Are you comfortable with the roster?

[KB_fan]

14 hours ago, UpstatePanther said:

Personally, I think so. And that is very exciting

I agree that overall, this is a pretty good roster BEFORE the draft.

My worries would be

1) OT depth assuming Oher is NOT healthy.  At this point I'm not sure we can count on him to be on the roster.

2) Depth at corner behind Bradberry & Worley

3) Need youth at DE, not just for energy / durability, but also to train up alongside Pep & CJ.

4) Until we see new WRs Shepard & CJ #2 on the field, I still think we're thin / not very talented at WR.  I hope I'm wrong though.

Additionally, I think added talent at RB & TE could make a BIG difference to our offense.  I think drafting both high is a pretty big need, and I expect we will do so.  I'm increasingly on the OJ Howard bandwagon, especially if Fournette is gone. 

[AceBoogie]

I might be in the minority here but I think Funchess just needs more opportunities 

[RoaringRiot]

21 minutes ago, AceBoogie said:

I might be in the minority here but I think Funchess just needs more opportunities 

This may be the first time ever, but I agree.

[Smithers]

No...we need a TE2, Better WR, SS and OL depth, and a true backup RB.  Most of this can be done via the draft, but not all.  

I really wish we'd look into bringing in LeGarrette Blount as a backup to Stew unless we plan to take a RB early.  TE and WR will almost certainly have to wait until draft time.  OL as well...considering there just isn't much left.

oh, and let's not forget Gano.  No way in hell do I want him as our kicker.

[Smithers]

25 minutes ago, AceBoogie said:

I might be in the minority here but I think Funchess just needs more opportunities 

I agree. Cam didn't exactly have time to go through his progressions last season. 

[Jangler]

38 minutes ago, AceBoogie said:

I might be in the minority here but I think Funchess just needs more opportunities 

Don't you create your opportunities in life?

I'm not giving up on a talented player, but it you aren't growing, why hold on? The Panthers have historically held on longer than they should. 

We have 2 young top receivers in the game, just now playing their 3rd year. With a comfortable Cam in the pocket, I can't count out any player. 

 

Shula?

 

Shula?

 

Shula?

[*FreeFua*]

18 minutes ago, RoaringRiot said:

This may be the first time ever, but I agree.

especially with stellar routes like this one!

Funchess has a lot of work to do, definitely not just an opportunity thing 

[Mr. Scot]

1 hour ago, *FreeFua* said:

especially with stellar routes like this one!

Funchess has a lot of work to do, definitely not just an opportunity thing 

That he could anticipate that says a lot more about the playcalling than it does the receiver.

[GoobyPls]

1 hour ago, *FreeFua* said:

especially with stellar routes like this one!

Funchess has a lot of work to do, definitely not just an opportunity thing 

Around 80% of Funchess production is when he is in the slot. He's a terrible outside receiver and mediocre slot receiver. 

You can clearly see on film opposing corners don't respect him. 

[*FreeFua*]

1 hour ago, Mr. Scot said:

That he could anticipate that says a lot more about the playcalling than it does the receiver.

Ah I disagree on this play.

Funchess takes an eternity to get in and out of his break. He takes about 6 steps (roughly 5 yards here) just to get into his break and then pauses in his break because he's off balance. Funchess tips off the route long before he actually runs it.

He's obviously bigger and he's not going to be the quickest guy in the world but he then needs to do a better job of using his body here and giving Cam a target. 

 

If you want to bring in coaching I will agree Funchess should never be running this route in this situation. This was my biggest complaint about Shula, he runs the same damn curl route with Ginn. Now unless the corner is playing so far back, Ginn lacks the quickness to run the curl effectively. How many times have we seen Cam throw a pick when throwing to Ginn running this route? At NO, home to GB in 2015 and last year at TB come to mind just off the top of my head. 

Which leads me to Charles Johnson. I watched all of CJ's targets from last year in Minny and he runs the curl route effectively. Might actually be why he was brought in tbh

[Yaboychris28]

15 hours ago, TheSpecialJuan said:

Stupid.  2015 roster was not a Super Bowl roster on paper but hey, guess what? we we're in the Super Bowl that year.

We have Wide Recievers who can't get open. A suspect O-line, (who knows how Kalil will perform) Lost Ginn and replaced him with two wide recievers who we are already anointing, but haven't done poo in the league. An aging runnning back who couldn't average 4 yards per carry. Still have Shula and Rivera on the staff. I could go on but i'll stop there. 

[iamhubby1]

15 hours ago, Yaboychris28 said:

We have Wide Recievers who can't get open. A suspect O-line, (who knows how Kalil will perform) Lost Ginn and replaced him with two wide recievers who we are already anointing, but haven't done poo in the league. An aging runnning back who couldn't average 4 yards per carry. Still have Shula and Rivera on the staff. I could go on but i'll stop there. 

 

Sure...if you put it that way.

[Chardee MacDennis]

I uploaded a copy of my version of the OP's file. 

