Any news of Moose?

He's being recruited:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2005/football/nfl/02/12/bc.fbn.probowl.ap/index.html

 

I'll officially go into mourning if Moose winds up in Philly.

 

:scared2:

 

Yeah. I don't like that one damned bit!

I still stand by my caption to the pic of McRib and Moose--"GET YOUR DAMN HANDS OFFA ME!!!"

 

I saw this from Darin Gantt's column:

• EXTRA POINTS: Everything remains quiet on the signings front. Hurney said there were no new developments on any of the deals the Panthers are discussing with their own free agents.

While they continue to talk about several deals, it's hard to say if anything will be finished until just before the start of free agency March 2.

 

From the WS Journal

For the NFL's best players, a trip to the Pro Bowl is an honor, a working vacation and a most-expenses-paid reward for a year of hard knocks. For a week they're VIPs in an island paradise, reveling in exceptional treatment and privileges for their entire families.

And the all-stars who travel to Hawaii with unsettled contract situations become stars among the stars, who sometimes use this time to encourage reunions back on the mainland. It worked last season, when Donovan McNabb sold Terrell Owens on his move to Philadelphia by schmoozing Owens all week.

A few of the Eagles were at it again in the week leading up to today's game. One by one, they sidled up to Carolina's Muhsin Muhammad and encouraged him to move to greener pastures - Eagles green, that is. They even goaded Muhammad to pose in a team picture with Philadelphia's 10 Pro Bowl representatives.

"It's definitely a time to see your old friends and make new ones," said Muhammad, who could be released if he can't rework his contract with the Panthers before he's to receive a $10 million roster bonus next season.

Muhammad still says he wants to stay in Carolina, and he's focused on his second trip to the Pro Bowl, which will be played before an enthusiastic sellout crowd at Aloha Stadium for the 26th straight year.

These recruitment efforts go on quietly, because everything about Pro Bowl week is designed to avoid controversy or stress. The players hole up on Oahu's west side in a luxury resort entirely rented by the NFL, and the week is filled with family-oriented parties and events for the players and coaches.

Even the halftime show is almost guaranteed to go off without a wardrobe malfunction when Don Ho, the 74-year-old Hawaiian singing legend, performs.

The all-stars will be hard-pressed to match last season's game, a 55-52 victory for the NFC and the highest-scoring Pro Bowl in NFL history. The teams combined for 1,022 yards and also scored 42 points in the fourth quarter, both records, while Peyton Manning and MVP Marc Bulger set passing records as the NFC rallied from an 18-point deficit in the final 13 minutes.

"If we can top that, they might throw out this game altogether and just play touch football next year," said Manning, who will start for the AFC. "I expect a lot of offense again ... but hopefully our team will play some defense, too."

The NFC will take the field with three black quarterbacks for the first time in NFL history, a distinction that means a great deal to McNabb, Atlanta's Michael Vick and Minnesota's Daunte Culpepper.

"It says a lot about how far the game has come and how the position has evolved," Vick said. "It shows that we're here to stay."

And it will mean more if the NFC can get a victory and the bigger check awarded to the winners. Twins Ronde and Tiki Barber are counting on it: With 25 members in their traveling party for their first game as teammates since college at Virginia, Ronde, a Tampa Bay safety and Tiki, a Giants running back, said they need the extra cash to break even on expenses.

The practices under Pittburgh's Bill Cowher and Atlanta's Jim Mora have been relaxed, but both teams take the game seriously enough to learn the basics of their coaches' offenses in brief meetings.

"Make sure everybody gets better today!" McNabb yelled to his teammates in the locker room before their final walkthrough yesterday. "Take another step forward in your game!"

The rosters feature a healthy mix of veterans, first-timers and Super Bowl participants, who always get the most attention. Tom Brady and Owens easily received the wildest cheers from the fans who attended open practices.

"I'm humbled," said Steelers safety Troy Polamalu, who made his first Pro Bowl in just his second NFL season. "I still feel out of place, because I look up to them. I feel like a fan out here."

The rosters feature 10 veterans of at least seven NFL seasons who made their first Pro Bowl. Aside from the potential free agents, those players with the longest waits receive the most attention and respect from their teammates.

"It feels great to finally get here, especially because I thought I had a pretty good season," said Pittsburgh center Jeff Hartings, a nine-year veteran who brought his five children along with his parents and in-laws. "I expect a lot of scoring, but it's all going to depend on who can figure out a new offense with just a week of practice.

"If you can't make the Super Bowl, I guess this is second best."

 

NE won the SB with two rookie corners and a rookie at Safety.

 

Eagles | Players Recruiting Panthers' Muhammad - from www.KFFL.com
Sun, 13 Feb 2005 0731 -0800

Alex Marvez, of the Miami Sun-Sentinel, reports some of the Pro Bowl players representing the Philadelphia Eagles in Hawaii were reportedly encouraging fellow Pro Bowler and Carolina Panthers WR Muhsin Muhammad to join the Eagles this offseason. Muhammad, who could be released this year if he can't rework his contract with the Panthers, has expressed his desire to remain with Carolina next season.

 

I'm not sure that Phile, woooing Moose doesn't actually help us.

assuming Moose really wants to stay in Charlotte, Phile can't pay Moose more then they payed Owens, and what they pay Owens isn't as much as we figure it will take to keep Moose.

Owens deal: (2005-2009, he's actually signed through 2010 but I want to compare 5 years against what I think Moose is getting in years)

I think Owens got the same $10.0m bonus we owe and expect Moose to want.

2005 3250000.00 + 2.0 5,250,000
2006 770000.00 +2.0 2,770,000
2007 5500000.00 +2.0 7,500,000
2008 6500000.00 +2.0 8,500,000
2009 7500000.00 +2.0 9,500,000

So we can figure the best Moose would be offered from the Eagles would be something like:

3,000,000 + 2.0 5,000,000
3,500,000 + 2.0 5,500,000
3,500,000 + 2.0 5,500,000
5,000,000 + 2.0 7,000,000
6,000,000 + 2.0 8,000,000

 

I'd do that.

Though I'd expect it would end up being

3,000,000 + 1.0 4 Mil
3,500,000 + 1.0 +0.75 = $5.25 mil
3,500,000 + 1.0 +0.75 = $5.25 mil
4,500,000 + 1.0 +0.75 +1.0 = $7.25
5,500,000 + 1.0 +0.75 +1.0 = $8.25

$5 mil bonus, $3 mil bonus, and spreading the extra $2 mil over the final three years gives less cap hit initially in years one and two without a