesworth is badass but he's not good enough for 32 million this year and the year after alone, but they also kill the negotiating ability for any other club, like the Panthers. Hurney's hands are tied when he's trying to get a mid-tier situational pass rusher and they're asking for a 30 million dollar deal, because well that's the standard asking price and if you look far back enough, the Redskins FO was probably the one that started the trend.

Jeez can this motherfucker just sell his team already and go back to running six flags?

Trim The Fat.

Goodbye Nick Goings, Jeremy Bridges, and DJ Hackett.

Hurney makes some salary cap moves after a very lucrative week where he re-signed Gross and tagged Peppers probably merely minutes before the 4 pm deadline.

if they were over by 10 million like everybody's been saying, they're pretty much under it by now between the releases which amounted to 4.75 mil, Landon Johnson's restructuring which saved 1 mil, and Gamble's salary cap move which saved 8 mil. Let's take a closer look at some of the guys we let go.


Jeremy Bridges came in 2006 2 games in because our offensive line collectively decided that, "HEY!! You know what?! This year seems like a good year to get injured!!!". He put together nothing special but as we all know anything short of completely shitting the bed buys you a roster spot in John Fox's eyes.

So the next year they tried him out at guard. ...bad idea. This guy is not an interior linemen at all. I know it's not often you see okay tackles who are awful guards instead of the more common okay guards who are awful tackles, but Jeremy was a special case. He continued his poor play there into the 2008 season when the inevitable injury bug finally arrived to help ruin yet another Panthers season, despite being Axl Rose-like late, and RG Keydrick Vincent was IRed by the dreaded groin strain. That has to be the worst kind of injury. He also ran into trouble off the field a few times.



DJ Hackett, the Wunderkind. I'm not German, but I'll take an estimated guess and translate that as Wonderkid, "Kid" as in "young player", and "Wonder" as in "I wonder when this fucker will ever heal from his weak ass injury and play a fucking game already". Hackett was highly regarded, even by me, when he left Seattle and came over here. He chose us over at least 2 other teams. At first, things were looking good, then one night, he stubbed his toe on a vanity unit and was out for like 6 weeks. He was like the Dan Morgan of WRs.

Nick Goings, AKA Mr. Fix it. This guy was a bit more than a role player/lunch pail career backup, but he also had a smile, and in Pantherland, you get a big following with a little bit of charm, I mean, because production is soooo totally overrated, right?

He had one decent year that put him on the map in 2004, when Davis's age caught up with him and DeShaun Foster broke his foot because his bones are made out of cathedral glass. He put up over 800 rushing yards which was pretty good, but one season does not make a player. Add in the fact that he was susceptible to concussions. Never good.

...something tells me I'm not going to miss these guys. Saying goodbye to an injury prone WR, a troubled OL, and a backup FB. ...Now lets go get Tony Fiammetta out of Syracuse.

It's Crunch Time

Like a college student cramming the day before the exam, it looks like Hurney is yet again gonna try to push our desires through at the last minute, like he always does. Sign Gross before the 4PM deadline today and it's pretty much a foregone conclusion to tag Peppers.

Hurney likes to make things like this interesting for the fanbase, but why the fuck do we want shit like this to be interesting? Much better to get this done in a timely fashion.

So make it fucking happen already.

Peppers' Wish list

JP is becoming a real malignant blob of dick butter, pretty much pulling out all the stops he can to avoid getting the franchise tag put on him.

I would've never believe someone if they told me before the season began that this socially-backwards introverted goofball would swing his dick around in the media and talk about how much he doesn't want to play in Carolina anymore.

In his latest development, someone close to him mentioned he wanted to be traded to only four teams, one of them being the Dallas Cowboys.

Gee, I wonder what the thought process was for him to want to be in dallas...

"UgH, iT's AMeriCa'S TeAM anD DEy Won fIvE SUpeRBowlS!!!!11!!"

First of all, if they even would consider trading for you, they wouldn't stick you in at OLB because they don't really need one you shithead. If anything they'd put you at DE because of the departure of Chris Canty. Secondly, what the fuck does Dallas have to trade to us they've got no first rounder and the Panthers could very well use a first round for compensation. Peppers is just aimlessly hurling shit at the wall and hoping that something sticks because we all know what happens when players are challenged to stay true to their word in the past. They back down. See Chicago-Lance Briggs for reference.

It's funny Dallas was one of the only teams mentioned. Peppers if you ever played there the media would slander you every game you didn't show up. It's a different media out there and they actually expect their players to be vocal leaders and produce and not take plays/games/seasons off, and the minute you fail they are going to be right there to kick you while your down. And after that happens what will be the status of your fragile morale and motivation? You'll wish you were back in Charlotte and hope the nightmare ends.

I can't help but think Carl Carey is in his ear with all this bullshit. If he was standing near me right now I'd drive nails into his balls with a nailgun and stick bamboo skewers under his fingernails.

look at this (Gross update)

here

Adam Schefter reports that Gross and the Panthers made significant progress on a deal, which should be made within the next few days. ...Schefter probably reported this an hour before any of the Charlotte beat writers got on their Hannah Montana laptops to write up a blog. I'm serious, they really make that shit.

...Stan Olson cleans his daily with a paper towel and some eyeglass cleaner. The deal is reported to be around the neighborhood of 9 mil a year. Sounds like a lot, but then again, we paid Peppers way more than that the past two years to not show up on the field for half the games. At least you know Gross brings it, and he's a LT. Those are kind of hard to find.

With that taken care of, if we can sign him by Thursday we can slap the tag on Peppers and work on shipping his goofy ass and his pine-cone personality to another team for a first round pick. Hope they don't expect him to move mountains for them and become a vocal leader, or do anything more than show up for 8 games a season, otherwise, they're sure to be disappointed.

Panthers sign assistant coach that nobody's ever heard of.

...well his name's Brian Baker. At least we were able to get that.

Baker worked in St. Louis most recently. That's TWO former assistant coaches hired off St Louis. That's fucking awesome right there, assuming the Rams defense was actually a feared one. ...but it isn't.

Seriously this is the best you could do? I mean c'mon, there's a shitload of college coaches to look at. I mean get on the horn, get some of these defensive coordinators from these schools in for an interview, I'm sure if you make 50 calls you might get at least one guy who wants to make some more money in the pros. Sunseri was a decent Dline coach and he came from the college level before he got the job.

So now, conceivably our two weak spots on defense, DBs and DL, have had position coaches leave, and instead of getting someone better, all we did was pretty much make a lateral move at best.

