NFL Draft 2011: Why Carolina Panthers Shouldn't Draft a QB

The Panthers' offensive performance throughout the 2010 season was dismal at best.  Neither the passing nor the running game enjoyed much success; the only glimmer of hope for the passing game was Matt Moore's performance in Week 7 against the 49ers.  Now, Carolina has the first pick in the 2011 NFL Draft.

What does this mean?

Well, many mock drafts have either Blaine Gabbert or Cam Newton going to Carolina first overall.  On the surface, this looks perfect; the passing game was atrocious, averaging a horrendous 143.1 YPG passing.  This was almost 40 yards shy of the second-worst Cardinals' passing game, which featured a starter whose most memorable moment this year was a rant about how serious he takes his job.

So then, why should the Panthers' not draft a QB?

There Isn't a Sure QB Pick at #1

Courtesy of terezowens.com and muvsku.com

Andrew Luck was presumably going to be the first overall pick in the draft.  After his decision to return to school, that left Gabbert and Newton.  Neither is as sure of a bet as Sam Bradford was last year.  Cam Newton had only one exceptional year as a senior, and his offense was far from anything he'll experience in the NFL.  Gabbert seems to be the safer pick, but he has been shown to have issues with deep throws and pressure.

Don't get me wrong, both are great athletes, but I don't believe that either is worth the first overall pick.

In total, neither really seems like the type of player who can turn a team around the way Sam Bradford did.

The Rest Didn't Pick Up the Slack

Courtesy BleacherReport

Both Moore and Clausen couldn't complete a pass farther than five yards this year.  This does not mean either are bad QBs, however.

In terms of receivers, the only two who have been on the team for more than a year are Steve Smith, who has always been the #1 guy and Carolina, and Charly Martin, who played in one game in 2010 and did not catch a pass.  Now, Steve Smith has been able to do a lot of work for awhile, but he's no longer in the prime of his career.  Plus, considering that the rest of the receiving corps was inexperienced (Gettis and LaFell), when Smith was active, he was almost always double-covered.  I don't care who's the QB; a situation like that is destined to fail.

In 2009, Moore had Smith and Muhammad to throw to.  What happened?  He ended the final five games with a 98.6 QB rating.

In Jeff Otah's absence, the glaring hole at the depth of offensive linemen was exposed.  Carolina was tied for second-highest in terms of sacks allowed.  This is partially due to the QBs holding onto the ball too long, but that sometimes stemmed from the fact that no one was immediately open.  When this happened, the offensive line couldn't hold its ground.

They Already Have Enough Young QBs

Moore, Clausen, and Pike were presumably meant to be the first, second, and third string QBs for the 2010 season respectively.  Moore is 26, Clausen is 23, and Pike is 25.  Drafting Newton, 21, or Gabbert, 21, really does not help the QB position in terms of experience.  Moore flourished in the 2009 season after sitting on the bench for two years watching Delhomme play.  When Moore couldn't get the job done, Clausen had no one to mentor him.

Not only that, but Moore himself, when the ground game was running rampant and Moore had good protection in 2009, played extremely well.  He could have just been a five game wonder, but he beat three quality teams, the Giants, Vikings, and Saints in 2009, and he played fairly well against the Patriots.

Clausen, too, has been very confusing.  While college and NFL are very different, it still amazes me that there are literally hundreds of highlight videos of Clausen at Notre Dame, showing his incredible accuracy and intelligence, yet he just looked downright awful as the signal caller in Carolina; I actually could not find one highlight video of him as a Panther.  I believe that this is due to the fact that Clausen was not intended to be the starter this year; he was more of a future prospect that could succeed Moore in the future.  When Moore got injured, Clausen was thrust into the starting role.  If he spends this offseason training with the intent that he could be the starter, I believe that he could return to his Notre Dame form.

If they really want a new QB, I would tend to believe that they should go for a veteran like McNabb or Kerry Collins.  Each have a lot of experience and could at least provide an example for the young QBs to follow.

New Coaching Staff

Courtesy of mkrob.com

The Panthers' are revamping everything for the 2011 season.  Due to this, many of the new coaches will likely need some assistance from the players to settle into their new jobs.  This need is heightened now thanks to the issues with the CBA, which restricts teams from meeting with each other.

While this may be a hard pill to swallow for some Panthers fans, Moore has the most experience with the Panthers at QB.  If Moore can recover from his injuries in time for the 2011 season and really step up to the plate in terms of performance, the coaches should have an easier job shaping what little remains of the Carolina offense around him, such as Steve Smith, rather than trying to add another rookie into the mix and start completely from scratch.