Panther Fans....

This is where I come in.:liplick:

Allright people, this is how it is. Muhammad is likely done. That is pretty well known here. He will likely end up in Miami, Philly, Atlanta, or another team who could use a damn good wideout.

So, in my mind, I have come to that conclusion. I have mentally prepped myself for the departure of not only the NFL's leading receiver, but a team captain and career-Panther. It stings to think he would bolt, but it's the nature of the business.

Lombardi: "This is a tough business. The only way to survive is to be tougher than the business itself."

That statement has stuck with me over the past several weeks, during "Moose-watch." There is a good deal of production with Moose--big plays, big numbers, touchdown grabs. That's great, he's a helluva playmaker. I look at it from more of a continuity standpoint. We are losing one of the more unselfish, top-line wide outs in the league. Sure, he had the foul-up with the law back in 2002. That was disappointing. But, to his credit, he didn't blame anyone other than himself. He took accountablilty, shut his mouth, and came to work.

Back to Lombardi.....I sit here and ask myself, WWVD? Well, let me tell you. Vince would assess the situation, determine where the situation is heading ultimately, and mentally gear himself for the next step. That's where I am heading with this post....

I am no personnel expert, nor do I claim to be a student of capology. But I do know people. I know that Moose is looking out for Moose here. And, truthfully, there isn't a damn person here who can blame the man. He has done nothing but work his ass off here, and he deserves any reward thrown his way--and the thing is, Moose knows it. He knows how good he was last season.

As for Colbert, yea, he dropped some balls. It shows up in the stat sheet. There is no question that he made some errors. But he also did some things fairly well. The thing with Colbert is he has made some of the more hellacious grabs I have seen from a rookie.

-One handed grab over the middle in double coverage against KC.
-Bobbling, circus catch late in the first half against SFO.
-Bobbling, circus catch down the sideline early in Q3 against DEN.
-Leaping game winner against Tampa.
-Late in first half @ NO, literally steals the ball away from two defenders for a 25 yard gain that set up a score.

I remember those moments more than any obscure drop. The fact that he dropped 10 passes is amazing to me. In fact, no one here, NO ONE, can honestly tell me that they would have known that w/o looking it up. I am hard pressed to remember any of those 10 drops, and have I watched every single snap of Panthers football since the Hall of Fame Game in 1995.

Colbert=Moose? Nope. But he is a damn good player. Excellent route runner, very good blocker, clutch player.

So, we are where we are. I'm gonna try to evaluate it as honestly as I can. Losing Moose would suck. Plain and simple. And I won't pretend to spin it in a positive way. But, what can you really do once it's been done. Not a goddamn thing. You accept it, cheer the fuck up, and root like hell that the rest of the team (ah, yes, there is THE REST OF THE FUCKING TEAM) can all do their jobs and help us win.

 

>>Okay. An entirely different set of circumstances with the game not on the line. But alright, whatever.

Had nothing to do with whether the game was on the line. You put those criteria in my words, I just said I could name a drop.

Which is still one of the least important things I've ever had someone try to use in an argument, ever.



>>Also, why don't you cut the guy a bit of slack. He came into camp learning an entirely different position in the offense, was forced into action when Smith went down, and still put up put up productive numbers as a rookie.

Nah, no slack. If the guy's going to be starting again, he's gotta be better than he was. Drops, no drops. Whatever. He needs to not disappear in games. And if you ask me for specific instances, I'm probably just going to track you down and bludgeon you with small dogs.

 

The funny thing, though, is that when Moose looks out for Moose, people will blame him. They won't give an ounce of blame for the team not doing its part. That's when the "fuck it, we don't need him" starts coming out, and that's always fun.

Yep. He made some good grabs. I do also remember the drops - very much so. And no, I don't remember every single one. Statisticians determine what's dropped and what was just incomplete, making that absolutely impossible unless you're a statistician. Doesn't make them less of drops.

He's just gotta pick it up. He's gotta be better as a starter. We don't get passes because so-and-so's a rookie, so let's have the other team spot us 7 points. Certainly doesn't work that way. And if we don't take care of business and bring Moose back, yes the spotlight will be on Colbert and he will have to produce. That's the bottom line.

 

I have a miniature weinie (dog that is) if you need to borrow one.

 

Yeah, me too, father in law's dog. Little fucking yapbox.

 

>> I remember those moments more than any obscure drop. The fact that he dropped 10 passes is amazing to me.

umm, yea i do remember several of dropped passes and i didn't need stats to tell me. it's weird as at times he's looked to have great hands and then drops a ball. i'm chalking it up to rook nerves and expect him to improve a lot.

>> Colbert=Moose?

last year? not even close. can he become as good a player? i think so.

>> [Colbert] needs to not disappear in games.

it's not like Moose never disappeared from a game or never dropped a pass or never cut a route short. can we blame it on the staff too if Colbert doesn't get thrown the ball as much as Smitty?

>> The funny thing, though, is that when Moose looks out for Moose, people will blame him. They won't give an ounce of blame for the team not doing its part. That's when the "fuck it, we don't need him" starts coming out, and that's always fun.

Moose does not equal your boy Grant who some of us were not enamored with as much as you. Moose is a much, much better player and someone we ALL would like to see stay ... just ain't gonna break my heart as much as it will some if it comes to pass.

 

I understand this concern, but can we put it into a different perspective?

Colbert drops 10 passes on 15 starts, meaning he dropped 0.7 passes per start. Is less than 1 dropped pass per game really something to get all up in arms about? C'mon guys. Let's go ahead and put this "too many drops" thing to bed.

In fact, lets go ahead and put this thread to bed. I feel like I'm playing Tic-tac-Toe with myself and always ending up on scratch.

 

It's not an end-all, no. I think from the start that drops came up, it was too big of a deal. But yeah, it's still a lot of drops. The guy came in as "the most ready receiver in the draft" and he coulda been better. He made a few plays in the regular season, and a lot in preseason. If we used him as our 2nd guy, I'm sure he'll perform adequately at worst.

I still think we gotta find a way to pull this Moose thing off. Some don't, and that's fine. Just say so rather than 20 pages of "oh yeah, well my weiner dog's louder than yours."

 

But how? How can we pull it off. I'd love for it to happen, but the general consensus is that Moose is probably gone.

 

Easy enough, come to a mutual agreement on a deal in the $6 mil range. A deal saves us almost as much money as does a cut. Then you do your damndest to find a good, cheap way to get Minter to return at a price that's much lower this year in exchange for job security. Same for Mitchell.

Cut Brzezinski, Short.
Wait on Hawk till June.
And stop spending on special teamers.

Do those things, and I'll be happy. Not a ton to ask, it's not like I'm asking for Troy Vincent or a good FS