Sneak Peak: Why Kelvin Benjamin Was Traded, And Why The Panthers Could Be Better Because Of It

[SmartyHurney]

Just now, Daddy_Uncle said:

why do you put so much effort into journalism work for something you don't get paid for?

This is entirely low effort. This guy is over his head in every post he makes.

[Woodie]

31 minutes ago, csx said:

Is Samuel an excellent route runner? I'm not suggesting he isn't but he's pretty new to being a full on receiver and a rookie.

After being upset I will have to be optimistic. There's no reason to be anything else.

I think he's better than some give him credit for, but he's far from a finished product.  I think he can be good now, but he can be very good and possibly great in a couple of years.

[Woodie]

31 minutes ago, saX man said:

The biggest issue is still the value we got.  

This is my main issue.  I felt that we could have gotten at least a 2nd, and maybe a late 1st if a team was desperate enough for a big possession receiver.  However, I did worry how much effort we would get out of KB if he signed a big contract.  His effort is inconsistent as it is, so what will it be when he gets a guaranteed 20-30 million?

However, if the reports that his knee is a ticking time bomb are correct, then we might be lucky to get what we did.  

[micnificent28]

49 minutes ago, Saca312 said:

Sammy Watkins only warranted a 2nd rounder. And he's spades better than Kelvin, and despite popular opinion is actually even more reliable than Julio Jones in terms of health.

The fact we got a 3rd and 7th rounder despite KB lacking in qualities on film is actually good. He isn't a first round caliber receiver so far imo. Only decent on digs and in RZ a few times.

Otherwise, he's lazy on routes (simply because he lacks the athleticism; just look up his metrics), lets smaller defenders beat him, and is terrible against man coverage and press at getting separation.

But a third for that is pretty good.

Sammy Watkins is a bigger bust than whatever you think KB is. He was taken higher and probably missed just as many games as kb with the torn acl. is he more talented? sure..but he is inconsistent and disappears on a weekly basis. He is not Spades better than KB.

[TheSpecialJuan]

excellent work, like always.

[Popsickle]

1 hour ago, Saca312 said:

Just a sneak peak of unedited material that will come out tomorrow from me. 

Finding A New Identity

Over the off-season, the Panthers constantly talked about "evolving" on offense. It was a term that turned into a mantra; a motto of sorts. It seemed a week didn't pass by without another hype piece on the future of the Panthers

However, no one expected the Panthers to follow through. After all, history shows the Panthers generally don't do well with executing their plans. Then, the Panthers drafted Christian McCaffrey and Curtis Samuel.

With those two draft picks, hype levels went through the roof. The Panthers just drafted two of college's biggest play-makers with interchangeable roles. With these two players combined with Cam Newton and co., many were expecting a dominating offense that could even exceed 2011 levels.

Even so, one thing stood in the way. What do the Panthers do with their "twin towers?"

A Very "Big" Problem

In a way, having Kelvin Benjamin and Devin Funchess on the field at the same time limits the Panthers offense. Both are tall, physical receivers who sadly lack the speed or ability to garner much separation. They are not very good deep threats and play inconsistent.

Former Panther great Steve Smith Sr. sums it up nicely:

"There are routes that those two guys [Benjamin & Funchess] can't run. So if you have the same two guys running the same routes it limits your offense and route tree. That means you become predictable and when you become predictable, then defenses can pin their ears back."

The biggest issue is having two receivers who just aren't complimentary of each other. Both provide a similar skill-set with very little diversity. As a result, defenses don't respect the Panthers offense whatsoever, often not playing deep safeties and playing man coverage.

In fact, this also gives the defenses the ability to cheat. By playing press coverage on most snaps, they can limit the effectiveness of Kelvin Benjamin, making him a non-threat. With Benjamin's lack of vertical separation, they know they can lock him up and even sit on underneath routes without worry.

Panthers Head Coach Ron Rivera adds more:

"We are getting a lot of man to man press. We have to be able to break it quickly and we didn't have that out there."

Simple fact is, both wide receivers want to play on the field without losing snaps. Even though they don't mesh well together, the Panthers felt it necessary to involve both of them despite the disadvantages it presents.

In effect, this hampered the development of far better compliments in Curtis Samuel and Russell Shepard. Both receivers are excellent route-runners who had very little attention for most of the season.

It really came down to picking between Funchess and Benjamin. Would the Panthers rather keep Kelvin Benjamin, his 5th year option, despite knowing he has a low ceiling, knee issues, and older, or would the Panthers rather keep Funchess; a receiver with better route running, potential, and much younger and cheaper.

It was a simple no-brainer for Marty Hurney.

So, where does the offense go from here, and how will it actually be better as soon as this year?

Find out when the main part comes out.

____

TL;DR - Kelvin Benjamin had to go. Funchess > Benjamin. Can't have Funchess and Benjamin together, as they don't compliment e/o at all. Made financial, logical, and necessary sense with good trade value.

How many Saca hot takes so little time...

[TheSpecialJuan]

35 minutes ago, sanjay_rajput said:

This offense is slowly becoming more Patriotsesque!

Right. Many teams have gone the, having multiple specific WR's instead of 1 go to guy route.

[shulasmyhero]

Sorry, I just can't get on board with this Pollyanna view of the trade.

The Hurney line is BS.

Hurney tells us that it's been discussed for months, didn't pursue the trade, presented the opportunity they took it, now expect the offense to improve because they'll be able to inject more speed (while not adding any speed mind you). 

