Final Roster - Biggest concerns

[Jeremy Igo]

So what are your biggest concerns over this final roster?

If Daryl Williams can play Sunday, I am actually pretty satisfied with the starting OL. My only concern is depth, particularly how there isn't much at OT. 

That is all on offense. Think about it. That is probably the best offensive unit talent wise the Panthers have put together in years. 

 

On defense, Safety and Corner are suspect once again. Nothing new here, was the same last season. I suspect we will see plenty of blitzes on Sunday to lessen the amount of time to cover. 

[KB_fan]

You pretty much nailed it.

Obvious concerns are depth at tackle, and then also the issue of the secondary.

On the secondary I've got a few concerns.

1) 3 newbies.  Jackson looks promising, but he is a rookie and will make his share of mistakes.

Elder and Gaulden too... 

Losing Cockrell's experience hurts.

2) Communication, getting into a rhythm. The secondary, like the O line, has been topsy turvey with injuries the past few weeks.  Losing Cockrell, then Seymour, and then Searcy in the concussion protocol... Who was starting kept changing week to week.

Hopefully Adams & Searcy and Bradberry & Jackson & Munnerlyn can all stay healthy and quickly begin to establish good teamwork and communication as they get playing time together.

[philit99]

I agree the lack of depth is this teams biggest issue, particularly with the OL and DB positions. I think this is the best year we will have this decade. Peppers, Davis, and Khalil set to retire and Olsen could also find other employment. Cam looks dedicated and determined. Remember, there is a lot of film on the Saints now, and almost nothing on us. Even though this is an even year, we will buck the trend and give these retiring legends and fans a year to remember.

[KB_fan]

By the way, it's a bit off topic, but Ron said something very surprising yesterday about putting Seymour on season-ending IR.

Reporters said all we heard about was the root canal. Ron said, yeah it was obviously more than that (other reports say a shoulder injury), and THEN goes on to say they deliberately downplayed Seymour's injury so as to not make it obvious how much we needed a corner, thus affecting contract value.

Wow. Ron upping the gamesmanship!

But seriously, it makes me think we were trying to work a trade or bring someone in for corner depth. Bringing back Doss suggests that at least for now, whatever they were trying to do hasn't worked out 

But I'd say watch this space. After week 1 when contracts are no longer guaranteed, I'd still think bringing in another corner has to be a possibility.

[GoobyPls]

Our secondary will probably be mediocre to bad again. And I don’t know how the O-line is gonna perform

[jfra78]

I guess it's not really a concern, but I want to see how much the offense has grasped Norv's system.  Also with a lot of new faces at the WR position, will cam spread it around or target familiar faces like Olsen, CMC, and Funch.

[Pup McBarky]

Not my biggest concern, but I'm certainly concerned about the new rules. I don't want our pass rush nerfed by stupid rules. I understand the safety concerns, but those penalties against Pittsburgh were just awful calls. It's like you can't even hit the QB anymore unless it's Cam 

[Ace_Aladdin]

Bradberry will be able to play on an island  majority of the time. This will allow the the safety to move in the box or help with other coverages. 

[ImaginaryKev]

A lot of good teams have average talent in their secondary

[Steves89]

My biggest concern is probably the pass rush. Getting pressure with a four man rush allowed us to get by with a weak secondary in the past, but I’m worried about keeping Peppers and Addison fresh into January. That puts a lot on our young guys. 

Of course OL is worrisome, but the emergence of Moton, Van Roten, and the return of Larsen and maybe Williams gives me more confidence than I had a month ago. 

[MHS831]

If depth is a concern on the OL, it has to be a concern at S.  If Adams or Searcy goes down, both average players by most accounts, we get bad quickly.  Gaulden is learning and may not be a great fit--who knows at this point?  Jones is a special teams player.

I am not as concerned at CB as most.  I think Adams and Bradberry will get better each week.  I have liked Doss and Corn as reserves.  Munnerlyn, to me, is the Silatolu of the defense---he keeps coming back, sucking, and Rivera never seems to notice.

We have all crowned Moton the next LT, and he looked good vs. New England.  They were vanilla.  He nearly missed on an inside stunt one play that signaled to me that he is not comfortable there yet.  I am also concerned that Ryan K.  has not played much in the past 2 seasons.  Van Roten had a good preseason, but is he consistent? Have DC's seen enough film on him to know his weaknesses? etc. 

[imminent rogaine]

I feel like gaulden is going to be the new tre Boston. I’m not sure is that is pessimism or optimism tbh.

