SmokinwithWilly

I have been a Panthers fan since the beginning. I will always want the team to be successful. It really has nothing to do with the players if we did trade for Watson now. It's about ownership and leadership. I'll be honest, us even considering this in the midst of all this has me tetering. I'd have much more respect for Tepper and this organization if they came out and said something to the effect of ... At this time, we will not be pursuing Mr. Watson until the legal and civil matters have been resolved. This organization realizes the seriousness of these allegations, and the ramifications that bringing these allegations into our organization could have on our staff, the players, their families and the fans. Until these matters are concluded, the Panthers will not discuss any potential trades involving DeSean Watson. Saying it is one thing, meaning it is another. And if we did trade for Watson and it turns out to be true what he's accused of doing, there's no walking that back. There's no way to save face from that. 22 sexual assaults are OK as long as you can win football games. There's no way I could support this owner and the leadership after that. About the only way I could is if the team sold and a new owner came in and took a stand against it from the start.

It's more directed at me since I'm the one that said I wouldn't be a fan of the Panthers anymore. If we trade for Watson now, while all this stuff is still going on, then we as a franchise don't give a poo about the damage he may have caused or the people he may have or may hurt because hey, he can throw a ball. That doesn't sit right with me and that's an understatement. I've known 3 women in my life that have been assaulted. Unless you have dealt with the damage that causes first hand, it's hard to fathom how much pain, fear and lack of trust there is. Phone calls because someone stood outside their house too long. Panic attacks in the middle of the night or walking througha grocery store. I've sat awake on a sofa more than a few nights just so they could get sleep and feel a little safe. Even decades after it happened, they're not the same. You can watch certain things happen that trigger the memory, or a smell. And then they move a little closer or squeeze your arm to know someone will protect them. It's heart breaking poo. It will fugging gut you. And I can't ever recall feeling so helpless knowing there was nothing I could really do to fix it. And as satisfying as it would be to do a little vigilante justice, you can't because they need you to be there more. And that is a hard pill to fugging swallow. Watson may be completely innocent. Innocent men get accused of poo all the time. He may also be guilty. There are almost 2 dozen potential victims if the accusations are legit. So if we, as a franchise, not knowing if he's innocent or guilty, decide that those potential victims don't matter, and the nature of this situation doesnt matter, because he can throw a ball, then fug this franchise. If the matter is settled and he's innocent and the team wants to trade for him, fine. I still think the asking price will be too high and not worth it, because we need so many pieces and a QB that has shown he's willing to walk away from his team, and make some pretty piss poor decisions in his private life that can drastically affect his ability to play. Legal poo aside, if we were a QB away from a legit SB shot, then I would understand and likely be ok with it. But we're not. We're not even close. Trading for Watson gets us a qb but strips away the ability to effectively build around him. Plus we still have Rhule and I don't want him making QB decisions because he is desperate to keep his job. A drowning man will always try and take someone with him. In this case, it would be the teams future for several years.

And letting a coach with one foot on a banana peel trade 3 years worth of assets for a QB with massive legal issues or draft a QB simply because he scouted him as a college recruit is? We have one of the worst coaches in the league. We didn't fire him, we're doubling down that he can fix it when he has shown absolutely no ability to adapt or even bring an NFL caliber offense to the field with 2 QBs he hand picked. That's not how the real NFL world works either, at least in successful franchises.

We haven't seen enough of any of these picks to really other than Hubbard to make a determination as to what they are. We should have, but we didn't.

I don't disagree. I just know what I want to happen. We're likely going to make another desperation move in an attempt to save Rhule's job and it's going to leave this team gutted with an overpaid vet QB or an overdrafted rookie.

Actually I know what I want. 1. Make Rhule stick with Darnold. This was his guy and we traded assets and committed to his 5th year based on Rhule's evaluation. 2. Draft a LT at 6, preferably Ekwanu, if he's available. If not.. 3. Trade back if the 3 top LTs are gone and recoup a couple day 2 picks. Take Linderbaum, Penning or Raimman with our 1st, Zion Johnson or Muma with our 2nd. 4. Send PJ walking and bring in a cheap QB like Trubisky or Minshew that can compete with Darnold for starting spot or would be a decent backup. 5. Find our franchise QB next year in a much better class with the early pick we are likely to have with a new coach to evaluate and select him.

