State of the 2012 Panthers and What they Should do

The Carolina Panthers have been struggling this year to win games, and they recently parted ways with General Manager Marty Hurney who had been with the team since 2002.  To me this move made sense, the Panthers never held back to back winning seasons with Hurney at the GM spot.

Hurney has made mistakes as a GM such as resigning Quarterback Jake Delhomme to a 5 year 42.5 million dollar deal, he did not live up to this contract signed before the 2009 season as he went 7 for 17 with 4 interceptions and a lost fumble in the first game of the 2009 season.   He was cut following that season.

Hurney also left the Panthers with running backs Jonathan Stewart and DeAngelo Williams having $43 million guaranteed for both of them, these are their top 2 backs, and they rank 24^th in the league.

Hurney also picked wrong with Jimmy Clausen as well.

Aside from GM problems I think head coach Ron Rivera and the rest of the coaching staff is not doing a great job.  The Panthers are at a 1-5 record, and 4 of those 5 losses have come by a touchdown or less, and Cam Newton and his Panther’s team have been struggling.  Cam has been sulking on the sidelines, his attitude and demeanor after games has not been good either.

This team needs more changes, and to me that starts with Ron Rivera being fired, and I think they should hire John Gruden to be their coach.  I think this is a great spot for Gruden, he is a quarterback Guru and he will not mess around, Cams attitude would change whether or not he wants it too.  Gruden would make the Panthers better.

The Panthers also need a better scheme; this is what they should do:

Run the ball more, and use more screen passes, let Cam throw the ball, it is his second year he needs more experience and once they can do that they can use more play action and deep passes. They also need to let Cam run more, he is a freak of nature and not letting him run as well as pass is not good, it could be that teams know how to stop Cam and that is why the Panthers are struggling.

The team needs to draft better, rather than go for big name players (Example is Jimmy Clausen) or drafting out of necessity and not looking at the players they draft close enough they need to look at the talent coming out of college.  They should draft more receivers, perhaps another tight end, some more offensive linemen, and beef up the defense.  Picking the right receiver is a key, Steve Smith is only getting older, and even though he plays great football still it is imperative they draft more receivers they can learn from Steve Smith and work their way into the scheme. 

They should also look to trade either Smith or Williams.

This team needs some changes, and needs them now, because playing in the NFL South is no joke.

Surprises and Thoughts Heading into the 7th week of the NFL Season

The NFL is now in the seventh week of the regular season, and it has been full of surprises, and I will admit I made some predictions that are not happening this year so far.

When the season started I said the Miami Dolphins would be the worst team in the NFL this year, and right now I am dead wrong.  They are ranked 16^th in total offense right now, ranking ahead of New Orleans, Dallas, and Carolina, which I would not have expected.  They haven’t won the prettiest games, but they win, and they have been hanging in there in their first six games.

I wasn’t expecting New England to be as balanced this year as they have been, they are running the ball very well, and are second in the league with a team total 10 rushing touchdowns behind only the Redskins, they also rank 5^th in the NFL with total rushing yards.  They are even 4^th in the NFL with rushing yards per game averaging 152.3 yards a game, they have only lost one fumble rushing as well.

Christian Ponder and the Minnesota Vikings are surprising me as well; I thought this team was going to have a top 10 pick, maybe even top 5.  However they have proven to be a quality team standing at a 4-2 record.  Even though they rank 17^th in the league for passing yards Christian Ponder has taken good care of the ball.  They have beat both the 49ers and the Lions who were powerhouses in the NFC last year, Detroit has fallen a bit, but it is still impressive.

Michael Vick’s turnover issues have been atrocious thus far; he has 13 of the Eagles 16 total turnovers himself, that is inexcusable for an NFL quarterback, and especially one who has signed a $100 Million dollar contract.  He keeps fumbling the ball, and making some poor throws, I really thought he would do well this year because of how well he and the Eagles played towards the end of last year.

The Browns are surprising me as well, I know a 1-5 record isn’t great, but they are hanging tough in games.  They could have beaten the Eagles, and were close to sending the game against the Ravens into overtime.  They even jumped ahead on the defending super bowl champion Giants before losing.  I am surprised at how well this team has played despite its record. 

The Oakland Raiders to me are the worst team in the NFL right now, Carson Palmer is making some bad decisions, including a pick 6 against the Falcons that helped spark Atlanta to a victory.  Carson is not the answer in Oakland.  He may not have the greatest weapons in the NFL but his inaccuracy and turnovers are hurting this Oakland team.

