Panthers' Fell for Delhomme's Charm, Hook, Line, and Stinker

I fucking told you guys.

I knew this was going to happen

I just didn't think it was going to happen this early.

So maybe I thought for now the Eagles would've kept him under 200 yards passing, he might have broke even at TDs and INTs with one apiece, but no.

4 interceptions, one fumble. Five turnovers.

And if you're one who's keeping score since the playoff game, that's 11 total turnovers.

But wait a minute....

Isn't this the guy we gave a nice fat 42 million dollar contract to back in April? Isn't this the guy who shows all the intangibles and savvy that only the most clutch QBs can display when the heat is on?

Oh no wait a minute it's the guy I said was getting older and declining, my bad. Somehow for a minute there i almost got caught up in a Panther fan eternal optimism circle jerk fest.

He played so fucking bad, JOHN FOX benched him. No, that is not a typo. John Fox benched Jake Delhomme. This is that same player Fox really wanted to come back, even after the Arizona meltdown. This is the same guy Marty Hurney gladly handed over the keys for, at a maximum, 5 years more, and made him at least 25 million dollars richer. Hmmm, at least it's a good pension for him in case he's shamed so much he decides to retire by week 3.

Once again he exceeds my expectations of him failing by getting benched in the third quarter, of the first game. Not week 8, not week 12, not week 4. No, the first fucking game of the regular season. And the funniest part is John Fox will start him against Atlanta next week. So at what point does Jake start throwing for negative yardage and double digit interceptions?

It's another Delhomme meltdown, and i can't even get on the fucking Carolinahuddle. That website just shit it's intestines out again over this. My forecast is that it will happen much more this season, after the awful display we saw.

So lets check the blogs and newsreels...

From the Observer...

Quarterback Jake Delhomme picked up right where he left off against the Cardinals, throwing four interceptions and fumbling once before coach John Fox mercifully pulled him from the game with 4 minutes, 24 seconds left in the third quarter.

Josh McCown replaced Delhomme, but went down hard on a sack early in the fourth period and hobbled off the field with a knee injury as No. 3 quarterback Matt Moore took over.

Yea, Jake may be increasingly erratic, but his underlings are no better, possibly worse. See this is what happens when you don't try to solidify the QB position. McCown is awful himself and I don't see any future in Matt Moore unless it involves bussing tables. He will get plenty of playing time this season, and it will show that he is not an NFL QB. Our future QB is not on the roster, so you know what that means, it's going to be a lousy 2009 season, full of excuses, cop outs and more excuses. So in other words it's just like any of the losing seasons we've had under Fox.

From the Herald...

Backup QB Josh McCown is warming up on the sidelines, making it appear Jake Delhomme's day is over.

This one's not quite as bad as the playoff loss for Delhomme, but it's close.

He's 7-for-17 for 73 yards, four interceptions and a fumble. That's a 14.7 rating.

He got a stray late touchdown in the playoff game, and that's not happening today.

Going to be an interesting locker room.

Hmmm, Shitdick Darin hasn't eaten his words just yet. Remember his musing trying to talk down to the "Lunatic Fringe" as he put it, thinking he was a smart, grounded fan? Yea, I'll keep my eyes open just in case the Kool Aid man decides to go back on what he said.

DeAngelo Williams on Delhomme

Stumbled across this post right here.

Running back DeAngelo Williams defended the organization's decision to give starting quarterback Jake Delhomme a five-year, $42.5 million contract extension this off-season.

"We love Jake," Williams said. "That’s our quarterback. Contrary to what fans believe, or those non-fans that call themselves fans, Jake’s a great quarterback. He knows this system inside out."

Well it's nonetheless an emotionally charged endorsement for Delhomme, but DeAngelo proves himself a class act here. Whether or not I'm a fan of paying a guy who didn't play like 42 million dollars last year by a longshot, Williams is just a teammate and a contributor. It's his obligation to have faith in Delhomme, otherwise, he'd be just another selfish Terrell Owens.

That said, Delhomme's far from a great quarterback, and he's been put on a golden throne by the Panthers' organization as some kind of demigod with Joe Everyman-level QB talent. So it will be up to Williams to score like 25 touchdowns and rush for 1800 yards, <------while splitting time with Jonathan Stewart who scores 15 in addition and 1200 more rushing yards, to be the breadwinners for the offense. Delhomme's just a QB who, considering all 17 games the Panthers played last year that mattered, averaged more interceptions than touchdowns, had a sub 60% completion percentage, and a 79.6 QB rating. <----not exactly glaring characteristics of a great QB.

