NFC South Roster analysis at NFL.com... AND a new reason to laugh at Conor Orr

[KB_fan]

Hey it's a twofer guys.  With one click you get to read the NFL.com's "Roster-Reset" series piece analyzing the NFC South roster changes in the offseason, AND to find a new reason to laugh at Conor Orr.

Here's the link:  "Can Anyone Catch Carolina"

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000652290/article/nfc-south-roster-reset-can-anyone-catch-carolina

Here's the analysis for the Panthers:

Quote

 

What's changed?

As we said a year ago around this time, Dave Gettleman is one of the best general managers in football. He has an idea of how to build a team and he never rests on his laurels. After the Panthers were pounded in the Super Bowl by the Broncos, he went to work signing former Falcons nose tackle Paul Soliai. He got Charles Johnson back on the cheap and there is little doubt he will look to strengthen the cornerback and pass rushing units via the draft.

The only thing that is different? The Panthers have been completely stripped of their plucky upstart charm. They were a ton of fun to cover in the Super Bowl this past season with their faux hotel nightclubs, penchant for Cowboy boots and utter fearlessness in the face of intense media scrutiny. That being said, there is a major target on their backs heading into the 2016 season. While this is normally a cliché tacked onto suddenly-good football teams, it will be a case study in how a group of young, explosive personalities can maintain their dominance from year to year -- especially if the club opts to not load up on a heavy veteran counterweight like they did in 2015.

Panthers' moves

	Re-signings	Arrivals	Departures
	CB Josh Norman (franchise tag)	CB Brandon Boykin	DE Jared Allen (retired)
	DE Charles Johnson	NT Paul Soliai	S Roman Harper
	FB Mike Tolbert	S Trenton Robinson	WR Jerricho Cotchery
	DT Kyle Love	OL Gino Gradkowski	DB Cortland Finnegan
	WR Stephen Hill		C Fernando Velasco
	WR Joe Webb		DT Dwan Edwards

What's next?

» Continue to build. The Panthers have some excellent young pieces in nearly every positional group and have spread their draft picks around brilliantly. In 2016, many eyes will be on Kony Ealy, the 2014 second-round pick who turned in an epic Super Bowl performance. Despite just a few snaps, Ealy logged a title-game performance for the ages. Will he take on a more significant role in 2016?

» Developing Devin Funchess. Funchess, and to a lesser extent Stephen Hill, will be a major part of the 2016 season. A 2015 second-round pick, Funchess was expected to pair nicely with Kelvin Benjamin last season. The two towering wideouts are physically imposing and rangy enough to handle throws just about anywhere. Funchess, however, didn't catch on until the end of the season -- and even then his stats were buoyed by a seven-catch, 120-yard performance over the Buccaneers in the regular-season finale. If he can live up to his promise as a versatile wideout who can play across three positions, Carolina's offense could take a leap forward from last year's stellar breakout. If not, it had better hope Benjamin is healing OK.

» Go out and win the damn thing. It took some analysts like myself months to begrudgingly accept the Panthers' dominance -- so much so that I picked them as double-digit favorites over Wade Phillips' defense in the Super Bowl. Carolina was that good at times in 2015, but now it needs to come back and do what it couldn't the year before. Almost as important as learning to play with a target on their backs is exorcising the demons that came with a breakdown in the Super Bowl.

 

 

The reason to laugh at Conor Orr comes in the introduction to the piece:

 

Quote

 

The NFC South remains one of the most bizarre divisions in football. Every team has a franchise quarterback, and three of the four teams should have year-in, year-out playoff potential. But after a 2014 season where the Carolina Panthers won the division at 7-8-1, only the Panthers emerged in 2015 with a winning record (a nearly undefeated season, 15-1). The Falcons finished 8-8 after starting the season 5-0. The Saints finished 7-9, leading some to believe that the end of the Drew Brees era was near. The Buccaneers finished 6-10, but are viewed as an ascending franchise. Jameis Winston was promising on the field, and another solid draft class could lead to another divisional shakeup.

Still, we see the Saints as a team that should eventually make a return to prominence. The Falcons, with Matt Ryan, Julio Jones and a rebuilt offensive line, should be a better team than they were last year. It also will be difficult to replicate a 15-1 season, even if the Panthers are young and healthy in terms of salary-cap space. How quickly can the rest of the division make up the difference? Will there be a more competitive sense of parody?

 

Ok, the Panthers social media team are EXPERTS in PARODY.  Are you suggesting our division needs to compete better on Twitter?!?!?!  LOL.  And Luke hit a home run with his Halloween costume dressing up as Cam....

But, I think you just might mean "PARITY!" as in equality.... close competition...

I've been laughing for 5 minutes.  This is just too funny a word mix up!

[mav1234]

hahaha, I was reading through this and going "man, this doesn't seem that bad compared to his previous stuff", and then that last line...

[Crazydounut]

I refuse to read anything that the crackheads at NFL.com write. I seriously think they all have mental issues

[Servant of Cthululelei]

I thought OP was upset about Orr saying the Saints would become relevant again, and I was getting ready to explain how the Saints are media darlings and that will happen every year.

But then I saw the last line.  Lol.

[Mr. Scot]

Oh, the irony...

[Cary Kollins]

The Saints making a return to prominence is the worst thing in that article.

[Mr. Scot]

34 minutes ago, Cary Kollins said:

The Saints making a return to prominence is the worst thing in that article.

I think that's become one of those things that someone's gonna predict every year for the next ten years and then if it finally happens say "See?  I called it!"

[Captain Morgan]

(sighs)

[bleys]

1 hour ago, KB_fan said:

I've been laughing for 5 minutes.  This is just too funny a word mix up!

Oy... 

[shaqattaq]

1 hour ago, Cary Kollins said:

The Saints making a return to prominence is the worst thing in that article.

Well it's impolite to say that they're at least 5 years away from a winning season because they're having to sell off the team bit by bit to pay for an old QB who's arm if failing faster that an out of warranty TV. 

Seriously, Pat McCroy has a better chance of carrying the Gay and Lesbian vote than they do of making the playoffs.

[PhillyB]

1 hour ago, mav1234 said:

hahaha, I was reading through this and going "man, this doesn't seem that bad compared to his previous stuff", and then that last line...

lol came to post this. the analysis is actually pretty spot on i thought, but parody lol

[PhillyB]

1 hour ago, Mr. Scot said:

Oh, the irony...

don't act like you wouldn't have spelled it parroty

[caatfan]

"it will be a case study in how a group of young, explosive personalities can maintain their dominance from year to year"

What explosive personalities? The only guys who might explode from time to time are held in check by the level headed majority. What a dumbass comment.

[Donald LaFell]

The 1st part is as good of an analysis that you could ask for