Carolina Panthers

Deangelo Williams Restructures Contract

Wed, 15 May 2013 13:34:48 +0000

Carolina Panthers running back Deangelo Williams has restructured his contract. This move saves the Panthers 3.2 million in cap space this and next season. There has been much speculation so far this off season that Williams would be released. This move settles that question. The Deangelo Williams / Jonathan Stewart Tandem will remain in tact for at least another season.

Williams was entering the third season of a five-year, $43 million contract and was scheduled to earn $5 million in cash with an $8.2 million salary cap number for 2013. Williams will still receive $5 million in cash this year, but the deal has been restructured in a way that reduces his cap number to $5 million, a cap savings of $3.2 million that leaves the team $8.46 million under their adjusted 2013 salary cap number of $126.232 million.
Williams was scheduled to earn $4.75 million in non-guaranteed base salary with a $250,000 workout bonus this season. Under the renegotiated contract, Williams' base salary was lowered to $850,000 and his workout bonus reduced to $150,000. The remaining $4 million was converted to a signing bonus, which will be prorated against the Panthers' cap at $800,000 per season through 2017.
The real cash savings for the Panthers occurs in 2014 and 2015. Full Article

Deangelo Williams Carolina Panthers runningback

Panthers Jon Beason Interview

Tue, 14 May 2013 11:32:50 +0000

Jon Beason gave an interview on the Mac Attack on 5/10/13. Searched for a previous thread on it but couldn't find it and somehow I don't believe it has been posted. Great interview and worth a listen. About 20 minutes long in total. Summary below.

Beason about his charity event that took place on Monday night. Gave out prizes and some vacations and a Panther's fan package for a great cause and a charitable donation (MLB Foundation). Involved people buying tickets and going to The Palm restaurant in Charlotte and Beason and some other Panther's players including Gross, Kalil, Luke, Olsen, CJ, Hardy, Godfrey, Stewart, Steve Smith, and Thomas Davis would serve as waiters for the evening. Beason said its tough asking people for money and the event was nearly sold out but he was happy the roll out the red carpet for people. Beason thought that himself, Gross, and Kalil would make the best waiters because they have previous experience. Said DeAngelo would be the worst tipper and that DeAngelo would appreciated being nominated by Beason as the "worst tipper."

Asked how pumped he was about the Panthers drafting two defensive tackles in Star and Short. Beason was excited about the picks and said it directly benefits him and the rest of linebacking corps. Loves the rotation and potential of the defensive line unit. Says he will be in there hiding behind that front four and ready to make plays. Believes the defensive line didn't get enough credit for what they did last year by the national media. Says we are extremely excited on the second level of the defense.

Beason said he realized and had total respect for Luke Kuechly when he was in college. Watched him play at BC as a fellow ACC alumni and talked about him prior to the draft. He said he knew he was special right away with the way he studied, prepared, and worked hard. Said he knew he was an immense talent right away at the Mike position and that Luke was glad to be back in the middle and he was totally comfortable there from the first snap. Said he has the "it" factor and is grounded enough to be as good as he wants to be and that he still wants to get much better.

Beason said its tough as an athlete trying to recover from injury because you have to live in the moment and realize your time in this league is limited. He said he now wants to make the most of this opportunity and win championships. When the game was taken away from him, he found a new appreciation for the game and it isn't about the personal accolades but about wining championships. Beason said football is about right now. Said it hurt hearing people say that we should trade him and that he doesn't have it anymore and when he lays that first big hit on someone next season he will just be thinking "I told you so, I told you so." Says he pities the guy who will be on the receiving end of that hit and will try to take his head off. Says its nothing personal, but someone has to pay for him missing time due to injury.

Asked about his various injuries in different places and if he ever had a doubt that he could get back to form and come back stronger. Beason said the achilles and shoulder injuries are soft tissue related and it is all about what he put into it and putting the effort into rehabbing as quickly as possible. However, the micro fracture on his knee is bone related and just needs to be healed in time. Mentioned it was frustrating just waiting around for the pain to cease and lately he has been able to run around and says the injury is out of his hands and he is basically just waiting to wake up and have the pain gone. Says he feels good and hasn't lost anything in terms of strength and stamina.

Asked by the interviewer "what Jon Beason will be lined up against Seattle week 1?" Beason says he appreciates the doubters and they mean the world to him. Doubters have helped him turn into a man and the doubters have gotten him to where he is today. He always overcomes and always wins because of the doubters. He says he will be slightly upset, highly motivated, and eager to prove to the world who he is and who he can become. Believes he can still be the best player at his position. 52 will give everything he has got.

Interviewer says he doubted Thomas Davis getting back to form after three injuries. Beason is highly motivated by Davis and they went through rehab together and that they competed against each other in rehabbing and getting back to where they were. Wanted to win each day. Thomas Davis set a benchmark by coming back from three ACL injuries on the same knee. Beason said Thomas Davis has just scratched the service of his potential and that he is driven by Thomas.

Asked how good this 2013 Panthers can be. Said first and foremost we are healthy. Said offseason moves have helped both sides of the ball and we got deep at some positions where we were previously pretty shallow. Really loved our draft and said it undoubtedly made us better across the board.

Ripped on Adam Schein and wants to buy him lunch because he woke up everybody in the locker room and motivated everyone in the building and Beason thanked him for doing so. Guys know what is being said about them and it is just fuel for the fire. No one will speak of it but it is in the back of everyone's mind and the team and staff know what was said. Mentions the last two years and setting team highs/records for the number of guys that went on IR.

Jon and Thomas Davis have always competed and they sit around with Luke and joke about how no one can break tackling records this year because there aren't enough tackles to go around and they don't care about individual stat lines. They just want to be dominant as a unit. They want to be the best unit every Sunday and thats the level they plan to play at consistently and he is confident they will do so.

