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What If... Marty Just Did Something That Will Make You Love Him?

Proudiddy

By Proudiddy,
in Carolina Panthers

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Proudiddy Grand Master

Proudiddy

Posted
Posted

As I've stated previously, ad nauseam, I was never a fan of KB as our first round pick the year we took him.  I preferred smaller, more explosive guys who we could move around and were always a threat wherever they caught the ball, not just running in a straight line, if even then.  I was worried about his dedication, his focus, his conditioning, his hands...  everything.  But, I do feel he was, based on everything coming into this season, our #1 by default.  I haven't believed in Funchess either, but he has flashed a few times this season enough to give hope that maybe with a more diversified group of receivers on the field, he can excel.  

All of that being said, I have also made clear I'm not a Hurney apologist.  He has had his share of F-Ups, and a lot of them.  But, i give him credit for the good moves he has made that built our core we currently have.  So far, since he's been back, the only quality move I can say he made that was universally applauded was signing Jairus Byrd, but that is fairly inconsequential.  He has also rocked the boat several times in the same short span by dumping locker room-favorites Joe Webb and now, KB.  But, after further reflection on the move, and the discussions that have taken place afterwards, I decided to give consideration to a more optimistic outlook of the move...

What have we all virtually been in agreement about this season?  Shula is AWFUL.  Remember Jeremy sharing the story from Shula's TB days under Dungy, and Dungy's solution was to simplify the offense?  Well, what if...  Hurney just made an incredibly ballsy move and we just have no idea how ingenious it is right now, but will see as the season progresses?  What if he just FORCED Shula to "simplify," or more likely in this case, DIVERSIFY the offense, because no one else would?  

My point is, one of the common complaints about our offense was the amount of time routes took to develop.  How much of that was scheme versus personnel?  People werent getting open because the guys we kept forcing out there couldnt.  And with our organization, one that historically will force a guy into a role he hasnt necessarily earned outside of salary or draft status, our staff  just didnt have the gall to bench underperformers or make adjustments to address them.  Per usual, they tried to force a square peg into a round hole.  They kept rolling with KB and Funch despite that it was bogging down the offense and had a negative, domino-style effect on the offense as a whole.  Shula lacks the creativity or innovative disposition to find a compromise in which he can put different packages out there with one big WR, surrounded by several other "speed" options depending on matchups - that would require him to think, to strategize.  He essentially was running on auto-pilot - "these are the guys I have.  I owe it to them to make it work.  And we'll eventuslly break through the wall."  When, in fact, the solution was to move away from that archaic method of sending two big WRs who struggled to create separation...  but, by staying with the status quo, and likely what Ron favored as well by keeping KB and Funch as the 1 and 2, Shula didnt have to think...  he just kept calling the same garbage with the same guys.  Our staff typically doesnt make adjustments.  It has been stated by other players around the league - the Seahawks and Broncos come to mind - that we don't try to out-scheme opponents, we show up and say, "this is what we're doing, and we plan on executing it better than you execute your stuff."  So again, Shula was just coasting.  He didn't need to adjust because Ron fosters that lack of urgency and strategy.

We all know Rivera is loyal to a fault.  He rarely ever benches guys, especially not highly-drafted ones.  He also won't fire coaches, and we don't know that he ever really rips into them for poor decisions or performance either...  so, what if Marty just did what Ron wouldn't do?  He forced Shula to adjust because Ron wouldn't and neither would Shula himself.  Maybe, just maybe, we'll look back on this trade in a few months and realize it was the right one to be made.

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Vagrant Explorer

Vagrant

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I'm just going to ignore every thread started here that opens with a self congratulatory sentiment and assume that was the reason the post was made. we should have a sticky thread called "things I was right about" and make it a gigantic circle jerk.  

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Fox007 Grand Master

Fox007

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Posted

Yay back to the days of 'if', the cherry on top of the Panthers are back to bottom dwelling.

What if the Panthers were a good franchise.

What if Marty Hurney wasn't the GM still

What if Marty Hurney WAS a good GM

What if the Panthers never have back to back winning seasons

What if

What if
What if

What if

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Eazy-E Mentor

Eazy-E

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I’m sure Hurney has been told he can’t fire coaches so he is doing the only thing he can do to help this team. 

Call me crazy but I’m actually surprised we got a 3rd for Kelvin. I don’t think his value around the league is very high.

Funch is younger and cheaper and you only need one of him on the team. The team is tight on cap space and Hurney surprisingly made a move that helps the cap.

If you can’t fire your coaches and they are being stubborn, you do what you have to do to force their hand. 

At least with Hurney we know our first rounder will be a beast if he doesn’t trade the pick away.

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