Seltzer

I like this signing a lot. It really will help Derrick Brown be even more dominant not getting double-teamed every play. Obviously, pass rush is a massive question mark, but in the words of John Fox, "it is what it is." I don't know that we are fixing that in one off-season especially with losing Burns & Luvu

Fair enough, but if enough of us drop our seats, it does become an issue for the whole organization. And this is the level the team is at. I'll 100% still watch the games, but that's it.

I like your optimist, I genuinely do. Probably just getting older and more cynical, but IMHO from my experience in the business world, someone like Tepper will not be able to ever give up control. I'm not even remotely convinced that's the case, even switching to Morgan at GM. I hope I'm wrong.

I agree with you 100% on this point. Still, do you really have any greater confidence they will get this right this time? B/c I honestly don't. Trading away players like CMC, Moore, & Burns for peanuts and then squandering those draft picks (up until this point) has been the "gameplan" so far under Tepper and it's produced the worst results in the league over the past 5 seasons.

Optimist enough to shill out $7k for this team ?

I have avoided most things Panthers-related for months to protect my mental health and sanity. I have watched David Tepper destroy the one sports team I have truly ever been emotionally invested in. To the point I'm not renewing my PSL's after 18 seasons. My sons could care less about the Panthers- I can't blame them. I bought my boys CMC jerseys- gone I bought my boys DJ Moore jerseys- gone I bought my boys Brian Burns jerseys (both 53 & 0)- gone My last name is Thomas... maybe if I buy Ian Thomas jerseys, we'll finally get rid of him??? We been to 25 home games over the past 5 season. We won 5, and most of those were ugly. Many of them weren't even that competitive. I couldn't even bribe my boys to go the games over the last half of the season, and I couldn't even give them away (except for big market games). So much wasted money chasing sunken costs for a team/owner that refuses to reciprocate. And I don't really care about the money at this point, but I have come to the realization I'm just numb after watching this franchise make so many self-inflicted mistakes (and then compounding them). I've also realized as I've gotten older that being good at one endeavor absolutely doesn't mean you will be successful in something else. David Tepper has obviously won at capitalism (and in the financial markets), but it is not an overstatement to say he has been the worst owner in US professional sports since he bought the Panthers. And it's not any one thing- every franchise makes mistakes. But beyond making awful singular decisions, Tepper has doubled & tripled down on every one of them, and here we are. This is light years worse than at the end of the 2001 or 2010 seasons. And this goes so far beyond the on-the-field product. I've never, ever remotely felt this apathetic, and I know I'm not the only long-term & hardcore fan that feels this way. Anyone who looks at my post history can tell I'm generally an optimist and a homer, but I can't feel anything at this point but numbness & apathy. I never, ever could imagine this team being so mismanaged. Tell me I'm not alone. I've avoided the Panthers for the most part since the end of the season, but I looked online just in time to see we let Luvu walk and gave Burns away for a P&J sandwich... it's just too much... the abyss seems to never end... And we haven't even gotten to draft season (where we will be mercilessly- and rightfully- skewered again). I'm just so incredibly tired of being embarrassed as a Panthers fan. Only apathy seems to help at this point, so I should disconnect again. Thanks to anyone who read and please feel free to commiserate...

I just hope we haven't ruined Bryce. Everything this organization has touched over the past few years has went to poo, and everyone we write off seems to do much better once they leave this dysfunction. I just hope something changes

Same here. I love & will always love this team, but I cannot continue to put my hard-earned money into a product that is the worst in the NFL, and continue to support an owner who does not seem to care one iota about the fanbase. "I plan to take it all in, enjoy the moment and bid this team farewell as a year in year out financial supporter of the team".... well said!!

Perfectly said... this sentence encapsulates the Tepper Era...

True. Beason simply wasn't big enough to play MLB in the traditional 4-3 like Kuechly was, and he didn't have near the pass rush ability of TD. I think his size was a reason for the injuries. Beason was underrated in pass coverage though. He had several big picks I can remember to seal games.

I think those guys come in hungry, but once they realize this isn't a serious organization the vets just coast b/c why not? We have certainly funded good retirements for a lot of NFL vets looking for one last easy payday the past few years...

