Mike Minter = statue?

Rucker would be a good one. If he makes it through next year, that's 10, and he's got multiple pro bowls and multiple defensive player of the month awards. That's worth considering.

 

if the bar is set with Sam Mills, and no disrespect, but Minter & Ruck should both get one...

 

well, you get into the philosphical zone comparing Mills to Minter and Rucker. Mills was never supposed to be big enough, fast enough, etc to play in the NFL, yet he played hard, played well, and was a leader. Minter and Rucker were both highly touted coming out of college, and expected to do great things.

On the field, they are very similar (the 3 players here). Mills is a sentimental statue pick due to his cancer battle. Doesn't make it right, just is what it is.

 

I think Mills represents more than just a great player. I think he represented the new NFL team...the Panthers with a tough hard nosed mentality. They could have picked a couple guys from those early teams. Greg Kragen, Lamar Lathan, or Kevin Green as far as that goes, but they chose Sam Mills. Mills had a short playing career for us, but he represented a vision that I think the team had in mind for the Panthers.

Thats always been my thought on having a Mills statue, more so than what he did on the field, but his mentality and attitude.

If we start putting statues for players that are decent and spend 10 years here, we will have a lot over time. I don't think Minter should have a statue, although some might say he was a statue at times.

 

funny, though a Beuerlein statue would be much more life like

 

you're confusiong Beuerlein and Weinke.

 

you could argue(based on playing time) that Sam Mills got a statue too early. he played two years with the Panthers and then got one(1998). He got it right before he was a coach, and long before battle with cancer.

 

As others stated, Mills represented exactly what Richardson wants his team to be. That's why he's there and why he should be there. All due respect to Minter, his leadership, and his contributions to the community, but you can't really compare any Panther to Mills. That man gave me goosebumps just listening to him and I still feel like we were lucky to have him, regardless of his statistics those two seasons (which were still pretty good if memory serves).

 

am I really?

I mean, seriously.

 

Yes. Beuerlein remains the best quarterback we've ever had, plus he must have run a 4.3 40 against Green Bay.