So, it's March, and free agency is in full swing,  if there's any doubt,  just ask the Chicago Bears. The Panthers have been pretty quiet so far, other than a huge purge of experienced players, and Matt Moore signing his one year tender, and stepping up to the plate as the projected starter.  I'm curious as to how this will play out, It's been a really long time since I've witnessed the off season moves of a team in "non-salary cap" year.  I think Brad Hoover is going to leave a massive hole. This is a player that has played in the same role for the same organization for ten years. Good times and bad, Brad Hoover did his best, and played with heart.  He will be sorely missed. I hope Tony Fiammetta has some big feet, he's got some enormous shoes to fill. 

      Matt Moore, now I'm excited about this move.  Moore stepped in to an offense that was struggling.  I'll admit I was skeptical, but it was one of those situations where, after witnessing Jake throw eighteen interceptions, I figured how bad can it be?  It came on slowly, with the panthers relying mostly on their running game, then Moore drops in a couple passes, short outs. So then I'm like "wow, he's accurate".  Then it gets even better, he can hit Steve Smith in stride.  So then I'm thinking this could work, and then it happens, bang, the kid shows he's got a cannon, with a long TD pass. Then, it seemed to me, the entire team came alive. Players seemed to be trying harder, on both sides of the ball. One thing to remember is that the team didn't struggle defensively in 2009. Statistically they had fewer points scored against them than any team in their division, included the celebrated Saints. On that point...

     Julius Peppers, he's going to missed, maybe not by the fan base as much as Hoover, but statistically, he's a defensive monster. He was the only Panther last year with sacks in the double digits. In fact, 2007 was the only year in the NFL without double digits sacks. And the only defensive touchdown scored last year was on an interception return for a touchdown, and not by a DB, no, it was Peppers again. I'll admit, he didn't  always play with the heart of a lion, but this isn't kindergarten, and there are no A's for effort, people are keeping score. With that in mind I hope the front office has something in mind to reproduce those numbers on defense.

     All in all, it's going to be an interesting year, look for Dante Rosario, and Dwayne Jarrett to have good years, I sense untapped talent there. I just hope with all the changes that the play calling  keeps with the Panthers philosophy,  with the clock controlling ground game, staying out of third and forever, with "must pass" situations. When you have an opponent that you know has to pass, it's easy to drop eight men in coverage, and just look for a pick.. This alone could have huge ramifications on Moores success, or failure.

(Pic via JeremyIgo.com)

This week I met with Jeremy Igo of CarolinaHuddle.com for a little interview and photo session, and we had a pretty sweet time.

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Soon to be & former 49ers starting QB Hill granted wish for trade.

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Before I get do-not-want dog pics all over the post, here's my reason.

It seems like no team's really out to get him right now, so what do think about T.O if we gave him something close to veteran minimum? I'm not saying he should be the 2nd option either, but I think after the draft, we could really have a good depth at WR (assuming we grab a WR).

T.O's no longer the deep threat he once was, but he still bring some good size and athleticism, and I think would be a good addition to the team. No one's really out to get him at this point, and I think with the right price, he could really be a bargain.

via eatdrinkandsleepfootball.com

What's up everyone! I'm a big-time Chiefs fan living in uptown Charlotte for the past two years, and I wanted to introduce myself to you all. Although my #1 is Kansas City, I've definitely become a fan of the Panthers over the years seeing as how my family is originally from South Carolina. I live down the street from BOA Stadium and attend all the home games! Here's to hoping the Panthers have a better start to the season (props to Matt Moore for coming in and helping the team to a good finish last season)

So the members of Arrowhead Pride have all signed up to be GM's in a mock draft starting next week, and I've volunteered to represent the Panthers in the draft. I chose the picture of Stewart and Williams above, because I am a huge fan of Carolina's running attack. This RB tandem is the best in the NFL no question about it. That's one position this team shouldn't have to worry about for years to come, so I guess my question is: where do we go from here to getting the team back on track to being a perennial playoff contender starting with next season?

I'd like to generate a little discussion and get caught up with everyone's opinions on the state of the franchise and who they would like to see taken with the 2nd round pick in the upcoming draft. 

My questions to you:

1. Who was your favorite player this season?

2. Who do you predict to be the most improved player on the roster?

3. What are your feelings about Matt Moore possibly being the starting QB next season?

4. Top five team needs coming into the draft and why?

5. What FA would have the most impact on the Panthers next year?

6. Who should I select in my mock draft with the 2nd round pick and why?

I'm noticing the makings of a youth movement going on around here lately with all the cuts to the roster this past week. I'm excited to see where the Panthers organization is headed with the infusion of some talent from this year's draft (which is shaping up to be loaded with mid-round talent). 

Thanks for reading.

Below is a list of the top 100 draft eligible prospects.  Ideally, with our picks being where they are, we should be able to add 3 of these guys.  Maybe start with 40 and work down to 100, and find three guys you'd like to see in a Panther uniform next season.  Have fun rosterbating, but take it easy...

