ckparrothead
Premium Member
I'm trying to make this on topic with the Phins here but can we just talk about the job that John Fox has done over in Carolina???
Two years ago they were 1-15!!!!
They had the worst single season losing streak in the HISTORY of the NFL!!!!
Now, they're in the NFC Championship against the Eagles.
Key moves? They've gotten plenty of defensive help in Peppers and that linebacker from UM. Steve Smith panned out as a great WR. They grabbed Stephen Davis and got DeShaun Foster, kept Muhsin Muhammad, and grabbed Jake Delhomme for QB.
I mean I just do not see this guy being given enough credit for a 2 year turnaround that could be the best I've ever seen.
There is no doubt that this guy has out-Wannstedted our own Wanny. He's brought a conservative "smart" passing game, great running game, and great defense to the Panthers, and he's done it with a journeyman first time starter QB.
And you know what? He isn't some fireball head coach with a scowl like Jon Gruden either. You don't need that to win championships. In fact, 3 of the 4 head coaches in the conference championships this year are guys who are as cool as cool can be....Andy Reid, John Fox, and Tony Dungy. In fact, I don't think of Belichick as a "fiery" guy either.
Incidentally a few more Miami comparisons...
Remember Principal DE Al Wallace? He's their starting RDE. Remember Terry Cousin? He's their starting CB. Their starting FS Mike Minter, is a guy Dave Wannstedt attempted to bring in as a free agent once. DT Shane Burton is their backup DT behind Kris Jenkins and Brentson Buckner. Dan Morgan of course is from UM. Oh and the real kickers, Marco Battaglia is their 3rd TE and their starting RG on that FABULOUS offensive line, is none other than Kevin Donnalley.
I think we could learn a lot about Wannstedt's approach to the game by looking at what the Panthers did over the past couple of seasons.
With the OL, first thing is first, you have to have a great tackle tandem. Todd Steussie is their LT, a pro bowler type who left Minnesota, and Jordan Gross was the #8 pick in the 2003 draft and he is their RT.
They have more than one good RB, Stephen Davis and DeShaun Foster and if they make it to the super bowl that will have been KEY.
Much like us they developed key 1st round WR Steve Smith into something special like us with Chambers...and to date they paired him with Muhsin Muhammad.
They built their D from the DL out it looks like...with one of the finest DLs in the league rotation included (Mike Rucker and Shane Burton). Their OLBs are crappy, Greg Favors and Will Witherspoon, but Dan Morgan is great. Their CBs are nobodies, but their safeties are bonafied good safeties (Deon Grant was a first or second round pick and Mike Minter has turned out to be well paid for a safety).
The BIG difference IMO is that though they went with a mediocre type QB to try and win the super bowl, they didn't put all their eggs in one basket with one mediocre QB!!
Over the past two years they've gone through a NUMBER of guys including Chris Weinke, Rodney Peete, Jake Delhomme, and some others. They weren't afraid to go after more mediocre QBs or to yank them from the lineup until they found the RIGHT ONE...Jake Delhomme.
Us on the other hand, we signed Fiedler, and stuck with him. We made attempts to get other mediocre types to see them stacked against each other, but we never were able to pull the trigger on guys like Frerotte, Hasselback, etc. We got Ray Lucas and Brian Griese and neither panned out.
In retrospect our biggest mistake this offseason (aside maybe from drafting Eddie Moore instead of Anquan Boldin), was failing to bid high enough to grab LT Wayne Gandy.
I know getting Gandy might have meant not getting Griese, Junior Seau, or Sammy Knight...but in retrospect having a good tackle tandem would have helped us a lot more I think than those three combined did...and I'm very very very happy with what Seau and Knight added to our D.
Two years ago they were 1-15!!!!
They had the worst single season losing streak in the HISTORY of the NFL!!!!
Now, they're in the NFC Championship against the Eagles.
Key moves? They've gotten plenty of defensive help in Peppers and that linebacker from UM. Steve Smith panned out as a great WR. They grabbed Stephen Davis and got DeShaun Foster, kept Muhsin Muhammad, and grabbed Jake Delhomme for QB.
I mean I just do not see this guy being given enough credit for a 2 year turnaround that could be the best I've ever seen.
There is no doubt that this guy has out-Wannstedted our own Wanny. He's brought a conservative "smart" passing game, great running game, and great defense to the Panthers, and he's done it with a journeyman first time starter QB.
And you know what? He isn't some fireball head coach with a scowl like Jon Gruden either. You don't need that to win championships. In fact, 3 of the 4 head coaches in the conference championships this year are guys who are as cool as cool can be....Andy Reid, John Fox, and Tony Dungy. In fact, I don't think of Belichick as a "fiery" guy either.
Incidentally a few more Miami comparisons...
Remember Principal DE Al Wallace? He's their starting RDE. Remember Terry Cousin? He's their starting CB. Their starting FS Mike Minter, is a guy Dave Wannstedt attempted to bring in as a free agent once. DT Shane Burton is their backup DT behind Kris Jenkins and Brentson Buckner. Dan Morgan of course is from UM. Oh and the real kickers, Marco Battaglia is their 3rd TE and their starting RG on that FABULOUS offensive line, is none other than Kevin Donnalley.
I think we could learn a lot about Wannstedt's approach to the game by looking at what the Panthers did over the past couple of seasons.
With the OL, first thing is first, you have to have a great tackle tandem. Todd Steussie is their LT, a pro bowler type who left Minnesota, and Jordan Gross was the #8 pick in the 2003 draft and he is their RT.
They have more than one good RB, Stephen Davis and DeShaun Foster and if they make it to the super bowl that will have been KEY.
Much like us they developed key 1st round WR Steve Smith into something special like us with Chambers...and to date they paired him with Muhsin Muhammad.
They built their D from the DL out it looks like...with one of the finest DLs in the league rotation included (Mike Rucker and Shane Burton). Their OLBs are crappy, Greg Favors and Will Witherspoon, but Dan Morgan is great. Their CBs are nobodies, but their safeties are bonafied good safeties (Deon Grant was a first or second round pick and Mike Minter has turned out to be well paid for a safety).
The BIG difference IMO is that though they went with a mediocre type QB to try and win the super bowl, they didn't put all their eggs in one basket with one mediocre QB!!
Over the past two years they've gone through a NUMBER of guys including Chris Weinke, Rodney Peete, Jake Delhomme, and some others. They weren't afraid to go after more mediocre QBs or to yank them from the lineup until they found the RIGHT ONE...Jake Delhomme.
Us on the other hand, we signed Fiedler, and stuck with him. We made attempts to get other mediocre types to see them stacked against each other, but we never were able to pull the trigger on guys like Frerotte, Hasselback, etc. We got Ray Lucas and Brian Griese and neither panned out.
In retrospect our biggest mistake this offseason (aside maybe from drafting Eddie Moore instead of Anquan Boldin), was failing to bid high enough to grab LT Wayne Gandy.
I know getting Gandy might have meant not getting Griese, Junior Seau, or Sammy Knight...but in retrospect having a good tackle tandem would have helped us a lot more I think than those three combined did...and I'm very very very happy with what Seau and Knight added to our D.
