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September 16, 2008
Panthers release Curry
With Steve Smith returning, the Panthers had to release a player to stay at the 53-man roster limit. The deadline for making the move was 4 p.m. Wednesday, but the Panthers went ahead and released backup linebacker/special teamer Donte' Curry.
Curry was a key special teams player last year, but was inactive for this season's first two games.
The move appears to be an indiciation that Ryne Robinson isn't ready to return yet from his knee injury.
Convential logic was that if Robinson was ready to return, current punt returner Mark Jones would be the man to go off the roster.
Jones has been returning punts only, with rookie Jonathan Stewart handling kickoff returns.
Robinson could handle both duties.
-- Charles Chandler
Posted by Observer Sports on September 16, 2008 at 05:17 PM | Permalink
Comments
Let's hope Robinson can handle both duties better than he did last year. I hope he continues to improve, because this is a real weakness that could really slow down the Panthers resurgent offense.
Posted by: jeff | Sep 16, 2008 5:45:53 PM
I think it is time to give Mark Jones a chance,He just hasnt had time,One thing he has out of most of our punt return players is a better burst,Give him a chance!
Posted by: SPATRICK1 | Sep 16, 2008 6:14:32 PM
ya give Mark Jones a chance. We will see about RR..
Posted by: robbyc | Sep 16, 2008 6:30:38 PM
I posted this exact prediction on who would be cut in an earlier blog post on here, but this was the most logical thing for Hurney/Fox to do. Ryne Robinson is iffy for this week, and Jones is now our insurance policy on returning punts. I think we got this move right, as we don't need another LB (Beason, Davis, Diggs, Johnson, Connor, Anderson) as we have great depth there.
Posted by: mike | Sep 16, 2008 6:51:44 PM
What exactly is the nature of Ryne Robinson's injury? All I have ever seen is the generic "knee injury." Was it a sprained ligament? A bruise? Or tendinitis? I am just curious because we have all been waiting for his return but I don't know what he is returning from.
I hope he comes back soon. How long will they wait for a 4th round draft pick to get back to where they hoped he would be by now. He started slowly last season but started to put it together later. He was looking good toward the end of the year. I hope he comes back ready to run back some big ones.
Posted by: FrankieB2 | Sep 16, 2008 7:30:18 PM
I think they need to get rid of Crossman. He has truly worn out his welcome here.
Posted by: Ivan | Sep 16, 2008 9:37:32 PM
What I don't understand is why they don't put Smitty back there on punts? When Fox was asked if he was worried about Stewart getting hurt on kickoffs he said that it was just one more play. Well then, why not put your best punt returner on the field-arguably one of the best returners in the league-one the field for one more play! Smith has the chance to put 6 on the board everytime he touches the ball so why not let him touch it some more??? Someone please explain this to me?
Posted by: gradyhog | Sep 16, 2008 11:01:11 PM
They don't put Smitty back there on punts anymore because they don't want him to be put at more risk of injury during the game by being on the field more and being fatigued. Remember the year Smitty got injured and was out for the entire thing... yeah, no repeating that.
Posted by: Nate | Sep 17, 2008 12:40:43 AM
The Panthers should never completely rule out putting Smitty back there on kicks and punts, of course you never want to be in a situation where he has to be, but that possibility should always remain open, like in the playoff game in Seattle.
Posted by: matt | Sep 17, 2008 7:49:09 AM
I am more concerned about smith getting hurt going up for those high balls across the middle than I am returning a punt.
Posted by: Wes | Sep 17, 2008 8:15:58 AM
Your right Wes, we should just leave him on the bench the whole game so he can stay healthy
Posted by: billy | Sep 17, 2008 8:36:58 AM
Its not so much Smith getting hurt as he felt he was wearing himself out. Smith was gased by the 4th quarter and felt that as an elite receiver, returning punts was not his job anymore. If I remember correctly he told Fox he would be willing to do it in certain instances and then a few games later came back and said he would not be returning them anymore. All of this was 3 seasons ago I believe.
So, like I have said before, you will not see Smith back returning punts so it is kind of a moot point to constantly bring it up.
And Wes, on one of the last blogs you talked about Orton missing on like 10 deep balls w/ wide open receivers. By your logic, he should have completed every pass and his receivers were wide open on every play. I think you are the one who needs to go back and rewatch the game.
Posted by: Mason | Sep 17, 2008 9:01:38 AM
First of all....that "wes" is not me.
