WOW!!! It feels so good to see the kind of game we had against the Vikings. The game we know we are capable of. Steve Smith showed the nation why he is one of the elite, and Julius Peppers showed why he should get paid like one of the elite. The defense did their job all-around in stopping the great Peterson and “Old Man River” Brett Favre. The offense played its usual way in the first three quarters, but in the end many key players made great plays when needed. Did anyone know who Gary Barnidge was before the fourth quarter? Didn’t think so. But if you are a Panthers fan, you can’t help but to feel a sense of excitement. Yeah we know our season this year is done, but we have a feeling of excitement for the 2010-2011 season.  People think we are so far away from hoisting up a Lombardi trophy, but we know it’s ever so close.  This is indeed a bold claim. Winning an NFL championship is one of the hardest things to do in sports, so that is why I believe right now is so important.  I will tell you the moves that I feel would catapult Carolina to a promise land of football. Each action will lead to another action, until our championship team is finally complete. Some of these moves you may completely disagree with, and I will not blame you for doing so; just remember that great risks are needed for great reward, a statement you will hear many times throughout this article. So these are the ways I feel that we can finally put it together, here’s how…

HAVE FOX RESIGN. It is sad that we have gotten here to this point, but this is only for the best. People may say that I am being too harsh to a great coach, a coach that has brought many of us to love Carolina in the first place. Fox will always be loved in Carolina, and it will be hard to let him go. But there comes a time where change is necessary, for the betterment of the team. Right now, John Fox is in the same situation that Bobby Bowden is in at Florida State. No, Fox did not have the championships and the tenure of Bowden, but he brought Carolina from the ground-up, something Bowden will always be remembered for. Ask a Seminole fan why they want Bobby to leave and they will tell you that they love Bobby to death, but change is necessary to propel a team forward instead of staying complacent or even moving backwards.

People in Carolina (including the players) need to see that a change is coming, and we need to see that our team is as important to Jerry Richardson as it is to us.  Outside of the emotions, the football facts are that we need consistent winning and we need more variety with our football philosophies. We are becoming predictable, something that warns danger in the NFL. And many say get Bill Cowher, who I may indeed be a fan of. But I think our team can be so good that paying a Head Coach a monumental salary may not be necessary. If he wants to join the organization for the right price and is totally committed, then join aboard; but we will be fine either way. We have a solid foundation here, and any good coach would jump for this job. I am not asking for a Hall-of-fame coach, I only ask for change. This resignation will be the start of a great chain of events, so let’s look at how we can follow this one-year rebuilding process up. Oh yeah, Jeff Davidson and Matt Hurney, clean out your desks in the morning.

RE-SIGN JULIUS PEPPERS. The child prodigy has returned to us. At moments this year, you were the scorned player who was sometimes despised by his own. It looked like the Panther’s Superman joined forces with the Lex Luthor of pro football, cash-money.  But tonight you have shown me something that I was blind to see Peppers, and something that I have just now realized…that I don’t blame you for tanking this season. You, just like us, wanted change. And instead of doing so, we franchised you and trapped you into staying with us.  Again, I don’t blame you. But my fellow fans, I feel like if we do what I explained above, that we can sign a good long-term deal with Julius. And let’s look at it this way, if we extend a long-term deal to Peppers, then the more cap space we have to sign other players and make even more moves…

SIGN A QB, AT LEAST AN AVERAGE QB. Steve Smith has to now be a favorite of all real football fans. Don’t mind Carolina’s love for this guy, because you do not know how much he means to us. Our record last year said 12-4, but 7 or 8 of those belong to Steve. Can you imagine Steve’s numbers if he had a good QB? If you watched us last year, then you know what I mean. He is the reason why Jake is now on the bench. Its not anything Steve did, but it was because our opponents took the option of “Lob it to Steve” out of our passing game. And without Steve, there is no passing game. Jake simply is not good enough to make other receivers better, and turnovers is something a team cannot afford. Matt Moore is not the answer either. Moore had a Jake experience in the Vikings game, and that’s having Steve Smith gas your stats. I like the kid, but he’s not a starting quarterback.