And there's no way to guarantee he won't put himself in the same position again. We'd basically be bailing the Texans out of a huge jam and assuming all the risk. It's an extreme risk/moderate reward scenario. We could land our franchise QB and have no real assets, cap or picks, to build around him. It would likely take 3 or 4 years to build a team that could be capable of making the playoffs, and if not, then what. Watson says he's not playing here anymore and demands a trade or refuses to sign his franchise tag? This just isn't a good move all the way around.

Depends on how it's resolved. If he's cleared of charges and the civil matter isn't resolved by a huge payout, then no, I'll still be a fan of the Panthers. If there is a civil settlement and/or a plea arrangement, and we still trade for him, then yes, I will still walk away.

I will walk away from this franchise as a fan should we trade for Watson before any of this is actually resolved. If you have ever known anyone that has been assaulted, and unfortunately I do, you know what a destructive force this can be on their lives. To ignore what he has been accused of simply because he can throw a ball would leave a stench on this franchise that wouldn't easily, if ever, be washed away. Right now, Watson is a player than cannot and should not be touched.

Panther nation will look like Jets fans do almost every year when we take Pickett

He didn't deserve the last one. That belonged to Kupp hands down.

I live out in Seahawks country. Don't think I won't be using it often.

They would have a 2nd Lombardi, but Carroll decided to pass on that opportunity.

A team would probably have to give up 1sts and 2nds for the next 3 years, 50m a year in salary, and players to get Rodgers because hes the reigning MVP. Kupp should have won it, but that's position politics. Trading for Rodgers would be for a win now shot because the price tag would decimate the team. Either that or you trust your GM to nail rounds 3-7 and UDFA to be able to compete for the next 4 years. Rodgers also won't draw the FAs for less like Brady did. My point is how many teams are willing, able, and have the stock to trade that are in position to win now. And then you also have to hope his drama queen attitude doesn't come into play. It's a lot of factors and they all come into play to different extents.

How tradable is Rodgers though? We all know he's a talent and 4 time MVP, but from all reports he's also a colossal asshole and that can ruin a locker room. I'm not saying there's not teams that wouldn't trade a boatload for him, including us. I just wonder how much his attitude would play into any trade talks.

I know Houston wants a haul but right now I wouldn't even give a 1st for Watson. There's no guarantee he ever plays another down in the NFL. All the civil suits plus criminal complaints make his future anything but certain. It's also not far fetched that if Houston wants to get serious about building a competitive team and Watson doesn't get traded, he may be cut for cap room at the end of next season if his legal matters aren't resolved. Not to mention how many fans, especially female, are going to feel knowing that we don't care about whether or not you may be a sexual predator as long as you can throw a football. We should stay the hell from Watson until all of this is sorted out.

And would be on the commissioners exempt list before the season started

I get it, it's just hard to preach about the NFL protecting the integrity of the game when they themselves don't.

After the debacle this year I was sure Rhule was on his way out the door. I'm not sure what it would take for him to get fired at this point. Obviously performance isn't one of those factors. We set tied/set the NFL record for the worst finish after a 3-0 start. We were embarrassed multiple times by teams that were equal or worse. We've spent multiple draft picks and a lot of cap space on guys that aren't or never were good. I seriously don't know what it would take for Tepper to wake up and see how bad the situation really is, but whatever "IT" is scares the crap out of me in regards to the team's future.

It is on the same level as pro wrestling. It's listed as entertainment company. It doesn't even have to follow it's own rules, just show a game. Those outcomes can be manipulated or rigged. Let's not pretend that there haven't been many games influenced by the NFL referees.

Betting while not playing seems like a minor infraction unless it was on the games the Falcons were playing. Of all the crap that goes on in the NFL on an annual basis, Snyder, Kraft, deflategate, bountygate, PEDs and this is where the NFL is going to lay down a hard penalty? I'm sure it's against the rules, but it seems pretty steep to suspend him for a year.

The ridiculous flops kill it for me. Maybe it's different in person but on TV you can tell they're faking 90% of the time. At least hockey has an embellishment penalty to try and keep that out of the game.

Worst OL and our prize FA last year were hand picked because of their versatility on the line. Too bad they suck. And it's not like we didn't have options to start someone else, but Rhule tried to convert BC into a G/C and kept Brown on the bench in favor of Miller. Let's not pretend like we didn't have any options. We had them. Rhule was just to stubborn to realize they were there, at least until now when he says he should have played BC at LT more like everyone had been saying since preseason.

We have a plan. poo the bed. poo it again. poo all over the place.