Carolina Panthers Final Roster Cuts Reduce Team to 53

These are the players the Carolina Panthers cut today in order to get their roster down to 53.

Released:

G Milford Brown—I didn't hear anything about this guy on TV, on the web, or in the paper.  He must not have been very good.

CB Ricardo Colclough—I was disappointed to see him go.  It looked like he would surely get a roster spot.  But I can see why for one simple reason: he was charged with DWI the night before the final trim was to be made to the roster.  That immediately made him dispensable.   

G Toniu Fonoti—I was a bit surprised to see him cut.  His 6'4", 340 lb frame accorded with what the Panthers wanted for their offensive line—sheer size. 

S Terrence Holt—at first I was taken aback to see that the Panthers let him go.  But now I see why—he only had seven tackles and one pass deflection in Carolina's four preseason games. 

WR Samie Parker—I can't figure out why they signed this guy.  For depth at receiver?  To return kicks even though he had never done it before?  With regards to kick return duties—did they think he would be a natural and have a 30-yard kick return average in his first game doing that?  The fact that we signed this guy a couple days ago still boggles my mind.

WR Travis Taylor—he seemed to make a good impression in training camp, but he only made seven catches for 59 yards and no touchdowns in four preseason games in which he got a lot of playing time.     

RB LaBrandon Toefield—he was a backup in Jacksonville and he was a backup here.  33 carries for 84 yards and no touchdowns just doesn't cut it.    

Waived:

QB Brett Basanez—I've been waiting for this guy to get cut since I knew about him.  Whenever he wasn't injured, he was doing nothing on the field.  13 of 20 completions for 160 yards, a touchdown, and an interception isn't good enough.  It's about time we got rid of him.     

RB Decori Birmingham—This cut is one of the worst in my opinion.  117 yards on 29 carries—a 4-yard average.  With Toefield gone, why didn't we hang onto this guy?!  This move boggles my mind, too.   

WR William Buchanon—no surprise here.  No catches in the last three preseason games.

S Joe Fields—Six tackles, two deflections, and one interception.  Not good enough for someone playing 20 minutes a game against the other team's third-team unit.

FB Troy Fleming—this guy just sucked.  Two carries for five yards rushing and five receptions for 31 yards receiving.  He dropped several passes in each game and always looked bad. 

WR Chris Hannon—I was kind of impressed by this guy's performance in the preseason.  He recorded three receptions for 75 yards, but I bet he got left off the final roster due to the great depth the Panthers already have at receiver. 

DT Nick Hayden—He played in every preseason game and only deflected one pass.  Flat out terrible.

G Evan Mathis—Finally, this guy is gone!  I've never thought Mathis was good, and now the Panthers feel the same way.  Bravo, GM Hurney and coach Fox.

DE Stanley McClover—this is another one of those head-scratchers.  I was impressed with McClover last preseason, but nine tackles in four games this preseason just didn't cut it. 

T Reuben Riley—he didn't play in the preseason.  'Nuff said.

T Geoff Schwartz—He played in three of the four games as part of an offensive line that didn't impress.

LB Tim Shaw—Five tackles in four preseason games.  Simply not good enough. 

CB Darren Toney—he was so bad the coaches didn't even need the final two preseason games to decide on him.

TE Chad Upshaw—4 catches for 30 yards in four games.  Nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, hey, hey, hey, goodbye.

DT Stephen Williams—I didn't even know this guy was on the team.  He notched seven tackles in four games.  But I still didn't know he was even on the team.  I never heard his name on a television broadcast or saw it in a recap of any of the preseason games.  He couldn't have been very good.

So there are some head-scratchers, some border-line calls, and some obvious right decisions here.  What do you think?