# Panthers Off-Season thread



## Diable

We are going to keep Derek Anderson and we released Matt Baker I don't care about Anderson, because I don't want to see him on the field. It's funny to see Baker's agent trying to spin this as solely a salary cap decision. He's claiming that Baker's poor numbers are because of coaching decisions, which is complete rubbish. Baker is a terrible ****ing punter and I am really hoping that we can replace him with someone who actually helps us win games

Releasing Travelle Wharton was certainly a salary cap decision and I don't like it at all. I want to see a dominating offensive line and this move is going to really hurt the team unless we do something else to fix it.

Thomas Davis restructured his deal to avoid getting cut for cap reasons and we sign Geoff Hangartner. Jeremy Shockey and Dan Connor were not re-signed and are now free agents.


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## cdsniner

Diable said:


> We are going to keep Derek Anderson and we released Matt Baker I don't care about Anderson, because I don't want to see him on the field. It's funny to see Baker's agent trying to spin this as solely a salary cap decision. He's claiming that Baker's poor numbers are because of coaching decisions, which is complete rubbish. Baker is a terrible ****ing punter and I am really hoping that we can replace him with someone who actually helps us win games
> 
> Releasing Travelle Wharton was certainly a salary cap decision and I don't like it at all. I want to see a dominating offensive line and this move is going to really hurt the team unless we do something else to fix it.
> 
> Thomas Davis restructured his deal to avoid getting cut for cap reasons and we sign Geoff Hangartner. Jeremy Shockey and Dan Connor were not re-signed and are now free agents.


I hate to see Wharton go as well he is a solid lineman that could really help the team. Getting Davis restructured will help in the locker room but we will need him to stay healthy and help on the field as well. Shockey and Connor were good depth but should be replacable although I won't be surprised to see one of them end up back in Carolina.

Baker was a decent punter early on as a Panther but had really started to decline. Did some good things in Charlotte but it was time for him to move on.

At this point I'd let Anderson walk and keep Clausen as the back up since he is already under contract. If Cam goes down the team isn't going to win any way so there is no need to pay good money to two back up QB's.


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## Diable

Connor signs with the Cowboys. I hope that we can keep our other LB's healthy, but it was nice to have had Connor last year. Hard to imagine where our D would be if we had similar injury problems and there was no Connor there to step in.


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## Dissonance

Panthers got a solid pick up in Haruki Nakamura. Reserve S from Ravens. Probably be a back up but should see time in certain packages. Versatile, can play slot CB/S hybrid role and has been used to blitz. He's also a good special teams player.


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## nutmeged3

Connor is a better for for that 3-4 defense I expect him to do well there. Hes just too slow to be a full time linebacker in our scheme. Just hope Beason is good to go. Looks like Shockey is gone too

I don't know anything about Nakamura but someone that can get Sherrod off the field is a good idea.


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## Diable

I am guessing that if we sign Tolbert it's mostly to strengthen our dismal Special teams, which I am all for. Don't care at all for the idea of trading Stewart. That would just be dumb unless someone made you one of those offers you couldn't refuse. I sincerely doubt that anyone offers enough to make me want to pull the trigger. I want to fix the damned O-line and run the ball down everyone's throat.



> Free agent running back Mike Tolbert is visiting the Carolina Panthers this weekend, a league source said Saturday.
> Tolbert, 26, who played four seasons in San Diego, visited the Kansas City Chiefs last week and also has drawn interest from San Francisco and Pittsburgh.
> Joel Turner, Tolbert’s agent, said Tolbert is visiting a team this weekend, but would not confirm it is the Panthers.
> *Signing Tolbert would create a crowded backfield for the Panthers and heighten speculation DeAngelo Williams or Jonathan Stewart could be on the trading block.*
> Stewart would seem to be more attractive to interested teams because he is entering the final year of his contract and has a cap figure of just more than $3 million. Williams received a 5-year, $43 million extension last summer and will count $8.7 million against the cap this year.
> With the arrival of quarterback Cam Newton, last year’s No. 1 overall pick, Williams and Stewart – the so-called “Double Trouble” tandem – both saw their carries drop in 2011. Stewart averaged fewer than nine rushes a game – the lowest average of his career – while Williams’ 11.1 rushing attempts were his fewest since 2007.



