Jump to content
  • Welcome!

    Register and log in easily with Twitter or Google accounts!

    Or simply create a new Huddle account. 

    Members receive fewer ads , access our dark theme, and the ability to join the discussion!

     

O-line Vs D-line


bLACKpANTHER

Recommended Posts

we re-vamped the O-line really quickly.. or so it seems.. it actually took us 2-3 years to get all the pieces in place.. and some luck on top of that..

Gross was the only piece that we have had for awhile.. we definitely need to keep him, obviously.. but the other pieces were gathered over time.. Wharton has been with us for a few years now, and that huge contract he got doesnt seem so crazy nowadays, does it?

but Kalil fell right into our lap in the 08 Draft.. Vincent was a huge surprise for what we paid for him.. and Otah was everything we thought he could be for our run game.. so its taken about 2-3 years to redo 60% of our line..

will the D-line take as long to rework?

what pieces do we already have? Kemo? C.Johnson?

is there a Vincent out there in FA that our D-line cud get for cheap?

are we gunna get the 1st we think we will get for Pep so we can replace him?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I am excited to see what happens in this offseason.

The defensive line is going to need some work. I honestly think that Charles Johnson could be a solid starter. That's just my opinion. Kemo is a beast. But beyond that I am not quite sure. Brayton didn't impress me last year but at the same time he was never at fault for something big occuring so...I suppose he was solid.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We pretty much need to devote all of the first 3 rounds to defense, unless a blue chip WR or RG fell to us.

What is important is that peppers has been our highest paid player the last two years he has been here. So the cap room he frees up along with the draft picks we get for him will help considerably with getting talent on the D-line.

We need a lot of help at DT, kemo and lewis shouldn't ever play 3 downs and they were starters this season.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Maybe it's just me but after the Meeks hiring I was thinking about the way Johnson plays and it kinda reminds me of Freeny. Same size and build. Both are very quick off the ball and are deceptive with their power. Johnson may not be as good of a pass rusher as Freeny (and doesn't have the spin move) but he is better against the run. I think Johnson, now being given the opportunity and with two years under his belt, could step in and be a big surprise to a lot of teams.

Brayton reminds me of Rucker towards the end of his career. Occasionally he will get a rush on the QB but not often but he will always be in position to stop the run. He isn't going to wow you but you are not going to be screaming at the TV because of a mistake on Brayton's part. But with Johnson taking a starters spot that leaves a void in the rotation of DE (Hylee Taylor is not the answer) and the Panthers are going to have to bring in another DE. If this DE comes in the form of a 1st round pick or a high priced FA then Brayton may have to take on the role of backup/rotational guy. If this new DE comes from the 2nd round or higher or as a mid-level FA then Brayton would stay in the starting role. I feel that Brayton staying a starter isn't a bad situation if...

The Panthers upgrade the DT position. This is an area I'm just not sure on. Kemo is fine as the starter but needs to have a player like Lewis as a rotational guy. The problem in this is Lewis is talented enough to be a starter (albeit not a great starter) and more importantly is paid like a starter. If the Panthers "upgrade" that position, what do they do with Lewis? And Lewis' injury which is going to put him on the sidelines until the start of training camp or longer only complicates the matter even more. The team could cut Lewis but that would leave the Panthers searching for two starting quality DTs instead of one. If they keep him and try to demote him then you might not get great production out of him as he once gave as a backup. I am hoping more on the side of cutting Lewis and finding two new DTs (one from the draft and the other from FA maybe) but I think Fox and Hurney may end up doing neither and Kemo and Lewis will be the starters again next season. Although I didn't think they would have cut Wahle and Hartwig last offseason either in efforts to rebuild the offensive line so who knows.

All in all I think that defensive line could be in the same situation the offensive line was in last year. Some of the pieces have been gathered and now they just need one or two more to complete the process. The only problem is I think for Fox and Hurney Peppers was always apart of this process and now they are going to have to reconfigure their master plan.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Maybe it's just me but after the Meeks hiring I was thinking about the way Johnson plays and it kinda reminds me of Freeny. Same size and build. Both are very quick off the ball and are deceptive with their power. Johnson may not be as good of a pass rusher as Freeny (and doesn't have the spin move) but he is better against the run. I think Johnson, now being given the opportunity and with two years under his belt, could step in and be a big surprise to a lot of teams.

