Breaking Down "The List"

[davos]

i say he goes to miami

Agreed.

Big market, in the south, & his type of city

Good for us? I think possibly so.

[X-Clown]

I don't think they would either but hadn't heard the latter. Where did you hear that?

I hate to say it, but that covering up indiscretions thing Mr. Scot says would be a big plus with Dallas does make me go hmmmmmm after what supposedly happened with Pep in 2007.

Seem to remember it coming up on radio here that it was in local Boston media that Belcichick and brass didn't have any interest in Peppers. Maybe not a direct quote though.

[pantherclaw]

Peppers agent sure is doing a lot of talking.

Positioning themselves for a battle.

At this point, I really don't care where Peppers goes, or how much compensation that we get. I'll still like him as a player, and most importantly, the Panthers will have moved on.

[MadHatter]

Panthers should tell Peppers Agent....F*ck You.

Peppers will either:

A. Expand his "acceptable teams" to create an adequate negotiating market for his services, or

B. Sit out next season and not get paid, or

C. Be prepared to play out next year with the Panthers.

Firesale to the team that "Peppers Picks" should not even be an option.

Call the whiny little Bitch's bluff.

If he takes 3 and intentionally tanks, it significantly hurts his value on the market next year. He will not jeopardize that.

[mountainpantherfan]

Let's look at some factors here.

From Peppers:

1) He doesn't want to play in Carolina next season

2) He will not sit out next season

From Pepper's Agent:

1) He wants Peppers to sign a huge contract

From the Panthers:

1) They want compensation for Peppers most likely to include at least a 1st round draft pick

2) They can use the franchise tag and keep Peppers for next season but would lose a lot of cap space

3) If they trade Peppers they would like for the Panthers to not play that team this season or next if possible

The two most desirable divisions on the part of the Panthers would be the AFC West and South: Chargers, Broncos, Chiefs, Raiders, Colts, Texans, Jags, and Titans.

Peppers is believed to want to go to a contending team. He is also believed to want to go to a city that has a big night life.

Pepper's agent will want a team with a lot of cap space for a big deal.

Everyone is wondering why Tampa Bay is on Pepper's list. It's obvious, they currently have the most cap space of any team in the league at $42 million. But there are some teams mentioned above that are in the top 10 in cap space. Denver is third with $34 million, Kansas City is fourth with $33 million, Tennessee is fifth with $31 million and Houston is tenth with $25 million.

Both Denver and Houston are areas that Peppers is known to frequent and can be seen as contenders for at least the playoffs. As far as compensation is concerned, Denver has the 12th overall pick and Houston has the 15th overall pick.

My guess is that a lot of what is coming from Pepper's and from his agent isn't geared toward Carolina but rather geared toward the targeted team. Leaving that "un-named AFC team" un-named will cause teams rushing to the phone to try and find out if they are that team.

My guess is that there is in fact two AFC teams, most probably Denver and Houston, and that the posturing is aimed to get a bigger offers from those teams. If Tampa, Atlanta and Dallas make offers, even if there isn't a chance at the Panthers trading with them, then that only increases Pepper's value when negociating with the AFC teams.

So what I'm trying to say is the list is more about trying to force the hands of Denver and Houston than it is about forcing the hand of the Panthers.

[Fireball77]

Seem to remember it coming up on radio here that it was in local Boston media that Belcichick and brass didn't have any interest in Peppers. Maybe not a direct quote though.

I believe you.

I don't think they would want to spend that kind of dough on a projection player who may not have the motor or love of the game they like to see. With guys like Moss or Dillon who had bad reps as quitters/lackadaisical, etc they didn't give up a bunch to get them and they protected themselves contractually and neither player was a projection. This is why I can't see any team with a grain of sense taking Pep for a 3-4. When a guy is going to cost that much dough, draft picks and is almost 30, I think it's a bad financial risk to pay him for a position he has never played in his life.

[carpanfan96]

I believe you.

I don't think they would want to spend that kind of dough on a projection player who may not have the motor or love of the game they like to see. With guys like Moss or Dillon who had bad reps as quitters/lackadaisical, etc they didn't give up a bunch to get them and they protected themselves contractually and neither player was a projection. This is why I can't see any team with a grain of sense taking Pep for a 3-4. When a guy is going to cost that much dough, draft picks and is almost 30, I think it's a bad financial risk to pay him for a position he has never played in his life.

Arizona would be a good choice off of that alone. He could play DE in the 4-3 looks they give an then go to OLB in the 3-4 looks. I still think it's Miami, Houston or maybe the Jets instead of NE.

[Highlandfire]

From what I have heard Denver is going to run a hybrid of the 4-3 / 3-4. Interchanging between the two dependant on personel.

Don't forget Buffalo. They are a couple pieces away from contending in the AFC and they have the cap room to make peppers the highest paid DE in all of football and front load the package to entice him to come there.

[BlueHose]

I don't care where he goes. I just want to get the most out the trade. Why is everybody so afraid of him if he goes to another NFC South team? What extra motivation will he have against us? If anything, we should have the additional motivation playing against him. He's the one that's d*cking us...remember?

[thefuzz]

Denver would be a very good place for him to be, and they need him badly.

There is something to think about in that as well.

They have a new personnel guy, and is he the kind of guy to stick his neck out, sign the big guy, and everyone loves him.

Or is he the guy that is pretty scared of someone that big for fear of him not living up to expectations, and him getting the axe in a couple of years.

[thefuzz]

I don't care where he goes. I just want to get the most out the trade. Why is everybody so afraid of him if he goes to another NFC South team? What extra motivation will he have against us? If anything, we should have the additional motivation playing against him. He's the one that's d*cking us...remember?

Honestly I could care less where he goes as well, I can't imagine that he will play us any harder than he plays for us.

[CLTPanther]

If he wants to go a contender, why would he go to Denver? They just lost their long time coach and their D was absolutely horrible last year. I would think Houston would be much more attractive than Denver as at least they have a lot of the parts in place to make a deep run.

[mountainpantherfan]

If he wants to go a contender, why would he go to Denver? They just lost their long time coach and their D was absolutely horrible last year. I would think Houston would be much more attractive than Denver as at least they have a lot of the parts in place to make a deep run.

Denver has the offense, especially the QB, already in place. Based on last season Denver was closer to making the playoffs than Houston was so I would place both teams in the same category.

[thefuzz]

If he wants to go a contender, why would he go to Denver? They just lost their long time coach and their D was absolutely horrible last year. I would think Houston would be much more attractive than Denver as at least they have a lot of the parts in place to make a deep run.

Houston....3rd best team in the division...at least for now.

Denver.....2nd best team in the division ...at least for now.

Not saying thats where he will land, just that, Denver really needs him, and have the right slotting for the draft picks the Panthers would probably want.