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Underrated players: NFC South


jtnc

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Charles Johnson, defensive end: It baffles me that Carolina chose to put the franchise tag on Ryan Kalil rather than on Johnson. Johnson, 24, got recognition for his play last season, but few realize he outplayed nearly every 4-3 defensive end in the league. He is a power and leverage player who excels versus the run. He also has an array of pass-rush moves and plays the game with an excellent motor. Johnson has been very good with every opportunity that he has received and should get better. He proved last season he is a great pass-rusher already, and it is imperative the Panthers lock him up for the long term.

http://espn.go.com/blog/nfcsouth/post/_/id/21593/underrated-players-nfc-south

Do you agree that Johnson should have received the tag instead of Kalil?

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I thought it should have been either Kalil or Johnson (not Williams). I personally would have tagged Johnson because the DE position has become so important and I think it would have been easier to sign Kalil for the long term against the free market. That said, I wasn't terribly upset because I think they will do everything in their power to resign Johnson for the long term, and they have the money to do so

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I agree with putting the tag on Kalil. We have no one that can play the position behind Kalil, whereas we do have some potential behind Johnson (in case we do happen to lose him).

Btw... this article was written by Matt Williamson, not Pat Y.

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You don't let a top tier center walk when you have a new rookie QB coming. You don't do anything to mess with the O-line... that's where games are really won or lost. And no first year head coach is going to let a veteran, Pro-Bowl center walk away, he'd lose a valuable NCO on the field.

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I doubt it was as easy as picking one over the other. For example after talking to each of them, who was the guy most likely to test free agency? If it was Kalil then you would tag him not Johnson.

If we look at whether we have a replacement for either position, do we have one for DE or center? Last I looked we didn't have one at center and they are hard to find.

Which of the two has shown better consistency, Kalil or Johnson??

No one would argue that johnson didn't have a great year last year, but I can't see where tagging Kalil was a mistake or every bit as necessary as tagging Johnson.

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CJ is gonna be the best DE to hit free agency we have the Falcons, Broncos and many other teams who are gonna be calling his agent as soon as FA resumes.
kalil would be getting more calls.

we made the right move.

yas may think that CJ is underrated, but he underestimates the demand for and scarcity of a guy like kalil, ie top center in the league.

anyway...we won't be losing CJ. he'll be back.

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You guys need to think about how much difference the tag $$$ is for C vs. DE.

That said, IMO DE is a much harder position to fill than C.

there are a lot more great DEs in the league than great Cs.

Kalil also has been great for more than 1 season.

I guess I could argue it either way......

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