BeenPounding

Since we aren't really playing for anything, its mock draft season!!!!!! Here is my weekly foray... Traded back several times to acquire more mid round picks.

How can you not watch the clip from Wilk's post game speech after the Detroit game and not be sick at the current state of our team. If there is a sliver of hope that Tepper trolls this board, or someone not about to be fired on Mint Street reads this, please I beg of you...... Tepper, re-hire WIlks. If you need to stand on your wallet to do so in order to make up for not hiring him in the first place do it. You need Wilks or Evero, plain and simple. After hearing from Cam, who by the way, if in the top 5 of all time great Carolina Panthers (Luke, CAM, Peppers, Smitty, GO) , this team needs LEADERSHIP over anything else. The front office needs leadership. Hire a President of Football Operations. But install clear NFL leadership. Scheme will follow. Oddly enough, the title of the website with the article is CULTURE https://clture.org/steve-wilks-panthers/?fbclid=IwAR2o7ZJHQ6-ObFYQoW2R96ZfNH6GG2nCpz3CbiKaDq9KqNrlMJfqxkpWCFY

We passed up Trey Smith for Thomas Fletcher when we KNEW WE NEEDED HELP ON THE OFFENSIVE LINE!!!!!!!! How was it that no adult in the room stopped Rhule and just brought up the point that, "hey, I know there are a few medical flags regarding an offensive lineman who has a 1st round grade, but you think rolling the dice on a long snapper would truly be a better move for this team?" Perfect example of there truly being no such thing as a luxury pick in the NFL draft.

And there we have it, can't have a day without a bad decision. When I said all I wanted was consistency, this isn't exactly what I meant.....

There have been a few instances where the HC and GM were basically a package deal and honestly, I could see this as the trend going forward. You would think this would be advantageous, it allows the two of the three most important individuals in the front office to be more in lock step rather than hiring one person, then hoping that person's vision is matched with what is left. Do you think Adam Peters is just going to take a job and HOPE he finds a HC that fits his vision? Kwesi Adofo-Mensah hired O'Connell who coached at Cleveland and San Fran. Minnesota is looking pretty alright. The Giants hired Schoen and Daboll both from the Bills. While the Giants are a mess this year, last year was a success. I know there are a few other instances I overlooked. A team needs to be in lockstep rather than throwing a metric ton of poo against the fan just to see what happens.

Only 6 other teams travel to training camp, but since we all love to hop aboard the complain train....

I'm not too impressed with the drafting of the Arizona Cardinals over the past three to four years.... Just saying

Here is a way to look at it. Gregg is smart, like way smarter than the average NFL player. Gregg is proud, confident, but not cocky or arrogant. In my opinion, he may just work out as a CEO type of coach. If you have someone who is not a control freak (Rhule) or set in their system/ways (Frank), your main goal is to identify hard working assistants who are experts in their field who will create a culture that is conducive for improvement without micromanaging. Gregg, knows culture from his playing experiences both good and bad. Gregg is the son of a coach, a very successful coach. He has been to a super bowl and he has also been on terrible teams. Additionally, he has been watching the league and studying the players of nearly every other team on a daily basis. Olsen has likely made contacts that we are unaware of through attending practices, watching games, and doing interviews for the past 3 years. The division of labor with a NFL staff is SO DTEAILED. Some teams have coaches just for game management. McVay has a guy to make sure he doesn't walk too far on the field. Some HC's do not call any plays on either side of the ball. If he can create a level of buy in and surround himself with guys who he will let cook, he is much improved from many retreads or flavor of the month assistants. Just a thought. Like G.O. said, "don't confuse experience with competence"... Right Frank/Rhule?

Get off the Harbaugh train..... He's about to be 60. He's a control freak. He will wear out his welcome and pick a fight with GM/Director of Football and try to manipulate the owner. Go young, go energetic, We could likely have at least one of the OC's for Detroit, Houston, or Seattle. ORRRRRRRRR Just hire Evero.