Matt Cassel is the worst quarterback this year, and I am surprised because he has the number 1 ranking rushing offense in the NFL right now.  It boggles my mind how he cannot use that to help himself and his team win.  They rank 23^rd in passing yards and dead last in interceptions(meaning they have the most), Cassel is responsible for 9 of those(of 11), in only 5 games, and not a complete 5 games either.  He is also dead last in passer rating as well, his rating is 66.2 which is behind Brandon Weeden, and Mark Sanchez who is not completing many passes.  

The 2012 Jets Are Falling

The Jets are headed downhill, I am sure some people don’t think that way because they are 2-2, well frankly their record does not reflect their season.  They lost Reavis in a close game down in Miami that they could have lost if Miami’s kicker made either one of the 2 kicks that he missed during the game.

The Jets lost another key part of their offense this past weekend, Santonio Holmes who is now out for the season, as well as Reavis, however Reavis has not been placed on the IR in case the Jets make the super bowl, and that is very unlikely.  Now the Jets are without their best defensive player and their best offensive weapon.

I do not think Kyle Wilson can pick up Reavis’s slack now that he is gone, nor can running back Joe McKnight who is now being used to play corner back.  The Jets offensive weapons outside Holmes and tight end Dustin Keller are not impressive, Stephen Hill needs to keep healthy and outside of him I really don’t see to many people that can actually be of help.

Mark Sanchez has a completion percentage of 49.2 which ranks lowest in the NFL, he ranks 22^nd in passing yards, and third worst in quarterback rating at 69.6.  I understand it is not entirely his fault, but he is not showing leadership on the field, he looks confused, irritated and flat out lost.  I think when Tebow was brought in it killed him, because after 3 years of not having his job in jeopardy ( because we all know Mark Brunnell was not going to take his spot) he is now in trouble and has a backup that has a media storm following him everywhere. 

Mark needs to show something this upcoming Monday night against the Texans, if not he should be benched in favor of Tebow.  I said in a previous blog entitled “The 2012 Jets and their outcome” that they would go 7-9 and Tebow would be the starter by week 5 or 6 as the starter, and this is week 5 now, I think by week 6 Tebow starts.  The defense could still hypothetically be a top 5 defense, and they need to pick up that running game.  Rex has always been a ground and pound guy, except for last season when the Jets threw the ball a fair amount of times.  However now with the Jets top playmaker gone on offense the Jets need that ground and pound again, and Mark simply cannot be the guy to help that, Tebow is. 

Tebow righted a sinking ship last year in Denver and lead them to a playoff berth by making them the NFLs top rushing attack, I don’t think Tebow can do it in a division where the teams score points and air it out.  He is the best option at the moment though, because maybe he can beat these AFC East teams, and if the Jets want that running game they need Tebow because he will take the punishing hits and he can run an option and spread option game.  Shonn Greene is not a true number one back, but Tebow could help him out.

I am not the only one who thinks Tebow should start, the Jets owner Woody Johnson is pushing for Tebow to start.  That is not good, Sanchez should be angry, but as always he won’t say anything, he keeps that 

bottled up and won’t say a word.  Sanchez needs to step up, but as always he won’t he is too afraid.  ESPN’s Skip Bayless is on the money when he said the Jets coddled Sanchez, this is an issue because you can’t just hand the keys to a guy who really did not deserve a chance right off the bat.  Sanchez is broken in my eyes, he really can’t take a team anywhere now, he has no running game and the defense is not what it was his first 2 years.

Let Tebow start, see what he can do, and then this offseason the Jets need to make changes.

They should fire Rex Ryan, because he clearly only wants to run the ball and play defense, if he wanted to pass he would get more weapons for his team.

Also get Mark Sanchez out of there, and trade him for some maybe mid to late round picks, and start stockpiling picks.  Trade Holmes as well, he could easily land on a team like the 49ers, or the Raiders, or even the Colts in my eyes, and those teams could pay a nice price to the Jets for him. 

Once those three are off the team they can start rebuilding, and let Sparano be the head coach for a year and see how that works out.  He knows the division, and that means he would have an idea of what to do. 

The Jets could trade up and get Matt Barkley or Geno Smith and start new at the QB spot, and bring in someone that will make them EARN the starting spot, and not just turn the keys over to them.  They should also try to trade for a running back, or draft one as well, and shore up the receiving position as well.