I think we should keep Ken Lucas...

[SorthNarolina]

A lot of people here are in favor of cutting him after a down year(which is to be expected on this board), but I really don't see the point

Cutting lucas would open up a hole in the secondary that none of our current players could fill, marshall is an excellent corner but I feel he's more suited for the slot recievers.

It's obvious that the defensive line is the weakest unit we have right now, and all of our attention is going to be focused on getting the line back up to our standards

and with a better line the secondary will look loads better

I think it's possible that he definatley be restructured or extended to a better deal that lessens his cap hit this year.

[Cat'sGrowl]

I agree that Ken is a good enough player to stay on the roster,

He slipped up the second half of the year, and there is just part of me that wonders if it was a lack of confidence due to what happened in Training Camp with Smitty.

Remember Ken was the best CB at the beginning of the year, and also struggled this down the stretch thanks to CGy being out of place(rookie mistakes)

Ken Lucas is a really good CB, and is just 2 years removed form being called the the 3rd best in the league by PFW.

But we dont know what happened for sure, and we'll have to trust the decision the FO makes.

Remember, he's a good CB, but a 9mill. dollar cap hit is a lot.

We'd benefit either way IMO, and well just have to wait and see in which way the FO thinks we'll benefit more.

If the FO is planning on doing some spending this offseason, then id say Ken probably gets cut, but if our main focus is on signing the core guys and making some slight modifications at other positions, then i think Ken comes back.

[XClown1986]

If he stays, he'd have to be restructured. Decent play doesn't deserve excellent pay.

[Cat'sGrowl]

If he stays, he'd have to be restructured. Decent play doesn't deserve excellent pay.

:iagree:

[Mr. Scot]

I've mused over whether moving Godfrey to his college CB position (less cerebral) and keeping Lucas to play free safety could work.

Not something I'd atually expect the team to consider, though.

[manwithcake]

It's not worth restructuring his contract unless he agrees to a massive paycut. We could conceivably go get Hayden from Indy and he'd start over Lucas.

[mantal]

I've mused over whether moving Godfrey to his college CB position (less cerebral) and keeping Lucas to play free safety could work.

Not something I'd atually expect the team to consider, though.

I see where you might think that, but hesitate after thinking about the Thomas Davis experiment and to a lessor extent, the Jordan Gross one. Changing positions can cause a year or two of mediocre to poor play before they begin to flourish in the new position...

[Mr. Scot]

I see where you might think that, but hesitate after thinking about the Thomas Davis experiment and to a lessor extent, the Jordan Gross one. Changing positions can cause a year or two of mediocre to poor play before they begin to flourish in the new position...

I'd generally agree, but free safety is a little more "think" and corner is a little more "react". That's the reason I'm pondering the idea.

I seriously doubt the team would ponder it, but then one of Meeks' strengths is putting folks in the best position to succeed, so who knows?

[mantal]

I'd generally agree, but free safety is a little more "think" and corner is a little more "react". That's the reason I'm pondering the idea.

I seriously doubt the team would ponder it, but then one of Meeks' strengths is putting folks in the best position to succeed, so who knows?

Yeah, I agree and almost went there...

[thefuzz]

It's really all up to Lucas. If he wants to stay in Carolina, and thinks that we have a Super Bowl calibre team, then he will restructure. If he is more interested in one last payday, then he will have to leave.

I personally like Lucas, and think that he is one of the better corners in the league, but he is aging, and the cap hit is too much.

[Mr. Scot]

He wouldn't be the first big corner to finish up his career at free safety if he were moved.

[Darth Bobo]

When it comes to the retention or attrition of players, I have more faith in the Panthers staff than ever before from years prior. This last year they cut out a lot of "dead weight", though I feel dirty and wrong calling those guys that, but we were a better team for them having done so.

You have to win the game in the payroll office in order to win the games on the field. Sure there is a Darwinian cruelty to that, but its true. Need proof? ==>WASHINGTON REDSKINS.

I know why they didn't make those changes before. They put their loyalty to outstanding individual players above the mission that gave them that opportunity. Good owners, coaches, and managers want to be loyal to players and to the mission of winning games, and when luck is on their side, they do. Richardson deserves a respect far beyond fair-weather owners like Jerry Jones who only care about buying those wins, and to hell with the lives who earn them.

But when luck isn't on the side of good organizations, the priority has to be winning. Fans who pay ridiculous ticket costs deserve that. Prior to last year, I really thought the priority was backwards, even if honorably so.

Point being, that if the cuts have to be made, including Lucas, we are prepared to do it.

And speaking of Lucas, one has to wonder the Steve Smith affect. Sure, these grown men have years of setting aside emotional hangups and player skirmishes for the sake of their career. Forgiveness is easier than forgetting though. What lesson was Lucas supposed to learn from that? Don't cover Smith too hard in practice? That would be 100% grade A bullsh*t.

How is a self-respecting starter supposed to feel in front of a crowd of fans who think the man who broke your nose with a sucker-punch, and only apologized indirectly for it, is some kind of hero? When 89 is on every fifth jersey in the stadium?

Ken Lucas, like all humans, can't simply will himself into feeling a certain way. That isn't a realistic expectation. The Smith punch appeared not to have affected his professionalism or work ethic, because those are only a matter of personal effort, which is no problem for an NFL player of Lucas' caliber. But the assault is damn sure going to affect how he feels and how he is inspired. We have no control over our own psyche.

Seems to me that if Delhomme is a fixture, so is Smith. Lucas understands that. Call me crazy, but if I were Lucas, I'd either want Smith gone, or I'd want to move somewhere less distracting. The Panthers have nothing decent to offer Lucas anymore except the most profitable and expensive year of his contract, which brings up the value argument.

I agree with you that Lucas's play has appeared to decay a bit, but there could be lots of reasons why that we don't see. He has proven the heart and mind to be a pro-bowl CB. Does he still have the body?

Only the coaches and Ken can know that. If its time for Ken Lucas to depart, our organization will know it, and they will make it so. I don't think they'll have to repeat the mistakes of the past, i.e. Minter, Morgan, Colbert, Rucker. The Panthers organization obviosuly understands now that our success in 2008 was made possible by the departure of some great men who "lost it".

[mantal]

It's really all up to Lucas. If he wants to stay in Carolina, and thinks that we have a Super Bowl calibre team, then he will restructure. If he is more interested in one last payday, then he will have to leave.

I personally like Lucas, and think that he is one of the better corners in the league, but he is aging, and the cap hit is too much.

Lucas is smart enough to know this, IMO. He will restructure...

[thefuzz]

In your scheme, would you have CD as the nickle?

Like I said, it's all up to Lucas. Willing to accept the fact of age, and less pay, to try to win the big one.