GDT: Carolina Panthers part 2: Is Darnold good or not?

[CandyCanes]

Now Newton saying he didn’t ask for a trade. This Hurney/Tepper combo feels so slimy. What a shame

Yeah so far Tepper has not impressed. The way the players have been handled, the fact he kept Hurney around, etc. Also Tepper’s interest to move the team out of downtown Charlotte and into a new stadium in South Carolina, not a fan of that idea at all.

Tho we’ll see what happens in this rebuild for the Panthers. A lot of us were not thrilled with Dundon when he exiled a lot of important members of the Canes organization, in some questionable ways. We felt hurt. But looking back, all the decisions made have turned out pretty positive. I think we can agree Dundon has done a great job with the direction of the Canes organization. So I’ll give Tepper a few years before decidedly despising him.

 

[CandyCanes]

Panthers bringing in Teddy Dumpwater for 3 years, 60 million dollars.

Lol, I'm just done. What a clown franchise.

Tepper, hold the city/state hostage for a new stadium so they can tell you to pound sand and take your team to Oakland or wherever. Just get out now.

Yikes

 

[Canes]

The Panthers aren't rebuilding though. They're going to try to compete by signing the most mediocre players imaginable to overpriced deals (see Shaq Thompson and now Teddy Bridgewater), which will be just enough to prolong being bad but not bad enough to draft franchise players for several years.

 

[Navin R Slavin]

Yeah so far Tepper has not impressed. The way the players have been handled, the fact he kept Hurney around, etc. Also Tepper’s interest to move the team out of downtown Charlotte and into a new stadium in South Carolina, not a fan of that idea at all.

Tho we’ll see what happens in this rebuild for the Panthers. A lot of us were not thrilled with Dundon when he exiled a lot of important members of the Canes organization, in some questionable ways. We felt hurt. But looking back, all the decisions made have turned out pretty positive. I think we can agree Dundon has done a great job with the direction of the Canes organization. So I’ll give Tepper a few years before decidedly despising him.

The difference is that Dundon had a plan from the beginning. Maybe people didn't agree with it, but the plan was pretty clear even early on: break the monoculture, distribute decision making authority, use data to make decisions.

What's Tepper's plan? So far, it looks like his plan is to follow the Dan Snyder model.

 

[Unsustainable]

 

[Stickpucker]

Wow...turrible.

 

[Anton Dubinchuk]

View attachment 336843

Wow, why did he go for the ransom note aesthetic? Isn't that usually the aesthetic of the one on the wrong side of the ordeal?

 

[Unsustainable]

Wow, why did he go for the ransom note aesthetic? Isn't that usually the aesthetic of the one on the wrong side of the ordeal?

that’s normal how he posts

 

[WreckingCrew]

The Panthers aren't rebuilding though. They're going to try to compete by signing the most mediocre players imaginable to overpriced deals (see Shaq Thompson and now Teddy Bridgewater), which will be just enough to prolong being bad but not bad enough to draft franchise players for several years.

So post-Cup JR of the NFL?*

*except when he inherited a team with stars like Crosby/Malkin

that’s normal how he posts

Just one more reason to not really like the guy. Not that I'm a fan of Bridgewater but Cam had SOOOOOOO long to pull his head out of his @$$ and grow up and he never really did.

 

[HisIceness]

This is weird. You tell the franchise QB and 2015 league MVP to f*** off but instead of trading up to draft Burrow or Tua (which is what most teams do when they part with a franchise QB), you sign Teddy Bridgewater to a 3 year $60 million contract. Bridgewater is okay, but he's nothing special and he's not exactly bulletproof either (remember the knee injury?).

This is essentially what the Hornets did w/ Kemba. They couldn't pay him but to "save face" they downgraded to get Terry Rozier, an "okay" point guard, all while keeping the mediocrity.

I'm not sure what direction the Panthers are going right now. They're nowhere near Super Bowl contenders and they're not good enough for the playoffs, yet they seem to be content with signing "okay" guys like Thompson and Bridgewater big money. Right now they are embracing spinning the 7-9 wheel for some reason.

I also am still amazed that Tepper has kept Hurney. Usually a new owner throws the GM out first thing and gets his own guy, but I guess Tepper likes him so whatever.

 

[cptjeff]

They're not going to have fans going 4-12 or worse like they would even WITH Cam and McCaffrey. This is a seriously depleted team that's going to take more than one offseason to rebuild. Trying to do a patchwork retool would only set this franchise back another half decade.

If you tank for several years and get some good picks, you might eventually wind up with a player not quite as good as Cam Newton. Who wants to stay with the Panthers and make it work.

I'm quite serious about being done with this team. Tear it down rebuilds virtually never work in any sport. It's always better to build on the good pieces you have. Tepper and Hurney are a dumpster fire and it's not looking like things will ever change. Even in the bad years before, there were players who were good players and good people who you wanted to root for. Now, they're down to just CMC. For his sake, I hope he can get out before he wastes his career.

 

[HisIceness]

James Bradberry left for the Giants. So Panthers best corner would be, Donte Jackson?

