We wrote earlier that we think Chris Leak should be on the Panthers roster, if only because he’s a Charlotte guy, he was football-smart and talented enough to help Florida win a national championship, and well, we always kind of liked the guy. However, going with another rookie to backup Mittens wasn’t the smart play, and Panthers brass clearly understood that.

There are plenty of Panther fans kind of “meh-meh”ing this signing, but what it does is provide the Cats with a game manager who can step in if Carr goes down and not make a slew of stupid decisions. It’s not an attack on the quality of Matt Moore as an NFL quarterback, but with signal callers across the league going down in droves, it was essential to get the best available guy, without having to give up any integral parts to the rest of the team. So, to recap, good signing.

In other news, the Cardinals elected to roll with Tim Rattay instead of bringing in Vinny Testaverde on Tuesday evening. The AARP office was all kinds of crazy this afternoon. But there are still *ahem* plenty of teams looking for a ageless wonder veteran presence to backup an injury risk starter. So Cats fans, don’t be surprised when you see that pimped out Hover-round rolling into BOA in the next few days.

The list of starting NFL QB’s hurt and ailing is lengthy enough to prompt Trent Edwards, Brodie Croyle, Trent Dilfer, Cleo Lemon, Gus Ferrotte, Kurt Warner and Brian Griese to all end up as starting signal callers in week six. Edwards and Croyle aren’t washed up nobodies, but they’re rookies. Warner is a former two time MVP but Satan cashed that contract in a few years ago. And Brian Griese’s dad is famous. So he’s got that going for him.

But who’s out there for the P-cats? Remember, Mittens already has a bad back after getting sacked (the Saints first and only sack of the season!) Sunday. With that in mind, we need someone who can actually play the position.

Update: Looks like we can just about scratch Vinny off the list.

Jake Plummer comes to mind (mainly because he and Carr could combine for the sickest pornstache quarterback combo of all time) but there are a few major obstacles. First, he wants to start somewhere. Second, he’s currently owned by Tampa Bay, and it’s unlikely they’ll want to help out a divisional rival. Although in fairness, Nick Goings would probably be an upgrade over Ernest Graham and Mike Pittmann.

Vinny Testeverde is like a handicapped Superman when it comes to teams that need a quarterback. This might actually happen.

Drew Bledsoe is “worth a call” according to the Observer. Really? Is he though? It’s possible that Bledsoe and Carr could sit around and talk about their all time favorite sacks and concussions, but this ain’t happening. Don’t you think he’s plenty sick of people stealing jobs from him at this point?

Chris Leak is a Cha-town native himself, but as the Observer points out, signing a young quarterback isn’t a huge priority for the Panthers. They have Basanez and Carr on the roster already. A “safe” veteran presence would make more sense. And his dad is a meddling pain in the ass (according to rumor. Do not sue us Mr. Leak.). Still, why wouldn’t this happen? It’s not like Vinny or Drew are the paradigms of freaking health either.

Tim Rattay is a free agent, but he was also recently released by the Titans. That doesn’t mean anything other than the fact that Jeff Fisher though Kerry Collins was a better backup option for Vince Young.

Another name we’d like to see mentioned: Billy Volek (currently employed by the Chargers) who isn’t going to play over Phil Rivers any time soon could/should/would be a viable backup option and would probably prefer the more likely chance of playing in Charlotte. Although San Diego is damn nice this time of year.

In all likelihood, it’ll end up being someone who’s a free agent though. Which we’re fine with. As long as Chris Weinke‘s not involved. He might secretly be older than Vinny.

“One thing was confirmed in this game: Terrell Owens is the most overrated wide receiver of our generation. His career is littered with drops in clutch situations, and no different here.”

Hmmm. As we all know, Hoge has never been wrong before. Maybe TO is overrated. Maybe his seven 1,000 yard plus seasons are a joke. And perhaps he did choke his face off during the Super Bowl with the Eagles. And don’t think for a minute that coming back on a bum leg is any sort of excuse. Or maybe he’s just a monster stud of a wide receiver who’s totally f’d in the head and gets more scrutiny because of the way he acts and Hoge just doesn’t like him as a person so he’s attacking his credibility as a wide receiver. Yeah. That seems more likely.

What does this mean for Panther fans?

(Well, besides this website actually gaining relevance, that is.) It means that Mr. Mittens, David Carr, is the heir apparent to ball control duties in Cha-town, that’s what. He started last week’s loss to the Bucs and this week’s win over the Saints, and even played briefly in a brilliant head-to-head matchup against Joe[y] Harrington. But now the team is his.

And you know what? We think he’s going to leave his (lack of) fingerprints all over the Panthers by the time the season culminates in a shocking Super Bowl victory ends.

We’ll admit that at first we weren’t too fond of the notion of Carr running the Panthers offense, particularly given how inept he looked against Tampa Bay. But there’s something inspiring about a man who’s not afraid to wear white gloves. And now, we’re here to fire up the David Carr bandwagon. Tickets are free. And since Matt Leinart ain’t seeing the field for the next few fortnights, we’re stealing his slogan faster than he swiped Paris’ V-card.

Ride or die, people.

The Mittens Era begins now.