(excuse the formatting jargon...this is copied and pasted directly from ESPN [shhhhh])

All Ranked Players
NAME	POS	HT	WT	SCHOOL	GRADE	DRAFTED BY	PK(OVR)	OVR RANK
Gerald McCoy	DT	6'3½"	296	Oklahoma	98			1
Ndamukong Suh	DT	6'3⅞"	295	Nebraska	97			2
Eric Berry	S	5'11¼"	204	Tennessee	97			3
Jason Pierre-Paul	DE	6'5½"	263	South Florida	97			4
Anthony Davis	OT	6'5½"	328	Rutgers	97			5
Joe Haden	CB	5'11⅜"	191	Florida	96			6
Russell Okung	OT	6'8"	299	Oklahoma State	96			7
Derrick Morgan	DE	6'4"	268	Georgia Tech	96			8
Sam Bradford	QB	6'4"	214	Oklahoma	95			9
Dez Bryant	WR	6'2"	217	Oklahoma State	95			10
C.J. Spiller	RB	5'10¾"	196	Clemson	95			11
Bryan Bulaga	OT	6'6"	311	Iowa	95			12
Rolando McClain	ILB	6'3½"	245	Alabama	95			13
Mike Iupati	OG	6'5¼"	325	Idaho	94			14
Earl Thomas	S	5'11"	198	Texas	94			15
Trent Williams	OT	6'5"	306	Oklahoma	94			16
Brian Price	DT	6'1⅞"	303	UCLA	94			17
Brandon Graham	OLB	6'1"	263	Michigan	94			18
Carlos Dunlap	DE	6'5¾"	293	Florida	94			19
Dan Williams	DT	6'2¼"	329	Tennessee	93			20
Sergio Kindle	OLB	6'4"	236	Texas	93			21
Kyle Wilson	CB	5'10"	190	Boise State	93			22
Jermaine Gresham	TE	6'6"	262	Oklahoma	93			23
Everson Griffen	DE	6'3"	272	USC	92			24
Taylor Mays	S	6'3"	231	USC	92			25
Maurkice Pouncey	OC	6'4¾"	316	Florida	92			26
Arrelious Benn	WR	6'1⅝"	221	Illinois	92			27
Jared Odrick	DT	6'5⅛"	301	Penn State	91			28
Kareem Jackson	CB	5'11"	195	Alabama	91			29
Bruce Campbell	OT	6'6¼"	312	Maryland	91			30
Devin McCourty	CB	5'10¾"	186	Rutgers	90			31
Ryan Mathews	RB	5'10¾"	223	Fresno State	90			32
Sean Weatherspoon	OLB	6'0⅞"	241	Missouri	89			33
Rob Gronkowski	TE	6'5¼"	263	Arizona	89			34
Brandon Spikes	ILB	6'3"	252	Florida	89			35
Patrick Robinson	CB	5'11⅛"	190	Florida State	89			36
Nate Allen	S	6'0⅝"	205	South Florida	88			37
Jimmy Clausen	QB	6'2¾"	217	Notre Dame	88			38
Demaryius Thomas	WR	6'3"	225	Georgia Tech	88			39
Jahvid Best	RB	5'9¾"	198	California	88			40
Charles Brown	OT	6'5¼"	285	USC	88			41
Perrish Cox	CB	5'11¼"	189	Oklahoma State	87			42
Anthony McCoy	TE	6'4⅝"	249	USC	87			43
Sean Lee	ILB	6'2"	238	Penn State	87			44
Dezmon Briscoe	WR	6'2½"	205	Kansas	86			45
Chad Jones	S	6'2½"	225	LSU	86			46
Aaron Hernandez	TE	6'2¼"	252	Florida	86			47
Navorro Bowman	OLB	6'1½"	231	Penn State	86			48
Golden Tate	WR	5'11"	194	Notre Dame	85			49
Cam Thomas	DT	6'3⅞"	331	North Carolina	85			50
Lamarr Houston	DT	6'2¾"	302	Texas	84			51
Vladimir Ducasse	OG	6'4⅝"	326	Massachusetts	84			52
Ricky Sapp	DE	6'4"	245	Clemson	84			53
Tyson Alualu	DT	6'2¼"	291	California	83			54
Dexter McCluster	RB	5'8⅛"	165	Mississippi	83			55
Mike Williams	WR	6'2⅛"	206	Syracuse	83			56
Terrence Cody	DT	6'4"	370	Alabama	82			57
Damian Williams	WR	6'0¾"	194	USC	82			58
Jonathan Dwyer	RB	5'11⅛"	234	Georgia Tech	81			59
Mardy Gilyard	WR	5'11⅝"	179	Cincinnati	81			60
Daryl Washington	OLB	6'1¾"	226	TCU	81			61
Chris Cook	CB	6'1¾"	212	Virginia	81			62
Rodger Saffold	OT	6'4½"	312	Indiana	80			63
Thaddeus Gibson	OLB	6'2½"	245	Ohio State	80			64
Ed Dickson	TE	6'4"	244	Oregon	80			65
Jon Asamoah	OG	6'4"	300	Illinois	80			66
Brandon LaFell	WR	6'2⅜"	207	LSU	80			67
Colt McCoy	QB	6'3"	211	Texas	79			68
Montario Hardesty	RB	5'11⅛"	204	Tennessee	79			69
Eric Decker	WR	6'3⅛"	207	Minnesota	79			70
Jerry Hughes	OLB	6'1¾"	252	TCU	79			71
Alex Carrington	DE	6'5¼"	284	Arkansas State	79			72
Donovan Warren	CB	6'0"	185	Michigan	79			73
Zane Beadles	OG	6'4⅜"	307	Utah	79			74
Arthur Jones	DT	6'3"	302	Syracuse	79			75
Larry Asante	S	5'11⅞"	211	Nebraska	79			76
Joe McKnight	RB	5'11⅞"	191	USC	78			77
Amari Spievey	CB	6'0"	191	Iowa	78			78
Corey Wooton	DE	6'6⅛"	272	Northwestern	77			79
Dennis Pitta	TE	6'4⅛"	245	Brigham Young	77			80
Selvish Capers	OT	6'4⅝"	304	West Virginia	77			81
Taylor Price	WR	6'0⅛"	198	Ohio	77			82
Reshad Jones	S	6'2"	215	Georgia	77			83
Javier Arenas	CB	5'8⅝"	195	Alabama	77			84
Tony Pike	QB	6'5⅝"	212	Cincinnati	76			85
Jordan Shipley	WR	5'11⅞"	190	Texas	76			86
Michael Neal	DT	6'2⅞"	293	Purdue	74			87
Nawa'akoa Misi	OLB	6'2¾"	244	Utah	74			88
Brandon Lang	DE	6'3¾"	260	Troy	74			89
Dominique Franks	CB	6'0"	192	Oklahoma	74			90
Dan LeFevour	QB	6'3"	229	Central Michigan	74			91
Riley Cooper	WR	6'3½"	214	Florida	74			92
Dorin Dickerson	TE	6'1¼"	222	Pittsburgh	74			93
David Reed	WR	6'0¼"	188	Utah	73			94
Jason Worilds	OLB	6'2"	262	Virginia Tech	72			95
Jared Veldheer	OT	6'7¾"	321	Hillsdale	72			96
Andre Roberts	WR	5'10¾"	192	Citadel	72			97
Patrick Angerer	ILB	5'11½"	233	Iowa	72			98
Jerome Murphy	CB	6'0⅜"	191	South Florida	71			99
Tim Tebow	QB	6'2¾"	236	Florida	71			100