Read more here: http://www.heraldonline.com/2012/03/17/3828247/source-tolbert-visits-carolina.html#storylink=cpy​


Knew Wharton wouldn't be out of the job for long. He's not a great lineman, but he's good enough to keep a job in the NFL for the immediate future at least.




> WHARTON A BENGAL: Veteran guard Travelle Wharton signed a free agent deal with Cincinnati on Saturday, four days after the Panthers released him. Wharton, 30, agreed to a 3-year deal worth a reported $10 million.
> Wharton, whose 99 starts are the second most by an offensive lineman in Panthers’ history, was due to make $5.7 million in base salary in Carolina this year, with a cap figure of $7.6 million. Cutting Wharton created $3.8 million in cap space for the Panthers.
> Wharton told the Cincinnati Enquirer his release after eight seasons in Charlotte caught him off guard.
> “I wasn’t expecting it all. I thought I was going to finish in Carolina and it would be it. But I’ve seen things done before in the league,” Wharton said. “Carolina, though, treated me well and is a first-class organization. But now it’s time to come to the Bengals.”
> Wharton used Twitter to thank the Panthers’ organization and fan base for “8 great years.”



Read more here: http://www.heraldonline.com/2012/03/17/3828247/source-tolbert-visits-carolina.html#storylink=cpy​


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## Diable

Panther's sign Mike Tolbert



> Agent Joel Turner told The Associated Press that his client is so excited about joining Carolina that "he left over $1 million on the table from San Diego -- that's how bad he wanted to play there."
> Turner did not release financial terms.
> It is unclear what Tolbert's addition to the Panthers' backfield means for current Carolina running backs DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart. Williams, who signed a contract to return to the team last offseason, rushed for 836 yards and seven touchdowns in 2011. Stewart, who is heading into the final season of his rookie contract, rushed for 761 yards and four touchdowns last season.
> 
> *Mike Tolbert*
> 
> 2011 STATS
> Rush121
> Yds490
> TD8
> Rec54
> Yds433
> TD2
> 
> Tolbert's teammates in San Diego affectionately referred to him as a bowling ball. It's a fitting description for the 5-foot-9, 243-pound fullback who has helped to keep the Chargers' ground game rolling when Ryan Mathews is injured or needs a rest.


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## Kaas

Both the Nakamura and Tolbert moves were partly made with special teams in mind. Remember how awful we were in that aspect of the game last year? The coaching staff wants it addressed. My opinion of Dan Connor was pretty high after his short starting stint in 2010, but it was very, very low after his job last year. He was terrible. The secondary took heat all year, and rightfully so, but they weren't as consistently bad as Connor and the front 7 were last year (the DTs were harshly criticized, but they were consistently awful so I won't defend them). I don't understand how Dan came out of last season with his reputation unscathed, but he was one of the main culprits in our ineptitude on defense.

Would've liked to have kept Wharton, but he was grossly overpaid. If his contract was similar to his current deal with the Chiefs, I'm sure he would still be a Panther.

Going back to the Tolbert deal, it's a headscratcher. We are loaded at RB and have almost on cap room. Why would we sign another RB? My guess is that with losing Shockey, we'll see the team shift to a 2 back system more often instead of 2 TEs and we'll use Tolbert as an H-Back (and of course in special teams). I would have still rather brought Castillo or Garay over from SD instead of an offensive player. If the plan is to trade Stewart or DeAngelo, we're idiots because the market is terrible for trading RBs in today's NFL. And I will be very pissed at Rivera and Hurney for getting rid of players this fan base appreciates but the general public severely undervalues. If we plan on keeping all three, then Tolbert is an idiot because I'm sure he could've been a #2 somewhere else or even a #1 for a team like the Bengals. Just a very strange deal.

With the draft coming up, does anyone have any favorites they want to see on this team with our first pick? I have waffled on so many different guys. I'm a fan of many, but not married to the idea of taking any of them. Blackmon won't fall to us, that's a given. With the Rams and Bucs both picking up CBs in Free Agency, there is a small chance Claiborne will be at 9. If that's the case we should jump all over him. If not, I'm fine with any of the following: Fletcher Cox, Dontari Poe, Michael Brockers, Devon Still, David DeCastro, Luke Kuechly, Michael Floyd, Melvin Ingram. We could frankly go anywhere. I thought DE was off limits, but I'm starting to question that now. I think Coples will be a bust, so I would prefer to avoid him. I don't think Reiff will be there when we pick, so I'm not even thinking about him either, but he doesn't really do it for me that much (our issues on the line are health and depth not talent, so I think we can get away with Day 3 picks there. Though I wouldn't mind DeCastro is he's as good as advertised.). If we elect to go DE (probably the direction I'd least like to see us go since I believe Hardy is a good player), I would much prefer to trade down to a late teen pick and draft Nick Perry instead of Ingram or Coples.