"Every guy has a bad game at some point in his career," Williams said. "Unfortunately for him it happened that game. But he’s a great quarterback. It happened to us. I know I'm going to have a bad game one of these times and they’ll be calling after my head."

^DeAngelo, you're a running back. You actually do your job and are one of the best at what you do. You led the entire league in TDs IIRC last year. You are not the object of any kind of criticism and I remember for two years wishing John Fox would have a fucking epiphany out there on the sidelines during a game and give you more playing time because DeShaun "a feather could tackle me" Foster was like the RB version of Delhomme. So keep up the good work you're doing and kick some ass because if we make playoffs this year, I can guaran-damn-tee you will be a BIG reason why if you aren't injured.

Reality Check for Panthers fans (Re: Media "Respect" Level)

It seems to me there's this common feeling in the Panthers fanbase that is entirely sold on the hypothesis that our success is contingent on how many minutes ESPN spends sucking our dick comparative to sucking the Cowboys or Steelers.

The metric they usually use for this is the "radar". Apparently if we are "under" the "radar", Delhomme will throw 3 touchdowns a game, John Fox will use his brains when he gameplans every week, DeAngelo Williams will get through the front seven every single running play, and the teams we face will forget we are on the schedule, causing for a very unprepared performance against us because they didn't know the Carolina Panthers existed prior to the day they played us, because they watched ESPN and Mike Tirico didn't mention us at all as a contender on MNF.

In contrast, if we are "on" the "radar", Jake Delhomme will turn into an unresponsive shell of himself and throw dead ducks and passes that are so inaccurate you are sitting on your couch ready to fair catch the fucking ball because it seemed for a second there it was going to you through the fucking TV screen. John Fox will forgo the weekly film sessions, instead flying to Nevada and soliciting transvestite prostitutes on the Las Vegas Strip. DeAngelo Williams will lose his sense of motivation and spend most of his time eating Kentucky Fried Chicken so he can balloon up and become King Kong Bundy fat. The teams we are facing will also know exactly what we are doing and when we are doing it, because Mike Tirico said "watch out for those Panthers they are going to be good this year".

Too many times I'm reading a Panther fan comment that is something along the lines of this...
"I liek teh fact that we ar undurr teh radar. becuz we play our best football wen teams don't know who we arrr. now taht teh media is disrispectin us we shud win the 13 gamez we arn't playing prime time."

"OMFG i cant beleev dat ESPN ranked us 16th in the power rankings that is such a spit in teh face! Now DeAngelo's gonna run harder cuz dey said his teem wouldn't doo good and muh Panthers ar gonna whip sum ass"

^It's crap like this that gets posted that makes me almost lose complete faith in the ability of our fanbase to become anything more than a group of people with retarded superstitions and these baseless intuitions that gained ground all the way back in 2003 when nobody was talking about us and that the idea that we started blazing trails was a direct result of our being "under" the "radar".

It's this fucking illusion that people have convinced themselves THE ONLY way this franchise can gain success is if Tony Kornheiser says we're not anything to worry about on PTI, or we have little or no nationally televised and/or primetime games to play on our schedule.

...as much as I despise some of Fox's quirks (there are a lot of them), I still harbor a lot of good vibes and optimism for the guy. I never would expect him to believe for one minute that we're a slave to the media attention level we get or how many primetime games we're playing. However, if he actually does, that's how I'll know there is absolutely no chance for him to coach the Panthers to a superbowl championship, because, every single playoff game is a primetime and/or nationally televised football matchup, where you are recognized as a good team and people see you're a serious football club. And that's when I've lost absolutely all hope for the coaching staff and not the least bit open-minded to the thought of a future with John Fox as the coach.

Return of the Kool Aid man.

Stop the presses



Panthers resident Kool Aid man and beat writer Gantt has awakened from his slumber to offer another tall order of monkey crap and pro-Fox fluff.

What do you have to say?

First things first, I haven't been fired, or left for greener pastures (as if that's possible). Just took some time off, at a time when not much is happening. Of course, that came at the expense of turning into a contractor/landscaper for a week or so, but hey, the place looks better.

