Scott Fitterer - the athletic

[mrcompletely11]

fug you fat fitt, you are one dumb motherfuger.  I mean truly one of the worst GM's the nfl has ever seen.   

 

https://theathletic.com/5150382/2023/12/20/panthers-gm-scott-fitterer-future/

Pretty fair article from Person as usual

 

The burns and corral piece of this is truly baffling

The bad

Turning down the Los Angeles Rams’ offer for Brian Burns

The Panthers were in transition mode last year at the trade deadline. Tepper had fired Rhule two weeks earlier and Fitterer had already moved All-Pro running back Christian McCaffrey and wide receiver Robbie Anderson ahead of the deadline (more on both of those later).

But the deal that looks questionable a year later is the one Fitterer didn’t make. The Rams offered two future first-round picks — in 2024 and ’25 — plus a third in ’23 for Burns, who was in the midst of a career-best, 12 1/2-sack season. Trading Burns would have left the Panthers without their best player on a defense that has kept them in a lot of games the past two seasons.

But the Panthers might have been able to flip the two firsts to Chicago, allowing them to trade for the No. 1 pick without giving up their own first in ’24 and wideout DJ Moore, who would have been an invaluable weapon for rookie quarterback Bryce Young.

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The decision to keep Burns was further complicated by the Panthers’ inability to sign him to a long-term contract. With Fitterer unwilling to meet Burns’ contract demands — around $30 million a year, according to sources — Burns essentially cut off negotiations once the season started and likely will be looking at a franchise tag this offseason.

Moving on from Christian McCaffrey

This was a tough call for Fitterer and the organization because of how effective the multi-talented McCaffrey is when healthy. But the 2017 first-round pick had played in only 10 games in 2020 and ’21 and the big money on his contract was about to hit in ’23.

San Francisco gave up four picks for McCaffrey, although none was a first-round selection. The Panthers used a second from the 49ers in the deal to acquire the first overall pick from Chicago. They packaged a third and fourth from the Niners to trade up for Oregon edge rusher DJ Johnson with the 80th overall pick, considered a reach by most draft experts. Johnson has 14 tackles and no sacks in 10 games.

Meanwhile, McCaffrey has yet to miss a game with San Francisco, leads the NFL in rushing and should get MVP votes while playing for Kyle Shanahan, who babysat McCaffrey and his brothers as a teenager and runs an offense well-suited for McCaffrey’s skill set. With each 100-yard or multi-touchdown game, it seems clear the Panthers didn’t get enough for McCaffrey, who — like Moore — would have been a godsend to a rookie QB.

This year’s free-agent group

Given control of the 53 after Reich’s arrival, Fitterer had the final say in personnel decisions this year. The results have been underwhelming. The Panthers were the only team to pay a free-agent running back, and Miles Sanders has not made much of a case for more spending at the position in the future.

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Sanders, who signed a four-year, $25.4 million contract, has become an afterthought behind Chuba Hubbard while struggling to get untracked. Tight end Hayden Hurst had not found much of a role before suffering a season-ending concussion at Chicago on Nov. 9, while DJ Chark has failed to emerge as a consistent vertical stretch.

The Panthers on Tuesday released veteran edge rusher Justin Houston, who managed a half-sack in seven games before getting hurt. Reich wanted to bring Houston in for his leadership and productivity, while former running backs coach Duce Staley is said to have backed the signings of Sanders and Chark. But Fitterer had to sign off on all of them.

 

Trading up for Matt Corral

Former Panthers GM Dave Gettleman used to warn against “shopping hungry,” which is what the Panthers did during the 2022 draft while looking to upgrade the QB position (after previously missing out on Matthew Stafford and Deshaun Watson). The Panthers talked to the Cleveland Browns during the draft about trading for Baker Mayfield, while thinking about taking a shot on a mid-round quarterback.

After Malik Willis went to Tennessee in the third round, the Panthers traded up for Matt Corral, the Ole Miss quarterback who had not interviewed well and exhibited “unreliable behavior” in college, according to the NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. The Panthers took Corral over former UNC quarterback Sam Howell, who has started 14 games for Washington this year, and the Niners’ Brock Purdy, who, in fairness, was not viewed as a mid-round prospect.

Corral sustained a season-ending foot injury during a preseason game as a rookie, and was released during final cuts before this season. Corral signed with New England before leaving the team before Week 1 for a personal matter. He has not resurfaced for as much as a tryout since.

[CRA]

Still think the bad needs to include making Sam Darnold THE plan.  Picking up his 5th year for no reason. 

[mrcompletely11]

Just now, CRA said:

Still think the bad needs to include making Sam Darnold THE plan.  Picking up his 5th year for no reason. 

100% but to me the worst moves (or non moves) was not taking the burns deal and Corral.  The dude is literally out of the league and he had, as person points out, a ton of red flags.

[Seltzer]

10 minutes ago, mrcompletely11 said:

fug you fat fitt, you are one dumb motherfuger.  I mean truly one of the worst GM's the nfl has ever seen.   

