So who's actaully to blame here?!

[Keith Moons Liver]

Whatever creature birthed JR. 

[Ricky Spanish]

We were 12-4 last year, stop blaming Hurney. It wasn't Hurney who decided to let all his free agents that contributed to that success test the market. He had an opportunity to sign all of those guys back for less money than they received elsewhere but he sat around thinking they didn't have value. He dropped the ball on not locking those guys up. Hardy should have never been tagged, he was a luxury and not affordable when you consider the state of the offensive line. Hurney didn't make the decision to go into the season with Bell and Chandler at tackle. Hurley didn't force his pro bowl LT into a paycut sending him to contemplate and eventually retire. Hurney would have never let go of Steve Smith.

In Steve Smith and Jordan Gross you lose the two biggest leaders of this team in the last decade. That wasn't Marty fuging Hurney, that was Dave Gettleman. Lots of teams have bad contracts and salary cap issues every year that they have to deal with. It's how they deal with those issues that separates sorry GMs from good ones. Dave Gettleman failed at his job before the ball was ever kicked off this season. You throw in an incompetent defensive coordinator pretending to be a head coach and this is the result you see.

We haven't even been competitive. Yea the Falcons and Saints have a similar record, but take a look at their point differential. They've at least been competitive and have had some close games. We've been dominated in all phases of the football game. That ain't Marty Hurneys fault. Sooner or later you have to stop blaming your ex girlfriend for your shitty relationship. I'm tired of hearing Dave talk about the team being cap challenged building himself an excuse. Just do your damn job.

 

Wait, what?

 

I don't know how to say this with out sounding like a dick but you're just flat out wrong. Ted Ginn has always been about the money and went where he was paid the most. He sure is an all world WR for the Cardinals right now, huh? There was NO WAY we could have retained Mitchell because the Steelers offered up such a good contract. He's playing at a PRo BOwl level again this year too, right? Dude, We just couldn't compete with the money they were offered.

 

The line is shambles right now because half of them retired, not because he didn't re-sign them. When you say that The Pay-cut forced Gross into retirement, you're again, just wrong. Gross still got paid and retired because, you know, he wanted to. Blaming Gettleman for that is all conjecture on your part. If he wanted to still play, he would have. 

 

Gettleman's biggest fug up was tagging Hardy, a move that about 95% of the huddle was for at the time. Unfortunately, that move didn't work out because Hardy is a dumbass. 

 

If you want to ignore all the bad money that we have invested in guys like Beason, james anderson, godfrey, CJ, Deangelo, and Stewart than be my guest but it is incredibly short sighted of you. When Gettleman first got the job 2 years ago he said it would take a few years to get cap healthy due to the terrible contracts that are still on our books. Until the RB contracts are gone, we will be cash strapped. It is unfortunate, but it's the hand he was dealt. He did very well last year in a similar financial situation, a situation in which he cleaned house and got us to 12-4 with no money at all. This year's free agents weren't as good as last years, and that's unfortunate. He can, however, only do so much with what he was given. We over-achieved last year and that sucks, but Gettleman is putting us in a better financial situation to allow us to sustain consistent success, not one flash in the pan year every 5. 

[cbarrier90]

We were 12-4 last year, stop blaming Hurney. It wasn't Hurney who decided to let all his free agents that contributed to that success test the market. He had an opportunity to sign all of those guys back for less money than they received elsewhere but he sat around thinking they didn't have value. He dropped the ball on not locking those guys up. Hardy should have never been tagged, he was a luxury and not affordable when you consider the state of the offensive line. Hurney didn't make the decision to go into the season with Bell and Chandler at tackle. Hurley didn't force his pro bowl LT into a paycut sending him to contemplate and eventually retire. Hurney would have never let go of Steve Smith.

In Steve Smith and Jordan Gross you lose the two biggest leaders of this team in the last decade. That wasn't Marty fuging Hurney, that was Dave Gettleman. Lots of teams have bad contracts and salary cap issues every year that they have to deal with. It's how they deal with those issues that separates sorry GMs from good ones. Dave Gettleman failed at his job before the ball was ever kicked off this season. You throw in an incompetent defensive coordinator pretending to be a head coach and this is the result you see.

