Serious Question.

[TruCatzFan]

The Panthers were infinitely better when we drafted "dat deal" with the #1 overall pick...

Plus we signed 2 of the Top 5 "FREE" Agents... As in they could have gone wherever they wanted...

This is by far the BEST Free Agency in The history of the franchise...

If we land Joseph... It will set this FA class off!

[Ja Rhule]

The TE signing makes no sense to me, at all. He has one touchdown compared to King's 8 or so. I don't understand that one at all. But, King has now signed with the Cardinals (poor guy).

I don't think the UDFAs make us any better, but the four big name returning starters certainly make us better than we would be without them. T Davis wasn't even a part of the 2 - 14 season, D.Will got banged up as well. And Johnson and Andersen played class A football. So yeah, I do think those four signings will make us better this season.

Mare vs. Kasay, hard to say. Had to come down to the roster spot. How much value do you give that?

This TE is an extra olineman and one of the best in the league. He will make our running game much better.

[Joscott]

We have been very active and signed two of the top FA out there in DWill and Johnson, not to mention the up and coming Anderson and hopefully healthy TD. We took care of our guys and they are locked up.

A kicker that's only a couple of years younger than Kasay, for 12mil...

And basically the same career percentage as Kasay, who has been one of the most efficient kickers the last 3 years kicking in the always perfect weather and field conditions of Seattle. Also regarded as one of the best kick off guys and with the new rules, we should see even more TB than Lloyd with one roster spot.

I love Kasay, but I think we need to give Mare a break, this gives us an additional roster spot and should be the same consistency. Upgrade

A TE that's the spitting image of Jeff King...

And Jeremy Shockey, a guy we would would never pictured here and one of the biggest names at TE's in a long time. In an attacking offense with his old coach, if he can stay healthy, we are easily better at TE. Upgrade even before the lock out.

I think we are definitely better than we were but it depends on Smith and other FA. Right now, we are better.

[SOJA]

While I agree Ivan and actually have been thinking about this a lot today, this core group of guys is a very good group. Last season was an anomaly in terms of this team's talent level. With a new coach, a revamped defense, and serious competition at the qb spot I think this turns into a completely different football team.

I'm still very worried about our number 2 corner but that's about it, here is the rundown of offseason needs

QB- obviously a lot depends on Cam, but who knows maybe Jimmy can provide a decent stop gap. I somehow doubt that, but whatever gets the job done I'm cool with.

WR- If Steve stays, this is not a position of strength, but it isn't a weakness either. Gettis and LaFell really started coming on late last year.

O-Line- Otah is the key here, a healthy Otah is a healthy line.

DT- Gotta say although I was like who the hell is this Edwards guy at first, however the signing makes good sense. Rivera has seen him play, and he fills the big fat guy role we were sorely missing last year. Add in that he is a vet, and Fua will learn a thing or two and it sweetens the deal. It is critical that McClain steps up though, as it would be my assumption he would be on the short list to start as the other DT. If not Landri can provide a decent stop gap, as he played pretty well last year

D-End- I'm not worried about the guy opposite CJ. Brown or Hardy will step up this year....hopefully

CB- Like I said this is what most concerns me. I am actually really worried that Captain is going to be our number two day one, love the guy, he just is too short- see Hakeem Nicks Game 1 last year.

Overall I'm not too concerned about defense, Rivera gets the most out of his players, and I like the young energy McDermont brings to the table

Honestly it comes down to the qb. Can Cam be our franchise guy? We all better hope so.

[TruCatzFan]

^ LOL at "serious competition at QB"

[XClown1986]

The panthers are easily setting themselves up to be better. It may not come full circle this year or even the following year, but having these young guys re-sign so that they hit their peak level on THIS team, will be something we will thank Hurney and Richardson for later. This is what rebuilding is all about.

[Montie_0123]

I have to agree with Jangler, I don't think we were as bad as the 2-14 indicates. I feel like at the time we had a head coach who knew he was gone after the year was was up so why give maximum effort to really teaching those young guys. I think with the coaching staff we have now were going bring out the full potiental of the core guy as well as the second year players.

[SOJA]

^ LOL at "serious competition at QB"

you consider the number overall pick not to be serious competition.....once Moore got hurt/poo his pants Clausen was our only legit option last year

[Ivan The Awesome]

I believe with 2 key pick ups at CB and WR, we'd be better. I wasn't trying to dismiss our cores talent. But if our core talent got us to 2-14, yes mostly because of QB play, signing the core and not improving the other parts of the team would be asinine.

