Observer: Five questions going into camp

[TheRed]

I. Don't. Care.

Had Benjamin dropped less balls, he easily could have been OROY. Gutted or not, he was our number one right from the start. Kelvin had all the opportunities in the world because he was THE GUY.

Not until The Huddle stops supplying Kelvin with every excuse in the book. That's all I've seen in these posts -- excuse after excuse. And I'm sick of it.

Yes, your post was regarding the drops BUT I made the correlation between the drops and his weight in my argument. Football is a mental game too and Benjamin clearly isn't fully there yet.

I'll say it again, Funchess is a rookie but he's already displaying more maturity and hunger than Benjamin has at this stage. So yeah, it's time for him to prove it, and I'm not getting off his back until he does. I don't like the way he came into OTAs and I don't like the way he responded to fair criticism.

"I. Don't. Care." Oh, that was quite the riveting rebuttal there PF.

Perhaps if you could reply to a post without minimizing each to nothing more than excuses, you could understand better?

Am I here minimizing your posts as little more than biased attacks on the guy? No? I certainly could be, but I won't do that.

It doesn't make much sense to make declarations about a rookie who has yet to practice in pads, but question the hunger of another player.

We will find out come training camp. I don't want to see any of our guys fail.

I will not derail this thread any further.

[Ace_Aladdin]

I. Don't. Care.

Had Benjamin dropped less balls, he easily could have been OROY. Gutted or not, he was our number one right from the start. Kelvin had all the opportunities in the world because he was THE GUY.

Not until The Huddle stops supplying Kelvin with every excuse in the book. That's all I've seen in these posts -- excuse after excuse. And I'm sick of it.

Yes, your post was regarding the drops BUT I made the correlation between the drops and his weight in my argument. Football is a mental game too and Benjamin clearly isn't fully there yet.

I'll say it again, Funchess is a rookie but he's already displaying more maturity and hunger than Benjamin has at this stage. So yeah, it's time for him to prove it, and I'm not getting off his back until he does. I don't like the way he came into OTAs and I don't like the way he responded to fair criticism.

Bro you should go Fap one out, it will lower your blood pressure.

[dpm0409]

 

It doesn't make much sense to make declarations about a rookie who has yet to practice in pads, but question the hunger of another player.

That sums it up perfectly right there.  Lot of assumptions being made for it to only be the month of June...

[pantherphan96]

Person's questions are:

1) Will Kelvin Benjamin show up in shape?

2) Can Michael Oher protect Cam Newton's blind side?

3) Will the new contract change Cam Newton's approach?

4) Can Charles Tillman stay healthy?

5) So what about that other defensive end position?

 

1. Yeah, another overblown non-story.

2. Better than Bell; how well he can do so will determine how far we go into the playoffs.

3. No, having an improved OL will.

4. Doesn't matter as much as people think. Bene and Norman are the 1 and 2 for this team.

5. Big Frank if he can keep is nose clean. Ealy will improve. Addison and Horton are decent stop gaps and depth.

[Cyberjag]

From Joe Person (link)

 

Person's questions are:

1) Will Kelvin Benjamin show up in shape?

2) Can Michael Oher protect Cam Newton's blind side?

3) Will the new contract change Cam Newton's approach?

4) Can Charles Tillman stay healthy?

5) So what about that other defensive end position?

 

How would you answer these questions?

Are there additional questions you feel also really need to be answered?

 

 

My thoughts...

1. Yes, this is a non-story.  8 pounds at 245 is a week and a half of cleaning up your diet.
2. Probably not.  It would be a great feel-good story if he did, but there's no way I would bet on it, even with his old OL coach.  He should be an improvement over Bell though, which will make a noticeable difference.
3. No, Cam is not driven by money (although I'm sure he likes having it, of course).
4. Doubtful.  If you're defense depends on the health of a 34 year old CB though, you have bigger issues.  His value will be felt more in the locker room than on the field.
5. What about it?  The line played well in rotation last year, and should only improve with experience and Alexander's return.

My questions

1. Will Shaq be effective in coverage at the NFL level?
2. Does the line, with Oher, continue to play at the higher level it finished with last year, or do we regress anywhere?
3. Will Shula air it out more this year?
4. Does Roman Harper have another year left in the tank, or will be increasingly become a liability in coverage?
5. Can Ginn and the other ST additions change the starting field position by as much as 10 yards per possession?  Or are we just looking at better return highlights?

 

[twylyght]

My biggest questions/concerns for the upcoming season are these as they are the most crucial for determining how far we go:

1) Offensive Tackle - No surprise, here.  I think we have amassed some quality depth in the event of catastrophe.  Last year was a freaking nightmare with respect to the entire O-Line (minus Kalil).  This year is worlds different with respect to personnel.  I think Bell was proven to be what he is, and last season bore that out.  Put him in a phone booth, and he'll block you all day.  Put him in space, and you'll have to commit another TE for continual help.

