Interview with Ron Rivera on NFL AM

[Montsta]

I know we are all jaded from deals of Hurney past, but please don't compare paying two top tier DE's to overpaying for two mediocre running backs. Running backs are a dime a dozen and don't see the field at the same time. Defensive ends do, and are harder to find.

[rayzor]

We did; Greg hardy.

[therealmjl]

i wish there was some way we could get relatively cheap but talented guys right out of college looking to prove themselves.

If only there was a way to do this. Hrm.

[CRA]

I have a feeling we'll be better this next season than last.

Car

TB

ATL

NO

Until we know who are team is.....we could be much worse.

FS, SS, CB, CB, nickel CB etc are all unknowns.

OL is also an unknown. Gross leaves and we are a mess at both T spots with questionable G play.

Our current state.....is iffy

[d-dave]

If we do keep hardy, at least we're getting a versatile leader. I like how he was pulling guys in on the sidelines and being that guy to say the things that needed to be said. TD and smitty won't be here forever and we have to have that next generation of outspoken leadership. Hopefully we can really hit on some playmakers in the draft that can contribute on the cheap for a while.

Great point about the leadership.  After hearing and reading about these interviews, I'm pretty sure Hardy will be back, either on a 1 year franchise or a long term deal.

 

Gettleman's philosophy is "Big men win games."  Therefore it starts with the lines.  Do you lose a dynamic DE entering his prime to try to replace him with a broken down Jared Allen (not so much) or Julius Peppers (well past prime) who won't come cheaply anyways.  More and more, I'm thinking that Hardy's back, with a bucket of money, and hopefully a desire to win a Lombardy trophy.

[CRA]

Great point about the leadership. After hearing and reading about these interviews, I'm pretty sure Hardy will be back, either on a 1 year franchise or a long term deal.

Gettleman's philosophy is "Big men win games." Therefore it starts with the lines. Do you lose a dynamic DE entering his prime to try to replace him with a broken down Jared Allen (not so much) or Julius Peppers (well past prime) who won't come cheaply anyways. More and more, I'm thinking that Hardy's back, with a bucket of money, and hopefully a desire to win a Lombardy trophy.

Giants drafted DEs.....even when they didn't need them as badly as other spots

So in NY they could tell them to kick rocks if they wanted too much money

Too much money in one spot is playing with fire. Why I was always anti paying Double Trouble. If your D is basically built around DEs.... and the injury bug hits that spot you get screwed. Is rather have a well rounded D than one built of pure DE pressure

[YoungPanthers89]

[OneBadCat]

Giants drafted DEs.....even when they didn't need them as badly as other spots

So in NY they could tell them to kick rocks if they wanted too much money

Too much money in one spot is playing with fire. Why I was always anti paying Double Trouble. If your D is basically built around DEs.... and the injury bug hits that spot you get screwed. Is rather have a well rounded D than one built of pure DE pressure

Hardy and CJ aren't the same situation as double trouble. DE's see the field at the same time and have a bigger impact.

 

We lose Hardy and CJ gets hurt then we are really screwed.

[TheMaulClaw]

Yeh and we prob reach a Super Bowl with more weapons on offense rather than stutter all season offensively relying heavily on a defence to win us games! You need a blend of two, putting up 10 points won't win games, lafell hixon and ginn need upgrading whether you want to admit it or not! We have an elite qb playing with fodder, there isn't a reason you can't have both a good defence and upgrade the offense wholeheartedly this offseason, you make one sacrifice Greg hardy but some people won't swallow that.

 

Hey man I agree....our offense needs some help....but not at the expense of taxing our defense.  You basically made my point...our defense got us there so why destroy it?  At the very least we're a playoff team.  Smitty getting injured at the end of the year didn't help.  Point I was making was that it was the RB contracts that prevented us from improving offensively.  Signing Greg Hardy won't necessarily mean that we can't improve on offense.  We still have the draft and a couple of nice FA wrs out there that can help this team.  Our offense isn't as far away as people think....but we're going to have to swallow our pride and bring in a stud RB through the draft.   JStew is toast....Dwill is old and trips through wide open holes.  I know it sucks to draft a RB when you're already over budget at the position, but the lack of a consistent running game is what kept us from the SB.  Receivers can't get open if traditional runs aren't a threat and there's no substance to play action especially in the redzone (our biggest problem).   Either way our defense shouldn't be taxed because of what Hurney did.  

 

Even though the announcers during games kept showering praise on our running game....that was our biggest problem masked by Cam's yardage.  No production from an over payed backfield minus Tolbert. (Who's awesome)

 

We had two shots to beat the 49ers in the playoffs, but we couldn't run it from the one on two occasions.  Why?  Because the defense knew there were only two options.....Tolbert or Cam.  

 

The solution doesn't require millions and millions of dollars to fix.  It's easy.  Sign or draft a tall receiving threat ( This is why I want Kelvin Benjamin), and draft a true power back.  It's probably why Carlos Hyde has been mocked to us even though people don't like it.

 

So we can solve this problem if we go offense the first three rounds of the draft.  WR, T, RB.   How does signing Hardy hurt this especially since the cap has been raised?

 

If we didn't get that extra money because the cap was raised I would agree with you...let him walk so we can keep the rest of the team in tact.  But since it's been raised it would be absolutely dumb not too.  I

[jptaylor84]

Hey man I agree....our offense needs some help....but not at the expense of taxing our defense. You basically made my point...our defense got us there so why destroy it? At the very least we're a playoff team. Smitty getting injured at the end of the year didn't help. Point I was making was that it was the RB contracts that prevented us from improving offensively. Signing Greg Hardy won't necessarily mean that we can't improve on offense. We still have the draft and a couple of nice FA wrs out there that can help this team. Our offense isn't as far away as people think....but we're going to have to swallow our pride and bring in a stud RB through the draft. JStew is toast....Dwill is old and trips through wide open holes. I know it sucks to draft a RB when you're already over budget at the position, but the lack of a consistent running game is what kept us from the SB. Receivers can't get open if traditional runs aren't a threat and there's no substance to play action especially in the redzone (our biggest problem). Either way our defense shouldn't be taxed because of what Hurney did.

