We have Jerry Richardson to "thank"

[TN05]

You guys are seriously predicting we're doomed because we cut a project fullback who wasn't going to play and our QB3, extended a franchise legend for a reasonable rate, held on to four running backs (two power backs and two scatbacks), and has two kickers presumably temporarily.

Meanwhile you bent over backwards to justify everything Gettleman did, from gutting our entire wide receiver corps in 2014 to cutting Josh Norman for no other reason than to prove he has a bigger d*ck. Cutting Steve Smith and treating him and others like garbage was fine, but how dare we cut Joe Webb. WTF?

Our quarterback and star linebacker, the best in the league, are healthy. We have an exciting rookie back ready to tear up the league. Our front seven looks better than ever. Our starting corner is poised for a breakout year and we actually have depth beyond rookies now. Our offensive line looks stout. Damiere Byrd finally got a shot and looks ready to contribute, something that never happened under Gettleman...

and in all this you are b*tching and moaning about the literal bottom two or three guys on our roster. You guys are pathetic. Get a grip.

[Cats Pride]

2 minutes ago, Promethean Forerunner said:

No, he wasn't.  It was virtually the same squad as 2015. Injuries killed us. 

You are definitely partially correct. Injuries were a huge part of the downfall in 2016, but a good quality team also has to have depth to continue on and make a push for the playoff, not just collapse. You never see teams like the Patriots who have had injuries to Gronk and WR's skip a beat because they have depth and they know what they are doing in the front office. So it does have to do with the GM as well for a complete collapse. A quality team has to have depth.

[Smithers]

1 minute ago, Mark S said:

I can't foresee a completely changed Marty Hurney now that will responsibly handle cap space. How am I supposed to just believe that he now understands how to financially handle this team? Plenty of other guys could have done the same job without Hurney's proven piss-poor track record, SB appearance or not. 

I understand and agree...I'm hoping JR truly believes in this interim assignment and opens things up to others.  Maybe Hurney did learn from his mistakes...but an improved Hurney still wouldn't be the best candidate.

[Smithers]

3 minutes ago, TN05 said:

You guys are seriously predicting we're doomed because we cut a project fullback who wasn't going to play and our QB3, extended a franchise legend for a reasonable rate, held on to four running backs (two power backs and two scatbacks), and has two kickers presumably temporarily.

Meanwhile you bent over backwards to justify everything Gettleman did, from gutting our entire wide receiver corps in 2014 to cutting Josh Norman for no other reason than to prove he has a bigger d*ck. Cutting Steve Smith and treating him and others like garbage was fine, but how dare we cut Joe Webb. WTF?

Our quarterback and star linebacker, the best in the league, are healthy. We have an exciting rookie back ready to tear up the league. Our front seven looks better than ever. Our starting corner is poised for a breakout year and we actually have depth beyond rookies now. Our offensive line looks stout. Damiere Byrd finally got a shot and looks ready to contribute, something that never happened under Gettleman...

and in all this you are b*tching and moaning about the literal bottom two or three guys on our roster. You guys are pathetic. Get a grip.

Perfect. I'd like to buy you a beer.

[beastson]

I'm curious to know who's in charge of firing Ronald Rivera? General Manager or JR

[Castavar]

There is absolutely nothing to get excited about past this year, knowing JR and Hurney will have full control over this team. Doing the same sh*t over and over and expecting different results. We'll go right back to being irrelevant and pushing out 7-9 records every year. G-man may have had his faults, but dammit, it was time for this franchise to get a cut throat GM who didn't give a sh*t about veterans and happy places. We were on our way to finally turning this thing around for many years to come. Managed to get us out of cap hell WHILE also maintaining competitive play.

And tbh, I'm starting to think that G-man didn't even want Rivera, but JR forced him to keep him. Wouldn't surprise me one bit.

[arbnranger]

5 minutes ago, Mark S said:

I can't foresee a completely changed Marty Hurney now that will responsibly handle cap space. How am I supposed to just believe that he now understands how to financially handle this team? Plenty of other guys could have done the same job without Hurney's proven piss-poor track record, SB appearance or not. 

I get your point but I don't think the Panthers FO wanted to start the season without a GM nor did they want to rush to find a permanent replacement.  

You could argue that Gettlemen shouldn't have been fired, or that It wasn't good timing when they let him go. My point is, I don't believe Hurney has secured the GM job yet and really not sure he would want it long term, even if it was offered. 

Im going to assume we have him on a one season rental until I see otherwise. 

[t96]

24 minutes ago, Mark S said:

Moreso JR than anything. He clearly cares less about winning a ring than making sure some people feel good. 

Every time I think about it, I'm still shocked that he literally brought back the same GM who had proven results of hindering this team's future. 

I think he cares about winning a ring more than anything but has zero clue how to do it and has put it all into his own hands like Jerry Jones.

 

This team will continue to be damn near impossible to follow for as long as JR is alive and owner. 

 

And in response to part of your OP, I think the Kaaya over Webb move is actually good IF we have to keep 3 QBs but we definitely shouldn't be keeping 3 QBs right now if it's at the expense of having Corn late in the year and Armah, among other moves. We absolutely should not have kept Fozzy, and the two kickers is just flabbergasting. I may be living in a fantasy land but I'm hoping it can still be fixed a bit with a kicker getting traded and Armah coming back on the squad before week 1. Still wouldn't be much redemption at all and unlikely to happen.