...this guy better have some fucking unbeatable secret to getting to the QB.

10 Best Fox/Hurney Draft Picks

As promised, a continuation of my countdowns.

TEN BEST

10. Jonathan Stewart RB (2008, 1st round)-Stewart burst on to the scene in 2008 becoming the best rookie RB drafted in the first round that year. He outperformed Darren McFadden and Felix Jones, and Rashard Mendehall was put on IR with Pittsburgh. J-Stew consistently broke tackles and ran MFers over while running the ball, his 836 yard first year is a little bit less than DeShaun Foster's career high, which is interesting considering Foster got his yards getting the ball handed to him most of the game, while Stewart spent much of his time as the complement back to DeAngelo Williams. His awesome rookie campaign is only the beginning of what I hope is a very good career for him.

9. Ryan Kalil C (2007, 2nd round)-Kalil struggled early on when the Panthers put him in at RG I think, when Hartwig was still around in 2007. Last year, however, he broke out of his shell and became a reliable blocker for us. It's looking more and more like the perception of him being the best center to come out of school in ten years is proving true.

8. Richard Marshall CB (2006, 2nd round)-Marshall was called upon early and often in his career. His rookie season he looked better than a lot of starting CBs when Lucas was banged up throughout the year and he had to fill in. He's not really improved from there but he still has plenty of time to turn around and become a ballhawk.

7. Chris Gamble CB (2004, 1st round)-Gamble was drafted and immediately started ahead of the CBs we had the year before. He had 6 picks his first year and like 7 his second. Then he had a bad year in 2006, but he's rebounded very well, and his intentions are really good for us. He re-signed real easy during the season, the only guy of the "BIG 3" to do so far.

6. Travelle Wharton OL (2004, 3rd round)-Travelle's been a starter his whole career with the exception of 2006 where he blew out his knee and was out for the year. It turned out to be a bad loss, since line play wasn't very good overall that year. He started at LT in 2005 but his best fit is inside a little at LG. He was a very big reason the Panthers running game was so successful this year and I hope that's only the beginning.

5. Julius Peppers DE (2002, 1st round)-Julius would be higher if he wanted to stay here but that's his choice. Regardless he is still a top 5 Panthers draft pick, and performed very well, ...most of the time. He holds the all time sack record with the Panthers, though that's not saying much since the Panthers haven't been around for that long.

4. Jordan Gross OT (2003, 1st round)-Jordan has been nothing but a consistent key cog anchor in the Panthers offense. As a matter of fact he's the only lineman who's been with us throughout the superbowl run and still here today. That could very well change since his status on returning is still pending. But here's hoping he accepts an extension and we can see him on the field again next year protecting our QB and blocking for Smash and Dash.

TOP 3



3. Will Witherspoon LB (2002, 3rd round)-For where he was drafted Will turned out to be a very good linebacker and reliable too. Overall he was better than Dan Morgan when you consider how many games they were able to start. He and Morgan side by side made an excellent tandem, ...when Morgan was actually on the field. In choosing between Dan and Will, the Panthers went with Morgan, they made a mistake and gave him the contract, so Witherspoon walked and got a deal with the Rams where they can't win a game because nobody else there has talent. ...cept for maybe Torry Holt but he's getting up there in the age dept.



2. DeAngelo Williams RB (2006, 1st round)-DWill staked his claim as the best runningback of that 2006 class by running for the highest yardage total out of any of them in their careers and scoring like 20 touchdowns. He was like the Steve Smith of runningbacks this last year, and the best one the Panthers have ever had so far. Hopefully, he can consistently be productive and continue to emerge as one of the premier backs in the league.



1. Jon Beason LB (2007, 1st round)-Here he is ruining Terrell Owens' life haha. Beason quickly emerged as one of the best MLBers in the entire league, very early on. In my opinion he's outperformed Willis so far in his career, and is far better than Posluszny in Buffalo. He's an outstanding cover linebacker, extremely reliable in the tackling department, and best of all, he brings it every single play. He's got one of the best motors in the NFL. The point of drafting Beason I think was to try to bring that Witherspoon/Morgan dynamic back into play, but he's better than both of them, and he's tough as nails. Another great trait of him is that he's a terrific leader on the field, he's the defense's mouthpiece and rightly so.

10 Worst draft picks of the Fox/Hurney era.

With nfl draft-mania approaching soon, I've decided to compile a 2 part comprehensive list of draft picks the Panthers have made real hits with, and also the real misses they've made over the years. Let's get started with the bad news bears of the Panthers' drafting since '02.

TEN WORST

10. Ryne Robinson WR/RS (2007: 4th Round)- In 2006, the Panthers boasted a horrible return game. They could've used DeAngelo Williams but putting their first round pick on special teams was just an unnecessary risk. They ended up putting Gamble on punt returns replacing Steve Smith, and he did horribly. They put Nick Goings in KR, but he was not anything more than a stop gap there. Enter Ryne Robinson, he was pretty much drafted to take their place. ...He did such a good job the Panthers decided to replace him there with Mark Jones after only a year. Talk about your failures. Now we've got a WR who isn't good at returning punts/kickoffs and isn't good at receiving either. I smell a cut this offseason.

9.Mike Seidman TE (2003: 3rd round)- All Panthers fans talked about the 4 years he was here was that he was going to replace Mangum and catch 50 passes a year and be better than Wesley Walls. But he could never stay healthy. After averaging a little more than 4 receptions a year, the Panthers cut their losses in 2006.

8. Nate Salley S (2006: 4th round)- The Panthers picked up this safety who wasn't on anybody's radar in the middle of the draft one year, then a year later, decided, "HEY! Lets start this guy! He's got Potential!" I mean, it seemed like a good idea. All he had to compete with was Deke Cooper, Mr. Ballhawk Extraordinaire. He was slowly but surely improving during Training Camp 07. ...then he blew out his knee. Hasn't done a thing since.

7. Bruce Nelson C (2003: 2nd round)- Nelson was one of the top Centers in the 2003 draft. That year the Panthers were taking a real "get stronger on the line" initiative. They drafted Bruce to be an eventual replacement for Jeff Mitchell, who was in the twilight of his career. He started ONE game in his career. Hip injuries were his downfall, and I think that was also a question mark also coming out of college. The worst busts are ones that you can see from a mile away. Bruce is retired now.

