A few simple truths the Panthers need to cope with to move on for the better

[SCP]

Found it. It happened with 53 seconds left in the 3rd qtr. Seattle was on our 13 yard line. They show Ron pacing the sideline (not looking at the field) and while he's walking, he seems to get distracted first by some water bottles (yes, I'm serious), then he watches somebody working on a helmet (I was wrong, he didn't actively help, he just looked) then he turns his back completely to the field and the camera cut away from him as the play was being run.

He is just totally disconnected with what is going on...I don't get it.

That is not good at all. Damn :-(

[Jrock88]

Found it. It happened with 53 seconds left in the 3rd qtr. Seattle was on our 13 yard line. They show Ron pacing the sideline (not looking at the field) and while he's walking, he seems to get distracted first by some water bottles (yes, I'm serious), then he watches somebody working on a helmet (I was wrong, he didn't actively help, he just looked) then he turns his back completely to the field and the camera cut away from him as the play was being run.

He is just totally disconnected with what is going on...I don't get it.

this saddens me greatly

[Catalyst]

I agree with everything but Hurney. I don't think posters here realize that we could do a LOT worse for a GM. They just assume the grass is always greener on the other side, but let me tell you, there's always a Matt Millen we can wind up with.

[frash.exe]

nah he's pretty oblivious

[Chaos]

Excellent post; all points are dead on. We need to find the right coach to get Cam right.

And Marguide - i could have sworn that Rivera was actually fiddling with someones chinstrap during a timeout or something, trying to thread the strap under the facemask iirc.

[XClown1986]

I agree that Hurney is terrible, and he's got to go.

I think that Rivera is taking his lumps, but I think that he can be a successful head coach. I can't evaluate any head coach after only one season and 5 games. Any head coach needs 3 years to get a fair shake before they get the boot. Plus he inherited a shitty team. That doesn't just go away over night. (Save your San Fran references, they were ready to take the next step, and were loaded with talent).

Kuechly most certainly needs to start at MLB. It's his best position, he played remarkably in his only start there, and Beason is playing like poo. Beason needs to humble himself and move over, start playing better REALLY fast, or be traded. Plain and simple.

Bottom line for me, I see what Rivera can do for this team, especially on defense. We have seen flashes with virtually no secondary, and mediocre DT play. Rivera does need to tell Chud to get his head out of his ass and put Cam in a position to play well, and win. Rivera also needs to practice mock calls, because often times I feel like he wings every situation and isn't prepared to make the decision if it comes up. With one more offseason (how many times do you like hearing that?) of trading guys for picks, trimming the fat, and bringing in smart hard-nosed football players, and I think this team will be ready to challenge for the NFC South. Fix the secondary, add a DT, and bring in some weapons at WR for Cam, and we can do damage. We just need a more competent GM in order to make the right calls, instead of hit and miss (more misses than hits).

[SCP]

Therein lies the problem. We are stuck with Marty. And if Marty is fired, who does JR bring in?

[XClown1986]

Therein lies the problem. We are stuck with Marty. And if Marty is fired, who does JR bring in?

We aren't stuck with Marty. He said himself he doesn't even have a contract. There are options. Bring someone in from the Ravens, Giants, 49ers, Packers, Falcons, I don't care. Pick one of the teams that has been successful in recent history, makes good picks in the draft, knows who to hold on to and who to let go, and will make the right moves in free agency. (at least 60% of the time, that's all we can ask for. Hurney has not done that).

[carolina-chuck]

BEST THREAD OF THE YEAR!!!!

[iampantherman]

It's so funny to think that if JR just listened to posts like this, we would be a legit team.

I'm sure JR couldn't give 2 shits for what anyone thinks on the Carolina Huddle- if he was even aware of this place. Hell, he fired his own sons. He's a ruthless business man who has always been focused first-and-foremost on his financial bottom line. Anyone who sees JR as anything other than a dollars and cents man doesn't really observe his behavior.

[carolina-chuck]

Season's Over

Seriously, save yourself the disappointment and embarrassment in thinking we're still up for a deep playoff run. The team was not well prepared to start the season and we weren't even banged up to begin with. At this point I still expect us to do better in the 2nd half of the season but not by much and optimistically we can do 6-10 or 7-9. The last team to go 1-4 and make the playoffs was the 2002 Jets. And the only reason they won the AFCE that year was because they won a 3 way tie against the Bills and Pats for division champion at 9-7. Do you see the Falcons dropping the next 7 of 11 games?

If you're still defending Hurney by now, it's high time you get your head examined.

I could fill a 20 foot long scroll with text on the examples of bad personnel management Hurney has displayed just going back to 2008. Why did we need Mike Tolbert instead of a starting safety or corner, or defensive tackle? Why? Why did he think it was a good idea to start one of the Ravens' scabs who up until this season had never been endowed with a start at the NFL level? How about having half of the starting secondary being represented by the guy I just mentioned and a 5th-round rookie draft pick?

