Smitty closed door meeting with Richardson

[Catalyst]

First off... how many "open door meetings" have you ever heard tell of? Just saying...

And I don't think Smith would demand to be traded; he would at least give Jerry a chance to give him some input on the direction and future of the franchise before asking to be moved. As someone said above, he probably asked this and said that, if something isn't done at the QB position then he would prefer to move on.

And IF he is traded, there's no way I'd do it for any less than a 3rd. If we can't get anymore than that, let him stick around and bitch about it because that would be getting robbed. I mean, I can't blame the guy if he does want out, but he also has to know there's a good chance we're going to be getting Andrew Luck and that just having the team willing to trade him doesn't mean he'd go to a contender.

I dunno, I mean Smith has seemingly tried to be a better teammate this year, but he also seems to be getting fed up with the QB situation, which is understandable. I don't think it's the end of the world if he does get traded, though. I actually think Gettis & LaFell will turn out to be solid, productive players for us. We'd need to address the WR position in some way, sure, but I think with a decent QB we'd find that Gettis & LaFell are actually a couple of pretty solid young receivers.

[CharlotteBeer.com]

You know, it's also not out of the question that Richardson asked to speak with Smith -- and not the other way around. I think the two have a mutual respect for each other, and they're probably going to talk about the recent comments and Smiths' future with the Panthers.

Like many here, I think Smith's smart enough not to ask for a trade when one couldn't even be done anyway.

[SOJA]

If we don't get andrew luck, put steve smith at qb

[Icege]

This really, really worried me during the first half of the season. Clausen and Smitty were not on the same page, and unless Clausen somehow manages to look like a real QB and strings together a few wins (effectively ending Luck Hunt) I don't see that changing ever. If he doesn't, then he's got training camp next year to try and show that it was just a really bad rookie year.

I think the team going into camp without any real idea what was going on in the QB position hurt everybody. Pile on top of that the lack of spending JR did (mind you people were as positive about there being a lockout as they were about Clausen and now Luck) shaved leaders off of the squad and provided us very little depth. Once one guy fell, the rest of the dominos would too.

With all of this going on, a lot of people are claiming that this season is by far the worst in the short history of the franchise. I disagree, but that's really a personal standpoint. Winning the opening game of the season only to lose out the rest of the way was agonizing. At least here there's still a potential for win #2. I like winning much more than I do rolling dice.

I don't think it's going much further than that. @PIT & @ATL? Do you really think that ATL is going to sacrifice that Matt Ryan is 158738951837-1 in the dome!!! mojo just because they've locked up a spot in the playoffs and the Cardiac Arrest Cats are coming to town? Doubtful. Even then, I'll take their 2nd & 3rds over some of our 1st stringers this season. Then again, this is football and as we've seen with this season, nothing is set in stone.

I would be heartbroken to see Smitty go, but definitely understand that it's his career. Everybody wants a ring. Unfortunately, he isn't worth as much as he once was, and losing him + DWill would suck

If Smitty leaves, I'll need a new black, white, AND blue jersey instead of just black and white I wanted to replace Moose's jersey with Beason's, but with all the crap going on with the FO sitting on its hands until the CBA I don't know who to get.

At the very least, the FO needs to inform the team that business will be done AFTER the season as well as the CBA. Hurney is supposed to be a numbers guy, so I wouldn't be surprised if you saw poo get done within 48 hours of the new CBA being approved. Sitting there quiet and keeping things close to your chest only make you look like even more of a scumbag.

[mav1234]

At the very least, the FO needs to inform the team that business will be done AFTER the season as well as the CBA.

Eh? Did I miss something? There's a CBA out?

They told the players there would be no deals until after the CBA...

[brandon_87]

Do they?

We're Panther fans. We see Smitty, a man among boys.

Outside, more objective minds may see a guy on the wrong side of thirty with two major injuries in two years, a severe drop-off in production (some might even say effort) and a history of being a bad boy who can't always keep his mouth shut (or his fists unclenched).

Fair or not, if Marty Hurney tries to swing a trade, those are the things they'll bring up when it's time to talk about compensation and market value.

You can't look at him through Panther fan eyes and be realistic.

exactly

[chknwing]

YES! More Picks

[brandon_87]

Eh? Did I miss something? There's a CBA out?

They told the players there would be no deals until after the CBA...

"he's a little slow"

[TouchMeNot97]

I'm sorry but I must have missed something. Did Thomas Davis say that Steve Smith went to Jerry to talk or was the rumor started by someone else? Why is everyone convinced that this meeting happened?

Also the timing doesn't make sense, why ask to be traded when you know that its not a possibility for a few months since the deadline has long passed. If anything immediate, maybe he asked to be cut so he could play for someone else this year but I highly doubt that.

[chknwing]

Dont drink the Koolaid.

[The Saltman]

is it spiked?

[Guild]

We don't know what the meeting was about and logic doesn't really seem to indicate it is Smith asking to be traded. Why would he do that now when it can't happen?

I think this is likely about Smith and his talking to the media.

[TheRealDeal]

is it spiked?

More importantly, what color is the Koolaid?

There are only a few good colors of Koolaid.

[CRA]

We don't know what the meeting was about and logic doesn't really seem to indicate it is Smith asking to be traded. Why would he do that now when it can't happen?

I think this is likely about Smith and his talking to the media.

b/c it makes more sense for someone like him to ask before the last minute. Things get done when people are on the same page and can plan.