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Steve Smith Is ON WFNZ Having A Confessional, Won't Let the Story End
By
FootballMaestro,
in Carolina Panthers
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By DeAngelo Beason · Posted
I thought he had a few really nice flashes. I can see him showing out this year -
I have heard that before--when standing in front of a full body mirror at Old Navy. I said it, actually. Seriously, Let's go on what we know. There is reason for optimism that exceeds random opinions and negativity: 1. Last year, the offense was the priority and the interior offensive line was the focal point. Morgan addressed it in free agency and the draft. They improved. 2. Last year, Canales pulled Young after 2 games and replaced him with an established veteran. Instead of giving up on Young, he developed him, primarily focusing on his footwork and timing. Continued development in his fundamentals should result in improved play. (this is significant because some athletes rely on natural ability and do not adapt well. They resort to old habits. This means that Bryce is "teachable" and is willing to face adversity and fight through it. That is what you want in a QB.) 3. Morgan drafted a raw talent at WR; and we all knew he was raw. Huddlers are already calling it a bust, but his productivity numbers were in line with the other WRs drafted around where he was drafted. So, yes, he was a bit disappointing, but what part of "Raw" is not understood here? Evil Bryce, then inconsistent Dalton, then good Bryce--all while facing the top defensive backs--and let's not forget about his lingering injuries--and we should understand XL's productivity. Morgan was looking for a home run based on XL's 1-season productivity and his freakish athleticism, but I always thought we would not know what we have until year 2. TMac alone will make XL better--a solid #2. 4. If you blame Morgan for drafting XL, you must give him credit for making Coker a priority free agent. In my view, he addressed WR in 2024 pretty effectively in the long view. 5. Let's look at the rest of the draft. Brooks? The best RB in the draft in round 2? Morgan was attempting to build a solid run game behind Bryce. Wallace was a very solid third round pick at LB. Sanders is a strong TE for a fourth round pick. 6. Not much is being said about the development of Chau Smith-Wade. His improvement mirrors Bryce Young's, actually. In his first 8 games, his PFF rating was 36.5. In the final 9 games, his PFF rating was 66.7. 7. With so many needs, Morgan hit the UDFA market with success. In addition to Coker, Demani Richardson got 400+ snaps and had a 60.1 PFF grade, including an interception. 8. In free agency, Morgan spent big bucks on Guards, a move that made his QB better. He added David Moore, Nijman, He signed Clowney, Wonnum, Robinson, Jewel, Chaisson, Fuller, Scott, D. Jackson, Dionte Johnson, etc. A few years of Fitterer left him with more holes that players. Some did not work out, but he did all this on a budget (after he splurged on Lewis and Hunt). It is hard to get a free agent to come to a team that loses--so in some cases, Morgan had to overpay or accept questionable players. Morgan's first year as a GM demonstrated an understanding of the game like we have not seen since Polian, before his lost it. Canales, on the other hand, should be rated by the improvement of players. Zavala, Ekwonu, Mays, Young, Smith-Wade, Coker, Wallace--all improved. He had to overcome major losses such as D. Brown, Shaq, Dionte Johnson, Corbett--and we saw growth. Despite all this team went through, after 8 games of disarray, This team finished 4-5 with close losses to both Super Bowl teams. Frankly, I do not know how he did it. This year was better. The WR room is solid with depth. The OL room is solid with depth. The TE room is as good as it has been in a while. The RB room has the potential to be as good as it was when we had 28 and 34. DBs? Better. DL? Better. Edge? better. The bottom of the roster? Much better. We really don't know what we have yet, and that makes this offseason exciting. -
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