GarthMcGrath

We are killing it today! So far we have signed: -Troy Hill

But yes if you do draft the QB it sends a message to Bryce that we are not 100% confident in you, and that could be detrimental. So I take it back. Do not draft a QB. But if they did, man that would be very interesting.

Yeah I agree with all of that for sure! My only other thought is that Bryce may have been fortunate to have survived this year from a physical standpoint, and there were over 60 starting QBs last year, partly because of injury. If we have another young QB in the wings that gets to jump in if Bryce gets hurt, and that QB does very well, we either have our new QB or at very least a tradable asset.

I know Bryce is the plan but I would be happy with us drafting a QB in the 2nd or 3rd if we can accumulate more draft capital either by trading Burns and/or trading down from 33.

Part of me is excited to see who we sign but it would be better to take the year off, clean the ledger, accumulate draft capital, and allow Canales to develop who we have and start developing a culture. Maybe the players we had were just utilized incorrectly or not developed properly. An actual good coach may have taken this roster to 6-8 wins last year, there is just no way of knowing! 2025 you can open the checkbook.

Extra bonus. Hiring Canales away hurts Tampa Bay.

Not only did we spend the picks on Corral and Young, we traded 4 other picks for Darnold and Mayfield. Those picks were almost identical to the four picks we received for CMC. And now that I’ve said that out loud, I am angry at this team yet again. So we basically traded CMC, DJ Moore, the 1 overall pick in 2024, another first and a second for Bryce Young, Sam Darnold and Baker Mayfield.

Why keep Morgan again? I mean if he was good enough to be a GM then why hasn’t any other team interviewed him for the position. We really need to clean house in the front office. It seems like we make too many decisions based on sentiment and history (Morgan, Reich) or on locality (Ickey, Horn) recently. Only one we didn’t was Wilks.

I hate the first week or so of the search process because it takes a little while to get going and there is so much rumor and guessing going on. Real info won’t start until the next couple weeks. Anyone remember how fast the Panthers were compared to everyone else on the last cycle?

Seems logical to hire coach first who should dictate the type of offense and defense they want to run then let them help determine the person they think they could work best with to achieve their vision. Especially if you have search firm or consultant assisting in the interview process anyways.

I would love Harbaugh here. Need someone with a spine. And I think he would get us back to Panther football. I try to convince myself that he really does have interest in coming here. Maybe the reason this job would appeal to him more than the Raiders or Chargers is that we are NFC and would give him the opportunity to play in Super Bowl against his brother again. Yes I know we are not ready for Super Bowl obviously but if that is important to him, that potential eliminates half the league.

And basically whoever the coach is should have the option to interview Fitterer and if they do not think he is the right GM, then fire him then. But why fire him now if the new coach felt he would be a good GM.

It may make more sense to keep Fitterer as he seems to be very connected in the league and you ultimately need someone to handle the financial side of the roster. But our coach should have say over the roster composition so that the scheme will mesh with the players. I think Jim Harbaugh would be a good fit as he is a strong personality, his scheme would fit our existing roster more closely and matches our historical identity, and he can build the roster in his image and let Fetterer handle negotiations. Every personnel decision including trades should be Harbaugh’s final decision.

Where was it reported that he was added to the roster? His comeback story would make some headlines on the sports sites but I have not seen anything.

If we go Sean Payton and give up draft capital then I would hope that Derek Carr would look at the situation and see a good foundational roster (especially the O-Line and above average defense), relatively easy division, and probable Hall of Fame head coach and decide to come here to find that championship he said he is hungry for. If I was Payton I would already be talking to Carr to see what he is thinking because they could go somewhere together. Some talking heads mentioned Tom Brady as the package deal QB but I would rather have Carr. If Payton can get Carr looking like the potential league MVP from a few years back then I would love to see what they could do together. If Panthers were to cough up the #9 pick this year for Payton then they shouldn't give up anything else period. You could look at Derek Carr as our first round pick, and he would be better than any of the guys coming out this year, at least over the next couple years. Let Corral keep developing.

Not an expert but looks like if we lose we would jump the Raiders and could also jump Falcons and Rams if they win their games. If we win we stay at 9.

After watching the college games today and seeing (probably) two upsets I just don't know anymore and maybe predictions for playoff games are more meaningless than regular season. This is a playoff game. All bets are off. Steve Wilks has a better winning percentage this season than all NFC South coaches including Todd Bowles. Darnold looks better than Brady over the last 4 games. Our offensive line is incredibly healthy compared to Tampa Bay's which has been decimated. I think Carolina should win 28-17. But I don't really believe that we will win. Too much disappointment since SB50. However, it doesn't matter if I believe. It matters if the team believes. If they believe, then they will win. And if they win, it is Steve Wilks that made it happen, and I will be 100% behind him being the coach. The Panthers are at an inflection point. Tomorrow can be the beginning of the renaissance of Keep Pounding. But if they lose... so much uncertainty over the future of this team. I don't recall a game over the last 7 years that had as much on the line!

Before the draft I was hoping we would trade down and pick up Penning and Corral. Instead we got ICKY and Corral! Someone tell me this is real.

I don't believe this is true, but I just had a thought. Maybe Panthers were playing 4D chess the whole time. Met with Deshaun, agreed to bring him over but kept it under wraps, had Deshaun reach out to Falcons and express interest in heading home, get both the Falcons and Saints to mess up their preexisting plans, causing Falcons to either trade or alienate their QB, have Saints fail to extend TA, and after the damage is done just say "Carolina is my team". I mean, that would be absolutely legendary if they were able to do that, as well as low-ball the Texans by only negotiating with teams that can't put together good packages, meaning our trade offer may not be as generous as we thought!

First official post. Win or lose, I've loved my Panthers since 2003, and I'm a Huddler as of today. Keep pounding, people. 1 + 88 = 7