Moving from him though, a QB is needed just to keep us in the game. Nothing special like a Brady or a Brees, but someone who can hit open receivers and not throw the ball to players in the other jerseys. But who? A rookie QB from the second round of the draft would still be a need (no need to trade up); but I'm impatient. With a lot of our star guys getting older, we may not have time for a Colt McCoy to learn the speed and timing of the NFL. So let’s look at some experienced possibly free-agent QB's. Sage Rosenfeld could easily be traded for. Jason Campbell has shown to be a strong QB and he may be available. Hell, maybe even our former nemesis, Mike Vick (definite stretch here) could suffice. But just someone who can manage while our run-game carries the load. Steve Smith has already showed that you don’t need to be great to get him the ball. And if this season has showed us anything, it has showed us that giving Steve any kind of talent to throw him the ball will do wonders. And most importantly people, we better do this now in the glory years of #89, because time is not on our side.

This season has also showed us that we are in great need of a #2 receiver. We know going into every game that the defense is going to stick 8 or 9 players in the box, and roll all coverage towards Steve. Who else is going to make a play? Jarrett has already shown that he is not that guy, and Muhammad is sadly over-the-hill.  So Carolina needs another star to take the heat off of Steve. A player not too expensive (have to pay for new coach, Peppers, new QB, and re-sign one of our star RB’s) and a player who will punish one-on-one man-coverage’s. People, one man comes to mind…

SIGN T.O (Terrell Owens). I know about 90 percent of the people reading this article just curled their face up and said, “This guy doesn’t know what he’s talking about.” But I know some of you realize that this is a good idea. Let me break down to everyone why this would be a great addition by giving you a rebuttal your main two responses.

A) “T.O is a cancer and will kill our team.” I will give it to you, Owens’ track record speaks for itself. Getting kicked off of three teams is hard to do. But I believe that after being in the cold hell of Buffalo, after being practically forgotten, the impossible has happened: T.O has been humbled. No one can argue with his skill. He still has it, and he can still strike fear in the eyes of most cornerbacks. Players know that, and he knows that. He will have something to prove and if in Carolina, I believe Owens will be on his best behavior. He will know that this is Steve Smith’s squad, and he is coming only to be a part of a special team. Owens is too old to act a fool and he knows that his window is getting smaller by the year. Let’s give him a chance to have his last hoorah.

B) “Why should Richardson want to do this?” Well Jerry, let’s look at the football facts. He is still a physical specimen, a highly skilled receiver and he is a tall target (to replace Muhammad), which will in turn help an even average QB in the passing game. What is the saying: come great risk comes great reward? Well the reward would be a great #2 receiver who would free up Steve for one-on-one coverage’s, and boom there goes the offense. Great run game with a dangerous pass game. Sounds pretty damn good to me. Oh yeah, the risk. The risk would be losing out on a minimum contract and simply cutting him the next year. Doesn’t sound too bad to me. Ask Billicheck if getting Randy Moss was worth the risk.

THE LAND OF MILK AND GATORADE. I believe these moves will bring the Panthers into the promise land of football. Let me explain to everyone what this promise land is. The promise land is where the Panthers would be one of those teams everyone talks about. One of those teams that would be a sexy story not only for fans but also for the league. Can you imagine the Panthers being looked at like the Patriots, Steelers, and the Colts? Always on Sportscenter, always respected as one of the best. How exciting would that be? And not only this, but it would bring more national exposure to the city of Charlotte. Charlotte has the potential of being one of those household-name cities. When you come here you can’t help but to fall in love with it. A great Carolina Panthers team could help the city not only aesthetically, but economically as well. And hell, after the market crash and all of these bank failures, any breath of life into the city would be well appreciated.  So Mr. Richardson, I beg of you, please follow these simple rules. You can see that it is not that hard.  These moves I have listed are not impossible, and it could very well get you a spot coveted by all NFL Owners, a spot right next to Roger Godell hoisting up the championship trophy in front of all your loyal and true Panthers fans. How exciting would that be…

Written By Chris Long. E-mail: Cllong7@gmail.com