2020 Carolina Panthers Football, embrace the "meh".

 

[Svechhammer]

They are very clearly setting themselves up for a long term tank to build resources. Whatever, sometimes that works, a lot of the time it doesn't. You need to have a winning culture to pull yourself out of an intentional tailspin and this franchise has anything but a winning culture.

What I'm most pissed off about is how they're doing Cam dirty. Just like they did Smitty dirty, and how they burned bridges with DeAngelo Williams on his way out. They don't care to take care of their own why should I care to follow them from now on?

 

[A Star is Burns]

Man, I lose Brady and Cam from my two favorite teams in one day. Their best days are behind, but still a tough day.

 

[Canes]

The NFL is a moribund league anyway. They may print now money but judging by declining youth football participation it's only a matter of time.

 

[tarheelhockey]

I've been a "casual" Panthers fan since Day One. Not nearly so invested in them as I am in the Canes, but I follow them and watch more games than I miss. There has only been one period where I completely checked out, and that was the Seifert era.

This feels like the dawn of another phase where I don't identify with them at all. A year ago this team was Cam, Luke, Olsen, TD, Peppers, Funch, Captain, Bradberry, CMac -- only one of those guys is left, and it's the RB. The core had been in place long enough to develop a personality, and with adjustments for obvious impending retirements, it felt they had a solid 3-5 years left to swing for the fences.

It's not completely clear to me now who the Panthers will be in 2020, and based on what I've seen lately I'm not sure I really care. They're headed in the direction of being a 5-11 type team for the foreseeable future, and that's not even "funny bad" to watch.

 

[HisIceness]

When the sports leagues come back, the Canes have a golden opportunity to take advantage of pissed off Charlotte fans. Will they take over as #1 team in the state? Not likely. Will they be able to at least win over some new fans with a young, exciting, competitive team? Sure why not. I'm proof it can be done.

Sadly we likely won't know how this season would have shaken out down the stretch, but that's not the Canes fault.

 

[Nikishin Go Boom]

Permission to seek a trade =\= asked for a trade.

just says hey we are replacing you, if you want to play find somewhere you want to play.

 

[Highest Boss]

NFL Network's Steve Smith Sr. weighs in on the Carolina Panthers' developments with quarterback Cam Newton, Teddy Bridgewater

I know he was basically cut because they wanted to give the locker room to Cam and had an axe to grind with the team. But pretty clear there's more to this behind the scenes.

 

[Sens1Canes2]

Really don’t see why the Panthers’ way of doing this was “out of bounds.” They didn’t say he requested a trade. In fact, it’s pretty damn obvious by the wording that they simply want to move on from Newton, but want to trade and not release him.

What is also obvious is that Newton constantly plays everything up through his social media channels and portrays himself as the victim. He’s been hurt a lot, no one can predict how good (or bad) he’ll be, and they want to move on. Totally fine.

 

[cptjeff]

Permission to seek a trade =\= asked for a trade.

just says hey we are replacing you, if you want to play find somewhere you want to play.

Has said he did not request a trade and wanted to stay and make things work in Carolina. The management trying to make it sound like he was trying to force his way out is particularly despicable.

 

[Navin R Slavin]

NFL Network's Steve Smith Sr. weighs in on the Carolina Panthers' developments with quarterback Cam Newton, Teddy Bridgewater

I know he was basically cut because they wanted to give the locker room to Cam and had an axe to grind with the team. But pretty clear there's more to this behind the scenes.

I watched that clip, and the only thing I got out of it was: who is that dude on NFL Network, and where in the hell did he get those ears? Those are crazy satellite dish ears.

UPDATE: googling "NFL Network big ears" has informed me that the big eared gentleman is Andrew Siciliano. All right then!

 

[Panthaz89]

Might see a dark age of Panthers football at this point even with McCaffrey and Moore is there anyone that's going to put any scare for the opposition? Owner and GM have no idea what they are doing.

 

[Nikishin Go Boom]

Might see a dark age of Panthers football at this point even with McCaffrey and Moore is there anyone that's going to put any scare for the opposition? Owner and GM have no idea what they are doing.

Cam wasn’t putting fear in anyone the last couple of years.

 

[2Minutes4Surging]

I can't say I am upset with letting Cam go and bringing in Teddy Bridgewater. It's pretty much a lateral move at worst. Bridgewater seems better than any QB option we used last year including Cam. TB will undoubtedly be more accurate of a passer than Cam or any other QB on the roster. He is still mobile. I do worry about his durability, though Cam has been injured just as much or more. I look at this as similar to trading Jeff Skinner. Looks bad on the surface but will end up as a net positive. People have always questioned Cam's leadership, attitude and focus, some of which may be justifiable. Personally, I have always thought he was a terrible passer, therefore if he's not running the ball, then he is a replacement level QB. Who else could/should they have signed at QB?

The defensive side of the ball is a whole different story. The Panther's D was piss poor last year, even with Luke and the other vets, and they don't look to be getting any better. My hope is that they bring in a lot of youth and find a few guys to build around for the future. Shaq Thompson may or may not be one of those guys, and we will surely see now that he is no longer in the shadows. The future is not bright, but are they really any worse off?