SB Nation User Blog: southtunnel

Jon Beason has been arrested on a assault charge

southtunnel — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 23:45:39 -0000

Jon Beason has been arrested on a assault charge

Some incident that occurred on the 15th in a strip club. He's the last guy you'd expect this from.

Top 5 Panthers moments at Bank of America Stadium

southtunnel — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 01:42:40 -0000

Top 5 Panthers moments at Bank of America Stadium

Scott Hanson counts down the most memorable Panthers moments at Bank of America Stadium.

NFLN Video: Should Jake be benched

southtunnel — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 00:42:45 -0000

NFLN Video: Should Jake be benched

Trent Green and Charles Davis weigh in with their opinions on if Jake should sit for a couple weeks.

Peppers apologizes for a lack of effort

southtunnel — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 13:49:18 -0000

Peppers apologizes for a lack of effort

Julius Peppers stunned the team recently by giving a five-minute, written-out speech to his teammates. Centered around his own self accountability, Peppers realized it was time to look at the man in the mirror and take responsibility for his actions on the field.

He told the team he went home, put in tape of every game they've played thus far and was extremely disappointed in the man he saw on film. He admitted he needed to make a change immediately, change from the man who had disappointed himself thus far.

Smitty gets deep, about his Jake comments

southtunnel — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 02:45:08 -0000

Steve Smith called in WFNZ on the Frank and Buck show to explain his comments regarding his wildly exaggerated comments to Jake on the sideline during the Philly debacle. For those of you who missed it, Smith said to Jake "I never really liked you as a quarterback. But as a person, that's who I love. I love you as a person". Panther fans chalked it up as a mere joke, trying to lighten the mood. However many in the media ripped Steve for kicking his QB when he was already down.

When Steve explained his remarks I thought he would say it was simply a joke. However his explanation shows that it wasn't just a joke, and actually had far deeper meaning than I ever imagined.

You can listen to the audio of Smith's interview at:
http://www.wfnz.com/The-Frank-and-Buck-Show/3797096

And here is an article from FanHouse.com regarding his explanation:
http://nfl.fanhouse.com/2009/09/19/carolinas-steve-smith-explains-his-jake-delhomme-pep-talk/

Basically what Steve's comments really meant, was that what he "likes" about Jake, and cares for, is not his ability to quarterback an NFL team, but rather who he is as a person. Or in other words Jake shouldn't be too hard on himself for not playing well, because who he is as a person is far greater. Pretty deep stuff!

I got into a small dispute this week with a Falcon fan who was accusing Steve of being nothing more than another thug, prima donna wide receiver. It's tough to explain because Steve Smith is a very complicated individual. But despite all the anger issues, I believe he is a guy that truly cares about people, cares about fans and care about his team. I think what he brings to the team and locker room has compensated for his issues, and prevented him from making the mistakes of many "prima donna" wide receivers.

Steve Smith mic'd up Week 1 (This is awesome!)

southtunnel — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 02:35:20 -0000

Steve Smith mic'd up Week 1 (This is awesome!)

What Steve Smith brings to this team goes far beyond catching balls. Dude isn't rattled, isn't bitter, isn't self absorbed... the team is getting pummeled and he is thinking "what must I do to keep the rest of the team loose". That's veteran leadership! Of course if the mic wasn't on him, he might have been cussing up a storm, but still it had to be tough not letting emotions overwhelm him.

DeAngelo's comeback line is priceless! He waits til Smitty's about had it, and gets him at his own game. These 2 must be a hoot to have in the locker room. (Yes I said hoot, no I'm not an owl... deal with it.)

Ex coaches Martz, Mora and Mooch still believe in Jake

southtunnel — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 00:00:21 -0000

Coaches Martz, Mora and Mooch discuss QB Jake Delhomme's 4 INT game against the Eagles...

http://www.nfl.com/videos/carolina-panthers/09000d5d812a01a4/Trouble-with-Delhomme

I watched this assuming that if Fox was listening, they would give him 101 reasons why Jake is NOT the answer. Surprising enough they all seem to think that Jake should still be the Panther's guy. As bitter as I am, it was refreshing to hear their spin on it.

What I took away from it was that after being out of "real game" action for quite some time, the Panthers were just overwhelmed by the speed of Philly's defense... which has been very good for quite some time now. We shouldn't assume every defense we play, we'll be able to match that same intensity. The first thing to focus on should be restoring Jake's confidence. No more 7 step drops. Get him consistently completing some short passes, before taking any shots down field. Get the ball out quick to our vast repertoire of play makers, and let them do the dirty work.

As bitter as I am about Jake, this definitely cooled me down a bit. I just hope Jake and Fox can put aside their addiction to grabbing large chunks of field, long enough to make this work. What do ya think? For one week can we trade in our Gun-slinging Cajun, for a Dink and Dunk Delhomme?

