Your biggest concern going into the season?

[motocross_cat]

Man its a tough one.  If everyone stays healthy and plays to potential i dont see any real concerns across the board.

Maybe RT and one of the DEs to break out.

[top dawg]

My biggest concern is LT,  with RT right behind it.  You can say I am still suffering from post traumatic stress. I may never trust a Left Tackle again.  At the very least it's going to take more than a season to earn my trust. 

[LinvilleGorge]

DE and youth in the secondary.  Rookies are likely going to see a lot of PT in the secondary.  There will be mistakes and some outright blown coverages.

[MHS831]

1 hour ago, Ruff said:

Now that the Draft is over and we've picked up our UDFAs, there are still some shaky areas on the team. What's your biggest concern heading into the season, assuming we head into this season with what we have now. 

For me, I'd say the biggest concern is Safety, followed closely by Punter. I'm still not convinced that Tre Boston is the best we can do in the defensive backfield. Often times last season he appeared to be out of place and trailing behind his guy (though, his athleticism was definitely an upgrade over Roman Harper). If we could sign Donte Whitner, that would be amazing. He would add that "4th LB", bringing a hard-hitting, run-stuffing Safety onto our team, and letting Coleman do what Coleman does. 

Punter is... Scary. The Punter is such an incredibly important position, especially when we need to flip the field. Is our defense awesome? Obviously. But, we still need to be able to pin other teams deep, not give up huge returns because of messed up hangtime, and be able to accurately punt into corners. Nortman was... Below average, I would say. He was never the best, and was always slightly behind middle of the road. I don't know if Roadhouse Swayze is an upgrade over him, but, I hope he is. Finding a Punter can't be that hard, right? ... Right?

Before reading what the others say, I will respond to you.  Nortman had a slow delivery; he was good at times, but he was not great--and inconsistent.  Am I worried about finding a punter?  Not really.  I think we have 2 in camp now, and may add a third--many teams have 2 on the roster now. 

Safety is not a concern of mine at all.  Not a bit.  It is a strengths.  We have Coleman, and Boston behind him.  We signed Trent Robinson from Washington, a short SS with starting experence.  We have Marlowe, a developing player---but we just signed Jeremy Cash, the ACC defensive player of the year.  He, right now, is better than Harper.   I feel S is pretty strong, actually.

CB has to be a concern because we have to play a rookie.  We have 3 rookies to compete.  They are smart, big athletic corners.   I am worried that we cannot shut down the opposition's #1 WR.  Still, we could be OK there.

DE?  Well, I think CJohnson is healthy and will pick it back up; he is only 30.  I think Ealy is entering that year when our DEs come of age--year 3.  Addison is decent, and I seriously think one of the 3 we have been developing will be a fine fourth DE.  Not great, but not that bad considering the pressure the DTs will be creating.

My biggest concern is OT.  Did the Super Bowl show everyone how to beat Carolina?  If we don't run effectively, our passing game is pretty deep-- outs, digs, go routes-  that takes time.  Our Tackles are not dominant run blockers (but Williams could change that) but if we can't keep the pocket clean, we are in trouble--Cam is the team--let's face it.

Here is the bright side---we have backs (Whittaker, Wegher, Tolbert) who can make our screen game effective. Cam needs to work on it--with his running ability, the screen is a great way to keep the Von Miller's honest.   I think we are getting a TE who is an offensive threat but is also able to block. 

Getting Benjamin back, Funchess getting better and specializing in hot route slants, and maybe even adding a WR like Garrett could improve the time Cam waits to throw. Better blocking TE (Sandland?) and better RB protection is a way to improve the pocket.  While we tend to blame the OTs all the time, sometimes, the scheme is to blame. 

Run the ball, get rid of the ball, protect the qb. 

To be honest, if all goes well, we will be better this year--maybe not a better record, but we will have a better football team.

[Growl]

44 minutes ago, top dawg said:

Make sure that you're prepared to eat well-cooked crow by the holidays.  The way you're talking,  I'm sure you won't spoil your appetite. 

I'm not even sure what you're trying to say your opinion is but I'm sure it will change by the end of the hour.

[Ruff]

6 minutes ago, MHS831 said:

Before reading what the others say, I will respond to you.  Nortman had a slow delivery; he was good at times, but he was not great--and inconsistent.  Am I worried about finding a punter?  Not really.  I think we have 2 in camp now, and may add a third--many teams have 2 on the roster now. 

Safety is not a concern of mine at all.  Not a bit.  It is a strengths.  We have Coleman, and Boston behind him.  We signed Trent Robinson from Washington, a short SS with starting experence.  We have Marlowe, a developing player---but we just signed Jeremy Cash, the ACC defensive player of the year.  He, right now, is better than Harper.   I feel S is pretty strong, actually.

CB has to be a concern because we have to play a rookie.  We have 3 rookies to compete.  They are smart, big athletic corners.   I am worried that we cannot shut down the opposition's #1 WR.  Still, we could be OK there.

DE?  Well, I think CJohnson is healthy and will pick it back up; he is only 30.  I think Ealy is entering that year when our DEs come of age--year 3.  Addison is decent, and I seriously think one of the 3 we have been developing will be a fine fourth DE.  Not great, but not that bad considering the pressure the DTs will be creating.

My biggest concern is OT.  Did the Super Bowl show everyone how to beat Carolina?  If we don't run effectively, our passing game is pretty deep-- outs, digs, go routes-  that takes time.  Our Tackles are not dominant run blockers (but Williams could change that) but if we can't keep the pocket clean, we are in trouble--Cam is the team--let's face it.