[Mark S]

2 minutes ago, thomas96 said:

I think he cares about winning a ring more than anything but has zero clue how to do it and has put it all into his own hands like Jerry Jones.

 

This team will continue to be damn near impossible to follow for as long as JR is alive and owner. 

 

And in response to part of your OP, I think the Kaaya over Webb move is actually good IF we have to keep 3 QBs but we definitely shouldn't be keeping 3 QBs right now if it's at the expense of having Corn late in the year and Armah, among other moves. We absolutely should not have kept Fozzy, and the two kickers is just flabbergasting. I may be living in a fantasy land but I'm hoping it can still be fixed a bit with a kicker getting traded and Armah coming back on the squad before week 1. Still wouldn't be much redemption at all and unlikely to happen.

I agree with some of that but the only reason I don't like Kaaya over Webb is because Webb was versatile, fit the offense, and was actually a decent ST player. 

Keeping Fozzy was so so so dumb. 

[LinvilleGorge]

24 minutes ago, Promethean Forerunner said:

No, he wasn't.  It was virtually the same squad as 2015. Injuries killed us. 

Injuries definitely hurt us bad, but going into the season with a CB corps consisting nearly entirely of rookies was definitely a mistake.

[Mark S]

12 minutes ago, Castavar said:

There is absolutely nothing to get excited about past this year, knowing JR and Hurney will have full control over this team. Doing the same sh*t over and over and expecting different results. We'll go right back to being irrelevant and pushing out 7-9 records every year. G-man may have had his faults, but dammit, it was time for this franchise to get a cut throat GM who didn't give a sh*t about veterans and happy places. We were on our way to finally turning this thing around for many years to come. Managed to get us out of cap hell WHILE also maintaining competitive play.

And tbh, I'm starting to think that G-man didn't even want Rivera, but JR forced him to keep him. Wouldn't surprise me one bit.

As much as I hate to believe that this team's future doesn't look so bright, I have to agree. 

[Lumps]

44 minutes ago, KillerKat said:

We may squeak by a winning record this year. Next year and going forward, I don't foresee another winning season until Rivera is gone and/or JR is no longer the owner of the Panthers.

I wouldn't go this far. As much as I dislike the ownership style of my favorite team, including coaching personnel...every so often the talent of the players and rosters fights to overcome it. Unfortunately, the feeling is short lived, because there is only so much you can do from the bottom. You need support from the top.

The biggest issue with this franchise is consistency and that is directly job. It just won't happen until new ownership.

[Mark S]

Isn't it sad though? There's literally nothing that can be done about it until JR passes (of course I'm not wishing for his death) or sells the team, which I can't see happening in his lifetime. 

[NJPanthers12]

52 minutes ago, Mark S said:

As a Panthers fan, whether you liked Gettleman or not, it was clear to see that this team was built for the future. Although all his decisions were not loved by everyone, most logical fans realized that the "business-only" mantra that Gettleman brought was better for the sake of reaching our ultimate goal and winning a Super Bowl. 

But Jerry Richardson still owned the team and he put his own feelings towards specific players over doing what an owner should do, which is taking whatever steps necessary to win a Super Bowl. 

After Hurney was fired, we brought in Gettleman who used his "business-only" attitude to get us out of cap hell and take us to a Super Bowl in the process. Although he didn't make Josh Norman the highest paid corner in NFL history or keeping the bad locker room presence in Steve Smith, we were comfortable that these decisions were necessary if a team wanted to be a perennial contender for a Super Bowl. Gettleman drafted great (even past the first round) and was consistent in finding UDFA gems.

But don't get me wrong, Gettleman had his mistakes. He did throw two rookie corners out in the open to start all of last year, although the decision seems to be paying off so far. He ignored the OT position for quite a while which led to the poor performance for Cam last year. It's  arguable that the safety position was not taken very seriously as well. But this offseason, Gettleman acknowledged his mistakes, drafted two offensive playmakers, gave up the big bucks for an OT, and brought in a decent safety. 

Now most fans believe that the reason Gettleman was fired is due to the whole TD/Olsen debacle and lingering feelings from Josh Norman being released. So fine, Gettleman was fired. 95% of fans hated it but there was a glimmer of hope that the replacement would carry over a similar mantra who could continue to build success for the future of this team. But no, Jerry Richardson had 0 intention of doing this. He brought back the SAME GM who clearly was ruining this team. For what? Only to be Jerry Richardson's yes man and so players' feelings would never get hurt. 

So as a result, here we are with a team which cut Joe Webb for Brad Kaaya (while keeping a poor-performing Derek Anderson), kept 2 kickers, 4 running backs, and made other questionable roster moves. 

How can anyone feel comfortable about the future of this team with decisions like this being made? We can't. And we have Jerry Richardson to thank. 

You get it my man. Congratulations on being part of the small group of this fan base who is actually capable of thinking for themselves. You aren't a sheep who blindly follows every single move Jerry makes just because he brought a team to Charlotte.

Jerry is a cancer to this franchise and will continue to be every single day for the rest of his tenure as owner. He has shown he is incapable of changing. He had a great 3 year run where he stayed out of the football operations, but the second he found the slightest reason to swoop in, he fired the best GM this franchise has ever had for absolutley no reason.

The future is bleak under this awful owner and only getting worse as he continues to surround himself with yes men.