6. Evan Mathis OG (2005: 3rd round)-Mathis was drafted by Carolina, played as backup for a year, and then was pushed to be a starter for 2006. In training camp, Mathis was touted by a few fans and beatwriters alike as "one of the strongest linemen on the team". He failed miserably, and the revolving door at Right Guard continued the next year. He plays in Cincinnati now, ....as a backup.

5. Stefan Lefors QB (2005: 4th round)-Lefors was probably drafted by the Panthers because he was somehow related to Jake Delhomme. He was, I guess, a half-hearted attempt at an heir to starting QB in the future. He was outperformed in preseason play by an undrafted rookie just a year later. He plays Canadian Football right now and starts for some team I don't care to look up because it's just the CFL.

4. Randy Fasani QB (2002: 5th round)-I don't know if it's just the talent they pick or McCoy but the QB position for the Panthers was never one to churn out prolific passers. Fasani received a lot of playing time for a rookie in 2002 and put up a pathetic 15-44 for 171 yards, 0 touchdowns and 4 interceptions. After that he went team-hopping and got cut everytime, so he finally left football and became a cop. ...At least he ended up doing something productive with himself.

3. Keary Colbert WR (2004: 2nd round)-As far as bust possibility was concerned Colbert's first year in the league suggested he wasn't anywhere near that question. As a matter of fact he was so good in 2004 when Moose's contract expired in the 2005 offeason and he wanted more money Hurney basically told him "haha go fuck off" and went with the younger option to start opposite Steve Smith. What do you think happens? He catches 30 passes his next 2 years. As a starter in 2005, he was so horrible DeShaun Foster had more receptions and yards than he did. In 2006, he was pretty much buried in the depth chart. After 2007 the Panthers basically let him loose to go as a free agent. He signed a 7 million dollar deal with Denver and was traded to Seattle that same season. How does he keep getting work?

2. Eric Shelton RB (2005: 2nd round)-In a best-case scenario Eric Shelton is the starting running back for the Panthers and be the new Jamal Lewis. He had the size at 245 lbs. He was one of the better prospects. But he failed miserably. He somehow ended up on IR before the regular season even began in his first season. I mean look at his career stats: 8 carries, 23 yards for a 2.9 yard average. Worst part about this is when you consider the running backs drafted after him. Brandon Jacobs, Frank Gore, Marion Barber III. One of those guys is the best pure power back in the league, the other two are probowlers. Not to mention, we swapped 2nd rounders with Seattle that year. They got Lofa Tatupu with our pick, another Probowler.


AND THE NO.1 BIGGEST FAILURE....




1. DeShaun Foster RB (2002: 2nd round)-Foster was drafted top of the 2nd round in 2002, ahead of Clinton Portis, who pretty much is an annual shoe-in for the pro bowl, and if you ask me, I would've sent Foster's under-achieving ass to Washington/Denver just to have Southeast Jerome. NOT Portis, but just one of his schizo personalities would've done more good for this organization than Foster. Panther fans waited year after year for this guy's "breakout" season, but it never happened. He never even sniffed 1000 yards in a regular season. He has more career fumbles than touchdowns. He constantly struggled with injuries. He was terrible near the goal line. Flashes of breakaway games were few and far between, surrounded by poor, ineffective performances. I guess what I'm trying to say is he was pretty fucking terrible.

The Panthers gave this guy every opportunity they could and he never stepped up to the challenge. He is the #1 Panthers bust but he does hold the distinction of making one of the toughest runs in Panther history against Philadelphia in the 2003 conference championship game, in spite of the other 99% of his career which suggested he did not have any power at all. Foster now plays in San Francisco, where he's continuing his legacy of not hitting the hole well and not dropping his pads and turning the ball over on the west coast.

Tune in tomorrow when I list the 10 best Fox/Hurney draft picks in Panthers history! (I would've combined the two in one post but this is getting too fucking long)

2009 Forecast: 70% Chance of a Fall From Grace

If 2008's Panthers motto was "Believe in NOW!", 2009's should be "HUNKER DOWN PANTHERS!!!"

Not only are we losing an all-pro defensive end and maybe our anchor left tackle, but even other things just don't get easier for us.

"Why?" you ask? Well, let's take a look at who we're playing

NY Giants (12-4)
Atlanta x2 (11-5)
Miami (11-5)
New England (11-5)
Minnesota (10-6)
Philadelphia (9-6-1)
Arizona (9-7)
Dallas (9-7)
NY Jets (9-7)
Tampa Bay x2 (9-7)
New Orleans x2 (8-8)
Washington (8-8)
Buffalo (7-9)

I really hate the scheduling system they use sometimes. How the fuck did this happen? The worst team we face is Buffalo, which is pretty much average. ...yea. This fucking sucks. What kind of crack rock are they smoking to put us up against pretty much every playoff team and teams that probably would've been champs in other divisions?

Lets now gaze into my crystal ball and see what the future has in store...

Okay, lets start with the division. I'm gonna go with a lukewarm 3-3 here. Why? The Bucs are prime for a free fall. Every year their defense gets older and older, they're bound for another plunge, especially with a Head Coach who was a fucking defensive backs assistant 2 months ago. The Saints, well, we seem to match up well with them, but I'm gonna say we split here. Atlanta will probably sweep us if Matt Ryan can avoid the sophomore slump.

NFC East, yea, it gets way worse here. Lets see, we can't beat Dallas, we can't beat Philly, we used to be able to handle the Giants but that changed recently. We'll probably go 1-3 here with the sole win a slugfest with Washington that we barely eek out of on top. I hate this fucking division.

Intraconference. Okay, lets see, Minnesota always beats our ass so we can forget about winning that one. And Arizona, well, hopefully our NFC West game is at like week 15, because by that time, Arizona will be known as one of the worst teams in the NFL like the other 3 NFC West teams that end up drafting in the top ten every year, or they will have the division already wrapped up and by then resting their starters. NFL's going to probably schedule this game late in the season. We'll probably get our revenge.

And the AFC East. Hmmmm, Brady's return to NE. Loss. We've never beaten Miami, and Parcells has our number and he's an exec there. That's a loss. We'll beat Buffalo and the Jets though to go .500 against the other conference for the year.

All that equates to....7-9!!! Yay!!! Not good enough to make the playoffs, not bad enough to realize the weak links on the team and properly take care of them. And if half the team gets injured, Foxy fans can declare this year a mulligan that won't count against Fox's record, just like 2007 didn't count and 2006 and 2004 didn't count. Also, considering the schedule, they'll probably even consider this season a success because we didn't go 1-15. YAY! No 1-15!!! That's better than winning the division or going to the superbowl!!! Not going 1-15 is the pinnacle of he NFL baby!!!