Interviewer brings up how Beason has been on NFL.com talking about 89 and Luke on the top 100. Says Beason is a really classy guy and deserves a tip of the hat. Beason said he wouldn't say things about Steve Smith and Luke if he didn't mean it. It isn't just because they are teammates and he says he is very very critical of other guys in this league. Said its a shame that Luke didn't get voted into the Pro-Bowl because its clear people didn't watch this defense and Luke go to work. Aside from believing Luke is already the best MLB in the game, that there is nobody close to Luke right now in terms of the potential he has and what he can be as a player.

Listen here! http://charlotte.cbs...ntire-building/

Panthers Sign 8 From Rookie Camp

Mon, 13 May 2013 19:46:59 +0000

According to their Twitter, the Carolina Panthers have signed 8 players from their Rookie Camp.

Carolina Panthers ‏@Panthers2m
The #Panthers have signed eight players following their participation at the team’s minicamp this past weekend: http://pnth.rs/11zbQFF

Carolina Panthers ‏@Panthers1m
The #Panthers have signed WR Brenton Bersin (Wofford), TE Logan Brock (TCU), C Brian Folkerts (Washburn) and DT Linden Gaydosh.

Carolina Panthers ‏@Panthers1m
We have also signed WR Taulib Ikharo (Louisiana Tech), LB Ben Jacobs (Fresno State), DE Louis Nzegwu (Wisconsin) & WR R.J. Webb (Furman).

Carolina Panthers ‏@Panthers1m
The #Panthers have waived WR Trey Diller, LB Damario Jeffery, DE Thomas Keiser and OL Zack Williams.

These players will have a chance to compete for a Carolina Panthers roster spot.

Colby Cameron - Carolina Panthers QB Prospect

Sun, 12 May 2013 11:42:31 +0000

Better know a prospect: Quarterback Colby Cameron - 6'2 210lbs out of Louisiana Tech.
Hometown: Newberry Park, California
Signed as Undrafted Free Agent by the Carolina Panthers

Colby Cameron is known as an excellent decision maker. He currently owns the NCAA record for passes thrown without an interception at 444 passes. This broke the record of a guy named Russel Wilson. Cameron won the 2012 Sammy Baugh award as the nation's top passer. The award had been previously won by guys like John Elway and Steve Young.

Colby compares himself to another California native... Aaron Rodgers.

The Carolina Panthers have brought in two young prospects to compete with Jimmy Clausen for the third string QB position. Colby Cameron and Matt McGloin will take snaps throughout the offseason OTAs. While McGloin was brought in well after the draft, Cameron was signed as an Undrafted Free Agent which suggests his stock may be a bit higher than McGloin's.

Colby Cameron Carolina Panthers Rookie Camp

During rookie camp, Cameron had mixed reviews. While his mechanics and arm strength appeared to be up to par, his accuracy was a tad off. Of course, this is to be expected as he is throwing to guys he just met the day before. Cameron has a few months to prove to the coaching staff that he can replace Jimmy Clausen and help save a bit of cap room in a season that every penny counts.

Colby Cameron Carolina Panthers Rookie Camp

Typically the Carolina Panthers keep 3 or 4 quarterbacks in training camp, which may mean that either Cameron or McGloin won't make it past either OTA's or possibly even rookie camp.

Carolina Panthers Rookie Camp Pictures

Sat, 11 May 2013 19:01:35 +0000

Rookie camp is basically an introduction for the rookies and undrafted free agents of note and a chance for scores of other players to try to get an invite to the regular camp.

In all honesty there is not much going on except the extreme fundamentals of the game. They break down the rookies with the basics and keep an eye out for others that show them something.

There is no real contact allowed, so we can only watch and notice the footwork and strength of the lineman in dummy drills and such.

So anyways on with some pics and general observations....

1- Gettleman is awesome. He has a much different personality than Hurney. Very outgoing. Just seems like a great guy. He reminds me of a highschool football coach from his demeanor to how he wears his shorts. He also chews tobacco, not redman, its out of a tin. A Copenhagen man.

Here David Gettleman takes time to sign an autograph.

2. A couple guys you may not have heard on but possibly keep an eye on....

Tori Mobley - Guard from Jacksonville State - 6'3 290. Undrafted Free Agent

Casey Walker - Defensive Tackle from Oklahoma. 6-1 335. This guy is HUGE.

3. Star Lotulelei is as advertised. He instantly makes you aware of what has been missing. He just has a presence about him. I was watching him in drills. Nimble feet, tons of power, and it all just seems to come to him naturally and effortlessly.

4. Kawaan Short - Looked fine in drills. The biggest thing was he was not corrected on anything. This was a day you really did not want your name called.

5. Matt McGloin our new QB prospect. He actually looked pretty sharp. The receivers were extremely sub par, but he seemed to hit most of them in stride. Not a big guy and doesn't seem to have a huge arm, but is very fluid. Maybe our own Andy Dalton (ginger reference). Gettleman was keeping a close eye on him (pictured below)

6. Ron Rivera seemed to be in really good spirits. If he is a man with his job on the line you couldn't tell by looking at him.

7. AJ Klein - Good guy. Took the time to sign autographs on the way in. Again, didn't hear his name all day which was a good thing. Bigger than I thought he would be (twss).

Schein "Carolina Panthers going nowhere "

Tue, 07 May 2013 19:40:01 +0000

I love this time of year in the NFL, just after the draft. It's filled with hope, promise and the dawn of a new day as teams prepare for the coming season.
There's just this problem I can't get past when it comes to Cam Newton, Ron Rivera and this year's Carolina Panthers.

I don't think they have a chance.
They don't have a chance for anything.I think the Panthers enter the 2013 season as the worst team in the NFC South. They finished last season at 7-9, tied in the division standings with the New Orleans Saints and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. But both of those clubs made improvements. While I liked the Panthers' haul in the 2013 NFL Draft, where did Carolina get noticeably better? Honestly, the Panthers could be one of the four worst teams in the NFC. Consequently, I expect this season to be Rivera's last at the helm in Carolina

http://www.nfl.com/n...vera-cam-newton

John Kasay to retire a Panther

Tue, 07 May 2013 14:32:17 +0000

Carolina Panthers kicker John Kasay will retire today as a Carolina Panther after signing a 1 day contract.

