^with regards to the Panthers potentially being in great shape to spend some money on FAs:

Quote :

"The Carolina Panthers are the only team in the NFL that has not signed a single free agent in 2009 and 2010. That’s according to ESPN Stats & Information and it backs up a common belief that Carolina owner Jerry Richardson has been preparing for a lockout since owners opted out of the Collective Bargaining Agreement. It was at that point that Richardson told coach John Fox not to expect a contract extension anytime soon (Fox’s contract ran out at the end of last season) and that his assistants would be given only very short contracts (that led to several assistants leaving the Panthers after the 2008 season). In the history of free agency, several teams have gone back-to-back offseasons without making a signing. But the Panthers have a chance to make history if they don’t add a free agent this year (and tight end Jeremy Shockey, who was signed before the lockout doesn’t count because he was cut by New Orleans and therefore is not considered a true unrestricted free agent). The Buffalo Bills, from 1999 through 2001 are the only team ever to go three straight seasons without signing a free agent. No team has gone more than three straight seasons without adding a free agent. It remains to be seen if Richardson will give his team the green light to start signing free agents again once a labor agreement is reached. But, historically, the Panthers were pretty aggressive in free agency before the last two years. According to ESPN Stats & Information, the Panthers have signed 89 free agents in their history, which only goes back to 1995. That number only includes true free agents and not undrafted rookie free agents or players added during the season. That ties the Panthers with the Falcons for the all-time division lead in that category. But Atlanta, New Orleans and Tampa Bay each had a two-year head start on the Panthers because free agency began in 1993. The Panthers set the record for any NFC South team by signing 19 free agents in 1995 and also added 12 in 1999, George Seifert’s first year as coach. Atlanta’s biggest year for signings was 1995, when the Falcons brought in nine free agents. Denver leads the league in all-time free-agent signings with 106. Historically, the Saints and Buccaneers also have been fairly active. The Saints have signed 83 free agents, highlighted by 10 additions in 2002. The Bucs have signed 76 free agents with their high (14) coming in 2004, when former coach Jon Gruden and general manager Bruce Allen were at the height of their wheeling and dealing. When it comes to free-agent defections (free agents who have signed with other teams), the Bucs lead NFC South teams with 78 and the Saints are just behind them with 74. The Falcons have had 64 free-agent defections and the Panthers have had 56. The Rams are the all-time league leader in this category with 89. I also broke down the numbers on NFC South teams since the division came into existence in 2002. In that time span, the Bucs have been the most active of the four teams with 47 free-agent additions. The Saints are next with 45, followed by the Falcons (43) and Panthers (31). Since 2002, the Bucs lead the division with 44 free-agent departures. The Panthers have had 34, followed by the Saints (33) and Falcons (27)."

http://espn.go.com/blog/nfcsouth/post/_/id/21797/panthers-have-shot-at-fa-record-for-silence


i think this is the time for Richardson to win back a lot of fans. if they have money to spend, and simultaneously can improve on the 2-14 record, i see no reason not to spend. obviously he saw the lockout coming and prepared for it, and because of that i feel he is smart enough to open the wallet on quality players.

6/21/2011 7:27:35 PM

well, if there's a salary floor, he'll have no choice but to spend.

6/22/2011 9:35:52 AM

Quote :

" One estimate put the Panthers as having more than $70 million to spend under next year’s salary cap. Obviously a good bit of that will be spent on re-signing their own free agents — general manager Marty Hurney has said that is a top priority — but also look for the Panthers to be very active in free agency."

http://reederstake.freedomblogging.com/2011/06/21/looks-like-rb-williams-de-johnson-qb-moore-will-be-unrestricted-free-agents/9353/

6/22/2011 12:31:56 PM

maybe they can pick up Keyshawn Johnson

6/22/2011 1:19:38 PM

only if they pass on Sean Gilbert first

6/22/2011 1:21:43 PM

Adam Meadows is going to unretire

6/22/2011 1:55:41 PM

are we going to list all the free agent failures the Panthers signed? I'll add a few more:

Chuck Smith
Reggie White
Eric Swann
Doug Evans

6/22/2011 2:14:31 PM

DJ Hackett although he was only 2 years 3.5 million

Gilbert was by far the worst

6/22/2011 2:18:36 PM

George Seifert

6/22/2011 2:46:26 PM

Doug Evans wasn't a bust. He had eight picks in one season.

6/22/2011 2:47:49 PM

^ he underperformed his contract to say the least.