Oh no we all knew EXACTLY where you were all this time. On vacation, that's good. ...See this is why I don't really respect these Carolina writers all that much. In New York sports journalists don't get to take prolonged haitus from writing short posts just because there's "nothing going on". Giant's beat writer Ralph Vacchiano even has a fucking TWITTER set up! The Panthers' writers, on the other hand, get weeks, months off to do whatever the fuck just because John Fox burns pictures of Saints in the hands of newly hired organization executives so nobody knows we talked to a fucking practice squad WR until they cut a deal.

Maybe it's that New York attitude of the unquentiable pursuit of career advancement. Or maybe it's the fact that the further and further south you go, the more people become kinda.... slower. Me, I could drive 70 miles down to South Jersey and people there can't keep the fucking pace up with me.

And in reality, there's not much going on right now. There's a lull between the draft and June OTAs (which start May 27), but there are a few odds and ends to address:

-- Peter King ranks the Panthers 18th in offseason power poll

Frankly, this borders on asinine. I'm not saying the Panthers are a top five team going into 2009 (their history points to bad luck and 7-9 after a good season), but to say they're in the bottom half of the league doesn't make sense.

Really, Darin? How fucking petty can we Panthers fans be? Who gives a fuck what Peter King has to say? We're getting pissed because an ESPN writer ranked a small market team in the lower half of the league? I hope you realize that we've followed up every single season we've made the playoffs thus far in franchise history with a .500 or below record the next year. So don't get all pissy at the guy because Carolina's not his favorite team and that history agrees with him and,... who gives a fuck? Seriously Darin if this is all you had to write about you could've stayed on vacation.

-- Mike Minter mulls run for Congress

The former Panthers safety is kicking around the idea of becoming a public servant.

Is this really breaking news?

Minter's as forthright as any player I've covered. He could have hung on in 2007, and collected checks, and been beloved as a player. But his knees were shot, he knew it, and he wasn't able to do his job. He's also a man of principle, who agonized over an early free agent decision, coming within hours of boarding a plane for Cleveland and more money to stay where he started.

Lol. Minter had many good years in a Panthers uniform, but alas, he aged and couldn't play anymore. ...just like every other player. He actually made a good decision for the Panthers as well as himself. His retirement led to the acquisition of Chris Harris for penny candy in order to fortify Safety.

They repaid the favor later, hanging onto him past his expiration date as an impact player. Professional teams don't extend that courtesy to many, but Minter deserved it.

Nice, so we sacrificed talent replenishment, <=== a characteristic of good football team management, and suffered through the inadequacy of an aging, past-his-prime player because we owed it to Minter? Are you fucking kidding me? We might as well give him a plaque on the front door and a pension while we're at it. Gantt this isn't a fucking GM manufacturing plant this is the fucking gridiron. The more we put these players on a pedestal and make decisions in the best interest of them, instead of the team, the longer we are going to go nowhere.

(Although, I am intrigued at Jason Taylor signing a cut-rate deal with Miami, not New England. The Pats would love to have Peppers, but it sounds like they're struggling with the two-pronged compensation required to get him. Know this, they're lurking.)

Okay, first of all, New England does NOT need Julius Peppers by any stretch of the imagination. Their defense is well-talented and well-coached, they have no room for a spoiled crybaby prima donna defensive end who wants to play in a position where he doesn't have much of an assignment to take on blockers so he can roam free because he's pretty much all brute force and little technique to beat LTs which is why he is so hot and cold on the field.

Second of all, do you know what Kraft and Belichick will do to get Peppers? They will fucking rip Hurney off if they wanted to. I don't want to see the Patriots trading with us because they are some conniving cunning bastards, ...and they're good because of the way they do business.

Otherwise, if anybody wants to come help pull weeds and rocks out of the garden, let me know.

Ugh.

Panther Excuses: 2009 edition

in the event of a failed effort in the 2009 season, say for example, another 7-9 record or worse, the following are the excuses you're likely to hear.

It is what it is

The other team practices too

we picked a bad day to have a bad day

he didn't play well but it was only one game

...kind of the same retread we go through loss after loss year by year. Panther Journalists, beat writers, and self proclaimed "real" fans might be bought off by those shit copouts but the realest most down to earth Pantherites won't. It's clear Fox has wooed many supporters just based on his aloofness and good ole boy charm. He's almost like a cartoon character, quirky in many ways, but that's what people like about him. ...This is the same reason people like Jake Delhomme and will forget every single game he makes awful throws and turns the ball over more than once just because his personality is great and that's good enough for them.

