Mike Tanier's Panthers Draft Grade

[tailg8or]

Seems like a pretty accurate assessment of DG and the draft. Lets hope he is wrong about the 5-11 part.

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[gettlemanjack]

UGH WHY DIDNT THE PANTHERS DRAFT SIX RECEIVERS GAW

at least we got a WR. the teams he most let have it for not taking WRs were the Browns, Titans, Chiefs, and Raiders...

"(on the Browns, who drafted zero receivers:) I wrote at length in Mandatory Monday about the rationale of not lurching after receivers in the wake of Josh Gordon's potential suspension. That said, a team with injured Nate Burleson as its No. 3 receiver should have targeted some wideouts in a deep class... The Browns were one receiver -- one measly fourth-round Jalen Saunders-caliber receiver (Saunders was picked by the Jets in the 4th R) -- away from getting an "Advanced" grade. The Browns signed five undrafted rookie receivers after the draft, but there was no good reason for the team to resort to dumpster diving in a class this deep... the skill-position talent (a strength this time last year) looks like the pressure point where the Browns will buckle in 2014.

...

(on the Titans, who drafted zero receivers:) This is a stone cold F and one of the most inscrutable drafts of the year. ... The Titans appear to have lost the organizational sense of what a good roster looks like. They grab duplicate resources, let young stars go without replacing them and seem disinterested in building any unit into a true strength except the offensive line, which they want to turn into some mega-strength. It's as if they learned that great teams are built in the trenches but took the maxim to illogical extremes; now they think that if they block hard enough, Jake Locker throwing to Nate Washington is a viable strategy for winning a Super Bowl. The Titans are..custom-build for ordinariness, a late-model Nissan Altima trying to win a custom car show by adding more factory-spec parts.

...

(on the Raiders, who drafted zero receivers:) compare this (Raiders) draft to the Jaguars draft to understand the issues. Both teams were talent-poor, (and are) coming off an offseason of grabbing defensive veterans for the front seven. The Jaguars got a developmental quarterback and reshaped their offense (Marqise Lee, Allen Robinson, Storm Johnson). The Raiders got a developmental quarterback, a versatile linebacker and some change... The Raiders did nothing to upgrade their skill positions, at all (which is great news for David Ausberry fans)... Both teams may be bad for another year, but one has a clear sense of direction.

...

(on the Chiefs, who drafted zero receivers: OLB Dee) Ford and cornerback Phillip Gaines add depth to the deepest positions on the roster. Bob Sutton may have a one-lineman, five-linebacker, Eric Berry, four-cornerback package up his sleeve, but he will never get a chance to use it if the Chiefs never complete a forward pass on the other side of the ball.... looks like Dwayne Bowe, Donnie Avery and A.J. Jenkins are the starting wide receivers for another year, so keep those safeties nice and close to the box.

...

Jason Verrett will be fine as a starting outside cornerback as long as he does not have to cover lots of 6-foot-4 receivers. Since the Broncos have only one super-tall wide receiver, and the Chiefs and Raiders have no receivers at all, he will get the job done

...

Cowboys got..Devin Street in the fifth round because you would be crazy to ignore wide receiver in this draft. (Hear that, Raiders and Chiefs: crazy!)"

[gettlemanjack]

People forget other teams get to draft too. ... The colts defense is garbage and yet they drafted 15 receivers. They are basically the antithesis of our team.

yep. Note the author had plenty of hate and criticism to spread across the League. In addition to his criticism of the Browns, Titans, Raiders and Chiefs above, he took many other potshots and jabs at a variety of teams, GMs, and players...

"Logan Thomas looks and sounds like a Jedi but has the aim of a Stormtrooper

...

Kelvin Benjamin (is) about as ready as a frozen turkey.

...

Archer was a mid-major Chris Johnson impersonator who, while listed at wide receiver, fits nothing the Steelers traditionally try to do on offense. I envision him as the guy Todd Haley gives one carry per game.

...

AJ McCarron's selection (by the Bengals) betrays a lack of imagination: Instead of gambling on a superior talent who could change the team's direction in 2015, they settled for Andy Dalton 2.0.

...

Teddy Bridgeliever..is troublesome. The Vikings have a poor track record with pesky short passers

...

(Ryan) Shazier is a speedy guy who runs around getting blocked. His tackling technique involves grabbing ball carriers near the shoulder pads and trying to ballroom dance

...

