What moves (u would make) to improve team?

[DawgzLife]

OVERALL

First, sorry so long, but this is what a bye week does to a guy! :o

TruCatz had a great post & I feel the same on many of the items. I think our O was the focus this past off-season to get Cam the tools & it was the right move; you can only do so much at once. By getting a franchise QB & great OC, we are a top O in the league…I look for that to happen for the D this year. I don’t believe the team thought we were going to be a playoff contender, & as such didn’t want to over reach on D, until they knew what they had…players & coaches.

Carolina will be a place players look to come next year; we are on the way up.

IMO, we should not convert to a 3-4 Defense. Keep the 4-3 D scheme vs. trying to go to 3-4. Converting can take multiple years & can be a difficult transition. We have had good success getting player for the 4-3 up until the time Fox decided to tank the Panthers, so I don’t want to see a transition…that could take a few years to get all of the right personnel in place (it is a major change in personnel).

Any comments on drafting is all speculative & in reality is dependent on who is there; we should be selecting BPA.

OFFENSE

O BY POSITION

QB: Cam starter of course. Look to get a quality back-up next year in FA. Anderson is on a 1 year contract I think. It would be acceptable to have him back, but think we need a guy that we feel comfortable with if Cam goes down for multiple games. I would get rid of Clausen (trade for puppy chow if necessary, but could get a 6-7th rounder for him). I think we need to move on from past mistakes & Clausen still keeps talking like he could be a starter, not good for team chemistry. Maybe draft a QB in late round or as a UFA.

RB: We are good here. I’m not 1 for trading Williams or Stewart, but feel Chud needs to use them more effectively; I would like to see Chud improve our run formations & rushing attack. It’s not bad, but we can’t get in a run formation & cram it down anyone’s throat like we could in the past. Spend time with Goodson working on his hands & fumbling…he is a good RB, but we have to be able to count on him. For FB, we are set with Felton.

TE: Olsen is with us; Re-sign Shockey; Barnidge will be back next year if re-signed. I want to see more on what they want to do with Brockel…I know Rivera likes him, but need to see more before next year, he’s also a FA. We may not sign Barnidge b/c Hartsock is signed for another year too, but Hartsock doesn’t bring the same speed to the field.

WR: Cut Smith (yeah right!) how amazing has he been; Gettis will be back & may be our #2 (a little concerned about his blocking abilities…I can’t remember how he was with that); teach LaFell more of the scheme details (blocking, etc…it’s a main reason we drafted him), Nanee has to be starting this year for the intricacies vs. the receiving portion of the wideout position. Not sure how I feel about re-signing Nanee, but think he is on a 1 year contract, so they will have to decide. His blocking is good, but hurts us with his drops. Draft a WR also, but in rounds 4-7, not rounds 1-3.

OL: I do feel we need to move on from Otah, we cannot count on him, even tho he’s an awesome run blocker when healthy (I don’t love him in pass blocking, but he is not a liability). Otah’s contract is little north of $1 mil, so we could keep him with little risk tho. With that said, I would like to see us get a LT in rounds 1, 2 or 3; if so, move Gross to RT. If we had to stick with Gross at LT & Bell at RT (if he improves throughout the year), then we have the flexibility to go OLB or DT at the top of the draft. We do need more depth, but will also be getting back some good depth guys next year. Maybe sign or draft another quality RG, but I think Hangartner is doing a good job (we have him for another 3 years after this I think). I think we got a steal in Byron Bell, even if not a starter he is very good & didn’t come form a solid line of coaching, so he will get better.

O Re-signings: Shockey; Nanee (I think no, but if Rivera likes him, they will); Derrick Anderson? (would prefer not to & sign a better backup QB); Barnidge (should be pretty cheap to resign & is like another Greg Olsen); Bernadeau

O FAs: Back-up QB; OL depth.

O Draft: Starting LT (only if a stud is available)-rounds 1-7; WR-rounds 4-7, + UFAs.

O Trade/Release: Clausen either trade or release, good contract $, but could be a team cancer & may get something small for him (6-7th rounder)…cut losses IMO. Maybe get something for Otah is possible (he’s only on contract for 1 more year. If no takers we have a quality starter for the year, but he’s a FA after next season & too much risk to sign to a big contract, IMO).

DEFENSE

D BY POSITION

DE: Sign another mid-level FA to backup CJ; CJ, Hardy & Applewhite stay & hold down the fort. Could draft a DE in rounds 4-7, + sign UFA, but only if a player drops like Charles Johnson did when we drafted him (it wasn’t a large drop, but he was projected as a 1st rounder). Amazingly, we are pretty good here if we fix the DT position.

DT: We will get Ron Edwards back, but he is a stop gap, IMO. Draft DT in round 1-3 if quality is right for spot…move down if needed & pick up extra pick if possible OR…sign a high value DT in FA. Our young guys should be able to rotate in & out & maybe man 1 of the 2 spots, but that’s not a given based on their play SO FAR & we have to count on injuries. I think we need someone for even 1-2 years to provide impact while the young guys develop & rotate in.

