Drafting a QB in 2011

Like Moore or McCown?....The Panthers need a veteran but let's not pretend that the has been's and and never gonna' be's available in free agency are the diamonds in the rough that are going to lead the Panthers to the promised land. They need more talent than I see on the FA market.
I read you guys and I appreciate your opinions. I just think that if there's a chance that we can sign somebody that might be the long term solution, don't you have to do that?

 

well, let's say that happens. Do you anticipate a guy with, say, Newton's mechanics will be ready to go day 1?

 

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Maybe not. We do need a veteran but Clausen has good mechanics and I don't want him on day one either. Bernie Kosar, on the other hand, had terrible mechanics and he won a lot of games.

 

Well, no. We need that?

So let's sacrifice the chance to get a young possible franchise player so we can get a stopgap to start day 1? So we're ready to go to a Superbowl, as long as we have a guy to throw the ball fairly well? Is that all we lack?

I'd rather develop a guy behind a stopgap. And in three years, we can be happy we have him, instead of three years down the road when our stopgap starts to fade, we say...damn...wonder if we should ever bit the bullet and draft a quarterback.

I mean...is this a little bit of de ja vu?

 

Who are truly elite QBs? Manning, Brady, and I think Rodgers has pretty much ascended to that level. I'd have Brees and Rivers a notch below simply because I think the system allows them to be more productive than they might be elsewhere. After that you have a lot of guys who can help a team win, but aren't going to do it by themselves very often. If I said it anywhere but this board people would think I'm crazy, but again, I don't see a lot of difference in value between someone like Flacco and someone like Bulger. You're going to get similar production if you put the same cast around them and can keep Bulger healthy. Or to use another example, Kyle Orton looked like crap in Chicago, but has been very successful in Denver. Orton is not in any way special, as there are a ton of quarterbacks like him who can be productive if put in the right system with the right OC. I do not want someone like Derek Anderson who will do stupid shit and lose games for you, but I'll go to battle with Shaun Hill. For that matter, people forget that Tarvaris Jackson led Minnesota to the playoffs before Favre.

 

Newton is not a possible franchise quarterback. He just isn't. Best case, he's Josh Freeman, who despite the unceasing hype is not a future All-Pro.

 

A post so good it bears repeating...

 

Freeman, with limited experience and parts, played remarkably well, and posted numbers that placed him #3 in the NFC for passer rating.

His TD/INT ratio, and ability to lead critical drives, is good enough for me to be a "franchise QB".

In other words, I would gladly take him.

 

As one who does not believe an elite QB is a must have in order to be successful, I would too.

Would be ecstatic if we had elite, though, but do not see elite in this class. Not to mention paying the guy to sit for half the length of his contract, which I tend to think would be the best way to help one of these prospects be successful.