 

https://theathletic.com/5150382/2023/12/20/panthers-gm-scott-fitterer-future/

Pretty fair article from Person as usual

 

The burns and corral piece of this is truly baffling

The bad

Turning down the Los Angeles Rams’ offer for Brian Burns

The Panthers were in transition mode last year at the trade deadline. Tepper had fired Rhule two weeks earlier and Fitterer had already moved All-Pro running back Christian McCaffrey and wide receiver Robbie Anderson ahead of the deadline (more on both of those later).

But the deal that looks questionable a year later is the one Fitterer didn’t make. The Rams offered two future first-round picks — in 2024 and ’25 — plus a third in ’23 for Burns, who was in the midst of a career-best, 12 1/2-sack season. Trading Burns would have left the Panthers without their best player on a defense that has kept them in a lot of games the past two seasons.

But the Panthers might have been able to flip the two firsts to Chicago, allowing them to trade for the No. 1 pick without giving up their own first in ’24 and wideout DJ Moore, who would have been an invaluable weapon for rookie quarterback Bryce Young.

Advertisement

The decision to keep Burns was further complicated by the Panthers’ inability to sign him to a long-term contract. With Fitterer unwilling to meet Burns’ contract demands — around $30 million a year, according to sources — Burns essentially cut off negotiations once the season started and likely will be looking at a franchise tag this offseason.

Moving on from Christian McCaffrey

This was a tough call for Fitterer and the organization because of how effective the multi-talented McCaffrey is when healthy. But the 2017 first-round pick had played in only 10 games in 2020 and ’21 and the big money on his contract was about to hit in ’23.

San Francisco gave up four picks for McCaffrey, although none was a first-round selection. The Panthers used a second from the 49ers in the deal to acquire the first overall pick from Chicago. They packaged a third and fourth from the Niners to trade up for Oregon edge rusher DJ Johnson with the 80th overall pick, considered a reach by most draft experts. Johnson has 14 tackles and no sacks in 10 games.

Meanwhile, McCaffrey has yet to miss a game with San Francisco, leads the NFL in rushing and should get MVP votes while playing for Kyle Shanahan, who babysat McCaffrey and his brothers as a teenager and runs an offense well-suited for McCaffrey’s skill set. With each 100-yard or multi-touchdown game, it seems clear the Panthers didn’t get enough for McCaffrey, who — like Moore — would have been a godsend to a rookie QB.

This year’s free-agent group

Given control of the 53 after Reich’s arrival, Fitterer had the final say in personnel decisions this year. The results have been underwhelming. The Panthers were the only team to pay a free-agent running back, and Miles Sanders has not made much of a case for more spending at the position in the future.

Advertisement

Sanders, who signed a four-year, $25.4 million contract, has become an afterthought behind Chuba Hubbard while struggling to get untracked. Tight end Hayden Hurst had not found much of a role before suffering a season-ending concussion at Chicago on Nov. 9, while DJ Chark has failed to emerge as a consistent vertical stretch.

The Panthers on Tuesday released veteran edge rusher Justin Houston, who managed a half-sack in seven games before getting hurt. Reich wanted to bring Houston in for his leadership and productivity, while former running backs coach Duce Staley is said to have backed the signings of Sanders and Chark. But Fitterer had to sign off on all of them.

 

Trading up for Matt Corral

Former Panthers GM Dave Gettleman used to warn against “shopping hungry,” which is what the Panthers did during the 2022 draft while looking to upgrade the QB position (after previously missing out on Matthew Stafford and Deshaun Watson). The Panthers talked to the Cleveland Browns during the draft about trading for Baker Mayfield, while thinking about taking a shot on a mid-round quarterback.

After Malik Willis went to Tennessee in the third round, the Panthers traded up for Matt Corral, the Ole Miss quarterback who had not interviewed well and exhibited “unreliable behavior” in college, according to the NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. The Panthers took Corral over former UNC quarterback Sam Howell, who has started 14 games for Washington this year, and the Niners’ Brock Purdy, who, in fairness, was not viewed as a mid-round prospect.

Corral sustained a season-ending foot injury during a preseason game as a rookie, and was released during final cuts before this season. Corral signed with New England before leaving the team before Week 1 for a personal matter. He has not resurfaced for as much as a tryout since.

You know I'm not afraid to push back when I don't agree, but this article (and your take) is spot on.

I'll lead the riot on Mint St if Scotty F is still there on Jan. 8th

[WhoKnows]

1 minute ago, CRA said:

Still think the bad needs to include making Sam Darnold THE plan.  Picking up his 5th year for no reason. 

Don’t forget that we gave up a good amount more draft pick value (gave early picks got late picks) to get Darnold and Corral and CMC has had a lower cap hit for SF over 2022-2023 than Darnold and Corral did for us.

