Minicamp commences tomorrow...

...And so it begins.

The worst part of the offseason, AKA THE most boring part that usually is boring, is over, it's actually been over since FA started, but the Panthers hadn't done a fucking thing there so it's felt longer for some of us cats fans.

Tomorrow Panthers players don the sweatpants and the blue or white (depends on what side of the field ya play on) pinneys and go through the drills.

It's somewhat of a "First look" at the players. First look at the draft picks going through drills, watching speed and shit like that, and also a new first look to see players this year who've been here previously, and take a look at guys who've hit the weight rooms and gotten stronger. ...you'll notice it when they're better at their drills than they were the year before.

Smith will probably haul in passes like it's week 7....

Break it down: the 20 undrafted free agents

Here we go, just for you, I'm going to give a brief synopsis on each of these guys...

Larry Beavers WR 5-10 167 - Ok, let's see, you can spend all fucking day making jokes about this guy's last name, and I guess he has RS potential, but 167lbs? A stiff easterly wind could probably blow him out of the stadium.

Kevin Brock TE 6-5 255 - He's a Rutgers kid. I remember a few years back we scouted Clark Harris, a TE from the same school, but we ended up not drafting him.

Patrick Brown OT 6-5 303 - Camp fodder

Gerald Cadogan OT 6-5 310 - Possibly the best draft prospect that didn't get his name called on Saturday or Sunday.

Hunter Cantwell QB 6-4 236 - Great, another Louisville QB. Kid's got an arm but not much accuracy and his decision-making is questionable.

Jason Chery WR 5-10 185 - Camp fodder

D.J. Clark CB 6-1 200 - Camp fodder

C.J. Davis G 6-2 308 - He MIGHT have a shot if he can beat out that guard we drafted last year, his name escapes me at this time...

Marlon Favorite DT 6-1 317 - DT is THAT bad he may have a shot, if not, he could be a practice squad guy.

Keith Gray C 6-2 294 - Who's behind Kalil in the depth chart? If nobody, this guy might have a spot.

Lonnie Harvey DT 6-3 342 - Fucking juggernaut DT at 342. Nice.

Anthony Heygood LB 6-1 225 - Camp Fodder

Mortty Ivy LB 6-1 239 - Camp Fodder

Mike Juergens LB 6-3 230 - Camp Fodder

Justin Kershaw DT 6-4 271 - a 270 lb DT?

Jamall Lee RB 6-1 225 - This is the guy I think who played in Canadian college football.

Brit Miller LB 6-0 243 - Camp FODDER

Anthony Scirrotto S 6-0 202 - He's got a shot because our safety depth absolutely sucks

Nick Sundberg LS 6-0 245 - Didn't we TRADE for a longsnapper or something a few weeks ago?

Garry Williams OT 6-3 296 - Undersized and CAMP FODDER

Darry Beckwith would've been a great one to pluck but the fucking Chargers got him.

Fuck you Josh McDaniels

Ran across this gem on KFFL.

shit. I wanted Baker here as DT depth. I would've given him a chance despite the character concerns.

Finally, a UDFA worth mention

It's being widely reported draft hopeful OT Gerald Cadogan out of Penn State signed with the Panthers.

Why is this relevant you ask? Cadogan's not your usual UDFA, no. He was projected a 2nd/3rd rounder by NFLDC.

He's got a great frame for our power running game system. 6'5'', 310, with room to bulk up if he wants as well. Great value and OL depth is looking better with the pickup of him and Duke Robinson in the fifth round.

First Panther UDFAs are in...

As of press time I'm writing this and the Observer hasn't published anything new yet... l o fucking l.

LB Anthony Heygood-Honestly I can't find much information on this guy. He's not on NFLDC's linebacker rankings. I think we got a phantom. His profile page on the Purdue website is all I could gather on this guy. 6'2'', 230, just another tiny linebacker.

QB Graham Harrell-Well la-dee-fucking-da. The tradition of grabbing near talentless QBs AFTER the draft continues. Harrell has a head on his shoulders but NO FUCKING ARM. His release is slower than UPS and his passes just hang in the air like an old balloon on it's last gasp of helium.

OL Keith Grey-A sub-300lb lineman. Great. This was all the information I found on him.

Probably all these guys will turn out to be utterly useless and if your a guy who goes absolutely ga-ga at these humps you must be a REAL big training camp fan.

*UPDATE*

Apparently it seems from what I've been able to dig up that the Harrell and Grey pickups are hogwash. The Heygood signing is definitely legit however.

Other names that have officially been announced are Pittsburgh OL C.J. Davis and Larry Beavers, a return specialist from Wesley College.