Here's aslo a copy/paste of it. This is just my thoughts on who is going to be slotted in spots on the roster, prior to the draft picks coming in. 8 DB's, 6 LB's, 8 DL, 9 OL, 5 WR, 2 TE, 3 QB, 3 RB, 1 LS, 2 P, 1 K....my redneck math gives me a total of: 48 players. Meaning, 5 rookies make the final squad. I personally don't think the Panthers will utilize a traditional FB going forward. I think this is part of the plan to evolve the offense. We're going more pass oriented, and less ground/pound in my opinion. I think 1 CB, 1 DL, 1 WR, 1 TE, and maybe another OL as insurance for Oher. To me, that means any of the top CB's could be picked at 8 to be a day 1 starter, putting Worley on the bench as depth and upgrading the secondary big time. Or, a DL could be picked at 8, upgrading the pass rush with a young blood, and basically pushing Horton down the depth chart. Or even a WR could be picked at 8, pushing Funchess to the WR3 spot, and moving Bersin to the practice squad. I do NOT expect any RB's to be picked unless it's McCaffrey to be used as a hybrid RB/WR, in which case CAP is likely out. Overall, the main differences between this year and last is the #8 pick, a couple 2nd round picks, Kalil instead of Remmers, Adams and Captain added, Shep and Johnson instead of Ginn and Brown, and Peppers instead of Ealy. Definitely an overall upgrade, but not exactly earth shattering. This is still a 10-12 win team, when healthy and coached properly. But speed is a HUGE factor, especially in the NFC South. This team needs every single draft pick to be focused on speed in order to keep up.

Carolina Panthers 2017-18 Depth Chart
Secondary
LCB		FS		SS		NCB		RCB
Worley		Coleman		Adams		Munnerlyn		Bradley
		Boston		Jones		Sanchez
Linebackers
		SLB		MLB		WLB
		Davis		Luke		Thompson
		Jacobs		Mayo		Cash
Defensive Line
	LDE		LDT		RDT		RDE
	Peppers		KK		Star		CJ95
	Addison		Butler		Love		Horton
Offensive Line
LT		LG		C		RG		RT
Kalil		Norwell		Kalil		Turner		Oher
		Silatolu		Gradko		Scott		Williams
Passing Game
	WR		TE		QB		WR2
	Benji		Olsen		Cam		Funchess
	Shepard		Dickson		Anderson		Johnson
	Bersin				Webb
Running Game
			RB		FB
			Stew
			Fozzy
			CAP
Special Teams
Holder		LS		K		Punter		KR/PR
Palardy		Jansen		Gano		Lee		Shepard

Panthers DC.xlsx

[Chardee MacDennis]

On ‎3‎/‎16‎/‎2017 at 0:21 PM, Chardee MacDennis said:

I uploaded a copy of my version of the OP's file. 

Here's aslo a copy/paste of it. This is just my thoughts on who is going to be slotted in spots on the roster, prior to the draft picks coming in. 8 DB's, 6 LB's, 8 DL, 9 OL, 5 WR, 2 TE, 3 QB, 3 RB, 1 LS, 2 P, 1 K....my redneck math gives me a total of: 48 players. Meaning, 5 rookies make the final squad. I personally don't think the Panthers will utilize a traditional FB going forward. I think this is part of the plan to evolve the offense. We're going more pass oriented, and less ground/pound in my opinion. I think 1 CB, 1 DL, 1 WR, 1 TE, and maybe another OL as insurance for Oher. To me, that means any of the top CB's could be picked at 8 to be a day 1 starter, putting Worley on the bench as depth and upgrading the secondary big time. Or, a DL could be picked at 8, upgrading the pass rush with a young blood, and basically pushing Horton down the depth chart. Or even a WR could be picked at 8, pushing Funchess to the WR3 spot, and moving Bersin to the practice squad. I do NOT expect any RB's to be picked unless it's McCaffrey to be used as a hybrid RB/WR, in which case CAP is likely out. Overall, the main differences between this year and last is the #8 pick, a couple 2nd round picks, Kalil instead of Remmers, Adams and Captain added, Shep and Johnson instead of Ginn and Brown, and Peppers instead of Ealy. Definitely an overall upgrade, but not exactly earth shattering. This is still a 10-12 win team, when healthy and coached properly. But speed is a HUGE factor, especially in the NFC South. This team needs every single draft pick to be focused on speed in order to keep up.

Carolina Panthers 2017-18 Depth Chart
Secondary
LCB		FS		SS		NCB		RCB
Worley		Coleman		Adams		Munnerlyn		Bradley
		Boston		Jones		Sanchez		Williams
Linebackers
		SLB		MLB		WLB
		Davis		Luke		Thompson
		Jacobs		Mayo		Cash
Defensive Line
	LDE		LDT		RDT		RDE
	Peppers		KK		Star		CJ95
	Addison		Butler		Love		Horton Hall
Offensive Line
LT		LG		C		RG		RT
Kalil		Norwell		Kalil		Turner		Oher
Williams		Silatolu		Gradko		Scott		Moton
Passing Game
	WR		TE		QB		WR2
	Benji		Olsen		Cam		Funchess
	Shepard		Dickson		Anderson		Samuel
	Bersin				Webb		Johnson
Running Game
			RB		FB
			Stew
			McCaffrey
			Fozzy
Special Teams
Holder		LS		K		Punter		KR/PR
Palardy		Jansen		Gano		Lee		Shepard/McSamuel

Panthers DC.xlsx

I'm pretty happy with my assessment above. I think the draft panned out close to my expectations. Would have thought one pick would be a CB, but happy with 2 hybrid RB/WR's instead. Now, the only thing needed IMO is a 4th round pick of a TE or CB. Trade all other picks up to get that 5th rookie. I like Butt, Leggett, Sprinkle, Desmond King, Kittle, and watch for Howard Wilson, CB out of Houston. He's a project who's 1-2 years from being a starter capable CB, but he's got DG's ideal size and ball skills, and could be brought in to push competition on Worley.