Best QBs: Last 16 years

Here are the top ten QBs in passer rating and pass yards the last 16 years. Players in bold ranked in the top ten in both categories. The # next to the team which they played for is what round they were drafted in.

Year	Passer Rating	Passing Yards
2008	Philip Rivers (SD) 1st Chad Pennington (MIA) 1st Kurt Warner (ARI) UD Drew Brees (NO) 2nd Peyton Manning (IND) 1st Aaron Rodgers (GB) 1st Matt Schaub (HOU) 3rd Tony Romo (DAL) UD Jeff Garcia (TB) UD Matt Cassel (NE) 4th	Drew Brees (NO) 2nd Kurt Warner (ARI) UD Jay Cutler (DEN) 1st Aaron Rodgers (GB) 1st Philip Rivers (SD) 1st Peyton Manning (IND) 1st Donovan McNabb (PHI) 1st Matt Cassel (NE) 4th Chad Pennington (MIA) 1st David Garrard (JAX) 4th
2007	Tom Brady (NE) 6th Ben Roethlisberger (PIT) 1st David Garrard (JAX) 4th Peyton Manning (IND) 1st Tony Romo (DAL) UD Brett Favre (GB) 2nd Jeff Garcia (TB) UD Matt Hasselbeck (SEA) 6th Donovan McNabb (PHI) 1st Kurt Warner (ARI) UD	Tom Brady (NE) 6th Drew Brees (NO) 2nd Tony Romo (DAL) UD Brett Favre (GB) 2nd Carson Palmer (CIN) 1st Jon Kitna (DET) UD Peyton Manning (IND) 1st Matt Hasselbeck (SEA) 6th Derek Anderson (CLE) 6th Jay Cutler (DEN) 1st
2006	Peyton Manning (IND) 1st Damon Huard (KC) UD Drew Brees (NO) 2nd Donovan McNabb (PHI) 1st Tony Romo (DAL) UD Carson Palmer (CIN) 1st Marc Bulger (STL) 6th Philip Rivers (SD) 1st Tom Brady (NE) 6th Mark Brunell (WAS) 5th	Drew Brees (NO) 2nd Peyton Manning (IND) 1st Marc Bulger (STL) 6th Jon Kitna (DET) UD Carson Palmer (CIN) 1st Brett Favre (GB) 2nd Tom Brady (NE) 6th Ben Roethlisberger (PIT) 1st Philip Rivers (SD) 1st Chad Pennington (NYJ) 1st
2005	Peyton Manning (IND) 1st Carson Palmer (CIN) 1st Ben Roethlisberger (PIT) 1st Matt Hasselbeck (SEA) 6th Marc Bulger (STL) 6th Tom Brady (NE) 6th Jake Plummer (DEN) 2nd Trent Green (KC) 8th Byron Leftwich (JAX) 1st Drew Brees (SD) 2nd	Tom Brady (NE) 6th Trent Green (KC) 8th Brett Favre (GB) 2nd Carson Palmer (CIN) 1st Eli Manning (NYG) 1st Kerry Collins (OAK) 1st Peyton Manning (IND) 1st Drew Bledsoe (DAL) 1st Drew Brees (SD) 2nd Matt Hasselbeck (SEA) 6th
2004	Peyton Manning (IND) 1st Daunte Culpepper (MIN) 1st Drew Brees (SD) 2nd Donovan McNabb (PHI) 1st Ben Roethlisberger (PIT) 1st Brian Griese (TB) 3rd Trent Green (KC) 8th Marc Bulger (STL) 6th Tom Brady (NE) 6th Brett Favre (GB) 2nd	Daunte Culpepper (MIN) 1st Trent Green (KC) 8th Peyton Manning (IND) 1st Jake Plummer (DEN) 2nd Brett Favre (GB) 2nd Marc Bulger (STL) 6th Jake Delhomme (CAR) UD Donovan McNabb (PHI) 1st Aaron Brooks (NO) 4th Tom Brady (NE) 6th
