MHS831

I don't know if Leo C can or not--not really well read about the free agents.

Supposedly, his college coach (defensive coordinator) Jim Leonhard is the new Defensive Coordinator in Buffalo. Matt Milano and Shaq Thompson (starters) are free agents. Buffalo will switch to a 3-4 and will seek LBs. I predict that Leo Chenal goes there. In college, he flourished under Leonhard who used him aggressively in the blitz packages. So I dunno. Buffalo is over the cap, but nothing they can't work out. I predict he becomes a Bill, but money talks. I agree with you about Devin Lloyd. Every year, there are players who command more money than they are worth. Morgan needs to stay in his lane.

I don't like the fact that he is on the broadcast during preseason. he is even a dick to the play by play guy at times. POS.

Excellent way of describing him. Then there was Rozeboom made a lot of tackles, but they were often 5 yards past the LOS...

We need to find 3 starters in this draft--a tall task. Maybe not immediately, but sometime during the season to take over long term. I will blindly enter my draft right now with No trades. Not the way I planned it before seeing the board, but I like it.

Relax. Burn some lilac and honeysuckle incense sticks--waft them. Breathe deeply. Sit with your legs crossed and hold your hands away from your bodies and open them while connecting your thumbs and middle fingers. Close your eyes, then open them to read this. Some random, radical thoughts that may contradict your calcifying opinions of what the Panthers need to do--No. do not lock in. Not yet. As birds know when to migrate to more hospitable climates, you will know when it is time to start thinking that your opinion is all that matters and anyone who disagrees with you is stupid. Avoid that pitfall for now. MORGAN'S APPROACH TO THIS ROSTER RIGHT NOW. Morgan's strategy for re-signing our free agents is clear. "If you love something, set it free..." Morgan is letting Mays, Rozeboom, Nijman, Rico, Wonnum, etc. enter free agency. If they return, they do so on team-friendly deals. Edge is not as big a need as we think. WHAT? AM I CRAZY? Clear your minds of it. Scourton and Princely will no longer be rookies. Our starting Edge players (Wonnum and Jones LL) missed a combined 22 games in 2025--of course we struggled to pressure the passer. Secondly, we did not have LBs that were a real threat to blitz. Rozeboom? Wallace? Puhleeze. More importantly, Wharton, the 5 tech who was supposed to pressure the passer from the inside, sucked a lot. Our two top DTs were not really known for rushing the passer (A'shawn had 5 sacks in 2014, but for his career, averaged 1.5 per season. Brown has averaged about 2 sacks per season). Wharton was supposed to bring pressure from the DT position after sacking the QB 6.5 times for KC in 2024. So maybe another edge is not the best way to address the problem. SUMMARY: improve the ILB play, improve pressure at DT, get a veteran back from IR, and allow your 2025 rookies to improve. Here is my idea: Move up in round 2 and draft Jake Golday (Cincinnati, 6'3", 240 lbs): A flexible defender with experience as a pass-rushing defensive end, capable of filling hybrid roles. (If Golday can slide out and rush the passer from a 9 tech or provide pressure from the 5 to free the nine from the WILL LB position, we could take a lot of pressure off the edges) OT: There are five I would take (realistically after the top 10 run is over) so move back in round 1 and up in round 2: Proctor (I am warming up to him), Lomu (going to be good), Freeling (this should be the guy we target), and Iheanachor--all project to be solid starters in the NFL--trade back and take the best of these. We KNOW we need a starting SAFETY. The draft seems loaded at S in terms of talent. Working with Jackson and Horn (CB) and Moehrig (SS), I think FS is the missing piece. So, based on my mood now: 1st TACKLE Trade back and take an OT--sign Nijman or a vet tackle to take the pressure off, but these OTs can start in a pinch. 2nd: LINEBACKER Trade up and take Golday OLB--if we can't trade back in round 1, and this is my plan, I might take Golday at 19 and hope one of the OTs falls to 51--hope not, but you never know. 3rd: SAFETY Free Safety: I think we can take a player like LSU's Haulcy (who will drop to the third, imo) or Clark (who might even be there in the fourth) who can start. 4th: QUARTERBACK: There could be some hidden, depressed talent to open day 3. If you get rid of Dalton, or not, here is where you grab some fallen, unloved stock. 5th: WIDE RECEIVER--Pretty deep. Give XL a last chance but groom his replacement. 6th: CENTER--there are some solid OTs whose arms were too short. They can be coverted to centers and have superior athleticism. Find a smart one and take him to groom. 7th: BPA FREE AGENCY: INSIDE LB, CENTER, Depth

