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Carolina Panthers: Blaming Dave Gettleman for 1-3 is Misleading

By John Woodcock

Jul 28, 2016; Spartanburg, SC, USA; Carolina Panthers general manager Dave Gettleman signs autographs after the training camp at Wofford College. Mandatory Credit: Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports
Jul 28, 2016; Spartanburg, SC, USA; Carolina Panthers general manager Dave Gettleman signs autographs after the training camp at Wofford College. Mandatory Credit: Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Carolina Panthers are 1-3, but the philosophy of general manager Dave Gettleman is not the right culprit.

It has been a tough week for the Carolina Panthers. They have had to go through a series of second-guessing due to a 1-3 record. Cam Newton is not practicing and neither is left tackle Michael Oher. Questions that seemingly were settled in training camp have now opened up again.

Charles Robinson of Yahoo Sports however leveled the blame at one person in particular, General Manager Dave Gettleman. Robinson blamed Gettleman’s insistence on building cap room over spending big money last off season as the reason the Panthers are now hurting. Robinson noted the loss of Josh Norman, mediocre talent of Oher and Mike Remmers, and the lack of running back depth behind Jonathan Stewart.

The problem with Robinson’s argument is it is based on a fallacy. The fallacy is that the Panthers have $19 million under the cap right now when they could have had additional help. The fallacy is that Gettleman went into the off season banking on keeping the core together and building all the future cap space he could.

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The truth is that he did not. He went into the off season trying to scrape together money because the Panthers spent most of the prime free agent season with Josh Norman on the franchise tag for cornerbacks. The break with Norman happened late after players like Eric Weddle, Russell Okung, or Matt Forte had already made their decisions. The Panthers discovered their cap savings only late.

Gettleman tried to make the most of that difficult situation by extending players on the roster like Oher and Kurt Coleman. So to specifically level the charge that Gettleman’s philosophy doomed the Panthers is inaccurate. The Panthers off-season became an accident, not the intended orthodoxy of Gettleman.

Robinson suggested that at the very least Norman would be useful to have right about now. That too is problematic. Teams have shifted their better receivers away from the side of the field that Norman covers. Julio Jones gashed Bene Benwikere for 300 yards, and he would likely still have gashed him given the current level of safety support. He would not have needed to line up against Norman.

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One of the big problems is lack of pass rush, and Robinson didn’t mention that. That is anathema to the Panther way, which relies on pass rush. Since the John Fox era, that has meant relying on pressure from the front four. Sure, Luke Kuechly and Thomas Davis can be involved in the pressure package. They should not be the determinants of whether there is pressure or not.

That is not really Gettleman’s fault. Last February we assumed Kony Ealy was ready to make a big leap. No effort was made to replace Jared Allen on the line for that reason. Last February the team was confident that Tre Boston could take over the starting safety position. No effort was made to bring back Roman Harper despite his interest in coming back. Those aren’t philosophical concerns but player development issues.

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So if Robinson and the like are going to blame Gettleman, they should blame him for not breaking ties with Norman sooner. That is the only way this alternate history they claim could have happened works. Then the money appears from the get go and the Panthers sign Weddle and Okung or whatever.

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