Athletic interesting take on Rhule and Fitterer on QBs

[raleigh-panther]

Apologize if this was posted earlier.  I didn’t see it

from joe person, Athletic  March 25 

 

Late in his post-free agency news conference Friday at Bank of America Stadium, Panthers general manager Scott Fitterer laid out what he called the ideal scenario for building a roster around a drafted quarterback.

This is what the Seahawks did with Russell Wilson when Fitterer was Seattle’s college scouting director. This is not what the Panthers did the past two seasons with Teddy Bridgewater and Sam Darnold.

“Ideally, you have a young guy that you can drop in there. That’s the most cost-efficient way to do it,” Fitterer said. “Surround him with veteran talent, have a young quarterback on a cost-efficient contract. That’s a great way to build your team. We did that in Seattle. That’s probably the right way to build it — draft and develop. That’d be a really good plan for us moving forward.”

And then Fitterer felt compelled to add a caveat: “But,” he said, “we’re open to all options.”

Fitterer has spent the past two weeks putting together a pretty good foundation on offense. He beefed up the interior of the line with a pair of big, strong guys from winning organizations, former Rams guard Austin Corbett and ex-Ravens center Bradley Bozeman. He added another big guy, running back D’Onta Foreman, and made a commitment to wideout DJ Moore, who’s worth every penny of his new four-year, $73 million deal.

The Panthers have one of the NFL’s most versatile players, Christian McCaffrey when he can stay healthy, and several second-year players who look ready for expanded roles, guard/tackle Brady Christensen, tight end Tommy Tremble and wideout Terrace Marshall Jr.

They’re still a left tackle short of being able to helicopter a quarterback in and make a run at Tom Brady and the Buccaneers in the NFC South. But they’re closer — “two steps closer this year, not just one,” in Fitterer’s estimation.

And as the Panthers prepare for their third season under head coach Matt Rhule, the quarterback decision gets at the heart of a bigger question hovering over the organization:

How well aligned are Rhule, who has final roster say as part of his seven-year contract, and Fitterer, who arrived a year after Rhule and has the reputation of being a sharp talent evaluator and a consensus-builder?

“I think we’re very aligned,” Fitterer said. “We believe in building it up front. We want to build on defense — offensive and defensive line. Obviously, quarterback is a part of this. He’s very aggressive, and I think that fits my nature, as well. We’re aggressive as a staff, as an organization. That’s our philosophy.”

That aggressiveness starts at the top with team owner David Tepper, whose affinity for shiny new objects was most recently evident in his unsuccessful yearlong pursuit of Deshaun Watson, despite the allegations by 22 women of sexual assault or sexual misconduct by Watson during massage sessions.

Aggressiveness is a close cousin to impatience, and both were evident last season when the Panthers misjudged how close they were to contending, prompting them to bring back quarterback Cam Newton and make in-season trades for defensive backs C.J. Henderson and Stephon Gilmore. Henderson cost the Panthers a third-round pick and their top receiving tight end. The Panthers only gave up a sixth-round pick for Gilmore, but he and Newton combined to make $12 million to play eight games each in what turned out to be a five-win season.

But back to quarterback: As Fitterer said, the prudent approach would be to draft a quarterback and continue to add players around him while he’s on his rookie contract.

The Panthers just spent most of the week — and a good bit of jet fuel — hopping around from Pittsburgh to a burg in the Blue Ridge Mountains to one of the country’s best college towns, Oxford, Miss., for the pro days of Kenny Pickett, Malik Willis and Matt Corral. Rhule and Fitterer skipped Desmond Ridder’s pro day Thursday because Fitterer said the Panthers spent a lot of time with the Cincinnati quarterback at the Senior Bowl and at the NFL Scouting Combine. (The Panthers sent a scout and two personnel executives to Cincy to see Ridder.)

