Atlanta Falcons at Carolina Panthers: Teams Headed in Different Directions

The arrow is pointing up for the Atlanta Falcons, while the Carolina Panthers are mired in muck, and it starts at the top.

Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank strikes a very different image than Carolina Panthers owner David Tepper. / Brett Davis-Imagn Images

The Atlanta Falcons are in first-place in the NFC South and stand 2-0 in the division after thrilling wins over the New Orleans Saints and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. After years of what seems like titanic struggles, the franchise looks like it started to slowly crawl out of the abyss, headed for better days. 

People actually enjoy the game and expect winning, a rare occurrence in Atlanta over the last few seasons. Now, the team takes the field, playing hard and not looking surprised when they win.

Meanwhile, this week's opponent, the Carolina Panthers, find themselves in a familiar position - searching for answers and any positivity.

QB of Now/Future

When the Falcons drafted Michael Penix with the No. 8 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, after they signed veteran quarterback Kirk Cousins to a multi-year deal, people scoffed and shook their heads, but the plan slowly unfurled. 

Penix gets to learn from a seasoned pro while the team hopefully stays competitive. Meanwhile in Charlotte, the Panthers traded wideout D.J. Moore, two-first round and two-second-round picks to Chicago to secure the rights to draft Bryce Young at No. 1 overall.

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In the cruelest twist of fate, one of the first-round picks became the first-overall pick this year, and it looks like the Bears were able to secure their quarterback of the future in Caleb Williams. Only in his second season, Young now plays for his third head coach, one that benched him for veteran Andy Dalton. As of right now, Penix's situation enjoys the advantage.

The Trade That Wasn't

With the Panthers needing a rebuild, the Los Angeles Rams offered a way into the future. Unfortunately, the Panthers decided to choose their own adventure, turn to page 68, and miss out on a massive haul. The Rams offered Carolina two firsts and a second-round pick for edge rusher Brian Burns. 

Burns was looking for a way out of Carolina and had not signed a contract extension on his rookie deal

In a move that shocked anyone with functioning neurons, Carolina turned them down. In a karmic moment, befitting that franchise, the Giants sent a second and fifth rounder to land Burns.

Let's tally it up. In essence, the Carolina Panthers traded away four-first round picks, three second-round picks, DJ Moore and Brian Burns, for Bryce Young, a second and a fifth.

Starts At the Top

Perhaps the most reviled team owner in the NFL, David Tepper feels like the anti-Arthur Blank. For as seemingly rational and calm Blank appears, Tepper behaves like he will crash out with the drop of the hat. 

What team owner throws a drink into the stands during a game? Cannot imagine the Rooney family (Giants, Steelers) or any other owner conducting himself that way. For the most part, Blank stays out of the way, allowing the football minds to handle the team in that area. 

The NFL has fined Panthers owner David Tepper $300,000 for tossing a drink into the crowd during Sunday’s game in Jacksonville.

pic.twitter.com/6HXH7GBWwg

— Front Office Sports (@FOS) January 2, 2024

Tepper went as far as to jot down a play and hand the paper to his offensive coordinator to run. For a man whose name adorns a business school at his alma mater due to a $55-million donation, you'd think that he'd understand the business of sports. 

'LET THE COACH AND GM PICK' 🏈: Surveillance footage captured the moment @Panthers owner David Tepper walked into a Charlotte restaurant after a sign was put up prior to the NFL Draft.

Full story: https://t.co/tYPhlekttU pic.twitter.com/tc0eihPAkT

— WBTV News (@WBTV_News) April 26, 2024

The Panthers for the next half-decade or so will pay former coaches Matt Rhule and Frank Reich a combined sixty-seven million dollars in buyouts. Not to mention the tense relationship he maintains with the city of Charlotte, from city officials to citizens. 

It's a universal truth that fans will complain about ownership when their team isn't winning the same way the officials are against them and the announcers are all biased. But this is was bad ownership actually looks like.

Overview

The Atlanta Falcons take the field against a Carolina Panthers franchise in football purgatory. They drafted a quarterback with no surrounding cast., benching him for a journeyman at the tail end of his career. 

From a personnel standpoint, refusing lucrative trade offers only to decline them and taking lesser deals hurts them immeasurably. Most importantly, all while dealing with an owner that behaves poorly in public and exercises a kindergarten-level of self-control.

While the Atlanta Falcons cannot raise their head extremely high during the last few years, they look much better than the Carolina Panthers and appear to be headed in the right direction.

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