With Oher, I think a reunion with Matsko is a solid plan to place your faith in as any.  I believe Remmers showed that he could be good in the very least as a backup with how he did against leser competition at the end of last year.  Of all the positions of possible exploits on this team (sans OC) OT is still the greatest area of being suspect.  However, I am thinking that this year is going to be much more serviceable than any years past trying to hold the line for Cam to direct this offense.

2) OC - Shula has no excuses now in my mind.  His style of game-planning revolves around maintaining a threat of the running attack.  With the interior line being as stout as I can remember for this organization, I believe that this unit can produce the push that it needs to impose its will on lesser D-Lines.  However, it is against more savvy DCs that I will need to see Shula up his game with respect to exploiting the defense's weaknesses.  In my opinion, if the tackles hold up, we have all the tools necessary to hit whatever defense hard where they have gone thin with respect to over-committing for other phases of the game.  If the defense is stacking the box, we need Shula to pull the trigger to make them pay with a pass behind their main line of attack.  If he does this, I think this offense can be as good as almost any in the league.

3) OLB depth - This was a close one with #4, but I think that Thomas Davis is far more valuable in how McDermott can free up both the front four and backfield.  Between Davis and Kuechly, they cover a ridiculous amount of ground to effectively shut down the middle of the field for opposing offenses.  It is why I was extremely happy to see an extension contract for Davis coupled with the drafting of Thompson.  If Thompson winds up being half the player that Davis has become, we did well with this pick.  His abilities suggest that he could absolutely be a Davis clone with some coaching up over a couple years' time.  Perfect timing with respect to how Davis' contract was negotiated and the expected production for Shaq.  The key will be for Shaq to keep the instinct while amassing the film-study habits that give Davis his edge.  It is a fine line to walk, but if he gets it, then we will have nailed the first pick of our draft yet another year.

4) Defensive End - A lot of people have written off Hardy as being an expendable cog for this defensive unit with how everyone came together last year.  I think a lot of that had to do with coaching, depth, and level of competition down the road.  It is very heartening how these guys effectively shut down NO at the end of the year with everything on the line.  However, I am not sure that it would have been the same outcome against most other teams in the NFL.  The loss of Hardy for this line cannot be overstated in my opinion.  When Hardy was on the field, he could literally line up anywhere on that defensive line for the purpose of shooting the gap and/or run blocking in most instances.  This gave Offensive Coordinators nightmares in trying to gameplan for this type of chess piece.  As a single player, Hardy could create mismatches all across the line that freed up a lot of schemes for McDermott and Rivera.  While we were able to bring things together and have a line-by-committee approach to suffice, we don't have any single player that can do what Hardy did.  Until that time, a lot of what we've been doing to account for that shortcoming has been by a lot of savvy coaching.

5) Tampa Bay - A lot of people will laugh at this, but I am thinking that these guys could be our competition this year for the division.  The NO offense took a huge hit with the loss of Graham, and doesn't scare me with Rob Ryan at the helm for DC.  Atlanta is more of a wildcard with their new coaching staff.  I will be more concerned with how adept their coaching staff will be for implemented a retooled defense while re-assembling their offense of old.  They could be dangerous, but they will need to be very hard-nosed up front in order for them to compete.  Until I see that, I am reserving judgement.  Tampa?  They were in almost all of their games last year.  With the addition of Winston, they very much have my attention to see what this team can do.  In spite of all the controversy surrounding this kid (of which there was A LOT), everything coming out of talks and meetings around this kid has all the hallmarks of how Peyton Manning was impressing when he came out from the draft.  If he turns out to be the field general that Peyton is, then that could be a severe headache for our division in the years to come.

For us, the rest of the team is very much poised to do what they were set up to do.  The defensive backfield is a bit short on the depth chart, but with a front seven as good as can be fielded by this team on any given down, these guys can operate as the natural ballhawks that they are.  if we were to put them on other teams, I think they'd be servicable starters or quality backups, but little more.  However, with what we run, what Norman, Tillman, Bene, Boston and White do fits perfectly with what we need.

I am particularly excited for Cam's potential this year.  I am eager to see what he can do with time in the backfield, big and fast targets on the outside, and a backfield that can produce.  I am thinking that his experience with the talent available will enable him to have a monster year if concerns 1 and 2 are addressed well.  Time is the ultimate teller, but what I have seen tells me that Cam is worth the contract that we gave him and likely more.  Barring injury, this guy has the tools to rewrite a lot of history books for this sport.

Strap in kids.  I am thinking that this season could be one to remember.