Charles Tillman, CB aka "Peanut" signs with Panthers

[R0CKnR0LLA]

Welp, back to the bench Norman.

[WOW!!]

Welp, back to the bench Norman.

Ahhh.....no...

[davos]

He could still have 2 years left and is a legit mentor.  Not just some vet.  I like this a lot. 

[gettlemanjack]

Love this guy anyone see him crying after his last injury really good to see him with us

That's a good point. Everyone was saying his career was over when it happened and it was really sad to see him sobbing on the sideline like that. You could tell how much he loves football, it's very cool that we are the ones to give him a chance to play some more of it. I also didn't realize he was MOTY year before last. I'm really enjoying having back to back MOTYs signed to our defense:

2013 NFL Man of the Year award - Peanut Tillman

2014 NFL Man of the Year award - Thomas Davis

[gettlemanjack]

Bene was drafted to be a nickel but turns out he's just a really good corner period. Ive always admired Tillman and I'm sure he'll be on the field a ton but I'm not quite as optimistic he will be better than Bene given where he is in his career. That doesn't mean I dont think he can be of value. I look forward to hearing quotes from DG and Ron.

Will be interesting to see what we will do with Tillman. I agree that there is a good chance we leave Bene on the outside opposite Norman. I'm guessing Tillman would mostly play nickel in our base D and replace Harper at SS on passing downs

[WOW!!]

Will be interesting to see what we will do with Tillman. I agree that there is a good chance we leave Bene on the outside opposite Norman. I'm guessing Tillman would mostly play nickel in our base D and replace Harper at SS on passing downs

I'm willing to bet Tillman plays on the outside and Bene goes to the slot.. Making our secondary better day 1.. They wanted to find away to put Bene back where he's most effective and they just did. ..imo

[CPF4LIFE]

I Actually thought we was better with Bene on the outside. Tillman is a good signing but the minute he starts looking like Cason and Godfrey he needs to be yanked. We started playing better as soon as we went younger, these vet signings with guaranteed starting positions havent been good lately.

[gettlemanjack]

Keep in mind we got better last year when we replaced older vets in the secondary with younger guys (DeCoud and Cason were replaced by Boston and Benwikere). Like our DC said:

"[We] finally [got] a chance to see what [we] really [had with the vets] and you say, ‘OK, you know what? We need more foot speed.’ And that was evident to most of us early,” McDermott said. " We couldn’t get the foot speed on the field because they were in the training room. But they got healthy, and we got them on as soon as we could"

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/sports/nfl/carolina-panthers/.article9249461.html

But having Tillman replace Harper on passing downs we be a plus. Also, there will be some guys we play this year Tillman matches up well with at CB which will be a plus

[pantherclaw]

He didn't sign for 3 million to play a small/backup role.

He won't be converting to safety either.

He came here to play, and play hard for his ol' ball coach while having a shot at a good playoff run.

[Panthers8969]

I'm happy about this signing. Dude is a baller and has played well in his old age. Injuries are some concern, but I think he'll be fine

[rodeo]

Keep in mind we got better last year when we replaced older vets in the secondary with younger guys (DeCoud and Cason were replaced by Boston and Benwikere). Like our DC said:

"[We] finally [got] a chance to see what [we] really [had with the vets] and you say, ‘OK, you know what? We need more foot speed.’ And that was evident to most of us early,” McDermott said. " We couldn’t get the foot speed on the field because they were in the training room. But they got healthy, and we got them on as soon as we could"

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/sports/nfl/carolina-panthers/.article9249461.html

But having Tillman replace Harper on passing downs we be a plus. Also, there will be some guys we play this year Tillman matches up well with at CB which will be a plus

 

On all downs it would be a plus. Harper was touted for his run support but was constantly out of position and choosing the wrong gap. We allowed a whole lot of long runs because he failed at run support.

[DaveThePanther2008]

I like this signing. A tad bit concerned about injuries. I am happy that the injuries are not leg related.

I think too many are tied to the age thing as if once you hit 33 or 34 you are finished, old, out of date, or just wore out. I think it has more to do with the athlete. I don't think Gettleman or Rivera would have wanted Tillman if he could not play the position with the speed we need. We got faster playing our younger players I don't think they signed Tillman because he was a Rivera favorite 10 years ago. I believe they believe he is fast enough and has that veteran presents our young secondary needs.

Moving to safety? Rod Woodson did it and was successful but he was special. I guess we'll see.