The Problem with Charles Johnson Coming Back

[CRA]

42 minutes ago, Bartin said:

Except he literally lines up as a FB in the running game reasonably often and it is an important position on the offense. We have no one else capable of doing that.

Tolbert has rarely been used as a lead blocker for a RB.  Rarely because he has never been good at it.  He made Pro Bowls generating stats as a HB and having a FB designation. 

He mainly just lines up as a RB/HB role.  

Hardly any teams use lead blocking FBs.  We don't need a guy a who doesn't really ever do it and when he does....isn't good at it. 

We need a young power runner to spell Stewart.  We use Tolbert. 

[rippadonn]

Yeah, this offense CANNOT play from behind. It's either feast or famine with that unit. They've got all the tools but their OC has his head up his own bunghole. 

There were years where the defense had to win games for us and this year we need them more than ever because we don't know which offense will show up.

[CRA]

14 minutes ago, Cyberjag said:

Panthers defense gave up 13 yesterday.  That doesn't exactly suck...

Carolina's biggest issue is teams have countered their O scheme and they have no adjustment. 

Green dog blitz will be the phrase people get sick of hearing.  It is the counter to Shula's max protecting in order for his long plays to work behind his weak OTs. 

[CRA]

4 minutes ago, rippadonn said:

Yeah, this offense CANNOT play from behind. It's either feast or famine with that unit. They've got all the tools but their OC has his head up his own bunghole. 

There were years where the defense had to win games for us and this year we need them more than ever because we don't know which offense will show up.

Talent issue IMO.  Denver laid the blueprint.  Carolina has to max protect to let the pass O work.  So once you bottle up the run and get passing downs....you green dog blitz.  

The counter is the short pass O.  We however have invested in 10 ft tall WRs and a QB that struggles with the quick game. 

The real counter for us IMO is getting actually good OTs.  But we have gone cheap since Cam's arrival at OT because of his legs.  Our OTs are simply weak which is why we became a max protect pass O to aid them. 

[mc52beast]

So are we saying that a decision made by Getty and/or Ron has proved disastrous for our team?

[Craig Pruitt]

23 minutes ago, mc52beast said:

So are we saying that a decision made by Getty and/or Ron has proved disastrous for our team?

Not necessarily. By all accounts he's a cool guy and we didn't exactly break the bank to bring Johnson back. However, he's clearly on the downside of his career. He doesn't appear to be starter quality in terms of a consistent pass rusher. He's probably be more effective as a back-up/rotational guy.

Also, I think Kony Ealy plays better at LE. Unfortunately, that's the spot where Johnson lines up when he's in the game. We need a guy who can come off the edge and pressure from the QB's blind side. I think Johnson is only signed for a year. Next season Ealy should be moved to the other side and we need to sign or draft an impact player at the RDE spot.

[Proudiddy]

While true, i still think Ealy gets way too much of a pass.  Dude is a second round pick that by many accounts had a first round grade...  look how he performed down the strecth of his rookie season.  Then look at how he performed in the Superbowl.  Now look at him so far this season.  Only time I recall seeing him this year was while he was running off the field.  He has the talent and the ability, he just doesnt seem to care.

[Untouchable]

I haven't seen any of these issues with the defense. They have been playing better then expected IMO. The problem at DE is a problem next season since Johnson and Addison are both aging free agents and we currently have no viable replacements on the roster for either. 

[ok2h8pep]

Everyone criticizing the defense needs to go back and watch the game again.   Defense played lights out for the most part.

The offense and Special Teams put up the Vikings first 8 points and despite the offense having the ball 10 minutes more than the Vikings did they couldn't put more than 10 points up.

And the mantra that the offense stopped working after half time is wrong too.  The offense moved the ball with ease all through the 3rd quarter and into the 4th - constantly shooting themselves in the foot with penalties and finally trying to force stuff that wasn't there when we got deep into the 4th.

Special teams and a dysfunctional offense is what lost this game.  The defense more than held up their end of the deal.

Charles Johnson is worth what we're paying him.  So is Ealy.

