Mare is 38

7/27/2011 2:40:05 PM

Quote :

"He is considered to be one of the best in the league at kickoffs, with a career average of 63.8 yards."

still a weird signing

and he's 38

7/27/2011 2:40:14 PM

well

Mare was 3rd in the league last year in touchbacks (20)

dunno much else to separate him from the rest

7/27/2011 2:40:17 PM

http://www.twitvid.com/GUXAX

7/27/2011 2:41:15 PM

Quote :

"ProFootballTalk ProFootballTalk Of course, Mare hasn't actually "signed." He agreed to terms. Which gives Panthers two days to come to their senses. 2 minutes ago Favorite Retweet Reply "

[Edited on July 27, 2011 at 2:48 PM. Reason : x]

7/27/2011 2:42:58 PM

all the Seahawks fans on PFT seem pissed off that they lost Mare

7/27/2011 2:48:46 PM

some numbers:

Deangelo Williams rushing attempts in college: 969
Deangelo Williams rushing attempts in the NFL: 841

only played in 6 games last year, his 5th season in the league
only started 2 games total in his first 2 seasons
only had 121 and 144 carries his first 2 seasons respectively since Foster was the feature back
in his 3rd and 4th seasons, he had his biggest workload, but was still sharing carries

Sure he played a lot in college and got some wear and tear, but he's basically been a starter the equivalent of less than 4 seasons in the pros...I don't think you can apply the same basic rules of age when it comes to DWill based on him sharing carries for pretty much his entire career

if you want to think his injury risks are too high since he only played in 6 games last year, thats fine, but personally I think if we were 7-7 late in the season last year, guys like DWill and Otah could've played but we just held them out since theres no point in getting them banged up when the season is already over

my argument is that he's not your average 28 year old NFL running back...Michael Turner had 334 carries last year and 376 two years before...THAT is the type of workload thats going to shorten a running back's career

/whatever

7/27/2011 4:32:23 PM

Panthers will release Kasay on Thursday

Hurney has negotiated 5 year deals for both Thomas Davis and James Anderson

[Edited on July 27, 2011 at 4:51 PM. Reason : Anderson, not Beason]

7/27/2011 4:49:21 PM

lol signed a dude named Cletis

7/27/2011 4:57:28 PM

Marty Hurney is acting nigger rich with all this cash he's got to spend. He's gonna fuck the franchise down the road with all this crazy spending.

7/27/2011 5:28:16 PM

somehow, i doubt that

7/27/2011 5:29:33 PM

^^^^

Regardless of total carries, you should always assume that a running back is gonna be washed up at 30. That's just how it goes. Wear and tear is one thing, but players naturally lose shiftiness, agility and lateral movement in their late 20's. The exceptions to the rule are usually big, bruising RBs who run straight ahead. DWill's best days are probably behind him.

7/27/2011 5:34:05 PM

Here's hoping he has a Thomas Jones/Curtis Martin type career arc

7/27/2011 5:41:12 PM

One can hope.

He is one of the most exciting runners in the game.

7/27/2011 6:09:40 PM

^^ that'd be great, but those are bruisers

7/27/2011 6:24:40 PM

Marshall Faulk and Warrick Dunn are shifty guys who played well in their 30's. But they are the exception, not the rule.

7/27/2011 6:40:12 PM

^^Curtis Martin was 5'11, 210 lbs. If he's a bruiser, DeAngelo is a sledgehammer.

7/27/2011 6:43:19 PM

RIP GOLDEN BOOT

7/27/2011 8:06:59 PM

nice, a Scott Fowler "my 5 thoughts" has been posted
http://t.co/EUbA3Va

7/27/2011 9:21:32 PM

well at least if the Panthers go 7-9 this season, then make the Super Bowl next season, Kasay won't blow it by booting a kickoff out of bounds

i'll miss the Nike sportswatch kicker

7/27/2011 11:35:31 PM

im not surprised by the overspending we've done. this is marty hurney's MO

telling kasay to GTFO is a little out of character, though. they needed to cut ties with him at some point, but I figured they'd always wait a year too long rather than do it a year early

im also happy D-Will is back even if logic suggests otherwise

7/28/2011 12:35:58 AM

I thought kasay was still good, when did he become kiker all of a sudden

7/28/2011 2:09:30 AM

Kasay will get a statue of himself outside BofA Stadium

no need to feel sorry for someone we arguably should've cut a few seasons ago

7/28/2011 2:41:44 AM

Quote :

"I thought kasay was still good"

He was top 10 in fg%, fg made, & longest fg made last season

7/28/2011 8:36:38 AM

Huge liability on kickoffs though.

7/28/2011 8:56:39 AM

that's why he was removed from that role.


i've discovered that nfl kickers tweet way too much.

7/28/2011 9:03:21 AM

Quote :

"that's why he was removed from that role."

and they were the only team in the nfl to carry two kickers on the roster

[Edited on July 28, 2011 at 9:08 AM. Reason : .]

7/28/2011 9:08:19 AM

Quote :

"@carolinagrowl Report: Panthers won't trade Steve Smith. http://bit.ly/qUNnxz"

7/28/2011 10:11:17 AM

D'oh, i was about to post that and got sidetracked looking up something about John Kasay.


dweedle quick on the trigger. get a real job.