If Kenjon Barner shows competence, is Deangelo...

Tue, 07 May 2013 13:51:46 +0000

Kenjon Barner is a wiry 5'9 and 196 which is a good contrast to Stewart. His running style is more like Deangelo's than Jonathan, relying more on being elusive than powering through the defense.

The biggest knocks on Barner coming out was his propensity to run high and cut to the outside too much instead of taking it between the tackles.

Fast Forward to May practices outside of Bank of America Stadium.

Jim Skipper is once again the running backs coach. If he sees progress with Barner will that push the Deangelo cap issue to the forefront? How much progress will need to be seen?

For instance, lets say they coach him into running lower relatively easily. This shows real promise that he will improve as a prospect throughout camp. Some running backs NEVER learn to run lower (Eric Shelton).

So if he shows at least some real progress in just a few weeks, would that be enough to cut Deangelo Williams and save millions?

Do you think the friendship between Jim Skipper and Deangelo Williams effects his judgement or will Gettleman not allow personal feelings to be involved?

Competition at an All-Time High

Sun, 28 Apr 2013 11:32:21 +0000

In crafting his roster and molding it to his preferences, General Manager Dave Gettleman brought in players via free agency and the draft that are able to compete for playing time right now. In years past, under John Fox, training camp seemed to be a time where the usual suspects in the starting roles got into playing shape knowing their jobs were secured while the bottom half of the roster and depth guys tried to splash an earn a roster spot. These days are long gone.

Head Coach Ron Rivera has shown a tendency to make players earn their playing time. Unlike Fox whom often seemed loyal to certain players almost to a fault, Rivera has experimented with different lineups...particularly in the secondary. The days of struggling players getting the nod week in and week out are over and I believe this will be more noticeable this season as we have brought in experienced veterans at positions of need and greatly improved the bottom half our roster. Dave Gettleman, in one of his earliest press conferences with the Panthers, said this was one of his primary goals. I believe he has succeeded and am cautiously optimistic going forward. The free agents brought in coupled with the five players selected in the 2013 NFL Draft have greatly improved the roster overall even if a select few are starting week 1. Here is an inside look at some of the great camp battles that will be heating up in the following months and especially on the fields of Spartanburg:

The wide receiver position will likely be the biggest battle of camp. I suspect we place six guys on the active 53 man roster. Excluding the any UDFAs, there are currently ten receivers on the roster. I'd say only four of them are locks going forward.

Joe Adams

Lamont Bryant

Armanti Edwards

David Gettis

Ted Ginn

Domenik Hixon

Brandon LaFell

Kealoha Pilares

James Shaw

Steve Smith

Next up, the secondary. Between safety and cornerback excluding UDFAs, there are currently thirteen players on the roster. Corners are listed first. I could see another safety added in free agency, potentially.

James Dockery

Drayton Florence

Nick Hixson

DJ Moore

Captain Munnerlyn

Josh Norman

Josh Thomas

___________________

DJ Campbell

Charles Godfrey

Colin Jones

Mike Mitchell

Haruki Nakamura

Anderson Russell

In Spartanburg I will have my eye on possibly the most important camp-competition that is essential to this team's success: Guard. I suspect we may bring in another veteran with some of our remaining salary cap. A name to keep in mind is Brandon Moore.

Geoff Hangartner

Hayworth Hicks

Edmund Kugbila

Amini Silatolu

Justin Wells

Zack Williams

After our first two selections in this year's draft, the competition to get in on our defensive tackle will be worth a watch. We know several of these guys are locks to make the roster:

Nate Chandler

Colin Cole

Dwan Edwards

Sione Fua

Frank Kearse

Star Lotulelei

Kawann Short

It is no secret the linebacker position has several locks as well heading into the season. It is a strength of this roster but we cannot keep them all.

Jon Beason

Chase Blackburn

Thomas Davis

Doug Hogue

AJ Klein

Luke Kuechly

Jordan Senn

Jason Williams

Carolina surprised everyone by selecting Oregon running back Kenjon Barner in the sixth round of the draft. Running back has long been a strength on this roster and this year it will be no different. Mike Tolbert is a lock at fullback. I see us keeping four going into the season and we all know the locks to make the final roster:

Kenjon Barner

Tauren Poole

Armond Smith

Jonathan Stewart

DeAngelo Williams

Final Word/TLDR: Gettleman is looking to improve the depth and bottom half of this roster. I believe with the pieces in place he will be successful in just that. Camp competitions should be exciting and the best man will win out and earn a spot. All season long players will be battling in practices to take one another's job and that will improve this team on its own. I really believe our special teams will see great improvements this season if Adams makes the roster along with Barner, and they both are taken under the wing of Ginn. Senn will lead the special teams unit and I am anxious to see Klein out there with him laying the boom. When this team is trimmed down to the final roster of 53, I am confident the 53 will be much better at the top...and throughout the roster to the very bottom. This team can compete right now and competition at some key positions will bring out the best in the 2013 Carolina Panthers. We are due for a healthy, and winning season and if the coaching staff has grown and bettered themselves...we are destined to do some damage.

Carolina Panthers select LB AJ Klein.

Sat, 27 Apr 2013 18:51:58 +0000

Paired with outside linebacker Jake Knott, Klein made up half of arguably the top linebacker tandem in the nation over the past couple of seasons. Klein's terrific play didn't end in Ames, however. A solid performance at the East-West Shrine Game might have teams wondering if the highly instinctive playmaker can enjoy similar production in the NFL.
Klein was a three-star recruit out of Wisconsin, but didn't receive an offer from the Badgers and accepted a scholarship from the Cyclones.
After limited playing time as a freshman in 2009, he became a starter in 2010 and was quickly a standout, registering 111 tackles, 8.0 tackles for loss and three interceptions (two returned for touchdowns), earning All-Big 12 Honorable Mention honors. He followed that up two more remarkably statistically-similar campaigns, averaging 116.5 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks and another interception, each of which he returned for a score. Characterized by many throughout his career as lacking athleticism, Klein leaves Iowa State having tied the FBS record with four touchdowns scored off of interception returns.
Named a consensus All-Big 12 player in 2012 and the co-Defensive Player of the Year out of the conference (along with Oklahoma defensive end Frank Alexander) in 2011, Klein has proved himself to be among the more consistent and dependable linebackers in the country. While he may not possess the ideal timed speed or change of direction of his peers, he's fast on the field due to terrific instincts and effort.
As such, don't be among those "surprised" when his success continues in the NFL, even if he winds up being drafted later than his production would seem to warrant.