Hurney is still so afraid of a 2004-2005 nightmare scenario (where the running back stable is depleted by December and we're starting guys like Jamaal Robertson) that he passes up the opportunity to acquire starters at the more important positions where we don't have a reputable starter so he can collect what would be his nth starting running back. Hurney basically ignored what the team needed in both free agency and the draft. Not only that but this model of performance incentive (where as a player you get paid market clearing contracts from Carolina if you produce) wouldn't even be sustainable if it was working. And it's not working. Hurney is just not a good General Manager, and no matter how many times you want to bring up his draft record in the first round or his supposed "expertise" as a cap manager or the fact that Darin Gantt constantly tries to rationalize what he's doing on twitter it doesn't compensate for how badly he's mismanaged both personnel and resources (draft picks/cap cash).

Ron Rivera is a Bad Head Coach.

Even though he hasn't been endowed with the best GM to fill his roster, Rivera nonetheless has had his shortcomings as a head coach exposed multiple times. The Panthers have still been somewhat competitive on a nearly consistent basis, however his inability to outcoach the opposition in critical situations (no matter what the game situation is) is a very discouraging sign that we don't have the right guy. Whether it's a defensive affair or a shootout, somehow this team has constantly ended up on the losing end. Ron can't call a close game to save his life. He does not have that je ne sais quoi about him like either of the Harbaugh brothers do. Running out the clock in the last two minutes of the half against the Falcons was almost as bad as calling a timeout so the Saints could kick a field goal that proved to be the scoring difference at the end of our home divisional against them last season. These are decisions that can decide football games, and good ones usually make the right calls where bad ones make the wrong calls.

He hasn't delivered on a single promise he made when he first walked up to that podium and talked about how he would improve all the mental and physical facets of football we were lacking in. Tackling has not improved one iota, he's not aggressive when the situation calls for it, and he's already started to make excuses after losses. I don't necessarily like the idea of firing a head coach after only two seasons, but the team has shown literally no net progress since 2011, and the sooner this team stops running like it's a place where any exec or coach can go to collect a paycheck, the sooner he is on the hot seat. He doesn't even know what is going on with Cam, as evidenced by the comment he made about "mental coaching" so how can he keep our QB focused?

Cam Newton is Being Utilized Poorly.

Just because Cam has good legs to run on doesn't mean you call keepers on almost every single drive, Rob. It would only be justifiable if it was fooling anybody enough for us to win, and it's not. If you saw Griffin get drilled last week running out of bounds you know what abusing his running ability will eventually lead us to. Cam is a very capable QB with a great arm and his deep ball has still been very good this season, but what the offense needs to be working on is for him to be a better short passer, because that's what it takes to be able to throw the ball for TDs when you're in the red zone, and it pays in this league to be efficient at that. Yet it seems like good red zone passing has been de-emphasized this season so that we can run option plays at the opponent's 5 yard line. Even though his short passing hasn't been that great, we're wasting the opportunity to help him improve in that area. Cam's legs should only be used sparingly and/or as a last resort. You don't want to have to rely on his legs to win you the game. Cam also doesn't look very focused this season. Whether or not that is his fault, he's still young and needs some guidance by his coaches to keep him thinking about his objectives during a game, and I feel like they're dropping the ball right now.

Have you realized up until now that there's no positive correlation between how much talent you have at RB and how many wins you have?

There's a reason why no other team values keeping 2 first round running backs on the roster and it's because it's pointless.

Kuechly should be the MLB from now on.

Luke did not pass up the opportunity to play well when filling in to start at what many people consider to be "Beason's spot". Beason has performed terrible thus far in the season and one of Luke's best attributes is that he knows how to diagnose plays very well. I also think he's a better tackler (Beason hasn't just gotten poor at this now: he rated average at best in 2010 in tackling efficiency as well). Beason also might never play at the level we used to see him play since 2010. That's not to say the technology, will and perseverence it took to get him back on the field isn't remarkable. It just goes to show how critical top fitness is in this league. It took DeMeco Ryans an entire season to play decently, and it likely will take just as long for Beason to start playing at an acceptable level. By that time Luke will be entrenched at MLB. If you can reasonably win a starting job due to injury (like Beason did from Dan Morgan but who didn't see that coming lol) you can sure as hell lose it with enough justification.

GREAT POST!!!!!

Agreed with everything.

Cam is being underutilized. How many people have seen Cam throw a fade at the end zone to one of his receiver? Have we ever seen Cam throw a fade since his time here? NO!

Rivera has done a very poor job at developing Cam into a pro style QB.

[carolina-chuck]

I'm sure JR couldn't give 2 shits for what anyone thinks on the Carolina Huddle- if he was even aware of this place. Hell, he fired his own sons. He's a ruthless business man who has always been focused first-and-foremost on his financial bottom line. Anyone who sees JR as anything other than a dollars and cents man doesn't really observe his behavior.

JR: What is the Huddle?

[davos]

Blast from the not so distant past:

Sarcastically being a d*ck to people questioning Rivera:

"NOooo

Coach Rivera just doesn't look like a good HC to me by, you know, just the way he looks out there and his clock management and other things. Also I have a bad feeling about McDermott, which means I think he's the DC version of Jeff Davidson.

/cyberjargon"

This thread is bullsh*t cyberjargon I say!

[frash.exe]

lol

I'm not sure whether or not you realize who I was addressing in that post