OLB: Area of high need…draft OLB high, round 1-2; Restructure TD; possibly sign a FA OLB; draft another in late rounds. Work on converting Norwood to OLB during off-season.

MLB: Depends on how Conner finishes the season. Beason should be back. Conner is a FA; not sure about Gaither’s contract length. I think re-sign Conner, but he may be fairly expensive, depending on how other teams view him.

CB: Draft a 3rd-4 rounder; Depends on how Butler finishes the season. As of now, I only see Gamble as a ‘top notch’ starting CB & he is getting old. We do have some quality CBs in Munnerlyn & Butler, + we will see what Hogan, Stanford & Thomas will give us. Still feel we need a shutdown corner tho.

SS: Godfrey has it locked down & will look better with improved DL, LB & CB play. Need to add competition; sign mid-level FA or draft possibly. Hines may be able to do this, but haven’t seen enough & he’s a rookie.

FS: Same as Godfrey, but need depth & competition. He is only signed thru next year. This would be nice to get a dynamic play-maker like Ed Reed in here tho…that would change our D in a big way. Panthers have really never went high for a safety tho. I used to like Pugh, but he is either having an awful year or just needs to be replaced. If a guy goes down we need starter quality...Pugh this year has shown me he is not it.

D Re-signings: Most big re-signings happened this year. Applewhite (did we pick him up on waivers? If so, he’s a on a 1 yr contract from 49rs); Conner (but may just keep Gaither for that role…backup MLB?); Butler is a FA, but I think he’s signed thru 2013

D FAs: Possibly an impact DT, CB or FS (impact ball-hawk only, we have a solid FS).

D Draft: Need a lot of help in the defense, starters & depth. DT, rounds 1-3; OLB, rounds 1-2; CB, rounds 3-7; S, rounds 5-7. Plus possible UFAs for all.

SPECIAL TEAMS

K: As of now, it would be smart to bring in competition & cut Mare if he does not outshine them. Missing a 30 yarder is unacceptable for the price of his contract; We need someone we can count on & shouldn’t be spending huge $ on a kicker. I hope he straightens out or maybe sign that FA kicker from New Orleans…John Kasey I think his name is. We will just stick with Mare & hope it works out, I’m sure.

P: Good

KR/PR: Need to draft or sign both a kick & punt returner…a guy who can play coverage on STs too. Goodsen could be 1 of 2 KR guys if he got his hands right. I don’t like Pilares returning so far. They say he can breakaway, but I don’t see field speed…he seems to have track speed. We need a game-changer here.

COACHING:

HC: Give Rivera the off-season to review tape & learn. I think he will be a great HC for us for years to come.

OC: Keep Chud as OC. Obvious, but I give him a lot of credit for Cam’s success…he is good at knowing what his players can do & taking advantage of that.

DC: Need work here. Either let McDermott go & sign a more experienced DC or Rivera needs to get more involved & teach McDermott how to coach defense. I do not like the way McDermott calls defensive plays & has our LBs & DBs out of position. I do not think it’s just matter of personnel. I could be wrong & hope I am.

Final Thought

In all, the rest of this season will be a time to zero in on the producers & this off-season should be fun to watch. I really hope we build primarily thru the draft & don’t overpay for players. We should get 1-3 impact FAs tho IMO (all on the D side of the ball). We need to build a defense to go to the superbowl, not to just compete or ‘not lose games for us’.

Of course I’m missing stuff & the rest of the year will change things, but it’s a bright future. Now we just hope Hurney & Rivera make the right moves. The are the pros & they did a great job with offense this year…glad we are just playing pretend, but things are looking up!!! :drool5:

[TruCatzFan]

Great post Dawgz!

[NorthTryon]

outside LBs with speed, DT and for the love of God find a real punt/kick returner

[Ashor]

Have Rivera watch every broadcast of the Patriots over the last few years so he can learn how to game manage watching Bill Belichick.

Or he can just play some Madden...

[chknwing]

I would hire better scouts as to not draft injury prone players. I would also hire better Strength and Conditioning coaches. Injuries are killing this team right now. And whatever doctor has been repairing TD's, knee, needs to die in a fire. He sucks at it.

[Kurb]

I would hire better scouts as to not draft injury prone players. I would also hire better Strength and Conditioning coaches. Injuries are killing this team right now. And whatever doctor has been repairing TD's, knee, needs to die in a fire. He sucks at it.

yeah Dr james anderson is pretty bad....*sigh*

[jtnc]

I would hire better scouts as to not draft injury prone players. I would also hire better Strength and Conditioning coaches. Injuries are killing this team right now. And whatever doctor has been repairing TD's, knee, needs to die in a fire. He sucks at it.