Carolina Panthers select G Edmund Kugbila

Sat, 27 Apr 2013 17:36:11 +0000

Kugbila was picked to participate in the NFL Scouting Combine, but this wasn’t likely the most fortuitous selection in his family’s history. Kugliba’s parents Cletus and Lucy, won a visa lottery that allowed their family to move to the United States from Ghana. Kugbila and his family moved to the U.S. in 2000 when he was 10 years old. His younger brother Romauld, an Archer grad, is a freshman on the West Georgia football team. Edmund began playing football in the seventh grade. His size and talent attracted schools such as Alabama, Georgia, Vanderbilt and Florida, but a low SAT score prevented him from academically qualifying for a Division I school.

However, Kugbila has made the most of his time at Valdosta State. After playing in all 10 games in 2009 as a reserve, Kugbila started 10 games at tackle in the following season, and recorded the second most knockdown blocks on the team. In 2011, Kugbila moved to guard and played in all 10 games with eight starts. He was named all-conference and third team All-American. Kugbila finished his college career by helping Valdosta claim the national championship in 2012.

Round 2: Panthers select Kawann Short

Sat, 27 Apr 2013 11:15:56 +0000

Strengths:

Good pass-rusher
Fast, quick
Capable of taking games over
Can be dominant
Plays with good pad level
Good feet
Quick get-off
Good use of hands
Repertoire of moves
Able to use hands and feet at same time
Has the ability to shed blocks
Can beat double-teams
Plays with good strength
Athletic
Can be extremely disruptive
Splash plays
Instinctive
Capable run-defender

Round 1: Carolina Panthers Select Star Lotulelei

Fri, 26 Apr 2013 02:31:50 +0000

With their first pick in the 2013 Draft the Carolina Panthers select Star Lotulelei

Rarely does a player come along who so thoroughly dominates his competition that he generates buzz across the entire nation despite posting only average statistics and playing in a relatively small media market. That is precisely what 6-3, 318-pound defensive tackle Star Lotulelei accomplished for Utah.
Recognized by Pac-12 offensive linemen as the best defensive lineman in the conference with the Morris Trophy in 2011, Lotulelei posted 44 tackles, nine tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks despite facing consistent double- and even occasional triple-team blocks in 2011.
He battled through the same level of attention from defensive coordinators in 2012, and still earned his second selection to the All-Pac-12 first team. He finished the regular season with a team-high 11 tackles for loss and 5.0 sacks to go along with four pass breakups, four fumble recoveries and three forced fumbles.
Lotulelei, who was born in Tonga, is married with a daughter. He prepped at Bingham High School in South Jordan, where he was part of a state championship team.
He then spent two years at Snow College, racking up 52 tackles, 14 for losses, three sacks and a forced fumble in 2008. He attended Snow again in 2009, but did not play football before transferring to Utah.
Lotulelei's once rock-solid status as a top half of the first round selection took a major hit when his medical check at the Scouting Combine revealed a heart issue. He immediately returned home and began undergoing a battery of tests from doctors. Rob Rang reported in early April that Lotulelei had passed the "gold standard" of heart tests, but many teams are likely to remove him from their draft boards nonetheless.

http://www.cbssports.../star-lotulelei

Panthers 2013 Schedule

Fri, 19 Apr 2013 12:16:39 +0000

http://www.nfl.com/t...hedule?team=CAR

MNF vs Patriots

TNF @ Buccaneers

Week 4 Bye is poo.

1) September 8th vs Seahawks 1pm
2) September 15th @ Bills 1pm
3) September 22nd vs Giants 1pm
4) Bye
5) October 6th @ Cardinals 4:05pm
6) October 13th @ Vikings 1pm
7) October 20th vs Rams 1pm
8) October 24th @ Buccaneers 8:25pm TNF
9) November 3rd vs Falcons 1pm
10) November 10th @ 49ers 4:05pm
11) November 18th vs Patriots 8:40pm MNF
12) November 24th @ Dolphins 1pm
13) December 1st vs Buccaneers 1pm
14) December 8th @ Saints 1pm
15) December 15th vs Jets 4:05pm
16) December 22nd vs Saints 1pm
17) December 29th @ Falcons 1pm

Recap of all 2013 moves and estimated current c...

Thu, 28 Mar 2013 10:04:37 +0000

Players restructured
Greg Olsen-Shuffled money around and saved 2.4 million for this year's cap but added to later years
Ryan Kalil -Shuffled money around and saved 3.45 million for this year cap but added to later years
Jordan Gross- Saved 6.8 million for this year for this years cap and add's 3.6 in future dead money
Haruki Nakumara- Saved 500k for this year
Jonathan Stewart-minor move that raised cap figure $200k, unsure of why we did this.

total net savings for 2013 cap from ^^ = 9.75 million

Players Cut
James Anderson(June 1st designation)-Signed With Bears saves 2.8 Million in cap space
Chris Gamble- Retired wealthy on his 30th B-day.- Saved 7.9 Million in cap space
Ron Edwards - Saved 2.5 million.

total savings for 2013 cap from ^^ = 13.2 million

combining the restructure savings and the outright cuts = 22.7 million in total savings for 2013 Cap

Dead money committed to 2014 cap from these moves = 5.4 million...this does not include increased future cap figures for Kalil and Olsen from their restructures..didn't feel like looking up the specific's on them.

