Panther Paw Prints - NFC South Edition

This edition of Paw Prints starts with a look around at the SBN blogs for our NFC South brethern to see what they are talking about. Let's take a look:

If you think we have WR needs just look at the Bucs and you are certain to feel better:

What happened to "you get what you pay for"? - Buc 'Em
The table tells us nothing we don't already know. He [Mark Clayton] burst onto the scene in 2004, had us all scrambling to buy #80 jerseys, ready for a Hall of Fame career, and then he produced numbers that would make most running backs look like receiving threats. An honest bit of feedback here. I literally laughed when I saw his numbers in black and white. I don't know if I blocked them out or what, but this was even worse than I thought.

When I first heard Bucs LB Barrett Ruud was unhappy with his RFA tender, as suggested over at Buc'em  I was thinking maybe the Bucs low-balled him similar to the Panthers placing a 2nd round tender on CB Richard Marshall. Nope, he more than doubled his previous salary after getting a 1st & 3rd round tender.

Ruud won't be skipping voluntary workouts like year ago
"I'm not the only one going through this restricted label right now,'' Ruud said. "It's frustrating, but it's something I knew was going to happen. I'm ready to have as good a year as possible and I'm ready to do as much as I can to prepare for that. For me, OTAs are helpful and I plan to be at every one of them.''

Seems like he has the right attitude to me...

Leave it Mike Florio to try and stir some crap up on New Orleans but Saints fans at CSC are having no part of it:

Mike Florio Bashes Reggie Bush - Canal Street Chronicles
Have you ever even met a Saints fan, Mike? World War III breaking out during Woodstock was more likely than Saints fans putting together any kind of revolt after finally watching their team win the Super Bowl. It's all kumbaya down here, baby. In forty-three years we've never been happier; now is the least likely time this fan base would do anything of the sort. In Payton and Loomis we trust. So if they thought they could do without Bush, I'm sure most of us would just go along with it. Besides, given Reggie's penchant for being so controversial among Saints fans, getting rid of him might actually cut back on some of the in-fighting.

Tell em like it is...At least the Falcons do get at least one splashy signing per off-season:

A Free Agency Discussion: Will The Falcons Sign Anyone Else? - The Falcoholic
Basically, we've talked about how the Falcons are unlikely to be active players in free agency now that they've signed Dunta Robinson. That would fit with the "one big splash" style of free agency we've come to expect from the Falcons under Thomas Dimitroff and Mike Smith. Yet here's former New Orleans Saints defensive end Charles Grant, quirking his eyebrows shamelessly in the general direction of Flowery Branch, and there's the fact that free agents suddenly want to play for the Falcons. It's kind of unreal.

For Panther fans lamenting whether CB Richard Marshall has lived up to his draft status, the Falcons went ahead and cut bait with their 2nd pick:

Lions Acquire CB Chris Houston Via Trade with Atlanta
Houston (5-11, 178) spent his first three years in the NFL with the Falcons after being drafted by the club in the second-round (41st overall) of the 2007 NFL Draft. His career numbers include:162 career tackles (145 solo), three interceptions (14 yards; 1 TD), 34 pass defenses, a forced fumble and 2 fumble recoveries. In 2009, Houston played in 12 games (10 starts) before ending the year on the Reserve/Injured list due to a hamstring injury.

That has to be tough to give up on a guy so young...Moving on to other topics, it seems the scout media has their 'golden boy' who is now the next coming of...Percy Harvin?

7 Points: Notre Dame's Tate could be the next Percy Harvin - NFL News - FOX Sports on MSN
"I really respect his game, and I really enjoy the way he plays it. He's a guy built like me — speed is similar, very tough," Tate said. "I'm not afraid to go across the middle, and I'm not afraid to go catch a ball at its high point. He's a small guy, but he plays like he's 6-foot-2 or 6-foot-3, going up to get balls."

Harvin had a good season but maybe we should let him do it again before we crown him in the 'the next coming of' category.

Finally, back to our Panthers for some slightly dated Prints:

Changes in evidence as workouts begin
"I didn't go home, so I've been here for a while," he [Dan Conner] said. "There were probably about 10 to 15 guys. Guys would shuffle in and out or go on vacation, but you always had 10 or 15 working out or rehabbing. "But it's nice to see all the guys here. Everybody's ready to get back."

Love to hear it! I'm giving Conner my inside track to winning the SLB spot. In case you missed the recent post by our team captain LB Jon Beason, it's a must read:

Vets Moving On - JonBeason Blog post - jon, beason, carolina panthers, sport, blog, official website
I just had a conversation with Thomas Davis, who is working extremely hard to come back from his ACL injury. In my eyes, we can be the best linebacker tandem in the NFL. He was a safety in college and converted to linebacker here, and I think last year he was just turning the corner before he was injured. He got to the point where he understood the position so well that he could just go out there and be a football player, not have to think at all.

From the Confusion Closet we have this move by the Jets:

LaDaianian Tomlinson Gets More Money Than Thomas Jones - Arrowhead Pride
The Chiefs signed Thomas Jones to a two-year, $5 million contract also with $500,000 in incentives. This move by the Jets has me perplexed. If you go by the money (and it's usually right), they value LT more than TJ. LT's production has declined significantly the last two seasons. TJ's has gone up. In one less year of action, Tomlinson has 600 more carries. Whatever the Jets motivation is, the reaction of the rest of the league in regards to the value the Chiefs got speaks volumes.

So you drop the leading rusher to pay an older, injury prone RB? Hmmmm...

This edition wraps with an interesting take on the CBA negiating:

Free Agency is the Key to Labor Unrest in the NFL - Mocking The Draft
Now there is one exception to the anti-trust rule. If a group (NFL) and its employees ( players association) agree to a contract that violates the anti-trust laws then it is OK because everyone is agreed and everyone had the same bargaining power. In other words, the only reason unrestricted free agency isn't the absolute norm for every player who's contract is up is because the owners and players association agreed to it. Without the CBA (collective bargaining agreement) owners will face unlimited unrestricted free agency, no franchise tags, no transition tags, and Triple Damages for any and all damages caused to individual players after the CBA expires. This should end up costing the owners more in salaries, fan backlash, and legal costs than any money they save by operating without a new labor agreement.