panthers55

That is good to hear as long as Hardy is committed to turning over a new leaf and staying out of trouble of the field. He can still be crazy on the field.

Anyone who can return punts which requires you to barrel head long into 11 guys trying to take your head off ought to be able to catch a ball with only one or two defenders trying to separate you from the ball. It has to be a mental thing. He is surely tough enough to concentrate on the ball and not try to overprotect himself.

The real issue will be how the players union responds to any suspension that Hardy would receive. If they react negatively then Hardy will appeal any suspension and it will likely get reduced.. The league looks tough and Hardy doesn't get a big suspension. Win- win.

Ginn had his best year as a receiver here and would again. If he would only fix the dropsies and he could be a real stud.

Correct.

But I listen to those who do know the system and simply discuss what I have been told and have read. I don't pretend to be an expert just pay closer attention than most to those who are.

I would think that like with every other potential draft pick, the organization will do their due diligence . If they find that he made a mistake but was a generally good high character guy they would keep him in the mix. But if they have serious concerns then he won't be considered BPA when we pick and someone else will pull the trigger who doesn't care that much about character. Is his talent so overwhelming that it is worth the risk or will their be other guys with similar talent who are also available at that position or some other.

That was in reference to calling a different play such as a pass to a run. There are so many variables within a play. For example you can keep the play but designate someone as a hot read or based on single coverage throw it to a particular receiver. You can run the ball but change the back alignment or where the ball is going if you see an over stack to one side of the other. On the read option plays he is keying off the end or the outside linebacker depending on what defensive alignment you are facing so he can decide to give it to Stewart hold it or even throw it. Obviously on many passing plays he is deciding who to throw it to or whether to dump it off short. So if you add in the times he can change the play completely and the times that he can change elements of the play or direct where it can go, he really has a lot of leeway and determines what we do based on what the defense is doing most of the time.

No offense, but most of those generalizations are being made by posters who don't know how the system works. Shula's offense gives Cam almost total control to change plays and audible to other options. Even when they are in a certain set, they can run a number of plays out of that set. So to say that Shula is the problem at situational awareness or in making defensive adjustments is barking up the wrong tree. It is Cam who is still struggling with defensive adjustments and situational awareness. He calls the audibles and decides most times on what play is run from the options he is given.. As for redzone play calls, again who do you think steps up to the line and decides what to run based on defensive alignment or decides where the ball is going to go?? Don't get me wrong, this is not placing all the blame on Cam because he did a fantastic job given all the injuries and the lack of playing time until week 2 of the regular season. He played much of the season hurt. The problem with the redzone offense was that our biggest weapon, Cam couldn't run as he wanted to most of the season, the offensive line gave him little time, had little push in the run game, and Cam really had only 2 redzone weapons, Olsen and Benjamin. Other than that we had few options and consequently little success. Both Cam and by extension, Shula need more redzone options when it becomes much harder to score given the field gets compressed and obvious options are always taken away. If you compare the end of the season to the first half you can see what a healthy offense can look like. Hopefully we have that this year.

He was promoted from the practice squad to a starter in a few weeks time IIRC. He had to learn along the way. It seems to me he did a fantastic job like Norwell did given the circumstances. Lets see how he does this year with a full offseason, camp and preseason to get ready and build chemistry with his teammates. Offensive line is one of those spots where it isnt just how he works as an individual but how they mesh as unit. The whole has to be better than the sum of the parts.

This is just what I have been telling everyone that constantly criticizes Shula. Shula runs the system that both Gettleman and Rivera want. When he has the players to run his system, he can be successful. When he doesnt we struggle. For those on Shula's nuts about poor playcalling, consider being an Eagle's fan or a Saint's fan. Because as long as Gettleman is here, our current offense is the kind of offense you can expect. Sits back while the bitching and whining continues despite the fact that Gettleman said it isn't going to change and the goal is to give Shula and Cam more weapons to work,not making changes to the system or philosophy.

He has had his moments but a guy who played less than 50% of the defensive snaps is hardly dominant.

Lynch has never had any big games against us. With our front 7 we will be stout against the run again on Saturday. So I am not concerned about Lynch running as much as I am Wilson scrambling. Lynch may be named beast mode but I think he will be rather tame against us. Even when we were giving up big yards at the beginning of the season it was typically one big run and a bunch of little ones. Now that we are not giving up big chunks it is almost all little ones.

I suspect Cole will be highly motivated to show Seattle they made a mistake in cutting him. Sometimes an angry highly motivated player makes up for any skill gaps he may have. Don't be surprised if Charles Johnson takes some of those reps as well. He will wreak havoc on any guards he faces as they are slower and less athletic than the tackles he goes up against most snaps.

Injuries are expected this time of year. No one is 100%. I don't think Star has been as dominant as Short this year. I am actually pretty good with Cole, Edwards and Short. Johnson can play inside as well on passing downs. He might be more dominant inside than outside as the guards are often less athletic than the tackles.

It is ridiculous to suggest he fabricated everything given he played game 1 and then the Ray Ray thing happened. But he and his lawyer had no reason not to postpone things since he gets all 13 million to sit and if suspended next season he will be likely earning less and his 6 game suspension will cost millions less next year than it would this year.

Arizona is not a bad team at home. On the road they are very different. Tampa is 0-3 at home so far. However they have played teams close though. They lost by 1 to NO, 3 to Arizona and by 11 to Philly. So expect a tight game at least in the first half.

That is the thing. Who couldn't like Beason? He worked for everything he got and was the heart of the defense for years. He was a pro-bowler and play maker. My feelings have been one of sadness that he hasn't recovered and might never be anything but a shadow of his former self. It has been painful to watch him play and realize he has lost more than a few steps. I hope I am wrong and he comes back 100%. But both the achilles and micro-fracture injuries were potentially career ending. It reminds me of Stephen Davis, he came back from micro-fracture but he never played as well as he did before. If work ethic can make the difference then he has a good shot to come back. That was never in doubt. At least New York gives him the best shot to start.

What I am fine with is people having an opinion and stating it no matter how off the wall or wild. It doesnt mean I wont debate it or say why it is wrong. But you can still say it. I just dont think their defense is that great. As for will it be close, I said as much in the first half. I dont think we win by more than 10 points given they play better at home. I Just think our defense will be better and we will be better on offense.

I am fine with wild predictions I just think people dont realize how bad Palmer is especially inder pressure. His Qbr under pressure is like a 25. And he will be under pressure all day

29 points would be their largest point total of the year against a team that is giving up 12 points a game. I don't see them getting to 17. I also don't see us getting more than 24 unless we score a bunch in the second half. It will close in the first half but we will pull away. Still Palmer is not a solid passer nor is he that smart. He gets rattled easily and throws picks often. He has 4 TDs and 6 picks and a 69 passer rating. Lets be serious here.......

If Ginn gets 40 catches for 600 yards and maybe 6 or 7 TDs that would be fantastic. That doesn't make him a 1 or even a 2 but given his return abilities that makes him a pretty potent weapon.

Ginn is going to have a break out season. He leads all our receivers with a ridiculous 20 yards a catch and 2 TDs on only 7 catches. He has as many yards as Smitty (143) on 1/2 of the catches (14 versus 7). 6 of his 7 catches have gone for 1st downs. Frankly I want to see him get even more catches going forward. A guy this fast and elusive needs to get as many touches as possible.