Fans, Columnists Growing Impatient with Panthers' Offseason Strategy

Scott Fowler of the Charlotte Observer must not like what Carolina Panthers fans have been telling him lately. According to Fowler, fans are grumbling about the Panthers' apparent plans to stay the course after going 8-8 last year. Fowler is grumbling right along with them, too...

Fox and Hurney are sticking with the plan in tough times... They envision a return to playoff glory for Carolina -- that Dan Morgan will turn back into a clear-headed Pro Bowl middle linebacker; that the running game will scare defenses again like it hasn't since Stephen Davis was plowing through the middle; that the offense won't rank dead last in third-down efficiency as it did in 2006.

That's where stubbornness enters the equation. Why would you believe Morgan could get through a season injury-free at this point? The Panthers don't plan to upgrade at running back -- how's that going to work?

That first question is definitely worth asking. Right now, Carolina has Dan Morgan at middle linebacker and nobody to back him up. That's crazy talk. With Chris Draft gone to St. Louis, the Panthers need someone to fill in for Morgan if (when?) he suffers his next concussion, and my guess is that they will look for that player in the draft.

As for the second question, maybe Fowler didn't notice, but Dan Henning did a really lousy job of handling Carolina's running backs last year -- which is why he's the former offensive coordinator...

Henning, you may recall, treated DeShaun Foster -- traditionally a quick cutback runner -- as if he were Stephen Davis, who was an up-the-gut power back. The only way this would have worked was if Foster had been traded for Michael Turner, but that never happened. Half the time, Foster had trouble running plays that weren't suited to his strengths, and the rest of the time Henning all but gave up on him. Henning also had no clue what to do with DeAngelo Williams, who was a workhorse at Memphis but is pretty much the anti-Stephen Davis.

Carolina brought in Jeff Davidson to be the new offensive coordinator because they didn't have the wiggling room under the salary cap to change personnel to fit the offense. They had to adapt the offense to fit the personnel, and old farts like Henning don't adapt well. If Davidson can design an offense that plays to the strengths of Foster and Williams, the Panthers don't need an upgrade at running back.

That said, there's going to be a lot of pressure put on Davidson to resurrect Carolina's offense in 2007. Assuming the defense performs at the same level or better in 2007 -- for all its faults, the Panthers' D finished in the top ten in lots of statistical categories in 2006 -- the difference for this team will come on the offensive side of the ball, and it has to come with mostly the same personnel that couldn't convert a 3rd down to save its life last season. On the other hand, much of that same personnel led Carolina to the NFC title game in 2005.

Maybe it was all Dan Henning's fault after all. That's what Fox and Hurney are hoping, and that's why they're standing pat -- that and the salary cap, anyway. It's a gamble, yes, and it won't make fans impatient for a winner all that happy right now, but if it brings a division title next Christmas, all this grumbling will be forgotten.

Previously at the FanHouse:
Draft's Departure Gives Panthers Another Draft Priority
Panthers Seem Content to Sit Back and Wait
Who is Jeff Davidson?
Panthers Salary Cap Woes May Have Led to Henning's Firing
Why Can't Carolina Run?
Fox Refuses to Admit Panthers Abandoned Running Game