A Few Observations About the Very-near Future....

[SnarkAttack]

So I'm between deadlines and "spreading my work out" currently and thus have time to write completely speculative essays about the state of the woeful Panthers. So, as we fritter the season away via one-hopped passes and cushy zone coverage, I figured I'd take a look to the future for our new coaching regime - it's going to be kind of a shock to a have a new philosophy implemented with personnel decisions, playing style, media conduct, etc. Here's what I won't miss from the Fox era -

1) Refusing to draft quarterbacks. Yes, I know. Clausen was a second rounder, but that was most likely Hurney or Richardson's call. With us passing on several prolific passers in the past (Brees, Flacco, Kolb -IMO) because they "take too long to develop," it'll be nice to at least know we're CONSIDERING drafting passers next year and in the future. Seeing as we're headed straight for a Top 3 pick, this may be of more importance as our season continues to spiral into the depths of forgettfulness.

2) Undervaluing pass catching tight ends. For year, we've bickered about how to take safety pressure off Steve Smith. Meanwhile, freakish athletes like Jermichael Finley, Antonio Gates, Vernon Davis, Kellen Winslow, Tony Gonzalez etc. etc. have done just that, freeing up their X, Y and slot recivers by requiring a safety instead of a linebacker for pass coverage. Hopefully, the new regime will be acutely aware of the evolving responsibilities of the tight end.

3) Ignoring the value of using the pass to open up the run. No examples needed.

4) Playing coy with the media. Ok, so in Dallas, Wade Phillips doesn't exactly have a propensity for giving colorful, in-depth interviews. The owner, however, does. The problem with the Panthers organization (in the fans' eyes) is nobody is owning up to issues of a bad team or taking respnsibility for bad decisions. Every time Fox nonchalantly brushes off questions from the media, he's shunning the fans, as well. We can only hope the new head coach and his staff will be a little more respectful of the fans and media - even if the owner is set in his ways.

5) Being TOO loyal. This may be a three part problem (Fox, Hurney, Richardson), but Fox held onto Delhomme WAY too long, even extending his contract following a historically bad performance in the playoffs. Now, there's something to be said for retaining a player's trust and "sticking to your guns," so to speak, but when it's a detriment to the product on the field, it's completely counterintuitive. Other examples include inexplicably starting Deshaun Foster in front of DeAngelo (seriously???), hanging onto Minter too long, and continuing to start Stephen Davis when he was clearly past his prime. I'm sure you can think of more.

6) Being old school. It's a new league - you have to be able to pass and defend the pass while remaining competent against the run. If my memory serves me correctly, the Colts last year had the league's worst run defense and were an onside kick away from winning a world title. Now, granted, having an All-Universe QB goes a long way in offsetting any deficiencies among the defense, but it's worth noting, at least. For too long, we've stuck to our philsophy of running the ball and stopping the run, and by the time we had the epiphany that the league has shifted, it was far too late to do anything about it. Hence drafting a QB, 3 receivers and 2 pass rushers in last year's draft.

Please feel free to chime in about what you're looking forward to regarding the change in guard in T-minus 9 weeks....

[CBDellinger]

Lots of issues there to deal with. And a lot of good points.

All this is going to take a lot longer to correct than mst people think. We will still not be a very good team next year and likely the year after that...

It might be 3 years until we see another winning season.

[Fiz]

observations of the future?

what kind of arcane magicks is this?

[panthers55]

Lots of issues there to deal with. And a lot of good points.

All this is going to take a lot longer to correct than mst people think. We will still not be a very good team next year and likely the year after that...

It might be 3 years until we see another winning season.

It likely depends on whether Hurney will listen to the new coach and bring in a few free agents who can help us right way or whether we only build through the draft. We are not nearly as bad as we look right now. It is too late for this year but next years things could turn around significantly. Fox went from 1-16 to the Superbowl in 2 years.

[Proudiddy]

Lots of issues there to deal with. And a lot of good points.

All this is going to take a lot longer to correct than mst people think. We will still not be a very good team next year and likely the year after that...

It might be 3 years until we see another winning season.

If Otah is healthy next year, and we'll most likely have to draft a QB, I suggest signing McNabb in the meantime, and then re-sign our guys (DLo, TD, Anderson, not sure about Marshall yet, Kalil,etc.), if the coach is somewhat legit I don't see why we won't bounce right back into playoff contention.

[C47]

Great points, I think the biggest things are being to loyal and the old school mentality. It's not like we don't have pass catching TE's on our roster, but instead of playing a guy like Rosario or Barnidge the majority of the snaps they send Jeff King who couldn't run away from an electric wheelchair. They even have had WR's on the roster in the past. Not great guys sure, but who's going to look great when you only get one or two opportunitys a game to make a play.

Outside of Steve Smith the majority of our wide outs (except for Moose and Colbert the year Smitty went down) don't get the looks required to make plays. The reason guys like Pierre Garcon, Austin Collie, Malcolm Floyd etc etc.... produce numbers isn't because they're elite receivers, it's because they get around 10 targets a game from their QB's. Just look at what SD is doing this year, no Jackson, no Gates, no Floyd, no Naanee, not even a Buster Davis this weekend but still their fifth sixth and seventh string receivers are still making plays. Yes they have an ELITE QB but he also gives these guys a chance to make plays, something our QB's don't do on a consistent enough basis.

If I'm Jerry Richardson I'm sitting down with Jeff Davidson and John Fox today and saying the rest of the year they need to air it out because we need to evaluate not only Clausen but every one of the receivers and TE's we have on the team. Activate Armanti, activate Thomas and let it rip the rest of the year. It's time to see if we need an AJ Green, or Andrew Luck here....

