panthers55

I dont know really. Good question. I would think it rarely happens that players are offered contracts from other teams unless the team that franchised them did so with the expressed purpose of trading him and made it clear they could be had for less than two firsts. . it doesnt happen often because not only are you paying the player top five money at his position but also paying the other team compensation of at least 1 first if not 2. There arent that many players that good and most times the team that franchises them also signs them to a long term contract like KC did with Justin Houston did last year. But note the deal wasnt done until the last minute in July. I doubt we would have franchised him if we had no intention of trying to sign him long term. After the Hardy fiasco I would think we would think long and hard before we franchised another player. Sometimes things dont work out but I think we will try hard to sign him. The question is whether Gettleman sees him as a long term solution or not.

I think we will sign him long term because as a nonexclusive franchise tag player he is free to negotiate with other teams to see what he could get on the open market. Most times, teams dont hold other teams to the two first rounders unless they really dont want to lose them since the two firsts really is a deal killer for most teams. If we dont think we can land him long term we will try and have him sign him tender and then find a trade partner who Norman will sign a long term contract. Hopefully Norma's agent is talking to other teams to get some numbers from which to negotiate. That way he gets paid and we get compensation. Gettleman has shown he will pay fairly for talent we have developed and nurtured. The question appears to be what each of them think is fair compensation. I would think that 12 million a year for 4 years would be a pretty fair contract for both sides. It isnt the franchise tag amount but if 1/2 is guaranteed (25 million) then he get some huge piece of mind if he gets hurt.

agreed. I wish other folks understood how important it is for players to buy into the system, play their role and be coachable.. Folks who have coached sports at a competitive level understand that there are often players who have good skills but they are a detriment to the team if they dont buy into the philosophy of the team. They not only underperform their potential but hurt team chemistry and a sense of fairness among the players. I love that Gettleman and Rivera are willing to sacrifice short term gains for long term success. Too many times coaches play guys with great talent who act as if they are entitled or special and dont have to put out the effort that everyone has to put out. That always divides players and the locker room.

This is exactly what I was pointing out to those who think that he should have played all year and that Rivera unfairly played veterans over him. Ealy is just like Josh Norman in that he has very good talent and could be a dominant player. But he wasnt because he came in overweight, showed inconsistent effort particularly in the first half of the year and needed to be shown that regardless of whether he was a second round pick, he was going to earn a starting spot. So like Norman, Ealy was used situationally and didnt start every game. I think like Norman, he now gets it and will come in next year ready to play and prove to everyone his worth and become a leader on the defensive side of the ball. It is up to him to take the opportunity and run with it or continue to underperform and not live up to his potential.

Would love to be on the field before the game. How much do I love the Panthers? I am going to the Superbowl when we make it. Missed going to Superbowl 38 and won't miss this one.

And thank God Rivera kept Shula despite foolish criticisms from posters living in the past.

I signed up for their board a week ago but they never let me in. Unlike our board they keep any opposing views away so they can all circle jerk without interference.

I stopped listening to it unless I wanted to feel suicidal like Kurt Cobain.

Says the guy who criticized Shula for what he did in the 90s. I can see how reality and the present might be less fun.

The problem with all the historical trends and DVOA stats is that they are meaningless untill after the fact and have nothing to do with this game. Football is a matchup sport and all that matters is how we play heads up with Seattle this Sunday. All of the myriad of comparisons are fun to read if your team shows up on the positive side of the equation but totally irrelevant to this game. It is totally who plays better on Sunday, nothing more or less. Just like how Seattle played against Minnesota is totally irrelevant to the game on Sunday or that the Panthers have the longest home win streak in the NFL at 14 games. The difference on Sunday will be how the quarterbacks play on Sunday plain and simple. They will tell the tale. All the other noise is really for the talking heads and casual fans.

The only thing i would have added is that after the first quarter both players and coaches were talked to and told to stop. Norman for the most part did just that while OBJ not only escalated his behavior but in true punk fashion realized that Norman wasn't going to retaliate anymore and took that as a chance to cheap shot him several times without Norman fighting back. So regardless of who started it, Norman dialed it back and listened to his teammates while OBJ ignored his players and coaches and tried to hurt Norman with cheap shots knowing Norman wasn't going to body slam like he did earlier. That is the difference between them. OBJ took it personally and wanted to hurt Norman regardless of the consequences to anyone or the team while Norman tried to intimidate OBJ early and then dialed it back. One was a punk and the other a professional.

