I was really hoping we would go with the 1st round tender here. I guess we are just gonna hope for the best and match anything that comes in…

Losing Marshall would do damage.

It will be interesting to see what kind of action RFAs get in this season’s market.

Is the difference in money really that big of a deal? It isn’t that much is it? I think Marshall certainly played well enough that we should play it safe and put some degree of insurance on him. At least more so than we did.

If I could kick like him I’d do it for $750k!

we can find another kickoff specialist for half the cost.

Maybe some team thinks he has a chance to be a fulltime kicker, but nobody’s going to spend $1 mil-plus on a KOS.

just like Keyshawn did

Wilson’s expendable. But you might as well put the low tender on him in case somebody is interested. We can take the 7th and get the same kind of project to fill in on ST and the dime package in the draft or cheaper in FA. The #2 tender on Leonard is both because the DT market is so thin (just five UFAs under 30) and because they liked what they saw from him a lot, even in just a short time.

only one to three worth drafting

When they signed him through 2012, I doubt they intended on cutting him loose this early. Outside of a few games (read: Buffalo), he was as reliable as ever.

• They think Marshall has limited upside because of his size. He played well, but they needed to put him in situations where he could succeed, which in turn limited their playcalling and put a big load on guys like Munnerlyn and Wilson at times. You’d prefer not to have to gameplan around your own #2 CB.
• Baker and Kasay are both here to stay (each is signed through 2012), but neither can kick off. However, retaining Lloyd at $1 mil-plus (even if he’s the best KOS in the league) is a bit steep for a guy with his limited contributions. They’ll try to sign Lloyd or another young kicker to a deal at $750K or lower.
• I think they fully expect him to compete to start. Kemoeatu is a guy we won’t know much about for a while, so I’d frankly say you bring him to camp, but cut him if he can’t win his job back. Lewis is one guarantee to start, but I think Leonard, Tyler, Johnson, or even Irvin could wrest the job from Kemoeatu if he doesn’t show up right at 100% for TC, particularly with his higher cost.

It’s not like Kasay needs the extra work. It would be the perfect opportunity to see if Lloyd has the ability to kick FGs or if he is just a KOS.

Maybe they will do that this season, who knows?

They haven’t been particularly impressed with his work on the practice field, and they don’t want to risk throwing off the rhythm and timing of the primary snapper-holder-kicker group. This was particularly important last year while we were establishing and then breaking in a new LS.

The Vikings are still a dark horse if Favre doesn’t return. I could definitely see them giving up the picks.

Liked all of the tenders, minus the Marshall tender. Marshall played great last year and earned a starting cornerback slot on any defense. With a mere 2nd round tender, I have to think that this is almost BAIT for other teams. A lot of teams looking for a good experienced and still young CB may look at Marshall now that his price isn’t too high. I think it is very possible we lose him…

If we just had spent a few more pennies on him (and yes this is Chicken fee compared to what we paid Peppers), we could have possibly gotten a team to give up a 1st and gotten us back into the 1st round. Although he started only 1 yr, our secondary was great, and he was worth a 1st round pick in my opinion…

He had 21 on 72 kickoffs this year (29.2%) and 30 on 88 last year (34.1%.) However, when Panthers.com ran his end zone percentages, he was right on his numbers from ‘08. So the drop in TBs had far more to do with the other team not being afraid to return it than Lloyd’s skills or performance diminishing much.

hey…we are pretty dang good at drafting in the 7th round…Munnerlyn in the 7th, what a steal!

He was 4th in the league in touchbacks despite ranking 15th in kickoffs. I am confused, however, as to how you’re aware of Lloyd’s “nonexistent” accuracy. Do you catch the balls behind the uprights at practice?

Finally, there was no 7th-round tender for Lloyd. He wasn’t drafted. The low tender on Wilson gets us a 7th if he signs elsewhere because that’s where we drafted him.

I trust Meeks with our defense more than any other coordinator we have had to this point in Carolina.

Trgo was a pretty dang good DC….not sure I trust Meeks more yet, with only 1 year on the team and really only the second half of the season that looked really good.

If their numbers are to be believed, 4 INTs on 91 targets to go with just 4 PDs (4.4% INT rate, 4.4% PD rate, 8.8% total PBU rate) is not as impressive as Gamble’s 4 INTs and 7 PDs on 75 targets (5.3%, 9.3%, 14.7%.) Do you really believe Munnerlyn had a better season than Gamble?

DT is among the weakest positions in this year’s FA class, if not ever. Between the modified RFA rules and the franchising of several at the position, there are just five UFA DTs who are under the age of 30. Combine that with the fact that Leonard played his best football ever with very little acclimation to our system (albeit in a very limited sample), and his value’s certainly gone up from late summer last year.

Good catch on the Lloyd numbers, though. People sometimes don’t look at the big picture.

Honestly, I expect Godfrey will remain at FS. While Martin may be the future of the position he needs to improve his coverage. That’s not to say Charles Godfrey is the epitome of excellent coverage, but he’s still better than Martin at this point.

While Ron Meeks uses Chris Harris in that rover position in the cover one we need to have a FS who’s excels in coverage… and for now Godfrey fits the bill.

Care to elaborate on why you believe Munnerlyn will beat out Marshall this year? I still believe Marshall was our best CB this year judging the stats but getting another perspective on things is always great.

You don’t think the Panthers should work that hard to retain him?

The Panthers want to keep Marshall long term, but they can’t be the ones to offer a long term extension. If they were to come out and sign him to a multi-year deal it undermines Jerry Richardson’s position fighting increasing player contracts, and makes him look weak willed.

If they tender him for a 1st rounder, no team offers him a deal at all.

By tendering him at the 2nd round position the league sets Marshall’s value. If the Panthers match it then Richardson can still look like he’s fighting player salaries, after all he didn’t set the value. The Panthers can match the deal while another team looks like the ‘bad guy’.

Is it a gamble that a team might include a poison pill? Absolutely. But it strikes me that the Panthers are the kind of organization where Richardson carries enough clout amongst the owners that they wont intentionally try and screw his organization over.

Marshall changed agents to Drew Rosenhaus because Jon Beason told him how easy negotiations were between Rosenhaus and the Panthers. The front office has always worked well with him. This indicated that Marshall wants to stay, now it’s up to the league to set Marshall’s value. In this economy, in this year I think it would be surprising to see Marshall garner a mega offer, especially with Dunta Robinson, Antrel Rolle and other DBs well ahead of him in desirability.

This could be a shrewd move by the Panthers to have a team offer Marshall a lower contract than they might be willing to and match the offer at a lower price, taking advantage of the down economy. Marshall’s value is highest to the Carolina Panthers, because we know his ability… around the league he may not be looked upon being as desirable.

King is a major benefit in the running game. He’s far and away the best blocking TE the Panthers have.

John Fox has never really needed a true pass catching TE to flourish. For a run first team like the Panthers King plays like at extra tackle is on the field. He doesn’t make flashy catches like Rosario, but he’s reliable for those 6-8 yard plays.

King was the recipient of 5 penalties, none offset.

And getting another receiving threat would take pressure off of Smith. Making a team respect the deep ball (or pass in general) with Williams or Stewart in the backfield would be lethal. If you’re one dimensional, you’re probably going to have a tough time winning. Last year, we were forced to be one dimensional.

I’m not in favor of the 2nd round receiver, or these Double Trouble trade scenarios bringing Lynn Swann here, or whoever. Doesn’t seem to register.