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## nutmeged3

Day before the draft and I don't have a clue who it's going to be. Fletcher Cox seems to be the most common pick, but I saw they've visited with Coples a couple times this week and met his parents? Really don't want to see him be the pick.

and I saw we have around 5 mil in cap space right now, with more room coming when Wharton's coming into effect after June 1st. So expect to see Shockey coming back or a Stewart extension some time around then.


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## Diable

We have so many needs that we shall likely go with whoever we think is the best player available is. I would guess it'll be a defensive lineman or linebacker.


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## Diable

We take Kuechly, pretty much what was expect and likely he was the best player available. It makes a lot of sense as we can't keep any LB's healthy. I got no problem with the pick, although I don't think it's our biggest need on D. 2nd round we take Amini Silatol. On the one hand it looks like a bit of a reach, but on the other hand Byron Bell was probably going to start at Guard for us if we did nothing. We all saw that Bell was a catastrophe at Tackle and if this puts him on the sideline or off the roster that's okay by me.

Would love to pick up a really great return man tomorrow. Seems obvious that we'll look for DB's, or if we like someone a WR.


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## Diable

> With the eighth pick of the fourth round of the 2012 NFL draft, the Carolina Panthers chose DE Frank Alexander of Oklahoma. With the ninth pick, they chose Arkansas wide receiver Joe Adams.
> Alexancer is 6-7, 240 pounds. Read more about him in his NFL draft profile.
> 
> 
> The Panthers spent their fifth-round pick, No. 143 overall, on Coastal Carolina cornerback Josh Norman.
> The 6-0, 197-pound Norman is from Greenwood, S.C. Read more about him in his NFL draft profile.
> 
> Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/20...ers-take-cb-josh-norman-in.html#storylink=cpy​ Adams is 5-10, 179 and was the SEC Special Teams Player of the Year in 2011.
> Read more about Adams in his NFL draft profile.



Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/20...s-pick-joe-adams-in-fourth.html#storylink=cpy​


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## nutmeged3

See ya Armanti


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## Diable

Yeah I can remember seeing Adams make a couple of really spectacular returns. I love that pick, but we had to get a return man.


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## Diable

We take a punter...eh we do need one. I hope he does not piss me off half as much as Baker has been doing.

http://www.nfl.com/draft/2012/profiles/brad-nortman?id=2532921


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## nutmeged3

Seems early but I like that were addressing special teams, no way they could have gotten any worse then last year.


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## Diable

DJ Campbell Free Safety from Cal. I hope he's better than the DB's we have now. That really isn't that much to ask of the guy.

http://www.nfl.com/draft/2012/profiles/d.j.-campbell?id=2534748


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## Kaas

Diable said:


> We take Kuechly, pretty much what was expect and likely he was the best player available. It makes a lot of sense as we can't keep any LB's healthy. I got no problem with the pick, although I don't think it's our biggest need on D. 2nd round we take Amini Silatol. On the one hand it looks like a bit of a reach, but on the other hand Byron Bell was probably going to start at Guard for us if we did nothing. We all saw that Bell was a catastrophe at Tackle and if this puts him on the sideline or off the roster that's okay by me.
> 
> Would love to pick up a really great return man tomorrow. Seems obvious that we'll look for DB's, or if we like someone a WR.


Silatolu wasn't a reach. He had a first round grade, which is very rare for a guard. He should immediately step in and start at LG. He also has positional versatility. Bruce Campbell will likely play as a backup swingman, but Silatolu will hopefully be 4th at OT on the depth chart ahead of Byron Bell.