2013 Signings and cap hits *all 1 years unless otherwise noted
Captain $1.1 million (including $300k signing bonus)
Derek Anderson   $850k
Tedd Ginn Jr.    $750k
Mike Mitchell $725k
D.J Moore $715k
Drayton Florence $620k
Ben Hartstock   $620k
Colin Cole $555k
Richie Brockel $555k
Dwan Edwards TBD- 2 year deal
Chase Blackburn TBD- 2 year deal

Free agents not resigned
Gary Barnidge -Signed with Browns
Louis Murphy-Signed with Giants
Jason Phillips- Signed with Eagles
Sherrod Martin
Antwan Applewhite
Mike Pollack
Nate Ness
Andre Neblett

Other
Exercised option on Tolbert to remain with team thru 2015.

Estimated current cap room=7.636 million.*not including Edwards and Blackburn signings.
(PFT said we had $936,00 before the Gross Savings of 6.8 million and accounting for the Dwan Edwards and Chase Blackburn signings)

Cap room will also jump 2.8 million after June 1st once James Anderson cut hits the books.

Lastly the Rookie pool for our 13 Rookie class is expected to cost us around 4 million.

Jordan Gross restructured

Wed, 27 Mar 2013 16:45:39 +0000

@SteveReedAP
BREAKING: Panthers OT Jordan Gross has agreed to a restructured contract. Base salary reduced from $8.7M to $1M in '13, $6.7M to $1M in '14.

@SteveReedAP4m
I'm not sure at this point if years were added on to the contract, but that would make sense. Hope to know more soon.

That'll help.

Ted Ginn joins the Panthers on a one-year deal

Fri, 22 Mar 2013 11:29:53 +0000

Former 49ers wide receiver Ted Ginn Jr. signed a one-year deal with the Carolina Panthers, ESPN reported Thursday, ending his three-year tenure in San Francisco.
Ginn had only two receptions in 2012 and ceded his kickoff-return duties to rookie LaMichael James late in the regular season, but he remained effective as a punt returner. He was 11th in the NFL in punt-return average (11.2 yards) after ranking fourth and third, respectively, the previous two seasons.
In the Super Bowl, Ginn's 32-yard third-quarter punt return set up a 20-yard touchdown drive in the midst of San Francisco's second-half rally.

WR Steve Smith from Iraq: 'A life-changing...

Thu, 21 Mar 2013 18:42:56 +0000

"They showed us how they detect them and it was incredible," Smith said. "These soldiers are so brave.

"It doesn't compare to what we do [NFL players]. It's not even in the same hemisphere with sports. Nothing we do as NFL players is brave compared to these guys."

Then Smith explained he wanted to say one last thing and what he said reminded me of the combative Smith. But this was the good combative Smith.

"One of the generals told us there are thousands and thousands of soldiers here fighting for our country and they need our support," Smith said. "No matter what people thought of the war or think of it now, these soldiers need our support. So the next time anyone is protesting, just remember, they have the right to protest because of soldiers like these."

http://www.cbssports...ging-experience

DJ Moore Signs 1 Year Deal w/ Panthers

Tue, 19 Mar 2013 20:49:36 +0000

https://twitter.com/...103898774331392

Former Bears nickel back D.J. Moore told me he's about to sign a 1-year deal with the Carolina Panthers in a sec. Should be a good addition.

Panthers cut James Anderson

Tue, 12 Mar 2013 19:59:45 +0000

According to Schefter on Twitter.

https://twitter.com/...491117126393856

Chris Gamble to Retire

Mon, 11 Mar 2013 20:29:12 +0000

Josina Anderson ‏@JosinaAnderson
Agent Carl Poston just told me that Chris Gamble informed him last night that he wants to retire. His full quote is coming next

Rest well sir!

Full quote
Agent Carl Poston to me on Chris Gamble informing him he wants to retire: “A number of teams have expressed interest in Chris Gamble. However, Chris informed me last night that he wants to retire. Even though he still loves football, he told me that he’s decided to focus on life after football. Chris has been a class act. I have represented him for nine years, ever since he came out of Ohio State. He’s been an ideal client and he was one of the best corners in game. He’s doing it the right way. He has taken care of his money and his investments to retire successfully, and now I wish him the best in his future endeavors.” —Carl Poston

Everything you need to know about our cap, pote...

Fri, 08 Feb 2013 11:48:36 +0000

First of all here are the best links available to help you understand our cap situation and rules.

http://www.eaglescap...alyzingCBA.html (faq on the rules)

http://www.askthecom...laryCap/faq.asp (another faq on the rules)

http://www.spotrac.c...nthers/cap-hit/ (Our cap hits and access to details on every players contract..Click on specific player's full contract to see future cap hits and signing bonus money still counting against the cap in future years)

http://espn.go.com/n...ct-cap-strategy (Every teams updated cap space, except for Giants who have already begun making cuts).

Heres some things you need to know.

Signing bonus- This is guaranteed money players receive as soon as their contract is signed. This money can be  and often is spread over the course of a player contracts for up to 5 years. This means the player already has the money but the hit against the cap is spread out. If we cut a player we are no longer responsible for their base salary and owe them nothing. The only deterrent to cutting a player with a large signing bonus is we still have to take the hit against the cap of whatever guaranteed money has not already been accounted for against the cap.

Base Salary- This is the yearly money a player will receive if still on the team, this money and their amortized signing bonus, plus any other workout bonus accounts for our total cap hit.

Dead Money- This refers to money that counts against the cap from players who were cut before their signing bonus has been fully accounted for against the cap.

June 1st cuts-  Teams can divide up the remaining dead money or unaccounted for against the cap signing bonus money from players cut over the current year and the next.
*As we did with Wharton last year the new CBA allows for a team to cut up to 2 players before June 1st and still be designated as a June 1st cut, hence allowing a team to spread the hit over 2 years without officially having to wait until June to do so.

March 12th- This is our first deadline to be under the cap(first day of the league year and start of free agency). When we cut down to 53 in September we will have to make sure we are under the cap again.

131.8 Million- This is the amount we are currently have committed to the 2013 cap. The cap is right at 121 Million for 2013.

