Panthers Pre-Draft Press Conference Translation

by Jaxon on Apr 16, 2009 10:29 PM EDT

The Panthers held their pre-draft presser earlier today and as usual you have to read between the lines to draw any real information from it. Of course there is no movement on the Julius Peppers front and of course they are still towing the ‘we intend to have him back' line. Beyond that there were a few fairly revealing quotes if you know how to translate Hurney-ese:

Said that although nothing's done yet, he still hopes that QB Jake Delhomme is here "long-term." Described his passer as "young for his age," and seemed hopeful that something gets done down the road.

Though Delhomme is 34 it is true he didn't play a lot the first few seasons of his career and he sat out most of the 2007 season. Translation: he's ‘young for his age' based on number of games played but in NFL terms he's fairly long in the tooth. If Peppers does return I would expect Delhomme to be extended enough to provide the cap relief to sign the rookies and some low-level free agents.

When asked about potential draft targets Hurney had this to say:

Was short on specifics on the draft, but said that the receiver position is particularly deep.

Translation: We won't be targeting a WR early in this draft if at all.

When asked if the defensive line will be targeted Hurney's statement again needs translation:

Also cited depth on the offensive line as a primary need, when asked about restocking the defense.

His deflection to the offensive line depth means "We are definitely targeting the defensive line but please don't try to make me talk about it".

When asked if he was going to enjoy a nice steak dinner when he got home tonight he said "No, I'm in the mood for fish", which of course means "Fire up the grill, were having steak tonight!"

So there you have it Panther fans, another lesson in Hurneyese 101.

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"Pre-draft press conference"

Good job…I thought exactly the same thing. Hurney basically said we are trying like crazy to deal Peppers and if Jake does not go ahead and agree to a 4 year deal worth about 3.5 mm per then there is going to be hell to pay.

So, Saturday we either see a blockbuster deal which will lead to some decent draft picks and some free agents coming to Charlotte for next season or we will see the Catz praying some kind of defensive tackle falls to 59.

by rickn3car on Apr 17, 2009 1:31 AM EDT reply actions

Welcome to the blog rickn3car

I’m sure they wish Pep would sign his tender and say he wants to stay but if not they want to unload him now before the draft.

I blog the Carolina Panthers at www.catscratchreader.com

by Jaxon on Apr 17, 2009 9:53 AM EDT up reply actions

Is four too long, though?

If we extend Jake too far, we might have to cut him and leave lots of dead money on the cap like we did when we made the stupid decision to get rid of Lucas for a paltry $2 mil.

by MichaelProcton on Apr 17, 2009 3:03 PM EDT up reply actions

Procton

Michael Procton, welcome to the blog. I read many of your posts on the Charlotte Observer blog with Pat Y. My username was Charlsong1.

4 years might be too long for Jake, but hopefully they work it so most of the real money is in the 1st two years of the deal. With a QB rating of 80 at the age of 33, I’m not convinced he’ll be worth much at 38.

I thought Lucas’ contract paid him way too much, but I had mixed feelings on letting him go. He got burned a lot, but the whole defense did, and I felt a majority of the problem was the defensive scheme we were running and the defensive play calling. Having 3 good CBs is about as important as having 2 RBs or 2 QBs, so if we cut him without a plan, then I agree it was a mistake.

by usana_gaines on Apr 17, 2009 4:44 PM EDT reply actions

If there's a plan...

where is it? Haha…the idea of having CJ Wilson and Dante Wesley compete for the nickel spot scares me a bit. Particularly given that much of Lucas much-discussed “dropoff” had a LOT to do with blown coverages by Marshall, who’s now been promoted with no competition whatsoever. That’s not even mentioning how many times Godfrey looked just plain lost.

Also…this Peters trade is making me hope some people will finally admit that we got screwed on the Otah deal. For less than we paid for an unproven rookie who’ll never be good enough in pass pro to play on the left side, Philly got a two-time Pro Bowler at LT. Ugh.

by MichaelProcton on Apr 17, 2009 5:49 PM EDT up reply actions

Interesting...

I don’t get how people will “finally” admit the Panthers got screwed in the Otah deal. Finally? It has been one year since the Panthers made the trade and Otah has played exactly one year in the league and he played a pretty good RT for the 12 games he played. We have no idea if he will be good enough in pass protection to play LT and it doesn’t matter anyway because Gross is going to be over there for the foreseeable future. That is pretty much an issue that should not even be brought up at this point when evaluating Otah.