I'm slowly getting around the Idea that Cam is our true Franchise QB, so I'm not too worried about the QB play. WR, CB, DT, those are the positions if we get a top FA in at least 2-3 of the said positions, we'd have a hit off season.

I'm also reminding myself that FA is not over yet, so I guess the Anticipation is making me edgy. LOL.

[Ivan The Awesome]

We need a CB, WR, and a back QB and I think we're golden. CB is the biggest need. If we fail to add a start CB, we failed.

Agreed 100%.

[frash.exe]

CJ deal we needed to get done plain and simple. aside from him there was no proven consistent pass rusher on this team in 2010. he's young and he'll only get better.

DeAngelo--everybody knows my stance on breaking the bank for running backs. i'm not a fan of it really. he finished the last 2 seasons on IR and really didn't do a whole lot last year especially (but then again who did). IMO this deal will look immediately great (if he makes a huge productive comeback this year) or terrible (if he gets hurt/underachieves). I feel like we'll know if Hurney made the right decision within a year. DeAngelo's at a fork in his career, he'll either produce at a high level for the next few years or decline awfully and if we can get 3 good seasons out of him with this deal, I'll be fine with it.

Ron Edwards is I think a great signing for two reasons. 1, he is a vet and still has his strength which I think benefits us when you consider McClain and Fua are rookies and for DTs it generally takes a few years hitting the weights in the pros to get stronger. 2, i like his dependability. From the little research i've gathered so far word out of KC is that he's not going to dominate a game and single-handedly disrupt an o-line, but he's not going to get abused either and he will more than hold his own. He's not a natural 3-4 nose but he did alright when they switched which is commendable. I think he'll fit in nicely and his presence will benefit our rookie DTs.

Olindo Mare's career fg percentage is almost identical to Kasay's so whatever

Hartsock looks like a blocking TE to me, he's a good lead blocker and we'll probably see him in 2 TE sets when we want to run off tackle. Ron must've scouted his recent work with the Jets, who have had a top 5 running game the past two years.

[Tarheels23]

With the Current signings, have the Panthers made themselves better?

Be unbiased here.

Personally I don't believe they've made themselves better. The signing of core players that just came off a 2-14 season, to me isn't getting better, not immediately, in the long run, sure. But I'm talking about right here and now. Making an Impact that they will be at least a couple of wins better.

A kicker that's only a couple of years younger than Kasay, for 12mil...

A TE that's the spitting image of Jeff King...

DT, is one of the signings I actually liked. Even if he's a bit older. Veteran presence to teach the young kids.

UDFA were not bad, but nothing that says, HOLY poo!

I also realize it's just day 2, but I've seen some nice moves so far from other teams that in my mind have bettered themselves with 1 or 2 signings as of today. Case in point

The Seachickens. The foreskins.

Hopefully the rest of the Free Agency period will bring joy and a sense of the team getting better without getting on the field just yet.

No I'm not hating, just trying to be real here.

The Seahawks lost their Pro bowl QB for Tarvaris Jackson, and you think they got better. You do realize the offseason didn't just start today? We also had a pretty good draft.

[CarolinaVeins]

We're virtually the same team that went 12-4 with potentially better QB and coaching staff. Only thing different is a Moose type WR

[Dpantherman]

With the Current signings, have the Panthers made themselves better?

Be unbiased here.

Personally I don't believe they've made themselves better. The signing of core players that just came off a 2-14 season, to me isn't getting better, not immediately, in the long run, sure. But I'm talking about right here and now. Making an Impact that they will be at least a couple of wins better.

Thing is, if you let the core leave, we get worse.

A kicker that's only a couple of years younger than Kasay, for 12mil...

Yea, he is also statistically more accurate, and had more touch backs last year than Lloyd. It makes more sense to have 1 Kicker and 1 Punter, than 2 kickers and 1 punter.

A TE that's the spitting image of Jeff King...

New coaching staff, Jeff King didn't meet their plans. Its typical of a new staff to let guys go that they feel are of no use to them.

DT, is one of the signings I actually liked. Even if he's a bit older. Veteran presence to teach the young kids.

i agree

UDFA were not bad, but nothing that says, HOLY poo!

doesn't have to. Holy poo moves don't always win championships. Sometimes its the ones everyone ignores.

;)