The Panthers are on the clock...

[Kyle82]

JR knows that this team needs some serious PR work. Getting a new coach and drafting Luck would excite the fanbase, sell merchandise, and sell tickets.

Amen!! But 'ol Jerry is looking for coupons and cheap ways to make this team better....I hope he wakes up in the offseason and opens his wallet.

[mwright350]

Amen!! But 'ol Jerry is looking for coupons and cheap ways to make this team better....I hope he wakes up in the offseason and opens his wallet.

Aside from this season, when for good or bad reasons there were other factors at work, when has this team ever shied away from paying players / coaches what needed to be paid?

[Jangler]

TBH I'd rather take Luck and be wrong than pass on him and be wrong.

[Guest]

and want to play for who?

I mean aside from blind pessimism and maybe a desire to piss people off is there really any reason to think this? Lots of good players come out of college and get drafted by bad teams. Very few pull that kind of stunt.

Let me say first that i don't think national guys know everything but I've heard more than one say something about this. Don't ask me who I don't remember. . But the gist of what I've heard is... Everyone is drooling over Luck and he's looking at coming to a small town (for a young guy with millions of $$), a small market, a team with no coach or coaching staff, and no history of being anything other than average. So, if you're Andrew Luck, would you want to come to Charlotte?

[Kyle82]

Aside from this season, when for good or bad reasons there were other factors at work, when has this team ever shied away from paying players / coaches what needed to be paid?

You are right...i'm a PSL owner who just feels like 'ol Jerry slapped us in the face and threw this year away while charging us full price to watch it all.

[mwright350]

Let me say first that i don't think national guys know everything but I've heard more than one say something about this. Don't ask me who I don't remember. . But the gist of what I've heard is... Everyone is drooling over Luck and he's looking at coming to a small town (for a young guy with millions of $$), a small market, a team with no coach or coaching staff, and no history of being anything other than average. So, if you're Andrew Luck, would you want to come to Charlotte?

You could say this about every first round draft pick we've ever had though. Just because it's first doesn't mean that the player is fundamentally different, just that his potential for salary is a lot higher.

I do not believe that Charlotte is by default a bad place to be - nor do I think that it's likely a draft pick who, if he's even there for us to pick, that has no known character issues or "wtf look at me I'm so flashy and rich ******" moments is going to demand a trade based purely on the size of the city he's being drafted to.

The one thing those millions of dollars will afford anyone is the ability to travel during the off season and spend them wherever they like. And any draft pick - no matter who - that is more interested in partying and night-life during the season than football is not a draft pick I would want to spend that much money on.

[Guest]

You could say this about every first round draft pick we've ever had though. Just because it's first doesn't mean that the player is fundamentally different, just that his potential for salary is a lot higher.

I do not believe that Charlotte is by default a bad place to be - nor do I think that it's likely a draft pick who, if he's even there for us to pick, that has no known character issues or "wtf look at me I'm so flashy and rich ******" moments is going to demand a trade based purely on the size of the city he's being drafted to.

The one thing those millions of dollars will afford anyone is the ability to travel during the off season and spend them wherever they like. And any draft pick - no matter who - that is more interested in partying and night-life during the season than football is not a draft pick I would want to spend that much money on.

This is true, and I hope the talking heads are wrong/you are right. I've been waiting 15 years for a franchise QB.

[theyhateme45]

The Patriots own 2 1sts, 2 2nds and 2 3rds in the 2011 draft thanks in part to the Raiders and Panthers.

That would be the difference between a team with good management and the Panthers and Raiders.

That's the difference between a team with a great QB and other pieces who can afford to trade down, and one who doesn't.

[o803oVaDeR]

No worries. If Luck stays in school then we are stuck with Clausen, so we will probably pick #1 next year, and we can get him then. lol

[MHS831]

This is true, and I hope the talking heads are wrong/you are right. I've been waiting 15 years for a franchise QB.

A new coach will mean a new philosophy-owner included. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see how ineffective the "game manager" is. Who are the best NFL teams? The teams with the best QBs. When we went to the Super Bowl, Jake as more than a game manager-he was one of the best in the NFL.

The peices are already here. Once we heal and add a free agent, the OL will be solid. Our Wrs are maturing. The running backs are studs already. QB is the last peice.

I think Fox has been told to play Clausen to give him every opportunity to show that he can be the guy. JR has to see that he is not close to franchise status. But there is a player in college who is. Since the only person who can tell Fox who to play is JR, then I have to feel the QB situation is under his watchful eye right now.

On Defense, the DT position is our biggest need, and it is deep this year. We can draft a DT in the third (65th pick) and add a free agent. Landri and Neblett seem decent, so with a veteran and a third rounder, we could be better at DT. What are the other needs? CB? Munnerlyn has played well, but we might need a nickel. Frankly, I would play Pugh there. We need to add a CB, but don't discount McClain's learning curve. He had a horrible game vs. Pittsburgh, but that does not make him a bust.

So, we really only need a QB. Players like Luck come around infrequently. He will be our franchise QB.