The Panthers enter Sunday’s matchup with the Chargers needing a win, and to win the last three to improve on last season’s 6-10 record. Would 7-9 be good enough to keep Rivera around for one more season? If Hurney was still around I would say yes because we all know he was a big believer in the three year plan for players and coaches. Are we better than the 2-14 team pre-Cam and pre-Rivera? Definitely. But have we as a team reached our potential? Not yet.

Dec 9, 2012; Charlotte, NC, USA; Carolina Panthers middle linebacker Luke Kuechly (59) yells out during the third quarter against the Atlanta Falcons at Bank of America Stadium. The Panthers defeated the Falcons 30-20. Mandatory Credit: Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports

This season has actually had several similarities to last year’s team: strong signs of life at the end of the season, and better production from Cam. During the last couple weeks he really has taken care of the ball and helped secure a signature win against the Falcons. But next year he has to figure things out before we’re completely out of playoff contention. We’ve also been dealing with several injuries this year just as we did last year, and our makeshift defense has shown signs of life like they did during the Falcons game. There’s the reemergence of Thomas Davis, the first player to successfully come back from three ACL surgeries to the same knee. Then you have the tackling machine Luke Kuechly earning NFL Defensive POTW honors following his 16-tackle performance against the Falcons.

Has the season gone exactly as we wanted? Of course not, but with a new GM we can expect new changes and hopefully we will continue to trend upward. I look forward to a strong draft with someone new calling the shots and hopefully working on upgrading positions and not just taking the best available players. I also hope we can look to make some moves in free agency, so that we can work on our offensive line and also add some depth to our defense. This season may not get us to the playoffs, but there’s still plenty to play for and prove.

In order to understand, we only have to look back to ’08 when we went 12 and 4 and then

followed in ’09 with 8 and 8 against a tougher schedule. Marty’s answer was to let some of

our best players loose and try to replace them with draft picks. Those drafts brought us the likes

of Everett Brown and Corvey Irvin in ’09 and Jimmy Clausen and Armanti Edwards in ’10.

It seems like the wrong time for a move like this because it’s a week before the trade

deadline. But would we want Marty making the trades and then release him afterwards?

Besides, very seldom are there player-for-player trades made in season during the

NFL season. Looking at these big contracts, the most they might get for one of

them is a 4^th or 5^th rounder. So why the move? This move was needed and should

be followed with an overhaul of the scouting system. If we were drafting today

we would be in the top five spots and this draft is very deep at defensive

positions. We would not want Marty and the current scouting team leading

us, so we need new blood to be at work during this current college season, so

now is the right time draft-wise.

So it seems prudent to stand pat with the roster and clean house at the end of the season,

which will mean eating some base salaries. This also means refusing to panic and avoid making

unwise moves like those Marty has made in the past.

Realistically the Panthers should be a 3 and 3 team at this juncture. During the 1-15 and 2-14

years neither of those teams were as good as this one. If we panic and pull things apart, do we

want to end this season 2-14 or 3-13? WE DON’T.  If we can equal last year’s record, then

improve the coaching staff and roster during the off-season, and if we can drop the expensive

contracts even if we have to eat the cap space next year, and if we trade a player where the

other team is going to want you to eat a major part of the contract, this can all be turned

around and pushed in the right direction. Remember, at the start  of the 2010 season Marty

dumped around 8 of our veteran players ( Brad Hoover, Moose, etc.) causing us to go 2 and 14.

Please let’s not go there again.

The way out is a restructuring of the largest contracts and the release of some players with

high dollar contracts who are not producing. This would include Jimmy Clausen, Armanti Edwards,

Gary Barnidge, and Louis Murphy. It also includes backing off the destructive abuse directed towards

some of our better players such as Cam Newton, DeAngelo Williams, Jordan Gross, and Jon Beason.

