Is Fitterer the right guy?

[NJPanthers12]

while i believe fit should have left with rhule as im a big believer as the GM and coach should be on the same schedule, it is absolutely stupid and illogical to judge fitterer off 2 preseason games.

[Khyber53]

I've been asking this for years but it just creates a poo storm. I'm unimpressed with the guy to be honest. This is sad, but I don't think he's close to the talent evaluator that Marty was, or the horse trader. And I'm not really a big fan of Marty.

From the moment he said, "We're in on every deal" I began to suspect he wasn't up to the job. That's the kind of thing a rube says, the sucker says, the guy left holding the bag says. So far, he hasn't been proving me terribly wrong.

You know what, though? I'd really rather be proven completely wrong by him and there's a chance to him to do this starting now. Maybe he hasn't been suckered time and time again, maybe he's played the long game well with the limited cards he was dealt.

But let's be honest. Things have not gotten better in any way since Ron Rivera left and that's a pretty telling situation. Really let that sink in. It hasn't gotten better. That's ownership from the get go and Fitterer and Rhule together the year after. 

I'm hoping new coach and new staff and new QB will be the formula. If not, then it may well be a top down situation.

[panthers55]

23 hours ago, TheCasillas said:

I hate that huddle has become a place where people can just dump their insecure foundationless thoughts. 

It is on one level a reflection of how our fanbase has been traumatized throughout the late Rivera and Rhule years. But on another level is highly predictable. Complainers find things to complain about. Self proclaimed realists are usually pessimists who want a better title, and optimists always hope this will be the year things turn around or we actually have a winning record let alone two in a row.

Should make the regular season quite lively...

[Mr. Scot]

6 minutes ago, Khyber53 said:

This is sad, but I don't think he's close to the talent evaluator that Marty was

[onmyown]

No he isn’t. No worthwhile GM signs up to just so the paperwork for a college coach and in general has more than one team looking at them. Fit is simply gets the players his coach wants which is more fine if you have a proven coach. But how many people want to work for Tepper? He’s not a football guy. Half his round table includes his wife and a customer relations person.

This board is full of people optimistic every year and the Panthers can do no wrong. And just pointing this out makes you a doom and gloomer, sometimes a fake fan. The irony is these overly optimistic posters all disappear come the beginning/mid October. 

They come in with high expectations because their football experience is three hours on Sunday but only if the Panthers are winning.

But to those who follow the NFL in general for years know this team is still building and have realistic expectations. But we aren’t real fans because we say the Panthers aren’t going to the playoffs this year. We also know Fit should been canned with Rhule, Hurney with Rivera. and Tepper is a god awful owner that won’t find success until luck strikes or he hires help.

The best thing about this year imo are our assistant and coordinator coaches. They have the talent to eventually be a good HC. Like McDermott. I don’t believe Reich is all that great but I’m willing to give it time.

Edited August 20, 2023 by onmyown

[panthers55]

As for Fitterer being criticized for getting the players the coaches want, that is exactly what he is supposed to do.  One of the criticisms of Gettleman was that he fell in love with a player and overuled his staff which caused drafting guys like Benjamin and Butler.  The GM is supposed to hire his guy and then get the players his coach needs to achieve their shared vision. Of course Fitterer didn't pick Rhule nor did he have the power it seems to overrule Rhule's personnel choices. So anything he has done before this season is tempered by Rhules influence.

Moving forward however, Fitterer did get his guy and the players Reich wants for his scheme. Criticisms after this season for picking Bryce and building the roster can rest on Fitterer's shoulders as he seems the major architect this time around.

Edited August 20, 2023 by panthers55

[Khyber53]

4 hours ago, Mr. Scot said:

Like I said, it's sad. That's not a high mark to clear, yanno?

Don't get me wrong, I'll never call for Marty's return. I don't even have much praise, and what there is is faint for him. Still, we've had more than our share of duds brought in both by draft and free agency since Fitterer came on board.

It had a lot to do with the coaching. I'm hoping with new coaches, it'll prove that it rested fully on Rhule's shoulders. If not... well... there it is.

Edited August 20, 2023 by Khyber53

[CRA]

On 8/19/2023 at 12:39 PM, KillerKat said:

Yes. The best we have ever had. He does what a GM is supposed to. Bring value to the team. You are an idiot if you dont recognize the value moves that has been made. How many times have you seen Hurney make WTF move? Just above every move he made. 

I mean Fitt has a lot of dumb or questionable stuff attached to his him name and little time has gone by to ink in the value he has brought.  But people put all the bad on Matt Rhule.  All the bad was Rhule forcing Fitt into it. He had full power.  Except for anything positive.  Fitt worked that out. 
 