Experts say this year’s quarterback class pales in comparison with last year when the Panthers passed on Justin Fields and Mac Jones with the No. 8 pick. But some around the league — including a couple with the Panthers — believe this quarterbacks group is better than people think.

The Panthers would have to be willing to accept some growing pains if they took one of these quarterbacks with the sixth pick, or later if they were to trade back. That will require patience — from an owner who’s endured four losing seasons since buying the team, and a head coach who might be coaching for his job this year.

Thus, Fitterer’s caveat that the Panthers are open to all options.

“Our whole focus is to get the whole team right. I think last year we came in, kind of reset that defense and built that defense. We got some pieces this year, rebuilt this offense,” Fitterer said.

“We have a much better offensive line. We got the running backs. We got the skilled position (players) at receiver. Eventually, it’s going to get to the point where you can drop a quarterback in and just take off. That’s what we’re building towards, and I think we’re a lot closer this year than we have been the last year or two.”

When the Browns won the Watson sweepstakes, the dominoes started falling in a quarterbacks market that has been pretty well picked over. But there are some guys out there if the Panthers want to try the retread approach again, including Jimmy Garoppolo and Baker Mayfield.

The Panthers can afford to play the long game with Garoppolo since A) he’s still recovering from shoulder surgery; and B) no one else seems to be clamoring for him. Both of those points mean the Panthers wouldn’t have to give up much for Garoppolo, which is helpful considering the Panthers don’t have much to give.

The Darnold and Henderson trades left the Panthers without any picks in the second and third rounds, which is going to make for an uneventful Friday night during draft weekend. Garoppolo might get the Panthers into the playoffs if everything around him is just right and he stays healthy. He’s certainly an upgrade over Darnold, who — along with his $18.9 million salary — remains on the roster and serves as a reminder of what happens when teams reach at the position.

As he did at the combine, Fitterer was clear the Panthers plan to add another quarterback. Depending on whether it’s a stopgap guy like Garoppolo or one of the quarterbacks from the draft could tell us a lot about who’s calling the shots.

Quarterbacks are hard to find,” Fitterer said. “Sometimes you have to swing and take a shot at these guys. And if you miss, you can’t stop swinging. You have to take a shot again.”

 

 

[ncstatekwi]

[Pimpdaddy]

Keep swinging!!!

[raleigh-panther]

59 minutes ago, ncstatekwi said:

I think joe was extrapolating if Fitterer has his way, it’s a draft choice at QB and that is not Rhule’s preferred way.  

[Ocpanthertew714]

So...Kenny Pickett it is?

 

[MHS831]

I think they are going Pickett--but I change my mind away from Pickett a lot--different players, but it always comes back to Pickett.   If I were GM, I would take Pickett if taking a QB.  While the others have skills, Pickett is the most complete player and there is NO LAW that says he is at his ceiling.  Who made that up?

 

[MHS831]

I know one thing--no frachise's gm and head coach are talking about the draft more than Carolina.  Jeez

[Shocker]

[SizzleBuzz]

Last to know Joe…

[Ja Rhule]

[rippadonn]

I can't remember a five year player ever being QB1.

Hmmm. I wonder why?

[poundaway]

The sad part is, Teddy was better than Sam and we wasted 2 picks and money on that trade.  We didn't know it, but it was Joe Brady, not Teddy that was the problem with the offense.  Teddy's quick release made that line and the offense look MUCH better than it was. 

[frankw]

18 minutes ago, poundaway said:

The sad part is, Teddy was better than Sam and we wasted 2 picks and money on that trade.  We didn't know it, but it was Joe Brady, not Teddy that was the problem with the offense.  Teddy's quick release made that line and the offense look MUCH better than it was. 

Let's not go overboard. Certainly he is better than Darnold but maybe we should have a higher bar.

[Luciu5]

13 hours ago, MHS831 said:

I think they are going Pickett--but I change my mind away from Pickett a lot--different players

Based on Fitt's Russell Wilson story, we could be going Ridder.