Grades

Panthers: On paper, if this is GM Marty Hurney's final draft with the Panthers, it has a chance to be his best. Hurney didn't have a first-round pick and he tried to trade up with the Rams in order to select Notre Dame QB Jimmy Clausen, but got him anyway with the 48th overall pick in the second round. Clausen should give Matt Moore a run for his money sometime this season as the starter. With Carolina's great running game, Clausen has excellent deep-ball accuracy. Remember, the Panthers traded away their first-round pick last year to San Francisco in order to draft Everette Brown, who had 15 tackles and 2 1/2 sacks last season. To help Moore and Claussen, the Panthers got two potential playmakers in Armanti Edwards and Brandon LaFell. Edwards was the quarterback at Appalachian State where he won two national titles, but he projects as a receiver and maybe even a wildcat quarterback. LaFell had a rough senior season at LSU and ran a poor 4.62 at the Combine, but he finished with 175 receptions for 25 TDs. The only bad thing was that Hurney traded away next year's second-round pick to the Patriots to get this done. OLB Eric Norwood was also good value in the fourth round. Cincinnati QB Tony Pike was an interesting pick. Grade: A+

http://www.foxnews.com/sports/2010/04/25/nfl-draft-grades/

 

Carolina
2 - Jimmy Clausen, QB, Notre Dame (6-3, 222); 3 - Brandon LaFell, WR, LSU (6-2, 211); 3 - Armanti Edwards, QB/WR, Appalachian State (5-11, 181); 4 - Eric Norwood, OLB, South Carolina (6-1, 245); 6 - Greg Hardy, DE, Ole Miss (6-4, 281); 6 - David Gettis, WR, Baylor (6-3, 217); 6 - Jordan Pugh, CB, Texas A&M (5-10, 190); 6 - Tony Pike, QB, Cincinnati (6-6, 223); 7 - R.J. Stanford, CB, Utah (5-10, 185); 7 - Robert McClain, CB, Connecticut (5-9, 194)
Analysis: The Panthers were one of the last teams to be on the clock at No. 48, and certainly reminded the world of their presence by making a splash and taking Clausen. The Notre Dame product has his issues, but he's in a great situation for a well-run organization where he can start right away. The impact receiver that many Panthers fans (and Steve Smith) coveted came off the board in the third round, as the team tabbed the big and promising but somewhat slow- of-foot LaFell. Later, Carolina moved up to get two-time Walter Payton Award Armanti Edwards, who will almost certainly transition to wideout at the next level. Norwood fell to the Panthers late in the fourth, and could develop into a starting OLB if things go well. Hardy was viewed as a Top-10 defensive end by some but dropped mainly due to concerns over his injury history. Gettis has an NFL body, and has a decent chance of getting on the field. Pugh is a marginal prospect who helped himself by running fast at his pro day. Carolina further undermined Matt Moore (and Clausen, for that matter) by taking Pike in the sixth.
Bottom Line: Added some quality players and lots of guys you've heard of, but this team could be in major trouble along the defensive line due to its draft approach.
Grade: B

http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/04/24/1596825_p4/line-of-scrimmage-nfl-draft-grades.html

 

Carolina (Day 1: Inc.; Day 2: D+): Day 3 certainly presented Carolina's best work after an absence in Round 1 and an odd second day -- Jimmy Clausen, Brandon LaFell and Armanti Edwards. OLB Eric Norwood (No. 124) and DE Greg Hardy (No. 175) are solid selections. QB Tony Pike at 204 was good value, but unnecessary with Clausen in tow. Final Grade: C-

http://nfl.fanhouse.com/2010/04/25/2010-nfl-draft-grades-final-verdict/

 

Carolina Panthers: B


Having traded their first-round pick of the 2010 draft away last April for the right to take defensive end Everette Brown in the second round, the Panthers had to just sit and observe until the 48th pick, but were fortunate that Jimmy Clausen was still on the board. Clausen doesn't have elite physical traits, which is one of the reasons he slipped to where he did, but he is pro-ready and a good fit in offensive coordinator's Jeff Davidson's scheme, as Davidson had worked with Charlie Weis when both were with the New England Patriots. Regardless of who starts at quarterback, the Panthers added help for him in physical possession receiver Brandon LaFell in the second and versatile threat Armanti Edwards in the third. While neither is sure to duplicate his success from college, the Panthers could win big with their gambles on SEC pass rushers Eric Norwood and Greg Hardy on the draft's third day.

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/draft/story/13292580/draft-grades-seahawks-niners-earn-high-marks

 

lots of potential in this draft, which is exciting. now, is the coaching there?

 

on the late work with Moore, and the way the Cleveland guys tanked after he left, I feel like Scherer has earned a bit of benefit of the doubt.

Doesn't guarantee it, of course. Still, we're putting a lot of trust into new coaches - Scherer, Tolbert, and Baker.

 

Fox don't give a fuck no more:

 

Oh contrare,,,,,,,,, I believe I'm sensing a different Fox, a Fox who no longer has Jake stuck up his ass. Lets be honest, with Jake here we never saw Fox out scouting other QB's really trying to improve that position, we only brought in band-aids. Now that Jake is gone, we hear rumblings about Fox liking Tebow, and now we pick 2 QB's in the draft.

Fox is a very good coach in a lot of ways, he's always been very good for this franchise. I do believe he let Jake pull him down and it probably cost him getting a contract extension from JR. If I'm right that Fox is clearly over Jake, he's good enough a coach to lead this group of youngens to a very good year,,, and if we win a lot of ballgames, he'll get his contract extension from JR afterall.

 

There was just talk a couple of years ago how much we loved Matt Ryan and were thinking of trading up to take him. ATL snagged him so I guess we'll never know if they were bullshitting. This was the first draft where something like this fell in our laps...

 

Fox actually said that. He said usually, it's completely the opposite, a guy doesn't make it to them. They did pass on Quinn (whew) and Rodgers (could've been fantastic). It's pretty clear that no one like this has ever fallen like this.

It did come at just the right time, with Jake out of sight but not mind. Gantt had a solid thought on it too, that Hurney never liked the idea of the franchise guy either - he saw Washington go through it and had left San Diego right before Leaf. I think there was a necessity to go get a guy they did like, and they liked Clausen a lot more than they seemed to like the others, but I can see a significant happiness in Hurney that he got a guy like that without having had to pay the top price.