2008 Carolina Panthers 11-5 Top Three Worst Threads Ever Made Thread

[PoopyfaceMcGee]

We can change the title to 2008 Carolina Panthers 4-12 Get Michael Johnson Thread.

Yes, please.

[General_Failure]

Lookin' more like 16-0, but there's still a chance they could completely implode!

[reese125]

We can change the title to 2008 Carolina Panthers 4-12 Get a New Head Coach Thread.

[BigEd76]

After 5 weeks:

#15 = Eagles
#29 = Panthers

[SD_Eagle5]

Oops

Bold draft-day deal for Otah transformed Panthers
By MIKE CRANSTON, AP Sports Writer
Dec 11, 4:02 am EST

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP)—Rookie right tackle Jeff Otah kept opening giant holes Monday and rookie running back Jonathan Stewart kept rumbling through them. The night ended with the Carolina Panthers rushing for a team-record 299 yards in a decisive win over Tampa Bay.

And general manager Marty Hurney looked like the shrewdest guy at Bank of America Stadium.

Hurney's bold, draft-day trade that sent next year's first-round pick to Philadelphia for an extra first-round choice this year allowed the Panthers to get both Stewart and Otah, key additions in Carolina's turnaround from 7-9 a year ago to 10-3 this season.

"We felt like the combination of Jeff and Jonathan would certainly help enhance the personality of our offense," Hurney said Wednesday.

But getting them required a risky move that was met with plenty of skepticism back in April.


After missing the playoffs for the second straight season, Hurney and coach John Fox were under pressure to fix things quickly. They dumped running back DeShaun Foster, made DeAngelo Williams the starter and wanted another back.

But the Panthers also were determined to get bigger on the offensive line. So as they gathered on the morning of the first day of the draft to decide what to do with the 13th overall pick, they mapped out a venturesome plan.

"We made the decision coming in that we were going to take Jonathan," Hurney said. "But immediately after we made the pick we would get on the phone and see if anybody was interested in giving us their first round pick. ... We thought Jeff was that good and he fit into what we were trying to do."

Stewart was still there at No. 13, so the Panthers took the powerful, stocky Oregon product. Hurney then got on the phone with Chicago, Kansas City, Arizona, Detroit and Baltimore. All declined his offer.

But the 6-foot-6, 330-pound Otah was still there at No. 19, and Philadelphia was willing to make a deal with Hurney. The Eagles were also weighing at least one other offer.

Hurney waited anxiously, and with three minutes left before having to make a selection, the deal was made.

The Panthers agreed to send their second- and fourth-round picks this year and their first-round choice next year for the 19th pick. The Panthers then quickly selected Otah, whose stock had dropped because of a lingering ankle injury from his senior year at Pittsburgh.

"You never like trading away draft picks at all. But I think the feeling was we were confident in our evaluations of him," Hurney said. "We felt like big, athletic tackles like Jeff are hard to find. He fit into what we want to do."

That was on display Monday night, when Otah dominated the left side of the Buccaneers' defensive line. Stewart (115 yards rushing) and Williams (186) raced through huge holes as the Panthers took sole possession of first place in the NFC South.

"Both running backs did a great job running for all those yards," said the soft-spoken Otah. "That's the first time I did something like that, so it was kind of cool."

While it looks like a great move now, the draft-day deal could have been disastrous. What if Stewart and Otah didn't produce? What if the Panthers failed to have a winning record for the third straight year and were faced with having no first-round pick next year?

"You don't have a first-round pick in '09. Well, that's right. We have him in '08 and he's a year ahead of the '09 first-round pick," quarterback Jake Delhomme said. "It was a guy they targeted and a guy they wanted, obviously. To me, that's smart drafting. If that's what you want, go out and get it and hopefully it works out. So far we think it has."

But even Delhomme acknowledged some frustration early. Otah couldn't participate in some offseason workouts as he recovered from his ankle injury. Stewart was also sidelined as he worked his way back from toe surgery.

The patience paid off. Stewart and Williams have become one of the top rushing tandems in the league, and Otah has been a key cog in an improved offensive line.

Plus, the more the Panthers win, the happier Hurney gets and the lower that first-round pick will be for the Eagles next season.

"We know we want to run the football," Hurney said. "When we've been successful we've been a downhill running team. So to be able to do that against a very good defense it obviously makes you feel good.

[ice grillin you]

not sure whats worse...andy reids PP skills or my thread starting techniques

[PhillyPhreak54]

I guess I jinxed it awhile back.

Like DAL/CLE, the Panthers will suck ass next year.

[rjs246]

So, call me crazy but the Panthers look like the best team in the NFL right now. To make matters worse, Otah looks like the real deal. The Eagles definitely couldn't use a competant OT of the future...

I loved the trade when they made it but it is looking worse and worse by the second.

[Father Demon]

I think you have a lot of company in that boat.

I ain't gonna be your first mate, though.

[phattymatty]

thats retarded.  it was still a good trade, they still got jackson and a first round draft pick.  there was no way for anyone to know the panthers would somehow be good as shtein this year.  i hate andy's normal draft strategy more than anyone but you can't fault him for this trade. 

[rjs246]

I'm not saying the trade was a bad trade at all. It made sense for lots of reasons. Still does. I'm just saying that it doesn't look anywhere near as good now as it did at the time and its only getting worse with every passing week.

[SD_Eagle5]

thats retarded.  it was still a good trade, they still got jackson and a first round draft pick.  there was no way for anyone to know the panthers would somehow be good as shtein this year.  i hate andy's normal draft strategy more than anyone but you can't fault him for this trade. 

What makes it a bad trade is they could have taken Otah with #19 and still taken Jackson in the second.

[shorebird]

I'm not saying the trade was a bad trade at all. It made sense for lots of reasons. Still does. I'm just saying that it doesn't look anywhere near as good now as it did at the time and its only getting worse with every passing week.

I'm wondering how many of us would have been bitching if we had seen yet another lineman picked.

But yeah, every time the Panthers run over some team, the trade looks worse and worse. But still, there will be no way to fairly evaluate it until one or two years from now when we see how good the player is that Reid eventually picks.

[rjs246]

If the Panthers win the Superbowl, while the Eagles barely miss the playoffs, have the 20th and 32nd picks, lose both of their starting tackles to free agency/retirement/death and allow Andy Reid to keep his job I will declare this The Worst Trade in the History of Mankind. Deserved or not.

[reese125]

it really doesnt matter regardless because there is no way in hell Jeff Otah would of been seen here in Philly as a great run blocker because....well...you know why

practice makes perfect....and Carolina is perfecting the run