Internal struggles regarding Peppers?

[Fireball77]

Good points Woodie.

[Mr. Scot]

Gantt pointed out that it's worth remembering that some of what is 'leaked' to the media is done so with an eye toward affecting the ultimate outcome of this story. The stories from Adam Schefter and Tom Curran could well be part of that.

[monstercat]

But the problem he has is that if none of the teams he wants to play for are willing to offer the Panthers an acceptable package, he may have to choose between playing here under the tag (with no guarantee that the same thing won't happen again next year) or accepting a trade to a team not on his wish list. And since the Panthers have done a good job of playing it as if they are willing and able to absorb the cap hit, Peppers' back may be up against a wall...basically, which of the lesser of two evils does he prefer.

And as I have previously said, I do not think he wants anything to do with the scrutiny he will face from both the media and fans (not to mention some teammates that will be watching to make sure he isn't slacking off in a pout), if he comes back and plays here. If he thinks all eyes have been on him during his tenure here, it's nothing compared to what he will face coming back to a team in which many fans feel betrayed. He will be under the white hot glare of attention all season, and every mistake, bad play, or bad game will be magnified. While some will forgive once he makes his first sack, many won't. And many of the ones that do will turn on him the first time he gets stonewalled by one blocker or has a game in which he was not much of a factor.

You definitely make some good points, but the fact remains that Peppers will have to agree on a trading partner, and so far, he has put a limit on who he will play for.

Hopefully, you're right and he will back down, but I'm not sure the fans will have any impact one way or another. Hell, he just got the most sacks of any season in his career and they still bashed him on the radio every single day, with his former teammate doing most of the bashing. After that, he may not care anymore whether he gets booed or publicly criticized.

[panthers55]

You definitely make some good points, but the fact remains that Peppers will have to agree on a trading partner, and so far, he has put a limit on who he will play for.

Hopefully, you're right and he will back down, but I'm not sure the fans will have any impact one way or another. Hell, he just got the most sacks of any season in his career and they still bashed him on the radio every single day, with his former teammate doing most of the bashing. After that, he may not care anymore whether he gets booed or publicly criticized.

If Peppers wants out as bad as he seems to, then the pressure will increase as we approach the draft. As long as Hurney holds the line Peppers will have to relent or risk being here next year. We still hold the cards as long as we are fine with him staying here. Then the pressure to get a deal we will agree with falls on him not us.

[Mr. Scot]

My thoughts on that, if our HC and GM can't see that the team needs the money for some serious depth issues on our lines, then they are both blind.

I don't have any doubt that they see it. They just might differ on how to address it.

This is new territory for us. Whether it was true or not, Fox and Hurney have always publicly appeared to be in lock step. I can't ever recall previously hearing hints of division, at least not before this. Now this story has me re-thinking assumptions I had about the Kris Jenkins saga.

And then, of course, you also have to wonder where the Richardsons stand in all this. Could it be that Mark Richardson is the true leader of the "keep him at all costs" crowd? If that's true, then Hurney's hands might be tied.

[Skew]

What's lost in all this talk about needing to trade Pep so we can have $$ to spend on free agents is that Pep counted $14 million against last years salary cap. So he really is only counting $2.7 million more against this year's cap. So, Hurney knew we could be in this position.

Granted, if he was traded, we would have been more active in FA market.

[pantherclaw]

I'm not sold on Pep playing if he's back in Carolina. He doesn't need the money. He has other interests. He's not one of those guys who loves football with every ounce of his being. To me this is the wildcard that Carl Carey holds. I could be wrong, but knowing Pep as I do (we're not buds or anything, but he was always nice to me and worked with me whenever I asked), that's my take.

Ifr he were to sit out, he'd be out of football then. Can't pull that move this part of his career, and expext it to rebound.

[rayzor]

What's lost in all this talk about needing to trade Pep so we can have $$ to spend on free agents is that Pep counted $14 million against last years salary cap. So he really is only counting $2.7 million more against this year's cap. So, Hurney knew we could be in this position.

Granted, if he was traded, we would have been more active in FA market.

i agree with this. i'd just throw in, though, that we would have been more active in the FA market because we would have had a bigger hole to fill. right now, even with the uncertainty, that biggest hole is not yet here.

meeks seems to me like he would be able to manage the defense better than trgo and will get more out of them. i feel the same way about all the new position coaches as well. we needed a fresh start and we are getting it...with or without pep.