Diable said:


> DJ Campbell Free Safety from Cal. I hope he's better than the DB's we have now. That really isn't that much to ask of the guy.
> 
> http://www.nfl.com/draft/2012/profiles/d.j.-campbell?id=2534748


I think he was drafted specifically for ST. Gil Brandt thinks he's a steal though, so hopefully he contributes immediately either in jumbo nickel packages or maybe even as one of the starting safeties. My guess is Godfrey is a surefire starter, and the other safety will be either Martin again or Pugh. Remember the coaching staff was very high on Pugh prior to the season, and he did start to improve towards the end of the season, but most fans just remember him for costing us a few games early in the season with untimely missed tackles.


Supposedly Rivera would've picked Quinton Coples if Kuechly was gone. So glad we took Kuechly if Coples was the alternative.


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## Diable

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/09000...thers-would-be-fit?module=HP11_headline_stack

We're talking to Jacoby Jones, who famously muffed the punt in the Texans' playoff game against the Ravens. Sort of bleh. I would really like to see us come up with the guy who takes Smitty's place, and have them play together for awhile. I don't have a great deal of faith in LaFell or anyone else on the roster becoming much above average. With the offense we are running we need more guys who are really good receivers.


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## Diable

The *Carolina Panthers* have agreed to a four-year, $12.58 million guaranteed deal with first-round pick Luke Kuechly, a league source told ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter


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## Diable

Damn it, it looks more and more like we'll never see Otah back to what he was before this ****ing injuries.



> The knee injury that sidelined Panthers right tackle Jeff Otah for most of the past two-plus seasons has flared up again.
> Otah underwent an MRI on his left knee on Thursday after tweaking it at some point during the first two weeks of OTA practices. Otah was not at Friday’s practice.
> *“Jeff tweaked his knee a little bit. It swelled up a little bit, so we’re just checking on that,” Panthers coach Ron Rivera said. “We sent him for an MRI (Thursday) so we’re going to have that read. We’ll see.”*
> *Otah, a first-round pick in 2008, has missed 31 of the past 35 games due to injury*. He played in four games last fall before being placed on injured reserve with knee and back ailments.





> Pulling guard: Second-round pick Amini Silatolu continues to get the first-team reps at left guard. Silatolu, a standout at Division II Midwestern State, had trouble adjusting to an NFL playbook early in the organized team activities.
> “He has gotten better each week. He was slow initially because he was really learning the position,” Rivera said. “But his athleticism really shows when you get a chance to watch him pull and get around the corners.”



Read more here: http://www.heraldonline.com/2012/06/01/4016306/knee-flare-up-triggers-mri-for.html#storylink=cpy
​


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## Diable

This shit is hilarious. Maybe Clausen should make sure the person cutting his hair doesn't know who he is next time.










http://storify.com/SpiracleMedia/nfl-qb-gets-bad-haircut-brands-battle-for-his-busi


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## Porn Player

:laugh:


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## 29380

:laugh:


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## nutmeged3

We just traded for WR Louis Murphy from the Raiders LINK

Gettis must not be coming along well enough as this guy looks a similar player. Don't know much about him but his combine info show he's pretty damn fast. More weapons for Cam can never hurt.


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## 29380




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## NOHornets

Knicks4life said:


>


Those are some motivating words, but it'll be an uphill climb this year. We've seen plenty of teams come out of nowhere and make a title run before, just look at the '03 Carolina Panthers.


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## Kaas

Louis Murphy is a good player, just struggles to be consistently healthy. I liked the move. Liked it better when we were getting a some picks back for Otah instead of just straight up cutting him.

I'm curious which WRs and CBs end up making the roster, because right now we have a standout at each spot (Smith, Gamble) and then lots of equivalent talent that goes pretty deep (though Lafell probably stands above the other WRs somewhat).

For the WRs, there's Murphy, Gettis, Pilares, Joe Adams, Armanti Edwards, Ajirotutu, and Jared Green.
For the CBs, there's Munnerlyn, Hogan, Norman, Butler, Stanford, Ness, and Thomas.

My guess is we'll go bloated at WR and keep 7 on the roster (unless Armanti sherks from contact in the preseason, then he's gone). We'll probably have 5 or 6 CBs, depending on whether or not the staff decides to keep Pugh in the secondary for next year.