According to NFL.com .... We are tied for LAST in the league with 3 total rushing TD's We are the 4th worst in rush yards 8th worst in Passing TD's 7th worst in pass yards Only the Jets have scored fewer Offensive TD's than us. Last year: Our offense scored 35 total TD's, currently we have 13 after 11 games We had 2210 rushing years as a team. This season through 11 games, we have 1019 yards as a team. Frank sealed his own fate when he chose his system over personnel, and when he felt he could save the season by taking back play calling. This is not an overreaction. We are inept on offense and nearly unwatchable. We have played good enough defense to be a .500 team if we could score 20 points per game. Take into consideration, 21 other NFL teams are scoring more than 20 points per game this year. We are averaging just over 15 points per game. Evero should be the head coach going forward, but I understand him not wanting to take the job. There is no way I let him out of the building unless he refuses the HC job and is not offered one from other teams. Fire Fitt. Bring in a consultant. I'd be looking at Kevin Colbert or Ozzie Newsome, more likely Colbert. Let them evaluate what we have in house and make the call from there. I'd like to pair Evero up with a GM who believes in him.

Remember when "other teams were calling us and congratulating us on drafting Zavala" I think Fitty, Reich, and Tepper don't understand sarcasm.

The blocking scheme installed by Frank is, frankly, not fit for our personnel. Honestly, it's really not 100% fit as a unit. Our center and tackles are power blockers, while our guards are lighter. This would work well if we used misdirection and pulls from the guard position. The current offense is expecting these guys to create wide gaps and move laterally when it was shown that as a group they are best working to keep tight and push forward. My gut tells me that IF the person in charge of the offense, Frank, could assess a team over their own personal preference we would be in a better position to do ANYTHING on offense. Brown likely never got an opportunity to run an offense he would have designed. Frank's concepts are vastly different from the McVay offense. If Tepper truly wanted to make a move, I would promote Evero to HC. Allow him to pick who he wants to keep from the offensive staff, and let him allow TB to do what he wants to do to end the season. I really don't think the offense is truly "collaborative" I literally watched the condensed highlights from both the Seattle and Miami games. Those were the only games where we truly scored more than 20 points. (That's sad) Against Miami, we ran the ball. Our line pushed the Miami defense 1st half) straight ahead or to a direction using down blocking. In the second half we abandoned the run. Against Seattle, we just passed to run. That has been our MO every freaking game after halftime. Every team knows it. We are in a deep shotgun on nearly every play which basically eliminates any question between running the ball or passing the ball for the second level of opponents defenses. 9 games, and we have not scored more than three offensive touchdowns in a single game. My mistake, we got a garbage TD at the end against Seattle to score three in one game. This is flat out pitiful. The offense is more disjointed than full of bad personnel. Here are some numbers: 67% pass to 32% run ratio 86% of 1st downs are in "11" formation 64% are 1st downs are out of shotgun Our average target depth is 6.7 yards (tied for second lowest in the league) 212 rushing attempts (4th lowest in the league) 813 Rush yards for the season. 3rd lowest in the league 349 pass attempts (6th highest in the league) 1928 pass yards (8th lowest in the league) Frank ain't it. Crazy ass Irsay knew it. I'll be honest, I gave him more credit when hired than I should have. We truly missed the boat waiting one year too long firing Rhule and missing on Dough Peterson. FIRE FRANK MONDAY. Promote Evero if he will take it, and "promise" him the job for the rest of Frank's contract. Let Evero help pick his GM, then hire a head of football operations to oversee both of them.

I believe he is training the NFL's version of Marge Schott. It seems more and more like the Panthers is HER toy as well. https://pantherswire.usatoday.com/2023/11/15/panthers-practice-nicole-tepper-scott-fitterer-dan-morgan-luke-kuechly/

Watching last night, I thought Barno played better against the run than Burns does. He didn't break pressures, but in hindsight, I would have rather moved on from him than the other two. We likely would only have had to give up Burns and the 2023 first to get to number 1

Evero is the best HC candidate for us in my opinion. He has shown in two specific stops he can build a well run defense with a lack of talent or backups. He would be intelligent enough to bring in an offensive staff that will adjust the scheme to the personnel. That is our biggest failing. We need a draft centered GM. Our weakness stems from piss poor drafting after the 2nd round since before Gettleman was GM. I'd be looking at Brant Tilis (we interviewed him, Chiefs), MIke Borgonzi (Chiefs, we interviewed him) or Adam Peters (49'ers). The first two I mentioned would likely be in favor of having Evero as coach since they had played against his defenses and know him better than most.