-----Some Panther fans will see the silver lining in ANY cloud.

Update: Assistant coach hirings.

Panthers.com and other team news outlets are reporting that the Panthers have found their LB and DB coaches.

The news just came out a few hours ago today, which means, knowing the reporting abilities of the Charlotte area Panthers writers, they probably actually filled those positions 2 weeks ago.

Richard Smith has been announced as 'backers coach to replace Ken "Holy" Flajole. He coached as defensive coordinator previously for the Texans, and was just fired after this season. Here's a picture...

...He looks more like he'd be a DL coach, right? Just the sheer weight of him makes it seem that way. But hey, supposedly, he preaches discipline, and we definitely could use a little more of that on the defense.

The other guy, Ron Milus, worked as DBs coach in New York under Tim Lewis when he was shitting the bed at defensive coordinator there. Well that's just fucking dandy, he's probably gonna tell the DBs to do the exact same shit Tim told them. I certainly hope not though.

...lets ask John Fox about this new situation...

...yea.

For your morning entertainment: Bitches don't know....

...about his zone coverage.

LOL I just saw that pic and whipped this one up real quick. Hope it made you chuckle.

Gross/Hurney at Stalemate, plus Panthers tidbits

Gross's agent says the two sides aren't getting closer to any deal yet. And with Gross's pro bowl performance come and gone, his kung-fu grip on Hurney's balls get tighter and tighter.

In other "news", Steve Smith led the NFC in receiving yards, with 89. Oh how coincidental. Peppers recorded an interception, picking off Denver QB Jay Cutler in the pro bowl as well. And I think the last time he did that, ....was against a Denver QB. He also had a sack and a handful of tackles. Nice pro-bowl performance, but could we have asked him to put a game like that together in the regular season, instead of waiting till the probowl to show off because we know he actually has a little bit of motive now that he's looking for another team? Probably not.

-Beason played MLB like a fucking buzzsaw, as usual. No surprise there, he did so good they had to put Willis in at OLB, they just couldn't take him out. This kid's probably got one of the best motors in the league.

-If you go to the Panthers shop website Ken Lucas's jersey is on sale, ...at the same price as Julius Peppers. Wonder what they're trying to tell us there.

-In other prospective castaways news the Raiders are rumored to release Michael Huff, safety very soon. Most of you remember Michael Huff from back in the 2006 draft, before he was selected by the Raiders and sucked into obscurity, never to really be heard from again. At this point in his career Huff is still young and is pretty good at coverage, but his tackling is an issue. I'm pretty sure it's more the Raiders' crappy coaching staff and their revolving door at head coach than it is Huff. See if we can pick him up cheap, put Godfrey at nickle and make Meeks turn this kid into the ballhawk we saw when he played for the Longhorns.

-Still no developments on any assistant coach hirings.


...that's about it. LOL

Jordan Gross: Does he want to get off the bus now?

It has come to my attention and I have found several mistakes in some of my previous posts. Little mistakes that get overlooked in putting all the pieces together of a post when I have a lot of ideas and try to crunch them down to efficient statements. I should fucking proofread better in the future.

But on to the topic at hand. NFL fans, you know what's coming. It's that miserable time of the year between the Superbowl and the NFL Combine (who gives a shit about the probowl) where nothing real interesting happens, and the highlight of the football column is which Schmo got extended or re-signed.

Panthers GM Marty Hurney, who oversees all of the personnel contract relations, is currently in negotiations with Jordan Gross and his agent (who that is I have no fucking clue). Mind you, Gross' returning to the team long-term has been pending since even last year, when he rejected a contract clause, which would've made him a free agent in 2008 had the Panthers not franchised him. -----Since all the way back then he didn't know if he wanted to stay here, and a year and a half later we're still in that fucking level.


What could be going through Gross' mind? Could it be a change of scenery attracting him?? Could it be the prospect of working with new people? Could it be the prospect of working with a team that actually wants to improve at certain weak positions and who's coach isn't a stubborn fucking mule? (I won't divulge) Could it be that he was looking forward to re-signing when Fox was on the gravy train with biscuit wheels and doing good, you know, before that whole wreck on January 10?

We know we're going to lose our franchise DE. Peppers feels like getting exhausted and caught out of position routinely as a 3-4 OLB and missing tackles and playing sloppy because he doesn't have the energy or coordination required or to pass rush one play, drop in coverage the next, and repeat the process. .....and now we don't know if we're going to lose our franchise Left Tackle in Gross.

So in the 2009 Panthers offseason, so far, our entire defensive staff went to other cities, some of them even for a demotion. Our star DE wants out and last year we traded a disgruntled defensive tackle in Jenkins to the Jets for a 3rd and a 5th, and I don't think we got value out of that trade player-wise. If Gross decides to leave now, Hurney might as well drink a bottle of Listerine and call it a life.

Upon Further Review....

Last night, I wrote the blog below which pretty much panned Jake Delhomme and all followers. Over sleep and a hangover, I took some time to consider the mess that is our QB, and, focus, maybe, just maybe on the positives. I tried, like, .....real hard, and I almost convinced myself that, you know, maybe I'm being a little too harsh on the guy. I decided to youtube "jake delhomme+highlights" to try and commemorate a good year/career compared to "one bad game". Then I found this. Holy fucking shitballs...

Jake in Arizona game

Hmmmm, lot of forced throws, a lot of misread coverage schemes, bad decisions, poorly thrown passes,... so it's basically like every third Jake Delhomme game. Only this was the worst of them all.

The most important thing we can take from this experience is that it's most certainly not the first time he's played like this.... in 2008. 4 interceptions against Oakland, 3 interceptions against Tampa Bay. Even without throwing picks in the Minnesota game he was ineffective.

*sigh*

Panthers' QB Situation per Gantt. (permission to pull your hair out granted)

Darin Gantt has, I think, completely evolved into a bumbling Fox yes-man. He wrote this article about Panthers fans "QB dreams"....

...



Well if you don't feel like reading it or got so sick of the verbal hand job he gave Delhomme you vomited all over your keyboard, I'll give a recap.

There is a segment of the Panthers fan-base that's irate with Jake Delhomme and ready to replace him with just about anybody. But the reality is, the Panthers QB depth chart is likely to look extremely familiar next year.