6/22/2011 2:48:49 PM

Quote :

"Cam remains calm now, as we talk about the rap against him as a passer— that he'll never acquire pocket discipline and downfield "vision" because he'll instinctually rely on his feet, as he always has. I ask if this is a fair question, or a retread of that old ugly trope about black quarterbacks being "natural athletes" and white quarterbacks being "students of the game." "Sir," he says with granite certainty, "it all comes down to whether a person wins or loses. I don't bring race into the game, 'cause then you're talking about excuses. I. Hate. Excuses. Excuses are a disease.""

Newton is gonna surprise some people. I've compared him to Vince Young both in playing style and in terms of character risks, but this dude has his head on straight.

6/25/2011 11:27:33 AM

i think this salary floor deal is fucking retarded.

that means if the salary cap is $120 million, the NFL is telling every single team that they have to spend at between $108 million and $120 million, no matter what. i don't like it one bit.

also, fuck this 16 week thursday night game deal.

also, fuck marty hurney. he will no doubt fuck all these free agent signings all to hell.

6/25/2011 11:58:25 AM

http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/blog/shutdown_corner/post/Higher-Education-Burn-Rate-for-Cornerbacks?urn=nfl-wp2995

represent

6/29/2011 3:57:35 PM

Marshall's only saving grace was his tackling and hitting ability

unfortunately he made so many tackles because he was chasing WRs down after getting torched

6/29/2011 4:08:50 PM

Quote :

"i think this salary floor deal is fucking retarded. that means if the salary cap is $120 million, the NFL is telling every single team that they have to spend at between $108 million and $120 million, no matter what. i don't like it one bit."

1) The NFLPA is telling the NFL that

2) It's a great idea. It insures that after the labor deal agreement that cheap owners don't get around it by staying under the cap and putting that money back in their pocket.

6/29/2011 4:15:13 PM

there is a pervasive problem in the MLB with teams that underspend...the Marlins and Pirates come to mind.

^as you said, their owners make sure they make enough to pay the costs of running a franchise, then stash the rest away. it's also related to revenue sharing, which the MLB does not have like the NFL, but that's for another topic. either way it's good for the NFL.

6/29/2011 4:21:34 PM

^ Well then the NFL better make damn sure that the revenue sharing increases to help the smaller market teams be able to pay 90% of the cap

6/29/2011 4:23:54 PM

part of the problem with the old CBA was how total revenue was defined and distributed. ticket sales and merchandising etc. went into the total league pool of monies. however, if a team sold stadium naming rights, they keep the money for themselves, but it is also counted in total revenue for the league.

so without going into too much detail here, when more money went to a team, but the entire league did not benefit from it, the salary cap would still go up because that one team's individual profit is counted for the entire league.

so yes, small market teams need to be better represented in the new CBA.

6/29/2011 4:32:35 PM

^^ I don't have time to look it up at the moment, but I would think that the TV deal alone would be plenty enough to cover payroll for up to the ceiling without revenue sharing.

The NFL wants small markets to be good and make the playoffs, not hold them down as shown by the playoffs having a 50% turnover rate annually.

to me it seems like you're getting pissed about good business to me

6/29/2011 5:25:12 PM

ready for training camp. ready for carolina panthers. ready for football.

6/30/2011 9:25:06 AM

Some notable tidbits about some possible QBs that could be a decent fit at Carolina (at least while Cam is in development):

Tavaris Jackson is leaving Minnesota
http://www.nfl.com/news/story/09000d5d820882d6/article/jackson-confident-in-his-abilities-as-he-moves-beyond-vikings?module=HP_headlines

Carson Palmer - Trade me or I will retire
http://www.nfl.com/news/story/09000d5d8208ae9c/article/disgruntled-qb-palmer-reportedly-sells-cincinnatiarea-home

[Edited on June 30, 2011 at 11:50 AM. Reason : .]

6/30/2011 11:50:12 AM

^
What makes you think Tavaris Jackson would be a decent fit anywhere?

Of course we would take Palmer in a heartbeat if we didn't get raped in the trade.

6/30/2011 12:05:08 PM

You think Matt Moore or Jimmy Clausen is better than Tavaris Jackson?

6/30/2011 12:10:22 PM

Equally shitty.

6/30/2011 12:10:59 PM

Bengals owner will be looking for multiple picks in the first 2 rounds for Palmer. No way we give that even a second of thought.

6/30/2011 12:13:11 PM

they're not gonna go out and get a big name fa qb...Newton will be starting by atleast mid season, if not sooner.

6/30/2011 12:31:21 PM

You really think it will be that soon?

