NFC Unsung Heros. Panthers: Star Lotulelei

[JawnyBlaze]

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000909811/article/nfc-unsung-heroes-patrick-robinson-shaquill-griffin-and-more

It’s not letting me copy the Panthers portion on the NFL app, but it says Star is one of the best run stuffers and unsung hero. Glad he’s getting a little recognition. I’d hate to lose him. 

[Mr. Scot]

Afraid he's probably gone.  Giants or cardinals wouldn't be a surprise either.

And yes, Lotulelei doesn't get enough credit for what he does.

[TheRed]

I do feel bad for Star to a degree. He's kept his head down. But his recent comments suggest he's seen enough, and wants to get paid elsewhere.

This is why it's important to maintain perspective instead of just making excuses for front office failures.

We should have been maximizing this core the last few seasons while we had guys on affordable first contracts. Not getting cute and dumpster diving at skill positions or throwing 50 million at awful OT's.

[Ace_Aladdin]

I don’t think he is gone or Norwell. 

Panthers foundation on offense & defense is the interior part of the line and they will  keep these 2 while cutting ties with other veterans.

cuts:

Fozzy

Gano

Johnson

J-Stew

Adams

 

 

[top dawg]

If we can keep him,  fine.  If not,  no big deal.  

[Ship]

He doesn’t seem to really want to be here, which is sad since the fans here really do love him despite his lack of eye catching stats.

However, the defense didn’t look good against the run plenty of times this year. There was a noticeable play in the playoffs where Star got blown up off the line of scrimmage. In 2013 he played with incredible force and he’d rock olinemen off the ball. I’ve never seen him get back to that level of power. It makes me wonder if his foot injury sapped anything from him. Also, he nearly didn’t play football professionally. I realize he sees his home as being back in Utah and he’s a quiet guy, but he may not be carrying the same passion for the game anymore. His family continues to grow and he’s looking back home now. Seems like he’s most interested in being a provider and being close to home, not being the best DT in the league.

it might be best to let him go and find someone with more passion for the game.

[ColumbusCounty]

Let me start this by saying ...first of all, I appreciate Star and all that he has done while he's been here... I know his stats don't do him justice. That being said, please tell me I'm not the only one who has seen his play drop off slightly every year since his rookie season. I'm not sure if it's from the weight that he lost following the rookie year or just Short overshadowing his play. He didn't quite seem motivated, almost as if he didn't want to be here .... anybody remember his rookie press conference. I promise I came away thinking this wasn't his destination of choice for whatever reason. Idunno, maybe it's just his personality. I do remember seeing him play with FIRE at times @ college in Utah. 

Short HAD to be resigned... Star ...IMO can be replaced unless he's willing to take a team friendly deal. From his comments, I think the writing is on the wall. Sad thing is, he's probably going to leave from here and suddenly become an all-pro.

[ColumbusCounty]

9 minutes ago, Ship said:

He doesn’t seem to really want to be here, which is sad since the fans here really do love him despite his lack of eye catching stats.

However, the defense didn’t look good against the run plenty of times this year. There was a noticeable play in the playoffs where Star got blown up off the line of scrimmage. In 2013 he played with incredible force and he’d rock olinemen off the ball. I’ve never seen him get back to that level of power. It makes me wonder if his foot injury sapped anything from him. Also, he nearly didn’t play football professionally. I realize he sees his home as being back in Utah and he’s a quiet guy, but he may not be carrying the same passion for the game anymore. His family continues to grow and he’s looking back home now. Seems like he’s most interested in being a provider and being close to home, not being the best DT in the league.

it might be best to let him go and find someone with more passion for the game.

I literally just posted on this

[Growl]

I'm ready to part ways with him tbh.

 

He's nice to have but you can very easily replace what he does without the contract he thinks he's worth. He'll be 29 after this season.

 

Turns out we have a 1st round pick on the roster (who probably should've been given more reps last season) and you can justifiably carry optimism at the position.

[TheRed]

1 minute ago, stbugs said:

Man, your DG hate is comical. Maximize the core? The Panthers don’t have two winning seasons back to back in their history but you bash the GM who was there for 5 offseasons on teams that went to the playoffs 4 out of 5 years. What other GM in our history’s team had a record of 51-28-1?

To me, we put teams on the field capable of winning it all 3 out of 5 years and got to the Super Bowl once. Should have won that game. 

Uh, hey guy? We never saw back to back winning seasons under DG either. And honestly if it weren't for Cam Newton's rushing, we likely were looking at back to back losing seasons in 2016 and 2017.

[Snake]

2 hours ago, Mr. Scot said:

Afraid he's probably gone.  Giants or cardinals wouldn't be a surprise either.

And yes, Lotulelei doesn't get enough credit for what he does.

I really hope we tag him with the lower franchise tag. Get a deal done with Norwell as well. But if I'm choosing its Norwell no question. 

[t96]

3 hours ago, Mr. Scot said:

Afraid he's probably gone.  Giants or cardinals wouldn't be a surprise either.

And yes, Lotulelei doesn't get enough credit for what he does.

He gets credit for it it's just that what he doesn't isn't terribly hard to replace. Yeah he'd be better than the replacement but the dropoff won't be anywhere near what the dropoff from a player like KK would be. We will likely be just fine with Butler and Love getting more snaps and maybe a cheaper vet FA to add to the rotation or a rookie.

[pantherclaw]

3 hours ago, Mr. Scot said:

Afraid he's probably gone.  Giants or cardinals wouldn't be a surprise either.

And yes, Lotulelei doesn't get enough credit for what he does.

As is the case of all good nose tackles. 

 

 

[CRA]

I've always liked both Star and KK. 

I didn't like the Vernon pick but since we made it.....I think KK was the DT they shouldn't of paid.   No matter how you spin it, Vernon is a KK backup.   Or KK is Vernon's.   I mean, yeah situations they can play together but overall, they play the same position.  Star pairs better with either one. 

I never have liked the adding high round picks to spots already occupied.   Limits what you can get out of them.  Vernon and Shaq are two recent examples who haven't played nearly as much as they should of.....because, well, they shouldn't.