I agree 100%.... but here it where I differ slightly..... Rhule had no creditability. Once Wilks took over, he inserted an attitude for the team through accountability and leadership. Frank really hasn't proven to be that type of a leader. He has professional credentials that Rhule never had, but his age gap from the players is becoming evident. Players need to be inspired and feel like their leader can relate and is relevant to them. Mike McDaniels, DeMeco Ryanes, Mike Tomlin are perfect examples all in different forms. I would offer Frank a front office position at the end of the season. Truly, I believe Frank can offer value to the franchise. I just don't see it on the sideline on Sundays. His best fit may just be as a football advisor to Tepper. Frank cares about the franchise and may excell in that type of role. I would promote Evero to HC. Allow Brown to work for an entire year to build up his experience and create a true rapport with Bryce. Evero is a leader. He's intelligent, young, and a teacher. In my opinion, he is a cross between Tomlin and McDaniels. Heck Capers can call the plays with Evero's direction. As far as Fitt is concerned.... I dunno really what to say. The last few draft classes have been terrible, and he has depleted our assets without any return on his investments. He needs to go. Where that puts Dan Morgan is unclear I would roll with him, but invest in someone who knows the draft as an assistant GM.

Houston won't be able to prepare for our offense. The Colts are trash in an even trashier division. Titans, see Colts The Bears had better not beat us. Jesus Christ they better not. The Bucs aren't good. The Falcons aren't good. I'd argue we would have beat them if we played them last week. The Saints aren't good and look ready to fall apart. The Packers looked exposed last time out, not world beaters. I'm just throwing it out there

What if we went 8 - 3 after the bye? But seriously, weirder things could happen: Houston- W Colts - W Bears - W Cowboys - L Titans - W Bucs - L Falcons - W Saints - W Packers -W Jags - L Bucs - W We go 3-3 in the Division. I'm not saying it's likely, but....

https://pantherswire.usatoday.com/2023/10/12/panthers-broncos-chiefs-steve-smith-sr-jerry-jeudy/?utm_campaign=trueanthem&utm_medium=trueanthem&utm_source=facebook&fbclid=IwAR0In4xEyllGaaDLmXabipMwKwo45fuWGWOvM_H0GIt03NAlnnXCjEpZcS8

Well.... Honestly, if the Broncos want to move him they will end up having to sell him and a draft pick. No one is taking on a 13 million straight up guaranteed cap hit for a marginal player without getting something in return or at least having Denver eat some of that number. Old Russ's contract is going to fugg that team for a good while going forward. Better off trying to grab Hollywood Brown. At least we know he is fast.

Here's the thing.... If Reich is fired, we cannot hire a permanent until after the season. The only real options would be to promote either Evero or Brown. IF Evero saw this as an opportunity, and was basically promised the job (Violation of the Rooney Rule BTW) he would be the logical choice. What Frank lacks is fire and demanding leadership. Wilks would have these guys ready to run through a wall, and made sure his staff was adequately prepared. He then let his coordinators cook on their own. The issue with hiring an offensive guru as the HC is that he will want to focus on play calling and be derelict to the CEO aspect of a HC. Frankly, pun intended, I feel that is the case here. Frank is overwhelmed and cannot fully perform the functions of his job fully. The idea of collaboration is great in the business world, but even then, you need a leader to make decisions to achieve action items rather than just mire around in the brainstorming/sharing portion of the process. These players need to be led period. Frank's inability to acknowledge his way is not currently successful and refusal to adapt has resulted in players on the team not accepting his leadership on offense. Evero has that mentality to lead, you can see the influence of his military upbringing in how he carries himself and how he prepares himself and the defense. Cam need to come back and give the old pig and chicken speech to the offense.

How about we trade for a serviceable guard? I think protection is the issue.