Martin Bolsters Secondary

After spending their newly acquired pick at #43 overall, the Panthers looked toward the 59 pick anticipating a move in the secondary, picking Sherrod Martin, DB, from Troy.

The small-school prospect showed up at combine with above average numbers (4.50 40, a blazing 3.98 20 yard shuttle- 2nd best for the entire combine, not just DBs, and a 3-cone drill 2nd best at CB at 6.60), but also played very well at the Senior Bowl, in workouts, and had shown himself as a playmaker in college - he's not just a workout warrior.

As well, for good or bad, he's mature. He'll turn 25 during his rookie year, because of an injury redshirt year and a deferred enrollment to 2004. At Troy, he played both cornerback and safety, and excelled at both. With Carolina, Martin will likely start out as a nickel, fighting CJ Wilson for the role.

Many anticipated the team picking a defensive tackle with the pick, but a great fit in Fili Moala went just three picks ahead at #56. Jarron Gilbert seemed to fit the bill as well, but there were worries about inconsistent motor. The other choice - many had DJ Moore from Vanderbilt as the top CB left (to edit in hindsight, he'd fall much further). While both are solid cover corners, Martin provides a little less overaggressiveness, a lot more size, and more athleticism. He also played at a lower level, but Troy alums Demarcus Ware, Leodis McKelvin, and many other small school stars don't think that's a concern.

Trade Brings Brown to Black and Blue

With Panthers fans only starting to tune in to anticipate the 59th overall pick, the 43rd pick suddenly came up on the clock for Carolina - and quickly, Everette Brown was the team's top pick.
By the 43rd pick, the team could've swapped up and gotten Brown using the 59 pick - it's entirely possible that they continued to wave the 2010 first round pick as an offer expecting that would've worked higher up. The ability to keep that 59 pick, and get the 4th round pick as well, was a factor in getting more value. By getting the 4th (111), the team felt like it could get three players within the same value structure, including the 93 pick in the third round and 128 later in the 4th.

Brown (6'2, 256, Florida State, Junior) was heavily favored to make it to the first round, and when Carolina saw him slide into the second, had started to inquire about moving up to get the high-value, athletic end. Brown adds, in theory, a significant upgrade in rush ability, and obviously also insures against any Julius Peppers downtime or holdout.

An excellent athlete, Brown was a terror for FSU as a junior and declared early for the draft. With 13.5 sacks and 21.5 tackles for loss, he'd proven himself dominant at the college level, but had only started for that one year. He was a situational rusher in two years prior, and steadily improved - redshirt 2005, 3.0 sacks in 2006, 6.5 sacks in 2007. In each of those years, Brown also had more than ten tackles for loss, despite not starting. Those made up a fair portion of his total tackle count, finishing with 46.5 TFL and 100 total tackles.

Looked at as a potential 3-4 OLB by much of the league, Brown was passed over by some 4-3 teams looking for a pass rusher; he was also passed over when Robert Ayers and Larry English were taken ahead of him and Green Bay selected Clay Matthews, a true OLB, over any of the pass rushers. At the point Brown was taken by Carolina, only four DT and three DE were off the board. Other than a stigma from past FSU rushers of his pedigree (Jamal Reynolds, Andre Wadsworth, Kamerion Wimbley), there doesn't seem to be a realistic reason for him to fall, and he has no control over what other rushers from his school accomplished in the NFL.

Brown will start out immediately bolstering the defensive line and the pass rush overall, and has the motor, awareness, and ability to grow into an excellent run stopper, and his 21.5 tackles for loss last year are a part of that. Make no mistake, he's not just a situational player, and he's not a tweener, this is the real deal. He may start out rotating in, but should make impact all over the field.

Lucas Released - Marshall Expected to Start?

The team was apparently unable to find another suitor in trade for Lucas after the Detroit trade failed. Lucas' inability to restructure or reduce his salary to work with another team (or, potentially, Carolina, either) probably played a part, and his declining play didn't help.But Lucas is a talented corner, and will land somewhere. At a lower price, Carolina would certainly take him back. The team parts with Lucas in a bittersweet fashion - he was a top notch starter through most of his four years, only having fallen off in the second half of the year. He was a near-Pro Bowl player through much of that time, being our best corner for


Marshall To Start?

Officially, in the wake of the Ken Lucas cut, Richard Marshall is considered the starter
The theoretical elevation of fourth-year player Marshall creates a continued youth movement in the secondary - a unit that was highly experienced in 2005-07. Second-year Charles Godfrey will be behind himat free safety, and as it currently stands, CJ Wilson would be the nickel back.

