Cat Chronicles

Monday, July 14, 2014

Awaiting Avant

The Carolina Panthers made huge strides in 2013, finishing with 12 wins and a division championship. As 2014 approaches, the Panthers are looking for another solid season, but with a different cast around star quarterback Cam Newton. Newton has lost his top four wide outs from a year ago, so who is going to help fill the lost void? With rookie Kelvin Benjamin, GM Dave Gettleman has surrounded Newton with veteran, sure handed guys.

One of these receivers is Jason Avant, a 31 year old out of the University of Michigan. Avant spent his first seven years in the league with the Philadelphia Eagles, and is now looking for a bigger role. Avant has seen his targets go up in the last three seasons, and for good reason. As he looks to move into the second receiver slot, he has a better catch-target ratio than previous number two wide out Brandon Lafell. Avant caught 61% of his targets over the last three seasons, better than Lafell at 59%. During that time period Avant caught passes from three different quarterbacks, Nick Foles, Michael Vick, and Vince Young. Lafell, in that time period caught all his passes from Cam Newton. So, no matter who is throwing the pigskin, Avant is going to catch it. The video below is proof of that.

Panther fans should be excited about this receiving core and the new additions. Avant, along with his sure handedness, brings experience. That experience involves playoff experience, something to help young Cam Newton grow and become the elite quarterback he is destined to be.

Other teams shouldn’t sleep on Avant, this guy is a tough, hard-nosed leader, and oh, don’t forget with amazing hands. Opposing teams shouldn’t sleep on Avant, and neither should Panther fans.

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Sunday, July 13, 2014

"I Like McNutt And I Cannot Lie"

The Panthers are going to have to have a wide receiver emerge from anonymity if 2014 is going to be special. David Gettleman says the answer is often on your roster, well he had better be right or this 2014 team could easily go 8-8. But I’m here to tell you that the answer is very likely on the roster and he was born on the Fourth of July in 1989. Marvin McNutt is who I like to be what Victor Cruz was to the Giants a few years back. This young man is 6’3, 195 lbs and is the all-time yardage leader for Iowa. He averaged 17 yards per reception and racked up 28 TDs in his college career. A man with that size and runs a 4.42 40 has the God-given ability to be special. Sometimes you just need a chance and this young man is going to get his.

Tuesday, May 27, 2014

Carolina's Receiving Corps Isn't the Worst, It's Just Unknown

I have been looking at Carolina's receiving corps and trying to see what we have among so many unknowns. Last year, before training camp, we started out with Steve Smith, Brandon LaFell, David Gettis, Lamont Bryant, Domenik Hixon, and Ted Ginn, Jr. I thought LaFell would really have some competition, but Bryant suffered an off-field injury, Hixon struggled with his hammy, and after 3 good preseason games Gettis got hurt during warm ups during the last preseason game. Fast forward through through the first 4 games, and I was amazed at how well Cam was playing in spite of our 1-3 record. A lot of blame could be put on Shula and his conservative approach when trying to figure out what Carolina had. In the Bills and Cardinals

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