Despite recent trade, Panthers still in need of receiver help

[Jeremy Igo]

Yesterday the Panthers traded a conditional draft pick to the Seahawks for receiver Kevin Norwood. Norwood is a second year player who was drafted in the 4th round and had a pedestrian college career at Alabama. 

Not quite the news most Panthers fans were hoping for. 

If the Panthers hope to compete for the playoffs again this year, they will continue to look for help as proven veteran receivers are released this week. 

The Carolina Panthers do not have a single wide receiver on the team that will demand more than single coverage. Without a premier player that must be covered by a safety and a corner for containment, opposing defenses will key in on the Panthers run game and neuter their attack from the start. If the Panthers cannot run the ball, they are looking at once again having one of the most lackluster offenses in the NFC. Cam Newton will be forced to be 80% of the Panthers offense with his improvisations, increasing his chance of injury. Not good. 

Currently on the Panthers roster, possibly making the final cuts... 

Ted Ginn - Probably the closest thing to a player that requires double coverage on the team. Has proven he can get behind corners which could cause concern for defenses on occasion. 

Corey Brown - Also has proven he can break free from a corner, but until he starts catching the ball he is a lot like most NBA centers outside the three point line. Sure, you could cover him... but what would be the point. 

Jerricho Cotchery, Brenton Bersin, Jarrett Boykin, Kevin Norwood - All possession guys that won't demand much extra attention from defensive coordinators. Reliable targets that should not be more than the third read on any given play. If any of these guys are asked to be the leading receiver on a team, something is very, very wrong. 

Devin Funchess - A rookie that can't seem to stay healthy. Has had 3 hamstring issues in as many months. Missed time in OTA's, training camp, and now preseason due to injury. Could he contribute in a real way this season? Sure. But for the Panthers to rely on that is lunacy. 

I would have more hope for the passing game if the Panthers had a high level offensive coordinator capable of changing and improving on the fly through creativity. Unfortunately, they do not. 

Yesterday, Ron Rivera made it clear that if the current group of men did not show improvement in this week's preseason game that changes would be made. Yesterday's trade was a good start, but it isn't enough, not by a long shot.  

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[GoobyPls]

Mike Williams is out there somewhere, they should bring him in

 

[Cuttinedge]

Great write up.

One of my pet peeves with Ron is he says now if the current group doesn't show improvement this week they'll be changes why didn't you do something Ron before the last preseason game? You've had TC and now 4 weeks of preseason And now you putting someone on notice. 

If the current group wasn't improving which some of them weren't (actually getting worse.  Philly) then why didn't you play some of the other guys with the 1s to see how they looked in real game action instead of jogging the same ol same ol out there and expecting a different result. 

Thats my pet peeve with Ron he will not make a adjustment until it's absolutely the last resort.  Also alot of his adjustments last year were made out of necessity.  Injuries made him start someone he never intended to. I think he's a good players coach but he's not someone whose gonna reinvent the wheel.

Ron likes his comfortable players       comfortable =complacency. 

Same ol same ol Ron

Edited September 1, 2015 by Cuttinedge

[motocross_cat]

 Its not like they diddnt know we needed wrs, they drafted benji, devin, brought back ginn and had role players behind them.  3 weeks ago we were flat out set. 

 

Fast forward to now, poo hits the fan.  Bad situations often bring out the best in people...or not.  It will definitely be interesting to see how the higher ups handle this.  Outside of a trade i dont really see how we can aqurie anything close to a reciver that can demand double coverage.

 

I really wanted a guy we already have to emerge but its not looking good lol.

 

 

[Paa Langfart]

Were screwed unless we get a hell of a running game going and Olsen has another thousand plus yard season.

[KB_fan]

In the other team cuts thread, I pulled together a list of all the 43 WRs who have been released so far.  There are a few vets out there, but overall slim pickins

Note: I've now discovered info for one player is incorrect, and I can't edit the original post since the thread is locked.  Here is the correct info:

[corrected] Philadelphia Eagles WR Mike Johnson,  (note the link is incorrect, it brings up a different player).  rookie, 6'2, Delaware. here is more info

Edited September 1, 2015 by KB_fan

[top dawg]

Great write up.

One of my pet peeves with Ron is he says now if the current group doesn't show improvement this week they'll be changes why didn't you do something Ron before the last preseason game? You've had TC and now 4 weeks of preseason And now you putting someone on notice. 

If the current group wasn't improving which some of them weren't (actually getting worse.  Philly) then why didn't you play some of the other guys with the 1s to see how they looked in real game action instead of jogging the same ol same ol out there and expecting a different result. 