Wilson, drafted in 2007 as a cheap alternative of what Godfrey became, was a college corner who moved to FS in his rookie year and washed out; last year he played corner and excelled in preseason but wasn't required to play from scrimmage much. (Hurney quotes regarding competition, etc)

The team could also choose to pickup a veteran over time. High profile options Shawn Springs and Leigh Bodden both went to the Patriots recently. Dre Bly gets a lot of mention because he's a fairly high profile former UNC Tarheel, but he's not more than a nickel. That maybe all the team requires, however, if they're good with Marshall starting. A potential push for Marshall would be more likely to come from the draft. (is it a good year for CBs in draft?)

Omiyale An Unlikely But Fast Pickup

Frank Omiyale cashed in early this morning, in a market that may not see any movement from the Carolina Panthers but may see more former Panthers cashing in.

Omiyale, who played left tackle competently in two games for Carolina, quickly had contact from ten different teams, and had a deal together with Chicago before breakfast - a four year, $14 million deal that likely pushes him into a starting role with the team.

Omiyale, not originally thought to be much of a player in free agency and not terribly high on the list of any major news outlets, was one of the first players to sign and was reportedly coveted by a third of the league's teams. Free agent left tackles aren't often allowed onto the market, but Carolina has their starters in place and don't look to spend that level of money on a backup.

Chicago had immediate concerns about 2008 first round pick Chris Williams, who disclosed an injury after the draft that threatens his development. Williams, taken directly after the Panthers drafted Jonathan Stewart, was at one time considered to be a potential pick for Carolina; they took OT Jeff Otah a few picks later. Now, with Carolina holding a massively successful running game thanks in part to Otah, the Bears look toward Carolina to help alleviate that mistake after only one year.

Among the other vet backups looking to cash in - Geoff Hangartner is on his way to Buffalo for a visit and potential contract. Hangartner, a 2005 5th round pick, was the 2006 starter at center and started at both LG and RG in injury situations in 2008. The team didn't make an offer to Hangartner, expecting that he, like Omiyale, can receive starting money in free agency.

For Carolina's part, finding veteran linemen in free agency will not be hard within a few weeks, looking for more bargains like Omiyale and Vincent (and, honestly, Toniu Fonoti and Milford Brown, had the numbers game not gotten them) were a year ago.

Lucas Trade Nixed; Kemoeatu, Lewis extended

Carolina, as previously rumored by Pat Yasinskas, attempted to trade CB Ken Lucas. The trade, now known by NFL.com's Adam Schefter, was withthe Lions, and was vetoed by Lucas. It's uncertain what the terms of the trade could've been. It's certainly uncertain why the team chose to stop the trade based on Lucas' ishes - he has no real say in the matter. The Lions would've gotten Lucas for only one year unless extended, which may have been what killed the deal. Not coming to terms with the new team can be cause for atrade to be canceled. Carolina can save $2.53 million by doing so, or could save a similar amount by restructuring his contract.

Maake Kemoeatu and Damione Lewis were given extensions this week, theteam announced. Both starting tackles were due to expire after 2010;both were extended through 2014. Lewis took a direct paycut, dropping $1 mil in salary, and rescinded a $2.5 million roster bonus to push that money through the new years of the contract. Kemoeatu dropped his base salary from $3.9 million to $2.0 million, and spread $2 million throughout the length of the contract for savings of $1.58 million this year. The team also gained $4 million under the cap when the league announced the new cap would increase from $123 million to $127 million, in aprovision intended to raise the league minimum spending cap.

