Thank You Hurney

[chknwing]

I appreciate the posts by those who posted about the OP, the 2012 draft class, and not Hurney sucks because of yadda yadda yadda

[jarhead]

I don't mean to be redundant, but I said it the other day and it's been said already here.

 

We're paying 90 million to two RBs when Tolbert and Barner (both multidimensional guys who fit into the 21st century offense we're trying to build quite well) could do the same thing for a tenth of that.

 

 

So considering the amount of talent that could have been had at positions of need this offseason then...

 

Yep that disqualifies him from being a good gm in my opinion. The guy sucked!!!!!!!

[Happy Panther]

It is practically impossible to screw up a pick in the top 15. Go back and look at the last 10 or so drafts and list how many busts there are in the top half of the draft Almost none. And usually half of the top 15 are pro bowlers. 

 

My dog could be a first round draft specialist.

 

Good teams find value in the later rounds.

 

Start listing some of ours. Practically the entire 2009 draft (where we didn't have a 1st round pick) was worthless. If Pilares gets cut, we will not have a player from the 2011 draft besides Newton. We got some serviceable players here and there and found a Steve Smith but not much else.

[Cyberjag]

Hurney's job was to assemble a roster, and to do it within the confines of how JR wanted it to be assembled.  That means he did it mostly through the draft, with cautions forays into free agency, mainly looking through the bargain bin (Damoine Lewis, Tyler Brayton, etc...).  I don't think he gave a second thought to who got what contract, and I don't think he cared a lot about future cap implications for his contracts.  For his entire span, we consistently spent the maximum we could under the cap, and we were always in cap trouble.  And every year, Hurney cleared the necessary space to get what he wanted done, just like Gettleman cleared space this year. 

 

So, while we bitch and moan about who gets what and how much is dedicated to what position, the guys who make the decisions on the way the pie is sliced are looking at a much bigger picture.  I didn't see anything particularly magical about Williams' and Stewart's restructures, it's likely Hurney would have done the same thing, or found money in different ways.  And he would have built a roster that probably looks a lot like what we have now, with maybe one extra rookie DB and one less rookie DT or OL.

 

Hurney had flaws, and did things a lot of people here didn't like.  And our teams didn't win often enough.  But he engineered a franchise turn-around that's fairly rare, and gave Fox plenty of talent for a good, competitive run.  He hit on more early draft picks than most GMs, missed on plenty of draft picks like most GMs do, and took some gambles that just didn't work out.  In Edwards' case, he gave up what would have been the 1st pick of the 2nd round in 2011.  The Patriots took Ras-I Dowling with it (yes, THE Ras-I Dowling), who's managed to play in a grand total of eight games in two years and who's amassed 10 tackles.  Yeah, he's been injured, but what we missed on looks like another Patriots DB bust.  It happens.

 

I think Hurney did a really good job with Fox in his early years.  I think that he got way, way too attached to his veteran players, and I think the whole Peppers thing just screwed with his brain in a big way (as in, he couldn't believe that JP didn't want to play in Carolina).  So he made some dumb decisions as a result, trying to patch holes too quickly, and when the lockout came and he had to clean house, it ended him.  He wasn't fired because the team wasn't performing well, he was fired because it wasn't performing and he didn't know why. 

 

He'd lost whatever had made him good, and it was time to make a change.  Dump on him all you want, but he made a lot of real positive impacts on the franchise for many years.  And if Edwards pans out, it will be another one to remember him by. 

 

Unless you want to focus only on what he did that was bad.  Haters have to hate, right?

[Mage]

Sorry but the 2011 draft cannot be forgiven nor ignored.  Worst thing I have ever seen.  I cannot even credit him for the Cam Newton pick because that was the obvious pick to make.

[Cyberjag]

Case in point...

[AceMan]

Hurney is the Jake Delhomme of GMs

 

No offense to Jake

[Zod]

Tolbert is not exactly expensive

Per carry he is extremely expensive

[Guest hokebuck1]

Hold the presses there! One two catch preseason game doesn't equate to success in the regular season! I'm pulling for Edwards but still think it was a bonehead move by Hurney

 

The bonehead move is not playing him at QB!  :startle:

[Cyberjag]

Per carry he is extremely expensive

 

Question for you.  Do you think Hurney just went out and got Tolbert thinking, "Here's a shiny new FB for Rivera to use!" or do you think he consulted with Rivera and said, "What are your thoughts on this guy, I think I can get him if you want him."?

[VIP]

I cannot even credit him for the Cam Newton pick because that was the obvious pick to make.

 

 

Thats some revisionist history there for sure. 

[Mage]

Thats some revisionist history there for sure. 

 

No it isn't.  It was the obvious pick to make.  There was never any true competition between Newton and Gabbert - simply the media trying to make some news.  We looked at him, but only to look at all options.  Miller nor Green were never truly in the conversation either.  Dareus was about the only other guy I thought we might take.

However, it was obvious about a month before the draft that Cam Newton was going to be the guy we were going to take.  We needed a quarterback and Newton was, despite the criticisms, easily the best prospect at that position in the draft (if you want more fact, many called that a weak draft as far as QBs go at the time due to Newton, Locker, Gabbert being up top).

[Happy Panther]

  He hit on more early draft picks than most GMs, 

 

I don't think this is true even for the first round. Most GM's do fine in the first. It's hard to screw up.

 

However its not how you judge a GM's drafting talent. 2-4th rounds are where you make your mark. Hurney was below average to bad.

[Panthro]

Per carry he is extremely expensive

Not per touchdown.

He and Barner could potentially be a great combo.