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I hope it stays open. The Pats have a next man up mentality and they always seem to have that next man. But they know how to fill a gap quickly by grabbing a viable player when needed... especially at RB. Been plenty of aging RBs get picked up by NE and have a rebirth in their careers... all the while helping them get to the SB or stay in the SB hunt.
I got.to.ask why all this window closing talk? We have the best young QB in the league. We have the best young MLB in the league. Benjamin is just scratching the surface of what he can be. We obviously have depth. And we have a bunch of up and coming guys on both sides of the ball. I just don't see this closing window. Yes we will lose some guys bevause, money. But so far restocking seems to be going well.
A point I was trying to make is that, yes, Norman developed after the first couple of years. And yes, Bradberry and Worley will develop too. But when Norman was developing, we weren't favorites to get to the SB. I wish we had depth back there where these guys can develop along but not be liabilities to us when we play a playoff game against Aaron Rodgers or Russell Wilson. These two are thrown into the fire.. and while that's good for us/them in some ways, it is going to be exploited by quality offensive teams.
Just being pessimistic I guess. I hope we can lock up Benjamin when his rookie contract is up.
Yes. Funchess is ready, now, to be the other side of Benjamin. He has great hands and uses his big frame well.
Yeah that will be a huge need to get done. We have an embarrassment of riches and I am not sure the cap is going to let us keep them all. Some tough decisions to be made. Again.
I think the Panthers will be competitive for many years, and I don't see their SB window closing soon. The D can certainly play better and the CBs will get picked on, but Gabbert got some gifted opportunities from the cats turning the ball over 4 times.
Top defensive performances
CAP hasn't been up because of the numbers game and needs elsewhere. They will definitely have him up while Stew is out. Pretty sure the team sees him as Stewart's eventual replacement. He plays well enough they can let Stewart take his time coming back. He plays really well maybe Stewart isn't here next year.
I certainly look forward to seeing what he can do.....Regardless of what he does, isn't this Stew's last year anyway? Kinda thought that was where they were going
I think we have already survived the worst of Stews contract. After this season his cap hit starts going down. Drops over a million dollars next season. But we could save about 4 million cutting him next season IIRC. In 2018 he is really cheap to keep. So I think all that will depend on what happens this season and if he can stay relatively healthy.I certainly look forward to seeing what he can do.....Regardless of what he does, isn't this Stew's last year anyway? Kinda thought that was where they were going
Missed most of this discussion and you are correct. Our break downs in coverage have actually been more on the safety level (and maybe LB? not sure who was supposed to follow the TE). The Torrey Smith TD was Boston's failure, not Bradberry and Rivera mentioned that specifically after the game. He was supposed to have inside help. If you re-watch it, you'd notice what I saw live, which was 3 defenders on the TE at the 10 and no one behind Bradberry. We play zone and Rivera said that Boston was out of position.
I think some of my comments on Monday were misconstrued, and it was probably my fault. My underlying point of view is that our secondary will be our downfall. The rookie CBs will be fine and I actually think Bradberry will be a great CB in time. Boston was out of position on the T. Smith TD. I didn't mean to put the blame on Bradberry, especially since he thought he had middle help. Whether it is Boston or Coleman being out of position, or the lack of experience with the young CBs, the fact remains that it is our defensive backfield that can/will be exploited by good passing QBs. I hope (very much so) that they get better and will be a solid secondary by season's end. For now, it just makes me very nervous when we don't get pressure on the QB.
Dude, really pessimistic. A few thoughts.
This is a great post. All good points. Like I said above, I didn't mean to be all pessimistic. Monday commentary was from emotion. I admitted I was being pessimistic and I apologize. See my latest comments.
I hear ya. The only comment I'd make to add to your previous post, regarding the rating of the secondary after two weeks, is that they faced a rookie QB in Denver and Gabbert. I worry about when they face Brees and Ryan... and any QB we will face in the playoffs.See my next post.Hopefully, that allows you to sit back and enjoy the ride. I am sure we won't sign all those guys for top $$$, because in my post I am completely ignoring Butler's growth and 15-20 first, second and 3rd round picks over the next five years (including compensatory picks). Seeing as how Gettleman's first 3 draft classes (I like Butler, Bradberry and Worley, but too early), got us Star, Short, Benjamin, Ealy, Turner, Shaq and Funchess.
