Cat Claws Weekly

There have been few changes to the Carolina Panthers as a whole this offseason, but the few miniscule changes that were made, look to make an immediate impact.

The biggest addition to the Panthers this offseason, was the departure of defensive coordinator Mike Trgovac, and the hiring of new defensive coordinator Ron Meeks.

With Trgovac, the Panthers defense was looking stale. He ran a very conservative style of defense, and the Panthers looked to have lost their aggressive defensive play from the 2003 Super Bowl season in recent years. The secondary looked lost a lot of times during the 2008 campaign, and the defensive front, while powerful, had problems closing the gaps to stop good running teams.

Under new defensive coordinator Ron Meeks, look for the Panthers to employ a more aggressive style of attack on the defensive line, and more tight coverage in the secondary. Ron Meeks knows how to build a solid defense and make it perform well.

Other issues addressed by the Panthers in the offseason, were the resigning of offensive tackle Jordan Gross to a multi-year, multi-million dollar contract, making Gross one of the highest paid offensive linemen in the NFL. Gross played a big part in the strength of the Panthers offensive line in ‘08, and with the club resigning him in the offseason, they all but assured continued success in the running game and pass protection for quarterback Jake Delhomme.

Another order of business addressed by the organization was the releasing of cornerback Ken Lucas and fan favorite, running back Nick Goings. Lucas, who underperformed a lot in 2008, was somewhat of an expected departure. His age and lack of consistency weighed heavily on the Panthers front office.

With talent like Chris Gamble, Richard Marshall, and Dante Wesley waiting to move up on the depth chart, the Panthers could afford to let Lucas go, while also freeing up much needed cap space.

Nick Goings, a solid special teams player for the Panthers and reliable backup running back in 2005, was not foreseen by most fans as a potential candidate for the Panthers’ unemployment line, but as fate and the lack of salary cap space would have it, we saw Goings get released this year.

Next, the Panthers negotiated with quarterback Jake Delhomme on a new five-year contract to assure the position would be occupied by an experienced and accomplished individual who has been a strong leader and competitor for this team since he first took over the position in 2002. The move also helped free up space for the salray cap-strapped Panthers.

The elephant in the middle of the room that is Julius Peppers, is the Panthers last matter of major importance right now.

Peppers; a fan favorite, a first round draft choice in 2002, and native North Carolinian, was placed under the team’s franchise tag just before the start of the free agency period. To this date, he has still not signed his franchise tender of $16.7 million, leaving the Panthers to make alternate plans by drafting defensive end Everette Brown out of Florida State. Until Peppers signs his franchise tender, don’t look for him in training camp, on the practice field, in uniform on Sundays, or on another team’s roster. Most likely Peppers will sit out the 2009 season, though there remains a slim at best chance he may sign his franchise deal and play in 2009.

Everything else looks to be in place for the Panthers this season, which is returning 21 of last year’s 22 starters. This season looks to have a difficult schedule with formidable opposition. Carolina needs all the talent it can get.