Ravens safety out for year. Torn Achilles… Panthers may need to do something

[Joe Bear]

I don’t understand why any GM would just sit tight at ANY position and not at least try to improve it within the constraints of the cap. The teams who do that kind of stuff are the ones who you see play in January and February. The hornets-style “kick the can down the road for 35 years” teams are always losers. 

[Seltzer]

3 minutes ago, Navy_football said:

This team ain't set at safety. One injury could mean Scott gets significant playing time. Nothing good would come of that. Nothing. 

Exactly. We have almost $20M in cap.

We are definitely signing another safety and probably CB.

May not be until TC or beyond to see what we have with some younger guys, but Dan Morgan has stated multiple times they're not through in free agency

[Seltzer]

1 minute ago, Joe Bear said:

I don’t understand why any GM would just sit tight at ANY position and not at least try to improve it within the constraints of the cap. The teams who do that kind of stuff are the ones who you see play in January and February. The hornets-style “kick the can down the road for 35 years” teams are always losers. 

Vets aren't in any hurry to sign and teams want to see younger guys in OTAs first anyway.

Not signing a guy today by no means indicates they won't sign someone before TC

[Navy_football]

2 minutes ago, Seltzer said:

Exactly. We have almost $20M in cap.

We are definitely signing another safety and probably CB.

May not be until TC or beyond to see what we have with some younger guys, but Dan Morgan has stated multiple times they're not through in free agency

The only problem with waiting is it gets you the Jordan Fuller and Nick Scotts of the world. Don't need another one of those. 

[MHS831]

3 hours ago, Navy_football said:

This team ain't set at safety. One injury could mean Scott gets significant playing time. Nothing good would come of that. Nothing. 

Yeah--same with CB and T.  When Scott was a Bengal, I thought he was a decent to good player--I didn't think about it much--but I think they gave him a fairly good contract.

[Navy_football]

50 minutes ago, MHS831 said:

Yeah--same with CB and T.  When Scott was a Bengal, I thought he was a decent to good player--I didn't think about it much--but I think they gave him a fairly good contract.

Normally I'd go and look at some Bengals film to make myself feel better. But Scott can't tackle. He gets shook worse than a DT in open field. He's willing. Just bad at it. I don't know if you can fix that.

[ForJimmy]

They have Hamilton and Starks as their starters so probably just need some depth if anything. 

If we sign anyone it will be Blackmon or Williams since they have brought them in for visits already.  Probably depends on how the group looks in TC.  

[Bear Hands]

FS is not the most valuable position these days, but it wouldn't hurt to see who could be had if it's an obvious upgrade. 

I just don't want to go for scraps.  Strange the Julian Blackmon was never signed, but there must be a reason.  

[Joe Bear]

4 hours ago, Seltzer said:

Vets aren't in any hurry to sign and teams want to see younger guys in OTAs first anyway.

Not signing a guy today by no means indicates they won't sign someone before TC

I'm not advocating for it today, I'm discussing it just as an overall decision.

[Mr Mojo Risin]

15 minutes ago, Navy_football said:

Normally I'd go and look at some Bengals film to make myself feel better. But Scott can't tackle. He gets shook worse than a DT in open field. He's willing. Just bad at it. I don't know if you can fix that.

Hopefully with an improved Dline there won't be many opportunities for him to miss tackles

[tukafan21]

4 hours ago, Seltzer said:

Exactly. We have almost $20M in cap.

We are definitely signing another safety and probably CB.

May not be until TC or beyond to see what we have with some younger guys, but Dan Morgan has stated multiple times they're not through in free agency

Or just don't spend that money and roll it over to next year's cap space to be able to bring in a true impact player instead of just a JAG for this season.

We're not contending this year, play the long game for once.

[Seltzer]

4 hours ago, Navy_football said:

The only problem with waiting is it gets you the Jordan Fuller and Nick Scotts of the world. Don't need another one of those. 

Also a good point

[Seltzer]

28 minutes ago, Navy_football said:

Normally I'd go and look at some Bengals film to make myself feel better. But Scott can't tackle. He gets shook worse than a DT in open field. He's willing. Just bad at it. I don't know if you can fix that.

100%. Nick Scott was awful last year. Like, even for a franchise that hasn't historically invested in that position, it stood out for how awful it was.

If he sees meaningful snaps at S again we're cooked. 

Maybe he has value for ST, but I certainly hope we can upgrade.

Jordan Fuller, who was by all accounts an Evero guy, was almost as bad.

Xavier Woods was bad, but not complete garbage. Still did not want him back.

Those 3 guys seriously may have been the worst S group in the NFL. And they all were brought in, especially Fuller, as good fits for this system.

Everyone knocks the defensive line, and they deserve a lot of blame, too, but so, so many times our safeties inability to tackle let 4-5 yard runs turn into 10+. And it happened over and over and over again if you watch the film.

Honestly, Demani Richardson was the only S by the end of the year I remember making positive plays.

I have no issue with Richardson being in the mix and/or competing to be a starter, but we still need another S desperately IMHO who has actually played meaningful snaps in the NFL.

The only caveat/excuse for our secondary was the fact our pass rush was nonexistent for large stretches last year.

Maybe that helps with coverage, but I dont see how that makes any of these guys better at tackling. 

I know it somewhat feels like piling on at this point, but I feel 100% confident in saying this was the worst tackling team in franchise history.

The 70ish yard pass play we gave up to Jamarr Chase where he ran through and past everyone in the secondary has to be up there in terms of most embarrassing plays I've ever seen.

I can't imagine how embarrassed Kuechly must have been watching from the booth...

I think bringing back Evero was a mistake, but for a team that has had nothing but change over the past 5 years, I'm willing to see this through.

I definitely think we added significantly to the floor of this defense with the additions we made.

I dont think Evero has any further excuses if he cant field a unit that can at least somewhat hold their own.

Fixing the safety play is going to be a big part of that.

[Seltzer]

26 minutes ago, tukafan21 said:

Or just don't spend that money and roll it over to next year's cap space to be able to bring in a true impact player instead of just a JAG for this season.

We're not contending this year, play the long game for once.

I understand where you're coming from, but we need another safety IMHO.

Other positions, especially on defense, dont have ideal depth, but to me at least S is the one position we can't stand pat at even when thinking about the future