My Steve Smith NFL Blog

Jimmy Clausen certainly seems to have the swagger of a champion. He has spent an ample amount of time saying the right things around the Carolina Panthers training sessions, and the Panthers have not said a whole lot about who will be leading the Panthers into the 2010 season. They named Matt Moore as the starter during the offseason, but that was before they used their top draft pick to draft Notre Dame product Jimmy Clausen. Since then, they have been largely quiet about who will lead the Panthers.

Moore has to be the odds on favorite to be under center on opening day, but he faces a number of challenges moving forward. Most of the problems he has are not related to his football skills. Moore is one of many Carolina Panthers starters that are to be free agents come the off season, and the Panthers clearly are not going to be able to sign them all. That group of free agents also includes all-world running back DeAngelo Williams, and the Panthers are sure to have him at the top of their list. Where does Moore fit in?

It appears that Matt Moore is going to be moving on regardless of his performance on the field. Of course, this could change with an incredible on the field performance, but it is not likely. He simply is not playing in the type of offense that allows a quarterback to put up big numbers. Sure, he has Steve Smith and some interesting rookie options at the receiver position, but the Panthers are really all about running the football. With Williams and Jonathan Stewart on the team, that is not going to change. The bottom line is, Moore is likely playing to make his trade value go up this year.

The Panthers need to recognize this, and get what they can from Moore. If they hope to make any type of trade and get something either from Moore or potentially Clausen if Moore is as good as he appears, they need to establish that Moore is their starter. They have been a bit dicey about coming out and saying so. That has to hurt Moore's confidence.

Hand Moore the football, tell him that he is the man, and then let the chips fall where they may. If the Panthers do this and Moore flops, it is easy enough to then bring in Clausen to see what he has got. There is no advantage to the Panthers to do otherwise. Moore needs to be named the starter and either win or lose the position with his on field play. By making it up in the air, the Panthers are essentially telling the rest of the NFL that Moore is not as good as they thought. That could hurt his trade value going into a tough off season next year.

Rodney Southern has been writing on the Carolina Panthers and NFL action since they first came into the league. He runs popular blogs on several players and the Carolina Panthers in general, as well as making NFL predictions weekly. If you are looking for content to be written, or just simply want to enjoy reading the hottest Panther and NFL news, then you should check out his work today.

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