Is it really this bad?

[Anybodyhome]

Our best DT is Fua, our best FS is Nakamura, our best corner is Josh Thomas, and we have no linebacker depth if Beason/Davis, two very injury prone players, go down.

This.

C'mon, cheerleaders, waiting to read your responses to this very factual and straight-forward statement.

[Happy Panther]

When we were discussing whether or not Rivera should get another year, there were a lot of people on the board who were citing the level that the team was playing at to close the season as evidence that Rivera should be retained. There was also talk about how much the injury situation hurt the Panthers. And, of course, the poor start was blamed on Chud's play calling.

So now Chud's gone. If the season started today, we would have a better offensive line with Kalil's return. We would have a hole at DT, but one which could probably be patched and upgraded in the draft. We would be pretty much where we were in the secondary, and with Beason returning and replacing Anderson, we would be upgraded at Linebacker.

Where would we be worse?

Atlanta's lost their best pass rusher, and replaced one aging physical back with another. I don't see how their offense is going to really be any better than it was last year, it was already very good. And their defense has gotten worse. Tampa Bay has moved the "strength" of their defense from the line to the secondary. New Orleans got a cornerback, but they're still going to be transitioning to a new defensive scheme that they don't have all the parts for.

So yeah, they're all good teams and they're all adding players that we wish we could add, but they're also losing players, and there are legitimate questions regarding whether or not they've actually improved. And at the level we were playing, we should be pretty happy that we're not losing anyone, right?

So which team should we be discussing here? The Panthers team that everyone here was talking up in January? Or the broken down relic that most of the current posts are describing?

Mostly agree. ATL is still one of the best teams in the NFL and should be a superbowl contender again. But we can beat them and almost swept them.

New Orleans is all about coach Peyton. They are clearly a much better team with him and they are a playoff caliber team.

TB should be the bottom of the NFCS but they are always a challenge for us and we generally expect a split on average with them.

So are we if you get rid of the coaching issues

[panther4life]

I don't care that we did not go out and sign one of the overpaid free agents out there. Interesting stat on that right here:

Rick Gosselin ‏@RickGosselinDMN

The NFL has spent $707 million on the Top 25 free agents, of which $297 million is guaranteed. Those 25 FAs have a combined six Pro Bowls

I do however wonder what the holdup is with the Gross extension/restructure. I also don't see why he was in such a hurry to sign Hartstock to a miniumum of 825k(vet minimum for his tenure)possibly even more when we have more pressing needs and already tight against the cap.

Other questions/complaints I have are...

Canty showed interest in coming here pubicly and signed for a very reasoanble deal that even we could have afforded. 3 years, 8 million with a 2 million signing bonus(making it easy to cut him in future if need be). His 2013 cap figure is only 1.5 million.

Kenny Phillips contract details have yet to be released yet but did we even show any interest?

Dwan showed that he has no signs of slowing down so why not give him a 2-3 year deal with a smaller signing bonus that makes it easy to cut him if need be?

[SuperMan]

Our best DT is Fua, our best FS is Nakamura, our best corner is Josh Thomas, and we have no linebacker depth if Beason/Davis, two very injury prone players, go down.

Godfey is our best FS not Nakamura who is a special teamer, there is this thing called the draft...

Why don't you go post somewhere else?

[Peppers90 NC]

Our best DT is Fua, our best FS is Nakamura, our best corner is Josh Thomas, and we have no linebacker depth if Beason/Davis, two very injury prone players, go down.

This.

C'mon, cheerleaders, waiting to read your responses to this very factual and straight-forward statement.

Yea it sucks we have to suit up and play next week with our current roster, too bad we dont have until September to get it straightened out.

What that statement was is another crybaby who dropped their pacifier.

[XClown1986]

We picked up Dwan Edwards after final cuts last year. Good players will get cut and be willing to play for less in order to have a job. Happens every year. Plus the draft, plus possible trades, and free agency just started. Give it time whiners.

[iamhubby1]

Our best DT is Fua, our best FS is Nakamura, our best corner is Josh Thomas, and we have no linebacker depth if Beason/Davis, two very injury prone players, go down.

If you actually believe there will be no more improvements made between now and the start of the season? May Zod have mercy on your soul.

Even the most cynical among us cannot possibly believe we are going into the season with Fua starting. Or Nakamura either. Or that we will just pass on any opportunity to upgrade the roster.

I guess it is just dumb to think that Davis is back. Or that Beast is finally healthy. Cuz everybody knows once you are injured, there is no coming back from that.

This is football, guys tend to get beat up. Being healthy is a state of mind. Kinda like being a downer. It is not a desease to be avoided at all costs. It is an everyday occurance in the NFL.

Hellz bellz. I guess I should just mail in my fandom right now. No reason to get my hopes up if Fua is our best DT. We are doomed.

If we match, or heaven forbid exceed, the success of last years draft. We are better than last year. If we could find a starting RG, and with luck a DT as well, in FA, we are better than last year. And lest ye need to be reminded. We were pretty good.

tl/dr version. If Gettlemen stays true to form. We gonna be alright. This year, not "Next Year". This year. For those of you in the back, THIS YEAR.

