Panthers needs for the 2014 offseason...

[R0CKnR0LLA]

Not necessarily in order of importance...

 

 

>>>Offense

 LT - Gross' deal expires and he may retire. Either way we need a new franchise LT for the future.

 RT - Bell is garbage, need an upgrade here. Re-signing Gross and moving him to RT may be an option.

 RG - No explanation needed. And I'm not even counting LG even though Silatolu will be coming off a major injury.

 #2 TE - Need a legit threat to couple with Olsen. Having Shockey in 2011 made the offense much more dynamic.

 #1 WR - Smitty is pretty much done, we need a big time playmaker to take over, a legit #1 receiver for the future.

 #2 WR - LaFell is not the answer and he's a free agent anyway. Need someone that can consistently beat 1-on-1 coverage and take advantage of the easier matchups that the #2 receiver typically faces.

 #3 WR - Ginn fits this role perfectly but he's a free agent. Re-signing him would be ideal.

 RB - I'm listing this mainly because of the retarded contracts and injury history of both DWill and Stew. We may need to dump one (or both) of these guys and add some younger cheaper late round talent.

 

You could make a case for just about every player on offense needing to be upgraded except Kalil, Olsen, Cam and maybe Silatolu (IF he can return from injury). And of course there's people saying we should trade Cam and look for a new QB as well.

 

 

 

>>>Defense

 DE - Hardy is a free agent, that's a big hole to fill. Even if we promote Alexander to starter we'd then need to fill the rotational DE spot. All in all I hope we keep the Kraken around a bit longer.

 CB - This has been discussed at length. Personally I think we have a solid group of mid-tier players, we only lack a true #1 CB that can handle the other teams top receiver. There's nobody currently on the roster who fits that description.

 S - We have basically nobody here. Mikell and Mitchell are both free agents. Godfrey has one of those retarded Hurney contracts, his base salary explodes from 1.6 million to 5 million. Seeing as how he was never really good to begin with and he's been on IR all year I doubt he'll be back. That leaves us with only an UDFA in Lester and a couple guys that are just STers.

 

 

And of course... head coach, offensive coordinator, defensive coordinator, special teams coach and the whole list of assistants and positional coaches.

 

 

That's 8-9 starters, 3-4 more players that will be significant contributors, an entire coaching staff and I didn't even hit on the multiple positions that we need to desperately improve our depth.

 

We're also still operating with the same front office personnel, pro and college scouting departments that Hurney put together. We probably need to weed through that, cut some guys loose and bring in new guys there as well.

 

 

So.... good luck Gettleman. Get to work.

 

[Sean Payton's Vicodin]

so basically a whole new team

[MichaelNewtonII]

WE NEED WEAPONS TO SURROUND CAM AND AN OLINE. OUR D IS THE poo ALREADY ALTHOUGH IT COULD USE BETTER CORNERS

[carolina-chuck]

Blackburn will be back. He signed a 2 year deal.

 

I really believe that this will be Gross' last year as a Panther.

 

 

 

Needs:

(1) OL, OL, OL, OL, OL!!!!!!!!!!!! (LT/RT/RG)

(2) WR and CB!!!!!!!

(3) LB

(4) DE

(5) TE

 

Resigns: Ginn and Hardy

DO NOT RESIGN: LaFAIL,

CUT GODFREY and DWILL or Stew.

 

[Kuech the Sneak]

I think gross could come back next year and play RT, that is depending if we can get a top left tackle in the draft

[Rhell]

When we fire Ron and bring in a guy that wants to whip this roster into shape...Gross probably retires.  It is hard to find above average OL in free agency, the draft is where we go for the big guys.

 

I think it is going to get worse before it gets better.

[stirs]

It cannot get a lot worse than 1-3

 

Find a big T in the draft and put him at RT his first season while having Gross play one more season at LT.  Then, after 2014, Gross retires and we have our new LT.

 

Direction, Identity need to be determined before hiring a new coach.

 

Then, Oline is first priority.

 

If the Panthers lose this next week or the next, then, as Gettleman, all bets would be off on keeping guys with big contracts.

