Santee_Panther

This is like being mad about who your parents are.

This is the way. As long as our team is willing to offer him close-but-not-quite top end money, I’m fine with that. BB doesn’t have a ton of options beyond holding out. But that’s not a great option either (missing out on almost $1mil per game and not accruing a season). He might miss this week, but I could see this getting sorted out pretty quickly too. Need Bosa to sign.

I hear you on this. And this is the key point. But if you watch a video on what it is people think have made Belicheck great at building defenses, it is taking tweeners that can be a multi-tool player. And then completely overhaul the game plan every week. Specifically based on their opponents’ weaknesses. Think about how different that is to a coach like Rivera or Fox that have their game plan and make sure the players can fit the plan. Tweener players offen are a lot less expensive. Granted you will always need a lockdown corner, nothing hybrid about that. But these DE/LB hybrids and LB/S hybrids if used properly can really be dynamic. Hopefully we have the right coaches to game plan!

Admittedly I’m a UNC fan, and last night watching the game heard a lot of talk about the Star hybrid LB position. It sounds a lot like Chinn, as a hybrid safety, LB, nickel corner. So I dug into some old articles and it sounds like a staple of the Saban, Kirby Smart defenses, founded in principles from Bilicheck. Some snipets from an old article about UGA: Instead of playing a true nickel defense, however, and replacing that linebacker with a fifth defensive back, who might be a weak link against the run, the STAR position is utilized. The STAR should have the quickness to cover the slot, sound tackling ability and can rush the passer when needed. This is part of the reason the STAR position is important for the Bulldogs; it isn’t one that players can simply be taught how to play. Because of the demanding nature of the position, whoever plays STAR has to possess a unique set of natural qualities that aren’t too common. Players who have the speed of a safety, the tackling ability of a linebacker and can cover like a nickel back are coveted prospects on the recruiting trail. A program like Alabama can sell elite prospects on the success other well-known players had at that position. That is an advantage that Smart is hoping to gain at Georgia. Article from 2017: https://www.saturdaydownsouth.com/georgia-football/star-position-important-for-georgia-spring-practice/ And another article with quotes from Saban talking about Bilicheck’s system, specifically the star: https://www.al.com/alabamafootball/2012/08/alabama_defense_101_nickel_sta.html

They also have the Broncos tied with the Chiefs.

I think it is more along the lines of we could have not traded up and still gotten either Corral or Howell in the 4th.

From a cap perspective, agree on Thomas, but not Corbett. Corbett would have a $11.6 mil dead cap figure if we cut him after this season. We backloaded his contract plus added void years. He’s likely with us for this season and next.

His cap hit was only $3mil last year. Will be $5mil this year. $10mil next year (oof). And then he will no longer be under contact and count almost $8mil against the ‘25 cap. It was basically a 3 year $26mil contract, but backloaded and spread out over 4 years. If he has similar production as last year again this year and next, not bad. But if not…

Unfortunately that almost $8mil “dead cap” after next season are void years. He’s only under contract through next season. This was kicking the can maneuvering due to our tough cap situation last year.

The starting defensive backfield has a chance to be really good. Bell, Woods, Chinn, Horn and Jackson. That’s solid. And we know Shaq and Luvu should be pretty good. And Burns/Brown can be elite. So I guess it boils down to the new guys. Can Shuttle and Williams step in and step up.

I don’t disagree with you. But, it’s year one of a rebuild, and we have cap flexibility going into next year. I’m optimistic. Of course, there will be some bumps, but if Bryce is good, we will be good.

Poor copy/paste job on my part left him off! Apologies.

Position 1st 2nd 3rd WR DJ Chark Jr. Terrace Marshall Jr. LT Ikem Ekwonu Ricky Lee LG Brady Christensen Nash Jensen C Bradley Bozeman Cade Mays RG Chandler Zavala Calvin Throckmorton RT Taylor Moton TE Ian Thomas Tommy Tremble Giovanni Ricci TE Hayden Hurst Stephen Sullivan WR Jonathan Mingo Laviska Shenault Jr. WR Adam Thielen Ihmir Smith-Marsette QB Bryce Young Andy Dalton RB Miles Sanders Chuba Hubbard Position 1st 2nd 3rd DE Derrick Brown LaBryan Ray NT Shy Tuttle Nick Thurman DE DeShawn Williams OLB Brian Burns Yetur Gross-Matos Amaré Barno ILB Shaq Thompson Kamu Grugier-Hill ILB Frankie Luvu Claudin Cherelus OLB Justin Houston Marquis Haynes Sr. DJ Johnson CB Jaycee Horn CJ Henderson CB Donte Jackson Troy Hill D'Shawn Jamison FS Xavier Woods Jammie Robinson SS Vonn Bell Sam Franklin Jr. NCB Jeremy Chinn Quick Observations: 1) 12 starters on offense, should help us score! Kidding. 3 WRs (Chark, Mingo and Thielen) and 2 TEs (Hurst and Thomas) are listed as starters. Maybe kept Sullivan because they view him as Hurst’s backup? I presume Thomas is more of a blocker. 2) 5 DL (3 starters) but 6 OLBs (2 starters) seems like strange math. Hopefully that’s because they really like Barno/Haynes/YGM and the rookie Johnson. 3) I know it has been discussed, but will be interesting to see how they use Chinn alongside Bell and Woods.