If all of this is true, Hurney and the coaching staff have confirmed their utter incompetence.  If KB and lack of speed, limited route tree, etc. is your problem, why weren't you trying to fix it yourself? Why wait for the phone to ring and make a last minute decision.  If you needed to inject speed, why not plan ahead and try to get something now?  Hurney thinks we're all stupid but he really is an absolute bafoon that we're going to be stuck with for a long while. This is the type of moronic move made by a guy that has no concerns about getting fired.

Are Ron and Shula so incompetent that they can't call a play that isolates Samuel on the outside?  I think we know the answer. This is really where I struggle with the whole thing, the incompetence of Mike Shula in particular , is now being pinned on KB.  Ron and Co. always have an excuse or an explanation for their failures buts its never Ron or Shula.  

Is KB an elite WR? nope.  He's a number 2 WR put in a number 1 role by default.  He's the best WR we had on the roster.  Removing KB and replacing him with nothing, does not improve the offense.  It just gives Ron another future excuse.

 

[Saca312]

6 minutes ago, micnificent28 said:

Sammy Watkins is a bigger bust than whatever you think KB is. He was taken higher and probably missed just as many games as kb with the torn acl. is he more talented? sure..but he is inconsistent and disappears on a weekly basis. He is not Spades better than KB.

Sure. Here's a good breakdown of a very elite WR.

 

[Popsickle]

6 minutes ago, shulasmyhero said:

Sorry, I just can't get on board with this Pollyanna view of the trade.

The Hurney line is BS.

Hurney tells us that it's been discussed for months, didn't pursue the trade, presented the opportunity they took it, now expect the offense to improve because they'll be able to inject more speed (while not adding any speed mind you). 

If all of this is true, Hurney and the coaching staff have confirmed their utter incompetence.  If KB and lack of speed, limited route tree, etc. is your problem, why weren't you trying to fix it yourself? Why wait for the phone to ring and make a last minute decision.  If you needed to inject speed, why not plan ahead and try to get something now?  Hurney thinks we're all stupid but he really is an absolute bafoon that we're going to be stuck with for a long while. This is the type of moronic move made by a guy that has no concerns about getting fired.

Are Ron and Shula so incompetent that they can't call a play that isolates Samuel on the outside?  I think we know the answer. This is really where I struggle with the whole thing, the incompetence of Mike Shula in particular , is now being pinned on KB.  Ron and Co. always have an excuse or an explanation for their failures buts its never Ron or Shula.  

Is KB an elite WR? nope.  He's a number 2 WR put in a number 1 role by default.  He's the best WR we had on the roster.  Removing KB and replacing him with nothing, does not improve the offense.  It just gives Ron another future excuse.

 

This 100%!!!

[CPantherKing]

1 hour ago, saX man said:

The biggest issue is still the value we got.  He was a proven first rounder and we got a 3rd and 7th.  You can't cherry coat or change that.

I do think Funchess was the right one to keep of the two as much as the anti-Funch faction may hate it.

If Funchess-Samuel somehow works fairly quickly, then this will start to look somewhat ok but man, I'm just going to be ugh until I see this unit play again.  

A proven 1st rounder makes pro bowls and takes over games in the clutch. A proven second rounder catches the ball more than 60% of the time. A proven 3rd rounder can start in the NFL and fill a void.

At the moment, KB and Funchess are both worth 3rd round picks at best. A considerable loss in value given what the Panthers gave up for them.

Now, Greg Olsen is worth a 2nd rounder and may even push for a 1st round pick with some teams. Olsen was a great move and has positive return for the Panthers.

People are way too high on some of these bad investments. Be glad the Panthers got a 3rd round pick for KB.

[micnificent28]

3 minutes ago, CPantherKing said:

A proven 1st rounder makes pro bowls and takes over games in the clutch. A proven second rounder catches the ball more than 60% of the time. A proven 3rd rounder can start in the NFL and fill a void.

At the moment, KB and Funchess are both worth 3rd round picks at best. A considerable loss in value given what the Panthers gave up for them.

Now, Greg Olsen is worth a 2nd rounder and may even push for a 1st round pick with some teams. Olsen was a great move and has positive return for the Panthers.

People are way too high on some of these bad investments. Be glad the Panthers got a 3rd round pick for KB.

How many 3rd rounders do you see putting up 900-1000 yards ever year? stop it...

[Saca312]

Just now, micnificent28 said:

How many 3rd rounders do you see putting up 900-1000 yards ever year? stop it...

To be fair Kelvin Benjamin had manufactured inflated targets. Over-targeted, which many on here have complained about with Cam not distributing the ball around.

I’d agree with CPantherKing on this one. KB has performed like a 3rd rounder; not a 1st. You can argue yards all you want, but efficiency of offense is what i’d rather have.

Though i am far higher on funchess than he is.

[micnificent28]

Just now, Saca312 said:

To be fair Kelvin Benjamin had manufactured inflated targets. Over-targeted, which many on here have complained about with Cam not distributing the ball around.

I’d agree with CPantherKing on this one. KB has performed like a 3rd rounder; not a 1st. You can argue yards all you want, but efficiency of offense is what i’d rather have.

Though i am far higher on funchess than he is.

So you already think Funchess is better than KB... I guess we will see.. You could argue that manufactured Targets with any team in the league...QB's look to there best player when they need it. Cam hasn't been locking on to KB this year and his yardage were still on pace for 900-1000. That's with McCaffery leading the team in targets receptions and all that. I believe you are a lot lower on a solid player than you should be. Is he a world beater? nope. He immediately walks in to Buffalo as there number one. Fact is there aren't enough top 10 guys that you are thinking of to go around. Which is why someone like megatron and even aquan bolden are trying to be pursued out of retirement. Is he slow and run bad routes? Yes. But i dout there are 10-15 guys that are better than him in jump ball situations which is where he makes his money and will.