Rodrigue on the state of the team...

[Mr. Scot]

41 minutes ago, MHS831 said:

Few athletes--if any--leave on their own terms.  You are filtered through a process of elimination called "competition."  You get beat out, age out, carried out, or kicked out---

Moonlight Graham when reflecting on his day in the major leagues in FIELD OF DREAMS said, "I always thought there would be other days.  Little did I know, that was the only day."

At least he had that.

I had 2 shoulder surgeries and was a sophomore TE in college, going through spring practice.  I got called into the training room one day and the team doctor, my position coach, and the trainer were in there with a folder.   They had XRays.  I would need another surgery that would end my career.  I was dazed.  Went to my locker to clean it out as my teammates were dressing to practice.  One person noticed (a person who went to the NFL and now coaches DL for Cleveland now) said, "You done, xxxx?"  I could not answer, so I nodded without looking at him.  That was it.  They kept practicing, someone stepped up into my spot on the depth chart, and that was it. It is how it is-

Ron should know that.  Blaming the cap, etc.  Eventually, you get eliminated and are soon forgotten.  The quicker you put it behind you, the better.

The NFL isn't known for happy endings.

[CarolinaNCSU]

Rivera is that old grandpa or dad who pines for the "good ol' days" while forgetting just how much the good ol' days sucked for most people. 

[Jon Snow]

2 hours ago, Mr. Scot said:

For a lot of us, but we know for Richardson there were things that mattered more than winning. Did that rub off on Rivera or was Rivera just naturally the same way?

I'm inclined to think the latter.

I think it's the latter.  Dave pretty much kept that in check but it didn't last long.  With Hurney back he's got free reign to keep his vets, even if it's to the detriment of the team as a whole.

[Mr. Scot]

Reading this reminded me of CJ Anderson.

When he was let go, there was talk about it being good for him to get a better shot at playing somewhere else.

Now, that may indeed be happening. Anderson was signed by a team that has a legitimate shot at the Super Bowl. And hey, good for him.

Meanwhile, we're here.

In my opinion, the leadership of our team shouldn't be in the business a letting players find good chances to win somewhere else.

It's supposed to be about us winning, even if that means not everybody gets a happy ending.

[rayzor]

So much makes sense now. Not at all surprising. He's still bitter about getting the axe as  a player and feels it's his  mission to keep that from happening to other vets. That's why this team has  been older and FAs gravitated to the  older guys as well.

#1 goal as head coach is not to make your players feel good about life. Tbays the job of a life coach, not a professional football coach.

It's not to be the guy in charge you wish you had at the end of your playing career.

#1 goal is to win. That's goal #1, #2, #4, and #4.

He never figured that out. 

[Mr. Scot]

1 hour ago, rayzor said:

So much makes sense now. Not at all surprising. He's still bitter about getting the axe as  a player and feels it's his  mission to keep that from happening to other vets. That's why this team has  been older and FAs gravitated to the  older guys as well.

#1 goal as head coach is not to make your players feel good about life. Tbays the job of a life coach, not a professional football coach.

It's not to be the guy in charge you wish you had at the end of your playing career.

#1 goal is to win. That's goal #1, #2, #4, and #4.

He never figured that out. 

Which brings up another point (something @Jon Snow alluded to above).

As has been mentioned before, coach and GM decide together what players they want to hang onto and who they're willing to let walk.

So as of right now, decisions about whether or not to pay older Panthers players are being made by Ron Rivera...

...and Marty Hurney.

(yikes!)

Call him a heartless meanie if you want to, but Dave Gettleman at least understood that it was primarily about winning, not making sure everybody got to ride off into the sunset happy. His more pragmatic "cutthroat" approach would have served as a check and balance to Rivera's attitude.

Now, the job of preventing the overpayment of aging veterans with "thank you" deals is entrusted to the guy who wrote Jake Delhomme's final contract.

Yeah... 

Reason #137 why we can't move into the future with our current braintrust making the important decisions. At least one of them has got to go, and both would be better.

[pantherj]

Gettleman was ruthless and that's the only thing I liked about him. I have no problem with dumping aging vets. I want to see the Panthers win the SB at some point, and that's never going to happen if vets receive "thank you" contracts.

[PhillyB]

ron rivera is michael scott

[LinvilleGorge]

2 hours ago, Mr. Scot said:

Reading this reminded me of CJ Anderson.

When he was let go, there was talk about it being good for him to get a better shot at playing somewhere else.

Now, that may indeed be happening. Anderson was signed by a team that has a legitimate shot at the Super Bowl. And hey, good for him.

Meanwhile, we're here.

In my opinion, the leadership of our team shouldn't be in the business a letting players find good chances to win somewhere else.

It's supposed to be about us winning, even if that means not everybody gets a happy ending.

That was hilarious reasoning by Ron as if a depth chart change up requires releasing someone. Meanwhile, CAP who was supposed to see more opportunities as a result of CJ's release has touched the ball exactly twice this entire season.

[Mr. Scot]

2 minutes ago, LinvilleGorge said:

That was hilarious reasoning by Ron as if a depth chart change up requires releasing someone. Meanwhile, CAP who was supposed to see more opportunities as a result of CJ's release has touched the ball exactly twice this entire season.

You don't feel that qualifies as a "long look"? 

[KillerKat]

Ron is just full of poo period

[tondi]

4 hours ago, Paa Langfart said:

This is maddening.  If you put 2 and 2 together here you come up with the fact that Rivera would rather keep a mediocre vet around than play the guys he knows are better.  If this doesn't get his ass fired by Tepper I don't know what will.

Hell he'd rather keep a mediocre vet on the field than replace him with a better, but younger, player. 

[rayzor]

1 hour ago, KillerKat said:

Ron is just full of old poo.

Fixed.

[rayzor]

Carolna Panthers.... retirement home for aged vets.

Forget winning a Lombardi. Retire with dignity on your own terms. After all, it's all about the players who have paid their dues being able to keep getting paid. Excellence is not a priority. Staying in the game is.

Gahhhhh..I'm so ready to be done with Rivera/Hurney.