Carolina Panthers

Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports Many are questioning why Carolina Panthers wide receiver Steve Smith took an unprovoked shot at Mark Sanchez this past week. There was no indication of any previous bad blood between the two, but that’s likely changed after Smith’s pointed comment, “I wouldn’t let Mark Sanchez throw me a paper bag sandwich.” I found the statement to be hilarious, and likely accurate. While Smith shouldn’t have made the comments, what does it really matter? He’s only stating the obvious, Sanchez is a bad quarterback. Until he proves otherwise on the field, he’ll continue to get people like Smith taking shots at him. Smith could care less about a guy like the Sanchize, because it’s very likely he’ll be catching passes from Cam Newton for the rest of his playing days. He seems destined to play his entire career in Carolina, and if he ever did go elsewhere, you can be assured he wouldn’t let a Sanchez-caliber quarterback throw him the ball. The 12-year veteran won’t become an unrestricted free agent until 2017, and all indications are that he’ll continue playing for the Panthers for the foreseeable future. It’s hard to imagine Smith playing 16 years in the NFL, but so far, he’s showed no signs of slowing down. He’s coming off a 1,174-yard receiving season, and there’s no reason to think he won’t hit the 1,000-yard mark again this year. Normally, Smith’s comments would be bulletin board material, but the Panthers don’t play the New York Jets until week 15. Odds are, Sanchez will no longer be the starter at that point. Follow Andrew Fisher on Twitter

Seattle Seahawks pass rusher Bruce Irvin will miss the first four games of the regular season due to a positive test for performance enhancing drugs. One of the Panthers' toughest games of 2013 has become a little easier. While the league hasn't officially announced what the suspension is for, Dave Softy Mahler is reporting that the suspension is for Adderall -- which has become quite the theme for Pete Carroll's team. While the Seahawks have plenty of defensive talent, they're not quite as deep as edge rusher as you may think. Cliff Avril will start along with Michael Bennett, but there are no guarantees that Bennett's 9.0 sack season in 2012 was anything buy an anomaly. If you know much about how Seattle's defense operates you'll know about the importance of the Leo linebacker role -- which is now taken away without Irvin. Obviously it's still a brutal game, but in 2012 the Seahawks only managed to beat the Panthers by four points, and in that game it was Irvin who contributed two of the team's four sacks.

CHARLOTTE – For more than three decades, years before many of his peers, legendary high school football coach E.Z. Smith taught young players the importance of fundamentally sound tackling."We push...

1. It's rosterbation. The details don't have to be fully worked out. 2. Though it's rosterbation, don't get grossly out of hand. Be somewhat reasonable. via www.biggshots.com 1. It's rosterbation. The details don't have to be fully worked out. 2. Though it's rosterbation, don't get grossly out of hand. Be somewhat reasonable. via www.biggshots.com My three moves, in descending order of reality: Dream Move 1: Eric Winston, RT signed for 3 years/$6 million guaranteedWhat it means: This year, we could repair one of our weakest links up front with a guy that fits our system. It also takes us off the hook from having to upgrade both OT spots next off season. Why it could happen: Many potential/interested teams have either already found their RT, or now seem okay with what they have (Chargers, Bengals, Dolphins, Cowboys, Titans) Why it wouldn't happen: Winston wants $$$, we don't have a lot of $$$. Also the Cowboys could make a power move for him. Dream Move 2: Hakeem Nicks signs multi-year deal in 2014 with Panthers What it means: We FINALLY get a #1 WR to pair with Smitty in his final season. Cam gets an experienced longterm weapon to grow with him in Charlotte. We could be free to use our 2014 first-round pick to fill Gross's LT spot instead of being forced to take a WR early. Why it could happen: It's hard to see the Giants giving both Cruz and Nicks the longterm big bucks, especially with Rueben Randle in the fold. Cruz gets the nod because of Nicks's injury history. Also Randle's skill set is closer to Nicks than Cruz, making Nicks a hair more expendable. In a bidding war against other NFL teams, Carolina also could get the vaunted "hometown" discount. Why it won't: Even if they can't work out a deal this year, the Giants could just franchise Nicks. Also I'm thinking Nicks will need at least $8M per year, or at least $20M guarenteed over 5 years. Will the Panthers have that kind of cap room? Dream Move 3: Eric Weddle, S from Chargers for DeAngelo Williams, Joe Adams, and James Dockery What it means: Rivera gets the safety he wants and needs for the defense. The Chargers upgrade their backfield and wideout competition for one last hurrah with Rivers. They also could use another CB, especially since Marcus Gillchrist (2nd round Clemson 2011) is already being moved to a safety spot. Could also help free up the Chargers from Weddle's contract. Why it works: It doesn't really work. Except for in Madden. The Chargers will need to do something with Weddle's contract though. Why it doesn't work: Rules, money, contracts, etc. So that's it for now. With these 3 moves, I think we are a Superb Owl contender in 2014 Your thoughts? Your moves? Poll Your thoughts on the dream moves? Eric Winston is my favorite move, and it's the most feasible Eric Winston is my favorite, but I don't see it happening Hakeem Nicks is my favorite move, and Gettleman could make it happen Hakeem Nicks is my favorite move, but it'll never happen Getting Eric Weddle would be my most favorite move I don't like these/I don't think you have a chance 0 votes | Results

