Yet again, Dave Gettleman’s offseason shopping wasn’t all that exciting. The Carolina Panthers’ general manager mostly just went through the roster with caulk, filling up holes.One surprise was at defensive end, which, for the most part, he left alone.We had a good, not-as-heated-as-it-sounds exchange when I asked him about that. So for this post, it’s worth sharing the back-and-forth:
BV: You shored up your running backs, receivers, offensive line, secondary and even added linebackers. Why didn’t you bring in a pass rusher?
DG: “Why should I? Players have to develop. The instant gratification is what screws you guys up. I’m a patient man. And the other thing is you don’t win the Super Bowl in March, April, May and June. Last time I checked, you play it in February.”
BV: “That’s fair, but last year’s Horton/Ealy/Addison rotation seemed to lack a certain oomph.”
DG: “What a lot of people don’t understand is, two years ago, when we had 60 sacks, 37 of them were by the front four. This year we had 41 sacks. 34 of them by the front four. Only dropped off three sacks. The big difference came with the secondary. Went from 10 to one. So this whole mentality that ‘the Panthers don’t have any pass rush’ is silly. Very frankly, it’s silly.”
BV: “And this is a new year for Frank Alexander, which could help. Would you be disappointed if one of those four guys doesn’t emerge by the start of the season?
DG: “Not necessarily. Let me ask you a question. How many teams do a running back by committee?
BV: “A lot.”
DG: “So why can’t you do defensive end by committee?”
BV: “Because your coach said he’d like to have a second end emerge.”
DG: “Who wouldn’t? I’d prefer to have $50 million in my savings account! Would you prefer it? Sure. But you can’t tell me we weren’t successful the way we did it last year. We had the 10th-ranked defense. The teams that win are the teams that adjust.”
Part 1: Cam Newton’s OffseasonPart 2: NegotiationsPart 3: Josh NormanPart 4: Current Salary Cap StatusPart 5: 2016 Comp Picks
1:00 – Michael Oher3:00 – Running Backs4:00 – Defensive ends8:00 – Rookies9:00 – Onto Spartanburg