I don’t have access to the Athletic but I hope he mentioned how bad our drafting has been the past 3 drafts, especially considering we traded away a zillion picks for almost nothing.

[LinvilleGorge]

We've all been harping about this all year and even longer. We're the worst franchise in the league currently in large part because we've made horrible personnel moves, both in terms of the roster and the coaching ranks. We have some good players and we probably have some good coaches but we don't have enough to overcome the rest of the poo show.

[Panthera onca]

That's a pretty damning indictment on Fitt. 

[KSpan]

10 minutes ago, mrcompletely11 said:

100% but to me the worst moves (or non moves) was not taking the burns deal and Corral.  The dude is literally out of the league and he had, as person points out, a ton of red flags.

And then he screwed up AGAIN by not trading Burns to the Bears instead of Moore. Not as good a deal as the Rams windfall but an acceptable value IMO... and yet... nah, let's keep him and get rid of the proven receiving threat when bringing in an undersized QB that will be specifically leaned on to enable YAC to make the offense go.

[WhoKnows]

1 minute ago, LinvilleGorge said:

We've all been harping about this all year and even longer. We're the worst franchise in the league currently in large part because we've made horrible personnel moves, both in terms of the roster and the coaching ranks. We have some good players and we probably have some good coaches but we don't have enough to overcome the rest of the poo show.

One of the most damning pieces of evidence was when Fitterer said this roster was better except for maybe a couple spots. It shows how little clue he has in evaluating talent and that has turned us into the least talented team in the NFL who doesn’t have the number 1 pick and probably number 33 in 2025.

Also, the fact that we were the only team to sign a high priced RB FA speaks volumes again on a GM who frankly doesn’t know what he’s doing and is wrong 99% of the time.

[Carl Spackler]

Scott Shitterer

[Seltzer]

3 minutes ago, LinvilleGorge said:

We've all been harping about this all year and even longer. We're the worst franchise in the league currently in large part because we've made horrible personnel moves, both in terms of the roster and the coaching ranks. We have some good players and we probably have some good coaches but we don't have enough to overcome the rest of the poo show.

Good & accurate assessment. 

Fitty is the biggest current issue on the team.  There is no logic that could support bringing him back after his cascade of failures, the biggest (and should be unequivocal grounds for termination) was misjudging the roster so incredibly badly to trade up to #1.  And this was just the topping on the cake of bad decisions with draft capital.

That being said, we'll probably never know behind the scenes how much Tepper is pulling the strings.  The fact the Fitty is even still here is a bad sign IMO b/c it seems like Fitty has traded job security for being a yes man to the owner who really wants to run the show.

All we can hope is the Fitty is gone come Jan 8th, and that Tepper hires a legit GM and stays out of the way.

[mrcompletely11]

Just now, WhoKnows said:

One of the most damning pieces of evidence was when Fitterer said this roster was better except for maybe a couple spots. It shows how little clue he has in evaluating talent and that has turned us into the least talented team in the NFL who doesn’t have the number 1 pick and probably number 33 in 2025.

Also, the fact that we were the only team to sign a high priced RB FA speaks volumes again on a GM who frankly doesn’t know what he’s doing and is wrong 99% of the time.

In the future he needs to learn to shut the fug up because the more he talks the more he has stuff that can be used against him.  IE. "We dont plan to be picking in the top 10 again"

[Seltzer]

15 minutes ago, Panthera onca said:

That's a pretty damning indictment on Fitt. 

I would probably leave the "pretty" out lol...  It is damning indictment...

Edited December 20, 2023 by Seltzer

[CRA]

24 minutes ago, mrcompletely11 said:

100% but to me the worst moves (or non moves) was not taking the burns deal and Corral.  The dude is literally out of the league and he had, as person points out, a ton of red flags.

for me, the worst part is, this org has had no vision or horrific plans ever since folks like Fitterer arrived.  

everything is that.  Love or hate Teddy, keeping him and drafting a QB made sense.  They messed that up.  Then the Sam Darnold era made zero sense.  Instead of a depth chart project he was THE plan.   Then they have Cam save us from our nightmare move that frankly made zero sense outside of getting fans off their back so they/we could have that farewell with him...and then they didn't even give us that.  Then the pointless Baker era.  Then the dysfunctional trade the farm for Bryce Young and give him no weapons or weapons that don't fit what he would be doing because somehow, because he doesn't need them. 

Scott Fitterer IMO wasn't qualified to come into a weak front office and build a team because he was a weak candidate to begin with.  Came in here and IMO has thought he could somehow create some discount version of the Seattle LOB team.  I think Horn was Fitterer.  That's always what made sense.  Think Bryce was Fitterer.  Think the mindset you can have a discount O with a small QB and heavily invest in your D is Fitterer.     But it was a whack vision.  Seattled pimped Russell and the LOB.  What made it actually work IMO was the ground and pound of Lynch.  Dominant run game paired w/ a fluke D (in terms of how it all came together and how good it was.  You can't build that intentionally).