Jersey Numbers

Cool trivia, thanks.

 

I'd retire #89 before #90.

Smitty has 3 more seasons where he averages around 1,000 yds receiving he has a chance to finish his career in the top 10 all time for yards receiving. Plus he'd have played his entire career as a Panther.

 

Steve also sucker-punched two teammates and has no realistic chance at the Hall of Fame.

 

I'm pretty sure 51 has been used once or twice in the pre-season on a temporary basis.

 

Could be. Nobody shows up on the Historic Roster with it though. I'd be surprised if 51 gets worn in a regular-season game again.

 

51 is retired, it will never be worn again

 

Steve Smith has HOF potential.

 

Give me a choice of the two of them to go into battle with and I pick Smitty over Pep every time.

He gets into the top 10 for receiving yards he's a lock for the HOF. Even if he didn't go to UNC...

 

Yeah, if I had a vote he'd get in but as much as I like Smitty, no way he gets in the HOF. Punching incidents aside, the fact we had no QB worth a shit between the time Jake blew out his elbow and Cam kills his consistancy. He also missed most of a year, 04 i think, with injury. Then theres his contemporaries; Randy Moss, TO, Marvin Harrison, Hines Ward, Megatron, Welker, and other very good wrs. The fact a guy like Chris Carter cant get a sniff should tell you enough. When hes done, yes, retire his number and he gets the next statue.

Peppers has HOF ability. Hes not the kind of guy that would get in first ballot. Most people look purely at the numbers and his sack numbers, while pretty good wont get him in. When you watch games and you see the things that dont show up on the stat sheet, that is what makes him HOF material. He used to run down Mike Vick. He has the speed to be all over the field at DE. If he had any passion for the game he would be a slam dunk 1st ballot HOF. Its just not his personality. It ended the wrong way to retire his number. Id rather see Mooses 87 retire or Walls 85 or Hoovers 45, much more lovable characters in Panthers lore.

Dan Morgan had the talent but couldnt stay healthy. Kris Jenkins had the talent but not the heart.

 

Dan Morgan was grotesquely overrated as a player. He had a great performance in that Super Bowl, but otherwise was actually below average in tackles per game for a linebacker even when healthy, and that's while not being good at blitzing or in coverage. People thought he was much better than he was because A) guys who get injured usually tend to be overrated since they overestimate "what might have been," and B) Panthers fans wanted a white "star" on the team following Walls' retirement. I disagree about Jenkins' heart as well since he had a lot of passion for the game, it's just hard for some big guys to maintain their lower body.

Peppers was more important to the team than Smith, but since Smith is the one who stayed I understand why fans would want to believe otherwise. Smitty has no chance at the Hall of Fame, though. Zero. As Ted points out, Chris Carter can't even get in and he was a far superior wideout. Carter will eventually make it, but Steve ranks pretty low in touchdowns during an offensive era. Tim Brown, Isaac Bruce, Henry Ellard, and Andre Reed are other eligible receivers who have yet to get in, while Randy Moss, Marvin Harrison, and Torry Holt will be eligible eventually as well. Steve is more on the level of Derrick Mason or Jimmy Smith. Not going to happen.