A Tale of Two Cities

John White — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 12:53:28 +0000

Now that Peppers has signed his franchise tender, further questions or criticism no longer hold any water. Some media analysts have posited that Pep may not be received well in the locker room. Really? He is a superstar. Period. End of story. Last year Steve Smith decked a fellow teammate. Fans and sports analysts can pick apart personalities, question people’s judgement, and theorize all they want, but none of that matters when a game-changer gets back on the field. When a player is catching touchdown passes, or sacking the opposing team’s quarterback, teammates and coaches appreciate that—and a strong organization can absorb the small problems. Ask Jon Beason if he’s worried about Peppers in the Carolina locker room…He might laugh at that notion.

Just as Carolina affirmed itself as an organization last year during Smith’s incident, they provided another textbook example of how things should be done this year with the Peppers situation.

And if you think I’m just a fan looking for reasons to praise Carolina because I like Carolina, then take a moment to juxtapose Carolina’s 2009 off-season alongside Denver’s off-season. Contrasting Denver to Carolina is truly a “Tale of Two Cities” kind of football story. Go ask a Denver Broncos fan how secure and certain he or she feels about the team. Ask a Broncos fan to give you a number on a scale from 1-10 on how they would rate the Denver front office as far as being composed and steadfast when the going gets tough. Denver’s front office behaved as emotionally and erratically as any crazed fan would this off-season. Be glad that Carolina remained a football team.

While most of us saw this coming, especially once the draft came and went, I am happy that it is (almost) official Peppers will be taking the field with Carolina in the fall. Probably though, on a bigger scale, I am thoroughly impressed with Carolina as an organization for how they handled the situation. Carolina fans have good reason to have a lot of faith and confidence in their team…Their team has a lot of faith and a lot of confidence in their team.

Withdrawal: Day Fourteen

John White — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 17:30:22 +0000

A football fan can only take so much. We are now fouteen days into the offseason. The Super Bowl signaled the end of the season and the beginning of our withdrawal symptoms.

So, how are you going to cope with it? Here are seven ideas:

The Scouting Combine begins this week. If you are one of the fortunate ones to have the NFL Network you can watch pretty much everything – the 40-yard dash, the passing drills. It’s Rich Eisen and company dissecting every player in Indy like they’re buying horses. Don’t be surprised if they check teeth and feet.
Free agency officially kicks off February 27. There is nothing like it – fans on every forum and message board around the web all want their team to sign every single player available.
Mel Kiper, Jr. promises to be on the airwaves more than the president over the next few weeks as the draft approaches. If you can stand to look at the hair, it’s at least some football talk.
NASCAR is starting for real today. Don’t laugh. There are always some good arguments and fights and who doesn’t like to see some sheet metal dented?
College basketball is about to kick off March Madness. The rivalry games are getting underway so it’s something to do to kill some time until July.
Baseball is about to get started again but if constant talk of A-Rod and the Yankees makes you want to kill the TV you might want to stay away.
Listen to our podcast each week. Cat Crave Radio will be with you all the way through the offseason to keep you informed and to make sure you get a Carolina Panthers fix each week.

Just a few suggestions to get you started.

Cat Crave » Off Season

A Tale of Two Cities

Withdrawal: Day Fourteen