GM For A Day: Carolina Panthers (Part 1)

Okay, so there are a lot of armchair GMs out there in the blogosphere, but only a few are actually stupid enough to put a detailed plan of what they would do to fix "their" team. Lucky for you guys, I'm that stupid. I chose the Carolina Panthers being a resident of North Carolina and, well, because they have a ton of problems. Short-term solutions (also known as "what to fix this season"):

1) Bench Jake Delhomme. It's the ultimate slap in the face for a guy who has led your franchise to a Super Bowl, but through 3 games this season Delhomme has 7 interceptions, which leads the league. It's clear that he's lost something with his arm, and he is not confident in any thing he is doing right now. Play Matt Moore or any other QB who will play this season until Jake gets right - if that ever happens.

2) Sign Julius Peppers long-term. I don't care what it takes, there is no reason that Julius Peppers should not be a Carolina Panther for his entire career. If it's a $12M/yr contract, do it. If it's a $20M/yr contract, do it. The guy is a top-5 defensive player in the league and he deserves to be paid like it. He had 1 tackle last night in a MNF loss to Dallas, but if 31 other NFL teams want this guy, you know you have something special.

3) Trade for a DT. There are a few players on this Carolina Panthers roster who have trade value (Dwayne Jarrett, Damione Lewis, Na'il Diggs, Hilee Taylor, Richard Marshall), and there are a few who are untouchable (Steve Smith, Deangelo Williams/Jonathon Stewart, Jordan Gross, Julius Peppers, Jon Beason, Chris Gamble). If this team wants to compete this year, they will go out and try to trade for a DT who can help this team right now.

Part 2 can be found here: http://hailtothebrighteststarofall.blogspot.com/2009/10/gm-for-day-carolina-panthers-part-ii.html

The Case for the NFL

When answering the question "Which is better - the NFL or college football?" I think that making the argument for each side is probably the best way to go about reaching a conclusion. This entry is the case for the NFL; the case for college football will follow in the next entry.

This is why the NFL is better than college football:

1. Competition level. There is no doubt that the NFL is the highest level in American football that any one athlete could reach. Some of the greatest athletes of all-time played football - Jerry Rice, Deion Sanders, Bo Jackson, Barry Sanders - with Deion Sanders and Jackson also competing at a high level in other sports as well. The NFL is home to some of the greatest coaches of all-time regardless of sport - Vince Lombardi, Bill Walsh, Tom Landry, and George Halas to name a few. It takes a special skill set to play football, and there is undoubtedly a bevy of great talent in college football throughout history, but only the best of the best of the best make it to the NFL.

2. League stability. Since the NFL-AFL merger in 1970, no league has been more successful at appealing to its fan base while expanding its product like the NFL. Since 1970, the league has grown to 32 teams and has solidified its place in the American consciousness. Few labor disputes between the team owners and the NFL Players' Association have helped the league maintain its popularity within the American sporting realm, and productions like the Super Bowl and Monday Night Football are as much a part of Americana as rock music and the Happy Meal. Although baseball will forever be known as "America's Pastime", I think it's safe to say that football - and more specifically the NFL - is without question the most popular sport in America and has been since the mid-1990s.

3. The fans. College football has some incredibly loyal fans (to be discussed at a later date...stay tuned), but no one goes all-out, balls-to-the-wall, bat-shit-crazy like NFL fans. The Terrible Towel in Pittsburgh has become a symbol that transcends sports altogether, and is a frequent marketing tool at other sporting events today. Raider Nation is one of the craziest fan sections ever; these are grown men dressed up like KISS or the Grim Reaper crawling on top of each other just to get to the TV camera for 5 seconds of fame. In Washington, they have enormous men - grown men with wives, children, and an income on which they pay taxes - who dress like women in dresses and sun hats while also adorning pig noses to their faces and call themselves "The Hogettes." Shit, Philadelphia Eagles fans booed SANTA CLAUS...that's just ridiculous.

4. The Super Bowl. No other sporting event in the world - save the FIFA World Cup - has the kind of impact that the Super Bowl has. The world literally stops for that entire weekend while an entire country consumes their weight in cholesterol and alcohol while huddled around the television for 5 straight hours - at least. The game is broadcast across the world via satellite in multiple languages, and the halftime show has been graced by acts like Paul McCartney, The Rolling Stones, and Bruce Springsteen - in the last 5 years. Other halftime acts have included the incomparable Ella Fitzgerald, KISS, Michael Jackson, Gloria Estefan, Aerosmith and Stevie Wonder to name a few. Some of the most iconic advertising campaigns have come from Super Bowl Sunday - "Mean" Joe Greene drinks a Coca-Cola, the Budweiser frogs (and iguanas later), the Godaddy.com smoking-hot women, and Michael Jordan and Larry Bird play an impossible game of H-O-R-S-E for a McDonald's Big Mac. Can you remember one commercial from last year's BCS National Championship Game? Me neither.

Next time, the argument for why college football is better than the NFL.