panthers55

I don't agree that they went into 2024 knowing it was going to be awful on defense. 2023 was pretty good and they thought who they brought in would be enough for Evero to be competitive while we focus on offense. Obviously when injuries hit to Brown, Shaq and others we had no depth and we had JAGs starting. And our free agents underperformed or were overused as we couldn't get off the field playing prevent defense - bend until you break. But I agree that you win games in the trenches especially if you like to run and stop the run. And am glad to see the additions. Thr biggest addition will be getting Derrick Brown back who by himself collapses pockets and snatches runners and tosses them. Canales said that he would talk to Evero about the defensive scheme. I hope he convinces him to adopt a more aggressive style. Seems all the best defenses play more aggressive than we do.

Bryce trended steaming cow patty last year. .w What a difference a year and good coaching can make.

This happens every year as the salary cap goes up. Guys get signed to long term deals often after a breakout year and they are top 10 or higher compared to other guys at the position. It seems like a ton until next year's contracts push it even higher. Contracts are given based on future potential not past performance so you pay the going rate and hope you are right. But you can't judge a contract until you see how they perform in your system and determine their value after the fact.

If you only see the field a half dozen times a game you are not great. And I already said Morgan was the best of the three which you would expect as a first tounder. Notice you didn't mention anything about Jenkins. So let's review. In what was considered our best draft ever we had a role player who was good the few times he played, a good player who was our first rounder and a guy who struggled with weight and desire their rookie seasons. I remember being one of the few posters really excited about Kueckly. I can remember several debates on the huddle about him getting so many tackles because BC funneled all the plays to him when we drafted him. So the point is that you can't always tell if a guy is going to be great when you draft them or even after his rookie year except in cases like Kuechly and you need to wait for a few years to see how they develop. That was my point. Nitpicking an example doesn't negate the whole point. That missing the forest to argue about a tree.

Is Legette a turd? What about Bryce? With the yearly turnover in coaches and systems it would be hard for any player to excel. Hopefully with stability we can actually develop our players and let them grow into their roles.

Smith was a part time receiver and punt returner. He had 3 TDs and 154 yards. Other than his first return he didn't score again as a punt returner. That is not great or that profiting of success. And as far as Morgan goes he didn't have the rookie season that Kuechly had but of the three he's hoped the most promise. So no it took time for them like most rookies to show their true potential.

Yeah didn't want to go into all the details but in general you have to spend between 88.9 and 90% of your salary cap so teams can't chronically underspend. But you can manipulate this rule to some extent like you can the salary cap.

He isn't the only one we bailed on before 3 years. The three years maxim is about the time it takes to transition to the NFL and learn the position at a much higher level. On the other hand if unforeseen things arise like being a cancer to the team or lacking motivation occur you don't need 3 years to cut your losses. Legette is going to be a stud if he can learn to hold onto the ball. Maybe he should have to wear one taped to his hand for 24 hours after every game he drops one until he figures it out.

The issue with Higgins is that the Bengals have said it will be expensive to acquire him and he will want a top 5 contract which is approaching 25 million a year. I don't see it happening. Bryce showed he can do well with subs and JAGs. So I would spend the money on defense and not go hogtied on a top receiver.

I thought the general rule is don't judge for a minimum of 3 years. Go back to 2001 which folks suggest might have been our best draft and tell me whether Smith, Morgan and Jenkins were great their rookie season. By season 3 they helped lead us to the super bowl.

Other than being the offseason and there isn't much to talk about, why does anyone worry about the cap? We can do whatever we want and still have cap space. You don't think the front office hasn't already figured it out and what they intend to do. Me I am just sitting back and watching. After all my job isn't on the line if we lose. Although at my age we don't have forever if I am going to live to see us play in another superbowl

That is ridiculous on several levels. First of all you have to spend 90% of your cap space every year so the idea you can just not spend it every year is against the CBA. Secondly your job is to assemble the best team you can for the fans players and team. Not to save money for the owner. Third many players who are considered great underperform while others like Luvu and Jackson have overperformed. What about a great player like Derek Brown who was injured and missed all of last year. Was he a waste of money?? Sure pay DK a fools ransom and hope he stays healthy. He didn't even get 1000 yards last year which averages out to 60 yards a game or play all 16 games. And lets be real, Jones and Watson aren't great but they aren't being paid that much either. Real glad you aren't the GM.

Defense is shaping up nicely. With our corners set we can keep working on safety and linebacker/edge rusher. Jackson said he wanted to be here so a deal wasn't tough to do.

At a good price this would be a good signing. Very athletic strong and at 335 it is mostly muscle. You can't have superstars at every position. Sometimes you need former JAGs who can become overacheivers.

He said he was doing what we did last year after seeing our results.