Steve Smith's Baltimore Massacre Exposes Terminal Illness

"Blood and guts," Steve Smith calmly promised on WFNZ's "Bustin' Loose," payback for the painful cut administered by GM Dave Gettleman.  Adorned in goggles, Panther fans witnessed, as promised, a bloody massacre led by a motivated and rapacious Steve Smith. Not only did he deliver on his promise, but the +Baltimore Ravens full-out butchered the +Carolina Panthers (38-10). Yesterday's carnage, however, wasn't because of Smith's desire for revenge. Sure he proved inspirational, but the Ravens onslaught was all-consuming and indicative of Carolina's maladies as a team. Gashing Carolina's defenses and punishing their offensive line, the Panthers didn't look good in any phase of the game.  Most worrisome, Carolina's defense has been its prevailing weakness.  A confused secondary, a defensive line that doesn't generate any pressure, and an inability to stop the run has produced an easy victim for the slaughter.

Armchair GM: What Should Gettleman do in the 2015 Draft?

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The victory over the Detroit Lions was hard-fought against a great offensive team. The Lions also have one of the premier defensive lines in the NFL, and unfortunately, it showed.

Some of the issues are to be expected. Right guard Trai Turner is a rookie, and he's going to miss assignments at times. It's called growing pains.

Is the BPA Draft Strategy Really Just BS?

Is the BPA (best player available) draft strategy really just BS? Yea, kind of. No one really thinks that BPA can be applied sterilely in every situation.  If that was the case, GMs would have to take players that wouldn’t start or improve the make-up of their team. The extreme example of a team with a franchise quarterback, like New England or Green Bay, taking a quarterback over a top rated player in a position of need alone dispels sterile application of BPA.

But the Godfather Gettleman has reminded us over and over that is what Carolina plans to do, take the best player available.