Tag: Carolina Panthers (Page 17 of 34)

      Merry Christmas, Matt Ryan. His name is Tony Gonzalez.

      September 20, 2009 /

      Tony GonzalezMatt Ryan might as well change his birthday from May 17 to April 23, because that’s the day Falcons GM Thomas Dimitroff traded a 2010 second round pick to Kansas City in exchange for future Hall of Fame tight end Tony Gonzalez.

      After hauling in five passes for 73 yards and a touchdown in Atlanta’s 19-7 win over Miami in Week 1, Gonzo followed up that performance with a seven-catch, 71-yard effort in the Falcons’ 28-20 victory over the Panthers on Sunday. He also caught his second touchdown pass of the year after Ryan found him on a 24-yard completion late in the first quarter to give Atlanta a 7-3 lead.

      It’s still early, but Gonzalez is turning out to be one of he best offseason acquisitions of the year. He’s such a mismatch on safeties and linebackers that it’s almost unfair that the Falcons can use him in the red zone. And when he’s not catching passes, he frees up Roddy White (6 receptions, 53 yards, 1 TD) and other receivers to make plays in the passing game.

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      NFL

      Bettis rips Panthers’ Delhomme, Fox

      September 15, 2009 /

      Former Steelers running back and current SI.com writer Jerome Bettis says that somebody needs to be fired in Carolina after quarterback Jake Delhomme followed his atrocious outing in last year’s playoffs with an equally brutal performance Sunday in a loss to the Eagles.

      Fox saw that playoff game last year firsthand. He had an entire offseason to evaluate his passers. And he didn’t take the necessary steps to ensure the franchise’s success down the line. Whether it was a free agent — Matt Cassell, Sage Rosenfels, Michael Vick — or even a rookie in the draft, he didn’t demand a quarterback to challenge Delhomme.

      Instead, the Panthers gave Delhomme a five-year contract extension, and now they don’t have anyone else who can compete for the position. Fox went through the whole darn depth chart yesterday and didn’t see a positive thing from anyone.

      To me, that all goes on the coach. Coaches live and die by their quarterbacks, and Fox is riding Jake Delhomme to his grave. If he wants to save his job, he ought to be looking for options, whether it be a veteran who got released in the preseason or someone in a trade. Maybe it’s time to call Minnesota about one of its backups.

      While I don’t know what “To me, that all goes on the coach” means, I agree with Bettis. Regular readers know that I have ripped the Panthers in the past for not planning for their future at the quarterback position and now they’re stuck with Delhomme, the underwhelming Matt Moore or the recently signed A.J. Feeley.

      I always hear about how good of a coach Fox is and how he gets the most out of his players. That may be, but he seriously screwed the pooch in evaluating Delhomme this summer, because it’s apparent that the QB has lost a ton of arm strength. Not only that, but his decision-making and awareness have been terrible and he’s prone to throwing into tight coverage.

      Delhomme isn’t the quarterback he once was and as soon as Feeley learns Jeff Davidson’s offense, Fox will probably make a switch. Either that, or Fox will probably go down in flames with Delhomme, just as Bettis suggests.

      NFL

      Top 5 Active Special Teams TD Leaders

      August 8, 2009 /

      Donte HallSome NFL players are just electrifying to watch when they return kicks. Some are even more electrifying when they are on your fantasy team, or if your D/ST gives you six points for a kick return score. Here is a list of the top five (or so) active players in this very department:

      1. Dante Hall, St. Louis Rams (12)—He’s lost a step or two, but between 2002 and 2004 while with Kansas City, this guy was positively money on returns. You just couldn’t kick the ball to him without that nagging fear of a big return. In 2003, Hall had 4 TDs, including a 100-yard kick return and a 93 yard punt return. Just sick.

      2. Devin Hester, Chicago Bears (11)—Those 11 returns were in just TWO seasons, 2006 and 2007, as Hester’s focus in 2008 was more as a receiver. But 11 TDs in two seasons is amazing, and consider that he also returned the opening kickoff of Super Bowl 41 all the way.

      3. Allen Rossum, San Francisco 49ers (8)—He’s played for five different teams, but that doesn’t make him any less dangerous to defend.

      4. Antwaan Randle El, Washington Redskins (6)—He only has one return TD in the last three years while with the Redskins, but still very dangerous as a return man and a receiver in the open field.

      4 (tie). Steve Smith, Carolina Panthers (6)—He doesn’t return kicks anymore, but why should one of the game’s perennial Top 5 receivers be relegated to kickoff duty anymore?

      4 (tie). Joshua Cribbs, Cleveland Browns (6)—Only 26 years old this season, Cribbs has been one of the lone bright spots on a struggling Browns’ team his first three seasons.

      Source: Pro Football Reference

      Bullz-Eye Sports Channel, Fantasy Football, NFL

      Lombardi: Vick to wind up east of the Mississippi

      August 6, 2009 /

      Mike Lombardi of the National Football Post is reporting that free agent quarterback Michael Vick will likely sign with a team east of the Mississippi.

      Back to Vick. By the way, did you see him working out with those kids on the high school field? He looked good, throwing the ball around softly. In fact, I mentioned on the air that we should send him some new NFL footballs. Quarterbacks cannot be properly evaluated unless they have the right footballs. So where does this leave Vick? I put my thinking cap on (yes, Raiders fans, I have one) and, based on the east of the Mississippi clue, my best guess is Carolina. I still feel Jacksonville is in play, especially because they went after Andrew Walter and failed to land him, despite the fact their offensive coordinator, Dirk Koetter, coached Walter in college. Carolina badly needs a backup quarterback and has seen firsthand how Vick can create problems with his running skills. It makes sense, but it’s still a guess. I’ll keep working on the clues.

      One thought being floated around the web is that Vick will wind up in a southern state because dog fighting is more widely accepted in the south. But that kind of seems like a ridiculous, fabricated notion and I think any team that signs Vick will do so knowing that PETA will be on their front lawn as soon as he reports to their facilities.

      The Panthers are an interesting team that never crossed my mind in terms of who Vick could potentially sign with. Jake Delhomme just signed a new contract, but there’s nothing guaranteed about his play (see last year’s divisional round playoff loss to the Cardinals) and Vick could give Carolina better depth at the quarterback position.

      But again, it all comes down to which team is willing to take the risk of signing him. Financially he’s probably worth it, seeing as how he’s probably going to have to take the first offer presented to him. But any team that signs him risks alienating their fan base and turning their facilities into a daily media circus.

      NFL

      Peppers, Panthers set to do the same dance in 2010

      July 15, 2009 /

      According to a report by the Charlotte Observer, the Carolina Panthers and defensive end Julius Peppers are setting themselves up for dilemma in 2010 similar to the one they just went through this offseason.

      The deadline for a team to sign a franchise player to a long-term contract ends today and apparently the Panthers and Peppers remain far apart on a deal. After he signed his one-year tender on June 24, the hope was that the two sides could come together on a long-term deal but so far, no such luck.

      That means that the Panthers will face a similar problem next offseason when they’ll have to decide to either try and re-sign Peppers to a long-term deal, franchise him, or let him walk via free agency. Any one of the three options has its positives and negatives.

      If Peppers wants to play elsewhere, then forcing Carolina to make another tough decision next offseason is smart. But if he wants to cash in on a massive contract before his playing days are over, the window to do so is closing considering he turns 30 next January.

      NFL

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