Quick thoughts on a Friday

Final Four media availabilities took place in Detroit today, and we'll have complete coverage of the Heels as they get ready for Villanova, on Sports Night at 10.

Want to weigh in on the Jay Cutler to the Bears thing.

Wow.

The Bears, at least on the surface, got fleeced. Sending QB Kyle Orton as part of the trade is minor. It's the 1st round selections in 2009 AND 2010 that make me wonder what the Bears were thinking. They didn't land John Elway, they landed Jay Cutler. They didn't assure themselves anything, other than a 26 year old (to be) QB that will now have the weight of an entire city on his shoulders. Playing QB in Chicago is akin to playing center field for the NY Yankees, or being a goaltender for the Montreal Canadiens. It's the pressure cooker. Cutler may have gone to the Pro Bowl, but Chicago mortgaged an awful lot for an unproven commodity.

On the flipside of all that, the Broncos now have a ton of draft picks, including those 2 juicy first round selections over the next 2 years. The Broncos also say they will employ a 3-4 defense under first year Head Coach Josh McDaniels.

You can guess where I am going with this.

The Panthers have an unhappy defensive end who feels under-utilized, is currently wearing franchise tag, and wants to play in a 3-4 defense.

Sounds like a marriage, right?

As has been the case through much of this off-season, the Panthers aren't saying much, and when it comes to Peppers, they (basically) can't even talk about him until he signs the franchise tender. Fans are getting uptight about the lack of developments (understandable), but know this-the Panthers will make their move when they feel it's right for them to do so.

If it were me, though, I would be looking very closely at Denver as a route to move Peppers, and get those 1st round picks. In the end, the Broncos could feel pretty good about their off-season. They move an unhappy QB, get one back, and land a Pro Bowl defensive end for the price of 2 first round pick they didn't have when the regular season ended.

There is cost associated with all this (as in how much Peppers would command in a contract), but the Panthers could be the big winner in all of this, if it should unfold as described above.

Ponder that thought over the weekend, or leave a comment!

Mike Solarte