I think Gettleman...

[WOW!!]

But we can't afford to keep them! I wanna be able to keep Cam, Luke, Star, KK, and whoever else we draft that is good!

We still should be able to keep our players and still have a team that can compete for the playoffs year in and year out. Depending on the injury situation that year.

We have a franchise QB and a defense. We should be able to fill around that and not take steps back.

[Gin and Juice]

We still should be able to keep our players and still have a team that can compete for the playoffs.

We have a franchise QB and a defense. We should be able to fill around that and not take steps back.

And Gettleman is trying to put us in position to "be able to keep our players!" But sad fact is Hurney overpaid and they don't all fit on the budget!

Simple as this.....Smith or Hardy? Can't keep both! Which one you keep that's more beneficial to the team?

[WOW!!]

And Gettleman is trying to put us in position to "be able to keep our players!" But sad fact is Hurney overpaid and they don't all fit on the budget!

Simple as this.....Smith or Hardy? Can't keep both! Which one you keep that's more beneficial to the team?

 

 

 

But we could have kept both. Smitty cutting wasn't a money thing. We actually get nothing for cutting him.

Plain and simple we have a corp that should be competing for the playoffs year after year. A set back to a losing record is unacceptable.

[carolina-chuck]

I dont care about releasing 89. I care about who the hell is going to replace him!!!!

Why would we franchise Hardy (13mil!!!!!!!!!) to just take a year back???? Doesnt make any sense to me.

[jptaylor84]

This^^^^

Why in the world would they dangle success like that to the fans and then purposefully shove the team back down just to rebuild it? Thats craaaaaazy! Is Cam Newton aging in reverse dog years or something? I know hes still not even to his "prime" yet but why wait? Lets steal one before he hits that sweet spot in his career then dominate for the next 3-6 years after that.

What did thy dangle? This group of players vastly overachieved last season, if anyone thinks DG plan the day he walked into Charlotte wasn't to build this team for the duration then there stupid! He may be lucky to have a franchise qb and some core players but he also walked into a team without any future recievers as basically no offensive line or secondary to work with! as I said we can keep putting peices in and hope but where did that get us since 08? Nowhere! Last year was a fluke and honestly it's done more harm than good because then fans expectations are now set to high, this team talent wise is not at a level to dominate Even next year let alone the next five years, if we have to take a step back this year to give cam what he needs longterm then I'm happy with that, or let's go get Hurney back overpay everyone and hamstring ourselves for years to come.

[PantherPhann89]

I don't know why so many fans think this way. He made his moves in week 2 of FA last year, because that was the way he had to go, and this year is no different. He managed to round up the players needed to plug holes, in order to have a successful season and win the division.

 

I plan to sit back and see what he comes up with this year, instead of running around like Chicken Little yelling the sky has fallen. A good GM tries to win while not mortaging the future (like Hurney did). Anyone who thinks he's not trying to end up with a better team for next season is nuts, and in our situation you don't try and sign guys without paying attention to the cost.

I also plan to sit back and see how the new FA's and draft picks perform on the field, instead of saying they all suck as soon as their names are added to the roster.

 

   "Yes Gettleman made moves last year. The most surprising move that he made was cutting a fan favorite in Jon Beason. It was surprising as I said, but it didn't shake the ground like Gettleman cutting Steve Smith because of Kuechly. Smith has given so much to the Panthers and in my opinion is one of the WR's in the league. Yes, he's chippy, aggressive, confrontational, argumentative and he plays with a chip on his shoulder, but I like it.  

   I also plan to sit back and see what Gettleman comes up with, instead of watching cartoons and Syfy TV shows and I don't expect him to mortgage the future like Hurney did. I didn't expect him to cut the best WR in Panthers history, the only remaining original Panther on the team and a majority fan favorite.

   Yes I do think that is goal is to end up with a better team, eventually. I just no longer think that it's in his immediate plan. I didn't see a need to cut Smith and it wasn't a money reason and I don't 100% buy the locker room distraction crap.

   I understand that we don't have a lot of money and couldn't re-sign own our FA's. Although I would've really tried to keep Mitchell. May Gettleman did and I just don't know it. Then again, I'm not 100% sure that I would've tagged Hardy. Yeah, yeah I know how important he is to our d-line and he racked up more sacks that anyone on the team. But we were ~20 million under the cap and tagging him brought us down to ~7 million. I would've chose to spread that money out.

   Yes, I know I'm an armchair GM or whatever else anyone comes up with...maybe, but this is a forum and these are my feelings about the NFL team I claim.

[WOW!!]

What did thy dangle? This group of players vastly overachieved last season, if anyone thinks DG plan the day he walked into Charlotte wasn't to build this team for the duration then there stupid! He may be lucky to have a franchise qb and some core players but he also walked into a team without any future recievers as basically no offensive line or secondary to work with! as I said we can keep putting peices in and hope but where did that get us since 08? Nowhere! Last year was a fluke and honestly it's done more harm than good because then fans expectations are now set to high, this team talent wise is not at a level to dominate Even next year let alone the next five years, if we have to take a step back this year to give cam what he needs longterm then I'm happy with that, or let's go get Hurney back overpay everyone and hamstring ourselves for years to come.

