Canuck's Jersey Has Become Obsolete

Brethren: And with the first major move of the offseason, the Carolina Panthers have cut two former starters, LB Dan Morgan, he of the oft-concussed fame, and G Mike Wahle, a big splash free agent signing nary but a few years ago. Morgan is most famous for his 25-tackle Super Bowl performance; Wahle for his manly goatee and shaved head. Oh, and I know a few people who own Dan Morgan jerseys, so they can now have a hip "retro" uni in their collection.

From what I've read/seen, neither of the two were very surprised, and both had high praise for the Carolina organization. It was a cap move, pure and simple. With the emergence of Jon BeaSton at MLB, Morgan became expendable, and with talented rookie center/guard Ryan Kalil sitting on the bench, so did Wahle.

I think the great underlying observation that can be taken from this is that Dan Morgan and Mike Wahle represented how the Panthers liked to build their team under Fox/Hurney: Morgan, the speedy defensive leader, taken in the first round of the draft, and Wahle, the tough interior O-linesman, plucked from free agency.

And for the most part, that has worked. But ultimately, the cutting of Morgan and Wahle is somewhat of an admission that those two particular "big-time" acquisitions have failed. And that's a sad reality.

Ed note: The SportsBrethren haven't posted in a while, because they've been hanging out together (last weekend in Vegas, Sun-Wed of this week in LA). And the original plan for this blog was for us to stay in communication (about sports) while we lived on opposite ends of the country. So when we hang out, this here blog you love so much takes a backseat. Sorry.

Follow us for Nacho's thoughts on the Cats start to the offseason:

Nacho: Every aspect of the past five days has blurred and slurred itself into on crock pot of adventure, danger, hilarity and fun, so forgive me if I don't brin my A game...

I'm sorry to see Danny Boy and Wahl E ride off into the sunset, but it's for the best. This move, as Brethren explained, is merely a logical progression of the franchise. These are football players we're talking about here. They're career expectancy isn't necessarily endless. So while we bid adieu, we do so without regret, with eyes looking to the future, and with hope in our hearts.

I will say, that every time the name Dan Morgan is mentioned, I always think back to the concussed hockey player at the beginning of "Jerry Maguire." As in, it's a small accomplishment when ol' Dan remembers his family.

There's so many facets that need to be addressed this offseason, from rehabbing starters, to securing a stronger secondary, to maybe landing a big ol' Free Agent, and this move seems to be the start down the road to victory. If we can beat down some crazed Germans and crafty Japanese, surely the same moxie can push us to the top of the NFC South, right?