4,526,462- The amount of the dead money already hitting our cap for 2013. Most of this came from 2 players, Mare(2 Million) and Wharton(1.8 million)

4.5-5 million- The amount our rookie class should roughly count against our cap. (Brockers the 14th overall last year counted 2.164 Million against the rams cap last year, Mychal Kendricks the 46th overall pick last year count just over 1 million against the eagles cap last year thats roughly 3.75 million to our 2 first rounders, plus we'll have a few other picks counting less as well)

Easiest way to calculate for yourself- Go to the spotrac website referenced above. Look at the cap hits and how much remaining signing bonus money we have spread out on each player by clicking on their name. IF you cut that player ignore their base salary and just use the signing bonus money as a cap hit. Choose to spread it out over 1 or 2 years. Keep in mind spreading it out over 2 years can be very helpful but just creates more dead money down the road.

Ways to save without using June 1st rule and piling up dead money for 2014 as well
Cutting Gross would save us 10.7 Million
Cutting Gamble would save us  8.95 million
Cutting Ron Edwards would save us 2.5 million
Cutting Gary Williams would save us 1.125 Million
Cutting Hangartner would save 1.575
Cutting Nakumara would save $967,000

*We could cut other players but if won't save us close to a million no point in fooling with them right now.

**Gross and Gamble should be very easy to restructure as their contracts are almost up and have very little leverage because their remaining signing bonus money to hit the cap is very small(1 Million for Gross and 2 million for Gamble).

Players that would have to be a june 1st cut to save us money this year and by default next year too, but will cause dead money to be on the books in 2014.
Cutting Beason would have an immediate savings of 3.5 million this year and 6.75 million next year.

Cutting Deangleo would have an immediate savings us of 3.4 million in 13 and 4.4 million in 2014. Cutting D-will will also create another 4.6 million in dead money for 2014, because he has a total of 9.6 million in signing bonus scheduled to hit the cap over the next 3 years.

Further reading on Beason situation.
Something has to be done here because not only does he have a large cap hit for 13(9.5 million) it goes up to 10.75 in 2014 and 11.75 in 2015. Since he has 12 million in signing bonus money scheduled to hit the books over the next 3 years( 4 million a year) if we cut him now it would require an immediate hit of the full 12 million. That is more than his current cap hit of 9.5 million if we keep him. Therefore if were going to cut him it makes more sense to do it as a june 1st cut if looking for the cap relief for this year. However if Gettleman can get us under the cap without making him a june 1st cut 2014 will have a much better outlook as we won't have 6 million in dead money already committed to the books.

Further reading on Deangleo Williams situation.

Cutting D-will will also create another 4.6 million in dead money for 2014, because he has a total of 9.6 million in signing bonus scheduled to hit the cap over the next 3 years. If we can bite the bullet on him for this year and hold off on cutting him until next year it would be much more ideal from a fiscal sense. If we cut him next year we can do it before June 1st and still save 2.8 million without carrying over dead money into 2015.

1 other wildcard here would be James Anderson but much like Deangleo if you look at his contract it makes much more sense to wait another year on him .http://www.spotrac.com/nfl/carolina-panthers/james-anderson.

In summary it looks nice and pretty to cut Gamble and Gross but because they have little signing bonus money yet to hit the cap, it provides us a good leverage in negotiating a restructure or small extension. On the flip side someone like Beason who has 12 million in signing bonus money yet to hit our cap has the upper hand on us in regards to not renegotiating if does  not want to. I just think much like Wharton, Beason's time is up because we have drafted his much cheaper replacement.

Heres our 2013 Unrestricted Free Agents
Dwan Edwards
Jordan Senn
Antwan Applewhite
Captain Munnerlyn
Louis Murphy
Sherrod Martin
Ben Hartstock
Gary Barnidge
Mike Pollack
Derek Anderson

Restricted Free Agents
Jason Phillips
Nate Ness
Richie Brockel
Andre Neblett

**also something to keep in mind is that Hardy will be a free agent next year and Cam the following year. Both these players are on pace to demand larger contracts so we need to cut back on the trend of doing june 1st cuts and carrying "dead money" over as much as possible so we can retain them.

This post has been promoted to an article

Everything you need to know about our cap, pote...

Thu, 07 Feb 2013 16:05:45 +0000

First of all here are the best links available to help you understand our cap situation and rules.

http://www.eaglescap...alyzingCBA.html (faq on the rules)

http://www.askthecom...laryCap/faq.asp (another faq on the rules)

http://www.spotrac.c...nthers/cap-hit/ (Our cap hits and access to details on every players contract..Click on specific player's full contract to see future cap hits and signing bonus money still counting against the cap in future years)

http://espn.go.com/n...ct-cap-strategy (Every teams updated cap space, except for Giants who have already begun making cuts).

Heres some things you need to know.

Signing bonus- This is guaranteed money players receive as soon as their contract is signed. This money can be  and often is spread over the course of a player contracts or up to 6 years. This means they already have the money but the hit against the cap is spread out. If we cut a player we are no longer responsible for their base salary and owe them nothing. The only deterrent to cutting a player with a large signing bonus is we still have to take the hit against the cap of whatever guaranteed money has not already been accounted for against the cap.

Base Salary- This is the yearly money a player will receive if still on the team, this money and their amortized  signing bonus, plus any other workout bonus accounts for our total cap hit.

Dead Money- This refers to money that counts against the cap from players who were cut before their signing bonus has been accounted for against the cap.

June 1st cuts-  Teams can divide up the remaining dead money or unaccounted for against the cap signing bonus money from players cut over the current year and the next.
*As we did with Wharton last year the new CBA allows for a team to cut up to 2 players before June 1st and still be designated as a June 1st cut, hence allowing a team to spread the hit over 2 years without officially having to wait until June to do so.

March 12th- This is our first deadline to be under the cap(first day of the league year and start of free agency). When we cut down to 53 in September we will have to make sure we are under the cap again.

131.8 Million- This is the amount we are currently have committed to the 2013 cap. The cap is right at 121 Million for 2013.

