More Marty head games?

Panthers | Hurney says team will be counting on Shelton
Sun, 23 Apr 2006 21:00:38 -0700

Joe Menzer, of the Winston-Salem Journal, reports Carolina Panthers general manager Marty Hurney said the team will be counting on RB Eric Shelton in 2006. "I think his rehab has gone great. And I think just like with any young player, any time a young player gets a change to have a year to kind of see how things are done, be around the facility and in team meetings, learn the system obviously with that one year behind him, he's going to have much more comfort when he gets into games, knowing what we do," Hurney said. "He's a big back who can move. We saw that when we drafted him, we still see that, and we just believe he's only going to get better. Hopefully just being around for a year, he will have matured as a player, just knowing what we do." Given RB DeShaun Foster's medical history, it will be important for Shelton or someone the Panthers pick up in the NFL Draft to offer insurance at the position.

 

more KFFL

Panthers | J. Lewis struggles during workout
Sun, 23 Apr 2006 1945 -0700

Aaron Wilson, of the Carroll County Times, reports George Mason TE/OL/DL Jai Lewis struggled during his workout. He dropped several passes and struggled to perform in the agility drills. One of the teams in attendance was the Carolina Panthers.

 

Sometimes, the head games might have the reverse effect, in that you tout a guy so much that others call bull shit.....but all along, you were being honest, and you fooled 'em all.

I don't buy for a minute that we punk'd the Saints last year over TD/Brown. I think whoever was on the board at that time, they would have gladly taken. Oh, and Derrick Johnson was never gonna happen.

Sometimes, it isn't what it is.

 

I'm just wondering if Marty is saying things to give the impression we won't draft Lendale at #27, hoping nobody jumps ahead of us.

 

I mean, yea....it's plausable. Absolutely. But I think the head games can work both ways. If I am a GM of any other team, of course this looks like a smoke screen. That's why I have always felt that these execs should just put a gag on things until the last weekend of April. To me, it serves no good to go public with anything before the draft. Just keep a lid on it, and keep other nervous nellies guessing.

But what the hell do I know.

 

... so are they or aren't they coveting White? i don't know about the GMs of other teams, but Hurney's messing with my head. he can play some poker in my book ... just wish he could read the cards a lot better

 

This is gonna be the longest damn week.

 

I think it's hard to say. They sold it as that they wanted Davis, and he's a unique enough prospect that it's entirely possible. I'd certainly like to think they had Brown over Barron, and that they had Davis over Johnson is pretty certain, but I don't believe for a second that they didn't have a choice to make at 14 if Brown and Davis had both been there.

That said, they said Wharton was their LT, and when they get heavy into specifics, they often mean it. They could've taken Brown and kept Wharton at G, but they were pretty adamant that he was a tackle, even when he moved to G for a short time.


What they mean by this isn't explicitly "we won't draft a RB". Personally, I still think they will - first round or not. I'm sure they are counting on Shelton to be worth a damn. That doesn't mean they're expecting him to take the last RB slot, and that's all they'll need.

And it's entirely possible that the Lendale drama is smokescreen, too. Or this statement is a way of disguising the obvious, a la "Buffalo might not feel Ngata is the right fit."

Honestly, any team other than Houston that has their mind made up right now is stupid. You might have an extreme want, the type want that Denver may have right now; but you don't make your decisions till you're at your pick or you believe you can (and need to) move to where you'd need to make that your pick.

 

Given Foster's injury history and that LenDale is a fat slob, we would presumably use Shelton regardless.

 

The headline and the quote don't match. All Hurney said was the standard nice stuff he says about every player.