CPantherKing

A rebuild happens with pieces in place. Not a total reset. That is the formula to be the Lions or Jets. The 2002 and 2011 rebuilds had solid offensive leadership and playmakers on the roster for defense and offense. They did not sell off Smitty, Muhammad, Walls, Gross, Kalil, JStew, DWill, Garcia, Campbell, Johnson, Rucker, Jenkins, Morgan, TD, and Minter. Looks like the 2023 rebuild will carry over Moton and Luvu. This is going to be another long and painful lesson for Tepper. I hope they prove me wrong and draft like the Walsh-McVay 49ers.

Peyton Manning even said during his rookie season the only reason they were in any game was because of Faulk. The team was under achieved with Mora and they already had eyes on Edgerin James with the 4th pick in the draft to replace Marshall Faulk. They got a LB and DE for Faulk that did nothing for the team. The Panthers going to draft an Edgerin James to pair with a Peyton Manning? I expect the Panthers will just load up on defensive players that won't be here past their rookie contract with those draft picks.

Teams that set their sights on mediocrity stay there. 2 to 3 years to go from bottom feeder to contender. Mediocrity is never the destination for a champion.

Be careful choosing a sophomore QB who has had 4 WRs who are top 15 draft picks. I've been looking closer at his clutch game situations with the final drives to end the 1st half and his ability to carry the team to a win at the end of a game when the defense and running game struggle. His footwork gets sloppy, he makes bad decisions, and he forces balls into receivers who are covered by 2 to 4 defenders at the elements of the college game that translate well to the NFL. I don't see him following the same pattern of Haskins and Fields. I think he will be an exceptional game manager in the NFL. He reminds me of Teddy Bridgewater coming out of Louisville. Definitely not worth a top 20 pick. If he can carry the team to victories instead of constant blow outs, maybe worth a late 1st round pick. Otherwise, a possible 2nd round pick if he falls. Not a definite franchise QB option.

Sad but true. Best QB option came from a non-Fitterer GM. Too bad they threw him out when he told everyone the problem and what was about to happen to the Panthers. Teddy was right. I believed him. Then again I also saw the problems incoming with the Rhule hire. Tepper wanted Rhule. Marty did not. Rhule convinced Tepper Marty was in the way and used Teddy as a prime reason. Rhule was wrong. Tepper bought into his BS. I think Tepper will buy into Fitts BS too, which is apparent with this dumb CMC trade with draft picks that are going to one of the worst talent evaluation rooms in the NFL. College HC incoming now that Fitt made the Panthers a very risky choice for any legit championship caliber HC/OC/DC with NFL experience.

Chinn is the only one you mention that a team can be built around. Everyone else should be sold for draft capital if you have a good GM, which the Panthers do not have. Doesn't matter now. CMC is gone to a conference team. You only come by RBs like Faulk or CMC who can supercharge any offense 1 to 3 times in a decade. Not his fault he was never paired with an OC that could utilize him. Sean Payton wanted to work with CMC too. Oh well. There goes that bargaining chip.

CMC is a Marshall Faulk type RB and they never used him that way. Just like the Colts before they shipped him to the Rams and he created the Greatest Show on Turf with an undrafted QB, a rookie WR, a bust starter at WR who turned out to be a good #4 route running receiver, a talented #2 WR who was forced into the #1 WR role in previous seasons, and a fumble prone speedster WR who was used as a deep threat to stretch defenses. At least the Colts sent him from the AFC to the NFC. The Panthers just made sure they won't be able to beat the 49ers for the foreseeable future of CMCs career. Dumb GM move to send CMC to a team in the conference. This team is NO LONGER attractive to any possible championship head coach. CMC was the piece to build the offense around. Not worth the draft capital the Panthers received when you see the LACK OF TALENT and IMPACT they have drafted over Fitterer's time here. This is a bad move by a GM. Especially, when there is NO immediate impact player or top pedigree QB like Peyton Manning to be had in the draft.

We've seen enough of the damage Fitterer has done. He can't get it right. He will drive this franchise into decades of being Jets level bad.

Fitterer at the helm. This is going to get Jets level nasty.

Jimmy G and CMC. 49ers season went from bad experiment to SB contender. Guess you all get to see why Jimmy G paired with CMC was the correct decision. Just not on the Panthers now because the front office can't spot a QB who can win games. The 49ers are one good #2 receiver away from winning the SB.

I really would hope the Panthers do not shop talented championship leadership. That is hard to replace. You keep them and build around them as long as they can play/produce. 4 defense and 5 offense is the key. Shaq and Chinn are the only qualified defenders to build around. CMC, Corbett, and Bozeman are the only ones qualified on offense. Then you surround them with as much freakish talent as possible that will follow them. Moton, Ickey (guard), Moore(#2), Burns (pass specialist), Brown (pass specialist), Horn, and Luvu (pass specialist) will be the only ones to keep if they follow the leaders. Could trade them. CJ may be on this list. Don't trade the leaders! Need 2 more leaders on offense and 2 more leaders on defense to build any type of reliable foundation for a championship team.

So, why do teams keep running up the middle? First play Rams went with was a run directly at Brown for a 3 or 4 yard gain. Teams go after Brown on 3rd and long with running plays with a high rate of success in converting 3rd and long 1st downs. I think you have just chosen to watch a few plays you like.