4,526,462- The amount of the dead money already hitting our cap for 2013. Most of this came from 2 players, Mare(2 Million) and Wharton(1.8 million)

4.5-5 million- The amount our rookie class should roughly count against our cap. (Brockers the 14th overall last year counted 2.164 Million against the rams cap last year, Mychal Kendricks the 46th overall pick last year count just over 1 million against the eagles cap last year thats roughly 3.75 million to our 2 first rounders, plus we'll have a few other picks counting less as well)

Easiest way to calculate for yourself- Go to the spotrac website referenced above. Look at the cap hits and how much renaming signing bonus money we have spread out on each player by clicking on their name. IF you cut that player ignore their base salary and just used the signing bonus money as a cap hit. Choose to spread it out over 1 or 2 years. Keep in mind spreading it out over 2 years can be very helpful but just creates more dead money down the road.

Ways to save without using June 1st rule and piling up dead money for 2014 as well
Cutting Gross would save us 10.7 Million
Cutting Gamble would save us  8.95 million
Cutting Ron Edwards would save us 2.5 million
Cutting Gary Williams would save us 1.125 Million
Cutting Hangartner would save 1.575
Cutting Nakumara would save $967,000

*We could cut other players but if won't save us close to a million no point in fooling with them right now.

**Gross and Gamble should be very easy to restructure as their contracts are almost up and have very little leverage because their remaining signing bonus money to hit the cap is very small(1 Million for Gross and 2 million for Gamble).

Players that would have to be a june 1st cut to save us money this year and by default next year too, but will cause dead money to be on the books in 2014.
Cutting Beason would have an immediate savings of 3.5 million this year and 6.75 million next year.

Cutting Deangleo would have an immediate savings us of 3.4 million in 13 and 4.4 million in 2014. Cutting D-will will also create another 4.6 million in dead money for 2014, because he has a total of 9.6 million in signing bonus scheduled to hit the cap over the next 3 years.

Further reading on Beason situation.
Something has to be done here because not only does he have a large cap hit for 13(9.5 million) it goes up to 10.75 in 2014 and 11.75 in 2015. Since he as has 12 million in signing bonus money scheduled to hit the books over the next 3 years( 4 million a year) if we cut him now it would require an immediate hit of the full 12 million. That is more than his current cap hit of 9.5 million if we keep him. Therefore if were going to cut him it makes more sense to do it as a june 1st cut if looking for the cap relief for this year. However if Gettleman can get us under the cap without making him a june 1st cut 2014 will have a much better outlook as we won't have 6 million in dead money already committed to the books.

Further reading on Deangleo Williams situation.

Cutting D-will will also create another 4.6 million in dead money for 2014, because he has a total of 9.6 million in signing bonus scheduled to hit the cap over the next 3 years. If we can bite the bullet on him for this year and hold of on cutting him next year it would be much more ideal from a fiscal sense. If we cut him next year we can do it before June 1st and still save 2.8 million without carrying over dead money into 2015.

1 other wildcard here would be James Anderson but much like Deangleo if you look at his contract it makes much more sense to wait another year on him.http://www.spotrac.com/nfl/carolina-panthers/james-anderson.

In summary it looks nice and pretty to cut Gamble and Gross but because they have little signing bonus money yet to hit the cap, it provides us a good leverage in negotiating a restructure or small extension. On the flip side someone like Beason who has 12 million in signing bonus money yet to hit our cap has the upper hand on us in regards to not renegotiating if does  not want to. I just think much like Wharton, Beason's time is up because we have drafted his much cheaper replacement.

Heres our 2013 Unrestricted Free Agents
Dwan Edwards
Jordan Senn
Antwan Applewhite
Captain Munnerlyn
Louis Murphy
Sherrod Martin
Ben Hartstock
Gary Barnidge
Mike Pollack
Derek Anderson

Restricted Free Agents
Jason Phillips
Nate Ness
Richie Brockel
Andre Neblett

**also something to keep in mind is that Hardy will be a free agent next year and Cam the following year. Both these players are on pace to demand larger contracts so we need to cut back on the trend of doing june 1st cuts and carrying "dead money" over as much as possible to we can retain them.

Luke Kuechly wins DROY

Sun, 03 Feb 2013 01:17:54 +0000

Luke Kuechly was named the 2012 Associated Press NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year on Saturday night at "NFL Honors" after Panthers quarterback Cam Newton was awarded that honor on offense one season ago. Newton's award was no surprise, and neither is Kuechly's.

http://www.nfl.com/n...bile=ios-tablet

Panthers Hire Al Holcomb as LB Coach

Sat, 26 Jan 2013 13:08:28 +0000

Adam Schefter ‏@AdamSchefter
Panthers hired former Giants assistant coach Al Holcomb as their linebackers coach. Google Holcomb from last season's SB. Great story.

One step forward, two steps back. The story of...

Sun, 20 Jan 2013 11:20:48 +0000

I know you've experienced it before. When things aren't going right. When you're in a funk. Whether it's personal or business. We've all experienced it..

Then things start to happen. From little to big things. This has been the rhetoric of the Carolina Panthers of late.  Take a step forward and then two back.

Let's flashback to 2010. When everything was in a funk. A lame duck coach. Yes, Foxy was a lame duck coach. NO matter what any of you that wish he was still here say. He was a LAME DUCK COACH. Hey, it is what it is.. or what it was. Having a QB carousel, not knowing who will start the next week. A rookie QB that was thrown to the wolves. Sure he wasn't any good to begin with but eh. He was dead on arrival. The staff was as vanilla as can be. Jeff Davidson was the OC then. Remember that? Run, run, pass on 3rd and long, punt (good play man good play!). Predictable.

2011 Draft. Cam becomes our 'savior',  start out bad, finish strong. the rest is history. (Lockout was the main scapegoat for this season. Injuries as well. Lack of experience from the coaching staff.)

2012 comes, high hopes on everyones minds. We start out horribly, finish strong with a 1 game improvement. What was the scapegoat this season? Coaching staff regressing? Injuries to key players? Lack of talent at certain positions? Yes on all accounts.