**UPDATE**

UConn OL Keith Grey, who I previously said signed with us, then retracted because it hadn't been confirmed, HAS been confirmed, as well as Rutgers TE Kevin Brock and WR Jason Cherry from Louisiana-Lafayette (yea...like we need MORE players from that program.)

The Draft: My Summation

Okay the booze has worn off since last night and after 8 hours of sleep and a shift at work, I had to take a minute and collect and gather all the information I could to come up with a clear, sober conclusion.

2/43: Everette Brown-Okay, I was very steamed when I found out we dropped a first rounder for this guy. I'm still a bit steamed about it. But for now, we've got a nice edge rusher, and my favorite defensive end out of this class. People are talking about how "undersized" he is at 255 but you can find quite a bit of very good DEs in the NFL that are in that weight class. Brown isn't going to be the guy to Bull-rush 330lb offensive tackles but he will use his technique to squirm out of their reach and make them tired trying to chase him.

2/59: Sherrod Martin-I saw the ticker say "S" for safety last night and now today it's "CB" so which fucking one is it? I'm not totally sure if we're going with him at FS instead of Godfrey and put him at nickel, or keep Charles at safety.

3/93: Corvey Irvin-You knew where we were going with this one, you just didn't know exactly who it was going to be. Roy Miller went a few picks prior and you could make a case that was the person they were aiming for but at some point, we needed to address DT, it was so fucking embarrassing last year. I don't think they're totally satisfied with what they got though, and they will probably filter through the pile of cap casualty defensive tackles that will be let go in the coming weeks.

4/111: Mike Goodson-Well with our other pick we got in the SF trade, we grab a running back. Well you know he isn't going to see much playing time barring injury, he's a change of pace guy who might have potential as a returner.

4/128: Tony Fiammetta-This is my one pick of the draft that actually happened. As unpredictable as the draft could be, I didn't underestimate their desire to stack the running game even more and Tony is no.2 of the 3 guys they got for that purpose. I like Tony, he's a physical tough-as nails concrete fucking panzer tank who will drop a mother fucker in run blocking. Plus he's a paisan.

5/163: Duke Robinson-I honestly do not know how this happened. I know there isn't much of a demand for OGs, and a lot of teams would rather draft a questionable OT to kick him inside at guard, but I read a shitload of mocks that claimed that Pittsburgh was going to take him or, generally, that he was going to be gone late first round. I know character plays a part in evaluation but I did not expect him to freefall down FIVE and a half rounds before the Panthers pulled the net out and caught him. I really dig this pick and probably the best value we got for him. Yes Everette Brown unexpectedly dropped too but we did actually spend a first rounder to get him.

7/216: Captain Munnerlyn-Sometimes you just pick at random, you ain't going to find much value at this point so why the hell not bring in a home-state player.

We just ate a dick

Don't get me wrong. I like what we got. Everette Brown was a top ten pick. What I DON'T like is what we gave up. I mean we basically traded a first rounder to move up 17 spots.


wait....





I don't know where I am....


Is Marty Hurney running this team or did Dan Snyder buy the Panthers too? Since when do we chase our tail constantly trading our fucking first round picks in advance every single fucking year? 59 and our third rounder probably would've sufficed if we wanted him that badly. Holy shit. And to top it off, we draft a safety to boot with 59. He better push Godfrey to nickel and turn into fucking Ed Reed 2.0 at FS otherwise that was just a waste of a fucking pick.

I'm totally pissed right now. This team'll drive you to drink.

Panthers could give less of a shit about winning, more about loyalty

Jake Delhomme, Marty Hurney, John Fox. A trifecta of brilliance and dividends in the past. ...yet, more recently, a trifecta of almost certain disaster for the Panthers.

Today, my fellow Panther fans, is a day that will live in infamy. A day in which for possibly the first time ever, an organization ties it's future at the most important position on, ........Jake Delhomme. A day in which an audible chuckle infests the U.S., the audible chuckle that is 31 other teams' fans, executives, GMs, owners, etc.

5 years, $42 Million. ...I guess the 5 years stands for every interception he threw in the Arizona game. I don't know what the fuck they did here, honestly. This could quite possibly be the single worst decision Marty Hurney has ever made. ...WORSE than Dan Morgan's contract extension a few years ago.

Delhomme has proven to be nothing but inconsistent, a QB with multiple awful performances interspersed with some notable performances, but the notable ones get less and less as time goes by.

The Panthers are not a team. It's a gentlemen's club. They only are concerned with the prosperity of their "CORE" and that's it. The trifecta that achieved early success and are only concerned with trying to re-live 2003.

I wish I had a boss who was that loyal to me. Then I could tell customers off AND get a raise the next day!!! But I work for a company which preaches accountability, some concept the Panthers organization completely doesn't comprehend. Good luck with this 5 year journey Hurney/Fox because if this fails, I will direct a fucking parade on the streets when they fire your asses.

