Breaking down the pressers

[Mr. Scot]

What I saw of today's pressers...

 

PROCESS ONGOING

 

The evaluation process hasn't really taken place yet for players or coaches. Rivera actually sounds rather apprehensive about it.  A lot of his presser sounded like 'spin doctoring', trying to accentuate the positive of what he and his coaches did and blaming the problems on injuries.  Gettleman made clear that he won't make changes to the coaching staff himself.  That would be stepping on Ron's toes, and he doesn't want to do that.  He will however, make 'suggestions'.

 

TAKEN TO THE WOODSHED

 

In the discussion of "what Dave and I have talked about", Rivera sounds like a kid who just got taken out behind the woodshed.  It sounds like Gettleman wasn't pleased with a lot of what happened this year and he's made it clear to his head coach. Rivera described Gettleman as being "very blunt" in his recent discussions.  That, as much as anything, I think is why so much of what Rivera said sounded like he was defending himself.

 

FOR WHOM THE BELL TOLLS

 

Much has already been made of how noncommittal Dave Gettleman sounded when talking about Byron Bell.  What I think some folks might have glossed over is that Rivera didn't really address him either.  He just kind of gave a generic "we're evaluating soon" answer.  Gettleman also talked about not being emotional in player decisions, which tells me as much as Byron may be a likeable guy, they can't let that influence the decision,  Seems pretty clear all around that even if he's ultimately back, Bell's days as a starting left tackle are over. 

 

NEED FOR SPEED

 

It's been obvious to everyone for a long time that this year's Panthers team lacked a lot in team speed, but people worried about whether the team realized it.  No need to worry.  Both Rivera and Gettleman mentioned the 'need for speed' numerous times in their respective discussions.  Gettleman attributed the lack of speed last season to "economics", which tells me he wasn't really happy with what they got out of last year's free agent class.

 

NEWTON SETTLED, BUT UNSETTLED

 

Both Rivera and Gettleman recognize that Newton's biggest challenge is consistency.  Both affirm that they see Newton as a franchise quarterback, but they also see him needing improvement.  It's generally believed that the team will offer Newton a good contract, but not a record-setting one.  The pressers here reinforce the likelihood of that.

 

GREG HARDY

 

I think if it were up to Ron Rivera, Greg Hardy would be back.  But it's actually up to Dave Gettleman, and that's why I believe he won't.  If you watch Gettleman's body language when he's talking about Hardy, he looks genuinely irritated.  I suppose if I just paid a guy 13 million for nothing, I'd probably be annoyed as hell, too.  Bottom Line: I think this offseason "release the Kraken" is going to be replaced by "let the Kraken go."

 

IT'S NOT PERSONAL, IT'S BUSINESS

 

Gettleman emphasized, more than once, that you can't let how you feel emotionally about football players affect the decisions you make on the roster.  Essentially, he's the anti-Hurney in that department.  This is what you get when you put a football guy in charge.  The guys who that's most likely to affect would seem to be Byron Bell and DeAngelo Williams.

 

FROM DOLLAR TREE TO WALMART

 

Putting together that the team has a good core of young players, half as many free agents to contend with (and some of those EFAs) and more cap room, Gettleman's comment that the team is no longer limited to 'bargain bin' shopping.  But the money spent won't all be spent on a single big money player.  It's going to be spread around.  All in all, pretty clear that this coming offseason will likely be more interesting for panther fans than previous ones.

 

THE GAME'S NOT PLAYED IN UNDERWEAR

 

Gettleman is clearly a performance guy, not a measurables guy.  Both Tre Boston and Bene Benwikere are guys that dropped due to 'timed speed' but they played the game at 'game speed', and that's what matters to the team right now.

 

NO REGRETS

 

Gettleman described the departure of Steve Smith as a win-win.  No regrets, and very little discussion.

 

WHO'S COREY?

 

Rivera calls him "Philly".  Gettleman calls him "Corey".

 

PHILOSOPHICAL CHANGE

 

The Panthers of the past few years haven't concentrated on getting guys whose only job was special teams.  Both Gettleman and Rivera alluded to that changing.  It sounds like their plan to fix the special teams woes is to go after 'aces' this offseason rather than relying primarily on backups.  Sounds like we probably will be going after some quality gunners as well as (scream and shout Huddlers) a return specialist.

 

PLAYERS PLAY FOR HIM

 

Gettleman made a point of talking about the fact that "players play for Ron".  And for whatever your opinion of Rivera may be, he's right about that.  This team made it to the playoffs because they didn't gave up, and there is something to be said for that.

 

OVERALL

 

Gettleman and Rivera have very different personas.  He may not give many of them, but when he does, Dave Gettleman commands a press conference.  He makes clear things he won't answer, and shoots down attempts to get around those guidelines.  He's not mean spirited about it, mind you, but he is firm.  By contrast, Rivera looks like a guy on the witness stand being cross examined.  He's nervous, defensive and -  at times - evasive.

 

Hope the summary was helpful, but do yourself a favor and watch both videos.

 

 

Rivera: Next step could be a big step

 

Gettleman: I'm excited

[ZeroZeroSeven]

Maybe I'm reading into it too much, but Gettleman said he had faith in Ron.  He did not say he had faith in Ron and his staff.  The only comment made regarding the staff was about connecting with the players. With his comment about making "suggestions" to Ron about his staff, is it a possible Gettlenugget about future coaching decisions?

[EgoDogg]

Thanks for the detailed summary, Mr. Scot. Being at work, I've been itching to watch it. This should hold me over. Much appreciated!

[Towelboy]

Great summary Mr. Scot. Thanks.

[Captain Morgan]

thank you very much for that, I had to work and missed the conferences.  Despite jeremy's protestations,

I really wanted to gauge what they said, and you delivered a fabulous report.