Well, this isn't good for Mike Goodson. According to a tweet from Adam Schefter, the former Panthers running back and kick returner was arrested in New Jersey last night on drug and weapons charges. Here are Schefter's tweets with the info: Jets RB Mike Goodson was arrested this morning on drug possession and weapons charges, NJ state police spokesperson Stephen Jones said. — Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) May 17, 2013 NY RB Mike Goodson charged with possession of marijuana under 50 grams, possession of drug paraphanalia, unlawful possession of loaded gun. — Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) May 17, 2013 According to sources, not only was Goodson in possession of illegal drugs and an unregistered gun loaded with hollow point bullets, but he also was so drunk that he had to be taken to the hospital in an ambulance. It's really hard to find a bright side to this story, but if there is one it's the fact that Goodson was not driving the car at the time of the arrest. There are two conflicting reports as to whether or not Goodson was the owner of the weapons and drugs that were found in the car, but according to Will Brinson - who spoke to the NJPD - Goodson is in a lot of trouble. Here's Brinson's tweet on the situation: NJSPolice to me: Michael Darryl Goodson Jr charged w/ poss of marijuana, poss of firearm, hollow point round, loaded gun — Will Brinson (@WillBrinson) May 17, 2013 According to this tweet from Brinson, Goodson is being charged with a crime of the fourth degree. According to New Jersey state law, that means Goodson can spend up to 18 months in prison if convicted. The bad news for Goodson is it appears that New Jersey has some of the strictest laws in the US regarding hollow point bullet possession, so it's highly unlikely he will avoid jail time for this incident. As for what it means for his NFL career, it's likely over. Plaxico Burress was able to find a job in 2011 (with the Jets, strangely enough) after serving his two-year sentence for gun possession a few years ago, but Burress is a better football player than Goodson, so Goodson has most likely squandered any chance of a future in the NFL with this recent run-in with the law. If you want to keep up with this developing story, feel free to check out our fellow SB Nation site Gang Green Nation, who I'm sure will provide any new details as they're made available.

The Denver Broncos are covering their bases when it comes to a recently injured star and the salary cap. According to a ProFootballTalk.com report, the Broncos restructured quarterback Peyton Manning's contract in a way that doesn't change the future Hall of Famer's compensation but instead helps the team with the cap in the event of an injury. Manning is due to make $40 million in guaranteed money split over the next two seasons. The report states the Broncos added an insurance clause to Manning's contract that stipulates if Manning re-injures his neck (he had four surgeries on it in 2011) the contract can then refer to the insurance policy and Denver can receive a cap credit.  How does this work? Let's refer to Article 13, Section 6, Rule IV of the CBA:   In the event that a Club receives a refund from the player of any previously-paid Salary...such amount as has previously been included in Team Salary shall be credited to the Club's Team Salary for the next League Year... [I]nsurance proceeds received by a Team as beneficiary to cover the player's inability to perform services required by his Player Contract shall be deemed a "refund from the player" if (a) the Club or the player purchased the policy (b) the amounts covered by the policy are so specified in the Player Contract; and (c) the policy is made available for inspection upon request by the NFL or the NFLPA.    I've gotten a lot of tweets since the start of the offseason asking if Panthers LB Jon Beason will consider restructuring his deal. Those questions were resurrected Wednesday after the news of RB DeAngelo Williams restructuring his deal with the Panthers. There are no indications the Panthers have approached Beason about restructuring his contract, which he inked in 2011 as a five-year, $51.5 million deal. Since then he's suffered an Achilles injury that sat him out nearly all of the 2011 season, and shoulder and knee injuries kept him out of three-quarters of last year. At $8.4 million under the cap, the Panthers aren't under any great pressure to restructure another contract, especially one for a former Pro Bowl linebacker who just lost his starting middle linebacker position. But an insurance policy on a high-priced, important but recently oft-injured part of your team? Denver just showed it can be done. --Jonathan Jones

