Is the QB the only thing anyone cares about anymore?

[Kettle]

However, Hasselbeck has been a franchise QB for them for a while now. He is just at the end of his prime/career.

that's why i said excluding them

[Davidson Deac II]

The league has changed, points are needed to win. That starts at the QB position.

The league really hasn't changed that much. Its been a QB driven league since the 80's. Generally speaking, you have to be at least solid at the QB to have a shot at winning. But having a very good qb (Montana, Elway, Brady, Aikman, Favre, etc...) makes it much easier.

And then sometimes you can have a great quarterback, but poor coaching or struggles elsewhere can still bring you down. Thats why Manning has only won one Superbowl, and guys like Schaub and Rivers have won none.

[Brooklyn Bully]

We've never been great. Four winning seasons in 16 years. Our trip to the SB, the Bucs trip and win, and the Ravens trip and win were due to one magical season. Neither of those teams have been back since, but two of them are contenders again...thanks to the QB. The teams that do get back to the big game a lot, or make the playoffs yearly, or hell...have back to back winning seasons, have a great QB.

Sure, we can have one more magical run and maybe win this time...and that may cure your desires and you can be happy as we return to rubbish again, but I'd rather have a solid team led by a great QB that makes me know my Panthers will be in contention yearly. We've started the build, now let's add the QB, then let's build some more around him. It's domination time.

[MHS831]

it's not the only thing, but it is the most important thing and by far the biggest thing that we have been lacking for quite a few years.

yes. We have never really had a shiny new Lexus like the Colts or the Patriots. We had a 1996 Collins, but it was in for repairs and was not environmentally friendly. So we picked up a few used vehicles, a Berlein with high miles that ran great before aging out, and then a slightly used foreign car that was garage kept. The 03 Delhomme was dependable but not pretty. A bit loud and unpredictable, but took us on a great trip once. But since we didn't shop for a new Lexus during his time here, we chose to ignore the rolling upward odometer. We decided to restore the Delhomme by throwing money at it, but it was impounded in Cleveland, even though we are still making payments. At last year's auction, Marty bought a new car but failed to kick the tires like the GMs before him. He bought the 2010 Clausen and rolled it into town. He gave it to a Fox with a terminal disease, so it was not maintained properly. Now we realize that there are no bargains in the Lexus market any longer, and the only way to get into the big dance is to get there in style. So, we are going to garage the Clausen and try to repair the damage and keep it as our second car while we open our wallets and buy the darling of the Car Show, a 2011 Luck (from the makers of the 1983 Elway and the 1998 Manning), fully loaded, including "Destination Super Bowl" on the GPS.

I got carried away.

[2jakefansinva]

Am I the only person here that remembers us getting to a superbowl with a scrub QB that played in Europe and being 3 points away from winning it all? Seriously, doesn't anybody care about having an all around solid team anymore? I'd rather have a great supporting cast that can make the QB's job easier no matter who's back there.

I'd rather have a dominating O-line like we did in the past, a dominating run game and a defense that can stop opponents. Now I'm not saying I want us to be one dimensional all over again, but I don't want to TRADE one thing for another.

If we do that, then that's exactly what we're going to be. Except this time, it will be reversed. I don't want to go from being the one dimensional Panthers to the one dimensional Chiefs.

It seems like we are still having the same conversations we've been having for the past two years, and almost identical to those of last year, just a different cast. What about the rest of our positions?

Yes, at this moment. It's our most glaring need and a possible great one is staring us in the face in the name of Luck. You just don't pass that up. The other needs can be taken care of by other draft picks and FA signings. Also, we probaly won't fair too well next year either (8-8 at best if we're lucky) so we should have another high draft pick in 2012. That would enable us to address other needs at that time. This shipwreak won't be turned around over nite....it will take a few drafts and FA signings to right the ship BUT, it all starts with LUCK.

[PantherFanForLife]

First of all the rules have changed even in the past 10 years so that a quarterback is very important. Secondly the scrub quarterback you mentioned was in the top half of quarterbacks in 2003 having thrown for 3300 yards, a 7.2 YPA, 19 TDS versus 16 Ints, and a passer rating of 80. Add he engineered a number of 4th quarter wins and he was a much bigger part of the equation than you give him credit for.

Until we find a franchise quarterback, it doesn't matter what we do on the O line and the defense. As we showed this year, if you can't score points, you can't win. And without an offense, any defense will wear down.

Look I never personally thought Jake was a scrub. I love Jake to death, but that's how many did see him, especially prior to his run with our franchise. My point was, the idea you have to have a top draft QB in order to be successful has always been over exaggerated.

The team around your QB has just as much to do with weather or not your QB becomes elite as the QB himself. One only need to look at Tom Brady to see this, and the team that's created a dynasty the last 10 years. They did it by being a great TEAM, all the way through, from coach to QB to kicker.

That's what gets you consistency.

And a big part of the reason Jake reached that level, and went from a nobody to somebody, was because of the support he had around him.

