Ask Cat Scratch Reader: Part Two

We had so many in-depth questions this week that I needed to split this into two. Thanks again for the questions and remember if you have something you'd like to ask please e-mail askcatscratch@gmail.com and I'll do my best to get you some answers!

Ken asks: 

Did you know the Yahoo roster shows Brokel and Olsen as our fullbacks? [...] There was this forgotten little undrafted RB out of Western Carolina who was often in the backfield with players like Stephen Davis, Deangelo Williams, and Jonathan Stewart. It's obviously a coincidence that all three were 1,000 yard rushers. Isn't it amazing what happened to the running game after they dumped him? [...] Tyrell Sutton had another strong preseason and would do anything they asked of him, INCLUDING BLOCK. I was amazed that no one picked him up when he was cut. Would it not make sense to bring him back to open some holes?

Out of the gate let's talk Yahoo's depth charts: Honestly, I don't know who maintains them, but I have found them to be very unreliable. They never match the game day, or official team depth charts. To me, it seems like whoever works on them looks at the roster and plugs in players where they think they should go, rather than where they are.

In terms of the FB spot I think Jerome Felton will be very good for us, however, it's really a position that has been drastically de-emphasized by Rob Chudzinski. We're rarely, if ever, in the I-Form and it just doesn't seem to be a position he cares about much. For now it seems he'd rather use a two TE set and occasionally have a FB in for short yardage, and little more.

As for Brad Hoover, yes, he was great... but it was time to go in a different direction. He was running himself into the ground, and while it was sad to see him leave if Hoov was still on this team today he'd hardly be seeing the field.

More after the jump

Evan asks: 

Do you know why AE has been relegated to only returning punts? I know he is still progressing as a receiver and that we only use a 3 WR set, but why is he not being subbed in at times?  [...]. I know that AE had a rough couple of final preseason games, but Rivera's MO is to be patient with young talent even when they make mistakes. Has Armanti done something to get into Rivera's "doghouse"? 

In addition, what happened to the wildcat and using that set to keep the defense off balance?

I think the word you used 'patient' is most pertinent here. I understand fans are getting frustrated not seeing Armanti Edwards on the field, but it's because the organization are showing patience with him. While he had his moments during preseason he still has a long way to go as a receiver. As it stands the offense is running with three WRs and two TEs on downs where they want to go 5-wide, and this leaves guys like Edwards and Pilares out in the cold. Realistically next year will probably be a put up or shut up year for him with Legedu Naanee gone, and he'll need to assert his ability throughout training camp in 2012.

I don't think he's in a 'doghouse' because there hasn't really been a doghouse. If you're on Rivera's bad side then you're off the team pretty quickly, and he's not afraid to say why. As it pertains to the wildcat I'll admit I'm a littler surprised Chudzinski is using DeAngelo the few times we've seen a wildcat rather than AE, but honestly I'll be surprised if wee see that package 10 times this year.

Now a question about D-Will:

If we can trade Deangelo in the offseason for a draft pick, would the new CBA have any of his contract still count on our cap or would his new team assume full responsibility for the figure? Also, I remember reading that teams have until December to submit a final cap figure and that the CJ or DWill bonus can be manipulated at that point to lessen the future money they are owed. I would like to know if that info was correct.

If (and it's a big if) DeAngelo was traded, then the team who received him would indeed assume everything remaining on his contract, unless some special compensation was built into the trade, but this is quite rare.

In terms of manipulating the cap number what you found is correct, the Panthers have until mid December in which they can choose to pay more of the signing bonus up front to amortize the remaining years on the deal. What I expect will happen is that Rivera and Hurney will keep tinkering with the roster until mid December, at which point they'll stop and the front office will pay all the guys who were just resigned more money until they hit the cap ceiling, thereby making their future cap hit less.