...no shit. C'mon Gantt my 5 year old cousin could've told you that they'd walk in with the same fucking QBs. "Replace him with just about anybody" like there's no complexity about the situation. If I wanted to replace Jake with anybody I'd suggest fucking David Carr. That's when you say we'd want to replace him with "anybody".

Basanez said the Panthers offered him a contract before he chose the clean slate offered by his hometown Bears. From the Panthers perspective, that would have brought back the top four spots on the depth chart from last season. If they were serious about bringing in a challenger for the top job, would they have bothered clogging up the works by trying to bring last year's practice-squadder back?

Gee, I don't know Gantt, maybe because there's this thing called "competition" and, you know, you kind of bring in more players than you would require to test them out, and you know, pick the best option at the end?

Gantt contradicts himself here. First he talks about bringing in a challenger to Jake Delhomme and then he says bringing back a practice squad caliber player will muddle that process. What the fuck? You really think they'd guarantee Brett a damn roster spot if they had a few guys that were better?

Delhomme, Josh McCown and Matt Moore are all under contract through 2009. And personally, I think it's more likely Delhomme gets an extension this offseason than shown the door.

Holy shit Gantt you really went on a limb there with that Delhomme prediction didn't you? Did you visit a fucking gypsy to help you come up with that?

We'll see, but all those folks wondering about Matt Cassell or Derek Anderson or whatever "next best thing," they see in the draft shouldn't hold their breath.

Aha, funny. Good one there Darin. I honestly don't know if you're reluctantly making that prediction knowing we're fucked or you still are infatuated with Delhomme like the other 65% of the fanbase are still blindly committed to after that shitter he dropped in the playoffs.

Darin may be better than those idiot Observer bloggers but his tendency to stroke the players/coaches egos even after poor performance really tire me. Seriously, 31 other teams would be out to replace Jake's crawdad ass after turning the fucking ball over 6 times, but this is Pantherland, where there's no accountability whatsoever and we just waltz in the fucking door doing the same fucking dance we did last night.

As a matter of fact I think I can sum up the ol' yearly player evaluation Fox writes up...

Player: Jake Delhomme
#: 17
Pos: QB
Analysis: Well, he turned the ball over 6 times in the playoffs, ...in one game, but he should be QB because after all, at 34 he's still young, with his rebuilt elbow, and he led us to 3 playoff berths and it is what it is.

That's what I don't get. Delhomme's entire body of work, according to John Fox, is probably grossly generalized by the fact that he led us to a superbowl and 2 NFCC games. How about the fact that his last 2 playoff games he turned the fucking ball over 9 times? Does that even make a a cameo in your fucking thought process, John? Didn't think so. I'm so sick of that bullshit SB/NFCC appearance cop out all it does is stop us from giving the idea of benching Jake a second thought. Gee, I wonder how many Bears fans are pissed that Lovie Smith doesn't start Rex Grossman because he, too, led them to a superbowl. No matter how bad he sucks or how much he turns the damn ball over.

Darin is a real trip. He probably reads the carolinahuddle, which I am a featured member of, (pat on shoulder), sees anger in posts, sips his Earl Grey, strokes his chin, and makes these smug write-ups with a grin like he thinks his shit doesn't stink. You know, maybe there's a logical reason behind this madness Darin?

Ever hear of the giant Elephant in the room?

The Panthers' QB Situation is the big fucking elephant in the room. ...And I guess John Fox would be that blue-shirted baboon ass right in front of the elephant. Oh you guys, Foxy, Gantt, Hurney, etc, you guys don't feel the effects now, but when every year feels like the 2007 season pretty soon, you're going to be hoping that "next best thing" drops to you in the draft. Delhomme is serviceable at best, and last I checked, serviceable QBs don't win fucking superbowls and haven't since fucking Trent Dilfer and Brad Johnson. Every time the running game was shut down, Delhomme couldn't do a fucking thing. Even with Steve Smith and the savvy Moose running routes, his inaccuracy, errant throws, poor decisions, and tendency to force the ball in coverage have ultimately defeated him.

He should be fucking grateful he plays on the only team in the entire league that routinely tolerates this kind of unacceptable garbage play because they are so fucking stupid sometimes. So grateful he restructures his pay for league minimum, because he certainly didn't earn a fucking thing throwing it to Rogers-Cromartie all damn game.

Darin Gantt thinks we're irate at Jake for no reason. When week 1 comes and he still can't complete a pass then we'll see if there's still "no reason".

The Peppers Trade Proposal Extravaganza

Once Peppers has the tag slapped on him, which should happen soon, we'll probably never know the proposals teams put forth except for the one that Marty Hurney authorizes. Sure one or two may get out, but you know there will be teams just giving a half-assed effort at it just to see if we would actually bite. You know, like "hEy We'LL gIVe yoU A tHird RoUNdeR aNd A mOuNDs BaR fOR PePPErS!" <-----shut the fuck up.

Between Peppers freakish athletic stature and formidable range and pass rushing skills, combined with his tendency to take games off (see vs. Denver 2008) or years off (see 2007) his age, (29) and his lack of either leadership capabilities or simply a voice box, it's hard to gauge exactly where he might end up. One could just assume that any trade is possible, from one that can really delight you or piss you off, depending on which team you root for.

Proposition #1: Julius Peppers to Denver for 12th overall pick in the draft. Well, no doubt this would be the talk of the announcer's table at the NFL draft. Denver's defense is piss-fucking-poor and they happen to be switching to a 3-4 this year, which is the preferred defense Peppers would like to join. Plus they're a contender, so Julius shouldn't bark at this one at all. From Denver's perspective, they get a freak of nature DE/OLB to build their defense around, much like the Panthers were able to do when they drafted him in 2002. From the Panthers perspective, they cashed in on an investment and got a really valuable pick for him in return. Peppers is no spring chicken, but Jason Taylor went for a 2nd rounder last year, and he's like 1000 years old. What could the Panthers do with that pick? ...probably draft Michael Johnson, you know, Mr. Massive Question Mark and force me to throw my hat at the television and hurl insults at the screen.

Proposition #2: Julius Peppers + 4th round pick to Green Bay for 9th overall pick. Mike Trgocrap now works in Green Bay as a DLine coach, so his connection with Peppers could help him lobby for the Packers to pull the trigger, assuming people actually listen to what Trgovac has to say. (crazy thought, right?) Plus, again, Green Bay is just another team looking to convert to 3-4 action. That trade would propel us into the top ten and in comparison to the Denver prop, all we'd have to give up in addition is a 4th rounder. When the fuck has a 4th round draft pick ever panned out for the Panthers?