The weekend is here, baby, and you know what that means? Time for another question for your weekend. Once again, my questions requires no research at all, just your gut feeling. That being said, this may take just a little research, but nothing that will keep you on the computer for hours because all you have to do is look up past Carolina Panthers. This week's weekend question is (well, it's more of a request); Replace a current Carolina Panther with a past Carolina Panther to make the best Carolina Panther team. Now, before you start thinking, “Oh, I’ll just replace the whole defense with the 2003 defense.”, not so fast. You are only allowed to replace one player on each side of the ball. That means 1 player on offense, 1 player on defense, and 1 player on special teams. Here is my list: On offense, whoever we have as a second string TE would be replaced by Wesley Walls: Come on, Cam throwing to Walls or Olsen would be magic. On defense, Dwan Edward would be replaced by Mike Ruckers: I don’t have a problem per say with Edwards, but if we need someone to teach Star and Short on how to be a DT on a NFL level, might as well be the best DT the Panthers ever had. Plus, I dare someone to tell me in a year or two where the drop off in production would come from. On special teams, John Kasay would replace every kicker we ever had after John Kasay. Nuff said. Well, there’s my list. What do you have?

Steve Smith has over 11,000 receiving yards for the Carolina Panthers, but despite those yards, two All Pro selections, and four Pro Bowls he's on the outside looking in to make the Hall of Fame. Comments this week by Ronde Barber solidify how Smith is viewed by NFL players. A tenacious competitor, and rare-talent -- but this isn't enough to get recognized by the national media who vote. Furthermore, for all the great work he's done off the field, they're accomplishments that are easy to overlook in the wake of widely-known issues like his run in with Ken Lucas, and most recently his comments about Mark Sanchez. In Carolina we know that Smith is one of the most misunderstood players in the league. A (mostly) humble, quiet, family man who relishes his privacy. Nationally he's seen as another diva wide receiver with a 'me first' attitude, and issues with past teammates. Reconciling these two faces is key to getting him noticed when he retires, but even then it's a long road. Twelve wide receivers have been inducted into the Hall of Fame, and only three from the modern era: Jerry Rice, Michael Irvin, and Cris Carter. Of these three, the only player worth making the comparison to is Irvin. GP REC YDS AVG TD All Pro Pro Bowl SB Wins Michael Irvin 159 750 11,904 15.9 65 1 5 3 Steve Smith 167 772 11,412 14.8 63 2 4 0 Super Bowl wins matter. While it's not fair to evaluate individuals so heavily on a team-based metric, it's just the way things are. Irvin is in Canton because of his rings, and while Smith may manage to win one (knock on wood... please), he wont win three before his career is done. Here is where it gets a lot more tricky. Smith currently sits 23rd on the all-time receiving list, and only two active players are ahead of him. However, it becomes difficult to fight for him in relation to other modern-era receivers. - Terrell Owens: 15,934 yards, 153 TDs -- 5-time All Pro, 6-time Pro Bowl - Randy Moss: 15,292 yards, 156 TDs -- 4-time All Pro, 6-time Pro Bowl - Isaac Bruce: 15,208 yards, 91 TDs -- 4-time Pro Bowl - Tim Brown: 14,934 yards, 100 TDs -- 9-time Pro Bowl - Marvin Harrison: 14,580 yards, 120 TDs -- 3-time All Pro, 8-time Pro Bowl - Torry Holt: 13,382 yards, 74 TDs -- 1-time All Pro, 7-time Pro Bowl - Andre Reed: 13,198 yards, 87 TDs -- 7-time Pro Bowl - Reggie Wayne: 13,063 yards, 78 TDs -- 1-time All Pro, 6-time Pro Bowl - Irving Fryar: 12,785 yards, 84 TDs -- 5-time Pro Bowl - Hines Ward: 12,083 yards, 85 TDs -- 4-time Pro Bowl Ten receivers, all of whom are more likely to make it to Canton before Steve Smith -- and some of these players are hardly locks. You're really looking at only a few who are guaranteed to add to that list of 12, and Smith is on the outside. Add into the fact that younger receivers are nipping at his heels, and it becomes a more problematic pursuit. Andre Johnson is under 200 yards behind Smith, and is two years younger. Larry Fitzgerald will pass Smith also before his career is over, and it's likely Calvin Johnson and Brandon Marshall will do the same. Look at the HoF in a vacuum and it's easy to compare Smith to Irvin and find a way to put him in, but when you match him to the guys waiting in line, and those yet to come -- it becomes impossible. While he'll remind the greatest Panther of all time for a while, don't hold your breath for Canton. It's just not in the cards. More from Cat Scratch Reader Updated backfield depth chart Sanchez sucks, according to Steve Smith Who should start at RB? Panthers OL ranked near the bottom Are the Panthers better than you think?

