Hurney Would Have My Vote for GM of the Year

[Seltzer]

I'm not saying that Hurney is the best GM in the league, but I can't think of a GM that did as well as he did this past year considering all the circumstances.

This is a year-to-year league, and what Hurney accomplished in 2011 was the equivalent of hitting a walk-off grand slam with 2 outs & 2 strikes in the 9th Inning regarding this year's draft.

First off, while Richardson surely had final say, Hurney's decision making process in bringing in Rivera (and subsequently Chudzinski and McDermitt) seems to be moving the team in the right direction. The vast improvement of the team, especially on the offensive side of the ball, is unprecedented.

There was going to be little to no offseason. People said it would be a waste to spend a pick on a QB like Newton who was not NFL ready b/c they would need to sit a year and we would be picking at the very top of the draft again.

Beyond those concerns, which were reasonable, you had Newton getting bashed for no reason more than any other NFL prospect I can ever remember. There were many fans, including many here, who thought Newton would be a collosal mistake.

At the very least, many others like myself questioned the practicality of it since we had major needs of defense and would likely be picking top 5 again. Most people believed Newton had NFL QB caliber talent and freakish athleticism but would need at least a year or more to be able to read defenses, etc.

However, in doing exhaustive research of Newton, Hurney came to the conclusion Newton had the potential to justify being a #1 draft pick, and then Hurney had the balls to pull the trigger on Newton.

That decision did not come without criticism in April, so it shouldn't go without high praise now. Beyond being voted as Offensive Rookie if the Year in a couple of weeks, Newton has had arguably the best rookie season of any player ever.

Beyond just Newton, though, Hurney had a lot of issues regarding whether Steve Smith would stay in Carolina, resigning Charles Johnson and Deangelo Williams, upgrading on the offensive and defensive sides of the ball after last years debacle.

While Hurney will not win a national award for GM of the year (fair enough b/c that award should go to a playoff team), I do believe this was Hurney's best year except maybe 2003.

And despite the hatred on this board, Hurney is not an awful GM. He had made in my opinion 3 awful decisions in the past few years: 1) Not getting anything for Peppers, 2) Trading up for Everrette Brown, & 3) Trading up for Armanti Edwards.

I don't even think the whole Delhomme restructing/resigning was that bad b/c they just dumped all the bad salary money last year, so it's not like it hurt the team for years.

But I think this year has gone a lot way to erase some of the more recent bad decisions.

For example, how many draft picks is a franchise QB worth? People are saying Luck or RG3 could be worth 3 1st Rounders and maybe other later round picks.

Brandon LaFell looks like legitimate #2 WR, and with Gettis returning we may have a very solid WR corp. Hurney stole Greg Olsen for a 3rd rounder. Charles Johnson played up to his contract. Deangelo averaged over 5 yards per carry again this year. Ryan Kalil played like an All-Pro. Steve Smith returned to the Pro Bowl.

Hate on Hurney if you want, but I bet he is sleeping well at night these days. He has a lot more job security than a lot of people, and at least for this year, he earned it.

[stirs]

this one will be fun

[davos]

Viewing a GMs performance is not simply who he drafts and how well they turn out.

I put more into the manner in which a manager can work with the owner of a team and build a stable model, strong business relationship, and an overall atmosphere that makes people want to come here. Same applies to a GM-Coaching relationship.

JR-Hurney-Rivera fits well especially when you have strong, youthful, and exciting assistant coaches (minus-Meeks :) )

[bleys]

I'd vote for him..

[kman72]

i also think he has done pretty well, at times too much loyalty to older players but that isnt always a bad thing as far as team moral goes... drafting he has done well, his trades are typically good, i only dislike when he moves up instead of down, he always gives too much to move up, but i think he has learned his lesson.

[4Corners]

tl;dr

[ground_corn_in_a_bowl]

no way in hell

[X-Clown]

:lurk5:

[stirs]

Hurney had the first overall pick, he could take anything on the shelf.

Our cap situation and our record do not match. Spending much, winning little.

[bleys]

Hurney had the first overall pick, he could take anything on the shelf.

Our cap situation and our record do not match. Spending much, winning little.

can you expand a little more on those points? (and exactly where you think he's failed....)

[carolinarolls]

props for making a decent argument on a topic that will not be so well received

[Brooklyn Bully]

Is this for real?

[bleys]

Is this for real?

only for the rational...

for the overly emotional who disregard reasoning, most likely not.

[stirs]

Signing Delhomme to final contract and then eating it.

Current contract with D Williams could be seen as negative especially if Stewart and D FA's cannot be signed.

Just what I said, our cap number is very high and so are the holes in our team. I never said he was a failure, just that he might not deserve the slobbering he was getting.