[CBDellinger]

If Otah is healthy next year, and we'll most likely have to draft a QB, I suggest signing McNabb in the meantime, and then re-sign our guys (DLo, TD, Anderson, not sure about Marshall yet, Kalil,etc.), if the coach is somewhat legit I don't see why we won't bounce right back into playoff contention.

Its certainly possible to rebound... and the way the league is set up any team could become a contender very quickly. But it takes a lot of things going the right way for it to happen quickly. With so many unknowns, esp at the QB position, the likelihood of that happening seems very distant right now.

I'll add to that the possibility that we could have players not wanting to resign or come here because of how terribly the team has performed this year. I know for some players it is all about how much money you throw at them, but I dont think those are the FA players that you really want on your team to make it a contender.

[thefuzz]

What has kept this team from contending on a consistant basis is the QB position.

Even teams like the Steelers, Raven, and Giants knew that you need a good to great QB to compete on a regular basis. We have yet to grasp that, and until we do, we will continue to have up and down seasons.

[Davidson Deac II]

So I'm between deadlines and "spreading my work out" currently and thus have time to write completely speculative essays about the state of the woeful Panthers. So, as we fritter the season away via one-hopped passes and cushy zone coverage, I figured I'd take a look to the future for our new coaching regime - it's going to be kind of a shock to a have a new philosophy implemented with personnel decisions, playing style, media conduct, etc. Here's what I won't miss from the Fox era -

1) Refusing to draft quarterbacks. Yes, I know. Clausen was a second rounder, but that was most likely Hurney or Richardson's call. With us passing on several prolific passers in the past (Brees, Flacco, Kolb -IMO) because they "take too long to develop," it'll be nice to at least know we're CONSIDERING drafting passers next year and in the future. Seeing as we're headed straight for a Top 3 pick, this may be of more importance as our season continues to spiral into the depths of forgettfulness.

2) Undervaluing pass catching tight ends. For year, we've bickered about how to take safety pressure off Steve Smith. Meanwhile, freakish athletes like Jermichael Finley, Antonio Gates, Vernon Davis, Kellen Winslow, Tony Gonzalez etc. etc. have done just that, freeing up their X, Y and slot recivers by requiring a safety instead of a linebacker for pass coverage. Hopefully, the new regime will be acutely aware of the evolving responsibilities of the tight end.

3) Ignoring the value of using the pass to open up the run. No examples needed.

4) Playing coy with the media. Ok, so in Dallas, Wade Phillips doesn't exactly have a propensity for giving colorful, in-depth interviews. The owner, however, does. The problem with the Panthers organization (in the fans' eyes) is nobody is owning up to issues of a bad team or taking respnsibility for bad decisions. Every time Fox nonchalantly brushes off questions from the media, he's shunning the fans, as well. We can only hope the new head coach and his staff will be a little more respectful of the fans and media - even if the owner is set in his ways.

5) Being TOO loyal. This may be a three part problem (Fox, Hurney, Richardson), but Fox held onto Delhomme WAY too long, even extending his contract following a historically bad performance in the playoffs. Now, there's something to be said for retaining a player's trust and "sticking to your guns," so to speak, but when it's a detriment to the product on the field, it's completely counterintuitive. Other examples include inexplicably starting Deshaun Foster in front of DeAngelo (seriously???), hanging onto Minter too long, and continuing to start Stephen Davis when he was clearly past his prime. I'm sure you can think of more.

6) Being old school. It's a new league - you have to be able to pass and defend the pass while remaining competent against the run. If my memory serves me correctly, the Colts last year had the league's worst run defense and were an onside kick away from winning a world title. Now, granted, having an All-Universe QB goes a long way in offsetting any deficiencies among the defense, but it's worth noting, at least. For too long, we've stuck to our philsophy of running the ball and stopping the run, and by the time we had the epiphany that the league has shifted, it was far too late to do anything about it. Hence drafting a QB, 3 receivers and 2 pass rushers in last year's draft.

Please feel free to chime in about what you're looking forward to regarding the change in guard in T-minus 9 weeks....

I disagree with one point. I think we have some good pass catching tight ends in Barnidge and Rosario. We just don't throw the ball very much, and when we do, we don't throw it well.

[CBDellinger]

I disagree with one point. I think we have some good pass catching tight ends in Barnidge and Rosario. We just don't throw the ball very much, and when we do, we don't throw it well.

It all comes back to the QB position.

[SnarkAttack]

Yea - that's true. Very hard to figure out what you have at receiver/tight end when you have incompetent QBs throwing the ball. Case in point - Wes Welker's development when he was traded to New England.

[Mr. Scot]

The quarterback issue is two-sided really. They've not wanted to use a high pick on one because of the bust factor. It's a valid stance, but it means you're essentially depending on the rest of the league to develop your QBs for you.

Which leads to problem two. Even if we had drafted QBs with high picks, we hadn't really invested in anyone that could develop them. So what good would it have done?

I think your third point kind of plays off the first and touches on the "old school" thing. He believes in using the pass to open up the run (i.e. keeping guys out of the box) but because of that he's been satisfied with a passing attack that was "good enough" as opposed to being a major threat. Honestly, being satisfied with "good enough" is a Fox flaw in a lot of areas.

On the tight end front, have to disagree a little. The problem I've had with Fox isn't that he doesn't like pass catchers as much as he doesn't go with hybrid types. He's always worked with the split tight end model (i.e. number one is a blocker, number two is a pass catcher) whereas other teams have sought to find one guy that could do both well.

I don't really have a problem with Fox not being open with the media or being old school. A fair number of coaches do that. If you're not careful with what you say, you can do more harm than good. And there's a lot to be said for toughness and a tough approach.

Last point is dead on. Overvaluing veterans and undervaluing rookies is a big Fox flaw that plays into that mistake.