David Gettleman is probably a PAW…
And I’m not talking about a grandfather…you know, a “paw paw” for some cute little 4 year old girl in New York. For those that have not read The Millionaire Next Door (which is an excellent read), the acronym PAW stands for Prodigious Accumulator of Wealth. PAWs are millionaires, or if they are young PAWs they are certainly on their way. There are also individuals that are millionaires that are not PAWs. The PAWs are the earners with true financial independence. The PAWs are the folks that can live the next 20+ years comfortably without any additional income; they have the ability to splurge, or not, when the time is right.
In the book, PAWs are characterized as planners. Disciplined. Frugal. Unapologetic when it comes to their way of life. Most PAWs will never spend more than $300 for a wrist watch, despite having multi-million dollar net worths. PAWs are concerned with the bottom line, not trying to impress the next guy. Yep, if I had to guess, I’d say Gettleman is a PAW; it translates to his professional approach and is shining through even more this FA period than the last.
There are three things of note this FA period in Charlotte:
- The release of Steve Smith,
- The depletion of the WR corp, and
- The retirement of Jordan Gross.
How the franchise’s best player ever was handled by David Gettleman was inexcusable in the eyes of most Panther fans. The GM seemingly offered no opportunity for #89 to return to the team despite his desire to continue playing and retire in Charlotte. What made matters worse, is that Gettlemen practically announced that he would be cutting the veteran receiver to the media w/o making any attempt to consult with Smitty. Like most fans, I also believe Steve Smith was handled poorly. Some contest that situation was quid pro quo as far as business goes. I disagree. It doesn’t take much to sit down and speak to your employees to explain your business’ direction. I believe that should have been done prior to directly questioning Steve’s playing status in front of the media. But, that awkward period is behind the team now, and Steve Smith is a Baltimore Raven. It happens. Most would have never imagined Rice as a Raider, Emmitt as a Cardinal, Montana as a Chief, and the list goes on - it happens.
As for the rest of the Panther receivers that helped the team go 12-4 and capture the NFCS title in 2013, they are all gone now as well.
Why?
Why break up a team that just won the NFC South Championship? My guess is - to make it stronger. I distinctly remember watching games last season and cringing at all of the drops. There were so many times when it was downright painful to watch our offense. We couldn’t move the ball. Emotions aside, I’d say our WR group was middling at best in the league. A sane fan may argue, that doesn’t mean throw the baby out with the bath water, perhaps it simply means find a new #1 receiver. I’m actually a fan of that approach. If I had to guess, Gettleman probably considered it too. But, here’s the thing, you must remember David Gettleman is a PAW. If the price is not right, he’s not budging, even if to everyone else it appears he is missing out. So we watched Brandon LaFell leave for the Patriots, Ted Ginn is off to the Cardinals, and Domenik Hixon will suit up with the Bears next season. What’s troubling at this point is there are no replacements in sight. If you’ve been paying attention, it’s the PAW in Gettleman that won’t allow him to sign just any known name. He won’t overpay. He won’t hamstring the organization for the future.
Let’s be honest, there were no can’t miss - number one receivers in this FA class. Eric Decker leading the crop tells me this. The next closest thing was Hakeem Nicks, which most viewed as the best possible target. Nicks has his own issues with health, and the fact remains that he wasn’t re-signed by the Giants either. In the end, Nicks settled on a more than palatable contract with the Colts, so I can see how that may have been a whiff by Gettleman. Time will tell. I’m sure Gettleman would have like to sign him. Given how everything went down with Nicks, the situation seems a little murky when it comes to the details. Nicks contests that Gettleman agreed with him that the Colts may be a better fit than the Panthers. Nicks also immediately boasted that alongside Reggie Wayne and T.Y Hilton, they form a very dangerous group. Could it be that Nicks was unwilling to take on the pressures of being “the guy” in a WR corp? It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to tell that even had we kept LaFell and Ginn, and Wayne and T.Y. Hilton combo is much more formidable. The point of all this is, if the price and circumstance isn’t right, we won’t sign.
So a fair question from fans at this point is, “Are we so CHEAP that we will NEVER sign top talent?”….well, we did - its name is Greg Hardy.
So as for a new LT, I see this as the biggest hole to fill. Technically, in any FA period I believe you can put together a winning WR corp. Its only once in a blue moon that elite left tackles come along and ours has retired. The staff seems to believe that Byron Bell may be able to fill in. I don’t know about that one. Nothing that Bell has done has given us as fans confidence that he can play LT.
Rambling aside, we’ve signed Jerricho Cotchery and Tiquan Underwood at WR. As underwhelming as that sounds, Cotchery will be a reliable target, and Underwood has the speed to affect the game. We all assume that we’ll draft a receiver, and I wouldn’t be surprised if we sign a vet closer to the season. Jason Avant, Miles Austin, and Santonio Holmes all come to mind. I’d say this FA period is much like last season, despite the fact that we’ve lost two longstanding and loved Panthers. Signing Roman Harper, Antoine Cason, and Jerricho Cotchery brings in guys with experience at key positions and I don’t think we’re done yet. Most were pegging us to finish last in the NFCS last offseason - we went 12-4 primarily because of FA additions and the draft. I think that 12-4 may be a stretch this year, but I fully expect to continue to be competitive…I seem to be in the minority LOL.