Mr. Scot

Again, wow Tell you what, dude. I'm willing to give you one final breakdown just to be nice but after that I don't really plan to revisit this discussion because frankly I think it's kinda silly. Plus, as mentioned, there are way more interesting things to talk about at the moment. Take a look at where the Panthers are right now. - They have a quarterback they believe in - Said quarterback is only 24 years old - Their protection of that young quarterback they believe in is lacking because of subpar offensive line personnel - On the other side of the ball, while they're good up front, on the outside and on the edges, there are some questions in the middle of the defense - But even so, the team believes they can win with what they have Got all that? Good Now, most football minds aren't going to look at the combination of factors listed here and come away saying to themselves "Well clearly, the first thing they need to prioritize is drafting a franchise quarterback of the future" But that's where you are... Oy Again, I get it. You don't believe in Darnold. I'm guessing you probably wanted Justin Fields. The Panthers didn't. Let It go. Right now, Darnold is the guy. Heck, per Jeff Howe the team has already given some thought to extending him as long as he continues to play like he has so far. So no, drafting a young guy to compete with him doesn't look to be on the table. Nor should it be. As discussed above, there are way bigger needs. If something happens and Darnold declines massively over the rest of the season, then this might be a viable topic. As of right now though, it's just not. And in reality, whether you like it or not, it might not be anytime soon. That's just how it is. Complain about it if you want but it's not gonna change anything. The better choice would be to enjoy the ride like the rest of us are. But hey, you be you.

Or a "fug em" thread...

From our buddy Ellis...

A little follow up...

For what it's worth, The Athletic's Sheil Kapadia actually predicts the Eagles win this game based on their pass rush getting going in the second half.

That makes sense. Do you get good benefits with that?

I get the feeling a lot of people are going to be running into a lot of other people on this board for a while

This game is a "should win", not a "must win".

Reasonable.

I'm on board with that idea. Wish the NFL was

There's a game this week?

See, the other stories I can buy, but shouldn't he be in DC right now?

Took the opportunity to listen to Scott Fitterer's interview on WFNZ this morning (available here). Naturally, a good portion of the segment was about the Gilmore deal, but Mac did mention that fans had questions about the offensive line. Fitterer's response included some of the things that we've already heard, but a few additional details as well. - Obviously, there aren't a lot of guys available right now that would be of much help - Part of the reason for the above point is that teams don't let good offensive linemen go - If there is even a decent free agent out there, great; but you're probably going to wind up overpaying for him - Thus, when it comes to offensive line in general, Fitterer describes the NFL as a "draft and develop" league And finally, he summed it all up by saying "we may just have to draft and develop these guys", even though he acknowledged there are challenges involved in that process as well. Oy Bottom line? It certainly sounds like that's the plan. I said previously that I believe the Panthers signed stopgap free agents this offseason with a view toward building the O-line over time via the draft. I'm now more convinced than ever that this is what's happening here. Fitterer's responses make it pretty clearly that the Panthers path to building a dominant line is going to be heavily draft focused. He did admit that can be a tough task in itself because the college game has become very different from the pro game on that front, so it takes guys a couple of years to really get up to speed. Two things that are going to be key to this effort will be college scouting and coaching. You have to pick the right guys, and then you have to coach them up the right way. Can we do that? I sure hope so. The bad news? Well, if you're looking for quick fixes, you're probably gonna be disappointed. Our best shot at improvement this year is likely getting some of our rookies up to speed sooner rather than later. That may not be splashy, but it does seem the wise way to go. But the good news is that there does seem to be a plan. It's one that can work, but it's gonna take time. In the meantime, here's hoping for the best.

I do recall someone yesterday (forget who) saying he wanted to go to the Packers, in part because they were a contender. Don't know how much truth there was to that, but obviously it didn't pan out that way.

I mean hey, he took a little dig at Tepper during his initial interview and still wound up with the job, so

Jeff Howe and Joe Person confirmed that the Panthers want to keep Gilmore beyond just this season. All indications are that they also want to keep Donte Jackson. How?

Don't know if you're an Athletic subscriber, but they do an annual thing where they talk to player agents and ask them about front office personnel from every team. Fitterer was mentioned a couple of times in this year's article, described by agents as trustworthy, a stand up guy, a good negotiator and someone easy to talk to.

Honestly, one of the more interesting parts of this article to me was the stuff regarding his future. Referenced it above, but here's the full excerpt: Second, the Panthers’ intention is to sign Gilmore to a contract extension, but there’s no rush to do so. They know it won’t be cheap, so they want to make sure Gilmore looks like himself upon his return. His debut against the Giants would be 10 months removed from his last game. The Panthers also have a few extensions to handle in the meantime. But Gilmore will report to the Panthers and won’t demand a new contract before suiting up. Before signing an extension, he also wants to make sure the defensive fit is as strong as it appears on paper, and that takes time, too. It’s conceivable the extension discussions don’t occur until after the season, even though the Panthers hope to keep him for the long term. The last line of that first paragraph is noteworthy too.

You have to write something worth responding to. Especially considering there's way more interesting discussions going on right now.

Sure, dude

Was wondering that myself. It's also possible Gilmore may have wanted to be here over other places. I remember seeing a comment on that somewhere but I forget where.

Good stuff. Read similar things from The Athletic. Bet the Boston folks love this story Fitterer was also supposed to be on WFNZ this morning but I didn't catch it. Will probably be on their site later.

So you're not the guy who keeps trying to get in touch with me about my car's extended warranty?

I could see it

The Athletic's Jeff Howe examines how the Stephen Gilmore trade went down along with Panthers beat writer Joe Person. How the Panthers got the guy they wanted from the Patriots (subscription required) Some details from the story... The Panthers had been looking into acquiring Gilmore for pretty much the entire offseason, but they weren't willing to give up what the Patriots were asking. Then this week, the Patriots decided to cut bait and the Panthers pounced. Word of Gilmore's impending release was leaked by the Patriots to try and drum up a market. Apparently it did just that as several teams were reported to have inquired and two AFC teams made specific offers. Fitterer knew of the offers and also understood that if the release happened, there'd be a bidding war for him. That wasn't something he wanted to deal with so he jumped in with a trade offer to try and head it off at the pass. Pat Stewart's Patriot connections helped grease the skids on the offer. Stewart spent ten seasons with the Patriots and is still known to many in their front office. He kept in contract with Patriots lead personnel guy Dave Ziegler throughout the process and helped secure the ultimate deal. The final negotiations went fast, so fast in fact that head coach Matt Rhule wasn't aware the deal was completed as he was heading to practice. Fitterer caught him on the way out, told him he had his new player on the phone and asked if he'd like to speak to him As to the future, per Howe and Person the Panthers do indeed want to sign Gilmore to a contract extension. They are, however, not in a rush to do so. The team wants to wait and see how well he does this season first. Likewise, Gilmore isn't going to demand immediate negotiations. He also wants to see how things work out, and specifically how well he fits in the Panthers defense. Once both sides have seen what they want to see, then they can talk. Basically, stay tuned...