Even though the announcers during games kept showering praise on our running game....that was our biggest problem masked by Cam's yardage. No production from an over payed backfield minus Tolbert. (Who's awesome)

We had two shots to beat the 49ers in the playoffs, but we couldn't run it from the one on two occasions. Why? Because the defense knew there were only two options.....Tolbert or Cam.

The solution doesn't require millions and millions of dollars to fix. It's easy. Sign or draft a tall receiving threat ( This is why I want Kelvin Benjamin), and draft a true power back. It's probably why Carlos Hyde has been mocked to us even though people don't like it.

So we can solve this problem if we go offense the first three rounds of the draft. WR, T, RB. How does signing Hardy hurt this especially since the cap has been raised?

If we didn't get that extra money because the cap was raised I would agree with you...let him walk so we can keep the rest of the team in tact. But since it's been raised it would be absolutely dumb not too. I

I don't want him to go honestly but I'm sick of seeing cam with a crappy line and receivers, the kid deserves more especially if we are to make him our qb for the next five years or more. I actually like the sounds of mcnutt & king, Olsen is always a safety blanket for cam, tbh a receiver of first round graded class I doubt will be there at #28 I be happy with a TE, those two tight end sets on 2011 were awesome and cam really did shine with them, my fear is smitty playing probably his last year we need someone in place ready wen if it's this year to ease them in and learn the book and get chemistry with cam, the line is an issue but that can be corrected this draft, I actually hope we double dip at OT because as much as I want a WR or two there's not much point if cams got no protection to throw, and we need a better line so those two overpaid RBs can actually contribute down thing before there off the books!

[TheMaulClaw]

I don't want him to go honestly but I'm sick of seeing cam with a crappy line and receivers te kid deserves more especially if we are to make him out qb for the next for years or more. I actually like the sounds of mcnutt & king, Olsen is always a safety blanket or cam, tbh a receiver of class wot be there at #28 I be happy with a TE, those two tight end sets on 2011 were awesome and cam really did shine with them, my fear is smitty playing probably his last year we need someone in place ready wen if it's this year to ease them in and learn the book and get chemistry with cam, the line is an issue but that can be corrected this draft, I actually hope we double dip at OT because asichas I want a WR or two there's not much point if cams got no protection to throw and we need a better line so those two overpaid RBs can actually contribute down thing before there off the books!

 

I agree with a lot of your sentiments man.  If you look at some of the film from later in the year the line did a good job of opening holes for Dwill...he just couldn't hit them and went down to easy....even though he's a beast on screen passes if he doesn't fumble.  Unfortunately he's a third down scat back making every down back type money.

 

I do like the second TE idea.  It would definitely augment the offense even if it doesn't completely cover up the WR issue.  I don't think we can realistically pick a TE in the 1st and justify it though.  Because a 2nd TE is not typically an every down player and I don't think we make that investment in the 1st.  It would be great to see one drafted in the 3rd or 4th rounds.  I think we have to go WR in the first if we can.  

 

I'd also love an Anquan Boldin 1 yr deal.

[t96]

With the cap just increasing I think we really do need to keep Hardy. Before I didn't think so, but I've changed my mind. We can get offensive help later in the draft that will still be more effective than this past year. Corner early and that's a huge step up in our secondary and total defense. Gotta keep Mitchell and Ginn and hope Gross doesn't retire yet. I'm wondering, can Smitty restructure his contract??

[LinvilleGorge]

Everyone needs to calm down about the Hardy thing.  We finally have a GM who knows what the fug he's doing.  If he's resigned, look for the deal to be structured around CJ's.  It'll be a backloaded deal to avoid having two huge cap hit DEs at the same time.  A couple of years down the road, CJ will be looking at taking a big pay cut or become a cap casualty.

[jptaylor84]

I agree with a lot of your sentiments man. If you look at some of the film from later in the year the line did a good job of opening holes for Dwill...he just couldn't hit them and went down to easy....even though he's a beast on screen passes if he doesn't fumble. Unfortunately he's a third down scat back making every down back type money.

I do like the second TE idea. It would definitely augment the offense even if it doesn't completely cover up the WR issue. I don't think we can realistically pick a TE in the 1st and justify it though. Because a 2nd TE is not typically an every down player and I don't think we make that investment in the 1st. It would be great to see one drafted in the 3rd or 4th rounds. I think we have to go WR in the first if we can.

I'd also love an Anquan Boldin 1 yr deal.

I'd only go first round for a top TE like Ebron ASJ or Amaro, is be happy to go OT now it seems gross may not comeback, cam needs his blindside locked up, I think the top WR may be gone before we pick at #28 so I'd be happy to pick up in the second round, Aslong as we get one maybe two (being greedy) and a free agent like James Jones or even Burleson as a big threat but there all just one year ban aids it would be nice to have smittys replacement in place, the rb situation is beyond a joke, dwill gives his all but your right he's no more than a luxury scatback, and Stewart can't stay healthy.

I think we need to draft safety help also, I we pick three dbs, two linemen and one receiver then so be it but I just want quality talent, I'm sure gettleman will do that, it's just a shame that he's actually having to do the job with his hands tied behind his back.