To illustrate my point, I watched (and commented on the Huddle) that Rozeboom would often wait a full second (or close to it) before taking his first step. I assume that he probably had issues with false steps, a faulty practice that can take an ILB out of the gap completely. Watch Luke and you see a step with the snap, and rarely was it a false step. Rozeboom may have had 100 tackles (speculating) but initial contact was 2-3 yards on the defensive side of the ball. Luke's 100 tackles were made 1-2 yards from the LOS. Over the course of a year, Luke was much more productive (more fumbles, fewer long gainers, more OL penalties, fewer first downs, etc) that Rozeboom, but on the stat sheet, they both had 100 tackles. In fact, Rozeboom's inefficiency kept him on the field more (more first downs, fewer OL penalties, turnovers, and punts) so he should have MORE tackles. I would like to see stats that break down those things. For example again, Josh Norman was slow--4.68 or so at CB. However, his anticipation speed was incredible. He made as many plays as a 4.4 CB. I had one coach (college--later became the head coach at WCU) tell me that slower players have to use their brains more to still be around. Elite athletes can just get by on their physical superiority. He added, "Rarely does a football player run full speed. Most of the time, they are not, so the 40 time is misleading stat. Smart players overcome shortcomings--when the elite athlete becomes average (slows with age, advances in level of competition) they struggle against smarter (football IQ) competition.

AI says teams can use it privately if they want, but the combine dropped it in 2022. I did not know that--just figured, as you say, they quit publicizing it. It seems it was always in the form of a leak or rumor--

Ok--I have seen some sample items, and I would like to see something (if possible) measures on field intelligence--maybe how quickly you can grasp a playbook or absorb film session adjustments...Back when we had Morrison as team president and Hurney as GM, I offered to assess (as part of my research in education requirement at a University) emotional intelligence and learning styles of players to help coaches teach more effectively. Morrison loved it and contacted me about it. Hurney was not interested, and it fell through the cracks. My pitch? If only 50% of first-rounders become successful NFL players and that number drops significantly, can you tell me that you are effectively measuring talent? Morrison thought it was a good point and wanted to do something that might improve long-term success rates--that would impact the cap management, etc. Marty, according to Morrison, said he was not interested at this time and if so, he would want a football guy to do it. (I told Morrison that I played in college and Hurney, a sports reporter at one time, did not. He told me that Hurney played as a Guard in college--who knew?) Any way, about that time, Morrison left (2017) and the idea was dropped. I reached back out a year later or so to Marty was still not interested. A few days later, his wife accused him of assault or something, so I dropped it.

I just thought he was under the radar--but thanks for opening our eyes to him. I think we should have better measures for intelligence--such as reaction time, angles, etc. Legette is raw as heck, for example, and his RAS was very high. We used to do the Wonderlic (which was not great) but to know how effectively a player makes on field decisions would be great.

Here is what it said about him coming out of college: Overview A three-year starter with good feet and technique, Samac could be in consideration for a move-blocking rushing attack. He is strong at the point of attack but will have limitations against NFL power. He operates with good hand placement and nimble feet and is a demon once he’s on the move as a pulling center leading the way. He’s fluid and agile in the run game, but those traits fail to do as much for him in protection. Samac punches with inside hands but can struggle to widen his protection base in order to protect his edges. He has eventual starting talent as a run blocker but needs to add more mass and improve in pass protection to get there.

I met a few times--never liked him. I figured he might have had a bad day--but then realized that he must have a lot of bad days. Once he raised his voice at my son because my son did not understand a question when SS was signing his jersey. I wanted the jersey to represent his encounter with a Panther great, not some small man with a bad attitude. I told me son, "Forget it. He was asking you what your name is (My son was about 7 and told me that he thought Smitty was going to write (my son's) name on the jersey. He said "Dad, I thought he was supposed to write HIS name on the jersey, not mine." I said, "He was personalizing it, writing it to you--like a birthday card." He is now grown, and he has a steve smith Jersey that is framed and matted. He keeps it is his closet. I asked him, "Why not have that out on your wall?" He said, "All I remember is an A-hole scribbled on my shirt. I don't remember a legend or hero. But he had a Jake Delhomme Jersey on his wall. "Jake was great. I will always remember that." (Jake stayed and talked to us for about 5 minutes or more--GREAT guy.)

Tomorrow: The arm length for tackles will tell the story as much as anything. In the NFL Draft, 33 inches is considered the minimum acceptable arm length for an offensive tackle to effectively handle pass rushers, with 34+ inches being ideal. Tackles with arms shorter than 33 inches are often moved to guard, as shorter arms make it difficult to manage the edge

look at Kyle Louis (LB Pitt)--he was near the top of every drill. Quietly strong.

