Evaluation of Hurney 2.0

[tbrown2699]

So, now that the dust has settled from the KB trade I would like to know what are your thought on Marty Hurney 2.0. It appears that most of the moves he has made have paid dividends thus far. Early on the Panthers were torn on which kicker and punter to keep. Palardy is hands down the correct choice from every aspect IE age and performance. Gano has performed well above average missing only 1 kick. Butker was my choice, but like John Fox would say, "it is what it is". One of his better moves was the trade of Kaelin Clay for Kevon Seymour. Seymour has straight up out played Worley and now the Panthers have Clay back on the roster. Now we come to the Benjamin trade... minutes before the 2017 trade deadline, the Carolina Panthers traded KB to the Bills for a 3rd and 7th round pick. Social media went crazy, but again, I was ok with it because he appeared to be slow and out of shape. Fast forward 2 weeks and the Panthers offense now resembles what they looked like in 2015... again without KB...

All in all, I'd have to give Hurney a solid A considering he came in at the last minute following the Gettleman debacale. We've yet to have that typical "headscratcher" move that Hurney is notorious for making. I think Hurney has earned a full time job as GM again. Next up, another Hurney draft... which means a pro bowl 1st round pick and then 6 unforgettable picks... Let's just hope he doesn't obsess about another Armanti Edwards.

[iknowcool]

It's too early to say.  Hurney's primary issues were overpaying players and failing miserably at the draft past the 1st round.  Not to mention his obsession with trading future picks to move up in the draft.

Hurney was always capable of the good move here and there.  Hell, we got Greg Olsen for a 3rd round picks in one of the best trades in the last decade.  But I still need to see more from him.  There is a chance he's better if he surrounds himself with a better scouting department and is given a shorter-leash on the kind of contracts he can dish out.

[Zithers2]

Yeah, Hurney's issue was being terrible at managing the cap and being unable to build the bottom of the roster - two things Gettleman was phenomenal at.

The Benji thing still has to play itself out. We are only two games into not having him. Who knows how the team will handle life without him or Samuel around. Devin Funchess, Russell Shephard, Kaelin Clay, Brenton Bersin, and Damiere Byrd (eventually) is a pretty embarrassing WR corps. Funchess is the only one who other teams would want near their rosters.

We will have to wait and see what he does with upcoming free agents Star Lotulelei and Andrew Norwell, along with Greg Olsen (supposedly him wanting an extension is why Gettleman was fired). Not to mention the draft, where Hurney was always trash outside of the 1st round and made awful, horrible trade ups for guys like Everette Brown and Armanti Edwards. Of course, we still have to go through a hiring process to re-hire him with the Rooney Rule and whatnot. Maybe JR will hire Accorsi again, or maybe Ron Wolff, as a consultant, and make sure we hire someone else. But seems like Hurney is at least our guy through the FA period and draft... blech.

[burnoutonme]

I think back on the Getts firing and it stings here and there. I think Getts had a good thing going.

That said, I wholeheartedly applaud the things that Hurney has done since he's been in as interim GM. I think that I would have extended Norwell over Turner, if possible, but who knows if it was apples to apples. I like Norwell's stability and the fact that I can't remember him ever having occurred with a notable injury. That said, I love Trai and would like to keep both if possible. Trai's also got the versatility to play OT if needed. 

The Benjamin move was shocking, but it didn't piss me off. The team seemed to begrudgingly accept his fifth year option (which seems like it'll be about $12M) and he hasn't played up to it. He's consistently shown up in the offseason at a fitness level that is below what the coaching staff expects. He's been very injury prone, which you have to blame, to some extent, on the guy (in general.) The way they play the game, the way they heal, the way they prepare and keep themselves in shape, these things all come into play. Not saying that Benji's knee issues have been his fault, but it's hard to tell, and the fact remains that he has a tough time staying on the field. Big thing is that (I think) we won't have to pay him for his fifth year option. I think that the Bills will be liable for that. Unless Overthecap has their predictive figures incorrect, that'll be the case, and I think that's huge. He just didn't seem like a guy we wanted to have around anymore, we got draft capital, and (hopefully) skirted the expenditure. 

I give Hurney and A so far. I am cautiously optimistic. Very optimistic, very cautious. All jokes aside about the draft, I guess we'll just have to wait and see. I wish him well, for his sake, and for the team.