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I don't know if saying there have been no signs is accurate. Sacks aren't the only benchmark for a DE. Ron Rivera has even gone as far as to praise his dirty work this year. And although he had a horrible pass rush rating, he was actually positive on run defense. I think there are positive signs there but we need to temper our expectations. One of my biggest complaints are his stupid penalties and I would hope that is an easy fix. He very well could be a bust but I'm not going to judge him until next year. Maybe having CJ out and being on the sideline to mentor him while bringing in a veteran stud like Allen can help him learn the little things that can push him to the next level.

From all of the DE's we've ever drafted, I don't think we've ever had one come into their own until year 3 (save Peppers). I look at this as an investment because I doubt it was ever Gettleman's plan to have him starting this year. Hardy and Alexander were both ahead of him on the depth chart but he was forced into action due to the circumstances. If nothing else, look at this as a learning year where he works out the kinks and comes to ball out next year. I just hope this year doesn't demoralize him too much that he can't come back from it. WAY to early to give up on him.

Anyone else thinking we already know who is on thia team and our only goal is to run the clock out and not get injured? Nothing to see or read into here...

Corey brown should play ever snap against Pittsburgh. And his job should depend on it. And I'm one that says the preseason means nothing. But this guy has the yips and I'm 100% sure there is someone better out there at this point. He needs to prove his worth. These last 2 games have been horrible

I'm hoping Swole Bones gets plenty of playing time and proves his worth. I can't remember a season where having an additional pass catching TE could be more important. Also, interested to see how Ealy plays now knowing the spot is unquestionably his. Lastly, I'm still pretty interested in the CB2 spot. Wondering if Peanut has it locked up or if Bene can creep back into the starting role. I've seen a lot of good comments around Bene this year and based on his performance from last year, 'he is better suited as a nickel back' is not an acceptable reason for a demotion. He needs to be outplayed or he needs to be back starting on the outside.

But wouldn't you prefer someone that is 220 and can't be pushed aside as opposed to a cornerback? Shaq has a combo of size and speed that can't be duplicated by any nickel cornerback in the league. Further, I may be mistaken but don't we usually play zone? If so, each player is usually only responsible for a part of the field. Having a LB covering that area instead of a CB pays huge dividends when it comes to tackling and I'm sure any WR or TE is much more afraid of going over the middle on Shaq instead of a nickel. There is no doubt TD has been a TE killer but now we have one of those on both sides of the field. My hope would be the middle of the field is shut-down which allows us to have our safeties stay deep and protect the long go routes. You could be right in the end, but I have to say I understand Gettleman's thought and if it works out we have NO DOUBT the best front 7 in the league for at least 2 more years.

Panthers ran nickle out of necessity due to their lack of having a player that could stay on the field and guard a fast TE. Drafting shaq now prevents us from having to take a LB off for a smaller CB. We can now run a base 4-3 defense which I believe has always been the plan. Bene can come in when we are dealing with a quick slot receiver on 3rd down but having the speed and size of Shaq available on most plays gives our defense the flexibility it has always wanted but never had.

Besides the 6th WR, I also want to see what Funchess looks like in his first real NFL action. I've heard he isn't picking things us as quickly as KB last year and my expectations were pretty high from the beginning. Hopefully he will get plenty of playing time and can show us he is making some progress.

Of the 6 potential RBs/FBs, how many can we actually keep? I don't think there is enough room for Stew, Fozzy, CAP, Todman as well as Tolbert and Ward, nor do I think we should based on the redundancy. I really like Todman's use on special teams so I think the answer becomes sending Ward to the PS (unless they like Ward so much they cut Brockel instead). However, 5 runners still seems like a lot to me. Todman has to be the odd man out, right? Stew is a lock and I've heard players give praise to Fozzy (and based on this article it doesn't seem like CAP is going anywhere). This will be a tough choice which shows how far our depth has come.

I hate ESPN as much as the next guy but I headed over there and read some of the comments posted to the article about this and it was rather sickening. Anybody that tries to twist this as a PR move knows nothing about the Panthers organization and especially JR himself. Makes me proud to be a part of such a class organization.

Has it already been decided shaq will be staying opposite of TD day 1? If so (assuming that's the plan), does it worry anybody that he is now hurt and will miss all of OTAs? It seems like a lot for a kid to expect him to be ready without any real action until training camp?

The huddle is angered as Panthers draft a defensive player in the first. Naturally we draft a 6'5 receiver in the second and... the huddle is upset. I understand Edmond kugbila has some people a little worried but he was not a second round pick. Other than him does anyone have any viable evidence we shouldn't trusty G-mans decision?

Everyone complains about another defensive player because the NFL is now an 'offensive league'. Yet the seahawks are one play away from being back to back champions. Does anyone realize how we are closing the gap on them talent wise? Anytime I hear a comparison to Kam chancellor I can't say I'm upset. We are beginning to be built to compete with anyone

I assume he starts at safety then moves to OLB which he stated himself he wanted to play in the long run. On the other hand, could the reason that we only played 2 LBs in our base set be that we didn't have a Shaq to matchup with a quick tightend in 2 TE sets so we had to sacrifice a LB to bring in speed? If so, I think we just solved our problem.

Why take a risk on a player without any NFL track record if you can trade a mid-round pick on a young RB that has shown he can run against NFL defenses?