Fan Optimism and Enthusiasm

[t96]

Shula's gone... I'm the most excited I've been in years.

[Mr. Scot]

Coaching: More optimistic; Shula being gone and Turner being in charge should make a huge difference; and although he's unproven, I feel positive about the addition of Travelle Wharton

Front Office: Highly pessimistic; seeing things set up to have the job handed to Marty Hurney again when we have actual qualified candidates fills me with disgust

Ownership: Anxious; there's been little to no word on this front for a long time; having Jerry Richardson gone is going to be a good thing, but until we know who's replacing him it's impossible to know how to feel about the future

[Ship]

Coaches: I support Ron. He's got the players on his side and I think he's done an incredible job guiding this team each season. We could be a dumpster fire with some of the things that have happened here over the years, but instead we're a regular playoff contender. Glad Shula is gone. Norv gets my full support. I hope to see him preside over one of Cam's best seasons and to see CMC get used correctly so the team has the blueprint for it going forward. Washington should be good. He is a leader for sure and seems to be taking the best of everyone else's game plans to make his own. I hope we get some extra personnel for him, because the defense is withering at a lot of spots.

GM: What can we do? Hurney is here for now no matter what. I think he took some notes and self-evaluated after his last stint. He seems to be making some more objective decisions and sees the roster pretty clearly right now since he hasn't been deep in it for a decade anymore. I hope to see him run a solid FA and at the very least give us a quality first rounder. Not sure I can expect much after round 1, but with an extra 3rd, maybe he can pull off something.

Players: This is our toughest spot. We're hitting a major turnover point on the roster. There's no guarantee that all these guys who are retiring are gonna be good this last year. I hope so, but injuries are a high risk for them now and age hits you fast. I also think we're hurting for quality replacements. All the sudden our LBs are lacking. TD isn't fast enough. He's still great, but Shaq should be a better player than he has been so far and I don't think we can say he's the true replacement. I hope he is and that he shows it this year, but I'm worried about it. Luke needs a quality running partner and I kinda hope we get someone in the draft this year who we could roll the dice on. DEs obviously need a guy. I hope Hall pans out, but we're dropping like flies here. Same for Safety-- I've been on the draft a stud safety train for several years now, I think they'd be much more of a difference maker than we'd expect. Keep Adams and ditch Coleman. CB-- these guys are inconsistent and were shaky last year, but I think at least one of them will come through for us this year. I think it's worth it to draft another guy as insurance, but the guy we traded Buffalo for might also grow into someone. Washington's scheme might be nicer to this group too. On offense, the O-line will be interesting. We need to draft a C. If we lose Norwell, which seems possible, if we can grab a stud C/G to play next to Ryan this year and then move over after that, just like he did, that would be ideal. I think Greg will stick around a few more years, but we really need to get a play maker next to him. His injury risk will only get higher. RB-- We need to move on from Stew and get a new bowling ball who can catch and block. I'd be happy with a revamp of this position. WR-- excited for Funch. I hope he is with Muhammed all offseason and that with a full offseason as the guy, he levels up. Samuel and Byrd look good, but I'm hoping we use FA to get a guy who can play the 1/2 to push Funch and provide another threat. OT, nothing much to say. We're gonna roll with who we have this year, but I hope we keep fishing for a guy to take over LT in the future.

Lots of questions on the player side-- lets see what Hurney can provide in the way of answers.

[GRWatcher]

Despite all the changes in coaching staff I'm tempering my usual optimism simply because of the ownership change that is coming. Even if it's a fan-positive ownership group that wins the bid things are never smooth with a major change like what we have coming and the impact can not be mitigated. The culture will change. I don't expect a winning season for a year or two. Hopefully the new owners will be less like Dan Snyder and more like Shahid Khan.

[CashNewton22]

I’m personally excited but I also try not to stay on the board too much because it feels like doom and gloom whenever anything Panthers related happens on here as of late. I’m excited to have fresh blood ideas and approaches within the organization and I’m also in the extreme minority who doesn’t believe Hurney will be GM beyond his contract so that gives me even more hope. #KEEPPOUNDING

[h0llywood]

Going into this season I am more optimistic.... not even all the internal changes (ownership, GM, OC, DC) and the every other year curse makes me pessimistic about next season. As long as we have a healthy Cam and healthy Luke, the team will always be in the running.

[Snake]

Mas o menos

[Leeroy Jenkins Ph.D.]

I am stoked for next year.  While many people preach continuity, I am all for change.  Time to get a new set of eyes and opinions. 

[Mr. Scot]

8 minutes ago, Leeroy Jenkins Ph.D. said:

I am stoked for next year.  While many people preach continuity, I am all for change.  Time to get a new set of eyes and opinions. 

So you'll be ready to run full steam into next season before anybody else? All while the rest of us are just sitting and talking about it? 

[Leeroy Jenkins Ph.D.]

1 minute ago, Mr. Scot said:

So you'll be ready to run full steam into next season before anybody else? 

Let's do this!  Leeeeerooooooooooooooy   Jeeeeennnnkiiinnsss!!!!!!!!!

[Mr. Scot]

2 minutes ago, Leeroy Jenkins Ph.D. said:

Let's do this!  Leeeeerooooooooooooooy   Jeeeeennnnkiiinnsss!!!!!!!!!

Typical 

[Ricky Spanish]

The super bowl broke me.

I don't get excited like I used to. 

[nosuchthingasapanther]

my offseason excitement level is dictated by the amount of panthers "breaking news". 

it's starting to taper off...so some new poo needs to happen.

[Mr. Scot]

2 minutes ago, nosuchthingasapanther said:

my offseason excitement level is dictated by the amount of panthers "breaking news". 

it's starting to taper off...so some new poo needs to happen.

GM interviews are happening later this week.

Shortly after that we'll get the official announcement that Marty Hurney has been named GM.