I'll speak for myself... I will personally admit I thought keeping Burns last year was the right move, but I was wildly gaslit about where this roster stood. I think we all were. I thought we had the roster capable of trading up for a QB and making the playoffs, and keeping the only current guy on the roster who had shown he could get double-digit sacks seemed like the best course at the time. I still think Burns is someone I would like on the team. He is by far our best pass rusher IMO. I think Fitty has massively bungled this entire Burns situation, but I do ultimately understand the concern about breaking the bank. Still, we're a better team in 2024 if he's on the roster. But, yes, unequivocally, given a crystal ball, those 2 1st rounders would be really nice for this team as it currently sits. It certainly seems like it would have been the better long-term move. In some ways like Bryce Young, though, I think the ink is dry. Unless we still get blown away by a trade proposal pre-draft (which I doubt), the best move for next year is to resign him (for hopefully something reasonable to both sides).

I mean, trading CMC for nothing basically and trading up for the #1 pick and still ending up with the worst record in the league... Fitty will never, ever be able to wash these awful trades/stains off his resume. 2 All-Time Blunders... and to do both in consecutive years... I mean, has there every been a 2-year stretch this bad as a GM... and this doesn't even count all his disasters...

We really bought that one from Fitty, too. I know I did. Yep, biggest sucker in the league. I never thought 5 years ago I could ever miss Marty Hurney, but here we are...

I think it would be hard to replace Burns, but this season hasn't done as much for his cause as I'm sure he would have hoped either. And other than last year, you're right about him not being the best. Reddick was better in 2021, but both Brown & Luvu have had better seasons than Burns this year. Burns gets double-teamed a lot, but no more than Brown who has actually proven himself to be the kind of guy you break the bank for. And if we're being honest, does Luvu's versatility not make him just as valuable if not more than Burns? None of us have a crystal ball, but NFL GM's are held accountable to the decisions they make. And Fitty's have in retrospect been almost completely wrong, including not trading Burns at his peak and now bungling the contract situation... man, the evidence is just more & more damning against Fitty.

Could you imagine showing your face around the league after the disastrous trades he's made? The NFL is brutal... I'm sure Fitty gets clowned relentlessly behind the scenes of other organizations...

Everything this organization has tried to sell us during the Tepper Era as a "strategic vision/plan" has been in a reality a house of cards... Richardson was just mostly a mute who never communicated but also didn't meddle... What I'd give just to get back to the mediocrity under JR... At least we got some awesome playoff runs and 2 SB appearances. Under Tepper, we are little the worst team in American professional sports...

Sanders, Hurst, Chark in FA Getting rid of your top WR and trading up to #1 with the expectation of the playoffs The offseason moves from this past year alone should be enough for termination. In its entirety, Fitterer truly has been one of the worst GM's of all time. Maybe that's not a completely fair title dealing with Tepper, but perception is 90% of reality. He's never going to be able to wash the stink of his bad trades off.

I would probably leave the "pretty" out lol... It is damning indictment...

Good & accurate assessment. Fitty is the biggest current issue on the team. There is no logic that could support bringing him back after his cascade of failures, the biggest (and should be unequivocal grounds for termination) was misjudging the roster so incredibly badly to trade up to #1. And this was just the topping on the cake of bad decisions with draft capital. That being said, we'll probably never know behind the scenes how much Tepper is pulling the strings. The fact the Fitty is even still here is a bad sign IMO b/c it seems like Fitty has traded job security for being a yes man to the owner who really wants to run the show. All we can hope is the Fitty is gone come Jan 8th, and that Tepper hires a legit GM and stays out of the way.

You know I'm not afraid to push back when I don't agree, but this article (and your take) is spot on. I'll lead the riot on Mint St if Scotty F is still there on Jan. 8th

It is interesting that injuries derailed Beason (who was better early on), but somehow TD was better (and had the best part of his career) after his 3 ACL tear...

True... it's crazy b/c I almost forgot Chinn was back. Definitely doesn't fit this scheme. Almost like the deal with Justin Houston. I thought we had IRed him for the year.

Amazing that of all the FA's I can think of we signed, he has probably been the best and he was almost an afterthought. The Rasul Douglas comparison is spot-on...

Good list. I considered all of those except Doug Evans. I had forgotten about how great he was in 2002. I disagree about Josh Norman though. I feel like teams just stopped throwing at him for the most part in 2015 after his incredible start. Appreciate the response!