BREAKING: Panthers interested in Justin Simmons

[ForJimmy]

The interest in Ramsey, now Simmons, and reaching out to Blackmon before the draft makes me feel like our secondary isn't complete yet.

[Vegas Heel]

Wish they were also looking at a linebacker to compete / backup that group too.

[ForJimmy]

38 minutes ago, Vegas Heel said:

Wish they were also looking at a linebacker to compete / backup that group too.

I think they are happy with Jewell and Wallace starting this season.  Have Rozeboom as a vet for depth.  I agree though, after last year that group needs strong depth.  

[Bear Hands]

We may sniff around some safeties but wouldn't be surprised if we don't end up getting one of these guys like Blackmon/Simmons/etc.  If we still haven't popped, we should wait and see who ends up available come preseason. 

Overall, it's not a position I'm super concerned about/low priority.  I wouldn't mind seeing how the young guys look.  Falcons and us swapping FSs would be meh.  (They've got Fuller now) and don't think it serves us well getting a 32 y/o to plop in for a season.  Develop. 

 

 

 

 

[ForJimmy]

1 minute ago, Bear Hands said:

We may sniff around some safeties but wouldn't be surprised if we don't end up getting one of these guys like Blackmon/Simmons/etc.  If we still haven't popped, we should wait and see who ends up available come preseason. 

Overall, it's not a position I'm super concerned about/low priority.  I wouldn't mind seeing how the young guys look.  Falcons and us swapping FSs would be meh.  (They've got Fuller now) and don't think it serves us well getting a 32 y/o to plop in for a season.  Develop. 

 

 

 

 

I'd be surprised if Fuller is starting for them all season.  Watts probably takes over sooner vs later for the Falcons.  I kind of wanted him in the mid rounds....

[Bear Hands]

4 minutes ago, ForJimmy said:

I'd be surprised if Fuller is starting for them all season.  Watts probably takes over sooner vs later for the Falcons.  I kind of wanted him in the mid rounds....

I liked Watts as well.  Forgot they grabbed him.

  

 

[Vegas Heel]

2 hours ago, ForJimmy said:

I think they are happy with Jewell and Wallace starting this season.  Have Rozeboom as a vet for depth.  I agree though, after last year that group needs strong depth.  

I am not sold on Wallace yet. Would like to see some real competition at that position specifically. 

[Icege]

4 hours ago, WUnderhill said:

But wasn’t that the same thing with Fuller? And he was terrible. I feel like we have brought in a lot of guys because of Evero’s familiarity with them and it hasn’t helped at all. Idk why Evero gets such a pass. The Saints scored on every.single.drive week 1 when we were still healthy and had Brown. The Broncos defense got better after he left. When will he stop getting a pass for “not having players” and start getting hammered for not developing players or getting the best out of the players he has?

While it's fair to question how impactful a player's relationship with a coach is (especially if someone has questions regarding said coach), it's important to also evaluate the difference between the players here. Jordan Fuller was pick #199 in the 6th round while Justin Simmons was #98 in the 3rd round. Jordan Fuller might have gotten a Super Bowl ring while he was with the Rams, but he got it while on the IR. Justin Simmons, on the other hand, is a x2 Pro-Bowler (2020, 2023), x4 second-team All-Pro (2019, 2021 - 2023), and was the NFL co-leader in INTs (2022). Simmons has also fallen off in the last couple of seasons though, grade-wise. He very well might not be that same player, which could be why the Falcons have elected to replace him with Fuller.

As far as getting the best out of what he has, asking him to produce with a starting DL of A'Shawn Robinson (63.56% of the defense's snaps), LaBryan Ray (51.48%), and Shy Tuttle (50.08%) isn't reasonable. Wonnum only played in 8 games, but had the second most % of snaps (37.27%) at EDGE behind Clowney (53.53%). The second-string DL based on snap % was... and don't read this if you just ate... Charles Harris (34.48%), DeShawn Williams (27.67%), and Nick Thurman (19.7%). The second-string EDGEs based on snap count would be DJ Johnson (32.27%) and Cam Gill (18.14%).

With the investments made in the run defense this season though, especially on the defensive line, it's more than fair to demand a complete turn around from last season.

[Camp Fodder]

2 hours ago, ForJimmy said:

I think they are happy with Jewell and Wallace starting this season.  Have Rozeboom as a vet for depth.  I agree though, after last year that group needs strong depth.  

Not sure if they are happy but realize they can’t upgrade everything this year and are content with the group

[MHS831]

To me, if you have a fondness for a player because you have history with that player (Evero, Simmons in this case) it is not necessarily a good thing.  Could it mean the DC has limited knowledge of players he has not coached?  Could his mind be thinking 28-year -old Simmons when 31 year-old Simmons is trending downward.  I dunno.  I think they want to see what Richardson and Ransom can do.  Maybe the saw things they did not like and have already decided to bring in  a vet on a one-year deal.  I am just not that confident about Evero right now.  To me, his love for small NTs got exploited last year and hurt us a lot.