We haven't even been competitive. Yea the Falcons and Saints have a similar record, but take a look at their point differential. They've at least been competitive and have had some close games. We've been dominated in all phases of the football game. That ain't Marty Hurneys fault. Sooner or later you have to stop blaming your ex girlfriend for your shitty relationship. I'm tired of hearing Dave talk about the team being cap challenged building himself an excuse. Just do your damn job.

You want to blame gettleman yet cite the record from last year under his watch as a reason to absolve hurney. That makes no sense.

I still maintain that a majority of the heat he is taking is due to his personality. If he were approachable like hurney, folks would be much more forgiving. Your post absolving the man who put us in this mess reflects that.

[Toundra]

You should ask who don't deserve a blame, the list will be shorter.

 

[CBDellinger]

He had an opportunity to sign all of those guys back for less money than they received elsewhere but he sat around thinking they didn't have value. 

 

 

Thats redic. They were all FA and they all wanted to test the market.  Their agents knew they could get more elsewhere.

[The NFL Shield At Midfield]

"steve smith was a fantastic locker room leader and would have coached up the rookies" is becoming the "al gore said he invented the internet" of the huddle

[cbarrier90]

"steve smith was a fantastic locker room leader and would have coached up the rookies" is becoming the "al gore said he invented the internet" of the huddle

Seriously. The only thing you can fault Gettleman for is ignoring the offensive line, but only because it is hurting an immobile Cam and he's our most important asset going forward. Very few of the anti Gettleman crowd seem to understand this. The rest put too much emotion into their arguments, mostly because they haven't moved on from Steve Smith.

[The NFL Shield At Midfield]

dave gettleman didn't let two punts get blocked for touchdowns

 

dave gettleman didn't give kelvin benjamin only one end zone target against the seahawks (after he was an asshair away from posterizing richard fuging sherman on the one he did get)

 

dave gettleman didn't play for field goals or ties

 

dave gettleman didn't wait until the very end of november to start giving the only real deep threat on this team reps (he did sign him as a UDFA though)

 

dave gettleman isn't starting deangelo williams every week in spite of all the evidence in the world that stewart should be the starter

 

dave gettleman wasn't making the call to start amini silatolu week after week when he was getting outplayed by a UDFA rookie

 

while it's true that he did extend the head coach and staff that did all of this, it's basically unheard of to let a coach play his final season without a contract extension unless you are absolutely done with him like we were with fox in 2010.  rivera was coming off a division title and coach of the year honors and the panthers FO basically had no choice.  any front office in the league would have extended him.

 

[Keith Moons Liver]

Most front offices in the league wouldn't have hired him in the first place. That's the difference between us and real NFL franchises. 

[The NFL Shield At Midfield]

Most front offices in the league wouldn't have hired him in the first place. That's the difference between us and real NFL franchises. 

 

or franchises with real NFL GMs and those with journalists taking up office space pretending to be one

[electro's horse]

The team has had 5 winning seasons in two decades. 

 

The owner is the consistent factor. 

[carolinaperks]

Head coach Ron Rivera typically holds two practices during the off week, but the Panthers are 0-3 coming out of the bye under Rivera. So in an effort to find something that could snap that streak and the team’s current slump, Rivera gave his players five days off after their lone practice of the week on Tuesday.

 

In comparison, the Rams practiced blocking punts all week because they knew they found a weak spot.

 

Now, you tell me who's to blame here.

[Lumps]

I don't blame Gettleman really at all. Hardy, I believe was the right move. If he was playing I believe we'd be ahead of this poo division with a couple more wins. His biggest issue has been ignoring the oline. Smitty is a smaller issue to me. But, it's hard to determine what Gettleman is doing because he has to and because he wants to and also what is being done for the future and what can be done now. He simply needs more time so I can wait on him. One thing that can be sure about him is we wont be in cap hell for idiot contracts.  GIve him 3-4 drafts to see what he's really capable of.

 

Rivera and Shula have to go...they are the reason we are losing games.

 

JR is the reason we are losing seasons.

[Stroupe-a-loop]

Very valid, but it's not like we were getting anything out of those positions last season either outside of Ted Ginn jump starting the return game. Byron bell and amini were still on the line, the offense still sputtered in the red zone, and cam still had to run for his life. That's why Dave overhauled the positions in the first place.

The difference is Riverboat Ron vs Ron Rivera

I'm not absolving Gettleman of blame here, just saying we are not getting the most out of what is there, and that's on coaching.

The exact same coaching staff went 12-4 last year. Rivera and company has obviously regressed, but not as much as the roster did.