7/28/2011 10:12:50 AM

Quote :

"When reached for comment, Smith said he "and his family decided we wanted to stay" and indicated he would report to camp with his teammates as scheduled on Friday. He gave no further comment. "

http://www.profootballweekly.com/2011/07/28/panthers-will-not-trade-wr-smith

7/28/2011 10:15:08 AM

The roster spot was always a bigger factor than the dollars. You can only have 45 active players on gameday. Having three of those filled by kickers was a waste.

[Edited on July 28, 2011 at 10:23 AM. Reason : x]

7/28/2011 10:23:40 AM

http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/6812000/carolina-panthers-steve-smith-wants-retire-team

Quote :

"Steve Smith: Panther for life? By Adam Schefter Throughout the offseason, speculation swirled about the future of Carolina Panthers wide receiver Steve Smith. Yet one day after meeting with general manager Marty Hurney and coach Ron Rivera, Smith repeated what he told his bosses: He plans to remain with Carolina this season and beyond. "For me I'm always going to be a Panther," Smith said Thursday from Charlotte. "They took a shot on me when I was coming from nowhere and now I'm going into my 11th year in the league. This will be where I retire, whether that's five years from now or one year from now." Smith did have lengthy discussions with his wife about what they wanted to do in the future and where they wanted to be. But in the end, they decided the best place for them was Carolina. Smith said he remained quiet this offseason because he had so much to do, including selling his home in Charlotte to move to a smaller place in the area. He even closed on his house this week and has been trying to help his family pack it up so they can move before he leaves for training camp. Smith has been so busy that he has paid little attention to the Panthers' moves in recent days, which have included the re-signings of running back DeAngelo Williams and defensive end Charles Johnson. "People have been speculating about my future for two years now," said Smith, who has two years remaining on his contract. "But I'm going to be here and I'm ready to show people a side of me that they haven't seen. I'm staying in Carolina." The 32-year-old Smith has two years remaining on his contract. The four-time Pro Bowl selection is scheduled to make $7 million this season and $7.75 million in 2012. The Panthers were an NFL-worst 2-14 last season, had the league's worst offense and Smith had the worst numbers of his career in a season in which he was healthy."

7/28/2011 10:49:41 AM

We were going to get a 2012 draft pick anyway. Why not keep him for the season when you can still trade him afterwards for a similar pick?

7/28/2011 10:55:01 AM

The man makes several good points, but while I disagreed with keeping Deangelo, I think he goes a bit overboard condemning the move

Quote :

"The Biggest Loser A Cannibalistic Frenzy: How to Overpay for Your Own Terrible Team Panthers GM Marty Hurney wants to keep his job after a disastrous 2010 that saw him pay Jake Delhomme millions of dollars to go play for the Browns. To do so, he's gone on an absurd spending spree that's seen the team drop in excess of $100 million in contracts paid to lock up the core of a team that went 2-14 last year. In a vacuum, some of the moves are defensible. We discussed the mammoth Charles Johnson deal yesterday, and while it was an obscene amount of money, it's not the worst thing in the world to bet on a young pass-rusher who's shown a lot of promise. Hurney followed that contract today with a five-year deal for linebacker James Anderson, who, in his first year as a starter, might have been the defense's best player in 2010. That deal guarantees Anderson just $8.5 million, so it's not an enormous commitment, even though Anderson is already 28. Both of those moves could flop, but they're defensible. Unfortunately, Hurney didn't stop there. Anderson made his way into the starting lineup only after starting linebacker Thomas Davis tore his ACL in June, his second ACL tear in eight months. As a former safety, Davis was already an undersized linebacker who relied upon his speed to make plays, so it would have been reasonable to wonder if he would come back as the same player he was in 2007 and 2008. The Panthers had the ability to find out for relatively cheap, with Davis signed for the 2011 season at a figure of just $3.2 million. Instead, Hurney ripped up Davis' contract and gave the 28-year-old a five-year deal, for which terms have not yet been disclosed. It really doesn't matter what the terms are, to be honest, because it's just insipid to give a long-term contract to a guy coming off of consecutive ACL tears. Wait, How Many Running Backs Can You Have on a Roster? It got worse. Wanting to ensure an effective ground game for first overall pick Cam Newton, the Panthers went out of their way to re-sign veteran halfback DeAngelo Williams, giving another 28-year-old a ridiculous five-year deal. Williams got $43 million in his extension, with an incredible $21 million in guaranteed money. It's an unconscionably dumb decision. As a starter, Williams has made it through a 16-game season without getting hurt exactly once. The team drafted Jonathan Stewart in the first round of the 2008 draft to take over as the primary starter after Williams left, and they got effective play from Mike Goodson as a change-of-pace back after Williams went on injured reserve with a foot injury. The team's running game declined in 2010, but it really wasn't because Williams wasn't there. They fell off because they had no quarterback, no leads to run the clock out on, and injuries all along the offensive line, especially with elite right tackle Jeff Otah missing the entire season. A healthier offensive line in 2011 will mean a more effective running game for the Panthers, but they'll be paying far too much to their running backs for the privilege. The Old, Gray Olindo Mare The biggest mistake the team made was paying for a veteran kicker, signing Olindo Mare to a four-year deal worth $12 million. Mare has a strong leg, a consistent skill that produced a touchback 27.8 percent of the time last year, the fifth-highest rate in the game. That's a valuable asset, but it's going to be far less important in 2011. The league moved kickoffs from the 30-yard line to the 35 in March, a change that will turn plenty of would-be returns into touchbacks. Mare will still rank among the league leaders in touchbacks, but the difference between him and the league's average kickers will be muted. The Panthers won't be 2-14 next year. Teams simply bounce back from year-to-year because the breaks that pushed them into the gutter will begin to start going their way again, a phenomenon Bill James coined the "Plexiglass Principle". The Panthers will almost surely be a healthier team in 2011. They were in a division with three teams that each outplayed their Pythagorean expectation3, so their schedule shouldn't be quite as tough as it might seem right now. They probably aren't going to repeat the turnaround exhibited by the 2008 Dolphins, but going 6-10 shouldn't be a problem, even with Jimmy Clausen and Cam Newton at quarterback. Still, it's hard to figure how this spending spree has turned them into a better team."