Former N.C. State forward C.J. Leslie knows he needs to make a big impression on NBA executives between now and late June to be a first-round pick.Click to Continue »

via lh6.googleusercontent.com Are you ready for some optimism!? We may be halfway through the NFL offseason, but we are right in the middle of another season. A season of dreams, hopes, excessive extrapolations, extended fury over a season lost, and the prevalence of a plethora of unprofessional football experts. Given the qualifications of the latter, I will henceforth consider myself an unprofessional football expert because, after all, I have a football opinion. Never mind if my opinion is substantiated with facts, or if I give a logical explanation for coming to any of my football conclusions. That is all irrelevant in our field of unprofessional football experts, because we adhere to the golden rule that has been established by the professional football experts: the sports writers, the talking heads, and the all-knowing pundits. If you do not know the golden rule of the professional football experts, allow me to share it with you: If it is my opinion, then I can make it appear to be a fact simply by acting like it is a fact. So there you have it, that is my out and the premise for what follows. What Follows – An Eternally Optimistic View of the 2013 Carolina Panthers That’s right folks; you won’t hear any realism in this post, and barely one ounce of pessimism. This is for the feel goods, for the dreamers, for the hopers! We will only look at the good because the bad doesn’t really exist here; it’s the offseason after all! Some of us can choose to temper our expectations so that we are let down gently, others will prefer to run full-on into the brick wall while blindfolded. via blackbeltmama.com So how about it…put on your blindfolds and we’ll talk about those Carolina Panthers. I mean that figuratively, please put down the blindfolds. You can’t really read with a good blindfold on unless you’re reading braille. So first of all the Panthers are going to the playoffs, and they will make a deep run. That is the closest thing to pessimism that you will hear in this entire post. That’s right, not predicting a Super Bowl berth or Super Bowl victory, just a deep run. You can spend the next few hours explaining to me how this is impossible, or highly improbable, but this is my overly optimistic post. In my overly optimistic post they make a deep run in the playoffs. Here’s the first reason why: via l1.yimg.com In Cam’s third year we finally get to see the Quarterback we’ve been waiting for. It all starts with Cam, because the success of this team is permanently hinged to his back. This year, Cam puts it together for a full season. In his first season everything was new and he had a great group to ease him in. He had an OC who played to his strengths, a league that had no idea what he could do, and….wait for it….a Pro Bowl center in Ryan Kalil. Yes, Kalil’s importance cannot be overstated. It’s his job to keep that big NT out of Cam’s face so that he can step up into the pocket. Perhaps just as important to a young QB, he makes the first line call for the defensive formation. This was a critical piece to Cam’s early development. Today’s NFL center is vital to the offensive line’s success, and last year Cam had to make due with a backup. Ouch! Guess what else happened last year: the infamous Mad Hatter’s Meltdown. Rod Chudzinski appeared to be borderline brilliant in his first season with the Panthers, and it was almost as if he felt he had to outperform himself in year two. You all know the sadness that ensued. His approach to outperforming himself: hit the league with an unprecedented number of read option plays. The problem: the read option was only successful when used in moderation. The other problem: Chud would not accept this fact and continued to unsuccessfully force the scheme down the throats of opposing defenses.