We have no idea what pick the Eagles gave up in the 2010 draft for Peters. It could be a 2nd round pick, so I think to compare that trade to the Panthers trade for Otah and say the Panthers got screwed is over reacting by just a little bit. I am with you on the Marshall thing where he does need some competition but I think we should give Otah more than one year at RT before saying the Panthers got screwed and then saying he wouldn’t be a good LT when that is not even a position he will be playing.

I also don’t know how much Lucas’ struggles last year had to do with Marshall because the opposing teams were targeting Lucas even when Marshall was not on the field. Also, Godfrey is a rookie safety, they tend to look lost at times. I think the real evaluation of his skills can come this year.

by bengoodfella on Apr 17, 2009 10:12 PM EDT up reply actions

Late-rounder...

Is what the ’10 pick has been reported as.

by MichaelProcton on Apr 19, 2009 5:01 PM EDT up reply actions

Hmmm...

They are fairly similar trades I guess. I don’t really put that much stock in Pro Bowl appearances overall. I saw somewhere on the Internet and I could not find it again of course that Peters was responsible for 11.5 sacks this year. Assuming that is true, Gross gave up 3 sacks this year, so Peters could be a little overrated.

I just think it is a little early to give up on Otah. With Gross at LT, I feel pretty good, assuming he can stay healthy with Otah at RT.

by bengoodfella on Apr 20, 2009 7:56 AM EDT up reply actions

Nice article Jaxon

You are becoming quite the journalist.

Lucas WAS a trash talker with a big head. But it caught up to him last summer. Smitty put him in his place, and he never recovered. Every time I saw his face last year he looked like a scared little kid. The secondary will be fine if we can improve the D-Line. You gotta have a solid pass rush for corners to be effective.

on behalf of tha dirty south: soul food, carolina blue, southern hospitality, and tha queen city

by southtunnel on Apr 17, 2009 7:50 PM EDT up reply actions

lucas and marshall

I always thought Marshall was better than Lucas, but Procton was right, we need a better nickelback than the Wilson/Wesley combo we’re looking at. Has Lucas signed with anyone else? Maybe after the draft, we bring him back to compete with Marshall and let those two guys finish the debate…but Lucas should get a lot less money than he was supposed to get initially. I still think, however, that most of our secondary problems were because of Trgo, and we’ll be better this year with Meeks.

by usana_gaines on Apr 18, 2009 4:51 AM EDT reply actions

Keep forgetting about Meeks

I keep worrying that our defense is looking like it is going to be worse than last year… especially without Pep. But Meeks is reason for optimism. Will be interesting to see how his and Foxy’s different styles come together.

on behalf of tha dirty south: soul food, carolina blue, southern hospitality, and tha queen city

by southtunnel on Apr 19, 2009 3:41 PM EDT up reply actions

Would he do that?

A lot has been made of his pride and his willingness to come back to this team cheap after we got rid of him.

by MichaelProcton on Apr 19, 2009 5:01 PM EDT up reply actions

Agree, I doubt Lucas comes back

because of the pride thing.

I blog the Carolina Panthers at www.catscratchreader.com

by Jaxon on Apr 20, 2009 8:35 AM EDT up reply actions

Julius Peppers

I say let him go if he wants to be traded or does not want to play for the Panther’s, after all no one is irreplaceable and really the way the Panther’s have been playing the last couple or 3 years I wouldn’t want to play for them either, even if I was able to, which I am not. age you know. I think we need an new QB as well. Jake just kinda fades away when the going get’s tough.

robert warren

by bobbywarren95 on Apr 21, 2009 6:11 AM EDT reply actions

Preaching to the choir

Welcome to the blog Mr. Warren

I blog the Carolina Panthers at www.catscratchreader.com

by Jaxon on Apr 21, 2009 1:09 PM EDT up reply actions

Yeah, like in the fourth quarter when we're trailing, right?

That must be why he leads the league in comeback wins since ’03.

by MichaelProcton on Apr 21, 2009 2:54 PM EDT up reply actions

MP

Looks like you and I are one of the few Jake fans still around. I’m with you, just in 2008 Jake won the Chargers and Packers games with late passes. I think he still has a couple good seasons in the tank.

My ‘choir’ comment above was directed at the Peppers comment.

I blog the Carolina Panthers at www.catscratchreader.com

by Jaxon on Apr 22, 2009 1:44 PM EDT up reply actions