Proposition #3: Julius Peppers to Washington for 13th overall pick. NFL Rule of thumb # 192903: No list of prospective high profile trades for a player is complete without mentioning Washington as one of the suitors. It's just a rule of thumb. I guess Dan Snyder sees a player he likes on another team and his dick gets hard and he just has to have that player. The Skins are not shy to trade any draft pick for a player, they will readily do it, because unlike most teams, they like to build through free agency. ...I don't know why, because it's so much more expensive that way, but they're stupid and I guess they just want to sell jerseys so whatever.

Proposition #4: Julius Peppers + Ken Lucas to Oakland for 7th overall and 3rd round pick. Hey........when your owner is Al Davis anything is possible. That would make for the biggest trade in the entire offseason, or recent memory. Pull off this type of deal and Rich Eisen will look on with shock and awe, Chris Mortensen will look on with a shit eating grin on his face like he knew the whole thing was going to happen all along and Mel Kiper's head will spin and steam will shoot out from his ears until his stone-hard fucking helmet head blows off his neck, flies into the crowd, and kills a fan. Panthers get a top ten selection and a 3rd round pick to tinker with later on. Al Davis is a demented fucking lunatic who should retire but is unconciously keeping the Raiders in a shithole. The guy should be popping Geritol and sitting on his armchair watching Green Acres and going to sleep at 6:30 PM but instead he's walking around in black Raiders jackets and getting into media wars with Lane Kiffin, -----who could probably beat the shit out of his old ass. Since Oakland could use some secondary help with Nnamdi hitting the market and cutting DeAngelo Hall loose in the middle of the season, the Panthers could throw Lucas in to sweeten the deal and draft a cornerback later on with that third round pick.

Proposition #5: Julius Peppers + Panthers 2nd round pick to Detroit for 20th overall and 2nd round pick. Detroit screams "FAIL". Peppers wouldn't be too happy about it, but fuck him, we payed him an assload of cash. Who knows. As for who I would select in those picks. Well.... Stafford and Sanchez are interchangeable. I look at some of the mocks, some people have Stafford ahead, some would have Sanchez ahead. I would personally prefer Stafford on experience alone but I'd be happy to take Mark. Maualuga tops my list of defensive players from where'd we pick. He has the size and speed to rush the passer and he's just a fucking beast. Imagine for a second having Davis, Beason, and Maualuga line up side by side. Now just contain your uncontrollable enthusiasm before your family has you committed. Everette Brown is the only first round DE I'd take a chance on.

...but of course the Panthers don't take QBs. They'll be just fine going into week one with Delhomme in there ready to throw interceptions again. The other two they would probably agree with taking. I can't complain about their judgment overall on first rounders though. Even if they stockpile talent at the same position they've consistently panned out for the most part. I just think we need a fucking QB, period. And with the kind of running game we have, plus the most prolific WR in the game and a savvy vet, PLUS Rip Scherer as a QBs coach, Stafford or Sanchez shouldn't have as much a problem transitioning to the pro level as Jamarcus Russell or Matt Leinart.

....only time will tell....

....Nothing going on....yet.....

Well it's been a few days since my last news roundup and no new developments whatsoever. Uh, yea. But that could change very shortly.

Tomorrow is February 5. On that day, the Franchise Tag period begins. Which means that the Panthers have until the 19th to slap that tag on Peppers, and put him on the market for sale. Hopefully, we get a nice big fish to bite, AKA, a first round draft pick in return. Until then, I will keep you updated, regularly, as much as possible. I'm so dedicated I've hired a cracked team of web investigators to scour the internet, call up a few team sources, and find out anything they can.


They're not the most coherent bunch, but they're more competent than the Observer's blog writers.

John Fox's Double Talkin' Jive

The bleacher report made this article that I got a kick out of.

basically the synopsis is analyzing Fox's baseless, effortless, careless answers to questions made by the press, in patronizing fashion. Many people in the Carolinahuddle board have said the answers are just mindless fodder for the press and his effortless answers and the Panthers' seemingly effortless lousy performances sometimes are only a coincidence.

What the press lacks is an interpreter. Someone who knows how to decipher this crap that comes out of his mouth that makes no sense sometimes you either think he is a moron or he's just telling you to go fuck yourself without being so curt. So I went into the archives at Panthers.com and dug up this article after the Panthers awful loss against Arizona, a team that they had beaten 5 consecutive times, including once in the 2008 regular season, and in a stadium they had previously been undefeated in that year.

On his message to the players at the final team meeting: We had a great season and a bad game. Unfortunately, it occurred when it did. But walk out of here with your head up high. All in all it was a heck of a season with a lot of good things. It's a good core of players to move forward with.

(Translated): Who gives a fuck if we lost we went 12-4 and as long as I reached that 3-1 goal I like to make every year, I'm happy as a fat fucking guy in White Castle. We lost but 12-4 is 12-4.

On how he would characterize this year's team: A very high-character team. I think probably as fun a year as I've ever had in coaching. It was a good combination of guys, coaches. It was a heck of a bunch to coach.

(Translated): We all got along like pigs and a fucking mud pit. Oh man all the fun times we've had. We played hopscotch on our days off, went to Applebees for lunch when the restaurant wasn't that busy and asked for a table of 60, and watched spongebob cartoons.

On if he had a chance to talk to quarterback Jake Delhomme about his game: Yeah. He had a bad game. He didn't have a bad season. He's not a bad quarterback. He had a bad game. It happens.

(Translated): Listen, Jake is my QB. He could've thrown 8 interceptions in 8 consecutive pass attempts and I'd still send his ass out there to the huddle because he's my guy, and benching him for someone else would not make him my guy anymore. It would make me a cheater, an unfaithful cheater I tell ya. I like to apply the sanctity of marriage in my relationship with my QB. You don't cheat on your wife and you don't cheat on your QB. Jake and I hold a sacred bond that I'd rather him throw his way to 0-16 than get a competent signal caller, because having Jake Delhomme as a QB is more important than winning.

On if he expects Delhomme to be a scapegoat for the loss: I suspect like any loss we all become scapegoats. But that's part of it, and we just move forward.

The fans want people fired to bring improvement. We don't do that here. We like to bang our heads against the wall repeatedly with undying persistence using the same strategy it doesn't matter if it's clearly not working and I'm starting to get a concussion and a subdural hematoma. Listen the fans are stupid. They're always wrong, ...because they're fans. It doesn't even matter if they're right, they're still wrong just because they're fans.

