we deserve a break with Daeshon.

[Captain Morgan]

 

We really do.  Huddle acts like he doesn't exist because of our history of burying draft picks unless they are cornerbacks, who are fed to the wolves in a division with Brees and Ryan.

And the whole reason is we expect our front seven to make the plays so our DBs catch a break.  We have drafted 6 Dbs in the last 3 drafts, all corners, including Gaulden, who we hope to convert to safety someday.  

But we have tried at DE, and we've been anti-karmaed for whatever reason.  Looking back, we could have a truly dominant defense if only one of 3 DEs didn't disappear.

Let's start with Greg Hardy, who fell to us in the 6th round because of character concerns.  We took a chance, and it paid off...until it didn't.  Hardy and Johnson were 2 excellent  edges for us, so much so that we franchised Hardy after he set our single season record for sacks while Big Money was still effective.  We got a Pro Bowler at DE with a sixth round pick

And then we got Hardied. He played one game in his franchise season, his character concerns ended his career, and all while Cam Newton was turning the Panthers around.

We should have been ok though, because 2 years later (1 year after we drafted Cam), we drafted Frank Alexander in the 4th, and he actually looked good!  We had depth and promise for the inevitable future without CJ...but Frank liked the wacky weed too much, got suspended, and is now in CFL.  

So we drafted Kony Ealy in the 2nd round, and he almost won the Super Bowl MVP.  But he got traded for almost nothing (and then cut by the Patriots) for being either a head case, or lazy, or both.

We should still have at least one of those guys on the roster performing at a high level.

We don't.

Which leads us to Daeshon, who we took with the 77th pick overall 1 year ago, and promptly redshirted.  He was a bit of a surprise pick to me, although not unwelcome, because he was flying a bit under the radar at DE because his playing partner Myles Garrett was the #1 overall pick. 

So was Daeshon a product of defense's focusing on Garrett, or was his true talent overshadowed?

We don't know, because we put him injured reserve in October.

Is he real?

We deserve it.  We've been drafting and apparently hitting talent, but yet we are looking at nothing but questions marks after Julius retires this year.

With Peppers seeing limited time, I hope Hall can get enough action to develop, because we need him to be good next year.

And we deserve a break at DE. Why the football gods have frowned upon us is beyond me, but we deserve a break here.  We deserve Daeshon to develop into a true starting caliber DE.

but 

and no TLDR because it's the off season, and if you wanted one too bad

[bababoey]

Just one question, when did Frank Alexander ever look good?  I must have been smoking something to during that time because I don't remember it.

[pantherphan96]

Don't deserve anything in the NFL. Draft better. 4th-6th round is generally a crapshoot unless you can identify guys that fit your offensive/defensive system, mostly based on raw potential and upside.

Hardy ended up being a great pick, Alexander never showed all that much, and Ealy was mostly average with a few flashes. Hopefully Daeshon ends up sticking at DE instead of being another disappointment.

Also I still maintain that if CJ didn't get illegally leg-whipped by Marcus Cannon in that MNF game vs the Patriots we would have beaten the 49ers and won the Super Bowl.

[Pejorative Miscreant]

24 minutes ago, bababoey said:

Just one question, when did Frank Alexander ever look good?  I must have been smoking something to during that time because I don't remember it.

In OPs defense Frank was serviceable and had upside.  Problem is he was hitting the bong when he should have been coming of age as a legitimate NFL player. I see his point

I think it takes a few years for an end to develop (C.J. Took about 3 if I recall) and there is going to need to be patience with Hall.  

[Moo Daeng]

Alexander looked alright his rookie season.

[davos]

Great post mate.  Hall has legit quickness off the snap and the size.  If he can finesse his move set, he'll be an impact player for us.  I personally think he has 3-down potential and have been a fan since before we even drafted him.  He reminded me of a few guys in years past such as Preston Smith, Matt Judon, and Tarell Basham (same year).  They check off the majority of the boxes you look for in either a 4-3 DE or oversized 3-4 OLB.  

    

[tiger7_88]

The reason Daeshon is being ignored is that he is a Dave Gettleman pick.

QED.

(You understand that, don't you?)

[The Huddler]

2 hours ago, bababoey said:

Just one question, when did Frank Alexander ever look good?  I must have been smoking something to during that time because I don't remember it.

It was in practice and training camp so thats why you never remember seeing it. 

[LinvilleGorge]

Definitely going Hall can be a part of our solution at DE going forward. I’m not overly concerned at DE for this season, but the future looks pretty shaky with Peppers pushing 40 and Addision on the wrong side of 30 himself. We either need some young guys to step up or DE very well could be our #1 need next offseason.

[Ship]

I think our DE “luck” was Mario Addison turning into our best DE and one of the best in the division currently. He just seems quiet but has become a productive guy. Horton might follow in his foot steps soon. I have high hopes for DaeDae too. Haynes is another guy I hope ends up being like a Elvis Dummervil type guy. We’ve heard he has surprising strength already which will be key.

[LinvilleGorge]

I like Haynes and was intrigued by him leading up to the draft, I just thought he was way too small for our defensive philosophy. I hope he’s awesome but I’ll be very surprised if he can develop into an every down 4-3 DE.

[rippadonn]

3 hours ago, pantherphan96 said:

Don't deserve anything in the NFL. Draft better. 4th-6th round is generally a crapshoot unless you can identify guys that fit your offensive/defensive system, mostly based on raw potential and upside.

Hardy ended up being a great pick, Alexander never showed all that much, and Ealy was mostly average with a few flashes. Hopefully Daeshon ends up sticking at DE instead of being another disappointment.

Also I still maintain that if CJ didn't get illegally leg-whipped by Marcus Cannon in that MNF game vs the Patriots we would have beaten the 49ers and won the Super Bowl.

The refs weren't having that. Back then I said the officials flew in on the SF charter plane. Total screw job.

[Panthers8969]

Never forget that the 9ers scored against us with 12 men on the field 

[Marguide]

Frankly Hall's college "tape" was pretty unimpressive. He may check all the measureables boxes, but he was not very productive in spite of the extra attention Garrett received.

Color me a bit skeptical. Until he shows he can translate those measureables into actual production he remains a project in my eyes.