7/28/2011 1:25:57 PM

I'm not really sure who else we're supposed to spend the money on

I'm not as psyched about Jonathan Joseph as some people are

Did we overpay? Of course. But do you trust Marty Hurney to sign players he doesn't know? I certainly don't

At least all the guys we brought back are good

7/28/2011 1:38:05 PM

Quote :

"But do you trust Marty Hurney"

I wouldn't trust the man to pick up my dry cleaning, but its not like he's the one calling the shots here

The signings came directly from the top

7/28/2011 1:39:33 PM

on the one hand, other than drafting cam newton, they have done little else than bring back everyone from a 2 win season.

on the other hand, at least they're making an effort to be competitive.

and yes, giving davis a new contract is particularly perplexing

i'd feel much more optimistic if they would sign a decent vet QB

7/28/2011 1:47:04 PM

We're not even allowed to save money, teams have to spend 99% of the salary cap for the next 2 years at least.

That means lots of players are gonna get overpaid by teams nobody good wants to come to.

7/28/2011 1:50:49 PM

That article SF posted is a head scratcher. He jumps all over the Panthers for signing players off of a 2-14 team to big deals, then in the next paragraph admits that we had absolutely no quarterback play last year.

OF FUCKING COURSE YOU ARE GOING TO LOOK BAD IF YOU HAVE THE WORST STARTING QUARTERBACKS IN THE LEAGUE. christ.

Williams and Johnson were top 10 free agents and Anderson is a tackling machine.

The only thing I don't quite understand is why we decided to extend TD coming off 2 knee injuries instead of letting him try to get through this year injury-free on a bargain salary and evaluate if he's still got it.

Also, anybody seen how much guaranteed money is in the Mare deal? I keep hearing the media throw that number out there like that's how much he is actually going to make. It's a great deal if he only has a 1 million base salary and everything else is incentives.

[Edited on July 28, 2011 at 2:01 PM. Reason : %]

7/28/2011 1:57:47 PM

Look at our offense. When healthy, we're above average at 6 of the 11 positions (Gross, Otah, Kalil, Wharton, Smith, Deangelo/Stewart) average at two (Shockey and Schwartz) below average at two (Lafell and Fiametta) and The Great Unknown in Cam Newton. Just goes to show you how if you don't have a solid QB, nothing else really matters.

7/28/2011 2:01:48 PM

how bout nate clements lol

7/28/2011 2:02:19 PM

Quote :

"The only thing I don't quite understand is why we decided to extend TD coming off 2 knee injuries instead of letting him try to get through this year injury-free on a bargain salary and evaluate if he's still got it."

For what I heard, it was some kind of good faith promise. Gives some positive press, which could boost interest with other possible free agents (I guess?). But I do understand your point completely.

7/28/2011 2:13:05 PM

signed safety Sean Considine

7/28/2011 4:15:54 PM

Reminds me of that shitty Keanu Reeves movie

7/28/2011 4:17:28 PM

you must be more specific, there are many

Constantine?

[Edited on July 28, 2011 at 4:18 PM. Reason : .]

[Edited on July 28, 2011 at 4:18 PM. Reason : spelling hard]

7/28/2011 4:17:56 PM

7/28/2011 4:18:41 PM

i thought it was alright, slippery pete as the devil was a nice touch

7/28/2011 4:19:37 PM

when Nmamdi signs, the secondary free agents will fall like dominoes. Panthers will likely get involved (not in Nmamdi) but others like Cromartie & Clements...though Clements could be resigned by 49ers.

7/28/2011 4:20:54 PM

Houston is shopping Okoye..which means they are trying to clear some serious $$$ for Nmamdi offer.

7/28/2011 4:37:56 PM

i wouldnt mind taking a flyer on okoye, if it were something like a pick in the 5-7 range

7/28/2011 4:46:45 PM