MHS831

Those bastids.

To me, if you have a fondness for a player because you have history with that player (Evero, Simmons in this case) it is not necessarily a good thing. Could it mean the DC has limited knowledge of players he has not coached? Could his mind be thinking 28-year -old Simmons when 31 year-old Simmons is trending downward. I dunno. I think they want to see what Richardson and Ransom can do. Maybe the saw things they did not like and have already decided to bring in a vet on a one-year deal. I am just not that confident about Evero right now. To me, his love for small NTs got exploited last year and hurt us a lot.

I am confident, barring injuries. We get injured during pre-game introductions.

If you are an athlete or former athlete (myself? Cornhole 2021-present; Disc Golf 2013-got a mega blister and had to retire; speed walking--every black Friday at Walmart 2003-2009) you know what it is to lose confidence. Self-inflicted or not (in my view, a lot of 2023 was coaching and a lot of 2024 was confidence), he has confidence now. How fragile is it? I think the light is on, the game slowed down, and he is ready to do his thing. He seems to be "mobile in the pocket" instead of "running scared." Last year, there were times when AT was out, Johnson gone, and all he really had was XL and Coker--a raw rookie with upside and an UDFA rookie. TE was rarely a viable option. It reminded me of Benjamin and Funchess. Moore had to step up. This season, Bryce has weapons. I expect XL to improve. I expect TMac to help tremendously, and I think Coker will be solid. Renfrow? Horn? bonuses.

His points are valid. However, it seems a bit based on past performance and fails to take into consideration trends and conditions that might suggest growth in 2025. For one, he breaks the team down by position and ranks them separately. I guess that is a fair way to do it, but they are dependent upon each other. Last year, our DL sucked. That impacts the rest of the defense. With no internal pressure, the QBs simply step up to avoid the Edge rush. I would have suggested that the internal DL is now featuring pass rushers and large people who can collapse the pocket. Secondly, the LBs were not protected very well in 2024. It is hard to see the holes and step up when a guard is in your earhole a second after the snap. Finally, the defensive backs will be forced to make fewer tackles and they will be better in pass protection with a new and improved DL. Canales made an interesting comment the other day, and I (from the outside looking in) feel the same way: (paraphrasing) "I have never seen a better group of rookies." I think the biggest concern is the learning curve. How long before these rookies are ready? I am bullish on this team. I think they win 3 of their first 4 and get confident. The get the fans behind them. From there, they win 6 of the remaining 13. If they stay injury free, they have an outside shot at the NFC south.

they have to be grooming him to compete for it. I think a few of us were saying the depth at G and need at OT would pull him out there--he is probably at his best at T, but we hope his best is good enough. that is why I would hesitate to draft older players--they can't take 3 years to develop.

Coker is a 6-3 215 possession WR at this point. He had a near 70% catch rate and was really good in contested catches situations. He is pretty sound fundamentally, and he seems to be very intelligent and self disciplined. As the fourth WR, he will get his opportunities and I see him more of an AT II if XL and TMac develop as expected. BEHIND him (at the moment) we have Renfrow, Horn, and Moore. The bottom line is this: WR depth is usually based on the confidence the QB has in you. When the game is on the line, the QB will find the guys he trusts. For example, Mingo and Marshall did not get many balls--you could say they were not getting open, but it could also be they had not earned the love.

He seems like a great guy---a real pro. We are lucky to have him

Just having some fun as indicated in the opening sentence. Off season. Never touched drugs or alcohol, but I don't do normal.

I call it a gift. this is half "crazy." You should see me when the fair comes to town.

OK, switching gears here a bit because I did not want to start a thread about uniforms again because this is tongue-in-cheek humor----or is it? Background Information: My wife is a Taylor Swift fan (A Swiftee). She says that Taylor Swift puts subtle "clues" in her videos and lyrics, hinting what might be coming soon. Here is an example of clues that may indicate future releases or upcoming events: I see a lot of similarities between Dan Morgan and Taylor Swift. They both spend a lot of money and time on their hair. They both have the same vowel (a) in their first names. Taylor Swift has 11 letters in her first and last name and was born in 1989. Morgan was born in 1978--11 years earlier. Eerie. So it is probable that Morgan drops hints when he is on Television. Most recently, I noticed a shot during his appearance on Pat McAfee's show. See if you can notice it. I will give you 30 seconds (30 second pause). OK, did you see it? In the bottom left hand corner of the photo, it appears that he has a canister of roll-on deodorant. I am guess "Axe" scented. Just to the right of his shoulder, I see a smoothie mixer, probably a Ninja "Bullet." "Axe" and "Bullet?" We are going to war, it seems. Then there are two mini helmets, one being Morgan's alma mater, but it is also a symbol for "hurricanes." Fall is hurricane season, the season during which we shall go to war. Between the two helmets, there is a framed, blurry, red herring clue--Morgan's gold-plated volunteer junior deputy badge. But the real clue is there, in the far right hand corner of the picture---a WHITE Carolina Panther helmet. Not silver. WHITE. Hmmmm. A WHITE Panther helmet in the GM's office. What could that mean? Men with war axes wear helmets. Men going to war with bullets wear helmets. Men in hurricanes wear helmets (I am speculating). White helmets to usher in hurricane season. The calm before the storm. Uncanny.

