Here at Cat Scratch Reader we have counted down the final 100 days leading up to the Carolina Panthers season opener by for at least the past ten years. We’ve always done this by highlighting the current player on the roster whose jersey number matches the day on the countdown. This year, we decided to change that up a bit by counting down our own list of the Top 100 Panthers of all time. This does not correspond to jersey number, does not need to be somebody who wore a jersey, and will in no way be controversial.
One of the most fun things in football is when a player that should not be the center of attention makes themselves the center of attention. The Carolina Panthers had that with punter Todd Sauerbrun, for better or for worse. He was the best punter in franchise history, but he might be more remembered for his antics and personality than his actual play on the field.
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Sauerbrun came into the NFL as a second (2nd!) round pick of the Chicago Bears. He spent five years there before playing one year in Kansas City. He signed with the Panthers in 2001, and boy did he time in perfectly. The Panthers had an absolutely abysmal offense in Sauerbrun’s first two seasons, which gave the burly punter plenty of opportunities to bomb punts. He was top three in the league in total punts (sick brag) and led the league in total punt yards in both seasons. He was a first team all pro in both of those seasons, then followed that up with a second team all pro in the following season. The 2004 season saw his production dip just a smidge while the off field issues start to become too much to deal with. He departed after that season and went on to be other people’s problem.
In 2004, Panthers kicker John Kasay got hurt, which set off a whole host of problems with Sauerbrun. First, Sauerbrun pressured the team to not sign their preferred replacement Bill Gramatica because he disliked the entire Gramatica family. Then, he offered to pull double duty, but only on the condition that the Panthers forgive some of the money they had fined him for being overweight. That obviously didn’t go over well. Then, to make matters worse, he was arrested for driving while intoxicated late in the season. He was also linked to the Panthers steroid scandal a couple months later. You can’t have that many distractions from your punter, no matter how he good he is.
While Sauerbrun had more than his fair share of troubles and controversies, he was still the best punter the Panthers have ever had. Being the best ever at your position earns you a spot in the Panthers’ top 100, even if you’re kind of a jerk.
