Last stand for Panthers heavy on defense

Carolina picks up three veterans to shore up defense for swan song
By "Bucky Katz"

Off-Season 2159 (Charlotte) - The Carolina Panthers jumped back into free agency with both feet this offseason with the signings of defensive ends Ray Cameron and Stan D'Ardio to identical contracts worth $87.5 million over the next five years.

'We feel that these two guys will thrive in the new 3-4 scheme,' Panthers GM 'Trader' Lee Remley told the media during a press conference to announce the signings. 'We wanted to give our loyal hometown fans a good showing during our last season in Charlotte.'

The Panthers also added inside linebacker Ted Marion in a trade from Houston for longtime Panther defensive lineman Nate Lewis.

'We think Ted will be a key force in our new scheme,' Remley said. 'Nate wasn't comfortable playing nose in the 3-4, so we gave him an opportunity to join another good club.'

Another odd man out is linebacker Mark Brad. The former first round pick was unceremoniously cut by the club after trade efforts failed.

'Mark has not been real happy the past few seasons,' Remley said. 'He really liked being the only linebacker in the middle in the 4-3 and roaming the field, but he had a hard time getting a good burst. Then he railed against the change to the 3-4. Then he complained about having to move to Cincinnati in a year. We finally had a sit down with him and decided to send him on his way.'

Also cut were a couple of first year players, backup QB Neil Dallison and CB Charles Cannon, a couple of waiver wire pickups who did not work out, and four year veteran LB Bruce Jones.

'We're still on the Ricotta plan,' Remley joked when asked about those three cuts.

Fans are excited to see the new K-Gun offensive scheme in action as well after the Panthers offense the past two seasons did a lot of sputtering. QB Courtney McLemore agrees.

'I've seen the K-Gun work well in the league, and even in our division with that team up north,' McLemore said. 'I'm looking forward to thriving in that scheme this year.'

Can the Panthers actually be looking at a playoff run with Minnesota trading away several players in their own rebuilding efforts?

'It's too soon to talk like that,' Remley cautioned. 'We have a lot of competition in our division. But we plan on giving our fans a good show before we take our final bow here. They deserve it.'

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