Any team can pluck any practice squad player. The only caveat is that the player has to go to the active roster (you can’t pull from PS directly to PS). So we could grab him back if we want to. (Not that we will, but we can).

From The Ringer: https://www.theringer.com/nfl/2023/8/29/23848577/ranking-best-worst-nfl-defenses-2023-season 5. Carolina Panthers Another big swing! I’m so ready to get myself on @OldTakesExposed in like Week 7 if this defense stinks. But here’s the case for Carolina. The Panthers have young, ascending talent at premium positions, and they complemented that talent with solid veterans. Up front, the Panthers have edge rusher Brian Burns and defensive tackle Derrick Brown, a pair of first-round picks, and I liked the decision to add veteran pass rusher Justin Houston in August. Linebacker Frankie Luvu was a fun player last season. Jaycee Horn, the team’s first-round pick in 2021, has the tools to be a no. 1 corner if he stays healthy. Jeremy Chinn, Vonn Bell, and Xavier Woods give the Panthers versatility at safety. The Panthers finished 25th in defensive DVOA last year. But they added defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero, who comes over from Denver, where he quietly coached the Broncos defense to a no. 10 DVOA ranking. Last year was a disaster for the Panthers organization, with former head coach Matt Rhule getting fired in the middle of the season. They faced a tough schedule of opposing offenses and ranked 25th in EPA on takeaways. This year, the Panthers face the fourth-easiest overall schedule. I think they’ll make a big leap defensively and surprise people. When I’m wrong, you can ruthlessly mock me.

If the argument is simply Chark cannot be relied upon to be a true WR1, ok, fine. He’s had an injury history. But, news flash, we traded away our WR1 this year. This is year 1 of a rebuild. Also, the free agent market for WRs is always bare of young, good WR1s. Chark provides excellent upside with low cost. The only risk is that he might get hurt. Which is true if any player.

So we sit at 56. At least three cuts to go. We have 7 WRs with the new guy from KC coming in. Derek Wright iffy? 5TEs (if you can’t FB Ricci as a TE). Hurst, Thomas and Tremble appear safe. Sullivan out? DLine- set with Tuttle, Brown, DeShaun Williams and likely Stallworth. No clue on Thurman and Ray. QB- keep three?!??

And right now we sit at 56. What a crappy day to have to sit and worry. (Really for the next couple days).

Ironically the Panthers gave up the 137th pick in ‘22 plus this year’s 3rd rd pick for Corral. Howell was drafted at 144. I hope the person responsible for that decision is no longer in the building.

Players don’t have a ton of leverage in this situation. He’s under contract for this season ($16mil). If he doesn’t play, he doesn’t get paid. Plus the Panthers can tag him for two seasons beyond this year. He wants an extension (which will come with a big signing bonus). His career earnings thus far are $13.5 mil over four years. Is he going to not get paid $1mil each game he sits out? Not likely. On the one hand, he’s probably glad Bosa is about to reset the market. But, on the other, he’s probably bummed that he has to wait for Bosa.

The 2nd rd pick for Darnold was a bit high, but at the time worth the upside. Problem with that situation was the 5th year option with zero evidence he was decent. For Corral, I’d be curious to see why the team was so much higher on him than Howell. Sam playing well for Wash and us not needing to trade the 4th/future 3rd for him is a tough pill. But again, you have to keep taking shots for that potential high end QB. Hopefully we got it right this time. And if not, the future draft capital lost isn’t terrible. 12 months from now we will have a 2nd year QB (hopefully w promise) and only a 2nd rounder owed. There are always gaps/holes in a roster, but if Bryce can play that concern is done (and on a cheap rookie contract), and we have some good pieces and cap flexibility. A big if, but that’s where we are.

A franchise will remain in purgatory until they have a good QB. All of those moves were made to try to get a QB. If Bryce is good, what we paid to trade up won’t matter. (And thankfully most of the payment has been made already, with this coming year’s first and the following year’s 2nd remaining “due”). As we sit here today, we haven’t mortgaged the future. We took a big swing on Bryce though. We have enough draft capital and cap room to surround him with talent. This is year 1 of a rebuild.

“He has the ability to slow down time”

Based on the official depth chart, which is subject to change— WR: Byrd was above Shi, of course injury could change that OL: Mays and Jensen look like locks as 1/2 stingers. Zavala back in 3rd string, that injury hurting him. And we can only carry 9 active to start because Corbett has to be on the first roster even if he goes to IR. Surprised to see Jordan so high on chart. Edge: Houston jumps to first string without having practiced! Surprised to see Leota back at 5th string, hopefully he continues to impress and move up. CB: Taylor and Thomas-Oliver seem to be the clear choice, with Wright way back at 4th string (Miller and Milton ahead of him).

I was considering Luvu as an ILB, so didn’t mention him. Though I recognize he rushes a fair amount.