frankw

Grass really should not be this divisive of a topic. The franchise will survive. On the flip side though the Panthers billionaire owner does not need people to shield him from the obvious. He's not in this for kindness.

You are what your record says. 0-8 was coincidentally a similar record that was flouted regularly for the guy before Teddy as a reason why he was washed. Sam will be held to the same standard. There were no tears shed for guys like Eric Reid when the team moved on so why should this be any different? I wish Bridgewater luck with the rest of his career. He now has a very nice financial cushion for only a year worth of employment and has a new team. In the years to come career wise he will be able to take whichever path he chooses. That is a luxury many players never acquire.

Good for DJ. Whatever happens with qb I hope he is able to take the next step. It sucks to see talent squandered. Just get the man the ball.

Are you going to be alright tonight? There are hotlines you can call if you are having trouble coping. Be safe.

Sam Darnold a recent draft bust is worth building around but Justin Fields can only be compared to Vince Young Michael Vick and Jamarcus Russell? I don't know what the future holds for either of these kids but this will be an interesting take to revisit in January.

As nice as it would be to land Fields I just have a hard time believing he makes it to 8. If we want him we may have to make a move. I guess that's the price you pay for establishing a little culture in a 5 win season.

Yes Matt Rhule the 100 million dollar man and David Tepper the billionaire who hired him were powerless to stop that devious Marty Hurney from sabotaging the season by signing Teddy Bridgewater. Surely they had little input and thoroughly trusted the expertise of the former radio host.

Thanks for the clarification. I agree with you completely about the signing. We never should have let Bradberry walk either. So much stupidity.

I didn't initially realize we were eating 17 million in dead cap for this. The only bonus is the extra draft pick. Panthers mgmt owes the fans after that terrible signing. We need more than Sam Darnold and Will Grier...

Hallelujah!

Yeah he was really good for us. Looking back I would have picked Star over Short but what's done is done. Star is talented but remember Hopkins and Kelce were also in that draft and Mathieu too.

Didn't the team have one of the league's worst run defenses the year before we drafted Brown? Pick your poison. If we didn't miss on Greg Little the line might be in better shape right now but Brown has been a much welcomed addition.

Imagine a scenario. It's the night before the draft and you are the Panthers gm fresh off your first hire with such a responsibility. As you take a gander at your qb room you see Teddy Bridgewater Will Grier a former xfl quarterback and your offseason last resort option Sam Darnold from the Jets. Do you pat yourself on the back and say I'm done here or do you exhaust all further options?

Tepper is not setting the draft board. But he has some input like pretty much every other owner. And if you think every owner who does not have a franchise qb isn't in their front office personnel ears telling them the obvious you are living outside of reality. You can't make money off a team without the central piece that brings it all together and that's what this is about. It's a business.

It is a quarterback driven league. These threads are reminiscent of ten years ago. Now the position is even more important. Some people will never get it.

Of course there is a chance Darnold works out I mentioned that in the post. But there is no historical precedent to compare with for this rare situation right? Common sense says the odds are not stacked in favor of Darnold out of the blue becoming an elite quarterback in one offseason wouldn't you agree? If you are telling me you want a qb at pick 8 this thread says otherwise. No one is telling you what to do, I'm not dictating anything to you but simply offering a viewpoint based on an observation I made. Quarterback is and at this point in time likely always will be the most important position on the field so teams will keep drafting them high and yes our team may be one of them again soon we don't know. Anywho good chat.

Well it isn't hard to tell who here does not care for the idea of taking a quarterback in the first round because they make sure to remind you at every opportunity and steer all conversations. There is nothing wrong with not wanting to draft a quarterback. It is understandable to be risk averse. But it is the offseason and what else is there to talk about with the draft two days away? There is also the very real reality that Darnold does not work out. Most of us would be perfectly happy with him becoming a solid starter. But what are the odds? They are not significantly higher than a rookie. We are also desperate to unload the previous quarterback who turned out to be a bust after months of attempts to convince others he was better than he actually was. Just enjoy this brief time of uncertainty and cautiously optimistic discussions because there could be joy or grief around the corner who knows.

On one hand I don't think any front office personnel want to be the first to put this approach to the test if they value their job security if it goes south. On the other hand unforeseen events after signing a player such as a quarterback to a massive contract are now like it or not a prevalent variable to be under consideration moving forward in light of recent events with the Texans. It remains to be seen what kind of ripple effect that will have on the rest of the league in the years to come with increasing contracts.

Peter King sucks but this pick would make me feel hopeful about 2021. Will Grier and PJ Walker are not unknowns we have seen them in action so a quarterback in one of the early rounds seems inevitable even if Fields isn't available. I know the team is talking up Sam as they should be but they are not rolling the dice with just Darnold without going down swinging on draft night.

This is all true. But sometimes you have to endure really shitty circumstances to get to a better situation. For better or worse the Clausen pick opened the door for what would become several really fun years. You just never know what awaits around the corner. Maybe we'll find that again.

Those with opposing views need to find common ground which is we all want a winning team and a return to relevancy. How we get there is up in the air but we should not seek to push away anyone who is too optimistic or pessimistic if they are willing to be rational. I cannot blame anyone for being apprehensive about the approach as of late. I am a Panthers fan but I can say without question we face planted after the Cam release. Bridgewater was a panic signing and it hurt us bad. People can talk about how it isn't as bad of a contract all they like but we wasted a critical year and didn't even secure a top five pick for our troubles. We must learn from these gaffes or we could find ourselves in a loop like other failed franchises over the last decade some of which are only just now finding some footing in the league.

Considering Darnold by all accounts was a last resort move based on who else we went after it absolutely stands to reason that if a quarterback we like falls in the draft he will be the selection and they will compete in camp. What people need to consider are the ramifications of the failure in the Teddy move. The front office does not want to find themselves backed into a corner like that again without a viable fallback if avoidable.

You haven't heard? The folks who think we can make a running back the face of the franchise have confirmed he is the next Drew Brees.

Well this is the place where some people did somersaults when the last long term quarterback exited the franchise. Insanity is kind of the point. Part of me can't help but laugh at the recent results. Maybe this next failed quarterback we throw a bag of money at will be the answer.

Newton is soon to be 32 with an arm that isn't the same anymore and likely headed to a backup role if he accepts. If you are comparing Sam to Brees this early you may want to temper your expectations. Let us see how he responds to new coaching.