Steve Reed Article on Gross

[Doc Holiday]

http://carolinagrowl.com/Read.aspx?Story=1022

CHARLOTTE – Jordan Gross is viewed by most Carolina Panthers fans as a team player.

And that’s a valid and warranted reputation he’s earned through six seasons with the team. After all, he’s played through injuries and missed only one start since coming to the Panthers in 2003, all the while doing so at a high level. And he's never been a problem off the field.

But Gross can take his reputation a step further in the next two weeks and do the Panthers organization a tremendous favor and earn even more admiration from fans by signing a contract extension with the Panthers.

Heck, it doesn’t even have to be long-term – it can be for a one year.

But simply by signing his name to a contract Gross will help the Panthers out tremendously.

Basically how well we do this offseason rests in Gross's hands

[Fox007]

I am hoping he signs with us, but I am not promoting him as the savior or this great awesome messiah just yet.

Not too long ago Peppers was one of the faces of the franchise, and look how that has turned out.

[southcakalac]

They had better get this deal done.

[Mr. Scot]

I think that's the article Florio was basing his opinion piece on.

[frash.exe]

I don't know exactly how, but for some reason players wait until their contract years to really breakout of their shell.

It happened with Moose in 2004.

Before this season we were even wondering if Gross could hold the fort at Left Tackle and Peppers was coming off an awful year that he was one of the least productive starting DEs in the league, and Gross keeps the pass rushers at bay and opens the holes up and Peppers follows up with his highest sack total in his career.

I don't think it's so much that they slack off rather than it is that they bust their ass because they think, correctly, if they do, they're up for a serious pay raise. But hell, wouldn't it be great if they had some extra motive every year. Somehow fractional performance incentives don't quite do the job.

[Mr. Scot]

I don't know exactly how, but for some reason players wait until their contract years to really breakout of their shell.

It happened with Moose in 2004.

Before this season we were even wondering if Gross could hold the fort at Left Tackle and Peppers was coming off an awful year that he was one of the least productive starting DEs in the league, and Gross keeps the pass rushers at bay and opens the holes up and Peppers follows up with his highest sack total in his career.

I don't think it's so much that they slack off rather than it is that they bust their ass because they think, correctly, if they do, they're up for a serious pay raise. But hell, wouldn't it be great if they had some extra motive every year. Somehow fractional performance incentives don't quite do the job.

The "contract year wonder" is a league wide thing.

It's probably valid of Moose. It certainly fits for Peppers. I'm not so sure it's completely appropriate with Gross given that they switched him back and forth so much.

I ultimately thought that moving Gross to left tackle was the right decision, but the even "more right" decision was moving Travelle Wharton to left guard.

[frash.exe]

The "contract year wonder" is a league wide thing.

It's probably valid of Moose. It certainly fits for Peppers. I'm not so sure it's completely appropriate with Gross given that they switched him back and forth so much.

I ultimately thought that moving Gross to left tackle was the right decision, but the even "more right" decision was moving Travelle Wharton to left guard.

Moving Gross over was the only decision. Wharton was definitely struggling at LT and Otah couldn't just be thrown in to block a team's best DE (RE is usually where they put their better starter) as a rookie.

The main knock on Gross was whether he could prove if he could play left tackle before this year. I believe he took the "wait and see" approach, not to be malicious btw, but to maximize his potential gains, by being an anchor at left tackle which is more prized than on the other side. That's probably why he didn't go for an extension last year. If he failed, he probably doesn't lose any money he was going to get before the prospect of LT came about because he could just be picked up as an FA right tackle.

There's more to his thought process than we'll ever know. I mean money can only take a GM so far, until the player realizes that other teams will offer just about the same amount, and then it's even ground. The willingness to stay in the same uniform is balanced with the curiosity of going to a new team, working with new people, moving to a new city. A change of scenery, or a "grass-is-greener in someone else's backyard" outlook. That's what convinced Peppers to go on his way....

[Mr. Scot]

Moving Gross over was the only decision. Wharton was definitely struggling at LT and Otah couldn't just be thrown in to block a team's best DE (RE is usually where they put their better starter) as a rookie.

The main knock on Gross was whether he could prove if he could play left tackle before this year. I believe he took the "wait and see" approach, not to be malicious btw, but to maximize his potential gains, by being an anchor at left tackle which is more prized than on the other side. That's probably why he didn't go for an extension last year. If he failed, he probably doesn't lose any money he was going to get before the prospect of LT came about because he could just be picked up as an FA right tackle.

There's more to his thought process than we'll ever know. I mean money can only take a GM so far, until the player realizes that other teams will offer just about the same amount, and then it's even ground. The willingness to stay in the same uniform is balanced with the curiosity of going to a new team, working with new people, moving to a new city. A change of scenery, or a "grass-is-greener in someone else's backyard" outlook. That's what convinced Peppers to go on his way....

When they franchised Gross last year, many of us said immediately "he's moving left" because teams don't generally franchise right tackles. The merit of that move was a topic of heavy discussion.

Likewise, when the terms for Wharton's contract came out, a lot of folks said "guard money". That one drew a lot of debate too.

The big paycheck vs the job where I'm happy? Stability for my family vs excitement of a new challenge and/or career achievement? These guys face those questions same as us, though on a larger, more public scale.

Still, fans tend to only see it as team loyalty vs individual greed.

It's just never as simple as people make it out to be :skep:

[mountainpantherfan]

I think you can go futher than just this on field performance to see how much of a "team" guy Gross is. The last couple of years he has done those American Idol spots on the Panthers web site and he just started a celeberty kickball game for charity in Charlotte. Unlike Peppers, I don't think Gross is looking for greener pastures. But like you said Mr. Scot this is a career/business decision and he has to take his time and consider all options. If the Panthers offer him a contract that is comparable to what other teams are going to offer him then I don't see any reason why he would go elsewhere. As far as his position, I doubt the Panthers would move him from LT now that he made the pro-bowl and was named all pro there.

On a side note, if Gross does end up signing what will be a massive contract the "face" of the Panthers will definantly be moving to a more offensive viewpoint. While Delhomme and Smith have been very popular for a while now there were also the big name stars on the defensive side of the ball. Yeah, Beason is becoming a star but really thats it. With Delhomme, Smith, Moose, Williams, Stewart, Gross and Otah this team is more top heavy on offensive for probably the first time in franshise history.

[Fireball77]

I have to wonder if position stability didn't factor into why Gross didn't sign a long term contract prior to 2008. Since he had been flipped so often, I know he has commented about being able to settle in at one spot. Perhaps the fact that they finally had the OL depth to leave him at one spot all year and probably in the future since Otah is a young player and they still have Bridges who can fill in better @ RT than anyone else before him in Gross' tenure since 2004 will make a difference in Gross' thinking. OLs seem to think more in terms of themselves as part of a unit than other positions do. Still, if he leaves for a better contract, I won't be mad at him and say he's greedy. It's his right. The scale of the paycheck leads some fans to think that it's greed and they would play for so much less because they would just be happy to play, etc. It's faulty logic, IMO.