Panther Paw Prints - Peppers Signing Deadline Edition

by Jaxon on Jul 15, 2009 10:15 AM EDT Comment 10 comments

This edition of Paw Prints focuses on today's signing deadline at 4pm for the Panthers and PB DE Julius Peppers to agree to a long term contract. If they fail to do that then we will most likely go through this entire franchising process yet again after the 2009 season. The consensus appears to be that it is not going to happen:

Inside the Panthers: No long-term deal likely for Peppers
The Panthers will have three primary options in January: Try again to sign Peppers to a long-term contract, put their franchise tag on him again at a one-year price of more than $20 million (there's a mandatory 20 percent increase over his '09 tender amount), or let him become an unrestricted free agent without receiving any compensation from another team.

So will the Panthers really pony up $20+M in 2010 for Peppers? I imagine his performance in '09 will be the deciding factor. Why is this important at this point? As pointed out in the Team Report I've linked up next, it has essentially prevented the Panthers from signing any FA's (as we have discussed many times), such as back-up offensive linemen.

Panthers Team Report - NFL - Yahoo! Sports
As it stands now the Panthers are less than $1 million under the salary cap meaning they haven’t had a chance to re-sign any players or add any free agents this offseason.

Now if you are looking for someone to blame in all this fiasco I've always felt Peppers agent Carl Carey should shoulder most of the blame. Darin Gannt gives us all the ammunition we need to point the finger squarely at him:

Darin Gantt's Panthers Blog | The Herald - Rock Hill, SC

But the timing makes this deal complicated. With an uncapped year looming and a stack of minutiae which makes doing deals difficult, it's not the time for inexperienced help. The Panthers have smart people working on it, but the reality is, Peppers' agent Carl Carey has never negotiated a contract on his own. He's smart, and obviously loyal, just green. Peppers trusts the guy, so who am I to question him, but there are a lot of people in the business (football, not media) who wonder if Carey's inexperience is the holdup here.

You have to be kidding me right? He's never done it on his own...I'm speechless on that nugget of info.

Things are looking up for LB Dan Conner and our special teams:

Connor's knee: 'Better and better' each day
"Once we started opening it up, it started coming back," Connor said. "It's more getting the strength back in my hamstrings. But the knee feels secure as it's ever been. "This is what kept me motivated through the season, having to watch and rehab. I didn't miss a day for probably six months straight. It's all for getting back on the field and feeling how you felt when you first got here. I've been looking forward to this. "It gets better and better each day."

CB CJ Wilson says new DC Ron Meeks reminds him an uncle:

Wilson leaps at opportunity
"(Meeks) is like that uncle that sits on the porch when you're out playing football in the front yard. He's going to tell you every little move," Wilson said. "I love it. It's good. We all love it."

At least he's not talking about the 'crazy' uncle we all have, right?

Former Panther Mike Minter continues to give back to the community. Here's my favorite Q&A from this post:

Mike Minter, former Carolina Panther, is a role model on and off the field

CC: You are an athlete, philanthropist, and businessman. People think they know you based upon what they read in the media. In your own words, describe Mike Minter—the man.

MM: Mike Minter is a motivated person who wants to bring out the best in people. People are my passion. I’m not perfect and I don’t have it all together. I sometimes make bad decisions, but, it is just part of the learning curve as I try to figure it out just like everybody else.

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Comments

An interesting note on Goodson from the Yahoo report:

The Panthers are working him quite a bit as a slot receiver.

I guess I’m kind of surprised, but I hope it works out that they feel comfortable using him as an RB, WR, or KR in any situation when the time comes in the regular seasons. That’s a lot of “jerseys” we can free up on Sundays.

Remember, kids...don't ever let facts get in the way of your argument.

by MichaelProcton on Jul 15, 2009 11:50 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Jason Kyle:

"I really hoped I could have re-signed with the Panthers," Kyle said. "I had a great time in the city of Charlotte over the past eight seasons. One thing I can say is having been on several teams in my career and the Richardsons are first class."

Remember, kids...don't ever let facts get in the way of your argument.

by MichaelProcton on Jul 15, 2009 12:13 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Why be angry towards the guy trying to escape the Panthers hold? He wants out and the Panthers wont let him. Be angry at Furney for this one, Peppers is in a business and this is all he is doing.

by D.W.G. on Jul 15, 2009 12:49 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

If he doesn't want the rules of the CBA to apply to him, he shouldn't be playing in the NFL as a member of its Players' Union.

Remember, kids...don't ever let facts get in the way of your argument.

by MichaelProcton on Jul 15, 2009 1:15 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

That's a dumb comment, MP.

He plays football, and them’s the rules. No one, player or management, has to like them. But he’s never done anything outside those rules. So that comment is … beyond pointless. (You know I don’t mean YOU are dumb. You’re smart. And I heart you. But I also want to arm wrestle you into submission! …somebody needs less coffee. I’ll let you guess who.)

by r3 on Jul 15, 2009 1:39 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I guess I should clarify, since I don't want to be one of those "Nuh uh, you're dumb!" folks.

As a person who’s currently at odds with a local municipality, I firmly believe that the solution to being subject to rules you disagree with is not to boycott the system. The notion that “if he don’t like the CBA, he can GET OUT!” fails to recognize the fact that rules are man-made, and can be changed. Don’t like the rules? Work to change them. Become a player rep. The Panthers are in need of one of those right now anyway, with Kyle moving to the Saints.

Just wanted to clarify, since your comment so shocked my sense of the moral need for action in the face of administrative opposition. That said, I just don’t see Mr. Million-Per-Game caring so much that he’d become a player rep. That’s usually a job for long-snappers and end-of-career role players.

by r3 on Jul 15, 2009 1:59 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I mean, my point wasn't that he should quit.

It was that he should recognize that he (nor anyone else) should begrudge Hurney for using the tools he has within the CBA to retain value for his players.

Remember, kids...don't ever let facts get in the way of your argument.

by MichaelProcton on Jul 15, 2009 2:17 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Carey is Peppers' friend before he's an agent.

In fact, if I remember my Peppers history correctly, Carey was a councilor or advisor at UNC when he met and befriended Julius. I seem to recall Julius living with Carey while he was in school and Carey was still an employee of the school. He left his position there and did whatever it takes to become an agent so he could represent Pep once the decision was made to go pro. I think he’s one of the few people Pep trusts. But yeah, the guy’s an agent for Peppers, and no one else, and that’s all the “agenting” he does.

by r3 on Jul 15, 2009 1:44 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

So he has a very limited view of the agent business

and consequently is giving very myopic advice to single client. He doesn’t seem to understand the risks or just doesn’t care.

I blog the Carolina Panthers at www.catscratchreader.com

by Jaxon on Jul 15, 2009 5:34 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Myopic is the word of the day!

The fact that “he’s never negotiated a deal by himself” is completely true. Pep’s only ever signed one contract until he agreed to play under the one-year franchise designation. And that original contract was come to by Carey and someone else whose guidance they enlisted (my memory’s pretty good, but I’ve forgotten so much of that stuff). Anyway, I don’t know about his conceptualization of the risks, whatever they may be, but I think the right way of looking at this is that it’s a very technical and detailed business, drawing up one of these blockbuster contracts, and experience in that arena could only help. But my guess is that he has, over the past six+ years, been doing his research into how this next phase should be handled. But nothing prepares you like having done it before.

by r3 on Jul 15, 2009 7:33 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs