I was listening to the Panthers new GM this morning on NPR and I could not help thinking AE is history is Charlotte. Also I wonder if Armanti had graduated in 2013 would his chances in the NFL have been better. With the recent success of the college style option game in the NFL and guys like Russell Wilson proving a smaller guy with the right tools can get it done would he have been given a shot at QB. After seeing what happened to RG3 I agree that AE could not have been a full time QB running an option type offense but it could have been a tool in the bag for some team.

I will buy in to a later graduation date might of helped Armanti... but I personally think he would have benefited from the old USFL and / or a combination of USFL and the CFL.

To me, AE has always had a certain "something" very similar to Doug Flutie. Not that they are the same player, but they do have similarities. Their height, competitiveness and mojo link the two in my mind... also a certain sense of moment and the big play.

If Armanti would have come through when Flutie did, or with the same options available, we might be seeing AE on a bigger stage at QB in a few years.

Also, if Armanti came into the NFL with the size he has now, it MIGHT have made a difference. Have you seen how big he is this route tree workout video?



Yeah, Cam is a freak when he sprints in around the 00:43 mark...

I bet C Kelly up in Philly could find a way to utilize Armanti's skill set.

AE is an amazing athlete but i still don't think he's an nfl quarterback. I think he has a very good chance of making it as a 3rd or 4th WR for the long haul if he can continue to adjust and keep getting more consistent. As I've mentioned a number of times I still don't see that killer instinct in AE anymore that made him so dangerous in college. I've seen 80% of his playtime and I just don't see it.

On a side note. Happy 28th birthday to Joe Flacco. 49-21. You are a starting qb on a playoff team and the guy that owned you is an off the bench WR.

appdaze wrote: On a side note. Happy 28th birthday to Joe Flacco. 49-21. You are a starting qb on a playoff team and the guy that owned you is an off the bench WR.

I think the same thing when I see "Money Bag Flacco". It's not that I dislike Flacco, but I can't help but think if AE had been given the chance, what he might have done. Yeah the size is a problem...but I think the same was said about Brees.

Who knows at least AE got some type of shot.

If AE had the ability to play QB in the NFL he would be doing it. I promise you that the talent evaluators in the NFL are much more educated on the subject than we are. The panthers are being more than patient in trying to make a place for him. You just have to understand that the jump to the NFL is so huge. In any given game he may have been playing against one to none NFL caliber players with the possible exception of one game a year. He now has to face 11 of them on every down. Today he is doing what less than 1% of collage players ever get to do.
I happen to be proud of what the guy has been able to do. He has been able to play pro ball and has a marketable degree. If he never played another down he would be among the most successful STUDENT athletes in school history.

He's about to get married very soon AND I think they're in the process of building a house. Their families are right there in the SC/Greater Charlotte area, too. Selfishly, I'd love to still be able to go watch him play. But...he's so amazing and gifted, I would like to see him get a shot to shine with another team.

bcoach wrote:If AE had the ability to play QB in the NFL he would be doing it. I promise you that the talent evaluators in the NFL are much more educated on the subject than we are. The panthers are being more than patient in trying to make a place for him. You just have to understand that the jump to the NFL is so huge. In any given game he may have been playing against one to none NFL caliber players with the possible exception of one game a year. He now has to face 11 of them on every down. Today he is doing what less than 1% of collage players ever get to do.
I happen to be proud of what the guy has been able to do. He has been able to play pro ball and has a marketable degree. If he never played another down he would be among the most successful STUDENT athletes in school history.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. The NFL is the most hidebound old school professional sport in existence. Combine anyone? There is a handy evaluation tool. Only in the last couple of years was the NFL forced to recruit the Cam Newtons, Robert Griffin and Russel Wilson's. Anything outside of their comfort zone would not work. Not a pocket passer? You need not apply. Over the years the NFL has been forced to bring elements of college football into the game on both sides of the ball-kicking and screaming. The pro game evolved in spite of the powers that be in the NFL.

If Armanti were drafted this year he would be playing QB. Maybe he would make it, maybe not, but he would not be a friggin WR. The guy is a QB.

fjblair wrote:Yeah, yeah, yeah. The NFL is the most hidebound old school professional sport in existence. Combine anyone? There is a handy evaluation tool. Only in the last couple of years was the NFL forced to recruit the Cam Newtons, Robert Griffin and Russel Wilson's. Anything outside of their comfort zone would not work. Not a pocket passer? You need not apply. Over the years the NFL has been forced to bring elements of college football into the game on both sides of the ball-kicking and screaming. The pro game evolved in spite of the powers that be in the NFL.

If Armanti were drafted this year he would be playing QB. Maybe he would make it, maybe not, but he would not be a friggin WR. The guy is a QB.

This x1000. If Armanti was with nearly any other team, he would be getting many more looks out of the alleged "Mountaineer package".

fjblair wrote: If Armanti were drafted this year he would be playing QB. Maybe he would make it, maybe not, but he would not be a friggin WR. The guy is a QB.

I have to kind of agree. Baseball scouts were thought of as "all knowing" also until sabermetrics showed many of them that what they were measuring didn't matter. It's kind of like the old adage no one ever lost their job buying IBM, as long as a scouts recommends the expected who can doubt them.

I'm a panthers fan but I can't say that they knew a whole lot about picking QB's. Their track record with QB's has been pretty bad (except Cam). It's just hard for me to believe that Flacco was that much better of NFL QB then Armanti and he seems fairly successful.

We may never know, maybe he wouldn't have made it, maybe he would. I would have just liked for him to have had the opportunity. I mean there we were flapping around with Jimmy C. and everyone for a while, while a winning college QB was sitting on the bench. Not very smart IMHO, but I could be wrong.

fjblair wrote:

bcoach wrote:If AE had the ability to play QB in the NFL he would be doing it. I promise you that the talent evaluators in the NFL are much more educated on the subject than we are. The panthers are being more than patient in trying to make a place for him. You just have to understand that the jump to the NFL is so huge. In any given game he may have been playing against one to none NFL caliber players with the possible exception of one game a year. He now has to face 11 of them on every down. Today he is doing what less than 1% of collage players ever get to do.
I happen to be proud of what the guy has been able to do. He has been able to play pro ball and has a marketable degree. If he never played another down he would be among the most successful STUDENT athletes in school history.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. The NFL is the most hidebound old school professional sport in existence. Combine anyone? There is a handy evaluation tool. Only in the last couple of years was the NFL forced to recruit the Cam Newtons, Robert Griffin and Russel Wilson's. Anything outside of their comfort zone would not work. Not a pocket passer? You need not apply. Over the years the NFL has been forced to bring elements of college football into the game on both sides of the ball-kicking and screaming. The pro game evolved in spite of the powers that be in the NFL.

If Armanti were drafted this year he would be playing QB. Maybe he would make it, maybe not, but he would not be a friggin WR. The guy is a QB.

And you are the general manager of which team was that? OR do you just pay to get in?

Gamble has been released as expected and the Panthers are finally below the salary cap. Looks like AE is safe until the fall.

Its also #14's birthday.

Yeah, I've already sent him hAPPy BIRTHDAY wishes!