Brayton reminds me of Rucker towards the end of his career. Occasionally he will get a rush on the QB but not often but he will always be in position to stop the run. He isn't going to wow you but you are not going to be screaming at the TV because of a mistake on Brayton's part. But with Johnson taking a starters spot that leaves a void in the rotation of DE (Hylee Taylor is not the answer) and the Panthers are going to have to bring in another DE. If this DE comes in the form of a 1st round pick or a high priced FA then Brayton may have to take on the role of backup/rotational guy. If this new DE comes from the 2nd round or higher or as a mid-level FA then Brayton would stay in the starting role. I feel that Brayton staying a starter isn't a bad situation if...

The Panthers upgrade the DT position. This is an area I'm just not sure on. Kemo is fine as the starter but needs to have a player like Lewis as a rotational guy. The problem in this is Lewis is talented enough to be a starter (albeit not a great starter) and more importantly is paid like a starter. If the Panthers "upgrade" that position, what do they do with Lewis? And Lewis' injury which is going to put him on the sidelines until the start of training camp or longer only complicates the matter even more. The team could cut Lewis but that would leave the Panthers searching for two starting quality DTs instead of one. If they keep him and try to demote him then you might not get great production out of him as he once gave as a backup. I am hoping more on the side of cutting Lewis and finding two new DTs (one from the draft and the other from FA maybe) but I think Fox and Hurney may end up doing neither and Kemo and Lewis will be the starters again next season. Although I didn't think they would have cut Wahle and Hartwig last offseason either in efforts to rebuild the offensive line so who knows.

All in all I think that defensive line could be in the same situation the offensive line was in last year. Some of the pieces have been gathered and now they just need one or two more to complete the process. The only problem is I think for Fox and Hurney Peppers was always apart of this process and now they are going to have to reconfigure their master plan.

i hope he doesnt emulate freeney, then we are stuck with a crappy Dend that the sports media for some reason thinks is good

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.


  • PMH4OWPW7JD2TDGWZKTOYL2T3E.jpg

  • Topics

  • Posts

    • If you think the NFL or NBA are worried about lawsuits or something like officiating scandals bringing down their empires, I think you're giving them way too much credit.  Go watch the documentary on Tim Donaghy in the NBA and who was involved and what he did.  One of the guys he worked with is still one of the league's top trusted officials, especially for playoff games.  IIRC, they have records showing he was the person Donaghy exchanged phone calls with the most during his time fixing games.  And his reputation is beyond horrible...  but he's untouchable.  I also encourage you to go watch DeMaurice Smith's Breakfast Club interview.  He laid out how for fans, we just know these organizations as a singular, public entity - like THE Carolina Panthers, or THE Dallas Cowboys- but, in actuality, he said that is the public-facing identity of an umbrella company comprised of countless smaller businesses and LLCs.  He is tasked with trying to audit their books, and he said these organizations are structured in such a way that even HE can't ever know what they truly make in a year.  It's impossible.  And now, this is just me speculating on top of that, but you think the league's themselves are structured similarly?  They are untouchable.  IIRC, they are recognized legally as "entertainment" organizations, thus protecting themselves in cases where integrity would come into question.  They are protected, layer, behind layer, behind layer.  Betting works because there is some degree of control that ensures the house wins more than it loses, by a lot.  The short of it is, "Give them bread and circuses" and all that jazz.  These leagues operate with total impunity.  Again, it's not just because I'm a Panthers fan, but even if I wasn't and I watched Superbowl 50 without a dog in the fight I would walk away feeling like that outcome was controlled and influenced HEAVILY to where the Panthers were not given a level playing field.  The same poo happens every Sunday to teams playing those blue blood franchises and ones with intriguing storylines. 
    • This Chuba isn't getting traded, but Rico very well could be in a few weeks if he keeps playing well in a tandem backfield with Chuba also playing well. I think we'd end up going with a two headed monster in that case, but with Rico being on a one year deal, it does open up the possibility of a contending team offering up a decent pick for him.  Depending on the recovery of Hampton, I could see someone like the Chargers giving us a 4th for him if they think he could put them over the top, he would fit nicely in a Harbaugh system I think. If it comes to that, we need to make that trade, as I can't see any way we re-sign Rico with all our other needs and getting Brooks back too.  And he's not going to get a contract big enough to get us any comp picks in return, especially if/when we sign a FA or two ourselves.  So if we're not going to bring him back, the prudent decision would really be to get a draft pick for him at the deadline.
    • It's all about what they do at QB. It's clear the rest of the roster is improving. If they commit long term to Young because he's being carried to wins then we're fuged. I think that's a separate issue to finally being competitive again.  There's no QB in this Draft that's going to ride in on his white horse on day one and save us, so we absolutely shouldn't be playing for Draft position. 
×
×
  • Create New...