Appears that B.Bell may be watching from bench if things don't improve

[CheeseCP]

there were things that they could have done, but they chose not to. they saw other things as being more important than securing the OL and protecting cam. the biggest one was franchising hardy. whether doing that was the best idea or not is debateable.

it's more regretable than anything that so much of the OL is up for grabs. that is something that i hope is changed in the future and i think that after this year the interior of the OL is set for the next 5+ years. chandler might be the ideal LT to replace gross and could be that guy for the next 5+ years as well.

bell's role as a starter? meh....he needs to be upgraded as soon as possible. it's pretty well known and understood that he has been struggling at RT. he's had enough time to get better and it's quite possible that we've seen as good as it's going to get with him, and it's not good. we need more than "serviceable" which is pretty much what you get with him and that's being nice.

contrary to the way it sounds, i've accepted that we didn't do more and i've accepted the reasons that we didn't. i don't like it, but i accept it. what i don't accept is the lack of competition we've brought in. i know there's still a couple months left, but i have a hard time believing that we are set on those two guys being the starters as raw and unproven as they are, esp. at the pro LT level.

i need to accept, that, tho. i think that gettleman and rivera are set in their minds that the starting OTs will be bell and chandler and now it's just a matter of who plays which side. if that's the case, i hope that they settle that decision sooner rather than later so that they can spend the rest of the offseason getting reps as a unit because chemistry together might be the only shot that corps has at performing at a solid level, esp. coming out of the gate.

my hope is that this is the corps that works well enough together that we don't need to rebuild any part of it next year and that we can go from one season to the next with the continuity on the OL that we need for prolonged success. if this isn't the corps for the future, then hopefully that corps is upgraded in the next offseason so we have that unit that works together for the next 5-10 years. i think we're close to having that, but it's the OTs that will be the deciding factor.

I think it's distinctly possible that Gettleman and Rivera think that the OL is the weak spot on the team, too. You wouldn't necessarily spend your limited resources on marginally better players at your weakest position instead of putting them into greater improvement in lesser, but still weak, areas of the team. You also wouldn't come out and say "yeah, we're not really happy with Bell but we couldn't afford any free agents and the draft didn't set up so we could draft his replacement so we're just gonna run with it for this season".

By your own statement you think there's a good chance that 4 out of 5 of the guys taking the bulk of the 1st team snaps will be the starters this year and probably we'll into the future. That sounds like a great step towards consistency for our weakest spot on the team. I also think that all teams have a spot or two, every year, where they have a "serviceable" player starting. You would refer it not potentially be protecting your quarterback's blindside but I don't think you can really get frustrated that there is one in general.

I'm definitely not excited about the prospects of Bell and Chandler being the bookends this year but it's because their unknowns. They could end up doing well but I don't think that the odds are in both of their favors. I just don't think that there was great incompetence that got us here.

[2jakefansinva]

Since when were starting lineups determined in mini camps? Good grief....

 

exactly!! their in fu*king shorts people...........take a breath.

[KillerKat]

exactly!! their in fu*king shorts people...........take a breath.

Pads aren't going to help Bell's reaction time and footwork. If he sucks now, he'll suck even worse with the pads on.

[LinvilleGorge]

I didn't feel we had the best tackles in the past.

Groas has been the best OT the Panthers have had.

I do feel with a solid guards, you can get by with less than stellar tackle play.

We certainly haven't had the opportunity to upgrade the position like we'd like.

I do believe in Chandler at LT.

Between Bell and Williams, well be alight on the right side.

 

But that's the thing, we always had Gross at LT.  We didn't have to worry about that side.  Other than Otah, we haven't had a guy who actually looked like the future at RT in a long, long time.  RT didn't get as much attention as #2 WR over the years from the fan base, but it probably should have.  It's been another position where we've had a revolving door of below average players.  To be fair, Hurney tried to fix that with the Otah pick, it just didn't work out.  Hell, he drafted numerous 2nd - 4th round WRs over the years too, they just didn't work out either.  Ultimately, his picks not working out is why Gettleman is now sitting in his chair.

[2jakefansinva]

Pads aren't going to help Bell's reaction time and footwork. If he sucks now, he'll suck even worse with the pads on.

 

they're in the classroom more at this point..........

[Kuech the Sneak]

Although it will probably be bell and chandler as the starting tackles, I feel like Garry can challenge bell for the LT or RT spot

[rmoneyg35]

Gary Williams has always had starting potential but injuries has kept him out for the past few seasons. If healthy I could see Williams and Chandler our starting tackles. Chandler's extension should tell us what our staff sees in him.

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