top dawg

Yeah, I thought about that. Cam is going all Ninja and sh¡t. Camurai!

Hell, the way Rivera seemingly does things, I wouldn't be surprised if the status quo remains after all is said and done. @Jeremy Igo's roster projection is about as conservative as they come. It's safe, and it's very Rivera-esque, and just may be what it's going to be. Wouldn't surprise me one bit. With my perhaps cynical-colored glasses on, I can say with a straight face that training camp is going to tell the tale of the tape which will be juxtaposed against Rivera's notions of loyalty and next-man-up ideology, and not even the preseason games or anything else will change what is a seeming formality. Byrd, Garrett, Cox, Marlowe or whoever is going to have to make Rivera and company give them a roster spot by balling out.

At this point, I think that it's a little too early to be labeling any of the new prospects at receiver. Hell, we don't even know what Funchi's role is going to be with definite clarity. The development, observation, and progression of these young men individually, and within terms of how they fit within the group, will help winnow out their effective role in the offense.

I saw this same type of comment on McClain on Kevin Patra's comments earlier this week oh his article on the release of Boykin. McClain was the obvious weak link of the backfield. He came off the couch and played like it. That's what got him released from the team in the first place. He's not good. Time to move him out and be done with him and give the opportunity to someone with more upside.

I'm truly rooting for them all (even Brown, contrary to popular belief). At the end of the day, I just want the best talent out there on the field and the ones with the greatest upside on the sidelines.

Actually, he is probably slower than all of them, but I believe he may be the most dynamic.

That may become truth from the theory, but his 4.53 was not that far off of the 4.51 of Brown. Plus, he did a lot of damage on the outside in college last year with 725 yards and 7 TDs coming on passes 20 yards or more downfield. Sometimes those long legs just take more time to get up into high gear, but once they do... Of course speed is but one factor. We'll see what happens.

Speed kills, but so does the inability to catch. On an off note, Byrd may be the fastest on the team. Having Byrd and Ginn would suffice for our need for speed.

Well, I think that the only position of real contention here on the Huddle is wide receiver. That being said, you already started a thread yesterday about that very position. But just for continuity in this thread, let me repeat that I am going with Damiere Byrd over Brown and Keyarris Garrett will find a way to make the 53, whether it be at Stephen Hill's expense, or someone else's like Marcus Ball's for example. I'd also suggest that either Cox or Miley will deep-six Horton.

Honestly, he could lose a little speed and still be faster than most people on the field. I'm glad to see he is bulking up a little bit, and it really must be noticeable.

Proehl never overlooked KG, and you shouldn't either.

Homo Erectus?

1. The Josh Norman situation was unfortunate, for sure, but sometimes poo just happens. When the process began, it was assumed that the parties involved could come to an agreement, but as time went on, it became evident that the financial expectations of each party were just too different to lead to a long term deal. It's that simple. Had Norman signed his tag, he would be here, but he didn't, Gettleman had time to think about the seemingly irreconcilable differences, and the rest is history. At the end of the day, we will end up with a third round pick for next year's draft. Sometimes patience and delayed gratification leads to a better overall outcome. 2. All the offensive tackles worth drafting that could have made an immediate impact on the line were gone by our first pick. The return of Benjamin and hopeful emergence of Hill, as well as the continuing evolution of Funchess will make a big difference against premiere defenses. Hell, we did pretty well last year without Benjamin and Hill. Moreover, the addition of Sandland---who legitimately has starter traits and will learn from one of the best---should not be understated. He isn't chopped liver, he just didn't have the typical college experience because he had to make moves to get on the NFL's radar. He ultimately had a damned good year at Montana and caught the eye of scout extraordinaire, Dave Gettleman. Sandland will give Cam another outlet to relieve some of that pocket pressure. And lastly, you have Garrett who is very much a wildcard that could prove to be a matchup nightmare by himself, but could certainly cause problems playing with the other towers that we have at the WR position who will demand coverage. 3. I think it's presumptuous of you to refer to CAP and Wegher as third stringers. And sure Stew is aging and has had mainly one injury problem, but he has still been a very productive back through the years, and continues to be a top back at breaking tackles in the league. Don't throw dirt on him yet, and don't presume that we don't have legitimate and capable backups. CAP should have flashed just enough last year to at least leave questions as to whether he could start (in a good way), and that was probably why he was drafted in the first place. Wegher---much like Sandland and Mayo---took a roundabout way to the pros, but he has starter's traits just like they do. 4. Ealy has graduated to run with the big dogs of the league. I only expect him to get better. CJ is already a big dog, and I wouldn't bet against him not returning to form. It's funny what being healthy does for a man's productivity. Don't sleep on him, and don't sleep on Delaire, Miley, and Cox. We are not bereft of talent on the edge. Stop listening to draft season narratives. Gettleman knows our team and situation better than anyone else. Obviously he felt better about our RB and DE situation than pundits would lead you to believe. And, by the way, I personally found it kind of odd that all of a sudden everyone and their mama were exclaiming that we needed RBs and DEs, but that's just a byproduct of draft season. Media pundits have to create narratives, even if those narratives don't really have much depth and reflect a lack of intimate understanding. Moreover, even most of the talking heads didn't even really list OT as a priority need (not that we could have done a lot about it this draft anyway). Our O-line did well overall last year, and the experience will hopefully lead to better things this year. Sure, Norman getting away wasn't a great feeling, but we now have three corners---two with Gettleman second round grades---that I predict will make Norman's departure little more than a fleeting memory by the end of November. We also got a legit playmaker in the fifth round who would have been drafted higher but for his size, and sometimes the little guys with the Napoleon Complex make huge impacts come game days. We already know that we have huge receivers who wil be squarely in the fray with the ability to change games, and we just added to them. The Panthers aren't going anywhere. We will be right there come January. The future is bright.

