Crickets

And I love you so
The people ask me how
How I've lived 'til now
I tell them I don't know

I guess they understand
How lonely life has been
But life began again
The day you took my hand

And yes I know, how lonely life can be
The shadows follow me
And the night won't set me free
But I don't let the evening get me down
Now that you're around me

And you love me too
Your thoughts are just for me
You set my spirit free
I'm happy that you do

The book of life is brief
And once a page is read
All but life is dead
That is my belief

And yes I know, how lonely life can be
The shadows follow me
And the night won't set me free
But I don't let the evening get me down
Now that you're around me

 

Sources: On eve of NFL draft, Panthers have received no trade offers for Peppers

http://www.carolinagrowl.com/Read.aspx?Story=1066

CHARLOTTE – With the NFL draft less than 24 hours away, the Carolina Panthers have not received a single trade offer for franchise defensive end Julius Peppers according to a league source with knowledge of the situation.

That doesn't mean things can't change between now and the start of the NFL draft at 4 p.m. Saturday, but right now there's nothing brewing.

I don't know about the rest of you guys.But I find it hard to believe that the panthers have no received a single trade offer for pep.I am wondering if that a smoke scram by the panthers

 

Peppers unlikely to be traded
With no deal in sight, Panthers set to keep star DE

By Charles Chandler
[email protected]
Posted: Friday, Apr. 24, 2009

In this Aug. 23, 2008 file photo, Carolina Panthers' defensive end Julius Peppers reacts after recovering a fumble in the first quarter of an NFL preseason football game against the Washington Redskins on in Charlotte. (AP Photo/Rick Havner)


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Barring a dramatic change, Julius Peppers isn't going anywhere.


With draft day Saturday, Peppers, a Pro Bowl defensive end, is still a member of the Carolina Panthers, albeit as a franchise free agent.


No trade is in sight and the team is moving forward with plans that he'll be back next season.


Neither the New England Patriots nor the Philadelphia Eagles, two teams Peppers was interested in playing for, have shown a willingness to surrender the mega-trade package necessary to acquire him from Carolina and give him a top-market contract.


Since Peppers hasn't signed the tender offer he received from the Panthers when they franchised him, they can't trade him under rules of the NFL's collective bargaining agreement.


By not signing the tender before the draft, Peppers was able to make sure the Panthers didn't try to trade him to a team for which he did not want to play.


Once the draft passes, the question becomes how long Peppers will wait before signing his tender.


The Panthers don't expect him to hold out.


An early indication of his intentions will be whether he attends Carolina's post-draft minicamp starting May 1. Peppers' agent, Carl Carey, hasn't responded to text and telephone messages today.


Even though it appears Peppers won't get his wish of playing elsewhere next season, he's not exactly left in a lurch.


The tender offer awaiting his signature is for $16.683 million for the 2009 season – an average of more than $1 million per game, which stands to make him the highest paid defensive player in the league.


The Peppers saga began in January when he announced, first through Carey, that he was ready to end his career with the Panthers and believed he could best maximize his potential by moving to another team.


Peppers later turned in a list of four desired designations. Dallas and New England were confirmed, and all indications are that Philadelphia was another.


Though the news about Peppers created a furor among Panthers fans and in the media, team officials were determined not to over-react and to do what was best for the organization.


Even though they were disappointed by Peppers' position, they chose to let the situation play out slowly, knowing they could limit his options severely by placing the franchise tag on him.


Carey and Peppers hoped to avoid the franchise tag, especially since the Panthers entered February with all-pro left tackle Jordan Gross unsigned.


But the Panthers signed Gross and franchised Peppers just hours before the Feb. 19 4 p.m. deadline, and Peppers' camp has gone quiet since.


All along, team officials tried to maintain an even-tempered approach to what easily could have become a volatile situation.


“You have to take into account there is a business side to this (game) and a playing side,” general manager Marty Hurney said earlier this week. “My job is to deal with both of them.


“Anytime you're in a competitive business, in a competitive atmosphere, there are a thousand scenarios where it would be easy to get emotional, but you learn there are many sides to things in this sport and this business.”


What's been unusual about this “dispute” is that neither side has said anything derogatory about the other. Both did what they believed they had to do from a business standpoint, but were careful not to let the situation get personal.


As a result, there's reason to believe the two sides can successfully move forward.