In fact can you name one guy on defense that isn't worth what we are paying them right now?  Maybe Paul Soliai but even that's a push.  Now look at the offensive side of the ball.  3 top cap hits this year are Cam, Kalil, and Stewart -- you feel like you're getting you're money's worth right now?  I don't.  Then I look at Special teams and See a $4M/ year placekicker that can't hit a 50 yarder (shades of Olindo Mare).

It will start clicking again though.  Watching Cam run the show through the last third of the season and through the playoffs was a thing of beauty - but they are not in synch yet.  I just hope the shitshow comes together in time to get us into the playoffs again.

[Craig Pruitt]

1 hour ago, Untouchable said:

I haven't seen any of these issues with the defense. They have been playing better then expected IMO. The problem at DE is a problem next season since Johnson and Addison are both aging free agents and we currently have no viable replacements on the roster for either. 

I don't think either of the guys you mentioned will be back next season...at least not as starters. The team has to get younger and more productive with the edge rush in today's pass happy NFL. We're gonna have to find some players in the draft or via free agency.  That's easier said than done. 

Our playoff success the last 3 seasons has caused us to draft later in each round so its harder get the top rated DE's each season. The elite DE's don't come cheap when they hit free agency. A premium DE is gonna cost over minimum 15 mil a year.

It'll be interesting to see how Carolina addresses this problem in the future. Every team wants a premium QB, LT, DE, and CB. Unfortunately, if you some how manage to achieve that you've already spent over half your cap space and still have 49 other people to pay.

 

 

[CPantherKing]

The problem is CJ is the best DE on the team, and the front office thought the team would be fine without him.

This front office would not have done anything at DE. They honestly believe Ealy is ready to be a star in the NFL. They believed Addison, Delaire and Horton would compete for the #2 DE. Nothing was going to be done about DE in FA or the draft.

The front office after signing CJ honestly believed he would likely become a back up at DE while being beat out by Ealy and one of the younger DEs. What a disaster!

[iamhubby1]

11 hours ago, CRA said:

Tolbert has rarely been used as a lead blocker for a RB.  Rarely because he has never been good at it.  He made Pro Bowls generating stats as a HB and having a FB designation. 

He mainly just lines up as a RB/HB role.  

Hardly any teams use lead blocking FBs.  We don't need a guy a who doesn't really ever do it and when he does....isn't good at it. 

We need a young power runner to spell Stewart.  We use Tolbert. 

 

Unfortunately, Tolbert is our FB. We may not use him as such much, and he is not what you would call consistently effective. But when we do line up in the I it is Tolbert who lines up at FB.

 

I mean, don't get me wrong. There ARE positions on this team that maybe could use an upgrade. But, as a whole. This team has as much talent as anyone. Plus we have Cam. We are an elite team. Whether the fans can agree on that, is another discussion for another day.  Cuz this ones over. HA!

[AceBoogie]

15 hours ago, Davidson Deac II said:

Depends on what you mean by making plays.  If you mean pick 6's/scoring plays, those generally only happen if the offensive team makes a mistake.  We actually have made a few, especially against Denver, although imo Denver was our worst defensive performance of the year so far.    

I mean not allowing Sam Bradford to be perfect in the second half 

[Untouchable]

9 hours ago, Craig Pruitt said:

I don't think either of the guys you mentioned will be back next season...at least not as starters. The team has to get younger and more productive with the edge rush in today's pass happy NFL. We're gonna have to find some players in the draft or via free agency.  That's easier said than done. 

Our playoff success the last 3 seasons has caused us to draft later in each round so its harder get the top rated DE's each season. The elite DE's don't come cheap when they hit free agency. A premium DE is gonna cost over minimum 15 mil a year.

It'll be interesting to see how Carolina addresses this problem in the future. Every team wants a premium QB, LT, DE, and CB. Unfortunately, if you some how manage to achieve that you've already spent over half your cap space and still have 49 other people to pay.

 

 

I definitely think you're right.  Another good year and LT is again going to be off the board for us and while we won't be able to grab an elite DE picking in the 20s plus again, it currently look like 43 DE are going to be very deep in the upcoming draft allowing the Panthers to potentially retool the position for cheap.