last 2 games w/ no Fua and little McClain

[CRA]

Carolina bottles up Blount and Turner for the most part and puts in it's best work of the year in terms of stopping the run.

Let's hope Rivera doesn't stick with guys like Fox did waiting for them to pan out. Fua and McClain should be looked at next year as competiting for jobs as depth....nothing else in regards to 2012.

[megadeth078]

[Razeyfingers]

Theyll be ready soon. Theyll come back a little trimmer and stronger next year with a head for what were are trying to do on D now that theyve been exposed to it. It must be rough being a young big man in the nfl after you've been pushing people around all your life.

[Leeroy Jenkins PhD]

Carolina bottles up Blount and Turner for the most part and puts in it's best work of the year in terms of stopping the run.

Let's hope Rivera doesn't stick with guys like Fox did waiting for them to pan out. Fua and McClain should be looked at next year as competiting for jobs as depth....nothing else in regards to 2012.

I couldn't agree more. Hopefully an offseason in the gym will help their chances, but we did not get that diamond in the rough (3rd round) we were hoping for.

I believe the biggest acquisitions we could make in the offseason are going to be on both lines.

[CRA]

we have been gashed and abused all year until Fua and McClain were forced out.....then SURPRISE...we can defend the run. Neither should go into next year as the starter.....they should go in as depth with hopes to one day be a starter.

not sure how you could struggle w/ thinking that was possibly sarcasm.

[CRA]

Theyll be ready soon. Theyll come back a little trimmer and stronger next year with a head for what were are trying to do on D now that theyve been exposed to it. It must be rough being a young big man in the nfl after you've been pushing people around all your life.

yeah, that is the John Fox way of thinking.....

we replaced them w/ scrubs.....and they are noticeably better than the 2 rookies. Even if the rookies improve.....it would have to be HUGE in order for them to be starting caliber DTs. They might not be ready until year 3 or 4 to start. NEXT season, we can't afford to expieriment like that.

[Proudiddy]

Rivera already said that Senn would have a chance to compete for a starting spot next season because of his play recently.

I think Kearse and Neblett deserve the same opportunity. Our defense has looked totally different since Fua (and later McClain) have been out. If Shirley continues to play like he did Sunday, he deserves an opportunity as well. Our line looks tons better with these guys that are playing now. I hope we take Claiborne in the draft, but if we go DT early (1st or 2nd), I could understand that as well...

I'm just saying these guys look pretty good from what I've seen and deserve an opportunity.

If you watch the games you ca see it for yourself... Kearse and Neblett both seem to be able to shed blocks much better than Fua and McClain ever dreamed of, and both hold their position and are able to take up space when needed.

Defense was doing great last week until our offense stalled and put them in some bad positions, but overall I was much happier with their performance recently.

Now all we need to do is put 4 quarters together as a team.

[Leeroy Jenkins PhD]

If you noticed, the D-line in the first half of that game was outstanding. I attribute the lackluster performance in the second half to not being in football shape. These guys obviously need a little more conditioning, but that is to be expected for players who havnt been asked to play a full game since college.

[Tarheels23]

I think Senn is playing a big roll in us stopping the run better now. This guy seriously loves to hit.

[Kuech the Sneak]

Shirley,Neblett,Kearse all deserve a chance next year based on the way Ron rivera runs this ship he's only gonna stick with the guys that produce. Don't know what this means for Ron Edwards, maybe a cap casualty

[rayzor]

i think this year guys that will be considered depth in the future will have gotten incredible amounts of PT.

newbs like fua and mcclain have gotten incredible amounts of PT as well so when they come back next year after having a year and a full offseason to learn and develop physically they will be solid competition for the starting spots.

i don't see us not adding to DT in the offseason, but if we do very little i think we will be fine there. if we add one mroe vet and have edwards come back healthy we should be fine at DT and have at least a very respectable interior Dline. with the talent we have at DE and LB (esp. assuming we replace/upgrade TD) the DT rotation should be enough to give us the push we need in passing situations and the stuffing we need in running situations.

[Eazy-E]

Shirley,Neblett,Kearse all deserve a chance next year based on the way Ron rivera runs this ship he's only gonna stick with the guys that produce. Don't know what this means for Ron Edwards, maybe a cap casualty

I agree but I think They will keep Ron for a Vet presence. If not they need to bring someone else in who has at least played a few seasons in the league.

Also did anyone see if Ogemdi Nwagbuo played?

[Razeyfingers]

yeah, that is the John Fox way of thinking.....

we replaced them w/ scrubs.....and they are noticeably better than the 2 rookies. Even if the rookies improve.....it would have to be HUGE in order for them to be starting caliber DTs. They might not be ready until year 3 or 4 to start. NEXT season, we can't afford to expieriment like that.

Naw, Im with that plan, Im not saying we shouldnt be looking. Just saying that we have yet to see if those two will pan out. I dont think theres any one position that needs upgrading more than DT, a decent corner I s'pose maybe would be next on the list. The new rookie wage scale rules seem to favor do-overs.

Yeah, they need someone on this team they can count on to make plays at DT or we're going to be continue to be easy to exploit with our already weak secondary.

[rayzor]

Shirley,Neblett,Kearse all deserve a chance next year based on the way Ron rivera runs this ship he's only gonna stick with the guys that produce. Don't know what this means for Ron Edwards, maybe a cap casualty

there's no reason that edwards shouldn't be given a chance to compete for the job.

between shirley, neblett, kearse, edwards, mcclain, and fua we might have what we need going into next year.

of course that doesn't mean we should be content with the status quo.

we should always be looking for upgrades at every position, esp ones that have such huge question marks. if we find a solid DT in FA or can score one in a reasonable trade, there's no way we pass that up.

we don't need elite there. we just need reliable.