Hurney didn't subscribe to the widespread perception that Peppers was so miserable playing for the Panthers that he would force his way out even after getting franchised.


“You go by what you know about him,” Hurney said of Peppers. “We know Julius. It's been a very positive relationship.”


The Panthers know Peppers may have to deal with some disappointment, but they don't expect it to adversely affect his performance next season.


“I'm sure there's an emotional side for him, too,” said Hurney

 

A few thoughts, 24 hours out
Posted by Darin at 4/24/2009 4:29 PM EDT on Herald Online

http://www.heraldonline.com/665?plc...-9552-0292f284066a&sid=pluck.heraldonline.com

Been on the phone a bit today, taking a few temperatures. Here's what I believe, just under a day away from the start of this thing:

-- More convinced than ever the Panthers will end up picking before 59. Not sure exactly on the particulars, but I've got a feeling something's cooking. We've got a story in tomorrow's paper about the art of making trades on draft day, and how it dovetails with the Panthers track record. Check it out.

-- Julius Peppers hasn't made any public statements since his Valentine's Day "It's not you, it's me," speech. But it sounds like he's keeping tabs with what's happening here, just in case he has to come back.

If he ends up playing here (and I'm still not convinced that's the case), then he's essentially been strong-armed into it.

He asked out, bluffed, and was called. If he comes back and plays -- for whatever amount of money -- that's the equivalent of folding.

Hard to walk back in and say you wanted to be here when you've said everything he said this spring.

-- Some of the stuff you hear today is just crazy talk. If half the rumored deals happen, every internet server in the country would blow up tomorrow just trying to keep up with it all.

-- The more evaluators I talk to, the more I like the following players: Aaron Curry, Andre Smith, Clay Matthews Jr. and Knowshon Moreno.

-- The more evaluators I talk to, the less I like the following players: Aaron Maybin, Matt Stafford, Darrius Heyward-Bey, LeSean McCoy.

-- The 59th pick should come off the board around 9:30 p.m. But we'll be there earlier than that.

Stay tuned to heraldonline.com, this blog and our twitter account (twitter.com/daringantt) for all the latest throughout what should be a hectic weekend.

 

Peppers just ain't worth a mill per game, imo. Very few would even be worth that, an he definitely ain't one of them, even at his 'full potential' in his percieved 'full potential system'...

25 sacks this year + 4 int., with 2 tds, + 100+ tackles with 10% as losses, + 6 fumble recoveries with 1 for a TD, and + 3 fade routes with tds, sure.

 

From ESPN....

"Patriots looking to deal
One of the big things we're hearing Friday is that the New England Patriots are actively looking to move up into the top 10-20 overall picks. The Patriots have three second-round picks and two third-round picks, so they have more than enough to put together a package that would include their current pick at No. 23 to move up the board. In fact, we've heard New England already has contacted two teams about making a deal.
So whom are the Patriots targeting? We expect them to address their defense, and Tennessee DE Robert Ayers is an intriguing possibility in the middle of the first round. Although Ayers' best fit is as a 4-3 defensive end, he's capable of lining up at outside linebacker in a 3-4 scheme, and head coach Bill Belichick values that kind of versatility."

So you give up #23 and a 3rd to move up to take Ayers.....or you give up #23 and a 3rd to get Peppers.

Holy crap to me that's a no-freakin' brainer. Ayers could be out of the league in a couple years. Pepp is a proven ProBowl DE.

I still think NE makes so much sense that it'd be mildly surprising if it doesn't happen....

 

Does anyone believe this ??


I heard this from a VERY NON credible source, but it sounds pretty awesome actually and I want to know what people think. I heard there are talks between us/Carey and the Patriots for a trade of Peppers for Seymour & the 34th pick. They said the hold up was both teams trying to work out long-term contracts with the respective players. Like I said not a credible source, it seems kind-of out there, and I'm not so sure the Patriots would give that much up for Peppers, but if you think about it, it makes a lot of sense. One of the biggest arguments against the Patriots trade was they wouldn't be able to sign Peppers, Wilfolk, and Seymour long-term next year, that problem would be solved. Peppers would get what he wants, and we would get pretty decent compensation and not be just decimated along the d-line next year. Thoughts


http://www.carolinagrowl.com/MessageBoards/Default.aspx?g=posts&t=6322

 

Who in their right mind is going to follow the gantt twitter? hahaha

 

Peppers would cost more to sign