The Coaching staff for whatever reason did not progress like most of us would have thought. Chud went "full retard". Yes, he somehow thought it would be a great Idea that running the Read Option as a base offense would work. When the prior year it wasn't done that way. It was thrown in periodically. Was it Rivera's fault for not supervising Chud? Could be.. He shares part of the blame. But ultimately that was on Chud for even thinking about it. The running game was abandoned. Towards the end of the season we finally clicked. But again, took a step forward at the end of 2011, and took two steps back in the beginning of this season. I blame mostly Chud for this.

McDermott, who even as of last year. I thought was a moron... Really won me over. I believe that the players finally bought into his system. It works. Sure it worked for sub par teams. But let's look at the Denver Game. Take away the special teams blunders, that game was controlled by this defense for a huge chunk of the time. Keeping Manning In check. But again, Denvers special teams just steam rolled through ours. The momentum was too much. Not McD's department. Most of the season the wins can be accounted for 1 key play in the defense. That falls to lack of Talent at the players in that position.

Safety. Corner in some games. Not going to go in the 'had (Players name) made that play' game. We all know that doesn't exist.

The special teams, which was suppose to improve with a certain player from Arkansas, did not. Armanti Edwards was the person that took care of these responsibilities. Yes. He did an ok job. But being run down by the punter? Come on man.

Rivera: There's been plenty of blunders that he's committed. Time management is still a foreign concept to him. Time outs with a minute left and the ability to move up the field to get at least 3 points is a sin. Regardless, during the whole seasons progression. I did notice he took command, being under a lot of heat. I mean tremendous heat. After Hurney was fired. I believe this was the turning point of the Coaching staff. Rivera firing the special teams coach as well. Could be a scapegoat, who knows. But it took balls. In the beginning of the season where you have one of the leagues most talented backfields, and expensive, you don't feel comfortable enough to go for it on 4th and 1 to finish a game? Not even mentioning Cam Newtons 6'5 frame that could easily stretch out to get 1 freaking yard... Rivera grew some balls. Yes, testicular fortitude was acquired in the latter part of the season. There were several games we went for it. The Raiders game to go for the field goal to seal the win. It took cojones.

Ending the season with a one game improvement isn't much of an improvement. But it is an improvement regardless.  I'm not condoning mediocrity. But I am promoting patience. 2008 was a long time ago. We yearn as a fan base the ability to talk poo to others that we're in the playoffs and they aren't. That we're the best team of our division but we're not. I understand that.

Take a look at this off season so far. "One step forward, two steps back.." Oh wait. Gettleman is a huge step forward. Shula is more of a lateral move to me (admittedly I though as this as a step backwards). I did not want him at first but then I soaked it in a bit. Chud won't be playing mad scientist anymore. He won't be here to abandon that running game we have. Skipper was hired again, that's another huge plus.  A third year in the same system will help Cam. The draft isn't even here yet and our holes are glaring but minimal. The lines and weapons for Cam. We aren't making this team learn new systems which would set us back. If anything we'll have a more balanced attack with more use of our running backs. That's the way I see it.

So far I don't see a step backwards.

TL;DR? Patience.

This post has been promoted to an article

First Impressions: Dave Gettleman

Tue, 15 Jan 2013 23:52:02 +0000

For those who watched the press conference (or those who will watch it later) what do you see/hear?

Here's the link for those who didn't see it.

Dave Gettleman: It's about getting it right

Chudzinksi hired as Cleveland Head Coach

Fri, 11 Jan 2013 12:15:21 +0000

The Browns hauled their coaching search to Arizona and back. They talked to high-profile college coaches, NFL assistants and a fired pro coach who took a team to a Super Bowl.
None of them was hired.
Instead, Rob Chudzinski became their pick.
With no experience as a head coach at any level, Chudzinski was hired Thursday night by the Cleveland Browns, the team he cheered for as a kid. This is Chudzinski's third stint with the team, but this time around he's the guy in charge.
Chudzinski, who spent the past two seasons calling plays as Carolina's offensive coordinator, is the Browns' sixth full-time coach since 1999 and 14th in team history.

Gettleman hired as Panthers GM

Thu, 10 Jan 2013 11:39:53 +0000

CHARLOTTE - The Carolina Panthers announced Wednesday that Dave Gettleman has been named the team's general manager.

Gettleman comes to Carolina from the New York Giants where he served as the Senior Pro Personnel Analyst last season after working as Director of Pro Personnel the previous 13 years.

"I was very impressed with Dave's experience and think he will be a very good fit for our organization," Panthers Owner/Founder Jerry Richardson said. "He has an extensive background in personnel and comes from an organization in the New York Giants that I hold in high regard and played an instrumental role in their success."

http://www.panthers....d8-9c40dc02131e

Are the Panthers attractive to a GM prospect?

Sun, 06 Jan 2013 16:50:35 +0000

If I am a high level executive looking at prospective employers, no matter the industry, I am first going to look at the task at hand. What will my responsibilities be, what will I need to fix or improve. Will I be given the support from the owner or board to fix those issues? Or am I being set up to fail?

Surely these are the same things any GM will be asking.

When I see the Panthers, I see a team with a couple extremely talented young players, but also a good number of cap heavy older non producers. I also see ownership that isn't exactly eager to aggressively seek out free agents to fill holes unless left no other option.

So, I would line up the pros and cons...

Pros
An owner that is loyal. Previous GM had longevity through losing seasons.
2 potential young all pro players at key positions, QB and MLB
3rd year coach with system in place, not starting over
Team seemed to rally late in the year, being 6-2

Cons
A complete mess of a cap
Major cuts needed right away to long term vets, leadership and chemistry will take a hit
Ownership is not exactly eager to sign free agents or trades to fill holes unless last resort
3rd year coach who can't seem to win games against quality teams
An overall tradition of losing.

The way I see it, the Carolina GM job isn't extremely attractive, but it isn't terrible either. It's somewhere in the middle of the pack.

Top notch GM candidates will have better opportunities and take them. Secondary prospects will see the Panthers as an opportunity to impress.

Beane being a secondary prospect and already in house gives him the edge. See loyalty above. All things point to him being our guy.