Carolina Panthers owner Richardson to PSL owners: I take full responsibility

[beasonfanclub]

does anybody really know what time it is?

does anybody really care???

[beasonfanclub]

obviously, most of you are johnny-come-lately panther fans....seem to forget that j. peppers was offered a contract to make him the highest paid defensive player in the NFL and he turned it down....the main thing i get pissed about and/or don't understand, is what happened with polian....was it a family deal?? apparently, since JR dumped his boys, that might have been the worst move in franchise history....

i doubt seriously that JR is worried about going on the cheap --- just can't figure out why getting a 2nd receiver has been so hard to do... and why we didn't go more aggressively into the FA market.... really believe that JR is sooo worried about image that anybody with any smudge on their resume has no chance to be a panther.

guess we'll see how everything gors from here.

[MHS831]

He gambled and lost. He has never been about pinching pennies before, and he had a strategy going into the CBA. It backfired. He thought we could win with what we have. He knows now that we cannot. He will spend to right the ship--Are some of you looking for a better sign now that this letter?

I am bitter too, but don't assume JR doesn't value the importance of coaching and is not willing to pay for it. He has hired three coaches in his life. One was Seifert, a high profile coach from a winning program.

He says we build through the draft and keep your core. That is the plan and a good one. If that is the case, then do it like the Patriots- accumulate picks and know what kind of players your team needs. Players like Everett Brown and Eric Norwood are not good fits, but they are good players. They are having to change too much to fit in here. Trading first rounders for second rounders and second rounders for third rounders the following year is not building through the draft, it is like getting a second mortgage.

So, I say that money should be spent on a good coach, not necessarily a name-brand coach. Shotty Jr. is my guess. Maybe Grimm, and I am not certain that would be bad. Cowher is still possible because JR loves the Steelers organization. But I still say that we need a better GM. I think the last three years have exposed Hurney, from the crazy Jake money, to the handling of Peppers. I mean, we had a GM who flew to see Jake's agent teary eyed when they cut him. How about a little detached objectivity. Make the tough calls like NE did Moss, like the Steelers have always done. Loyalty gets you friends in the unemployment line. WHAT HAVE YOU DONE LATELY is the key. Look at this thread, for example.

[MadHatter]

Exactly,

If a casual fan like me knew we were going to suck badly then he should have known the same. Seriously I think he thought we would win 6 or 7 games and thought that was enough. He knew we would be bad but not this bad. Given we had previous 7-9 seasons with veterans he thought he would be okay doing the same on the cheap. Like he said if we couldn't have back to back winning seasons he was going to blow it up. He just didn't know to what degree. If we were 4-8 at this point we would have never gotten the letter.

Pretty realistic view.

There is no one...not even the so-called experts that predicted we would be worse than 6-10. Most had us around 7-9.

We finished strong last season.....Moore played very well the last 5 games....we were running the ball like mad-men.....the Oline (without Gross and Otah) were playing very well.....the defense was playing fast and agressive.

The only player worth a poo that we lost was Peppers....and he was inconsistent. The other players are either 3rd string elsewhere or were never picked up by another team. Moose was a loss...but only because the QB play is so bad that they could not find an open WR if there were no defensive players on the field.

We are all frustrated, but hindsight is 20-20. It is easy to sit here and bash the team, but most NEVER saw this train wreck coming.

[Delhommey]

I'm not sifting through your circular arguments anymore.

One question: Can you sell your PSL's for a profit or even break even considering your initial investment in the PSL's?

Unanswered question.

[SCP]

I'm not sifting through your circular arguments anymore.

One question: Can you sell your PSL's for a profit or even break even considering your initial investment in the PSL's?

I know this question was not for me, but I didn't buy my PSLs as an investment. I chalked up the money I shelled out for the PSLs as a loss, or a pay-to-play. I may turn them in to the Panthers down the road for face value when I upgrade my seat location, but I don't have plans to sell after we win a Super Bowl.

[Happy Panther]

Pretty realistic view.

There is no one...not even the so-called experts that predicted we would be worse than 6-10. Most had us around 7-9.

We finished strong last season.....Moore played very well the last 5 games....we were running the ball like mad-men.....the Oline (without Gross and Otah) were playing very well.....the defense was playing fast and agressive.

The only player worth a poo that we lost was Peppers....and he was inconsistent. The other players are either 3rd string elsewhere or were never picked up by another team. Moose was a loss...but only because the QB play is so bad that they could not find an open WR if there were no defensive players on the field.

We are all frustrated, but hindsight is 20-20. It is easy to sit here and bash the team, but most NEVER saw this train wreck coming.

Right. Coming off 8-8 with a suprising Moore, double trouble healthy and what appeared to be a strong draft with what we had, 1-10 was not in the picture.

Moore - stunk

Double trouble - injured

Otah out

Rookies being rookies...

[Nemesis]

I give you a Mulligan JR. Let's get this thing back on track in 2011

Good answer..

I don't like what happen this year with the ticket price increase and the team record, but it's time move on.

GO PANTHERS

[Panthers_Lover]

Anyone who bought PSLs to a sports franchise believing that they were somehow magically guaranteed to never have to sit through a season like this was just being naive.

And I thought the letter was the right step at the right time.

This.

[Jangler]

He's not Bill Gates.

yeah, that would be like throwing out the last stale raisin in a mini box of these...

[hepcat]

I think a lot of people in the organization expected Matt Moore to play better than he did. The Clausen pick looked like win-win on draft day but it might have rattled Moore's confidence and then it just sucks that Clausen is horrible.

[panthers55]

I think a lot of people in the organization expected Matt Moore to play better than he did. The Clausen pick looked like win-win on draft day but it might have rattled Moore's confidence and then it just sucks that Clausen is horrible.

But the reason you don't go with 2 rookies and a guy who started 8 games is that instead of sucking what would happen if he gets hurt like he did in 2008.

The same thing. Depth and lack of veteran ledership doomed this team before we got started.

[CatfanMO]

aww that's nice of him.

at least SOMEONE is taking responsibility for this abomination of a season. way to man up jerry

Yeah, Im sure he wrote that. He might have read over it, but that is all.

[bigdog10]

I actually hate this letter. I dont want an apology for the season. I want reassurance that JR knows what hes doing and that the sacrifice made this season will lead to a successful franchise later down the road. To apologize for a bad season shows that he expected the team to be good, in which case, my faith in JR's decision making is shattered.

Give me a break.

Hardly anyone thought we would be the bottom of the league bad this year.

Most predicted between 9-7 and 7-9 with some extremes at 5-11 and 11-5.

There was reason for hope entering this season. We had gotten rid of Jake and Moore had showed a ton of upside. We had taken Clausen in the second to ensure Moore had healthy competition. Our offensive line was viewed as dominant in the rung game, and Otah was not injured. We had two Stud running backs and two other guys in Sutton and Goodson who could step in if need be. Smitty would get more looks, and everyone fully expected the tight ends to be Matt Moore's saving grace.

On the defensive side we were expected to be competitive, all be it, a little less powerful than last year. Our secondary was to be very solid again, our linebackers were going to be beastly, and our front four had the potential to get after a QB.

All signs pointed to at least us being a competitive middle of the pack football team.

Even during the first game of the year against the Giants, we were competitive and took a lead into halftime, playing Panther Football. Godfrey had a pick, Williams was running up the field, and Moore was completing passes.

Then the wheels fell off.....