 

thanks again

[CarolinaSamurai]

Excellent breakdown you give me hope. Haven't seen them BC I'm working but I have heard it

[Mr. Scot]

Maybe I'm reading into it too much, but Gettleman said he had faith in Ron.  He did not say he had faith in Ron and his staff.  The only comment made regarding the staff was about connecting with the players. With his comment about making "suggestions" to Ron about his staff, is it a possible Gettlenugget about future coaching decisions?

 

Rivera's comments about Gettleman being 'very blunt' combined with his defensiveness about his staff's competence tell me that 'suggestions' have been discussed.

 

It's clear Gettleman won't force things, but also seems obvious he's expessed at least some amount of displeasure with how some things went last season.

 

Since the annual 'evaluation process' will be taking place over the next few weeks, I'd say more 'suggestions' are likely to come. 

 

But do I expect actual changes?  Not really.  Mind you, we certainly wouldn't be that first team to say "no changes" and follow up a few days later with "oh look, changes", but I'm not holding my breath.

[KendrickPanther]

I wish "It's not personal, it's business" applied to coaching. Gettleman made it clear he would not interfere with coaching staff decisions. You could sense his frustration in being given Ron on a "blind date" when he took over. Gettleman was easier to listen to. Ron sounded like he was a politician spinning a bad term in office. Gettleman was more matter of fact in his reasoning and explanations. 

 

When Ron tries to explain his failures its hard to watch because it comes off as excuse making. 

 

As far as Hardy is concerned. He sounded like a man that just bought a 13 million dollar TV that was DOA with no warranty or refund. Why would he buy the same TV again and flush more money down the toilet?

[VerticalThreat]

Great post, Mr. Scot.

 

I agree with most of what you have here and appreciate you taking the time to map this out. You're one of a few that when you create a thread, I always take a look and I value your opinion and perspective.

 

EDIT: Correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't Philly Brown not actually like the nickname Philly?  I heard/read that he preferred his given name, Corey, and that Philly was given to him by a Jim Tressel at tOSU who had two Corey Browns one from Philadelphia and another from Pittsburgh.

 

http://www.cleveland.com/osu/index.ssf/2013/09/he_may_not_be_comfortable_with.html

 

 

[chknwing]

I knew there was a reason we keep you around this forum Mr. Scot.

[L-TownCat]

"By contrast, Rivera looks like a guy on the witness stand being cross examined. He's nervous, defensive and - at times - evasive."

You just described his coaching style to a T.

[PhillyB]

nice work.

i hope gettles is waiting to see what coaches become available as playoff teams fall because he has replacements already in mind.

[KendrickPanther]

Rivera's comments about Gettleman being 'very blunt' combined with his defensiveness about his staff's competence tell me that 'suggestions' have been discussed.

 

 

 

Gettleman did sound like a man who was frustrated with the way things panned out. Not just injuries or cap challenges, he was pissed about the performance of the coaches and the way they used players. 

 

When talking about Ron it felt like he was trying to sell himself on keeping him. "They play hard for him" is not an impressive endorsement. He has to know there are flaws beyond the roster.

[Fan01]

Process Ongoing

 

I like this from both Ron and Gettlemen.  It seems like Dave forces Ron to be more results oriented and this will force Ron to take some of the emotion out of his decisions which is really good.  I get the feeling that Dave let's his coaches coach and do their own thing but makes it very clear where the buck stops and what his expectations are.

 

Taken to the Woodshed

 

I don't see Ron being dressed down as much as I see a very open line of communication between the two men.  But like I said above there is no question on the pecking order or things and what the expectations are.  I think Dave has been and will continue to be a very good influence on Ron, especially in the business of being an executive.

 

I didn't get the feeling Ron was defending himself as much as just telling it like it is.  I always get the feeling that Ron has to refrain from being too honest and tells the simple truth as much as he can without naming any player names.  I really see what the players mean about him never being too high or low.  He's always even keel.  Sometimes people take that as being aloof or not knowing what he's doing but I think that interpretation would be a big mistake.

 

For Whom the Bell Tolls

 

Completely agree with you here.  I suspect we'll bring in one of the top 3 FA tackles.  The line is really coming together with Bell being the only obvious weak link.  Definitely going to find us a new Target/Wal-Mart tackle.

 

Need for Speed

 

Again, completely agree.  Not being able to stretch the defense or being able to go over the top really hurts our offense.  Having some real speed at the 2nd WR position as well as Philly in the slot will do wonders for our offense.  It'll further open up the run game for the RB and Cam and make Olsen an even deadlier weapon.

 

Newton

 

I love the comments about how much Cam wants to improve and get better.  With his ability and that attitude, the sky is the limit.  Like Dave said, he's our franchise QB and he'll be resigned at the going rate for a franchise QB.  And for anyone who doesn't agree with that go look at the FA list of QB's for next year and tell me which one you want.

 

Greg Hardy

 

I didn't think Dave looked upset when talking about Greg.  I thought he looked more like a person who was thrust in the middle of an problem that didn't have an answer and people are constantly asking him what the answer is.  They had their hands tied behind their back by the media, the NFL and public outcry.  There was/is no answer to the whole Hardy situation except to move on.

 

My .02.

 

I love Gettlemen and I love how the team plays for Ron.  I also think Ron really pays a ton more attention to the defense so I'm not that happy about the strong possibility of Shula hanging around.  We need an OC that gives the same attention to the offense that Ron gives to the defense.

 

I also really took away the feeling the Gettlemen is in full control and is building the team and running things his way.  There is no question who is in charge.  He'll give Ron all the rope he wants but if he keeps Shula and we don't improve then it's his ass that is gone.  So, make all your decisions wisely.