Dwill, Stewart, Hardy and even Steve Smith should all be on the block if trade offers come before the deadline.

Also, there is no way that I would not try DA at QB if we start like 1-5 or something.  Future is here

[unicar15]

If we lose this week I would seriously consider pulling a Cleveland and start acquiring daft picks and cap space. Time to officially rebuild instead of doing the Hurney thing where you hold onto a few superstars and hope for the best.

[R0CKnR0LLA]

I agree but who do we even have to trade? I doubt we'd get anything except a late round pick for most of our tradeable players. Hardy is the only guy I can see netting anything decent but I think he's one of the few young talented players that we have to build on for the future so I'm not sure I'd even want to trade him.

[stirs]

If Gman sees that he, Hardy, is not gonna sign (already reportedly turned down 8 mill per year), then why not trade him since he will be leaving anyway?

 

Smith might draw some interest like a 4th rounder.  Doubt he comes back here next year, so letting him compete in the playoffs might be agreeable to him.

 

Someone in the playoff race, who loses a RB, might, just might have some interest in one of our cash cows.

 

Those are the only ones that might draw some interest, at least enough to get a draft pick

 

Brady would love to have Olsen or Smith, I am sure, but the mad scientist does not give up draft picks

[Anybodyhome]

Steve Smith's contract:

4/10/2012: Signed a four-year, $37.75 million contract. The deal contains $16.8 million guaranteed, including a $10 million signing bonus and each of Smith's first three base salaries.

2013: $3.75 million

2014: $4 million (+ $3 million option bonus)

2015: $7 million

2016: $9 million (Option Year)

2017: Free Agent

 

Greg Olsen's contract:

7/28/2011: Signed a five-year, $24.7 million contract. The deal contains $8.7 million guaranteed, including a $2.5 million signing bonus and all of Olsen's first two base salaries. Olsen is eligible for an annual $250,000 workout bonus in years three through five.

2013: $750,000 (+ $3 million "signing" bonus)

2014-2015: $5.25 million

2016: Free Agent

 

The only way either of them leave the Panthers will not be by their choice. G-man will have to cut them or offer them up in trade if they're to leave. Steve Smith will not get anything better than a very late round, Olsen would actually get some attention at 28 years old.

[saX man]

That's pretty accurate.  

[IamSoClutch]

I.think te in the first is our best option. helps with the line and gives us a weapon at the same time

[Ruff]

Our biggest problems definitely line within the offensive line. Assuming that Gross won't come back (I think this could very well be his last year in the NFL), we will have a need at LT, RG, and RT, and that's also assuming that Amini will come back 100% from his ACL tear (which a lot of guys can't/don't do).

 

Other than that, I think we have a need at WR. Even with LaFell's game today (which I believe is an anomaly), we need someone who is eventually going to replace Smitty as that #1 guy, as well as filling a hole at the #2 WR spot. A second TE would be nice, but a luxury at this point, with so many holes.

 

Then, the secondary needs some love. It's patchwork at this point, with undrafted guys, cast-offs, players that aren't producing, etc.

 

After that, I would start looking at maybe getting some young guys late to come in and be rotational to our two future stud DTs.

 

A back-up QB should be on the list, albeit a very, very low priority.

 

I would target the LT position as fast as possible. Getting someone like Matthews/Lewan would be amazing, but Antonio Richardson would also be awesome. (I'm not as high on Hurst as I am some of the other prospects at the LT, like Richardson). One of those guys will definitely be there when we pick, but it probably won't be Matthews (I suspect he goes Top 5.)

 

In the second, I would do my damndest to try and draft Jordan Matthews, the WR from Vanderbilt. The guy is a legitimate #1 receiver. No, he doesn't have the flashy highlights (like Lee or Watkins), but the dude is so damn good. It might require a trade up back into the 20s-30s of the 1st to get him, but it would be well worth it.

 

Later on, I would start trying to find a mauler for the RT position. Someone like Mewhort from Ohio State would be perfect. He's played with a large, mobile QB, he is massive (something like 6'4 / 315lbs) and has played solid competition (even though Khalil Mack made him his bitch, but he's done that to a ton of players).