(Daniel) McCullers looked like a mammoth run-stopper one rep out of three during Senior Bowl practices and could have been replaced with a sack of sugar in the other two.

...

The Packers were the little Italian restaurant on the corner this year. The quality is just OK, but the portion is huge, and you get exactly what you expected. Ted Thompson has served a lot of fusion cuisine in the past, leaving us intermittently inspired, confused and hungry, so this feels right. The rest of the division may have gained a little ground

...

(on the Bengals:) if you were seeking butter brickle, you got vanilla, and it may make it hard to compete with the more inventive ice cream parlors in town.

...

(for Eagles fans,) there was no NEXT BRIAN DAWKINS in this draft class, which is a shame, because Eagles fans desperately need to anoint a NEXT BRIAN DAWKINS and tend to see the face of the NEXT BRIAN DAWKINS in the burn marks on the side of a burrito. Ed Reynolds is more of a low-mistake, sure-tackling cleanup safety, so he at least passes the ANYONE IS BETTER THAN PATRICK CHUNG test.

...

The Giants may not be back to Super Bowl form.. but we won't be watching Peyton Hillis in a major role again, so hooray.

...

the Bears retained some of their geezer gang (like Jay Ratliff) for an extra year... Peanut Tillman, Lance Briggs, Jared Allen and the other graybeards

...

The Cardinals are doing things their way, and since it is novel for there to even be a "Cardinals way" of doing things, let's go with it for a year.

...

(Greg) Robinson and (Tre) Mason give the Rams so much inside-running beef that we might not notice the lack of downfield passing

...

(on the Patriots:) No goofy trades! No lacrosse players from the Merchant Marine Academy! No Rutgers kids … though the Patriots did sign Jeremy Deering, a man of a million positions, as a free agent.

...

we fall into the habit of criticizing the Jets draft because it is the Jets draft.

...

The Ravens always have six billion compensatory picks. ... You have to admire Ozzie Newsome for leaving no stone unturned when searching for defenders in such unlikely locales as Alabama and Florida State.

...

If you define "talent" by guys who run fast or are built like the Hulk, the Steelers earned an A+++. But there is a reason NFL teams do not just draft sprinters and weight lifters. ... The "Dick LeBeau will develop these guys" theory no longer holds water after three years of average-to-awful pass rushing. The Steelers..need immediate upgrades. They got sent to the store for salad veggies, and they come home with mostly seedlings....The Steelers think they can solve their cornerback problems by adding linebackers. They think they can upgrade their offensive line by adding linebackers. They have not noticed how suddenly terrible they have become at identifying and developing linebackers.

...

(on the Texans:) Hmmm, great defensive personnel and an interception-prone veteran quarterback backed up by projects. Where have I seen this before?

...

the Chargers needed..12th-string running back..Marion Grice like they need snow shovels. They also lack pass-rush sizzle, and beyond the not-so-sizzzling Attaochu, they didn't get any.... (DL Ryan) Carrethers..has a butt that can be zoned light-industrial,..is built like a Hershey's Kiss, falls down a lot when asked to run more than five steps and belly-flops on the tops of piles like he is product testing a waterbed. But he..has a little swim move ... the Chargers should have come out of this draft with more than a tiny cornerback, tall pass rusher, blobby nose tackle and some trinkets.

...

(on the Colts:) Hey: Burn all your fat-guy clothes and you just have to lose weight, right? Or maybe you walk around looking ridiculous for a few months, then rush to the store to overspend on more fat-guy clothes. ... This is the kind of draft Bill Polian foisted on the team in later years. Peyton Manning could drag the Colts through those Polian misfires, but Andrew Luck is not there yet, and the roster is not at the point where the team can draft developmental guards (Jack Mewhort projects as a mid-tier NFL guard at best)..and lots of "just a guy" guys.. (other than) Donte Moncrief (a fine all-purpose receiver, but finding those in this draft was like fishing a pickle from a barrel). Maybe (Trent) Richardson rebounds, Moncrief fills a need and this draft becomes a footnote. Maybe the Texans (and perhaps the Jaguars) kick the Colts down the standings hard in 2015. Based on the last few weeks of transactions, which scenario seems more likely to you?"