 

[CamWhoaaCam]

Fitt did his job. Talent is here. People hyped this Oline all offseason.

 

This is on the players and coaches if you ask me. 

[tiger7_88]

13 hours ago, Khyber53 said:

But let's be honest. Things have not gotten better in any way since Ron Rivera left

And MoRon and his close buddy Marty left things pretty damn bad.

[tiger7_88]

4 hours ago, CRA said:

I mean Fitt has a lot of dumb or questionable stuff attached to his him name and little time has gone by to ink in the value he has brought.  But people put all the bad on Matt Rhule.  All the bad was Rhule forcing Fitt into it. He had full power.  Except for anything positive.  Fitt worked that out. 
 

 

NOPE.

You take the GM job understanding those conditions?

You are responsible for the outcome of the choices.

”Oh no, it’s not my fault cuz I was a puppet!” is a much worse excuse than “Sorry, I made a bad evaluation and screwed up!”  I’m sure you can (hopefully) see the clear difference.

[pantherj]

The Panthers have never had a GM who I have really liked or thought made the right moves. Fitt has been a train wreck if we're talking about alignment with what I want. I wanted Burns traded for 3 first round picks. You never restructure a player you might trade soon, and then he did just that with CMC and we're on the hook for 18 million this season. Restructure of Donte Jackson's contract after blowing out his Achilles. I don't like what Fitt he's doing, but I'm just a fan. I'm not qualified to evaluate FItt and determine if he's a good GM or not. I don't know, but I don't like what a lot of what he's done. Makes no sense. Darnold made no sense. It's just a mess from my view.

I want a GM who is cold hearted, but also good at evaluating talent. Like Gettleman was cold hearted, but he couldn't evaluate talent very well, like Venon Butler for example. But Gettleman wasn't handing out sweetheart "love you thank you buddie" contracts that benefit the player at our expense unless Jerry Richardson forced him to do so. I want us to win in contract negotiations, but we always lost with Hurney, and now we're handing our worse contract with Fitt. Burn's agent is going to bend Fitt over. That's not how you win, but the players with love our franchise. It sucks.

[TheMaulClaw]

On 8/19/2023 at 7:17 AM, NJPanthers89 said:

I know Fitt likes to be collaborative with his coach, but most coaches are terrible GMs and just want “their guys”.  Miles Sanders is not a good running back, he totally took advantage of having defenses worried about Hurts last year.  But Reich wanted his guy so we overpaid.  
 

At what point does Fitt build his own team and not try to make everyone happy all the time.  That was the one good thing Gettleman did was not give a F about what people wanted, it was all business and building the team he envisioned.  What is Scott’s vision because I don’t see it or any plan whatsoever.

He was Deuce's guy.  But I agree, we should have brought back Foreman and had a legit one two punch.  

[panthers55]

8 hours ago, pantherj said:

The Panthers have never had a GM who I have really liked or thought made the right moves. Fitt has been a train wreck if we're talking about alignment with what I want. I wanted Burns traded for 3 first round picks. You never restructure a player you might trade soon, and then he did just that with CMC and we're on the hook for 18 million this season. Restructure of Donte Jackson's contract after blowing out his Achilles. I don't like what Fitt he's doing, but I'm just a fan. I'm not qualified to evaluate FItt and determine if he's a good GM or not. I don't know, but I don't like what a lot of what he's done. Makes no sense. Darnold made no sense. It's just a mess from my view.

I want a GM who is cold hearted, but also good at evaluating talent. Like Gettleman was cold hearted, but he couldn't evaluate talent very well, like Venon Butler for example. But Gettleman wasn't handing out sweetheart "love you thank you buddie" contracts that benefit the player at our expense unless Jerry Richardson forced him to do so. I want us to win in contract negotiations, but we always lost with Hurney, and now we're handing our worse contract with Fitt. Burn's agent is going to bend Fitt over. That's not how you win, but the players with love our franchise. It sucks.

I don't agree Fitz has done a bad job once he was in charge. He gave Wilks the reins and that worked out pretty well. Bringing in Reich and his staff was a major coup. Reich was clearly one of the best choices out there and his staff is widely regarded as one of the best before the season even starts. 

Clearly your beef is not trading Burns for a bunch of picks.  Let's see how he does before deciding if keeping or trading him was a good idea. And let's see what the final impact he makes versus the cost before bitching about the contract especially the guaranteed amount which is all that matters.

You are right though, players wanted to be here and guys like Shaq took a pay cut just to be a part of what we are building. Sorry to say it but with your take on things I am glad you are like me, just a fan and not the GM. Frankly I haven't been this hopeful in years.