So you are saying that drafting a QB is completely pointless in the success of a QB? Got it!

Kris Jenkins could rush the passer racking up sacks and shut down the inside run. He anchored a DL that prided itself on stopping the run. This DL has no DT anchor. The defense gets gashed up the middle all the time. Gives up yards and first downs. 3rd and long rushing 1st downs has been ridiculous this season with the RB going right up the gut after the opposing OL take advantage of getting Brown out of position. Brown is far from being Kris Jenkins. He is far from even getting an all pro vote. When your team loses you look for anything as an improvement. Even if it is bad for a championship team. Glad to see Brown going from bust to serviceable this season. Will he hold up? I hope so, or he is back to bust level. Anyone with eyes still knows he is inconsistent and a huge target for opposing offenses running the ball. Is he even on the same level as Buckner? I don't think so.

Mark Brunell is the reason Ben Johnson has looked good. The team that gets Ben Johnson will be disappointed.

Well, who else said that about available QBs until a better QB comes around? I have been right according to Sean Payton about QBs. Teddy would never be a starter. He is a career backup who can come in and win. Jimmy G can be the starter and win in the playoffs.

Simple checklist... Can defense consistently get turnovers, tackles for loss, and stops on 3rd down? No. Can the QB produce at least 30% GWD? No. Can the receivers produce 5 big plays per game and catch 60% of their passes? No. Can the OL allow the QB and RB to be patient behind the LoS and develop plays to control the clock? No. Has the HC been able to put their players in close games and make the calls to win more than 50% of those close games? No. That's the. Checklist to be a champion. Coaches like McVay and Bill Walsh prepared their players for championship situations, put their team in a game winning position, and made the key calls/direction to tap into that preparation while making it simple on star players. The catch where Montana throws the ball to Clark for the game winning TD was prepared and Walsh told Montana exactly where and how to throw it before they huddled up to call the play. If players are better than the other team, then they blow them out like a college game. If it's a close game and the game comes down to the final drive, then the play calling and preparation have a greater impact than the even level of talent on the field.

So, what you are saying Kyle is if the 49ers simply protect the ball, then they win the game? I agree! Seems like you are just going to copycat the other 4 coaches game plans and reinforce to your team not to be like Jameis Winston and the Saints with a comedy of errors. We'll see you open up the playbook in the last 4 to 8 minutes of the game if trailing, and control 25 minutes of the second half. Brilliant! Expect a low offensive scoring game from the 49ers. Expect the 49ers defense to go for turnovers all day long while following CMC around and taking him away as an option. Tip drills, sack fumbles, jump on the ball when a Panther simply puts it on the ground. That sum up your game plan Kyle?

His hitch steps are horrible. Result: this throws his timing off with his receivers. He steps to the side and opens his hip to shoulder his throws down field. Result: floated deep balls 5 or more feet off target. He straight legs his throws on the front foot. Result: no knee bend will lead to a flat floated ball. This is lazy footwork from a short QB. Take away his first read. If you are a DL, jump in 1 second if he looks your way for the quick pass that Baker seems to take 80% of the time. There are several drills that can help all of this. Too bad he is unaware of them after all these years in football.

CMC, Zylstra, Arnold, and Abdullah were the most reliable route runners and hands on the team last season. CMC is the only one that remains.

No doubt in my mind Mark Brunell will be the OC when Ben Johnson gets a HC shot.

So, can't get the ball back and can't control the clock. Sounds like Matt Rhule Ball to me.

The TEs are who I thought they would be. The problem is Rhule/Fitt and their attempt to force a square peg into a round hole with Thomas. This team would have Hunter Henry, Dan Arnold, and Jelani Woods at TE right now (Also, Andrew Booth CB and Desmond Ridder) if I got my way in the draft. Instead, we got Vernon Butler, CJ Henderson, Tommy Tremble and Sam Darnold while wasting space and time with Thomas and Sullivan. The moves for this team have been disappointing.

I saw this coming since 2013 with Gettleman, and I knew Rhule was going to continue the tailspin. This has been in the works since Gettleman chipped away at the team that was built for 2013 and won in spite of him in 2015. A ton of leadership and talent on that team (Gross, Kaill, Wharton, Olsen, Smitty, Cam, DWill, JStew, Tolbert, Johnson, Luke, TD, Anderson, Addison, Captain, Norman, Blackburn, Beason, and Mitchell) was widdled down by 2017. Gone too were Beane and McDermott. In came the new ownership who followed up the Gettleman fiasco with this Rhule implosion. The years of Gettleman and Rhule have left this team with nothing to stand on now. The Panthers had the foundation for a dynasty of 10 to 20 years of success. Yes, it may have been hot and cold until McDermott and Beane took over, but the pieces were all in place. Shows you how 2 really bad decisions on leadership with Gettleman and Rhule can put a team into a 10 to 20 year tailspin. The Panthers do have the pieces in place for a miracle turn around, but they will need one of the best coach/gm combos to pull it off.

See, Matt Rhule can't even game plan for a trip to McD... McD Employee: "May I take your order?" Matt Rhule: "1 second! 1 second!"... "Sweet and Sour"... "Dayum it!"