Carolina Panthers Offseason

Carolina Panthers – Panthers coach John Fox has been given the dreaded vote of confidence. I do actually believe he should keep his job. They have been plagued by injury and in turn the ineptitude of some of the players he was saddled with because of those injuries. However I think General Manager Marty Hurney’s seat is getting hot right about now. While some of his problems as well can be linked to injuries, he is the one bringing in the talent. First off that David Carr pickup was a huge whiff. Then when Delhomme gets injured and he resigns himself to Carr’s ineptitude you go out and get Vinny Testaverde. Seriously that is all he could come up with. I mean the reason a GM is valuable is because he can evaluate the talent and make a move the average guy doesn’t jump to. I would say that is the description of the Vinny grab. Simply for the fact he is bringing nothing “outside the box” you have to question his value.
Every cloud has a silver lining, or a silver and teal lining in this case. The cloud; the Panthers wide receiving core all either under performed (Steve Smith) or performed as poorly as expected (everyone else).
After the year Steve Smith had in 2006 it is not hard to understand defensive secondary shifting their focus to him. If you consider the fact that the players they were pulling the focus from were Kearny Colbert and Drew Carter, this seems like a good defensive strategy. Add to that the wheel o’ quarterback game show that Carolina hosted under center all season, and that 7-9 record becomes understandable if not acceptable.
With Colbert and Carter likely headed elsewhere through free agency. It would be a reasonable expectation for Fox and who ever is the GM by the time Draft day comes around to look to the Wide Receiver ranks. If they opt for this safe route it would likely be Malcolm Kelly (WR – Oklahoma).
The Second safe route is to look for a ball hawking safety to compliment Chris Harris who they stole from Chicago prior to this year. The clear number one at safety this year will be Kenny Phillips (S-Miami). He also should still be on the board when Carolina gets up to pick.
The Panthers also need a solid Defensive End to take some of the pressure and attention off of Julius Peppers. While Mike Rucker will likely retire the Panthers will be left with a lot of potential as far as pass rushers go. But that potential is as of yet unproven. Since I can’t really describe it as a need I would be surprised to Carolina to go this route because they would probably be drafting about 7 picks earlier than necessary, and that would be a hard leap to make for a team with so many areas of need.
The final option, which is neither safe nor likely, is that the Panthers go QB. With them getting in before the Bears it is likely that Andre Woodson will still be available to them. He definitely isn’t starter ready for the NFL but the Panthers aren’t done with Delhomme yet and they may give Carr another chance. The biggest obstacle to this pick actually going down will come in the form of how much say John Fox has in this pick. If his vote counts you can bet the coach who will clearly be working for his job next season, has no interest in 2-4 year project at quarterback with the number one pick.

Outside Shot
Terrell Owens says we shouldn't blame Romo's trip to mexico for the teams loss, well I don't but that doesn't mean I can't have some fun with it

Terell Owens New Coors lite spot
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wRcy7kWfrC4
Don't blame Jessica Blame the Post
http://www.yardbarker.com/author/article_external/72065

Philidelhia Eagles Offseason

Philadelphia Eagles – The Eagles 2007 season is now over. Having ended up with a 8-8 record, they just missed the playoffs. The bridge from 2006 to 2007 was awkward from the moment Roger Goodell walked to the stadium and uttered the words “With the 36th pick the Philadelphia Eagles select Kevin Kolb, Quarterback from the University of Houston”. In any other city this would have cause a small ripple, the actual Quarterback controversy would have taken at least half a season of bad play or at least a quarter season worth of games missed to injury. Not in Philly, the city that boo’d Santa Clause. No they were questioning McNabb’s Job before that rehabbed knee saw it’s first real snap. The questions now continue, McNabb is under contract through 2010. They almost have to extend him for a year or two. Kolb may very well be the QB of the future but that isn’t this year and probably won’t be next. Sign McNabb up for those extra few years. Keep him on to lead the team and mentor Kolb. Of course McNabb could push for a trade, but why? I mean I can only see two real reasons why he would leave. He could leave to chase a championship or he could leave to go for the long extension. Possible openings include Atlanta, Baltimore, Minnesota, and the Bears. Atlanta just isn’t anywhere near pushing for a ring. Baltimore would have right up until Billick got the axe now it is unlikely with their assortment of problems and a new coach trying to fix them that they are real contenders. Minnesota is a consideration but them seem to feel Tarvaris Jackson is a viable starter in the NFL. That leaves us the Bears who actually fit both the Championship hunt requirement as well as the likelihood that they would give him a long contract. They do not have a Quarterback of the future waiting in the wings. The only problem with the Bears scenario is that he would definitely be looking at giving a home town discount. Chicago is one of the franchises that is a little tight with the purse strings. I would not consider this out of the question he seems to be a lot more hung up on being wanted than on more tangible issues.
The entire Eagles defense is pretty well locked up, all the starters are under contract, and only a few non-key reserves are up for free agency, all of whom are expendable. Most notable of the expendables is Jevon Kearse who you shouldn’t expect to see in Eagles green next season.
On the offensive side there is some concern with their tight end LJ Smith, he is currently up for free agency, if they are unable or unwilling(if the competing offers in a shallow TE market, get to high) to re-sign him they have a possible solution at hand in rookie Brent Celek. While obviously this would be an initial downgrade it is not as if Smith set the world on fir especially in the Red Zone.
The main concern, as it has been other than the cup of coffee shared with Terell Owens is the primary receiver spot. For the majority of recent memory the Eagles have carried 2nd or 3rd tier receivers but no real primary game breaker target. They will have to address this in the draft Where they will likely be looking at Desean Jackson, Early Doucet, Malcom Kelly, Limas Sweed. (Note:I like them in this order I think Doucet and Kelly are a toss up)

Next update - Houston Texans