Charles Grant was released from the Saints last week and has expressed a desire to play for the Carolina Panthers.  I think we can all agree we need help at the DE position, and he has been somewhat productive in his tenure with the Saints.  I myself am I fan of bringing him in.  He is pretty solid against the run, but isn't a particularly good pass rusher.  In my opinion, Brown and Johnson would create a formidable pass rush on the edges, and have a guy like grant in on first and some second downs would certainly help keep those guys fresh and provide a solid run stopper.

He would come at a relatively cheap price, probably somewhere around 3 mil a year (although it seems we won't sign anyone who wants more than 1 mil a year...)  What do you guys think?

Pat Yasinkas seems to think it's the big cat...

The owner has had some health issues in recent years, but he always has remained very much in control of this team and I suspect, right now, he’s even more involved in football issues than ever. I know for a fact Richardson is extremely worried about the labor situation in the NFL and is preparing for the possibility of a lockout in 2011. I think he is sending a message to his players and also tightening things up in case there is no football in 2011.

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According to Fanhouse's article about the return of Antwaan Randle El to Pittsburgh they believe that PR and KR extraordinaire Stefan Logan may be a casualty in the coming weeks.

In logan I see everything the Panthers need, and then some.

Breakdown after the jump

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Pro Football Talk makes it blatantly obvious why attempting to draft a WR even in the 1st round is very risky.

The logic applies to all positions.  Why take a chance on a rookie who might never become anything other than a guy who once was a great college football player?  If the goal is to use the draft pick to get a good player, it makes more sense to use the draft pick on a player that we already know will be good.

The argument gets stronger for teams picking lower in a given round.  If Colts president Bill Polian thinks his offensive line needs an upgrade, he should present an offer sheet to Chargers left tackle Marcus McNeill.  Polian would get a quality linemen in exchange for the 31st and 93rd picks in the annual NFL crapshoot.

Since we have no 1st round pick, we'd either have to use future picks or trade a player where we have an abundance of talent.  Of course the Panther's don't seem to be showing any interest in competing for the top free agents.  And with the few unrestricted free agents available, a trade is looking more like our only option for acquiring proven talent.

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