A lot of the team's success rests on how well Silatolu and Kuechly do next year. And the pass rush is vital too. How good will our DE rotation be? We're really relying on our rookies to perform to their capabilities. That's usually not a good thing, but supposedly the two I mentioned, Frank Alexander at DE, and Norman at CB have all been very impressive. Joe Adams will hopefully add something to our return game to go along with them. 

I'm very excited for the season to start. I know many in the media are predicting the team to be 8-8 or 9-7, and that record sounds about right, but I think everyone assumes it will be because of Cam, Smitty, and our RBs. I think the rest of the roster is much better than it's being made out to be, and the team will be well ahead of schedule if it can live up to its potential.


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## nutmeged3

Final Roster

QB
Cam
Anderson
Clausen

HB
Williams
Stewart

FB
Tolbert

WR
Smith
Lafell
Murphy
Pilares
Edwards
Adams

TE
Olsen
Barnidge
Brockel
Hartstock

T
Gross
Bell
Campbell
Williams

G
Silatolu
Hangartner
Pollack

C
Kalil
Byers

DE
Johnson
Hardy
Applewhite
Alexander
Keiser

DT
Edwards
Mcclain
Fua
Kearse

LB
Beason
Kuechly
Anderson
Davis
Phillips
Senn
Onatulu

CB
Gamble
Norman
Munnerlyn
Thomas

S
Godfrey
Nakumara
Martin
Campbell
Jones

Special teams
Medlock
Nortman
J.J Jansen

Suspended or PUP
Neblett
Gettis

Armanti and Clausen make the team somehow, but with us only having 4 corners I'm sure were going to pick someone else up from cuts. Would like to see at at least a corner maybe a DT if theres an decent talent available. Haven't really looked at other cuts though.

5 safetys sounds like overkill as well


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## Diable

http://espn.go.com/blog/nflnation/post/_/id/62533/carolina-panthers-cut-down-analysis



> The biggest move of the day wasn’t the release of a player. Instead, it was a trade. The Panthers will send a future draft pick to San Francisco for safety Colin Jones. I don’t think the Panthers are looking for Jones to come in and start at safety. This move was more about special teams -- and if you saw Pittsburgh’s Chris Rainey have a long punt return against them Thursday night, you saw why the Panthers still have concerns with the unit. Jones should help solve that problem. He was a regular on special teams for the 49ers and had eight special-teams tackles last season.


Says we'll try to keep Jared Green for the Practice squad if no one else picks him up, but I think that someone will. Talks about our situation with the corners. Honestly I would like to give Norman the starting job and live with any growing pains he had. Munnerlyn is a dead end player and we may as well start looking to see if Norman is the guy who can take his job.


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## Diable

Practice Squad Roster

Jared Green WR, G Zack Williams, TE Nelson Rosario, DT Nate Chandler, RB Armond Smith, WR Lamont Bryant CB Ron Parker (waived by Seattle) 

RB Tauren Pool is on IR along with Nate Ness (CB) and OL Lee Ziemba. Not sure how we intend to deal with any of them.

Team is going to leave Charlotte ahead of the DNC and practice in Bradenton, Fla ahead of the season opener against the Bucs.


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## nutmeged3

We cut Terrell McClain to sign a DT from Buffalo. Don't get it, I thought he showed more then Fua at least and there were several other players I would have liked to have seen cut before McClain. Weird to give up on a 3rd rounder before his 2nd year even begins when its a weak position for us


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## Kaas

Dwan Edwards is a good player who saw his role marginalized when Buffalo switched to a 4-3. He was getting paid too much and was too good to backup Dareus and more particularly Kyle Williams. The Bills fans and players are pretty pissed he's gone, which is a good sign for us. That said, I agree completely with you that cutting McClain seems to be a mistake. 3 weeks ago, he was the starting UT that was going to be paired with Ron Edwards. Don't know what he did to get in the dog house so fast. He had potential, but he was awful last year. Still seems too early to get rid of him though, especially when we have someone like Armanti.

I disagree that McClain was better than Fua though. Fua began to gas some a few weeks before both went on IR, but he was definitely the better of the two last year and looked better in preseason as well. Looks like he's going to develop into a strong 0 or 1 Tech in a few years. I guess the FO felt Kearse complemented him better in the long term?


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## Diable

Damn we didn't block well on that drive...Newton threw that away I'd guess...Thomas Davis makes a big hit on Special Teams...great coverage


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## Porn Player

Tampa making moves.


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