MHS831

I have seen some basically shrewd moves by the front office concerning free agents. If Erving and Elflien and Darnold work out--or at least Darnold and one other, the most questionable personnel decisions will be wins. The others, like the Miller, Riddick, Perryman, Arnold, Bouye, etc. signings look damn good right now. So trust the front office--this ain't Marty Hurney and his Magic 8 ball. We have a capologist and a pretty good GM it seems. I trust them. Moton is ours for 2021. If Christensen looks good at RT in camp, Moton could be signed and traded for all we know. I love smart football players, and that describes Moton. I want to keep him, but not if it means that we sell out at the negotiating table. Sure, its only a 2 million difference---until it happens again, and again, and then you can't sign a player you want to keep because you are in cap hell. Stay the course. It is all about QBs anyway--not right tackles--and all this LT talk--he is unproven there--when he played there, he sucked.

That is a shocker.

What is that bear doing on my couch?

I wish I could see how we are going to use our LBs as well. This could be an area that we need to address---which is why Carter is so valuable.

I am honored. Hoping this will not disappoint.

I struggled with this issue. I think his value is the TE/FB role--like ND used him...A roster spot is worth something.

It is a tough call. We could pay his salary with our dead cap. I have a feeling that is the best measure of a GM. However, 55, when I look at the player, I think, "sign him." When I step back, I think, "If we overpay all of our core players, can we be competitive." Moton will get a deal in the $19m range, and that could have been lower if they signed him last season.

Every year at this time people on the Huddle start bombarding me with requests for my prediction of the 53-man roster. Every year, I have been right a percentage of the time. So this year, once again, I present to you my "first annual roster prediction before camp starts": The offense WR: A bit of a lock, I was hoping to find a spot for Omar Bayless, but Zylstra is a favorite of ST coach Blackburn and he is a solid possession WR. Man, this is a solid group, so I have 6 on the active roster. OL: So much depends on who wins the LT job. Every position is up in the air, with the exception of maybe C and LT. I like Scott behind Erving and I cut Little. Christensen is going to start the season behind Moton for obvious reasons. Moore from Grambling is the new backup C, grooming him to take Paradis' job soon. Miller is underrated to most fans. At LG, I think Daley wins the job, but he will compete at LT for a while, so Elf's experience gives him a shot. In this wide zone scheme, he should be pretty good. TE: Tremble could be on the field a lot as the #2 TE. Thomas? Gotta play the game to avoid the shame. Darnold to Arnold for 600 yards is something you will see in 2021. RB: Good group, great for the wide zone scheme. Hubbard slides in behind CMC and Reggie takes some snaps at QB on Wednesdays. Cannon and Smith to the PS. FB: I kept the bruiser, but if Tremble can play it... QB: After Darnold, yikes. The Defense LDE: I think Haynes is a fine backup for Burns. RDE: YGM and Fox make that spot secure. SAM: Reddick and Miller behind him. WLB: We are a bit thin at LB, which makes Miller so valuable. He can play anywhere. Thompson and Luvu? Luvu seems to be a special teams ace, so he finds a roster spot but sees little action that is not special. MLB: Paddy to PS, Perryman and Carter. I put Carter behind Perryman due to Denzel's injury concerns--and he can play the position. DT: Basically, we have 4 DTs that can play N-3T, and some can play the 5T. I put Panasiuck on the PS, but he could be a stud. Mark my wirds. CB: Horn and Jackson to start, with Melvin and Bouye at nickel. Looks like we are going to play some man coverage--Horn and Taylor at the other CB, with Pride as well? Sick. FS: Now that we can call Chinn a FS, it makes it easier if it makes no sense until I see it. SS? Sure. FS? Are we taking him out of the mix a bit? OK, I will bite. Chinn at FS with Delano Hill (another sleeper I like) behind him. Robinson is in the mix as well, but I have him at SS to have a better chance at PT. SS: Burris, Franklin, Robinson...I am not 100% sold, but they seem to like Burris, fwiw--maybe with better CB play, he can do what he does more effectively. The Special Players Kicker: Slye Punter: Charlton LS: Fletcher. Bye to JJ Jansen who has only been perfect here. The Practice Squad I am not sure if all qualify--like Grier for instance--he probably does not--but I took a lackadaisical stab at it. Offense LWR Moore, DJ Marshall Jr., Terrace RWR Anderson, Robby Zylstra, Brandon SLOT Moore, David Smith, Shi (PR/KR) LT Erving, Cameron Scott, Trent LG Elflein, Pat Daley, Dennis C Paradis, Matt Moore, David RG Miller, John Brown, Deonte RT Moton, Taylor Christensen, Brady TE Arnold, Dan Tremble, Tommy Thomas, Ian QB Darnold, Sam Walker, P.J. RB McCaffrey, Christian Hubbard, Chuba Bonnafon, Reggie (QB3) FB Stokke, Mason Defense LDE 53 Burns, Brian 19/1 Haynes, Marquis LDT 93 Jones, DaQuan Roy, Bravvion RDT 95 Brown, Derrick Nixon, Daviyon RDE 97 Gross-Matos, Yetur Fox, Morgan WILL 54 Thompson, Shaq Luvu, Frankie MLB 52 Perryman, Denzel Carter Jr., Jermaine SAM 43 Reddick, Haason Miller, Christian LCB 26 Jackson, Donte Taylor, Keith SS 31 Burris, Juston Franklin, Sam Robinson, Kenny FS 21 Chinn, Jeremy Hill, Delano RCB 8 Horn, Jaycee Pride Jr. Nickel: Bouye, AJ Melvin Rashaan Special Teams PT Charlton, Joseph PK Slye, Joey LS Fletcher, Thomas PRACTICE SQUAD Hoskins, Phil Thomas-Oliver III, Stantley Fisher, Paddy Panasiuk, Mike Johnston, Clay Hartsfield, Myles Grier, Will Tecklenburg, Sam Horton, Mike Smith, Rodney Ricci, Giovanni Draguicevich III, Oscar Bayless, Omar Cannon, Trenton