 

 

I don't see how last year was a fluke when the 2 years before this team wasn't getting blown out. We were 2-14 in games decided by a TD or less. We had a 6-10 and 7-9 record. If you get 50% of those close games we're looking at a team that wins 10 games or more a season. The big changes were a HC growing and getting better at his job and the normal maturation of a franchise QB. We still have those 2 things going our way. 

 

I don't get this notion that we should be taking a step back when we have the pieces to compete with any team. Gettelman needs to put his plan in place to build around the success from last year. Not regress. 

[PantherPhann89]

Fans don't want to hear it or see it but DG really needs to do what he is doing IMO, for years we have patched up the offense with old journeymen and other peoples rejects, the first sign we have something special is when we draft Cam, we can keep getting Bandaid replacments and be mediocre for years to come or we can rebuild GB a few down seasons and be relevant for years to come, it really is this simple! The problem was overachieving last season because it heightened peoples expectations but the reality is we have to to rebuild and rebuild big areas, the whole oline and the whole recieving core, it isn't pretty but DG is doing what's right I'm not sure there's a way of doing it which appeases the fans though, fans are all about the hear and now not 2015 or 2016 but that's what DG is doing he's forward thinking, is it his fault he held back from speeding along the process by cap hell and lack of talent on the roster? I don't think so.

I don't think that cutting the best WR, not only on your roster but in the teams history is what's best for the team. What would be best for the team, is one the things that would've been best for the team for years: getting Steve Smith some help.

Fans want to be relevant for years to come and since we were relevant last year, adding pieces to remain relevant makes more sense to me. Cutting the best WR without an equal or better replacement doesn't make the team better, it only keeps us in the same offensive position as past years. It would be a simple task for defensives, cover the best WR, give the other WR/TE a few catches and a little success and pressure the QB.

   Yes he is being held back by our cap situation but Steve Smith wasn't a part of that cap really. What we're gaining by cutting Smith, in my opinion isn't worth what we're losing.

 

[Gin and Juice]

But we could have kept both. Smitty cutting wasn't a money thing. We actually get nothing for cutting him.

Plain and simple we have a corp that should be competing for the playoffs year after year. A set back to a losing record is unacceptable.

We did not have the money for both! People need to accept that and realize that restructures just push back the inevitable making future years worse. Players don't take pay cuts unless they are out leveraged and the only ones out leveraged are our front office!

How much money do you think Cam and Luke will get? Blockbuster deals! It's not in our budget right now for them and Gman is trying to make it within our budget!

[Gin and Juice]

Think long term people! Smith's play was going down while his pay was going up! Bad business!

Most fans want instant gratification and then would bitch when Dallas offers him twice as much and he leaves! Then what does Gman say? Well, y'all wanted to keep Smith!

[gakonline]

I do not get why everyone is saying we are rebuilding. We have a core of star players intact. Minus Gross, everyone else was allowed to test free agency and go somewhere else because they can be replaced. Yea Steve Smith was let go and will be missed but he is now considered only a slot receiver. Go back and watch the games we lost last year. It was on the receivers because no one could get open. I think we sign a vet that still has gas left in the tank, draft an early receiver and see what McNutt and King have to offer.

Defensively we are still set and will be better next year than we were this year. I liked Mitchell, but no way Gettleman was going to give him a 25 million contract. Captain played well for his size but again you cannot over pay for his services. With our front seven and the scheme we play, the secondary can always be plug and play.

I am a little nervous about the oline and think will go big in the early rounds of the draft similar to last year.

[WOW!!]

We did not have the money for both! People need to accept that and realize that restructures just push back the inevitable making future years worse. Players don't take pay cuts unless they are out leveraged and the only ones out leveraged are our front office!

How much money do you think Cam and Luke will get? Blockbuster deals! It's not in our budget right now for them and Gman is trying to make it within our budget!

What are you talking about? It is pretty clear to most people this wasn't a cap thing.

We could have kept both and still be at the 7 to 8 million under the cap we are now.

And from what I'm reading it might have been better to cut him next year. But all that still doesn't give a excuse for this team to regress this year if it happens.

We still have the pieces and cap room to improve this team and be in solid cap shape without taking a step back.

[PantherPhann89]

I dont care about releasing 89. I care about who the hell is going to replace him!!!!

Why would we franchise Hardy (13mil!!!!!!!!!) to just take a year back???? Doesnt make any sense to me.

We're broke, who do you think we're going to sign that's better than Steve Smith for what we would've paid Steve Smith? 

[carolina-chuck]

We're broke, who do you think we're going to sign that's better than Steve Smith for what we would've paid Steve Smith?

Nothing. Nvm. smh