Thats my pet peeve with Ron he will not make a adjustment until it's absolutely the last resort.  Also alot of his adjustments last year were made out of necessity.  Injuries made him start someone he never intended to. I think he's a good players coach but he's not someone whose gonna reinvent the wheel.

Ron likes his comfortable players comfortable =complacency. 

Same ol same ol Ron

I absolutely get what you are saying about Rivera. One thing to keep in mind though is that he had a young team last year at key positions who were not ready to consistently contribute until later in the season.  Some of it was due to injury,  and some of it was due to lack of experience or being ready on each player's part. Both he and Dave Gettleman mentioned as much immediately after the season. I don't think this can be overstated. 

Rivera can only work with what Dave Gettleman gives him,  and if that is an abnormally high percentage of inexperienced rookies or vets that are better suited in back-up roles,  then the whole process of getting them "ready" may take longer than we'd like. 

Moreover, there is an argument that the whole culture of the organization is slow to make changes or adjustments in a timely manner from Jerry Richardson,  to Gettleman, to Rivera and Mike Shula right on down.  Perhaps it's just a matter of perception. The truth probably lies somewhere between reality and perception. As such,  I can't give Rivera all the blame for the state of the wide receiving corps. Some of it is above his pay grade. But,  he does get the lion's share of the blame for his coaching decisions while in practice, and basically all of it on the sidelines. 

People are so quick to say that preseason is about evaluation. The games are central to this process in my mind.  And you can't just keep giving some opportunity after opportunity when things are going south to the detriment of others during such an important part of the evaluation. You have to think outside of the box sometimes. On the sidelines is where this is arguably most important. 

Overall I like the direction of the team, but all parties involved are going to have to resolve this problem of lack of depth at the wide receiver position with more than a few dollars and lip service. 

Edited September 1, 2015 by top dawg

[OceanPanther]

I am hoping  Funchess gets over this injury bug and actually joins the team .. 

Right now his name should be "Decoy " ,, we talk about him as if he could be 700 yrd-1000 yd  receiver ,,  and we can't get him on the field..   Other teams are focused on him (  hince the name  Decoy lol )   and will double cover him on the sidelines because of how much "hope" we'd put in him

[Donald LaFell]

Somebody call Taye Biddle

[TANTRIC-NINJA]

For Hypothetical trades WR Donte Moncief seems to be moving to 4th on the Colt's depth chart. 

Not sure he would be available but if the team offered an aggressive trade pkg for a WR it would make sense to get a young big WR guy who could be a legit #2 WR. 

Colts adding Andre Johnson and drafting the speedster from Miami has put him on a part time role. 

Or hopefully Justin Hunter gets cut. 

[Ace_Aladdin]

 Its not like they diddnt know we needed wrs, they drafted benji, devin, brought back ginn and had role players behind them.  3 weeks ago we were flat out set. 

 

Fast forward to now, poo hits the fan.  Bad situations often bring out the best in people...or not.  It will definitely be interesting to see how the higher ups handle this.  Outside of a trade i dont really see how we can aqurie anything close to a reciver that can demand double coverage.

 

I really wanted a guy we already have to emerge but its not looking good lol.

 

 

Greg Olsen will need double team.

[juliosantos]

what about hakeem nicks. is he in danger of being cut? if he is i think we should take the shot especially since he will be cheaper this time around 

[UpstatePanther]

If the Panthers hope to compete for the playoffs again this year, they will continue to look for help as proven veteran receivers are released this week. 

hope to compete FOR the playoffs or IN the playoffs? i still firmly believe we can make it to the playoffs playing in the division we do. but there is no guarantee that we play another ailing team like AZ in the Wild Card round. The other teams in the division are playing so poorly that our defense would have to suck for us to not make the playoffs as the division winner. this isnt the case, so i still think we win. how well we do when we get there will be determined by what we do now to boost the WR corps.

I would have more hope for the passing game if the Panthers had a high level offensive coordinator capable of changing and improving on the fly through creativity. Unfortunately, they do not. 

above and beyond that, we have a coordinator who literally doesnt want to score points. He said as much in an interview the other day. paraphrased, he said that he "wouldve been worried if we had scored on every possession"... what in the actual fug? how can someone who says something like that be a football coach? that statement is antithetical to coaching offense in football....

 

[motocross_cat]

Greg Olsen will need double team.

then what? LoL. Still gotta have some one on the outside to make plays.  Hopefully some one picks up their game.   Im still pulling for philly man.....tho im not sure why.