Current Grade: Incomplete

[Mr. Scot]

So I see a few folks evaluating "Hurney 2.0" with "good moves so far".

Eeehhh, maybe.

The reality is that the majority of the moves that have been made so far have come at a time when it's not really possible to judge their true impact.  All of the free agency and draft work for last season had already been done long before Hurney came aboard.  Likewise, nothing that's happened this year to date has exactly been earth shattering or unexpected. 

Realistically, the effect of the most recent moves can't be judged until you see what follows them, and even the overall effect of all that won't really be known until the season plays out at the very least. You can talk about cleared cap space if you like, but that isn't really a win in and of itself until you see what the team does with it. 

If you want to talk meaningful, team impacting transactions, there's not much to go on at this point.

Here's what we do have:

 

KEVON SEYMOUR / KAELIN CLAY TRADE

The Transaction: Early last season, we traded receiver/returner Kaelin Clay and a seventh rounder for former Bills sixth rounder Kevon Seymour.  Clay was later waived by the Bills and wound up back here, so the net giveaway for the Seymour trade was a seventh.

The Impact: Not much, really.  Although some folks thought Seymour would supplant starting corner Daryl Worley, that hadn't happened by season's end.  So far, Seymour doesn't really look like he's anything special.  Clay on the other hand did make some good plays after coming back and shows some promise as a return man, but nothing to the point where he also isn't easily replacable.

 

PALARDY OVER LEE

The Transaction: Hurney kept the much younger punter Michael Palardy over veteran Andy Lee who had been acquired via the trade of a fourth round pick.  Lee was cut and ended up with the Cardinals. Palardy is an exclusive rights free agent who'll likely be brought back by the Panthers at a minimal salary this season.

The Impact: Pretty good for last season, at least. Palardy and Lee ended the year with fairly similar stats (the Panthers can claim overall better special teams performance).  As long as Palardy can be equally consistent next year, it looks like this may have just been the right choice.

 

THE TWO KICKERS GAMBIT

The Transaction: When the final roster was announced last season, a lot of people did a double take.  No, it wasn't an illusion.  We really were carrying two kickers.  That ultimately didn't last long as the team finally settled on Graham Gano while Harrison "Buttkicker" Butker was signed off of our practice squad by the Chiefs.

The Impact: Mixed to negative. Gano had a good season, but it was slightly marred by the fact that Ron Rivera didn't wind up going for fifty yard plus field goals, even at times when he really should have.  In one game, Rivera inexplicably punted from the 35 at a time when the Panthers were down by 18 points in the third.  In another, Rivera refused to try a long field goal near the end of the first half, which prompted an apparently annoyed Gano to go out and try the kick (successfully) during a lull at halftime then glare over at the coaches on the sideline.  Butker, meanwhile, had a good season himself in Kansas City, even earning Special Teams player of the Month honors in December on top of being named a Pro Bowl alternate. 

There's also the business side of the move.  Gano will earn a high salary this season and is up in years while the much younger Butker is still on his rookie deal and has the potential to be the Chiefs answer at kicker for the next decade to come if he remains consistent.  Hurney originally kept Butker around in the belief that he could get something for him via trade.  He was, in fact, offered a trade of a low round pick but believed he could get a better offer.  He didn't, and Butker ended up being lost with nothing to show for it. Throw in that keeping the second kicker cost the Panthers the services of versatile player Joe Webb.

Most people consider this whole affair to be a blunder, how big of one is a source of debate.

 

JAIRUS BYRD SIGNING

The Transaction: The Panthers signed former Saints big money acquisition safety Jairus Byrd in October for safety depth.  Byrd came aboard at the same time wide receiver / no relation Damiere Byrd went to injured reserve.  He saw action in a total of twelve games with no starts.

The Impact: Minimal. Byrd generated a total of nine solo tackles and two assisted tackles for the season.  He's an unrestricted free agent this season.  No indication the Panthers plan to re-sign him.

 

SEVERAL PLAYERS TO IR

The Transaction: Marty Hurney has a rep for being quick on the trigger when it comes to putting guys on injured reserve, and 2017 did nothing to change that perception.  The season ended with fourteen players on IR, including several rookies and three of last year's draftees (WR Curtis Samuel, DE Daeshon Hall, CB Corn Elder). Greg Olsen and Damiere Byrd also spent time on IR but returned.

The Impact: Impossible to judge. Some believed the team could have used a few of the IR'd players, and others argued it would have been better for some (Hall especially) to get reps rather rehab.  But the reality is there's no way to accurately judge how much of a difference any one could have made.  It's just part of Hurney's MO and probably always will be.

 

KELVIN BENJAMIN TRADE

The Transaction: Here's the one that generates the most talk.  A short time before the league trade deadline, Bills GM / former Panthers Assistant GM Brandon Beane contacted Marty Hurney about a trade for receiver Kelvin Benjamin.  The two negotiated and eventually settled on a third and seventh round pick as compensation.  Loads of Panther fans (and several Panthers player) felt blindsided by the trade, and there were hints of annoyance from Benjamin's teammate and close friend, quarterback Cam Newton.

The Impact: Still in process. Although he didn't initiate the trade, Hurney reportedly saw it as a chance to improve the Panthers offense.  Did they look better?  Maybe in a game or two, but overall the offense in the games following the Benjamin trade was still largely stagnant, enough to get OC Mike Shula fired by season's end.  After rookie Curtis Samuel was placed on IR, receiver depth looked dismal, and many argued that having Benjamin around would have made a huge difference (even Joe Webb could conceivably have done something but he was gone thanks to the two kicker thing).  The Panthers are expected to look for another receiver via free agency or the draft this year.  Draft expert Mike Mayock suggests they should seek one in the same mold as Benjamin, something that would fit in well with new OC Norv Turner's preferences.  For his part, Benjamin didn't have a huge impact in Buffalo largely due to knee issues.  He's reportedly having surgery this offseason, so the Bills are hoping for more next year. 