Lol this isn't Madden, no one can test if a player is 'injuy prone'.

[dpm0409]

Obviously our defensive needs get talked about more than anything (and rightfully so, although w/o some of the injuries they wouldn't be looking quite so rough) but we have got to get better on ST. Returning AND coverage. I know a few ppl have mentioned ST, but I really think it's a glaring handicap for us right now. ST gets overlooked and is under valued IMO. Damn it'd be nice to see somebody return a punt or KO and take it to the house for us..:( Not to mention field position is pretty clutch with this high powered O attack.

[CRA]

Have Rivera watch every broadcast of the Patriots over the last few years so he can learn how to game manage watching Bill Belichick.

Belichick really hasn't been that great the past few seasons.

[SOJA]

Morris Claiborne, Matt Kalil, or trade down

[BigSyke]

draft

justin blackmon(terrell owens 2.0, smith is getting old but still great)

dt(lsu/alabama or cliff avril in free agency from detroit lions)

lb(davis or beason go down again need to think about cuttin them)

cb(captain/hogan see what they got this year)

kr/slotwr(travis benjamin, sammy watkins(not comin out) type player) oh and why doesnt smith return punts anymore....maybe to risky now.

get rid of williams(stewart and goodson),

nannae(start lafell),

shockey-old(start gary barnidge-decent hand and speed)

fix stupid penalty erorrs, better time managment,

all black unis, panther logo(redesigned like lions) in middle of feild, and cam newton keep getting better.

[rayzor]

offense:

OL- get a legit RT, probably via draft. keep bell and otah around as depth. keep the one who isn't hurt or doesn't suck at the end of the year.) RG competition between/rotation with hangman and schwartz. rest of OL is set. give them a full offseason to gel.

RB- wouldn't do a thing

WR- get gettis healthy. maybe draft someone early, but it's not necessary. a full offseason with cam and the playbook should shake out a really good WR corps, esp. for the scheme.

TE- re-sign shockey. barnidge get healthy. roll with olsen/shockey/barnidge

QB- we are more than OK here.

defense:

DL- re-sign applewhite if needed then DE will be set. bring in another vet DT to get some more experience in there. get edwards healthy. that with fua and mcclain having a year under their belt and the benefit of a full offseason should see them being improved going from year 1 to year 2. aside from that we don't really need to do anything. i don't want to draft another DT unless it's late. we've got enough youth there. what we need is experience.

LB- either draft or sign a replacement for TD. get TD healthy and keep him around, though. he'll make himself cheaper so he can stick around, i'm sure. his presence is needed. also make sure beason is 100% healed. we should have a much better LB corps next year if this is done.

DBs- better depth at S and CB. i'm good with godfrey and martin there. i feel good about gamble, capt., and butler. i would like to see hogan play, but if he can at all live up to his potential we will have a great secondary. best thing we can do to help the secondary is get the LB corps healthy and help with the push from the dline interior.

special teams:

hire new ST coach with a better scheme and a bit more creativity.

bring in a ST ace or two that are solid on blocking and coverage

upgrade long snapper

get a returner who knows how to do the job. no more project return guys.

get best punter in FA

look at upgrading kicker as well.

no one's job should be safe on special teams. i don't care where or when they were drafted or what college they went to or how many fans they have. i don't care about their potential, either. get someone who can do the job rather than someone you hope can do the job once they get some reps and experience.

with rivera, just review game tapes and find out where game management could be improved. decide on an identity and stick with it. if you are going to be aggressive, then be aggressive all the time. no more taking the foot off the gas when we have a lead. no more foxball.

in the draft, first couple rounds should be BPA between RT, OLB, and WR. maybe safety and CB, though not necessary and also contingent with how hogan is doing. the rest of the draft should focus on STs.

aside from a DT and maybe the Will and depth on a few positions, we should concentrate FA on improving special teams.

[(╯°□°）╯︵ ┻━┻]

Personally...

-Attempt to trade Clausen (if roster space is needed, cut him)

-If Dan Conner cannot be resigned, move Thomas Williams to the middle to spell Beason.

-Draft Zach Brown. He can be rotated in if TD can still play. Draft a G in the 2nd (I would prefer Barrett Jones (Alabama) or Kevin Zeitler (Wisconsin).

-Ryan Broyles could fall in the draft because of his ACL tear. If he's still available in the 5th or 6th, take him!

-Re-sign Shockey for 1 year

-Find a FB

-Maybe draft S depth

Edwards will be back from IR next season to clog up the middle. McClain and Fua will have another season under their belts and Neblett will be providing depth. DT is something that I would keep my eye on, as well as CB, but there's been a lot thrown at it this season. Thomas and Butler signed 4-year deals iirc.

[CatMan72]

I don't think there's much we can do to improve personnel-wise at this point, just have to get the personnel we have to execute better.