6/30/2011 12:33:12 PM

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/07/02/working-with-weinke-cam-newton-learns-90-percent-of-the-panthers-offense/

Newton seems to be willing to put in the work, at least so far

7/3/2011 11:41:25 AM

Make it happen, Marty.

Quote :

"Might Favre consider Carolina, which is close to his Mississippi home and would allow him to break in rookie QB Cam Newton, who's also represented by Favre's agent, Bus Cook?"

http://content.usatoday.com/communities/thehuddle/post/2011/07/analyst-brett-favre-might-be-interested-in-returning-for-21st-year/1

7/6/2011 12:20:53 AM

i'm here for the TT troll attempt...am i early?

7/6/2011 12:26:59 AM

Yeah, hold on a bit.

7/6/2011 12:28:39 AM

Panthers #17 most valuable sports team in the WORLD ... according to Forbes
[link]http://blogs.forbes.com/kurtbadenhausen/2011/07/12/the-worlds-50-most-valuable-sports-teams/[/link


there are like 13 other NFL teams above them in the list though

[Edited on July 13, 2011 at 11:01 AM. Reason : ]

7/13/2011 10:59:59 AM

^ and yet we haven't signed a free agent in 2 years, and JR places last years product on the field.

7/13/2011 11:02:28 AM

despite all that, the psl system ensures a sell out for every game...even if the stands are only half full. No wonder the franchise is so valuable.

I still say there's a good chance he's been positioning for a sale of the team and this only helps that.

7/13/2011 11:05:40 AM

wow the red sox are way down in the 30s and the lakers are 48

7/13/2011 11:05:56 AM

^what does that have to with football

7/13/2011 3:23:54 PM

the linkage failed up above

http://blogs.forbes.com/kurtbadenhausen/2011/07/12/the-worlds-50-most-valuable-sports-teams

7/13/2011 3:25:43 PM

lol, 25 worst players in the NFL. Guess who's number 1?

http://www.grantland.com/blog/the-triangle/post/_/id/589/the-25-least-valuable-players-in-the-nfl

7/14/2011 10:02:02 AM

i thought they did this months ago, but maybe it was a different source, just the same results

7/14/2011 10:04:08 AM

Without looking, I will guess Matt Willig

7/14/2011 10:05:31 AM

TAKE IT BACK

7/14/2011 10:07:45 AM

Four years probation for GT

Just making sure this gets posted in every thread

7/14/2011 3:26:30 PM

i was gonna bump the football game thread from last fall, but i dont trust the lenience of the sports talk mods

7/14/2011 3:30:07 PM

Some good info here

http://www.catscratchreader.com/2011/7/18/2280913/first-72-hrs-of-free-agency-could-shape-next-5-years-for-panthers

I'm holding out hope over Williams. I don't see how he signs unless we overpay, but then you have two capable backs behind him. So why overpay for a position that we have plenty of depth at already? It just doesn't add up. Especially considering we could use that overpay money to sign players on defense that Rivera could hand pick to work in his system. As well as getting Cam a big target at receiver.

That cash would be better spent elsewhere.

[Edited on July 18, 2011 at 7:52 PM. Reason : .]

7/18/2011 7:51:29 PM

i agree. i hate to see DW go, but if keeping him comes at the cost of overpaying, then let him walk. RB is a strength on the team...money would be way better spent at WR, DE, DT, CB, backup OL, hell even another pass-catching TE wouldn't hurt. maybe another LB to spark competition, and to have insurance in the event Davis and Connor are injured again.

7/18/2011 8:22:06 PM

Kris Jenkins finally looks in a mirror and sees that he is made of glass, decides to retire:

http://espn.go.com/new-york/nfl/story/_/id/6787293/former-new-york-jets-lineman-kris-jenkins-decides-retire

7/20/2011 3:48:10 PM

he was a terror in his prime...i bid you adieu, fat boy alcoholic

for the sake of nostalgia:

Quote :

" "I hate him," Jenkins said. "Everybody says I'm supposed to be polite when I talk to you all. But I hate him. He talks too much. He doesn't make any sense. He's fat. He's sloppy. He acts like he's the best thing since sliced bread. He's ugly. He stinks. His mouth stinks. His breath stinks and basically, his soul stinks, too. "

on another note, really hoping we can resign James Anderson

7/20/2011 4:01:54 PM

was at Dick's earlier and they have a Jarrett jersey (replica) in the clearance section for $70

i was appalled

7/20/2011 7:24:35 PM

ha

reminds me of the time I saw a David Carr jersey on sale at the mall in Boone for $70

I think that was two summers ago

7/20/2011 7:45:24 PM