I said 9, not 10. If you're going to quote me at least have enough class to do it right, or don't do it at all. And your question makes no sense anyway. If a receiver is wide open, on any play in the NFL...YES the pass should be completed every single time. If you don't understand that, go back to your Raleigh JV football games and turn of Fox on Sundays.
Posted by: Wes | Sep 17, 2008 9:37:10 AM
Smitty was the man on returns, when that was his ONLY job. Having him return punts now would just tire him out, put him at unnecessary risk for injury, and reduce his impact in the receiving game. Most teams don't want a first-team offensive player returning kicks because then that player has to get right back up after the return and play an offensive series. A rested Smitty is the last thing opposing defenses want to see.
Posted by: DB | Sep 17, 2008 9:43:02 AM
Way to cut a productive player to save face. Anderson sucks, but since he is a 3rd round pick they had to keep him. He was part of the 3rd round that included Butler and Anderson. How has that worked out?
Posted by: Steven | Sep 17, 2008 10:25:49 AM
It is stupid and a misuse of your best player to have him back there returning punts and kicks EVERY TIME, but it is a good idea for Fox to put him back there if a special situation arises.
Posted by: matt | Sep 17, 2008 10:28:48 AM
I am just glad that people can express their opinions on this site. Sometimes I rip the Observer but at least they let people speak their minds, unlike carolinagrowl. Basically if someone disagrees with a moderator they just lock you out of the site. I am never going back there again.
Posted by: Dwayne | Sep 17, 2008 11:10:30 AM
Dwayne, I got banned from there for simply disagreing with a moderator over some stats regarding Steve Smith, but the other mods came back and allowed me back on because the mod who banned me was out of line and had no justification for doing so. I'm glad they got it fixed, but like you, I havent gone back either
Posted by: matt | Sep 17, 2008 11:42:33 AM
I apologize, 9 not 10. Either way, by your logic, Orton should have been perfect for the day or awfully close to it. Will you please reference the last time an NFL QB was perfect for an entire game? Also, will you please reference the 9 plays where Orton had wide open receivers and simply missed them? Once you complete both of those tasks, I will concede that we have the worst defensive backs in the league and that the Chicago receivers were open "every play."
Until then, I stand by my argument that Chicago threw mostly short slants and with out DBs playing off them they were open. Once we adjusted and started jumping the routes, their offensive passing game stalled. Orton missed on the long pass to Booker, but other than that, they weren't too many open receivers down the field.
As for the Raleigh JV football games, I'm not sure where that is coming from (went to Chapel Hill and live in Charlotte) but stay classy Wes!
Posted by: Mason | Sep 17, 2008 12:58:24 PM
Using Steve Smith as a full-time punt returner is a bad idea. You want that kind of player performing at a high level for your offense on the multiple plays that each series provides. Punt returners get basically one play per series (if that) to make an impact.
They're also in a much more dangerous, injury-prone position than a WR (and, yes, that includes the one that go over the middle). If you've got even a halfway decent player to field and return punts for you aside from Steve Smith, you should use the other guy. It keeps Smith rested, exposed to less risk from injury, and focused on his WR duties rather than having to practice and perform with the special teams unit.
Now, as a situational punt returner, I could see using Smith again. And we have, actually. But it's got to be an end-of-the-game, need-a-big-return-now, we're-in-the-playoffs kind of thing. Otherwise, keep him safe, keep him rested, and keep him running routes in sync with Delhomme. That'll serve the team better in the long run.
Just my two-cents,
--Neil
Posted by: NSpicer | Sep 17, 2008 1:01:24 PM
As for releasing Donte Curry over other players...I don't see any harm in it. He was a great special teams tackler for us in one season. But he's been completely inactive these past couple of games anyway. So he hasn't contributed anything this year and has several players playing in front of him. He's also never broken into the starting defense. So he's kind of limited in what he would give us.
Besides, we need Mark Jones returning punts as long as Ryne Robinson still isn't ready to go. And James Anderson has experience with the 1st team LB corps. He's that ubiquitous "one play away from starting" thing that John Fox likes to talk about so much. If you look at our current LBs, we've got an entire second unit capable of starting in the league right now. It's good to have that luxury in case we see injuries pile up during the year...which is something we've seen our share of with our LBs before. Thus, Anderson over Curry. No biggie.
--Neil
Posted by: NSpicer | Sep 17, 2008 1:07:40 PM
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