If we get rid of any of these players it will be tough to replace them with someone who is equal to

their current playing abilities. We only have to look at Cam’s projected numbers based on his

current numbers. Average passing yards of 233 games computes to 3707 yards and 45 yards a

game rushing that adds up to 728 yards. Pro Bowl left tackles are hard to replace. Likewise a Pro

Bowl linebacker who is trying to come back from injuries and should be given time like we gave

Thomas Davis, and a running back who is being held back due to an offensive coordinator’s

game plan. The fans’ solution is to dump this group. Really!  So let’s all take a deep breath, let the

media chatter calm down, and give this thing till the end of the season.

Oct 21, 2012; Charlotte, NC, USA; Dallas Cowboys cornerback Brandon Carr (39) and Carolina Panthers wide receiver Steve Smith (89) react on the field. The Cowboys defeated the Panthers 19-14 at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-US PRESSWIRE

Oct 21, 2012; Charlotte, NC, USA; Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton (1) leaves the field after warm ups before the game. The Cowboys defeated the Panthers 19-14 at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-US PRESSWIRE

With this week’s firing of our veteran GM, Marty Hurney, and all this talk about a new transition in the Panthers starting lineup and the coaching staff, I’ve been thinking about the franchise as a whole, and some of the decisions they’ve been making thus far.

The thing is thinking about all the events that have defined our franchise I go straight to the bad times. I’m not saying that the front office has made the best choices; I feel that they’ve made more bad choices than good. Just keep in mind that Marty Hurney paved the way for two NFC Championships and the team’s only appearance in a Super Bowl.

Now on to my opinions. I have been very vocal about my feelings about deals made with players, draft choices, and choices with the branding of our team. My biggest problem with Marty Hurney is the deals he made with DeAngelo Williams and Charles Johnson. Johnson is being OVER paid right now. The team treats him as a premier Defensive End, and he just isn’t. He’s a good, maybe even great depending on who your talking to, and he deserves his spot at number one Defensive End, but he’s no Julius Peppers, and I’m sure we can all agree on that. DeAngelo is a different story though. He was a great Running Back and maybe still is, but right now he just reminds of Chris Johnson, who to me is a thug, and that’s the opposite of what I want the Panthers persona to be. It seems to me that now that he’s making a large load of money, and thats somewhat set in stone for a while he will just treat this season with a bad attitude. And remember, the shelf life of a Running Back is pretty low as well, and we signed the deal with him this offseason, and this is his seventh year in the NFL. A good example is the fact that he’s the same age as Derek Anderson, twenty nine. I just don’t get it. Another problem I’ve had is the Mike Tolbert situation. We had two good Running Backs to begin with so why bring in another one when we could have made a play for Cortland Finnegan, or another player that we could have used, instead of another player thats similar to two of our biggest stars. I’d rather have Tolbert than no one else, but I’d also rather have Finnegan than Tolbert.

Sep 9, 2012; Detroit, MI, USA; St. Louis Rams defensive back Cortland Finnegan (31) intercepts a pass for a touchdown in the second quarter against the Detroit Lions at Ford Field. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Weber-US Presswire

Our draft picks, and our rebranding of our franchise, like the stadium upgrades, are iffy to me as well. I’m not going to go on and on about the draft choices, because I’m sure we’ve heard enough about those choices. I just going to say that the proof is in the pudding, and the pudding was so-so to begin with. One of the things I’ve been on a tear about lately is the new stadium upgrades. We are a budding franchise with not to many diehards, and our stadium is already fan friendly enough. Now I’m not sure if that money can be spent on players or not, but we should be more worried about building a Super Bowl contender instead of escalators for ramps to the top levels, which in all honesty aren’t that bad.

And we shouldn’t bench Cam for the start against the Bears this weekend. That’s just a little rumor I’ve heard lately and I just don’t believe in it. However we should bench him if he throws more than two picks or if he produces worse than he against Dallas (God help us if he doesnt). And we shouldn’t fire Ron Rivera so soon. Give him the rest of the year, and then see where we’re at. But if we are at the same spot as we are now, by all means replace him and his staff, except Sean McDermott; I like what he has done with minimal talent this year. And remember this is just my opinion.

By all means, please comment on the articles about our franchise. I’d love to here different opinions, hopefully not as negative as mine.