FanHouse DanMorgan

Astute Saints fans weren't counting on Dan Morgan to start at weakside linebacker, or even be on the opening day roster. And now that we know his five-plus concussions haven't inhibited him from making the smart choice about retirement, those of us are vindicated. It's also clear to everyone now that the Saints haven't upgraded that spot in the front seven at all, and that's the fault of a flawed Saints philosophy.

The team hasn't had a good set of linebackers since the early '90s. The best linebacker they've had since, Jonathan Vilma, hasn't even gone through a day of training camp. In the past, bad linebacking could be attributed to bad drafting, but Sean Payton has gone in the opposite direction.

In over two years since Payton has taken over, he's preferred veteran, unspectacular linebackers at the expense sometimes of age, health, and ability. Vilma and, arguably, Scott Fujita are exceptions. But aside from those two, we've seen Scott Shanle, Mark Simoneau, Brian Simmons, Anthony Simmons, Dhani Jones, and now Morgan brought in with decidedly average results, if any at all -- Jones didn't last a preseason, and Anthony Simmons retired in the offseason just as Morgan has. Even Vilma, with his knee, is a gamble.

Which means you'll see Shanle and Simoneau fight for the weakside job, with maybe another listless vet thrown in for "competition." But for once at this position the Saints should target upside -- perhaps a deal with Dallas for Bobby Carpenter, the former first-rounder who seems lost outside of his native 4-3. The team has gambled on plenty of linebackers lately, this is just a different sort of gamble.

New Orleans Saints linebacker Dan Morgan retired on Monday, ending a productive, albeit oft-injured career. Morgan played his entire seven-year career with the Carolina Panthers before signing with the Saints this offseason.

"When we signed Dan, he was committed to making a fresh start, and he was making every effort to rehabilitate the leg injury that he suffered last year," said Coach Sean Payton in a statement. "But it wasn't responding as well as he had hoped it would. We wish him well in his continued recovery, and he will be remembered for the excellent player he was during his career."

Indeed. Morgan was one of those guys who was a great leader on the field ... but he just couldn't stay there. He was the Panthers #11 overall choice in the 2001 NFL Draft and quickly became a huge part of the team's eventual run to Super Bowl XXXVIII. He would become a Pro Bowler in 2004.

But injuries kept him from continuing to perform at a high level. He had an estimated five concussions that sidelined him at various times and nearly ended his career. An partian tear in his Achilles tendon forced him to miss Carolina's final 13 games last year. He never played a full season ... and played in just four games over the past two seasons.

Morgan won the Butkus, Nagurski and Bednarik Awards in college at Miami, becoming the first player to win all three awards during his career (and he did so in just one season).

Former Carolina Panther Dan Morgan will stay in the division and join the New Orleans Saints:

When reached last week, Morgan said he'd been working out in Phoenix rehabbing an Achilles tendon injury and that he wanted to make sure he was completely healthy before signing with another team. But sensing an opportunity to start, Morgan apparently felt it was the right time to sign.

"I'm feeling pretty good and I'm getting better with each day," Morgan said last week. "I definitely want to play again and I hope I get that chance."

Morgan ... who was a middle linebacker for the Panthers ... will play the weakside LB spot for the Saints. Newly acquired Jonathan Vilma will man the middle while Scott Fujita will play the strong side.

The question is Morgan's health. He has played in just four games over the past two seasons and has never played a full NFL slate. He's also had quite a few concussions and he's rehabbing the Achilles injury which led to his release last month.

In five games last year, Zach Thomas had 52 tackles. In 16 games last year, Mark Simoneau had 70. One doesn't need much more than game film to indict Simoneau as a below-average middle linebacker, but for those of you who like numbers, there's your proof.

With Simoneau set to hit free agency, the Saints are looking to improve that ever-so-important position. They might be looking in the wrong direction, though, as the team is meeting with Thomas and former Panther Dan Morgan tomorrow.

Talent-wise, both are upgrades. But Thomas is 34 and neither linebacker has been healthy recently. Thomas -- who's being courted by Dallas and an increasing number of others -- didn't have a significant injury history before last year, but that could be the first signs of the deterioration. Morgan has missed an average of over seven games per season in his career, and has only played four in the last two years.

I have a hard time believing that the Saints would sign either with the intention of making him a clear-cut starter. Instead, I believe they're looking for an inside linebacker in the second round like Curtis Lofton or Jerod Mayo who can step in immediately and reap the awards of learning from an accomplished veteran. Seeing Thomas fall after three games with no contingency plan, for example, would accomplish the difficult task of making Saints fans envious of the Simoneau days.

The first salary cap casualties of the pre-free agency period are coming in, and perhaps the biggest surprise in Charlotte is that the Carolina Panthers' first cut was not David Carr.

There's no surprise, however, that linebacker Dan Morgan and guard Mike Wahle have been released. Morgan has battled injuries for the last two seasons, while Wahle was thought to be getting too expensive for his relative age and effectiveness. These two cuts are expected to clear about $6 million $7 million in cap room -- more than enough to re-sign Jordan Gross.

I suspect both of these players will be picked up somewhere else soon. Morgan was a beast of a middle linebacker when he was healthy, and someone is bound to take a chance on him. Wahle is certain to get another shot, too, though he won't command as much cash as he did the last time he was a free agent.