Right now, who won or lost in this trade is still undecided.

 

So overall, a pretty mixed bag on last year's moves - some still without definitive outcomes - and most of this year's significant moves are yet to come.

Obviously, Hurney's first run as Panthers GM doesn't merit good grades.  Yes, he made some good moves, but nobody gives you credit for "good moves".  You either win or you don't, and more often than not Hurney's teams didn't.  Three out of eleven winning seasons is a score of 27 percent.  If you go by win-loss record, Hurney's teams fall just short of 500 overall.  On pretty much any grade scale, either of those percentages are failing. 

As far as Hurney's second run, though?  In my mind, there's not enough information yet to award a grade of A or F, so I'm giving it an I for Incomplete.

Feel free to argue for a better grade, or a worse one, if you think you have evidence.

[Shocker]

Meh...he hasn't done much except the KB deal and I'll guess we'll see who that turns into.  Nothing special so far.

[Mr. Scot]

6 minutes ago, Shocker said:

Meh...he hasn't done much except the KB deal and I'll guess we'll see who that turns into.  Nothing special so far.

That's kinda the point.

Right now, judging Hurney's performance on what we've seen so far is like judging the quality of a concert by the sound check.

[Moo Daeng]

I think Mister Scott loses sleep over this stuff.

[Mr. Scot]

2 minutes ago, Moo Daeng said:

I think Mister Scott loses sleep over this stuff.

Nah.  I just enjoy talking about and analyzing football.  If I didn't, I wouldn't do it.

[NanuqoftheNorth]

What Hurney has done so far, in the few months since his return, is comparable to hiring a house sitter with a reputation of being somewhat irresponsible. 

Returning home from your trip, you're relieved to find everything pretty much where you left it, the garbage taken out and the lawn mowed.

It is a pretty low bar, but at least the house wasn't burned down during his stay (so far anyway).

[top dawg]

The two kicker thing has been way overblown.  Webb? Probably gone anyway,  and we absolutely didn't need him.  There's a reason that he never made it as a receiver.  

As for Butker,  meh.  If you look well enough, you can find a kicker.  The world champions did. 

I'm not sweating the Benjamin trade.  My only "problem" was the third rounder,  but frankly that's about what Benjamin's career is equal to considering his knees.  

Hurney 2.0 is still very much in the air,  but he hasn't done a bad job thus far. Even if the cuts were expected from a common sense standpoint  (and,  yes,  USA Today suggested that Coleman might be a cap casualty a few weeks ago), many didn't have the faith that Hurney would make the moves.  

Around this time is when the rubber hits the road.  The true debate will come after free agency starts. 

[Shocker]

14 minutes ago, Mr. Scot said:

That's kinda the point.

Right now, judging Hurney's performance on what we've seen so far is like judging the quality of a concert by the sound check.

Oh yeah, I was agreeing with you.  The "Meh" was towards Hurney. 

[Mr. Scot]

13 minutes ago, NanuqoftheNorth said:

What Hurney has done in the few months since his return is comparable to hiring a house sitter with a reputation of being somewhat irresponsible. 

Returning home from your trip,  you're relieved to find everything pretty much where you left it, the garbage taken out and the lawn mowed.

It is a pretty low bar, but at least the house wasn't burned down during his watch (so far).

Good analogy.

I'd add one of the big wild cards for me (prompted by Igo's most recent All Pro thread) is that Hurney has never really operated under work conditions like he has now.

Darin Gantt always said that as far as Jerry Richardson was concerned, Hurney was basically "GM for life" if he wanted to be.  Now obviously that was altered somewhat with his departure (though new revelations put a different spin on that) but even after that, he's back.  Gil Brandt, a guy who's seen more football than any of us, said that was something he'd never seen before.  And if Gil hasn't seen it, I'm inclined to believe it never happened.

Basically, through the highs, the lows, the winning, the losing, whatever; Jerry Richardson has always had Marty Hurney's back, and as such Hurney never had to worry about whether his performance would affect his employment.

Now he does.

Lack of job security can move some people to do their best (Ron Rivera, for example).  Others, not so much.

As Brentson Buckner would say "pressure will make a monkey eat a hot pepper".

It'll be interesting to see how that dynamic affects this season.

[top dawg]

And yeah,  Gano was that guy last season. Don't cloud it up by talking about 50+ yarders which we all know that he can make.  He was great,  it's that simple. 

[Mr. Scot]

Just now, top dawg said:

And yeah,  Gano was that guy last season. Don't cloud it up by talking about 50+ yarders which we all know that he can make.  He was great,  it's that simple. 

Then why didn't Rivera rely on him in clutch situations?

[top dawg]

Just now, Mr. Scot said:

Then why didn't Rivera rely on him in clutch situations?

It's a judgement call.  You can second guess them all. 

[NanuqoftheNorth]

2 minutes ago, top dawg said:

And yeah,  Gano was that guy last season. Don't cloud it up by talking about 50+ yarders which we all know that he can make.  He was great,  it's that simple. 

 

Just now, Mr. Scot said:

Then why didn't Rivera rely on him in clutch situations?

Yeah, somehow all the posters on an internet football forum know Gano's capabilities better than the head coach.

Seems plausible.

[top dawg]

Rivera's best work was that 15-1 season.  He wasn't exactly under the gun.