KSpan

No, but he did have a sack in each of the final 3 games. He has now accomplished that feat as many times (once) as Hardy has in his career, and Hardy didn't do it until the final 3 games of 2013, his 4th season in the league and third as a full-time starter. I'm not saying that Kony is as good as Hardy right now, but I do think he's far from maxed out.

Countercounterpoint: Imagine how those two would have looked playing for Chicago last year.

Meh. Low-risk, moderate reward.

Foxball, 2015 version.

The issue with Harper as depth is that the backup safeties are usually on ST, and he doesn't seem like a great fit for that type of role.

There isn't a snowball's chance in hell Gentleman would pay him anywhere near this money once the current contract is up, so no need to worry about it. And calling CJ money-hungry is ludicrous and baseless - the guy signed a lucrative contract in the prime of his career and has done his absolute best the entire time, performing very well overall. Maybe he's a little overpaid, but he didn't write the contract. If CJ is 'money-hungry' then so is Deangelo, Stew, Kalil, Beason, Jake, and every other player who got paid by Hurney.

He clearly wasn't healthy at the start and he had 1 sack each in weeks 4, 5, and 6 and pretty consistent thereafter, so you just harpooned your whole argument. And the guy will be 29 this season and 30 when his contract runs out... far from a dinosaur.

Sorry man, but CJ didn't 'suck' once he got healthy. And what he's being paid is a moot point because there isn't anything that can be done about it short of extending him, which seems to go against your argument.

Did I miss CJ's press conferences, because I don't recall him being asked to step to a podium or not taking responsibility for his early-season peformance. In fact... http://espn.go.com/blog/carolina-panthers/post/_/id/8968/sackless-johnson-still-earning-his-keep

There's a new sheriff 'round these parts, and I'm sure that his extension will take this into account and not be cap-crippling should TD's play fall off of a cliff (which I don't think will happen).

I'm fine with the crust as long as it doesn't have a huge "crust lip" that takes up 25% of the volume of the pie. Assuming no crust kip issues, probaby 25-35% depending on the type of pie.

I don't think many doubted that he had influence if and when he wanted to - the guy's the owner. I think people are mistaken at how often he inserts himself into the process, which is likely only in rare cases like this one. Maybe he did it more in the past, but those days are clearly over.

Riiiiight.

Ah yes, the crucial offseason items of business.

Fify.

From an ESPN article that I think came out almost 15 years ago, as evidenced by the "Current Crazies" at the bottom - the link is dated 2012, but I remember reading and giving a presentation about it during my junior year of HS: http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/magazine/archives/news/story?page=magazine-19981214-article22 Panthers connection: Kevin Greeen is listed as a "Current Crazy" and a Carolina player. With regards to Bednarik:

This was exactly what I came here to say.

They suck at DBs too, though perhaps marginally better at it than WRs.

Now Carolina just needs to trade for Montee Ball and they'll finally have a pair of Balls, something numerous posters seem to be overly concerned about.

Now you're messing with one.

Definitely a Gettleman signing, and not a bad one on paper.

The Patriots haven't picked a quality WR in forever (though not nearly as bad as Hurney was) - I think Edelman in 2009 was the last one. If they're interested, some might consider that a sign that no one else should be.

Truth.

All your Kuechlys are belong to Carolina.

Law of averages, right?