Here is the bright side---we have backs (Whittaker, Wegher, Tolbert) who can make our screen game effective. Cam needs to work on it--with his running ability, the screen is a great way to keep the Von Miller's honest.   I think we are getting a TE who is an offensive threat but is also able to block. 

Getting Benjamin back, Funchess getting better and specializing in hot route slants, and maybe even adding a WR like Garrett could improve the time Cam waits to throw. Better blocking TE (Sandland?) and better RB protection is a way to improve the pocket.  While we tend to blame the OTs all the time, sometimes, the scheme is to blame. 

Run the ball, get rid of the ball, protect the qb. 

To be honest, if all goes well, we will be better this year--maybe not a better record, but we will have a better football team.

I don't think we were shown how to be beat at all, honestly. Von Miller played out of his mind and Mike Remmers, who had been solid up until that point, picked a bad game to have a bad game. It happens, especially against one of the best defensive players in the NFL. 

I don't trust Marlowe at all. His action was so limited last year, it wasn't even really worth noting. It's hard to say he's a 'developing player'. Trent might do something, but who knows? I mean, I definitely trust the system, but our defense is incredibly complex. It's not something that can just be picked up. I think Cash will be a fantastic player, but that will take time. It's very unlikely that he walks in day one and is a pro bowl level safety. 

Nortman was, honestly, below average. He was consistently in the bottom of Net Yards, because of how he outkicked the coverage or kicked it directly to the punt returners. That sucked. Punters are a huge swing, and they're part of the reason Fox always wanted a top Punter. 

[Mr Mojo Risin]

Mike Remmers

[MHS831]

1 minute ago, Ruff said:

I don't think we were shown how to be beat at all, honestly. Von Miller played out of his mind and Mike Remmers, who had been solid up until that point, picked a bad game to have a bad game. It happens, especially against one of the best defensive players in the NFL. 

I don't trust Marlowe at all. His action was so limited last year, it wasn't even really worth noting. It's hard to say he's a 'developing player'. Trent might do something, but who knows? I mean, I definitely trust the system, but our defense is incredibly complex. It's not something that can just be picked up. I think Cash will be a fantastic player, but that will take time. It's very unlikely that he walks in day one and is a pro bowl level safety. 

Nortman was, honestly, below average. He was consistently in the bottom of Net Yards, because of how he outkicked the coverage or kicked it directly to the punt returners. That sucked. Punters are a huge swing, and they're part of the reason Fox always wanted a top Punter. 

I think people saw that we did not adjust to what they were doing.  Remmers, to me, has been a weakness that Cam's athleticism and weak LDEs in the schedule masked....If Nortman was below average, why are worried about Punter?  I see what you are saying--who knows!?

[Swaggasaurus]

1 hour ago, Growl said:

I'm concerned that we are almost identical to what we were last year in almost every regard. If we had bolstered some of the areas we were weak, it'd be more palatable. But we regressed at CB and that's pretty much it.  

 

 

Better at WR, DT, and CB. Tillman wasn't that good...I think we were better without him so that was Bene, Josh and street meat. Now we have Bene, Boykin, Bradberry, Worley, and Sanchez. Now these last 3 are all unproven rookies, but ballhawking rookies that we chose to fit our system. I believe that Josh's only elite skill is high pointing the football, as seen in the Saints game sealer. He was simply good at everything else. I'm just anxious how the obvious 3-4 player Butler is going to help us ;)

[emhoward]

Ealy not being superbowl performance Ealy, but the lesser early season performance Ealy.

We can't afford another one of his slow starts.

[tondi]

SB not included, the offensive line played pretty well last year, at least in part because we managed to avoid any major injuries.  My concern this year is that we lose a guy or two for a big part of the season and that since we have a pretty sharp drop off after the first 6 guys it would really mess up our entire offense.  Other than that, it would be all the youth and new guys in our defensive backfield. Going to be a lot of young new faces this year and who knows how long it will take them to gel.

[Growl]

2 minutes ago, Swaggasaurus said:

Better at WR, DT, and CB. Tillman wasn't that good...I think we were better without him so that was Bene, Josh and street meat. Now we have Bene, Boykin, Bradberry, Worley, and Sanchez. Now these last 3 are all unproven rookies, but ballhawking rookies that we chose to fit our system. I believe that Josh's only elite skill is high pointing the football, as seen in the Saints game sealer. He was simply good at everything else. I'm just anxious how the obvious 3-4 player Butler is going to help us ;)

Josh Norman was the best CB in football last season and it wasn't even close. To suggest he was anything close to "just good" or that three mid round picks will be better or even anywhere approaching the level of play he gave us last season is silly.

[pantherj]

Before each season my primary concern is that the coaching staff will lean on Cam to make up this teams deficiencies. Using him too much to bail out an offense that is lacking in talent. I worry that he'll be injured on some dive into the endzone, or whatever. Once the season starts I do a total 180 and start calling for Cam to run more and take over the game because I just want this team to win.

[Swaggasaurus]

Just now, Growl said:

Josh Norman was the best CB in football last season and it wasn't even close. To suggest he was anything close to "just good" or that three mid round picks will be better or even anywhere approaching the level of play he gave us last season is silly.

He's just good, just like Butler is a 4-3 player, and just like you are wrong about pretty much everything. Boykin and the Rooks will be able to play close to the level of Josh, old man peanut, and some rejects