On if there was anything that happened that led to Delhomme's five interceptions: Having not seen the tape yet, I can't really speak to that. Probably the sack-fumble was a bigger play than the interceptions, because I think that gave them life. We started great. Even with a kickoff out of bounds early, we knocked them back out of field-goal range. I think the sack-fumble was a huge play early that resulted in a score and gave them the lead, 14-7, and then it snowballed from there.

Well they got out to an early start and I just didn't know what the fuck I was doing then. They got a lead and I immediately abandoned the run for no reason, ...even though it worked the entire year and got us to the point we were. I lost control of the team, Jake, and my bowels because I came up with a shoddy gameplan.

On playing more zone coverage pass defense in the first half than in the second half: I think they had a heck of player (Larry Fitzgerald) that caught six balls - two of them he wasn't even covered on. They threw it to him 20-some times. I don't think that's why we lost the game. We were fortunate they didn't score more than 33. That was 10 more than they scored the last time, and we turned it over once at the five (yard line) and that gave them a score. There would be a lot of reasons. But we look at the tape and we understand what happened. You just don't give the ball back to the third-ranked offense in the National Football League six times.

Well I was surprised he didn't get 300 yards in this game. Two grabs he got he didn't have anybody covering him. I wouldn't know why that happened because I was too busy unwrapping another pack of Winterfresh and scratching my balls on the sideline because I got eczema down there over the week.

On if he considered dedicating one player to shadow Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald: By design, we always had a defensive player on him, sometimes two. But we haven't done that (shadow a player) all season and we didn't do that in the first game.

We like to play weak ass zone defense because giving up 6 plays to a touchdown is better than giving up one big play to a touchdown. Despite the fact that I was facing arguably the best wide receiver in the NFL, I decided to go with the same shitty defense that gave up 30 points in, like, 6 of the last 8 games in the regular season.

On if he believes defensive end Julius Peppers, who will be an unrestricted free agent, wants to stay with the Panthers: Julius, who I have the utmost respect for, he's a private person. He's a different person than other people. It's a process, and he's fairly private with the process. I'll leave it at that. I've got no complaints with Julius. I've got no questions of his commitment. It's the business part of it and it's a process. I think he did a great job of focusing on football this year and not letting anybody from the outside make it a distraction, and I have a lot of respect for that.

Peppers is a fucking mute who never talks in the locker room unless it's his imaginary friend he's exchanging words with. He's ass backwards socially, so you can't expect him to elaborate on his feelings about staying in Carolina when he doesn't even know how to talk to people or what a conversation is. Last week I asked him, "Hey Julius, you know what a swim technique is?" and he just started drooling and stuck a hot wheels car up his nose.

On if he knows in his mind whether Peppers would prefer to remain with Carolina:
I've had conversations with him; I tend to keep those private. Like I said before, I've got the utmost respect for Julius. I think those things are between me and Julius.

Julius and I are close. I've had plenty of conversations with him, including his status long term with the team, but I can't elaborate on that. I've also discussed with him what his favorite TV show is and how many call girls he orders every night, although, there is a language barrier because like I said before he doesn't know how to talk, so we usually use a chalkboard.

On how he would gauge the priority of keeping Peppers: I'd say it's important. I think most people would see that as being important, just like keeping Jordan (Gross) here, and I think keeping all of our core players here. I can't predict future.

(...??????)

On if he anticipates any changes to his coaching staff: I don't predict any, but it's still early in that process - I think too early to predict or decide on.

I know that guy Trgovac will certainly be back if it's my call to keep him. He was looking like a lobotomy outpatient on the sidelines in that game like he had no fucking idea he was even in the stadium, but I just told him after the game, "hey, it doesn't matter if you suck at coordinating. If you can chew gum, you have a place in my coaching staff."

(eds note: that was before Trgo decided to leave on his own accord)

On the emotions of the last 24 hours: Thankfully, I've done it a lot. I think you've got to get to that high before you can get the disappointment. As I mentioned last night, there's only one happy team. There are going to be two sad teams today. The reality is there are no ties. Somebody has to lose. So at the end of it all, the only truly happy person is the guy with that Lombardi Trophy. That's the race we all get in, we all fight for, and, unfortunately, there's only one that gets it.

I just mope around my house, chewing my gum and taking prescription anti-depressants to complement my already dead-pan emotionless personality just to make damn sure the loss doesn't fizzle in my head and force me to make a decision that is necessary for the good of the team. Hey, I'm just glad I made the playoffs. No team makes a goal to make the superbowl every year. That's just crazy talk.

On if any players will need offseason surgery: Not too many things that I want to discuss publicly right now. But again, I haven't met with our medical people extensively. But those are things that we'll weed out as we move forward.

Well in a few weeks you'll probably hear that Damione Lewis has shoulder surgery but I'm gonna wait and let you get surprised and pissed off.

On how hard it is to say good-bye to the players knowing that there will be changes: It's like that every year from '03, '05, '93, '89. There are a lot fun players to be with and a lot of good teams that don't stay the same. There are not too many teams in this league - even the Super Bowl champ doesn't stay the same. It's just the landscape of what we do and the National Football League at present time. I think that's one of the neat things about it. That team picture - you look back 15 years from now and it brings back a lot of memories.

(Okay, I don't understand where the fuck he comes from here because the Panthers didn't even have a team in '93 and '89, unless he's talking about where he was an assistant but you work with like 5 fucking players as an assistant. I guess he was just getting a sense of corny baseless nostagia here)

Panthers organization would do well to understand the Steelers success instead of just imitating basic philosophies

Well I think I made a Guinness record for longest title of a post, but I digress. It's hard to put that much perspective in a title smaller than that one.

Anyway, if you haven't heard already, or if you're so out of touch with technology you can't find a television near you, the Steelers just won Superbowl 43 about an hour ago. Anyway, this is their 6th Superbowl win in franchise history, the most of any other team in the league, and this most recent victory propels them over a tie with the Dallas Cowboys and 49ers with 5 apiece.

Now it seems perfectly acceptable for one team to emulate another, especially a team that has only been in the league for 14 years. Last year Jerry Richardson said that he wanted to be a more physical team that could run the ball well and played hard-nosed defense, and when the 60 minutes expired your opponent was exhausted and bruised. There is no doubt that this was the consensus of the brass of the Panthers, and that, of course, this wasn't the only Steelers trait they wanted to emulate. I kinda know some of the other things they admired that they didn't have the time to elaborate. That's why this piece expands on the ideas. This will be a suggestive synopsis on some of those suspected traits. Lets get started.



