Woeful Panthers Earn First Draft Pick: The Carolina Panthers earned the top pick of the 2011 draft after finishing with a 2-14 record, two wins below the Denver Broncos, Buffalo Bills and Cincinnati Bengals. "The season was just a failure," said Carolina cornerback Richard Marshall.
They also earned the Patriots the #33 pick in the draft. Thanks, Panthers! Love the one commenter on the article:
"Of all the coaches the Panthers have had over the years, I liked John Fox the most by far."
Must have been tough to pick between all three.
posted by yerfatma at 03:08 PM on January 03, 2011
Yep. And you know who the Panthers drafted for that pick? Armanti freaking Edwards! Clearly, we are not dealing with a very smart organization.
posted by NoMich at 03:18 PM on January 03, 2011
Is it bad form to congratulate the Panthers on earning the top draft pick?
posted by Joey Michaels at 07:06 PM on January 03, 2011
Here in Carolina we gave up early on and started thinking about the #1 pick. I think Andrew Luck has been mentioned on talk radio more than any single current player except (maybe) Jimmy Clausen and how bad he sucks.
Oh, and speaking of the draft pick we so wisely gave to New England, the Pats have managed to stockpile 2 firsts, 2 seconds and 2 thirds for this year, when there's likely to be a first-time rookie salary cap. Who said life is fair?
posted by gradioc at 08:46 PM on January 03, 2011
Trade it. Panthers have so many "needs" and I don't see any one player available good enough that they shouldn't take the 3-4 picks, or 1-2 picks plus a veteran player instead. But I always think this is true.
posted by billsaysthis at 08:55 PM on January 03, 2011
Unless there is a rookie salary scale in place I can't see the Panthers being able to trade the top pick. The amount of money a team has to spend on their draft pick is enormous. Then again, maybe there is a team out there that absolutely covets Andrew Luck.
posted by Ying Yang Mafia at 09:41 PM on January 03, 2011
I think they tanked the season on purpose. They didn't even try. The only thing Richardson cares about is the paltry share of the pie that he thinks the owners are getting.
posted by bperk at 08:57 AM on January 04, 2011
Who said life is fair?
Ah, but gradioc, life is eminently fair. Those who are the fittest survive and prosper. Those who are not fit continue in their mediocrity. Sooner or later the losers tire of their ways and make the needed changes. If they do not, someone else takes over their team and makes the changes, thus strengthening the entire league. The NFL is not the youth soccer league that gives everyone a trophy for showing up. Those who carp about New England's success do not think about its 33 years of mediocrity before Robert Kraft bought the team in 1994. Even then it took another 7 years of effort to set the proper course.
posted by Howard_T at 03:53 PM on January 04, 2011
After watching the Orange Bowl I think the Panthers could turn it around pretty quickly with Andrew Luck.
posted by Ying Yang Mafia at 06:23 PM on January 04, 2011
It was a god awful season for the Panthers. Other than a good looking win over Arizona, there was nothing positive about the season. I couldn't even get a decent read on Jimmy Clausen. The majority of his pass plays was spent running for his life because of an inept o-line and receivers that couldn't get open. And because of the terrible pass offense, what was once the best running game in the league was non-existent. That was an observation even before DeAngelo got hurt. Just a terrible season.
posted by NoMich at 01:23 PM on January 03, 2011