I love KK. He is like Warren Sapp was for Tampa and Oakland years ago. It is hard to find a DT with speed and strength. Hard choice between the 3 people though.

I dont think New York can put up 24 on us. We have never scored less than 24. I dont see this as a blowout by any means given they are playing at home but I truly believe Cam and the offense will score whatever they need to in order to win. I hope we have a big enough lead to rest some starters like last week. If you jump on Eli early and often he tends to have a bad game. If they score points and get rolling he is much much tougher. Looking forward to seeing how the secondary plays going forward.

I wouldnt be surprised if Josh plays man on OBJ and follows him all over the field especially if we he scores an early TD. After we shut down the run and make them have to catch us as we score 21 on them in the first half, they will be be dimensional and that is when the defense feasts. Unless this game is close at half, I think we are resting starters in the 4th. This Giants team is not the giant killers they were when they knocked off undefeated teams in the past. If we lose it will be our fault and not due to them playing that great.

I would apologize to him if he returned the 5 million we paid him to play for Baltimore in 2014. Otherwise why bring back a guy who was a locker room problem to a team where all the players rave about how cohesive the locker room is at this point. He is a great player and fierce competitor but not a great person or locker room presence. Did we ever go 6-0 with Smitty?

Smitty wouldn't come back at this point except to retire. He knows we moved on from him and he cemented his future in the hall of fame by playing for Baltimore and getting the publicity he never got in Carolina. Plus we already paid him something like 5 million of his salary in 2014. I doubt gettleman would have him back.

This is great football. No matter who loses it helps us. And I don't like either of them. It is a matter of who I am hating more.Right now I want Atlanta to get exposed losing to a 1-4 team. I just don't know if the crappy Saints can win at home.

If I ever had a desire to take the bus on a long trip, this has totally cured me of that idea.

Don't really feel sorry at all. They didn't feel sorry for us in 2010 when we were awful. Most of us have been saying that with all the free agent big money spending, they were mortgaging the future to win now. Well the mortgage payment is due and this is what they did to themselves. Screw em....

Jacksonville stacked the box because the strength of their defense is the secondary. And even with that we left at 14 points on the board with drops and penalties. Houston's secondary is not as good as ours right now and not as good as Jacksonville's watch our offense trow more effectively on Sunday.

Lets keep in mind we crushed a Jacksonville team in their house. We are always better at home than away. Houston last year was 4-4 on the road. Of their 4 wins one was Oakland, Jacksonville was another, Tennessee was a third and Cleveland was the 4th. They lost every game on the road against a winning team. They lost to the Cowboys, Pittsburgh, Indy and the Giants.( who didn't have a winning season). They are not a good team anymore and their defense is overrated while the offense is largely nonexistent.

None of the defenses they faced will be half as tough as what they will see Sunday. They are going to lean what we already know which is our defense is going to be nasty this year. And we will score 24 a game. I think it will be low scoring but I like Newton to drive late and Gano to win it with his foot..

Not sure the O line will be improved this game although I think for the season they will be. Kalil is out and Remmers is going to play some center tonight for the first time in the NFL. Williams will get more snaps and he is a rookie with no NFL experience. Not sure how they will do tonight. I hope that Boykin gets work with the 1s. Honestly he and Ginn have looked the best so far. I hope Funchess gets work if he is healthy. He needs the work and has looked good in minimal play so far.as well I will be interested in how many times we blitz or pressure Brady versus sit back in a zone shell and keep everything in front of us as Brady nickels and dimes us down the field. Finally if Belicheck is gameplanning he will skew the defense to take something away from the offense which will likely be the run game by loading the box and daring Cam to throw the ball. So I expect the passing game to look better than the running game honestly..

With kalil out and Remmers playing his first snaps as a center, I don't know if we can expect a real power run game. The chemistry is brand new with Remmers playing center and Williams at right tackle. But you can expect Belicheck to take something away so they can make us 1 dimensional. With Benjamin out it would be the running game. Contain the running game including Cam and make him beat you through the air. That is what I would do until he showed he could beat it.

Maybe it is just me but receivers seem to be getting open this year and the line is holding. However guys like Brown are just dropping passes when they need to be stepping up. Ginn looks good so far as does Boykin and even Byrd.