Drafting a QB in 2011

Don't need Newton to be elite. Just not Delhome bad.

The Panthers have a running game. That means something. On offense, for the Panthers to be successful with Newton (or - gack! - Clausen) under center, they need to have 30+ running plays per game, with Newton completing 16 or so. That's doable.

The Steelers did it with Big Ben his rookie year: strong running game, solid defense. Carolina can do the same.

 

Agree. If Newton has a career that mirrors Josh Freeman, it was an excellent use of a #1 pick. Peyton Manning doesn't come along that often.

 

I was not posting that to support using the 1st overall on Newton (or Gabbert). I want instant contribution from a #1 overall.

Rather sign a vet QB, trade down with the pick, if we could, and still get a guy who can help immediately.

 

Then let's get Dareus and bitch about wishing we had a good quarterback in two years after the vet starts breaking down. God knows, we have a new coach, and we need to be winning Superbowls STAT.

 

He's good, and I'd be glad to have him too, but he's not a franchise QB. He has various flaws that teams will presumably exploit in 2011.

 

Drafting Newton means forcing him to start, which means continuing to have a shitty offense while also continuing to suck at DT.

 

Or...we can take a pass on Dareus, draft Newton, sign Volek, address DT in free agency and twice in the third round to bolster the NFL's 23rd ranked rushing defense, develop Newton for 2013, yank our 13th ranked rushing offense to top-5 with Otah back in the saddle, get Brian Billick to color commentate all our games, and be in the hunt for Superbowls for 10 years instead of just two.

There won't be a training camp to speak of before the season starts, so expecting ANY first round pick to contribute right away is a waste of a good wet dream.

 

I don't agree with that. I actually liked how Mike Smith treated Matt Ryan. He opened up a QB competition, and let the best man win, which Ryan did. I can easily see Rivera bringing in a vet, and doing something similar. If Newton wins, then he's the best QB in camp, and deserves to start. If he doesn't, then he's not ready, and will sit until he is.

 

Ryan was vastly more ready to play than Newton, and he was joining a team that already had Roddy White, Michael Turner, and a solid offensive line. Rivera would be under ridiculous pressure to start Newton regardless of how ready he was, and even if he did sit then that means we're getting no production out of our #1 overall. The only way the Panthers should draft him is if they believe he'd be productive from day 1, and they would be crazy to think that.

 

they do prefer that someone play quarterback. So sure, there's a worry that any young player won't be ready with the lockout, much less a guy who played a handful of meaningful games in his life.

one guy's a franchise and the other is a stopgap, and they'll be drafted within a few spots of each other? Prognosticating the most safe player in the top 5 as a sure-thing bust is a good trick.

We lack a lot, sure. We need a few stars, not one player that won't play right off.

And I doubt, after last year, that we would sit down and wonder what would've happened if we had only drafted a quarterback. We did draft, by some boards, two of the top five guys.