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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.

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'Hitting Hard with Chris Harris' - CarolinaHuddle.com

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(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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Shaun Hill granted wish for trade and should Panthers pounce ? Heck Yeah.



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

Poll
Would you like to see Shaun Hill as the backup QB to Matt Moore for the 2010 season ?

  42 votes | Results

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8 comments  |  1 recs

Did I just say T.O?



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.

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Thoughts from Panthers Fans?

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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.

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Scouts.com Top 100 Prospects for the 2010 Draft

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

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Charles Grant

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?

Poll
Should we sign Charles Grant?

  76 votes | Results

13 comments  |  0 recs

Who's really making all the moves?



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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19 comments  |  1 recs

Stefan Logan anyone? 'Yes please!' says the Aussie

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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Here's why the Panthers should trade for our #2 WR

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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73 comments  |  5 recs |


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