Better or Worse

[csx]

I'd say Wharton to Amini is a downgrade. Wharton was a top guard in the league last season.

[PandaPancake]

I was told there would be no math.

[The Huddler]

I'm taking names on those hating on Barner.

6 carries folks.

[TheRed]

I'm taking names on those hating on Barner.

6 carries folks.

 

Can we please not be so melodramatic? I haven't really seen anyone "hating" on him, just pointing out the obvious. He hasn't looked good, he's a rookie, he's going to get his chance to prove himself in training camp and preseason. If he doesn't, it sucks, but we move on.

[csx]

I also believe that as a position group the receivers are better. We have what I hope is a more crafty and savy group as a whole with two sure handed veterans, a speedster, and a physical mismatch in Benjamin.

[The Huddler]

Can we please not be so melodramatic? I haven't really seen anyone "hating" on him, just pointing out the obvious. He hasn't looked good, he's a rookie, he's going to get his chance to prove himself in training camp and preseason. If he doesn't, it sucks, but we move on.

I've seen multiple post proclaiming he's somehow a 6th round bust and that he sucks. Just stating my point. I'm sorry you don't like it

[TheRed]

I've seen multiple post proclaiming he's somehow a 6th round bust and thatt he sucks. Just stating my point. I'm sorry you don't like it

 

Some fans want immediate results, others are patient. There's no such thing as a "6th round bust" though.

[LinvilleGorge]

I'll be very pleasantly surprised if KB equals or surpasses what Smitty was for us last year. I highly doubt it.

By far my biggest concern is replacing Gross at LT. On paper, we only have one NFL caliber OT and that's Byron Bell and he's a backup on a team with decent OTs.

[Keep Pounding]

On a scale of 1-10

 

1>10, how does that make sense?

[Carolina Cajun]

I respect him as a player. Making the team and earning playing time as a UFA is a great accomplishment. But there are reasons he went undrafted. The odds of a long and succesful career are against him. I hope he improves, I would love him to be a star for us. But history has taught me to keep low expectations for undrafted guys.

 

He may not blossom into a #1 corner, and may not be the guy we think he is, but it's unfair to say all other rookies or young players will improve, except him, especially when he is kept in the same role that he maintained last year.  He earned the respect of a lot of the players on the roster last year.  I remember in particular, Smitty speaking very highly of him because for the better part of the season, he was the player picked on the most on defense, and while he may not have been a stud, he held his own more times than not.  He's not a #1, but I do think he will prove to be a very good #2 barring injury next year.  Remember the guy did have comparable numbers to every other rookie CB, so let's not just completely dismiss him just yet.

[Montsta]

Yeah LT is a concern, but we play 11 guys on offense. We can still have a good season but there will be a couple games were an all pro DE goes H.A.M.

If Amini is healthy he gives us more variety and stamina in our run game. He can be a problem in pass protection but not as big as people think. If you have the threat of pulling Silatolu and Turner the run game starts looking intimidating...but again Bell can fug that up real quick if he loses the edge.

Williams is old but he isn't overworked. Maybe Stewart is healthy but I wouldn't bet a dollar on it.

This is a fair assessment, but if there is a DE that Bell just absolutely can not handle, then the coaching staff should have a contingency plan like using Tolbert to help him out. No reason for a Mario Williams 4 sack game before the coaches make adjustments.

We have enough targets on offense that we can run sets designed for a RB to help Bell if necessary.

[jtnc]

I'd say Wharton to Amini is a downgrade. Wharton was a top guard in the league last season.

Wharton wore down at the end of the season, he cannot pull like he used to because of his age and his knee brace.

[Montsta]

The problem is just how much worse we are at important positions. We are unbelievably worse at LT and I see nobody on our roster who I'm comfortable with returning kicks/punts. Without the ability to flip the field, both our defense and offense suffer.

For as much as Ginn was hyped coming in as a special teams guru, he was actually wildly mediocre as a return man for us. 8th in yards per punt return, 20th in yards per kick return. No touchdowns in the return game.

And looking at profootballreference stats it's amazing how little the discrepancy is in kick return yards. Ted Ginn was at 23.8 yards per kick return, and the guy dead last that qualified for the stat was Washington's Niles Paul with 20.6.

That tells me so long as the guy can catch it clean without complete fug ups, we can live without TGJr special teams prowess.

[KendrickPanther]

For as much as Ginn was hyped coming in as a special teams guru, he was actually wildly mediocre as a return man for us. 8th in yards per punt return, 20th in yards per kick return. No touchdowns in the return game.

And looking at profootballreference stats it's amazing how little the discrepancy is in kick return yards. Ted Ginn was at 23.8 yards per kick return, and the guy dead last that qualified for the stat was Washington's Niles Paul with 20.6.

That tells me so long as the guy can catch it clean without complete fug ups, we can live without TGJr special teams prowess.

 

Ginn wasn't a big play guy for us but compared the previous guys he felt like a gift from heaven. Aside from being too casual with the "poison" call, I can't think of him fumbling a punt or kickoff. Those punt and kick off turnovers are the biggest kick in the gut because you just let the team score or just held them on D. It really demoralizes a defense.

 

But I see your point, he was middle of the pack. Only had a couple big plays. He might have had a TD if that punter didn't face mask him.