2003	Steve McNair (TEN) 1st Peyton Manning (IND) 1st Daunte Culpepper (MIN) 1st Trent Green (KC) 8th Jake Plummer (DEN) 2nd Brett Favre (GB) 2nd Aaron Brooks (NO) 4th Matt Hasselbeck (SEA) 6th John Kitna (CIN) UD Tom Brady (NE) 6th	Peyton Manning (IND) 1st Trent Green (KC) 8th Marc Bulger (STL) 6th Matt Hasselbeck (SEA) 6th Brad Johnson (TB) 9th Tom Brady (NE) 6th Jon Kitna (CIN) UD Aaron Brooks (NO) 4th Daunte Culpepper (MIN) 1st Tommy Maddox (PIT) 1st
2002	Chad Pennington (NYJ) 1st Rich Gannon (OAK) 4th Brad Johnson (TB) 9th Trent Green (KC) 8th Peyton Manning (IND) 1st Matt Hasselbeck (SEA) 6th Drew Bledsoe (BUF) 1st Donovan McNabb (PHI) 1st Tom Brady (NE) 6th Mark Brunell (JAX) 5th	Rich Gannon (OAK) 4th Drew Bledsoe (BUF) 1st Peyton Manning (IND) 1st Kerry Collins (NYG) 1st Daunte Culpepper (MIN) 1st Tom Brady (NE) 6th Trent Green (KC) 8th Brett Favre (GB) 2nd Aaron Brooks (NO) 4th Steve McNair (TEN) 1st
2001	Kurt Warner (STL) UD Rich Gannon (OAK) 4th Jeff Garcia (SF) UD Brett Favre (GB) 2nd Steve McNair (TEN) 1st Tom Brady (NE) 6th Donovan McNabb (PHI) 1st Mark Brunell (JAX) 5th Chris Chandler (ATL) 3rd Peyton Manning (IND) 1st	Kurt Warner (STL) UD Peyton Manning (IND) 1st Brett Favre (GB) 2nd Aaron Brooks (NO) 4th Rich Gannon (OAK) 4th Trent Green (KC) 8th Kerry Collins (NYG) 1st Jake Plummer (ARI) 2nd Jeff Garcia (SF) UD Doug Flutie (SD) 11th
2000	Brian Greise (DEN) 3rd Trent Green (STL) 8th Kurt Warner (STL) UD Daunte Culpepper (MIN) 1st Jeff Garcia (SF) UD Peyton Manning (IND) 1st Rich Gannon (OAK) 4th Elvis Grbac (KC) 8th Doug Flutie (SD) 11th Mark Brunell (JAX) 5th	Peyton Manning (IND) 1st Jeff Garcia (SF) UD Elvis Grbac (KC) 8th Daunte Culpepper (MIN) 1st Brett Favre (GB) 2nd Vinny Testaverde (NYJ) 1st Steve Beuerlein (CAR) 4th Mark Brunell (JAX) 5th Kerry Collins (NYG) 1st Rich Gannon (OAK) 4th
1999	Kurt Warner (STL) UD Steve Beuerlein (CAR) 4th Jeff George (MIN) 1st Peyton Manning (IND) 1st Brad Johnson (WAS) 9th Rich Gannon (OAK) 4th Ray Lucas (NYJ) UD? Charlie Batch (DET) 2nd Gus Frerotte (DET) 7th Chris Chandler (ATL) 3rd	Steve Beuerlein (CAR) 4th Kurt Warner (STL) UD Peyton Manning (IND) 1st Brett Favre (GB) 2nd Brad Johnson (WAS) 9th Drew Bledsoe (NE) 1st Rich Gannon (OAK) 4th Elvis Grbac (KC) 8th Jon Kitna (SEA) UD Doug Flutie (BUF) 11th