Get ready for yet another most exciting draft!!

Yep, this Saturday, yet another draft held in NY is ready to come up.

So this is the Special Draft Preview for you guys...

1. How many top 10-picking teams will announce they're trying to trade down?
This is guaranteed to happen with at least one team every year. A top 10 pick is a gift, and at the same time, a curse. Teams who aren't selecting in the top ten wish they had a top ten pick, and surely enough, teams that do select in the top ten wish they had a lower pick. It's just part of the draft. Detroit as had a top 5 pick like 7 out of the last 8 years or something, so they are really trying to save money considering the cap hell they see in front of them when they have to throw these 50 million dollar contracts at these guys who will hold out unless they get the big fucking salaries they want so they can piss it away on strippers and jam with Snoop Dogg or whoever the fuck.


2. Which team will reach for Michael Johnson?
Michael Johnson: First round talent, 7th round work ethic. This guy has major question marks as an every down guy, yet some dumbass GM will fall in love with his freakish athleticism and pick him in the top 20. Now I'd take him if he falls to the 3rd round, but to snag him with your very first pick in the draft? (oh btw, he's not catching Pat White in this pic)


3. How many tubes of Brylcreem will Mel Kiper put in his hair this year?
The Vegas over/under is 3 4.5 ounce tubes. It could very well be much more however.


4. In which of the first 12 selections will Washington trade their 13th overall pick for an overrated disgruntled player?
Skins fans, admit it. Snyder couldn't give less of a shit about the NFL draft. If he had his druthers he would probably forfeit all his picks for an extra 10 million dollars in salary cap so he can give Jovan Haye a $24 million guaranteed contract.


5. Which talentless undrafted rookie FA QB will the Panthers pick up the week after so he can complete 40% of his passes in the preseason and be anointed the "chosen one" as the heir apparent to Delhomme?
Probably John Parker Wilson, but don't count out Rudy Carpenter or Ben Olson.


...so many questions, so little time...

Alright let's do a Panthers mock draft

Lets just cut straight to the chase.

Rd 2/Pick 59: Well this is a really shitty position to try and get an immediate contributor. Oh well, whatever. Let's just hope Ron Brace falls down that far. He's the only one of the "second round" DTs I think has a decent chance to come in and contribute but I don't think he will be there. If he isn't, I've seen Sen'Derrick Marks as our pick but, I'm looking for a guy who can play the "line penetrator" role that Jenkins played when he was here. Kemo has his own role as the run stuffer but he doesn't offer much at all as a pass rusher and Damione Lewis isn't an every down DT.

Rd 3/Pick 93: Nickel Cornerback maybe? You know I've seen a few places suggesting CJ Wilson, one of our last picks from 2007, to play there. All I remember about CJ was he was like in the bottom of the fucking depth chart, ....at the safety position. Coye Francies and Victor Harris are in 3rd round territory, so they might be the pick, but if there isn't value there I don't want to just pick a corner for the sake of picking one either. For some reason, none of the cornerbacks tested really well in the 40 yard dash at the combine. Maybe we can turn to line depth. Kraig Urbik fits the kind of mold for a power running game such as ours with his 330 lb frame and he supposedly has a mean streak for run blocking.

Rd 4/Pick 128: I'd like to see Nate Davis in a Panther Uni. I'm not that fond of Pat White's passing abilities but Nate's stock fell and he could be there in the fourth. The guy was once considered a second rounder at one point. There's been talk about him having a learning disability but it hasn't proven to slow a guy down if he can pass his courses and learn the damn playbook at the same time, which he did. Matt Moore didn't follow up a respectable 2-1 rookie season with a good preseason last year, which is all we had to judge him on, and Josh McCown has no upside. He couldn't break 7 yards a pass attempt when he had Boldin and Fitzgerald to throw to in Arizona.

Rd 5/Pick 163: Tony Fiammetta is an intriguing fullback prospect. He's even been looked at as a kind of H-Back, just like Jeff King and Dante Rosario were. All indications are he should very well be there in the 5th, since he's a fullback, unless some asshole team decides to draft him in the 3rd round. He could come in and help contribute as a blocker as well as a receiver out of the backfield. Brad Hoover did a great job last year but alas, he is 32 years old and he couldn't catch a fucking thing that Jake threw to him.

Rd 6/Pick 202: Bleh, who the fuck is here that we could get some value out of? DE depth possibly. Philip Hunt is speculated to be there per drafttek's rankings. He had 14 sacks at Houston. Some nice upside for a 6th rounder.

Now hopefully we get a nice first rounder for Peppers we could use but, you know, until he signs the goddamn tender, we can't do shit, and he's gotta figure that just pussyfooting around is hurting his own reputation.