I've sort of ignored the fact that while I think we can afford the core of this team for the next 5 years, we are also going to be adding another Star, Short, Benjamin, Ealy, Turner, Shaq, Funchess and a couple more to this team on cheap rookie deals over the next few years. If that doesn't get you excited about our 5 year window, then you need to see a doctor for some Viagra.
I know, just trying to get you pumped up. We've got a great team and the space to keep it together while DG works some more draft magic. As much as I want to win now, I can't wait for 2017 and 2018 because I think we'll be better as the secondary and Butler gain experience from 2016 and KB/Funchess/Byrd/dare I say Cook, Chubb or McCaffery growing in the offense. I know we'll eventually lose guys like TD, Kalil and Olsen a long the way, but Shaq and Cash will keep improving, maybe Gradkowski (3.5 years younger than Kalil) who looked great in preseason can take over for a few years and maybe Sandland learns enough from Greg to be a solid player. Sandland looked great in preseason/camp (which I saw) catching the ball, but I think Olsen will be our biggest loss. I've seen enough out of Shaq/Cash that while losing TD will be hard, they make me believe there won't be a huge drop off. Honestly, with Turner and Norwell, Gradkowski looked really good in preseason. He's started a full year before and can be groomed so there isn't much of a drop off there. Olsen is the guy I am most worried about, but maybe Funchess takes the mantle.
Agreed, but I also think we faced two very solid OLs and I'm pretty sure we'll have an easier time scoring on those two teams. I think while they'll get burned more, hopefully just short and not long, we should be able to bring more pressure as well.
Man, I'd love to draft one of those three. There are other good RBs in next year's draft as well. I think CAP may be okay but not sure if he can carry the tailback load. Fozzy just makes me nervous. Olsen is obviously Cam's go to receiver and will be a big loss. I love Shaq Thompson. Love how he plays and the things he has learned under T Davis will only make him better. I also like Cash.
I wouldn't be surprised if a couple of those are available in the late 1st and yes, there are a ton of good RBs in next year's draft. With the ability to save $5M in cap space with Stewart's release and the 2017 RB draft class, it's almost like Norman all over again. DG is going to realize that we can save the space and get our RB(s) of the future. I like CAP, but he is what he is, a backup. Heck, I know Tolbert is a crowd favorite, but between him and Stewart, we could save $6.5M in cap space next year and go with a youth movement at RB. Stewart may be willing to sign a lower deal, but he's not worth the almost $10M in cap this year (dead cap was $13M, so dumb to not keep him) and $8M+ next year.
Agreed....I don't know what happened, but they were absolutely flat and didn't look like they even wanted to be out there.
To be fair to Oher he did make some good blocks but he also got stone cold beaten on others. He is average at best. Part of the blame for the sacks comes from calling all these deep plays. We couldn't block well enough for that. Where were the slants to Benjamin and Funchess? They should eat teams up with that. But nothing. And Cam owns a couple of them.for not taking the outlet when he had it. Poor play all around. Poor play calling as well.
I'm not typically one to yell at a screen or get emotionally worked up during a sporting event, but I caught myself yelling at Cam to throw the ####### ball several times.
They didn't start calling dump offs or whatever until it was way too late in the game. I don't understand why they don't just mix that in as a regular outlet for Cam. The Vikings D is too good for the cats to have Cam constantly drop back and wait for something to open up long. The Vikings played better than the Panthers in the second half.
That and Olsen in the flat is essentially unstoppable. I recall one play, in particular, where we needed a first down and Cam locked on the guy down the left sidelines. On TV, you could clearly see, on the right side of the field, a 5 yard down and out route by the slot who stood all along at the first down marker. Cam never looked his way.
Brees, Ryan, and Winston now have two game films on how to attack our defense (Den and Minn). Quick routes attacking these young CBs. Don't give our pass rush time to develop. Ryan and Brees will eat these guys up. Just watch. Hopefully, our offense can score as well and we can win 38-35 or so.
Yeah the radio guys mentioned that one. It is one of Cams weaknesses that sometimes he wants it all now and locks on. It has been a point of emphasis for him this off season and he had been doing better. But he reverted out of frustration I believe. He knows he can't do that and I hope we will clean that up this week.
If there is a bright spot it's Bradberry. I think he is the real deal. And unlike someone he isn't a head case.