They are only on the Topcats because they added a halftime fan-participation game of ring toss.

i think it is going to be Darnold.

Folks, giving a player what he wants does not make you a winner. Most teams that overpay underperform. Do your homework. This is going to be tough, but a RT is worth a RT salary.

I am going to say what everyone is thinking. Hear me out. OK, a "fur" helmet since we are the Panthers, and they have fur. You can have ears, to help when you are on the road and can't hear the snap count. They are warm, for those games in Green Bay and stuff. This could lead to a tail on the back of the pants, but I fear that might be borderline tacky or as some might say, "Stupid." But hey, did they call they guys who invented pay toilets and the Segway stupid? So let's not judge. Growwwl.

I would hope so. I was developing finger envy.

The friend.

And, I will have to check my sources--he used to be 5 years old, and 3 years old, and 16 years old. This is getting weird.

Hartsfield is versatile (S, CB, Nickel, ST) and they love him. I doubt he goes anywhere. I give him a 85% chance. Zylstra is a special teams player who is a good possession WR. I give him a 50% chance.

The biggest head scratcher in free agency was the rush to sign Elf and Erv.

It is so interesting how "up in the air" we are about OL. I personally think that Daley has a good shot at the LT job. When healthy, he has been admirable, but Scott, Erving, and Daley are close. Any article that mentions Little is a sign to stop reading--and I hope they know something I do not---I see Christensen settling in at LG eventually. I see any number of possibilities at RG. I even think C is not totally Paradis. I also think that Miller was not bad at RG last year, but that position could go to Brown (who-on paper-is not a great fit) or Moore. Moore could win the C job, eventually. Day 1 starting lineup: Daley, Elflein, Paradis, Miller, Moton. Mid season starting lineup: Daley, Christensen, Paradis, Miller, Moton.

And many punts are finesse placements--who is better at dropping one inside the 10, for example?

Good post. And with that, I am going to change the topic. Sullivan was a WR to TE project at LSU and he was developing as a TE in Seattle. He could become the third or fourth TE--assuming that Tremble is a FB/TE (like he was in college). I think he has as good a chance to make the roster, based on the competition. Is he better than Ian Thomas?

The disease is terminal.

About Paddy Fisher: He is not here by accident. What you all say is true--Fisher is a "C gap" to "C gap" ILB and will never be more. They said the same thing about former Penn State Linebacker Paul Posluszny who had a 10-year career. In our 3-3-5 he is a run stuffer, but not a sideline to sideline or coverage guy. I am not sure that is enough, but he is a quick-reading tacking machine, so with 5 DBs on the field, there may not be a need to cover the deep seem route. He isnt a Tampa 2 MLB, that is for sure. He can drop back and cover the middle, to maybe stop crossing, drag, and perhaps dig routes, but he would have to be in the right place at the right time--and that is more important for a LB than 4.5 speed. In other words, he has to be smart. No false steps. Quick reads. It got him this far, but the big 10 is not the SEC, so we really have to PS him for a season or two to see how he fits. Once he learns the system, he could offset his weaknesses by being the smartest guy in the film room and the first on the field to read the play.

In the limited time I saw him play LT, he was lost---it could be that he did not practice there, and the defensive coordinator went after him, but that is all I can say.

I was thinking groups of players, but Cam is def #1 at QB. OL, LBs, CBs, S, WRs, RBs, etc.