Your comment about STs is spot on. I coached one season with a former UNC LB (Dwight Hollier) who played with the Dolphins and Colts as a player. He said, "If you want to stay around in the NFL, you better make some noise on special teams." He said (paraphrasing) "The special teams coach has a voice when they are making cuts. You want him going to bat for you. A backup LB with no ST skills is a nonfactor, but a backup LB who makes plays on special teams is valuable. "

He did. I remember watching a game and asked, "Who is that?" Windmon's stats in limited play were solid. I remember commenting on him here at the time. He had 3 pressures as well in 128 snaps. PFF game him a pass rush grade of 64. I do not see any help added right now.

I think you are absolutely right. I think there will be some "reluctant" cuts in August by other teams and, in my view, that is the best time to pick up some depth. We grabbed some last year and added to our depth.

I see the design and intentions. However, all have to play to their abilities and beyond it. No slumps, no major injuries, etc. I have not been this optimistic (perhaps my standards are low, like a drunk man picking up chicks at a Tupperware party) in about 7 years.

I think you all make good points, but Kungfoodude, in my view, hits the nail on the head. We play him, Wallace gets pined for a season. Wallace (and Cherulus for that matter) are trending up. Not sure we can say that about Pratt--we have seen his peak--we need to find out what we have in Wallace. He needs reps and I am sure he will be better later.

It is hard to gauge a kicker until you need him with the game on the line. My kicker in college went on the NFL for a 10-year career--he wanted the shine. We knew we had a weapon. I don't know what it is like to want to go for it on 4th and 5 on the 34 yard line because your guy can't nail it.

He is a form tackler and, based on this, looks comfortable as a coverage LB. With aggressive safeties in Ransom and Moehrig, he really opens the door for some coverage options in blitz packages...He runs a 4.62 40, but he seems really instinctive---like Ransom and Moehrig--I think Dan looks at that quite closely. When I saw this I was thinking, "Special teams missile" with developmental potential. Odds are against it, frankly, but after the first round, odds are against all prospects.

This is 2 weeks old, and I apologize if it has been seen or run through the Huddle. Some don't read the Huddle as religiously as others, but if you are looking for some hope/optimism, this has it.

Since we are talking LBs, I think we have 2 developmental players on the UDFA pile--Martin-Scott and this guy, one who could make the roster as a special teams player and become a rotational player later.

Good debate. NOW I agree with you, but if you asked me last year at any time before November.... I think our defense was horrible, but the offensive skill positions, when compared to others last year, was equally weak. WR? AT should not (at his age) be your best WR. XL struggled, and a UDFA was pulled up to salvage the WR room when Johnson left. Our best TE was Tremble. We had Hubbard, but behind him, Sanders sucked. Our QB began the season (first 2 games) throwing for a COMBINED 245 yards with 3 interceptions and 6 sacks. it was abysmal. I mean, the souvenir shop started selling black nooses with the nike logo on the back and "Just do it" in small blue lettering. I really like what Morgan is doing now. He gets it. His eye for defensive players is obvious (I think he has found a few eventual starters in the past 2 drafts in the third round and later: Ramsom (4), Wallace (3), Princely (3), RIchardson (UDFA), and maybe even Cam Jackson (6). To find 5 eventual starters for the defense in rounds 3-UDFA in 2 years is impressive. That is how you build the roster.

Good question. Some are rotational, but my guess? (New starters in Bold, key depth in blue) Edge/OLB: Wonnum, Scourton (we might see Jones at first, but he would also be a new starter). Key Rotational depth: Princely DT/NT: Bobby Brown. Key Rotational Depth: Cam Jackson,Tuttle. DE: D. Brown, Wharton, Robinson, Ray (Man we need to cut Ray) ILB: Jewell, Wallace, Rozeboom, Cherelus CB: Jackson, Horn, Smith-Wade, Bartholomew, Evans. S: Moehrig, Ransom. Key depth: Richardson, Scott (I am guessing Scott will lose his job to an UDFA) My guess would be 5 on defense. On Offense? I see only Tet McMillan as a new starter, with M. Evans (TE), Horn (WR), and Etienne (RB) getting some looks in rotations.

By the way, when I read that a 29-year old LB is taking "poor angles" and "missing tackles" (despite his stats) I wonder if he has lost a step. Not saying he has and I agree that he would make us better on the inside, but you have to think about the rebuild--does he take away from developing players (Wallace and Cherelus, for example)?

Here is what I think (and I agree): They like ILB and Rozeboom is good depth. Cherelus was solid for a reserve (PFF score 63.8 in 158 snaps). They like what they have seen from Ransom and Richardson at S so far, so we could have 3 starting-caliber safeties--no sense burying the young guys. (I think we are going to like our Safeties as they are--I also think we will add one of our UDFA with great ST abilities. They signed some really good athletes as UDFA safeties). I just do not see Scott making the roster if they watch any of his 2024 film. At CB, they think they have 3 with two who played a little bit last year (each had fewer than 35 snaps--they held their own--both scoring in the upper 50s on PFF). I think, if we add a player, we add a young CB much later who was cut during the preseason. I believe they want a preseason to see what they have in Bartholomew and Evans and Thornton, for that matter.

AND if you are looking for reasons NOT to sign him, here are a few: "Germaine Pratt has faced criticism for his performance, particularly in coverage and tackling, despite his high tackle numbers and turnover-generating ability. He's been described as struggling to cover ground in a nickel base (Hmmmm. Wonder if we play that?) and having an aggressive play style that can leave gaps in the defense. Additionally, there were criticisms about his missed tackles and poor angles in pursuit, particularly in the 2024 season" Don't get me wrong--his stats are impressive. This must be a move to get a certain Edge player signed.