I'll just take the most balanced team I can get by devising a plan of action by evaluating the pieces that I have. In short: adapt to the situation at hand and not pigeonhole myself by my own stubborn philosophy (not saying that Gettleman does or does not do this). For example, I can't necessarily say that Gettleman would have let a true shutdown corner walk so easily, but that's just me. Maybe he does let Prime walk away in his prime. I just don't feel that we have enough information or body of work to say that Getty will pick the D-line over the secondary every single time. But, maybe he does. We will stay competitive like @Jeremy Igo said, that's for sure, but if Gettleman is as inflexible as some of you suggests that he is in reference to his general D-line-secondary valuation, will we win the big one? On an off note, for some reason the @ function ain't working for me.

Yeah, it would probably not end up so well if Gettleman had a knee-jerk chain reaction to a situation in which he is at least---or at most, depending upon perspective---partly responsible.

Whenever I look at some of his vids, I just don't see a back taking forever to hit the whole, I see a back who hits the hole with authority when it's called for, but also has the patience and vision enough to let the line do its job. Sure he runs upright, but some of the better backs in NFL history ran upright. Moreover, this notion of Bama backs being used up is just the height of lazy analysis in my opinion.

Boom, goes the dynamite!

If we move up to take anyone in the second, our third round pick, fourth and/or fifth will likely be used as compensation (depending on the spot we are trying to move up to). I will say that if we could bag Joseph in the third, I would be OK with that. 1. Derrick Henry 2. Hunter Henry 3. Karl Joseph That'd be great!

To my knowledge, the Panthers have never picked a guy in the first round that they haven't had a visit with. I will keep my eyes open.

I think that you may be overlooking Josh's football IQ a bit. He is an athlete to be sure, but is he really among the elite athletic corners? With speed for example, he isn't the fastest or the quickest guy, and when he first came into the league you could see it (especially with some bad angles and overpursuit). It is his film study and willingness to invest in technique that has made him one of the league's top corners today.

Josh Norman didn't bet on himself just to capitulate in the end. I hope that they can come to an agreement.

Said my money was on him last week. It also must be noted that Delaire and Addison are having surgeries this offseason as well.

I think we will win. Much like against Palmer, if we get to Manning (which I dont see any reason why we won't), the Super Bowl will be over by halftime.

Add these to the list: Our receivers had some key drops, Shula went Shula, and we abandoned the run way too quickly.

My god I want to beat the poo out of them! Where is the reasonable comment that you usually showcase among the poo? Couldn't find any, or just throwing a little gun powder on the fire of hate that is burning and growing within our hearts for those blue-starry-eyed lunatics?