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Panthers, Pack, & the difference in reactions to the injury of a WR1


top dawg

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When Kelvin Benjamin went down with his torn ACL, it seems like the whole of the NFL wrote the Panthers off from making a playoff appearance, much less a push into the postseason.  The dire words of Gregg Rosenthal and Adam Schein about basically how we are basically "done" are not that far removed from the minds of Panthers fans.  

Rosenthal:Cam, Panthers' offense in big trouble

Schein: The news on receiver Kelvin Benjamin is devastating for the Carolina Panthers.

Each article, much like a few others written last week, goes on to explain about a lack of depth and talent of the Carolina Panthers wide receiving corps, and I am not saying that they don't believe these things for good reason, I just noticed the stark difference in how Green Bay's apparent loss of Jordy Nelson is being perceived.

Marc Sessler: Jordy Nelson's injury isn't a death blow for Packers

Of course he goes on to give the reasons behind his thinking, and, again, I really can't argue the point.

They can survive this because no franchise in the NFL has done a better job of drafting and developing their own skill position players. Their wideout depth alone is on par with any other squad league-wide.

Green Bay still has Randall Cobb, one of the game's most electrifying pass-catchers. He's now under pressure to recapture last season's massive numbers, but he won't be asked to do it alone.

Enter second-year receiver Davante Adams, who coach Mike McCarthy called the "MVP" of the offseason. The promising "Making the Leap" candidate has the requisite tools to step into the starting lineup and produce. Nelson's injury also means a larger role for third-rounder Ty Montgomery, fan favorite Jeff Janis and tight ends Andrew Quarless and Richard Rodgers.

Is there is something to be learned not only from the different perceptions about the respective situations, but the reality of the situations? 

Is it as simple as Dave Gettleman bets the house on defense, while the other puts a premium on offense? Is it just two ships sailing in the night at different points in their franchise history or salary cap status, or just plain dumb luck? 

Either way it's at least slightly interesting.

 

 

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If we had won a Super Bowl and been a constant playoff team and contender every year under Rivera/Cam then the media would be shrugging off KB's loss. It's just how your regular average joe views different franchises. We've typically sucked so we're an afterthought to John Doe (who the national media's target is) while the Packers have been consistently good and won a Super Bowl, so people typically think of them as a great team. Just is what it is. 

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I'd say it has a lot to do with the fact that Ted Thompson has been GM of that team for ten years. And up to just a few years prior to him, Ron Wolf was in charge.

Dave Gettleman just finished his third draft, and has had to spend a significant portion of his first few years as a GM cleaning up the mess left by Marty Hurney.

The team has indeed gotten better since Gettleman took over, but to get to the level of the Packers will take more time.

As long as there's consistent progress along the way. I'm comfortable.

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If we had won a Super Bowl and been a constant playoff team and contender every year under Rivera/Cam then the media would be shrugging off KB's loss. It's just how your regular average joe views different franchises. We've typically sucked so we're an afterthought to John Doe (who the national media's target is) while the Packers have been consistently good and won a Super Bowl, so people typically think of them as a great team. Just is what it is. 

I agree. We haven't given the mainstream media ( not that we care) anything to be confident in.

I heard MJD say on XM that we went from a potential 10 win team to winning 4 games because of the loss.

They just aren't paying attention enough to know the difference. We haven't really given them reason to with 32 teams. 

I don't care honestly, prefer the underdog roll. 

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the packers have had competent front-office maneuvers for far longer than we have, and it's given them a chance to round their roster out well enough for a significant enough period of time that they can fine-tune and tweak it year after year.

david gettleman is still plugging holes.

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