Carolina Cuts Ties With Three, Restructure One

Carolina restructured Landon Johnson and cut three players - Jeremy Bridges, Nick Goings, and DJ Hackett - this week in an attempt to get under the cap. Johnson wasgiven a simple restructure, which saved as much as cutting him; it gives them aveteran backup at LB as they expect to lose veterans Donte Curry and Adam Seward infree agency. The move saves $1 million. Hackett hadn't worked out in Carolina - there were many misguided sources suggesting Hackett would start over Muhsin Muhammad; he predictably got hurt andunderperformed, but was worth signing if for no other reason than to get us through the two game suspension to Steve Smith. The team saves $1.04 million by cutting him. The other two cuts, however, were valuable backups who saved roster spots and hadearned their spots on the field. Goings, an undrafted player out of Pittsburgh, made the 2001 squad as a back, and excelled in the John Fox era with work at both fullback and running back. His 2004 performance, as a 4th string RB, turned inalmost 1000 yards (on a team that had only had two 1000 yard rushers in history atthe time) despite starting only half the year. He had elevated to Special Teams captain over the last few years. They saved $745,000 on the move, suggesting that Goings' play had finally fallen off and wouldn't be the team's top backup at FBwhile also allowing them a backup at RB. The team may be looking at finding a young backup RB who can return kicks and punts. Carolina saved $2.25 million with Bridges, the top backup at OT. With Bridges gone and Frank Omiyale a free agent, the team has its starters (All-Pro Jordan Gross and first round pick Jeff Otah) signed long term, but the team has only second-year practice squad player Geoff Schwartz at OT. The team would need to pickup at leastone additional player for depth. Locking up Geoff Hangartner does become more necessary now as well, to ensure a veteran backup presence on the OL.
The hard part is whether they have the money -they added enough to cover Gross and Peppers by making cuts and restructuring Johnson, but have to clear enough money for restricted free agents (roughly $4.5 million), and then would need to clear money to make any other moves. The team saved a total of $5.035 million on the moves. That, plus the $10 millionthey started with under the cap, and the $8 million saved from a scheduled guaranteeof a Chris Gamble bonus, left them with approximately $23.035 million in space, buthave to add in space for Julius Peppers' tag ($16.68 million) and Gross' contract(assumed to cost around $4.5 million against the cap).
Adding in the $4.5 million for RFA, the team needs around $2.5-3 million before they can be under the cap. They'll need to be under the cap by Friday, February 27.

2009

Just as a personal aside, it's funny how time flies. In 2003, 04, 05, things like the Super Bowl team, the young players added after the big game, and the big contracts signed in 2005-06 all kinda pointed toward 2008-09 as a reckoning.

This includes contracts like Jake Delhomme's - his cap figure is 6th in the league for quarterbacks and will probably be dealt with soon. It certainly impacts Ken Lucas' employment, something we'll probably find out about this week. It certainly impacted the Jordan Gross, Chris Gamble, and Julius Peppers' contracts. It's hard to believe in the grand scheme of things: 2009 will see the former two on the field, but without the latter. Peppers, for all this time, has embodied our success, partially because we placed him there; meanwhile, his eagerness to leave has only highlighted that there have been others willing to take up the flag (even if none of them, unfortunately, are DL).

It's funny, though, 2009 would've been time to deal with Kris Jenkins' contract. Dan Morgan's. Deshaun Foster would've been a free agent, harkening back to a simpler time where running backs weren't so balls-out awesome. It's been rare to see this team change so much in the last few years (much less the last seven total), watching the youth of that Super Bowl team age, watching the veterans fall by the wayside.

At any rate, it's here. Fiscal year 2009. It's odd, it all played out around what I thought it would. Sure, there was hope for Super Bowls, and we could've had one by now. But I never did expect one, and I never will. It's such a specific, unlikely thing, an elite group of teams both talented and lucky. I also had little doubt we'd get this far intact - that John Fox would still be here, that changes would inevitably come to at least one side of the ball.

And yet it's hard to look past right now, suddenly. Why?

I don't think it's fear of the Fox regime going away. I like what we did last year, and I think we can enact similar change to the DL to bring the defense back to life, especially if they can parlay the Peppers issue into something workable. I think Fox is on solid ground.

It's uncertainty, I guess. The Peppers situation. Delhomme, and how he responds, and how long he has left even if he does. The lottery-sized contracts - back when I effectively guessed a long term Kris Jenkins extension within a million dollars, back before people knew he was getting an extension? Those contracts made sense. Look at the Nnamdi Asomugha contract - that makes no sense at all. A two-year deal, completely guaranteed, that essentially allows them to franchise him without the effort, and a third-year option equal to the franchise amount for QBs? How does that make any sense?

And the long term development, the contracts? Most of our guys from the 06, 07, 08 drafts - in a way as good as we've ever had from a set of drafts, are developed. They're here, they're good. They're playing a part. We need more, since free agency has effectively been an achilles heel the last few years.

Finally, the uncertainty of the league right now is harming the ability to look past the current times. I don't think there'll be an uncapped year, but it's likely we could see a lockout, a work stoppage, if a new CBA isn't agreed upon. It's impossible to worry about whether we can (or should, from a fiscal standpoint) retain Thomas Davis if he's signed up to the expiration of a salary cap.

And we've never seen a work stoppage as Panther fans. Not within ten years of the franchise suiting up. It leaves the level of uncertainty that keeps you from being able to imagine the future.