1998	Randall Cunningham (MIN) 5th Vinny Testaverde (NYJ) 1st Steve Young (SF) 1st Chris Chandler (ATL) 3rd John Elway (DEN) 1st Neil O’Donnell (CIN) 3rd Mark Brunell (JAX) 5th Troy Aikman (DAL) 1st Steve Beuerlein (CAR) 4th Brett Favre (GB) 2nd	Brett Favre (GB) 2nd Steve Young (SF) 1st Peyton Manning (IND) 1st Jake Plummer (ARI) 2nd Randall Cunningham (MIN) 5th Drew Bledsoe (NE) 1st Dan Marino (MIA) 1st Trent Green (WAS) 8th Vinny Testaverde (NYJ) 1st Steve McNair (TEN) 1st
1997	Steve Young (SF) 1st Chris Chandler (ATL) 3rd Brett Favre (GB) 2nd Mark Brunell (JAX) 5th Jeff George (OAK) 1st Drew Bledsoe (NE) 1st John Elway (DEN) 1st Jim Harbaugh (IND) 1st Brad Johnson (MIN) 9th Bobby Hoying (PHI) 3rd	Jeff George (OAK) 1st Brett Favre (GB) 2nd Dan Marino (MIA) 1st Drew Bledsoe (NE) 1st Warren Moon (SEA) UD John Elway (DEN) 1st Scott Mitchell (DET) 4th Troy Aikman (DAL) 1st Mark Brunell (JAX) 5th Tony Banks (STL) 2nd
1996	Steve Young (SF) 1st Brett Favre (GB) 2nd Brad Johnson (MIN) 9th John Elway (DEN) 1st Vinny Testaverde (BAL) 1st Dan Marino (MIA) 1st Mark Brunell (JAX) 5th Drew Bledsoe (NE) 1st Jeff Hostetler (OAK) 3rd Ty Detmer (PHI) 9th	Mark Brunell (JAX) 5th Vinny Testaverde (BAL) 1st Drew Bledsoe (NE) 1st Brett Favre (GB) 2nd Jeff Blake (CIN) 6th Gus Frerotte (WAS) 7th John Elway (DEN) 1st Bobby Hebert (ATL) UD Troy Aikman (DAL) 1st Scott Mitchell (DET) 4th
1995	Jim Harbaugh (IND) 1st Brett Favre (GB) 2nd Troy Aikman (DAL) 1st Erik Kramer (CHI) UD Scott Mitchell (DET) 4th Steve Young (SF) 1st Warren Moon (MIN) UD Dan Marino (MIA) 1st Jeff George (ATL)1st Chris Chandler (HOU) 3rd	Brett Favre (GB) 2nd Scott Mitchell (DET) 4th Warren Moon (MIN) UD Jeff George (ATL) 1st John Elway (DEN) 1st Jim Everett (NO) 1st Erik Kramer (CHI) UD Jeff Blake (CIN) 6th Dan Marino (MIA) 1st Dave Kreig (ARI) UD
1994	Steve Young (SF) 1st Brett Favre (GB) 2nd Dan Marino (MIA) 1st John Elway (DEN) 1st Troy Aikman (DAL) 1st Jim Everett (NO) 1st Jim Kelly (BUF) 1st Joe Montana (KC) 3rd Jeff George (ATL) 1st Craig Erickson (TB) 4th	Drew Bledsoe (NE) 1st Dan Marino (MIA) 1st Warren Moon (MIN) UD Steve Young (SF) 1st Brett Favre (GB) 2nd Jim Everett (NO) 1st Jeff George (ATL) 1st John Elway (DEN) 1st Jeff Hostetler (OAK) 3rd Joe Montana (KC) 1st
1993	Steve Young (SF) 1st Troy Aikman (DAL) 1st John Elway (DEN) 1st Phil Simms (NYG) 1st Joe Montana (KC) 3rd Vinny Testaverde (CLE) 1st Bubby Brister (PHI) 3rd Boomer Esiason (NYJ) 2nd Scott Mitchell (MIA) 4th Bobby Hebert (ATL) UD	John Elway (DEN) 1st Steve Young (SF) 1st Warren Moon (HOU) UD Boomer Esiason (NYJ) 2nd Jim Kelly (BUF) 1st Brett Favre (GB) 2nd Jeff Hostetler (OAK) 3rd Neil O’Donnell (PIT) 3rd Steve Beuerlein (ARI) 4th Troy Aikman (DAL) 1st