[Frizzy350]

My only issue with the OP is the thought process of Kalil being back the Oline is suddenly going to be better. With Kalil in there our oline was an embarrassment last year.

We are going to be just fine though with a guy like Gettlemen running the show with Rivera. Both have shown that they can find cheap afterthoughts of players and get them to play at MUCH higher levels than their actual talent. As a team we have as much top tier talent as any team in the NFL. Yes we have holes, but so do perennial contenders like the Patriots and Packers. Our problem isn't with the number of stars on our team, its the bottom half of our roster. We need special teamers, backups who aren't liabilities and stop gap solutions at a few key positions.

[Anybodyhome]

Yea it sucks we have to suit up and play next week with our current roster, too bad we dont have until September to get it straightened out.

What that statement was is another crybaby who dropped their pacifier.

No, what sucks is that you're the moron who keeps saying, "Wait and see... September... this isn't the real roster..."

...and fails to recognize this is today, this is right now and this is what the Panthers have. The guy simply pointed out what is real and what is now. No conjecture, no wishful thinking, no what-ifs. All he did was point pout what the roster has now and how much more ground needs to be covered with little to no cash.

Failing to understand that and continuing to keep waiting for tomorrow means all you do everyday is sit around with your thumb up your a$$ waiting for someone to "drop their pacifier" only so you can pick it up and replace your thumb with it.

Tired of idiot cock******* like you who add nothing to a conversation except to talk poo. There's another forum for that, why don't you head over there.

[Peppers90 NC]

No, what sucks is that you're the moron who keeps saying, "Wait and see... September... this isn't the real roster..."

...and fails to recognize this is today, this is right now and this is what the Panthers have. The guy simply pointed out what is real and what is now. No conjecture, no wishful thinking, no what-ifs. All he did was point pout what the roster has now and how much more ground needs to be covered with little to no cash.

Failing to understand that and continuing to keep waiting for tomorrow means all you do everyday is sit around with your thumb up your a$$ waiting for someone to "drop their pacifier" only so you can pick it up and replace your thumb with it.

Tired of idiot cock******* like you who add nothing to a conversation except to talk poo. There's another forum for that, why don't you head over there.

Are you tired? Maybe dont put so much energy in something you have no control over. Or are you that fuging stupid to think you do? Either way your crying is going to get nobody nowhere and your knee-jerk reaction 72 hours into Free Agency is embarrassing even for somebody who doesn't give two shits about you and couldn't care less if you offed yourself because we didn't go out an overpay like half these teams are doing.

[OneBadCat]

Yea it sucks we have to suit up and play next week with our current roster, too bad we dont have until September to get it straightened out.

What that statement was is another crybaby who dropped their pacifier.

That is true but history has shown that this is what we've done literally every year for the past 2-3 years at least. We wait and wait, and maybe sign a marginal cheapo player or we just see what happens, like we did with Nakamura getting his ass burnt to a crisp.

If Gettleman really is a breath of fresh air he will find players that actually improve our needs, not just address them.

[Peppers90 NC]

That is true but history has shown that this is what we've done literally every year for the past 2-3 years at least. We wait and wait, and maybe sign a marginal cheapo player or we just see what happens, like we did with Nakamura getting his ass burnt to a crisp.

If Gettleman really is a breath of fresh air he will find players that actually improve our needs, not just address them.

I agree, I'm not happy about our lack of activity by any means, I'm just not ready to jump off a cliff yet because we have no idea what their plans are, hopefully there are plans.

[Anybodyhome]

Are you tired? Maybe dont put so much energy in something you have no control over. Or are you that fuging stupid to think you do? Either way your crying is going to get nobody nowhere and your knee-jerk reaction 72 hours into Free Agency is embarrassing even for somebody who doesn't give two shits about you and couldn't care less if you offed yourself because we didn't go out an overpay like half these teams are doing.

Not crying, I simply told you to stfu since you have no insight, intelligence or anything else to add.

[Cyberjag]

One thing I didn't mention in my original post has to do with Rivera. I'm not in the camp that thinks he should have been brought back, and I still think it was a mistake. I'm also still hoping that I'm wrong about that.

No GM or coach in this league is all bad or all good. Each one has his strong points, and each has weaknesses. And Rivera's strongest point, from what I can see, is his ability to teach young players how to execute. Yeah, we all see mistakes all over the place all the time, but you'll see those on every team. Look at the playoffs in Denver, when a safety that most of you would love to see in Carolina did essentially the same thing that Nakamura did in Atlanta.

But Rivera can take a bunch of young talent and get them to play together. Sure, his game plans may suck, and we may wonder what he's actually doing when other coaches are making halftime adjustments, but he can teach. And he's got a staff that teaches well too. So you get a former CB like Sherrod Martin, who oozes athleticism, and put him in with that staff for a few off seasons, and you probably have a better Free Safety than Nakamura already on the roster.

We also haven't lost Munnerlyn and Edwards yet. I know everyone is assuming we will, but that doesn't mean it's going to happen. And assuming people are going to get injured? Come on...