The Steve Smith / Ken Lucas fight

[ziggy]

What are your thoughts on the fight that happened yesterday in camp? Here are a few images for those that haven't seen it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_0_sq-b7D0

[WarioVsMooChicken]

I wonder what Smith's punishment will be...

[jpf_v2.0]

Smitty got suspended for the first two games of the year, Lucas has a broken nose.

[Dead_Real]

Glad Fox and Richardson went ahead and got it over with before the media had a chance to blow it out of proportion some fans have already turned on him sadly I've seen people call him "the new Terrell Owens" and calling for him to be traded. Sucks losing our best offensive guy but we'll just have to step it up without him for 2 games the season opener against the Chargers should be brutal though :(

Edit - Good thing though a lot of people are saying Moose and Jake's great chemistry with each other is still there so maybe our receiving core wont look to bad.

[ammofan]

Why was Ken not suspended? He was fighting too even if Steve started it all...

[Dead_Real]

Why was Ken not suspended? He was fighting too even if Steve started it all...
Yea I thought he'd at least get a 1 game suspension but with the broken nose and the eye injury he'll probably miss some regular season games reguardless.

[ReesieNCPantherCatfan1]

I think it's because Steve punched him first when he was on one knee resting. I love smitty, but if you punch a guy when he is kneeling down that is a sucker punch. Plus lucas has to deal with the broken nose.

I still stand behind Steve, but I think the 2 game punishment was just. Don't forget that anger is one part of what makes him a top 5 wide receiver. Remember the bears playoff game in 2005 when the bears were talking about single covering him and shutting him down? Well all us fans remember 275 receiving yards or so later how that turned out. It was that slight and subsequent anger pumped him up to do well.

I sincerely hope this is the last time he does something like this, because I fear if he does it again he will be gone, and rightly so. You know that Jerry Richardson believes in class on and off the field, so you know that he is getting fed up.


Why was Ken not suspended? He was fighting too even if Steve started it all...

[EvetsMorrison15]

So I was at Chevy's yesterday on my break and I saw this. Now is he suspended in the regular season or preseason?

If we let Peppers be running back, we'll be ok.

[jpf_v2.0]

The suspension is for the regular season.

It'd be pretty meaningless to suspend him for pre-season games.

[Dead_Real]

http://www.profootballweekly.com/PFW/The+Way+We+Hear+It/WWHI/2008/smith080308.htm

In an exclusive interview with PFW on Sunday morning, Smith said: “I feel horrible. That’s the thing I don’t think people realize, is how remorseful I am and how, in five or six seconds, five or six years has come crashing down. That’s the consequences of my actions. But I won’t let it be the last thing people remember me by as far as a player and as a person.” Lucas suffered a broken nose, and his availability is unclear, although he’s not expected to miss major time. “I lost my cool,” Smith told PFW after the fight. “It started with words and escalated from there.”

[Dead_Real]

http://blogs.charlotte.com/panthers/

Ken Lucas just spoke to the media and said he has forgiven Steve Smith for breaking his nose in last Friday's fight on the sidelines of the Panthers' practice.
Lucas said he'll need surgery, but he declined to give specifics.
Lucas said he shook Smith's hand Monday and that they have begun talking to settle the differences they've had over the past four years.
A few minutes before Lucas was interviewed by reporters, Smith spoke and apologized, saying there were not two sides to the story. He said the only side was that he was in the wrong.
Smith said he would not let the incident define his life. He apologized to his teammates, the organization and the public. He declined to take questions from the media.
We'll have more on this soon.

Submitted by Darin on Mon, 2008-08-04 12:20. CB Ken Lucas said he's forgiven Steve Smith, but still might miss two to three weeks because of his broken nose.
Wouldn't elaborate on what kind of surgery he needs, but said he thought the confortation was brewing for four years.
"I feel like this is a blessing in disguise," Lucas said. "This can bring this team closer together."
Great news good to see both players in this situation man up and just put it behind them.

[Muttley]

http://blogs.charlotte.com/panthers/

Great news good to see both players in this situation man up and just put it behind them.

From the sound of those articles, it seems like a potential disaster to team chemistry could turn into somewhat of a blessing in disguise (still can't magically put Lucas' nose back together). At least Smitty handled it like a man and admitted that what he did was completely out of line and detrimental to the health of the franchise. I mean, with one blow he took away two starters on either side of the ball for significant amounts of time. Hopefully Lucas recovers quickly.