1. It is perfectly acceptable to desire continuity when it comes to head coach. ...Just make sure you've got a person with a good head on his shoulders when you do.
I know what you're thinking. "Oh he went 12-4, that buys him another 5 years to do whatever the fuck he wants even if it sinks the Panthers into obscurity."

Listen. John Fox achieved early success with a team as a first time head coach. It happens. It's always happened. But if he's stringing together back to back losing seasons and playoff appearances are few and far between by 2015, I'm not remembering 2003 and thinking he can still go there. Fox can be brilliant sometimes but too often his gameplans are grossly exposed to be a consistent winner. He isn't really strong at breaking down the Xs and Os and beating the other team with his mind, as sometimes you are required to do, and instead relies a little too much on just outmatching the opponent physically. And worst of all, he doesn't realize a weakness on his own team when he sees one. Too many times he has refused to fix what isn't working out, and it has hindered his progress. He reminds me too much of Marty Schottenheimer sometimes. He, too, was as stubborn as a mule, and you can't say San Diego hasn't been better off after firing him. Norv Turner came in after the top seeded Chargers went one and done in the playoffs and the next year led the team to an improbable AFC Championship game. The Steelers coaches have long been known to field competitive teams at least most years. Fox has trouble reaching the playoffs and stringing back to back winning seasons. Trust me when I say Fox is not a "be-all end-all" when it comes to coaching the Panthers.


Know when to say "when", when it comes to replacing aging, diminishing starters.

I like Delhomme. I mean I really do. But I don't like him enough to turn the ball over skatey-eight fucking times every playoff game we compete in. Just because he led us to an improbable Superbowl visit in 2003 when he was 28 does not mean he can do it when he's 40. Players' abilities eventually all deteriorate over time. Brett Favre can't lead a team to a Superbowl like he did in 1996. You saw first hand, without a running game he was shit in New York.

Delhomme played like garbage each and every single time the Panthers' run game was stopped. You know full well, eventually, a team is going to stop your running game, no matter how good it is, and when it happens, you better make sure you have a damn good QB who knows how to read a fucking defense. Jake Delhomme looks like he's confused as shit sometimes when he's in the pocket. Then he throws a wobbly, inaccurate crappy throw, and you're just crossing your fingers and lighting a candle to Saint Anthony everytime he drops back to pass. If not for Steve Smith's theatrical Ringling Brothers circus grabs, Jake would not have anyone to bail him out sometimes.

IMO the best teams invest in the future of a position well before a player is set to call it quits. The Patriots have Rodney Harrison aging every second, and guess what, they've got an equally talented young buck waiting for his name to be called upon already (Meriweather). The Panthers, on the other hand, have a bad habit of not doing a damn thing until the player retires, and then go through the pain of a hole at one position while trying to bolster it, if they didn't already go through the pain of a player with diminished capabilities starting already. Mike Minter did not play well in 06, and Rucker had two terrible, unproductive seasons before retiring, and in that span, was never benched in favor of a younger option, probably just because he had tenure, and Fox can't notice when players get old and crusty. Jeez, anyone else wonder if Fox keeps his bread way after it turns green and shit and thinks it's still good?

Sometimes, assuming a risk is a critically necessary undertaking.
The last 4 Superbowl winning QBs were drafted in the first round. Ben Roethlisberger and Eli Manning both led clutch game winning drives in the closing minutes of their respective games. Are you still wondering why teams draft QBs high, even if it has a chance of not panning out? Let me tell you, first round QBs get a bad rap, because of guys like Akili Smith, Alex Smith, Jamarcus Russell and Ryan Leaf. These are all QBs thrown into teams with no direction, no supporting cast, and no running game. On the other hand, QBs like Big Ben, Rivers and Eli have had a good supporting cast to surround themselves with, which in turn, helped them develop quicker and better. The Panthers do have a good supporting cast for a QB to develop on. Williams and Stewart were the best RB tandem in the entire league and Steve Smith is one of the most prolific wide receivers. Not to mention, with a little continuity the offensive line can repeat its dominance this year. This is no league to be fucking conservative and stingy. The only teams that had success are ones that took calculated risks and put something on the line in an effort to improve. If the Steelers thought the same way Fox did, Tommy Maddox would still be QBing the team into mediocrity and Big Ben would be elsewhere. Fox just has this inherent philosophy that he can build a superbowl winner by side-stepping or avoiding necessary roster moves required for contendership. Fielding outstanding QB play is just one of many areas carelessly ignored.

There's a reason they have those other 6 rounds in the draft.

Not every starter has to be a fucking first round draft pick. If that was the case, it would take 22 years of drafting talented guys to fill in every position, and by the time all those years elapsed, the guys you drafted first those first 7 years would likely be retired by then.

Basically, what those day two picks do is either A) give you quality depth at a certain position or B) give you a quality starter if you have enough patience and interest invested in the guy. The Panthers have neither. Too often later round picks never see the field and never get a chance to be thrown out there and show us what they can do. Also, some guys we've carelessly thrown out have found success elsewhere, for example Tony Brown of Tennessee and Jovan Haye in Tampa Bay. Philly had a top 3 defense this season and only 2 starters were first round draft picks. Lamar Woodley just had a phenomenal year as a linebacker in Pittsburgh. Meanwhile, the guy drafted right before him, Dwayne Jarrett, is lucky if he gets in 3 plays a game, let alone activated on Sunday.

Part of John Fox's reputation is the fact that as far as coaching the Panthers goes, all we have to compare him to is George Seifert and Dom Capers. But it's kinda like comparing dick size to men who suffer from micropenis. At the end of the day, it's a no contest because there's no dispute between which is superior. That doesn't mean there aren't potentially better options available elsewhere. I often find myself thinking maybe the entire Panthers organization had shifted into pure conservative, take-no-risks gear because making plain dumb mistakes in the infancy of this franchise caused it to become gun-shy even in the most obvious examples of replacement. Sometimes I wonder if Fox has his fucking head screwed on tight the way he was ready to maintain an entire defensive coaching staff after giving up 30 points almost each and every single fucking game we played in the second half of the season. Then I wonder, "wouldn't it be great if the Panthers franchise had a set of balls but knew which risks to take at the same time?"