Brethren: Looks to us brethren like Coach John Fox and GM Marty Hurney are serious about this "job being on the line" thing. After last season where they basically rolled the dice with the same team from the year before, and not doing much besides cutting Keyshawn Johnson and bringing in David Carr, the Panthers seem to be in overhaul mode. In another major offseason move, the Panthers have cut starting RB DeShaun Foster. But just as I type this, how "major" is this move? While Foster joins former starters MLB Dan Morgan and OG Mike Wahle in the pink-slip reception line, I don't think any Panthers fan would look at those three starters and say, "You know what? We CANNOT live without those guys."
I would venture to say the "Holy Shit, we cannot do without him" list pretty much just includes Steve Smith, and maybe a previous version of Julius Peppers. I'd personally be pissed if we let Jake, Jon BeasTon, DeAngelo Williams, and maybe Ryan Kalil go, but the Holy Shit list pretty much only includes Steve Smith and a Pep we have in our memories.
That said, a more in-depth look at the Foster release and the Panthers offseason overhaul.
Brethren (cont'd): As ordinary as Foster numbers look when you sit back and actually examine them (he never rushed for over 1,000 yards in a season, he's had more fumbles than touchdowns, etc etc etc), he provided some of the most "my team is badass and we will crush you" moments outside of a man named Steve Smith.
The four-tackles-broken-at-the-goal-line against the Eagles in the 2004 NFC Championship game. The 30-plus yard TD run in the Super Bowl against the Cheaters that had the sweetest fly into the endzone, as pictured above the Jump. Those two TD runs are some of my favorites moments as a Panthers fan. I'm more than sure I told the rooms where I was watching that the Carolina Panthers -- and their fans -- behold the largest cocks on the block after seeing Foster so dramatically find the end zone.
At the end of the day, DeShaun Foster was probably best suited as a change of pace back, not the featured bruiser that Fox and Hurney crave. He never was able to stay healthy or produce consistently, and thus, a man we once franchised is now moving on. The Panthers continue their offseason overhaul, as the Fox/Hurney duo are finally getting the point that status quo never works in the NFL offseason.
The fun thing for us Cats fans is that, with each big move made, we'll be expecting another even bigger one next. What else ya got, Foxy and Hurney??
Nacho: Thanks to those awesome Mucinex commercials, I imagine all the mucus in my body to be a bunch of cantakerous grumpy construction workers. This does not make me feel better as I hack up a lung.
Not much to add because, to me, Foster's, oddly, not all interesting. In fact, that's kind of been our running game's identity under Fox. Our running game reminds me of a certain race of beings.
I remember the two-headed beast of Stephen Davis and DeShaun Foster chewing up yardage during the Improbable Season, but aside from that not much is there. There were times when he elated and energized us all, and probably more times when he frustrated us to no end.
So godspeed DeShaun. You never did much to make me hate you, and those two TDs Brethren talked about certainly had my ass out of the seat. I enjoyed it when we had two guys with the letters "De" at the beginning of their names, but wish we'd've run the wishbone option more.
Keep your phone on, though, those Cheaters are always interested in ex-Panthers.
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