The Dan Morgan Curse

southtunnel — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 01:24:03 -0000

Folks it looks like the Dan Morgan curse has reared it's ugly head again in 2009. But first for those of you who are unfamiliar with the curse, here is a brief description and history...

By definition "The Dan Morgan Curse" is defined as: an appeal to some supernatural power to inflict injury upon a Carolina Panther team, player or position. The curse is appropriately named after Dan Morgan the most injury ridden Panther player in recent history. Morgan was selected in the 1st round of the 2001 draft, 11th overall. The Panthers had big hopes for this 2004 Pro-Bowl linebacker. However due to continuous injuries and concussions he never played more than 13 games in a season, and averaged only 8 games per year.

The Dan Morgan Curse is not confined to a specific period in time, and can effect players before, during or after Dan Morgan's career. In 1996 the curse fell upon an African-born running back named Tim Biakabutuka, when he was selected 8th overall by the Panthers. Like Morgan he too averaged only 8 games per season, and never played more than 12 games in a single season.

In 2007, the curse fell upon Carolina's quarterbacks. After it took Jake Delhomme out in game 3 of the regular season, it continued to spread to each of his successors... 1st Jake, then David Carr, and next Vinny Testaverde. The Panthers went through 4 starting quarterbacks that year.

In 2004, Dan Morgan's curse struck the whole team! It took out all-pro wide receiver Steve Smith, starting running back Steven Davis, Davis' backup Deshaun Foster and starting defensive tackle Kris Jenkins. In all, the Panthers had 14 players on injured reserve, including their top four running backs.

Due to Dan Morgan's retirement and the Panther's return to dominance in 2009, it finally appeared as if the Dan Morgan curse had been lifted. Not so fast! Within only 30 minutes of training camp starting defensive tackle Maake Kemoeatu ruptures his Achilles' tendon. An one by one the dominoes continued to fall effecting linebackers, receivers, running backs and more. It looks like once again the curse is at it again.

Jonathan Stewart may personally have been struck with the curse, and may not recover. In 2007, Stewart's junior year at Oregon, knowing his destiny was in Carolina, the curse fell upon him. Determined to not let it slow him down, he played almost the entire season with a toe injury. Even with surgery in 2008 the injury lingered throughout his rookie campaign. Moving to his entire foot, the curse has kept him out of the entire 09 preseason. And now it seems the curse is even affecting his brain. Players, coaches and staff members all through training camp and the pre-season have been saying that Stewart is fine. But week after week... no Beef Stew is served. Why would the team be so positive, yet he still be sidelined? Could it be that the curse has turned him into a hypochondriac? Could possibly even team doctors be telling him that he is fine, yet he doesn't believe it? Could this be why he took personal time this week? To get a second opinion on an injury that is really good to go? More importantly could this turn into a career disabling, reoccurring issue for the young running back? The signs of the Dan Morgan curse are there.

Poll

When will Jonathan Stewart return to action?

The last pre-season game against the Steelers

3 votes

The first regular season game against the Eagles

32 votes

Sometime during the 1st half of the 09 regular season

21 votes

This is injury will plague Stewart all year

7 votes

We will never see a healthy Jonathan Stewart

7 votes

70 votes | Poll has closed

How Long Does It Take Julius Peppers to Make $100,000?

southtunnel — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 02:14:34 -0000

Here's a cool article by the Wall Street Journal on how long it takes athletes to make $100,000.

According to the latest figures from the U.S. Census Bureau, it takes an average U.S. citizen a shade under four years to earn $100,000. Alex Rodriguez does it in six pitches.

Click here to read the article

So using this logic... Follow me for a sec... The NFL average snaps per game is about 126, or 63 snaps per team. Let's assume Julius Peppers sees 50 of of those snaps (it's probably slightly lower, which would actually inflate these numbers). With his 16.7Mil salary, he makes about 1 mil per game. That means he makes about $20,000 per snap, or $100,000 every 5 snaps. So there you have it. Every 5 snaps Julius "Goofy Grin" Peppers makes what we on average make in 4 years.

Ya think as a society we got our priorities mixed up a bit?

Mike Mayock is Big on Panthers RB MikeGoodson

southtunnel — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 01:15:23 -0000

In Rich Eisen's own words, "Mike Mayock can evaluate NFL players like nobodies business". So when asked who his best fantasy sleeper is, Mayock picked our very own Mike Goodson. He claims Goodson is "a dominiative pocket rocket" and "a good football player who was a great steal". You can hear his evaluation in the video below. However you have to first sit through Rich's infatuation with his proclaimed "Touchdown Machine" aka DeAngelo Williams...

Check the video here

Also interesting he hints at Jonathan Stewart's injury claiming Goodson might get more touches than you think at running back. More and more reports are getting me worried about Stewart, and increasing my admiration of DeAngelo's durability. If JStew is out for any extended period this year then Goodson just might be a life saver... Let's just hope those strip drills in camp are working.