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.

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.

Panthers preseason schedule/opponents are out

....like anyone gives a shit tho.

Panthers' preseason schedule released

Ok so lets see what we've got on the menu this year.

The preseason opener is at the Meadowlands against the New York Giants. Possibly a preview of the Giants game later on in the season and Foxy better be getting a feel for what's to come in this one.

After that we travel to Miami and face the 'Phins. Many Panther fans remember the last time we played Miami in the preseason was at home, and DeAngelo Williams, for the first time, showed his elusiveness and took a kickoff to the house.

After that the Panthers go back home to play Baltimore in game no.3. ...Not a lot of history between these two teams.

And in the final game of the preseason the annual Panthers-Steelers Bowl continues on for another year as you guessed it, Pittsburgh, comes to our house and plays us. Yay.

Honestly who the fuck cares who we play in the preseason?

Darin Gantt: Tell me he did not just say THAT

Darin Gantt, quintessential Panthers beat writer, offers his viewpoint on the Delhomme situation, since some info got leaked out about a contract extension or other kind of shit.

Well, first of all, he opens with some corny ominous tone that exudes condescension.

For starters, take a deep breath.

Then he squanders on for another paragraph or so putting forth the current situation. After that, Gantt shows his opinion, and that's when all hell breaks loose.

Any deal for Delhomme will be done to keep him as the quarterback here for the next few years, not for short-term salary cap relief. I'm going to say that again, because the lunatic fringe has struggled to understand this offseason. They're going to do a deal with Jake because they want to keep him around.

The words "lunatic fringe" is probably the closest he's come to putting together a clever quip in the last 6 months.

I mused on about how Gantt has formed into a compete Fox yes-man a while back in an earlier post. Darin did not do much to disprove my claim. It sounds like he's trying to shield Delhomme from any criticism by basically denigrating a part of the fanbase, and ultimately, his own readership. Yea, nice move there, jackass.

I post on carolinahuddle. There are a respectable # of people who are pretty intelligent who hang on this guy's every word like a religious fanatic hangs on the words of the book of Genesis. They've even claimed that Gantt is the best Panthers beat writer out of all of them. I could throw a good portion of evidence to the contrary but even if he was, ...the best ...PANTHERS beat writer, we're talking on the media scale of a market of the Panthers' caliber, not sportswriters in any market, because the best ones in the biggest markets could piss and shit all over this guy.

Gantt can throw the "good" news out of Charlotte so much like he did in this shitty one, like the Panthers achieved some kind of moral victory over their own fanbase with the Delhomme extension thing, but when he doesn't and actually tries to analyze things and you can see what this guy is thinking, he's more transparent than a fucking plate glass window.

Another note from this piece of garbage...

That means no Jay Cutler, no Derek Anderson, no Byron Leftwich, no Brett Favre, no Vinny Testaverde and likely no Pat White. Take another deep breath. Try to accept it. It's hard, I know.

Okay, who the fuck suggested the last 3 guys as any real threat to Delhomme's job security? Farve and Testaverde might soon be able to apply to AARP and Pat White, well, nobody even knows if he's going to play fucking QB at the next level. If we pick him up we might just line him up out wide in the Z so Delhomme can sail a long ball 14 feet over his head.

No, I'm sorry, what I said before about Gantt, I underestimated him. He's no longer the bumbling Fox Yes Man. No, he's graduated to the official Panthers Kool Aid man.

Darin is loading up by the bucket full for all to guzzle down. So sip the goodness that is nostalgic delusions of grandeur that Delhomme is a super-bowl capable QB like he was in 2003, after, well, only 5 or 6 years more of NFL play, the fact that he is 34 and pretty old by NFL standards, that he accounted for 9 turnovers his past 2 playoff games, that he completely fucked up against Oakland and Tampa, accounting for 4 against the awful Raiders defense and 5 in two games against the Bucs and the team kinda won in spite of his play 2 of those 3 games, his Tommy John surgery which apparently improved the mobilization of his throwing arm but who knows how long that's gonna last, and other, extensive evidence.

The Panthers are fatally committed to Delhomme. I realize they have had more success with him more than any other QB, but his time as a player is reaching his close after every season. I'm not knocking him, I like Delhomme. He's a great person, I've appreciated everything he's brought here, he's a joy to watch, but soon enough, the question's gonna force itself on the Panthers, of "who's going to be a long term QB for the future?" and Fox is either gonna answer it with Matt Moore (who has a very likely chance he could massively fail, leading us to confirm that was just a half assed attempt at shoring up a future on Fox's part) or actually get a guy with the tools that can work in a system with a solid built foundation (because a lot of first round QBs that have not become busts have been drafted by teams that had a solid core, and I believe we have a very solid core).

First round QBs may cost much, but there's a reason people draft them.