[gettlemanjack]

Tanier is at least as good as Barnwell on grantland and helped develop DVOA on football outsiders. I know Draft grades don't mean anything, but I actually put more stock in his opinion than anyone over at ESPN. I don't think we'll be 5-11 though...

hope he's wrong because we are the only team he gave the worst grade to in every category...

--Finds Talent--

**Exceptional: Texans

**Excellent: Bills, Patriots, Ravens, Browns, Chiefs, Raiders, Giants, Rams, 49ers

**Satisfactory: Dolphins, Jets, Bengals, Steelers, Jaguars, Titans, Broncos, Chargers, Cowboys, Eagles, Redskins, Bears, Lions, Packers, Vikings, Falcons, Saints, Buccaneers, Cardinals, Seahawks

**Needs Improvement: Panthers, Colts

--Meets Needs--

**Exceptional: Jaguars

**Excellent: Jets, Bears, Packers, Vikings, Falcons, 49ers

**Satisfactory: Bills, Dolphins, Patriots, Ravens, Texans, Broncos, Chargers, Cowboys, Giants, Eagles, Redskins, Lions, Saints, Buccaneers, Cardinals, Rams, Seahawks

**Needs Improvement: Panthers, Bengals, Browns, Steelers, Colts, Titans, Chiefs, Raiders

--Uses Resources (the picks available, trades, their draft position)--

**Exceptional: Jaguars

**Excellent: Patriots, Browns, Redskins, Vikings, Saints, Rams, 49ers

**Satisfactory: Dolphins, Jets, Ravens, Bengals, Texans, Steelers, Colts, Titans, Broncos, Raiders, Cowboys, Giants, Bears, Lions, Packers, Falcons, Buccaneers, Cardinals, Seahawks

**Needs Improvement: Panthers, Bills, Chiefs, Chargers, Eagles

--Final Assessment--

**Curve Blown: 49ers

**Advanced: Patriots, Texans, Jaguars, Giants, Vikings, Rams

**Proficient: Bills, Dolphins, Jets, Ravens, Bengals, Browns, Broncos, Chiefs, Raiders, Chargers, Cowboys, Eagles, Redskins, Bears, Lions, Packers, Falcons, Saints, Buccaneers, Cardinals, Seahawks

**Needs Improvement: Titans

**Remediation: Panthers, Steelers, Colts

[Pox 08]

One part rings true.   If we do fail to have a winning record.    All blame will be placed on Cam.          It's a little disgusting.

[panthers55]

If all Gettleman was looking at was 2014, then Tanner's analysis had some validity.  But if he is looking at the future then picking some of the guys where we did makes more sense.

I understand he really liked Steve Smith but honestly folks make him out to be a huge loss.  Somehow 700 yards and 4 TDs just don't seem like a unsurmountable mountain to climb this year.  Smitty had 41 first downs of our 319 total and 700 yards out of 3000 total.  Sure he will be missed but not as much as he and other folks think.

[Montsta]

One part rings true. If we do fail to have a winning record. All blame will be placed on Cam. It's a little disgusting.

As much as the Cam Newton hate is widely spread and accepted nationwide, the blame is always placed on the QB. They get too much blame on a bad team (panthers 2011-2012) and too much credit on a good team (panthers 2013).

[Brothergrim427]

It's not that he didn't re-sign all of them. It's that he didn't re-sign ANY of them.

Do you mean to say you'd re-sign Lafell ? The only real receiver we had was Olsen who is still here, Smitty isn't the badass we all fell in love with anymore and you know it. So then I ask you who exactly would you resign ? If any of them was worth re-signing I'd say Hixon but he was replaced besides he hardly ever saw the field please look at the stats before you say you'd do anything differently friend

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[Brothergrim427]

In my humble opinion that blowhard is just trying to stir up controversy. Typical off season bull but it gives people something to complain about whilst they go through football withdrawal

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[lightsout]

We could realistically start 6-0. I'm gonna laugh if we do, simply because we'll once again be a "surprise team", even though our defense is amazing, Cam is amazing, and KB will be pretty damn good for a rookie (gut feeling; based on nothing else).

[CatMan72]

Cool story bro.

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[2jakefansinva]

It's not that he didn't re-sign all of them. It's that he didn't re-sign ANY of them.

 

why would you over pay for any of them ???

 

they are "a dime a dozen players."