Narrative Check: The Roster is "Close"

[davos]

I keep hearing this.  "We're close" I genuinely ask, are we?

"We're close", "The roster is close", "We've got a great core", "we've got so much talent on defense"

2023 Contracted Players: https://www.spotrac.com/nfl/carolina-panthers/cap/2023/

 

What we CLEARLY need:

*GM (pending)

Head Coach

Offensive Coordinator

Defensive Coordinator

Franchise QB (Really, an entire QB room) +2

A RB (potentially a new RB room depending on CMC's movement) +1-3

A WR1 (overall, min 2 effective WRs) +2

A entirely new TE room +3

Center +1

Non-Rhule picked OL Depth +2

~3 DLs +3

~1-2 LBs +2

So yep, that's around 16 players, not counting what a new regime would cut the bait with for their own guys. 

And speaking to those cuts...

POTENTIAL adios train:

CMC

*DJ Moore (I'd say this is 50/50, but want him here)

Shaq

Robbie Anderson

CJ Henderson

Pat Elflein

Damien Wilson

 

--

We for certain, not considering maybes/potentially good/booms/busts, have the following above-average NFL starters for 2023:

(1) WR DJ Moore

(1) DE/EDGE Brian Burns

(1) OT Taylor Moton

(1) OG Austin Corbett (I'm being nice here)

(1) DT Derrick Brown

(1) LB Frankie Luvu

(2) CB Jaycee Horn, Donte Jackson, 

(2) S Jeremy Chinn, Xavier Woods

 

Notable potential guys, but possible discard/busts:

Icky - I am VERY hopeful

YGM - Can't decide, he looks good one week, piss-poor the next

Shi/Terrace - Almost just want to move on and see what else is out there

Higgins - I mean, hard to really even know yet

Keith Taylor - I've liked him but can he become a starter? Solid depth?

Tremble - re:Taylor

Corral 

Brandon Smith - Would like to see him eventually

McCall

---the rest of the active 53---

 

So again, is this "close"?  Sure seems like a tough as hell sell to me when I turnaround and look at some of these other rosters in the NFC.  The defense, yes, there is some really promising talent.  But it has no capacity for solid run D and the offense pretty much needs full construction minus a few OLs. 

Whatsayyou?

 

Edited October 10, 2022 by davos

[LinvilleGorge]

The roster is closer than the organization IMO.

Tepper said when he took over that you need a head coach, a QB, and a GM. Everything else is basically a want. Those are the three needs.

So...

Head coach? Nope. We just fired the clown Tepper went all in on.

QB? Yeah... no.

GM? Tepper spent quite a bit of time talking today about how poorly we've managed our resources. So... yeah, probably not.

By Tepper's own standards we definitely don't have two of the three needs and very possibly have none.

[chknwing]

are you saying that the answer isn't on the roster?

[davos]

1 minute ago, chknwing said:

are you saying that the answer isn't on the roster?

I am asking if we're close and laying out what we have.

So, are we close?

[chknwing]

1 minute ago, davos said:

I am asking if we're close and laying out what we have.

So, are we close?

depends on the HC. if the players on this team fit the schemes on the incoming HC, then we are close, if the players are not a scheme fit then we have to reset the roster.

[frankw]

Keep building the oline and bring in someone who can actually develop a quarterback and we aren't that far off.

Edited October 10, 2022 by frankw

[TheCasillas]

Sorry @davos I might be having some huddle fatigue, but your list has me confused because you have some solid players on there listed as if they are bad ie corbett, ickey, DJ, and Wilson. 

You also are giving up on young and cheap talent ... which is an odd thing for any NFL franchise to do....

[rayzor]

With the right coach it won't take long 

[trueblade]

11 minutes ago, davos said:

 

(2) CB Jaycee Horn

 

He left Sunday's game with an injury. I haven't heard how serious. He might be starting to get the injury prone label.

[davos]

3 minutes ago, TheCasillas said:

Sorry @davos I might be having some huddle fatigue, but your list has me confused because you have some solid players on there listed as if they are bad ie corbett, ickey, DJ, and Wilson. 

You also are giving up on young and cheap talent ... which is an odd thing for any NFL franchise to do....

Post includes:

(1) List of Needs

(2) Min above average talent

(3) Guys with potential but we just don't know yet, may be busts

You can't operate under the assumption of ceiling being met, so I am focused on what we absolutely 100% for sure have.  

So again, I ask, are we really close? I have heard that narrative since Cam's 2nd year and think it actually gets less and less true.

Edited October 10, 2022 by davos

[amcoolio]

You are really reaching. Every team doesn't have everything. And if they do, they lose a lot the next year.

[davos]

Just now, amcoolio said:

You are really reaching. Every team doesn't have everything. And if they do, they lose a lot the next year.

I am asking the question. Are we "close"? 

What even is "close"? I just want to magnify this commonly expressed notion and put it to question.

Whatcha think?

[Basbear]

This roster is good enough to be in the late season playoff hunt.

 

RB(if cmc remains)

OL(shocked)

WR(harder sell with dj struggles)

CB(look petty good, I want elite tho)

S(chinn carry)

with player - Burns, 2022 Brown, and shaq

ST (good as Ive seen since O'brien days)

____________________________________________________

 

What groups need help 

TEs

QBs

DL

LB(could be up top given luvu play)

Like depth-wise the roster is better, that hole at QB is massive tho. 

 

[davos]

36 minutes ago, TheCasillas said:

Sorry @davos I might be having some huddle fatigue, but your list has me confused because you have some solid players on there listed as if they are bad ie corbett, ickey, DJ, and Wilson. 

You also are giving up on young and cheap talent ... which is an odd thing for any NFL franchise to do....

I'd re-read, you're not quite picking up what I'm putting down (Although it seems many aren't so maybe it's me with the huddle fatigue haha)  

In a nutshell: I'm just not buying the "we're close" talk.  We don't have a HC, QB, true leader on D (closest thing is Woods & Luvu), have a huge hole in O-playmaker, our depth is subpar, & have holes on both lines.  If we're missing the biggest things that make a team "close" then we're not close.  We're close to being close.