I read Darin Gantt's very interesting breakdown of the Panthers' three possibilities for "franchising" in today's newspaper, and here's what I think:
Franchise Charles Johnson.
If the choices are Johnson, center Ryan Kalil and RB DeAngelo Williams and I'm the Panthers, I certainly want to keep all three and hope I can do so.
But if I can only make one of those a near-certainty by franchising him, I'll go with Johnson and here are my 3 reasons why.
1) He plays such a significant position. Having a pass-rushing defensive end is huge, and if you teamed him with Auburn DT Nick Fairley as the No.1 pick, that'd be a heck of a twosome to start your defensive line with. Johnson had 11.5 sacks last season and even though he knew he was playing in a contract year, so what? He still had 11.5 sacks. I don't think he will suddenly get fat and lazy once he gets paid.
Incidentally, I think the Panthers should either draft Fairley or trade the No.1 pick, as I've written before -- I like Fairley a touch more than Clemson's Da'Quan Bowers. But that assumes Panthers keep Johnson, so they already have a guy similar to Bowers on line.
2) As for DeAngelo, I love the way that guy plays. Tough, strong, effective. But Carolina is blessed with two other very good backs in Jonathan Stewart and Mike Goodson. I still think DeAngelo as a runner is the best of all of them, but it's fairly close at this point. It's the one position Carolina has extreme depth, so I wouldn't franchise DeAngelo -- would just take the chance on signing him back in the open market.
3) As for Kalil, he's a smart, strong player. But I think Carolina can get him back -- Kalil has always struck me as a reasonable guy, and like Jordan Gross, I think he would ultimately like to stay in Carolina and will make that happen. Could be wrong, but if they lose someone it's better that it's a center than a pass-rushing DE.
Put it this way. If these three players all hit the open market, Johnson is going to draw the most interest. That's not the only reason you would use a franchise tag on someone, but it gives you a sense of what other teams are thinking.
Bottom line: Try hard to keep all three of these guys, but franchise Charles Johnson to make sure you keep him.
We're moving!
9 years ago
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16 comments:
Blah, blah, blah. Jerry will take whatever is the cheapest option. That is a sure thing. It amazes me that anyone still thinks this guy cares about the product. He has done nothing in the last 3 years that would lead any reasonable person to draw that conclusion.
NO WAY !!!!
RYAN is who they franchise.....
and welcome the kid from Clemson!!!
peppers who?
what's it matter what WE want Jerry to do... I'm willing to bet he doesn't franchise any of them cause he's a cheap SOB and wants to "be an example" to the rest of the owners as to how not to spend money...
Jerry is killing the franchise and stealing money from the fans at the same time. People should boycott businesses of ALL of the Panthers' owners (including minority owners) in an effort to show them we won't stand for their blatant theft. If the minority owners lose business and money, maybe they'll decide to do something about Jerry from the inside of the organization.
I completely agree. Of course we want Williams too but you definitely have to look at the depth here. Go after Johnson.
We should have plenty of room under the salary cap to resign all three!
why do fans think Big Cat is just cheap for the sake of being cheap?
When the CBA gets resolved, we will see a difference in spending.
Before 2009 Big Cat was never cheap. It is all about the CBA people. Can't you all see that. It is so 5 minutes ago to call Big Cat cheap. get over yourselves people.
It's not going to be Williams.
Report: Carolina Panthers not franchising RB DeAngelo Williams
http://bit.ly/WilliamsNotTagged
Scott, for once I agree with you, although for slightly different reasons. Yes, the depth at RB makes franchising Williams impractical. The two weakest spots on the roster are the lines. The offensive line is the worst ever assembled in the history of football, and Kalil is PART OF THE PROBLEM. I don't care that he was an all-pro in '09. Last year he couldn't block a grade-school D-lineman with 2 broken legs. If someone else is stupid enough to sign him for big money, let him walk.
Our D-line is weak, but Johnson is part of the solution. Our DTs were non-existent and that's where Fairley comes in. If you're not happy with Brayton & Brown, draft some DE talent later in the draft to push them.
I think you are all wrong. Franchise Claussen. God forbid if we lose him. We may never win a game next year!!
espn.com is reporting that the Panthers have franchised Kalil.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=6147197
Mike Goodson is not a good RB Scott. He's an overachiever with avg talent.
Don't ever get into scouting.
Why are Panthers fans SOOOOO stupid. I am glad that Jerry does not make moves based on fan input, or we would be 2-14 EVERY YEAR.
In our existance, we have typically been the highest spending. We may not keep up with Washington and Dallas, but we are usually using every penny of the cap.
We may have been low this past year, but that is all. We have spent freely, and the only reasonable complaint that can be levied is that sometimes we spend foolishly.
These same morons will be singing the praises of Mr. R when the new collective bargaining agreement leaves us in the best position to win in the years to come.
Good call Fowler.
Just wait till the pictures come out of Jimmy Clausen and his boyfriend -
See how the fanbase reacts to this---
On another note is it any surprise Soreheadsen wants a felon as 1st pick who is a cocky felon lying cheat? Somebody bitchslap that pizzaface. Go see a dermatologist boy.
Yea Newtons a felon. A 1500 laptop? In Florida any theft over 300 bucks is a felony. Lucky for him they kicked him off the team and out of school. Daddy Cecil who played for the Dallas Cowboys selling him to Auburn for big bucks is telltale and laughable.
Jesus Christ where do they get dolts like Soreheadsen who actually makes a felon look decent?
The vanilla QB position in under attack in the NFL by the sports media and players who make no bones about it. The only vanilla offense left these days is the QB and kicker anyway but thats changing. The union will see to that.
These same ones demand Richardson pick QB felon Newton and sending signals to Rivera who as a player knows the OL will block for him. Vanilla QBs are targeted in the NFL these days and clearly Clausen or Moore got no blocking due to thug SS. It was a set up.
Jake got blocking because SS liked him but thats over now. If Rivera hires Newton you can rest assured there will be no missed blocks. Its a shame because the best QBs are vanilla not chocolate.
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