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Panthers Season Review

Never did I expect my team to perform so horribly, with a promising QB battle in the motion, 2 great RBs, a great OL, several great LB's, and talented DB's; the panthers almost looked like a good team in the preseason, not a quiet a playoff team but good at the least. However the panthers season as a whole has been HORRIBLE as the Panthers will look to grab the 1st pick in the NFL draft for the first time in years..... as the season is all but over, and the panthers have no hope of making the playoffs, this thread is dedicated to grading the panthers, as well as pointing out what could have been done better or what can be done better.
(PS feel free to do your own grades in this thread)
Overall Season Grade: F

Offensive Grade (overall): F-

QB Grade: F
Entering a year of change from Jake Delehome everything seemed great, with the Panthers grabbing Jimmy Clausen by almost god given luck..... Unfortunately we should have let him slide, as the rookie QB has been a scab on the NFLs worst offense... QB play this year is the worst I have ever seen.

RB Grade: D
DeAngelo was posed with an impossible job, to run sucessfully against imminent run blitzes without fail, and against defenses that knew it was coming. This coupled with Offensive line injuries and O line poor play made for a horrible performance....

WR Grade: D-
Its hard to blame these guys when the QB cant throw them the ball well. However Smith has obviously slowed down, and no-one really has stepped up to offset this. David Gettis has done as much as he can, however he has to get better at catching the ball in important situations.

OL Grade: F-
This group entered the season as one of the highest rated groups in the league, they will exit it in shame. While the majority of problems the O Line has suffered are caused by injuries to starters, there is still no excuse for the lackluster level of play that they have contributed.....

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Defensive Grade: B-
I was right about our LB squad this year, that they could be one of the best squads in the NFL (and should have caused the defense to be run in a 3-4 form), however I did not expect our defense to be good, rather I expected our defense to be our sore spot.... I was wrong.

DL Grade: C-
This was our one sore spot on D, and it is to be expected with the lack of experience or skill that we have on our line...

LB Grade: A
Solid play from a now banged up group. Anderson and Beason are a good dou in the backfield.

DB Grade: A
Charles Godfrey, Sherrod Martin, Captain M, and Marshall have been getting it done this season. Godfrey especially has shown talent in grabbing 5 ints this season while getting 72 tackles....
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Special Teams Grade: D-
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Coaches Grades: F+
John Fox obviously has to go, with his lack of offensive knowledge and overly conservative play the panthers have failed. I will look for everyone on the Offensive side of the coaching squad to be fired......

I am going to agree with each of your grades, except for the following minor changes:

QB: Give them a D- rather than an F. It is a young crew with whom you knew we were going to have growing pains. And the poor WR group did not help them at all except on a very few surprise occasions.

WR: D+. Gettis and LaFell did OK for Rookies, but Smith did not lead as the Veteran he is and we needed

Def. Grade: Flat C. Very disappointed.

LB : Grade out a B; flat at inopportune times, and no one gets an A on this team

DB: Best on the team at B+

ST: C-. Not horrible, but still below avg.

I think you're being a bit too hard on some of the younger players, especially Clausen and Gettis. This season couldn't have been one of high expectations, considering the losses of Peppers and Harris. Last season's 0-3 without Harris with almost the same roster as this season should have foretold that. There are still a lot of good players on the team (Godfrey, Marshall, Beason, Williams, the OTs, etc.) but there were just too many holes to make things work. The point about opposing defences knowing what's coming on every play is a good one. Combine all this with OL injuries and it's a recipe for disaster. I had the team pegged at 4-12 before the season, but I'm buying into 2-14 at this point. It's too bad, but Carolina has weathered seasons this bad before and come back from them. That's the main positive - this is an organization that's experienced failure and learned from it.

I can try to think of grades soon, but I haven't seen as much Panthers ball this year as either of you.

Rooster wrote:I think you're being a bit too hard on some of the younger players, especially Clausen and Gettis. This season couldn't have been one of high expectations, considering the losses of Peppers and Harris. Last season's 0-3 without Harris with almost the same roster as this season should have foretold that. There are still a lot of good players on the team (Godfrey, Marshall, Beason, Williams, the OTs, etc.) but there were just too many holes to make things work. The point about opposing defences knowing what's coming on every play is a good one. Combine all this with OL injuries and it's a recipe for disaster. I had the team pegged at 4-12 before the season, but I'm buying into 2-14 at this point. It's too bad, but Carolina has weathered seasons this bad before and come back from them. That's the main positive - this is an organization that's experienced failure and learned from it.

I can try to think of grades soon, but I haven't seen as much Panthers ball this year as either of you.

Gettis im proud of, Clausen is a disappointment... You stated that we were 0-3 without Harris, but t wasnt our D that was bad, it was our offense. QB problems really lead to disaster....... just like last year..

A
That is our grade for us grabbing Luck

If he even declares. Rumours are he won't, although it would surprise me.

Rooster wrote:If he even declares. Rumours are he won't, although it would surprise me.

Which is why I want us to go get his HC from Stanford. If Harbough comes, Luck will follow.

Interesting idea, especially given Harbaugh's NFL pedigree and the interest SF is allegedly showing in him.

Very disappointing season. I thought Clausen would be much better. I thought Otah would play, which IMO was the biggest loss of the season. The back 7 on D was better than anyone gives them credit for being, and Johnson stepped up his game big-time. I liked what I saw from Lafell and Gettis in terms of in-season improvement, but both need to keep improving a lot more. A better QB that they can trust will help. That's why addressing QB should be the top priority. Andrew Luck is a no-brainer if he comes out. If not, I think the team needs to go hard after Kyle Orton. All those young receivers will wither on the vine without dramatically better QB play.

I wouldn't give up on Clausen yet but he shouldn't be starting NFL games next year. I was very disappointed in the offensive coaching, and I know Clausen was too though he won't come out and say it. Not having a veteran to hold his hand was a major mistake.

The other HUGE error was not trading Deangelo Williams during the season. I know they got offers, and some were good ones. How would an extra 2nd and 3rd round pick look right now, in the first half of both rounds?

Boy those picks would be helpful, Iceness. I am hopeful they resign him and maybe get a trade for Stewart. But Goodson is a lot more like Williams than Stewart, so ideally they would have done something with Williams. The worse thing would be if he goes and we get nothing at all. But I have to say that Hurney has done so many things wrong, that if his daughter was not married to a Richardson, I think he would be gone. I think this entire team and the problems it had this year was every bit as much of Hurney's fault as it was Fox's fault.