December 28th, 2008: Last time the Panthers were over .500 in the regular season

[TruthVsComfort]

This thread should be stickied until we are over .500.

Hopefully going forward with Rivera's input we will have better drafts. Luke, Amini, Norman, and Alexander are all looking like very solid contributors from the latest draft.

[Floppin]

In contrast to this thread: This is the first week that the Patriots have been under .500 since 2003.

Just goes to show what good coaching, a good QB, and solid drafting will do for a franchise.

Good coaching, and a good QB, I can agree with. However, the Patriots are one of a handful of teams that are worse at drafting talent then we are.

[PantherGuy]

we beat st louis in the 06 opener if i recall correctly, and then san diego in the 08 opener

You're right. I'm only 20, but I sometimes have the memory of someone much older. That San Diego game was awesome.

[PantherGuy]

I was just a boy during that year but I remember it.

I was only a boy that year too. I think I was only 11 when that game was played. I still clearly remember Proehl making the catch, though.

[NanuqoftheNorth]

Good coaching, and a good QB, I can agree with. However, the Patriots are one of a handful of teams that are worse at drafting talent then we are.

Maybe they can afford to take more chances since they seem to always have other teams draft picks to use as well as their own.

[Kakarot]

It's been 4 years since we've even sniffed a .500 winning %, smh. When you talk panther football to non-panther fans you always get a "y'all suck" or "that sorry ass team". Sh*t used to piss me off cause I thought the team had loads of talent, but numbers don't lie. We suck, and are on par with teams like the rams of recent, the browns, etc.

[Floppin]

Maybe they can afford to take more chances since they seem to always have other teams draft picks to use as well as their own.

It doesn't matter how many picks they use, look at their drafting history under their current FO. Sure they make a lot of trades for picks but when they actually spend them, they are as bad or worse then us.

[rippadonn]

All the other NFC South GM's are kicking Hurneys azz. I've never complained about the guy but the GM & FO are looking more suspect as the years go by. I know I'm tired of the turnstile DTs we've had. We haven't stopped the run since pre 2007. I can't continue to blame coaches, players or injuries it's getting blatantly clear where the real deficiency lies.

We haven't stopped the run in 5 years! WTF?

[Marguide]

And on top of that we are the 2nd runner up loser in the Wildcat hype (At least we didn´t waste a 1st on Pat White or The Golden Calf of Bristol but only a 2nd on AE).

Even more ironic, we drafted a wildcat QB, and then said we aren't going to use him as a QB, only as a WR.

Brilliant!

[NanuqoftheNorth]

Look, we all want the same thing, a competitive team and ultimately a championship or two with a winning tradition that goes beyond one season or as Kerry Collins once referred to it, "a dynasty".

We have had our share of talented players over the years that have withered on the vine while the team waited for the front office to figure out how to fill some of the glaring gaps.

The Panthers just seem to have more difficulty than the majority of the teams in figuring how to do that. To me that is ultimately the responsibility of the front office. It isn't for a lack of spending money, this team is usually up against the cap. It is finding the right players for our system at a reasonable value. To me anyway, Marty has failed miserably for years on this front. He is not a particularly good money manager, he is not especially good at drafting beyond the first round and he fails in free agency.

What exactly are his redeeming qualities in comparison to his peers that justify his continued employment?

Hopefully we don't continue to compare him to the worst teams in the league and say there are three or four teams with worse records or if you don't count 2010 and the years we had injuries he is over .500. Because guess what? Every other team has dealt with those very same issues and most have done a better job at it over the last decade, several have done much better.

[DawgzLife]

Wow, very sad. Too much talent to be this bad. Hurney gets some good or very good players, but then neglects other obvious needs & our team suffers. He really needs to go. So do our DC & ST coach.

Richardson is too worried about being big man on campus (NFL) & not holding Hurney accountable.

[frash.exe]

That wasn't directed towards you. Just find it funny how bi-polar this board is. Win=Superbowl, Loss=Everyone's a bum.

Welcome to the NFL

[TruthVsComfort]

When are we going to get over .500? Next year? Coming off of the excitement of last year, this year is a huge disappointment. I like that we were competitive with atlanta in their house, but damn... at what point do the players stop believing in the coaching staff and pull what the bucs did last year with their HC?

Oh... and we need a damn FS. :(

[R0CKnR0LLA]

As already stated, the problem is we are not loaded with talent.

Pre-2009:

I think we overspend in RBs, sure I love Ste and D-Will but 2 1st rounders and post-rookie contract of $10+ million a years on the Rb position is just not the way the NFL works today. Look at the Giants, spend on the offensive line and any guy with speed off the street can have a 100 yards game.

2009: Fox and Hurney gambles that good-Jake will still be around which would mean we are still a playoff team in win now mode. So they waste a 1st on Brown to improve now. So a combination of bad drafting AND bad gambling mean a pathetic draft.

2010: Already behind due to 2009 they make an even larger gamble to fix it by drafting Pickles and we all know they lost again. And on top of that we are the 2nd runner up loser in the Wildcat hype (At least we didn´t waste a 1st on Pat White or The Golden Calf of Bristol but only a 2nd on AE).

2011: Cam. I guess the 2nd best pick up was Bell and he wasn't even drafted...

3 years of drafting pretty much netting ONE talented player.

some quality building through the draft right there