We have no centers.

This does not help the cap but we just freed up an ice tub and rehab bike.

Thanks for all you do to bring news to the Huddle as often as you do. Appreciate it.

I see Miller here. In a dream vision. He was on a zebra in an undisclosed Walmart. It will be so.

I also think day three needs to be OL depth, TE, DT, and QB.

Hard to say right now, but good thinking. I look at this as the info we need for free agency. Looks like we are going to free up about $10m so far; watch to see if any contracts (Moehrig, Horn, Brown, etc) are reworked the first week of March. Then after free agency, we will have a pretty good idea. Right now, to be fair to your question because I am sure you are aware of its timing: In free agency, I see us adding an OT of some sort and drafting one at some point. It all depends on how they view Ickey, Nijman, and maybe BC. That OT could be Nijman. I do not see the future OT--just a stop gap. I see the Panthers signing a free-agent center. I think the market is strong. I see Fortner from the Saints as a prime candidate and his salary is estimated at $6m by Spotrac. the Saints are $42m over the cap, so I doubt they are able to re-sign many of their own. He will be 28. I also expect them to re-sign Corbett (depth) at a vet min ($1.5m) deal. I also see free agency as a strong area to get a free safety who can play and is under age 30. Hawkins, Cook, and Bryant are all around age 27-28, play at a high level, and should be had for about $15m per. EDGE: Arnold Ebiketie is a good value because he gets pressure at a high percentage. He had 2 sacks and Atlanta just drafted 2 pass rushers last year. He has a 70+ PFF rating and will (Spotrac) demand about $9m. While he is not the answer, he is a great third down option with Princely and he would allow for Jones, Scourton, and Princely to develop. So if we could sign a S, C, and Edge, and maybe even an ILB, we could be set to take BPA. I like the FS and C markets--not elated about an edge--and I love the ILBs in the draft. If I could sign a S, C, and Edge: 1. OT 2. ILB 3. WR OR 1. WR 2. OT 3. ILB (so deep)

You hit the nail on the head when you mentioned intelligence--we have 3 primary needs at positions where intelligence is very important (FS C, LB). It made me re-think things. Smart players make others around them better and they anticipate mistakes. Everyone is good--great is where you have to be.

last year, he shouted for Kevin Greene to go in for Rucker. It was the right decision, wrong time.

Hey friend, we both know there are no winners or losers until the draft is about 3 years old. We all pound the table like we have the answers , but if we went back and read our comments from 2021--we'd have to change our usernames to save face!! RBs are devalued, so you could get the best bang for your buck by taking a talent like Love.

It seems the needs for the Panthers are at positions that tend to require intelligence to lift others--going from "good to great"--FS, ILB, and C--as you say. While i like Rodriguez a lot (can see the Hurricanes [Jarvis] and Panthers with a mustache player to get the fans into it)--I also like Golday (WLB?). However, take a look at smallish Kyle Louis (Pitt). He is known to be cerebral, but he is small (5'11" I think) and for that, I moved him lower. But look at the different LB events at the combine--he is near the top in most of them. I see him as a sleeper. So if we wait until the second round, we can get a solid LB. So what if we grab a free agent edge specialist (veteran) for pass situations and help develop Princely. We draft FS (Oregon) first--maybe trading back to do so--I dunno. We sign a free agent ILB and draft a rookie like Rodriguez or Louis. In the third, we could probably find a center, like (former OT Parker from Duke) or Slaughter or Pew (may have to trade up). So, as you say, others are fighting for Edge players, WRs, and OTs early like seagulls on the beach fighting over spilled corn chips, We sit back, grab intelligent players that make others better. FS, ILB, and C. OT scares me more that Edge if we do this--but for those screaming for an edge--we have edge players--2 with starting experience who have had some degree of success. JC Davis can play either T spot and he is good at pass blocking--a bit raw--but could be developmental depth that could play in a pinch. Or you could draft a solid OT with shorter arms that are driving them down into day 3--and convert them to G or C later. Nijman and BC being re-signed could provide enough to hold down the job until a developmental OT (World, Oregon?) prepares for a shot at it. Wagner (ND) could play LT but is probably a future RT--he is expected to be drafted early day 3. My favorite day 3 OT sleeper? Keagan Trost, Missouri. Great run blocker, soild pass blocker in SEC--just shorter arms. Maybe a guard down the road, but for the time being, a T. Not ideal, but at least you are building for the future.

Vernon Gholston vibes? had 14 sacks at Ohio State in 2007; 45 games in the NFL: 0 sacks.