Notes from day two of mini camp

There must be some exciting “football stuff” to talk about again in the off-season for Procton to show up again, drop a crap load of posts in a thread that’s relatively old, each one quibbling with some small piece of what dozens of other people expressed…sprinkled with salient points, nonetheless…but always delivered in such an evocative manner as to stir up everybody. Good grief, Procton…does this never get old? Or is debating the minutiae of crap like this and ticking people off your favorite past-time? I just don’t understand why you keep taking this same tired approach all the time unless you enjoy it. And if you do enjoy it, I think that’s a pretty sad reflection…“doesn’t play well with others” comes to mind.

But, look, everyone, this argument isn’t so cut-and-dried as anyone makes it out to be. Things in life rarely happen that way. Everybody knows Fox is a VERY tight-lipped coach in front of the media. It’s VERY rare he’ll ever express anything as candid as the comment he made about why Chris Harris was released. The fact that he cited the “budget” DOES show that it played a fairly significant part in why we parted ways with Harris. It wasn’t the ONLY thing. But it WAS something. Frankly, I think it’s a combination of salary dump, youth movement, and new team direction at a time when a lockout is looming, an uncapped season is about to emerge, and we have a lot of uncharted waters to navigate with a young team and a coach who’s in the last year of his contract.

However, at the SAME time, it’s pretty abundantly clear that our defense has undergone some transformation since Ron Meeks got here. Chris Harris just doesn’t have the speed required at the safety position to play Meeks’ scheme. Godfrey and Martin will. They’re younger and less expensive. Time to finish turning the page in this roster purge…not JUST for financial reasons, but also for the long-term success of our team by establishing a new core nucleus of players. We’ve had a lot of these young guys sitting behind several starters who were starting to peak or go into decline. So, it makes perfect sense to make these moves now…i.e., take advantage of the looming financial future of the NFL to also get back to restocking our roster with players that can help us for many more seasons to come.

Meanwhile, Chris Harris still has plenty of tread on him for a team that needs a hard-hitting, turnover-causing, experienced safety. So, the Panthers held onto him for his trade value until the time was right to move him for something that would improve our team in other ways. The draft came and went. Jordan Pugh gives us possible depth (as inexperienced as it may be) behind Martin and Godfrey. Our special teams and LB corps could use a starter and some depth, respectively. So, with the Bears having a luxury LB like Williams and the need for a safety, exchanging Harris (a known commodity to them) for Williams makes perfect sense…both financially AND in terms of player personnel.

So, the deal is done.

The Panthers will roll the dice on some young safeties who will need to do a lot of growing up…and fast. The Bears get an experienced vet to help their defense. We also get a LB who can immediately help improve our special teams (which badly needs it) AND compete for playing time at strongside LB, backup the weakside LB and middle LB positions, and generally give us depth in the event of another injury to Beason or Davis that sidelines them for awhile.

It’s a win-win. Quibbling over how much or how little the financial aspect contributed to the end-result is a moot point. It’s done. Move on. Support the Panthers in their upcoming season. We should have an easier schedule this year (maybe). So that gives these young guys time to grow without unnecessarily throwing them to the lions (not Detroit…I mean that figuratively…throwing them to the Lions might actually be a good thing). Even if we take a small step back in the defensive secondary (which was pretty stout last year), at least that may be offset by the level of competition we’ll face this year while these young guys get up to speed and complete the buy-in into Meeks’ system.

Now, Procton has real strong opinions (surprise!) regarding Carolina’s off-season moves. Much of what he writes comes off as critical of the organization, critical of anyone who disagrees with his opinions and interpretation of the “facts,” and critical of the decision to release of some players he liked in the past (though I don’t anticipate Julius Peppers was one of them) or that he perceives as better than the rookies or less-experienced guys we’re going to use in their place. Who cares? He’s entitled to his opinion, regardless of how he presents it.

James, on the other hand, is a staunch defender of many of the decisions the Panthers have made (but not all!). He’s looking forward at the team’s chances for success this season based on the decisions that were made and how they’re transforming the team. But I also think the rose-colored glasses sometimes fall over his eyes. I don’t think everything is as rosy as Carolina would have everyone believe with regards to Coach Fox in the final year of his contract. I think there’s a good chance he may walk away at the end of this season…particularly if we go into a lockout situation.

The way I see it, Fox has made plenty of money so far, and he can afford to sit back until the NFL owners and players’ association sort things out, before wading back into the available coaching pool. Everyone respects what he brings to the table. Someone will most certainly be willing to upgrade their team by hiring him. So, he’s got no worries. I also think Fox disagrees with some of the decisions the FO has made. He’ll deal with them like the professional that he is right now…but that doesn’t mean he has to like them…or that he can’t express some displeasure or disappointment by being more candid than usual with the media. It’s not like he’s trying to sabotage anything. And it’s not treasonous to the Panthers to examine his words and do some reading between the lines. I recall James doing a bit of reading between the lines in a recent Matt Moore interview, as well…and drawing some conclusions that didn’t sit well with BigDavis. To which, I say…big deal!

Look, we’re all entitled to our opinions. It’s what makes the discourse here fun and entertaining. As long as everyone recognizes that that’s exactly what it is…i.e., someone’s opinion, no greater and no less than anyone else’s…then we’re all fine. But the moment someone gets a puffed up sense that their opinion is the only one that matters…that all others are meaningless, misinformed, or somehow less valid than their own…well, that’s when I don’t enjoy the discourse that follows. Because it becomes a virtual sparring match of words that clog up the thread and detract from the real discussion of the topic at hand. People start spending more time giving tit-for-tat like a bunch of a immature school kids arguing over “what someone said” and “how they said it” and “what they actually meant”…

Who cares? Shut up and get over it. In the meantime, I know I look at those who stir up this kind of crap with a far more critical eye than those who wind up getting drawn into it. And Procton, you’re routinely at the forefront of these “debates” and degenerating arguments. You do it on every discussion board in which you participate. It’s attention-seeking and narcissitic. Either learn how to properly interact with people or expect people to start calling you out for your behavior. You instigate this stuff, stir up frustration against you, and then get pelted with insults for touting your opinions as unassailable facts. If you don’t want that kind of ridicule, learn to get along, and learn to express your opinions in ways that further discussion rather than countering someone else with every post.

To everyone else, my apologies for the side-track. I’m just getting really tired of this same game playing out everytime Procton appears. It sours the whole site to have to wade through his back-and-forth crap with everyone. And it borders on spamming the regular discussion.

But that’s just my two-cents,
—Neil