Now we just need to convince Marty Hurney to do the right thing and cut Carr next. Seriously, with Jake Delhomme's rehab progressing well and Matt Moore looking solid at the end of last season, what's the point in keeping a quarterback who can't quarterback?

At least this time, Carolina Panthers linebacker Dan Morgan isn't finished this season because of a bruise to his brain. We can all be thankful for that much.

Alas, that's small comfort as the Panthers placed him on injured reserve for the second year in a row. The man who was once a mainstay at middle linebacker has not healed well after suffering a partial tear in his Achilles tendon, and he's elected to have season-ending surgery.

Thankfully, the Panthers appear to have been a bit more prepared for Morgan's departure than for Jake Delhomme's. Rookie Jon Beason is filling in admirably at middle linebacker and may end up staying there for a while. Meanwhile, former UCLA quarterback Drew Olson has been signed to the practice squad and could be promoted at any time. Olson's last meaningful pro action was with the Amsterdam Admirals of NFL Europa, where he completed 54.8% of his passes and threw 13 touchdowns and 13 interceptions. In NFL Europa. Yeah, it's come to that.

While most of the focus in Charlotte is on the Carolina Panthers' quarterback controversy and Jake Delhomme's elbow surgery -- and the patient's not dead, so I guess it was a successful surgery -- a potential linebacker controversy seems to be brewing on the defensive side of the ball. Rookie Jon Beason, however, was quick to diffuse that controversy today, saying he would move back to outside linebacker once Dan Morgan's achilles heels. Said Beason:

"If it's up to me, I hope he can play another 10 years so we can play together. Dan's proven he knows (middle linebacker) far better than I do; it's not like I'm going to bring more to the table than a healthy Dan Morgan. I think with both of us out there, we're a better defense."

That may be true, but Carolina's defense has also looked much better lately with Beason at middle linebacker. James Anderson clearly wasn't the answer there, as the Panthers gave up 189 rushing yards in a loss to Tampa Bay. In the two games since Beason moved inside and let Na'il Diggs run outside, the Panthers have given up only 93.5 rushing yards per game.

If the Panthers defense continues to perform like this with Beason running the show, fans might prefer Morgan take his time in returning. Then again, the two of them together aren't too bad, either, are they?

In case you missed it on Sunday, rookie linebacker Jon Beason took his destined position at middle linebacker for the Carolina Panthers on Sunday in New Orleans.

With starter Dan Morgan and backup Adam Seward both nursing injuries, John Fox tried second-year man James Anderson back there two weekends ago. Result? Jeff Garcia carved up the defense, and the Panthers lost at home to the Bucs.

How did they do with Beason in the middle yesterday? Given that the Saints held the ball for more than 35 minutes and only lost because of a slew of mistakes and bad breaks, I'd say not so great. Beason himself had 8 tackles and 5 assists, which is encouraging for a rookie linebacker, and the Saints managed only 3.2 yards per rushing play, but when the opposing offense is converting half its 3rd-down plays and spending that much time on the field, clearly, there is work to be done.

It's not all on Beason, of course. Having an offense run by a backup QB that can barely bend over far enough to take the snap doesn't help your time of possession numbers at all. Still, Beason isn't off to a terrible start. Let's see how he does as the season progresses, because chances are we're not going to see much more of Dan Morgan here.

Before the season, John Fox and Marty Hurney gambled that linebacker Dan Morgan could avoid another concussion and be the middle linebacker he once was for the Carolina Panthers. Unfortunately, Morgan's head wasn't the only thing that had the potential to get hurt.

Morgan reportedly was wearing a cast on his right foot and saying he had a partial tear in his Achilles tendon. He told reporters it wasn't serious enough to end his season, and that the cast would come off later this week.

There's a good chance he'll be back in the lineup in a few weeks, but the fact that he might have a bum foot to go with his shaky melon shouldn't fill fans with a whole lot of confidence. It's good that Hurney got Jon Beason and Tim Shaw in the draft last April, but they're for the future, and with Morgan and his backup, Adam Seward, both hurting, all the Panthers have right now is James Anderson in the middle. Is that going to be enough for this team?

While most of the Carolina Panthers injury talk has centered around the quarterback -- and by the way, Jake Delhomme would like you to know he's not giving up on this week -- few have noticed that middle linebacker Dan Morgan is hurt again, and this time, his shoulder and his foot are both almost as banged up as his head. However, his backup, Adam Seward, may not be available because of injury, either.

At this point, you would think that John Fox and defensive coordinator Mike Trgovac would shift Jon Beason to the inside, but it seems he's doing too well at outside linebacker these days.

Thus, it appears James Anderson, the second-year man out of Virginia Tech, will get a shot at middle linebacker this week. And guess what? Until he replaced the injured Morgan last week against the Falcons, he had never played a snap at middle linebacker. Isn't that just grand?

On the bright side, though, Anderson doesn't seem to think it's that big of an adjustment.

"It's different, but it's not completely different," he said. "Because in a 4-3 scheme, all linebackers have to be kind of interchangeable on a given play. So we're just trying to figure out where you fit, as opposed to what position you are on a given play."

The middle linebacker also calls plays in the defense, which is something a rookie like Beason probably can't do just yet. Still, putting a weakside linebacker in the middle is something of a gamble for Carolina, even though it appears they don't have much of a choice. If it pays off, though, it could end up being Anderson's new job. Morgan's shelf life may be even closer to its expiration date than anyone expects.