[bleys]

QB is the most important position on the field and impacts a team the most.. /thread

[PantherFanForLife]

yes. We have never really had a shiny new Lexus like the Colts or the Patriots. We had a 1996 Collins, but it was in for repairs and was not environmentally friendly. So we picked up a few used vehicles, a Berlein with high miles that ran great before aging out, and then a slightly used foreign car that was garage kept. The 03 Delhomme was dependable but not pretty. A bit loud and unpredictable, but took us on a great trip once. But since we didn't shop for a new Lexus during his time here, we chose to ignore the rolling upward odometer. We decided to restore the Delhomme by throwing money at it, but it was impounded in Cleveland, even though we are still making payments. At last year's auction, Marty bought a new car but failed to kick the tires like the GMs before him. He bought the 2010 Clausen and rolled it into town. He gave it to a Fox with a terminal disease, so it was not maintained properly. Now we realize that there are no bargains in the Lexus market any longer, and the only way to get into the big dance is to get there in style. So, we are going to garage the Clausen and try to repair the damage and keep it as our second car while we open our wallets and buy the darling of the Car Show, a 2011 Luck (from the makers of the 1983 Elway and the 1998 Manning), fully loaded, including "Destination Super Bowl" on the GPS.

I got carried away.

And with that analogy I'm going to side with Richardson and say you don't need a Lexus, when a Toyota is the same damn thing, but at a much cheaper price and less costly to maintain.

The only thing Lexus gets you is a brand name, hype, higher expectations when in reality the only thing it has under the hood is the same exact thing that a Toyota does.

PS: I'm not referring to Luck, just the general idea.

[TheRealDeal]

excluding the Seahawks, what current playoff team doesn't have a franchise QB?

Define Franchise?

Clausen was our franchise QB this year.

Garrard is Jacksonville's franchise QB.

McCoy is the Browns franchise QB.

Schaub is Houston's franchise QB.

Rivers is SD's franchise QB.

How much time do you have?

[Pox 08]

While I agree in principal with the OP. You can't pass up on a guy like Luck. He can be very very special.

also, our OL has been good of recent when healthy. Our RB's are awesome.

QB and WR need to most work on Offense.

Overall between draft and free agency I would like to see us add.

QB ( Luck is preferable)

2 WR

2 DT's

2 CB's

1 S

I think we're set at WR.

[Jangler]

Possibly the best QB in the last 10 years, maybe the best to come in the next 10 years. But yes, lets pass on him and hope for another scrub to come in and win...

[rayzor]

aside from QB, DT and OG are probably our biggest needs and they are pretty glaring needs, but those two areas are ones that can be much better addressed in FA than the draft.

this draft class is pretty week for DTs, esp. in relation to last year and there is no one that is worthy of a top 5 selection, imo. for RG i would just rather have someone experienced who can be plugged in.

the FA class for both DTs and OGs, esp. DTs is very nice this year. lots of talent that could be had in what will most likely be a crowded market (= lots of value to be had).

CB will also be something that needs to be addressed since marshall won't be back. if we had a better QB i would suggest drafting peterson with our first pick (esp. if we could trade down.)

the reality is that while some may not argue that QB is our biggest need on the team, it is the one position that is really holding us back and we have no viable solutions here. the best player in the draft is a QB (whether you believe that guy is luck or newton). those two guys can be real difference makers and are on winning teams (something that i am beginning to believe is very important when selecting a QB). both have really high ceilings. to not address QB first and foremost would be a monumental mistake. as far as the rest of it...we'll cross those bridges when we come to them.

having a 2nd rounder would help with more discussions, but the reality of that is we don't have one. we have the first overall and then 64 picks until our next one. there are too many factors to consider when looking at what might be available at that point.

the only things really worth discussing right now are in order

1) who is going to be the next coach and who he will bring in

2) what are we going to do with that #1 pick

3) the CBA and the signing of our own players

4) who is in FA that we should be looking at

[mwright350]

And with that analogy I'm going to side with Richardson and say you don't need a Lexus, when a Toyota is the same damn thing, but at a much cheaper price and less costly to maintain.

The only thing Lexus gets you is a brand name, hype, higher expectations when in reality the only thing it has under the hood is the same exact thing that a Toyota does.

That is a horrible horrible use of a car analogy. But assuming we give you the assumption that a Toyota and a Lexus are identical in any way except for (in the case of a few models) the engine and the chassis it still doesn't fit people. There is simply no denying that some QBs are better than others. They are different sizes, different skill levels, smarter, faster, or something. People are not all identical and thus some of us are better suited to some jobs than others.

Elite QBs are better top to bottom than "game managers". If someone wants to argue that an elite QB is not necessary and a game-manager is ok then that's another topic but the idea that they do the same thing with a different nameplate on them is ridiculous at best and comical at worst.

[TheRealDeal]

Elite QBs are better top to bottom than "game managers". If someone wants to argue that an elite QB is not necessary and a game-manager is ok then that's another topic but the idea that they do the same thing with a different nameplate on them is ridiculous at best and comical at worst.

The term Elite gets thrown around too much though. There are maybe 5-6 Elite QBs in the NFL and the rest are just good/okay that depend on the team around them to be successful, in other words, game managers.