Huddle opinion....who agrees with the complete overhaul we are seeing

[MaineManPanther]

Cheap? We offered Nicks a top 15 salary for his position and we offered LT Collins a comparable contract to the lucrative one he signed with the Bucs. We also franchised Greg Hardy for 13 million.

[Jimmy]

I've had some fun joining in with the doom and gloom crowd but in all seriousness I am fine with what has happened so far.  Smitty hurt from a sentimental perspective and I hate seeing Ginn leave because it was awesome to see him give Oakland the middle finger by turning his career around with us. If we can just sign halfway decent WR before the draft and possibly OL or two I think we'll be fine.  We still have our core.

[pantherphan96]

Their are some on here that will slam this post but I don't care. Who agrees with this complete gutting of the offense and the course we have taken so far in FA. I know money is tight, but other teams with money issues have found ways to Improve to some degree while we seem to be regressing day by day. I would have never dreamed that we would see this happening to this degree. If you don't like this post then don't continue reading or respond with some snarky answers. I spend money on this team and have a right to say what I think as do others. A half empty stadium with a deflated fan base is the last thing this team and town needed after a 12-4 season.

 

First, this is the type of problem that occurs when you overpay players. While players liked the "family-environment" (aka the money) that Marty Hurney provided, ultimately it has screwed us cap-wise. Gettleman has come into this organization without any soft spots for any particular players. He does not know them personally, and as a business-type man, I doubt he wants to. He is here for the teams success, and I believe that the Panthers overachieved last year. The main reason we were able to keep guys like Munnerlyn was because no one knew who he was, as undersized CBs on 7-9 teams tend to go unnoticed. Now that we went 12-4 and became relevant, all of a sudden our free agents are looking good.

 

Second, I hate this knee-jerk reaction from the fanbase. Yes, it is very sad that Smith is gone, and I do believe that the situation could have been handled better, but people are being ridiculous saying Gettleman should be fired. I will gladly take years of success with a "heartless" GM over years of mediocrity and failure with a "family-friendly" GM.

 

Third, I doubt that the stadium will be empty and the fanbase deflated. If we start the season 0-5, then I would agree that the fanbase will be deflated, but if Gettleman works some magic with the draft and free agent pickups, and the Panthers end up starting strong this year, people will forget about Smith getting cut.

 

Kasay was cut in the same unceremonious way, but because he was only a kicker, and the Panthers had more problems on the team to address, people were not outraged that the last original member of the '95 Panthers was gone.

[rko396]

We went 12-4 last year. How in the fug could I agree with a complete roster overhaul? What 12-4 team has ever just thrown in the towel and said, "Fug it, we'll just start all over"?

A team that couldnt afford 80% of those players over the following 2 years

[OnlyPantherFaninMaine]

I was okay with it and kept telling myself ..."at least we have the draft."

 

Problem is, every other team gets draft picks too. 

[AceBoogie]

I am behind Dave 100%. It is amazing how short sighted some are.

Its not Dave's fault we don't have cap space.

Hurney didn't tag Hardy for 13 mil

[Ace_Aladdin]

Trying to have patience...but damn it's getting sad

 

I'm liking the overhaul for the OL but I didn't expect to loose players like Ginn, Mitchell, & Cap who where solid contributors.

 

We still have our RB corp and Stewart will finally have a healthy off-season to get ready.  If our young Guards don't get injured our running game will be top 10. I'm just hoping we can find some stud WRs in the draft and a Tackle. 

[TruthVsComfort]

I see no realistic way we can compete within our division, let alone get to the playoffs and compete against the NFC West. Best I am hoping for at this point is a top 5-10 pick in next years draft to get our LT or #1 WR of the future.

[MHS831]

I disagree with the loaded phrase, "complete overhaul." 

We have our core.   We lost role players.  When the dust settles, we will find gems that do not break the bank. 

Gross was our biggest loss, and T is the toughest obstacle we have right now, but this is March. 

[Jackofalltrades]

It's not a complete overhaul.

It IS a retooling of the offense. Unfortunately the tools will come from the bargain bin while our division rivals are shopping at real stores.

It's awesome, no really.

I'll pledge this right now though, if we have another winning season and/or make the playoffs I will never doubt DG again.

It's hard to feel good about the upcoming season right now.

[TheRed]

Meanwhile Cams agent has an enormous amount of leverage which actually makes this all even worse.

Sent from my SPH-L710 using CarolinaHuddle mobile app

 

That's what is getting lost in all this right now, we should have extended him already. We've managed to draft one starter on offense since Cam came here in 2011, Amini Silatolu, who missed the entire season last year. Now we have exactly zero wide receivers under contract.

[rko396]

Im not sure our offense could score 10 points a game right now, but lets not act like it was something amazing last year. Over the last 2 months, our Offense was atrocious. Im ok with the "overhaul" in that regard

[pantherphan96]

Look, losing Smitty sucks as a fan, but it was not the worse move to make. Losing Senn sucks a little, but its not worth spending a lot of cap space on a special teams player. Losing Mitchell sucked a lot because I liked the attitude he had, and I would have preferred cutting/restructuring Godfrey for Mitchell to stay. I am pissed that we lost Munnerlyn, and that we lost Ginn Jr. but both of those guys were given money that we just did not have (thanks again Hurney). If Charles Johnson was not going to get 16 million this year, we would have more space to maneuver with. Also, I do not get the hate Hardy gets from the franchise tag. Yes, it was expensive, but I would take him over Johnson. He agreed to a franchise tag instead of demanding more money (which he could have gotten elsewhere) and more years. Hardy is younger and getting better every year, and I hope he and CJ stay together for years to come. 

 

Also, the Panthers could fill the holes at WR through the remaining free agents and the draft. While they may not have a designated #1 WR for next year, I am comfortable with Olsen at TE, Williams, Stewart, and Tolbert also catching passes, and our draft picks and FAs making up our passing threat. My main concern is the OLine, which I believe will be improved heavily through the draft and perhaps by some more 1 year deals that Gettleman negotiates, and that worked so well for us last year.

[Catalyst]

In the long run I trust Gettleman, but I am nervous about the OL & WR corp.