Im actually excited to see our OL minus M Kalil - that is if Darryl is back. I feel like we might have some maulers that just need a little experience. 

I’m really pumped to see this front 7 w the Poe addition. I think our LBs are going to be free all day long with OLs trying to stop KK, Poe, and Pep. Also excited to see if we work in any exotic DL formations w KK and/or Butler flexing to DE for a heavy package.

[MHS831]

A few bright spots that could help us understand:

TACKLE:  Robinson was a nice move--he needs to stay healthy.  He has a recurring foot injury that could become problematic.  Dorian Johnson was sent to the PS again.  He is the perfect size for a T, with 35 inch arms. They were working him there some--maybe, just maybe.....

QUARTERBACK:  Funny that nobody mentioned (in the posts I read) backup QB...Does that mean we are confident with Heinkicke?  I think he is OK and can run the offense, but it means we may be returning to feeling confident about the run game again.  Been a while.

CORNERBACK:  We will be tested, but the Bradberry worries should have been tempered a bit during preseason--we were still playing 10 yards off the ball zone crap, but Bradberry is smarter and will not be locked onto the #1 all the time as with Worley.  Jackson is already an upgrade over Worley, and he depth behind both is (in my opinion) better (Doss is better than Seymour).  I also think Corn will take over at nickel at some point.

PASS RUSH:  Addison is 31 and Peppers is 7 years older than Mario.  They are the two best rushers we have.  However, we are keeping six DEs.  Cox Jr. and Horton are solid and thick run stuffers who can get to the QB (Horton had 5 sacks last year), but what if Haynes (24) and Obada (26) are able to get to the QB?  Suddenly, we have the ability to keep fresh DEs on the field at all times.  Peppers does not get overplayed like last season.  Fingers crossed.

I see it this way--Are we better at each position than we were last year?

SS: Same to worse (Adams got older, Jones is Jones)

FS: A bit Better: Can Searcy outplay 2017 Coleman?  The depth (Gaulden) is probably better.

CB:  I will take Jackson, third-year Bradberry and Munnerlyn/Elder over Worley, second-year Bradberry and Capt./Seymour any day.

SECONDARY ANALYSIS:  Better, but not by a whole lot.  Expect improvement as the year progresses.

LB: Same.  Davis is older and out for 4 games, but the depth (Smith, Carter) is better and Shaq is playing much faster, it seems.  Luke is Luke. 

DT:  Better.  Poe makes this unit better, especially on early down passing situations.  Butler should be improved (He is not a bust) and Love is a very smart role player.  He will need to keep Poe fresh in the fourth quarter and I think he will.

DE:  Same.  Peppers is unlikely to get double--digit sacks this season, and Mario is approaching the end of his prime.  Horton has been improving each year, but it is hard to imagine 5 sacks again.  Growth has to come from the other 3, Cox Jr, Haynes, and Obada. Why do I think Obada is going to be the story of the year?

FRONT SEVEN ANALYSIS:  The key here is depth. The starters remain the same (except Poe--who is an upgrade.  If we stay the same here, we have done well)

QB:  Better.  Norv Turner.  No further explanation needed.  I think Heinicke is an upgrade at #2.

RB: Better.  CMC, Anderson are better than rookie, lighter CMC and Stew.  Armah will be used more, giving us an additional weapon.

TE:  Much Better.  Healthy Olsen is better than banged-up Olsen.  Ian Thomas is perhaps the best pick in a strong draft for Hurney.

OL:  Same.  Moton over Kalil makes me feel better about losing Norwell. Van Roten does too.  With Turner and Williams on the right side and if Ryan K is healthy again, this OL could be better, but let's wait and see.

WR:  Much Better.  Nothing against Kaelin Clay, but Funchess, Moore, Samuel, Wright, Smith, and Byrd is a strong fleet.  Cam, with this group and a second TE, FB, and CMC has to be a bit giddy.  That's right--giddy.

OFFENSE ANALYSIS:  With the news about Williams and Moton's solid showing at LT vs. New England and Van Roten's play, suddenly there is reason to feel the OL will be decent if healthy.  The WR and TE positions are going to be much better, and Norv will keep Cam standing and his completion percentage higher---meaning fewer big plays but fewer "three and outs" too, which helps the D.

Overall:  The Defense basically got better at one CB spot and perhaps one DT spot in the starting rotation.  Depth is better overall.  The offense got better at QB, WR, and TE while compensating for the loss of Norwell on the OL.  We are a better football team this year and will score more. 

This is totally opposite of what the thread asks for--sorry for that, but it got my brain to thinkin...

[ickmule]

You guys worry about too much.  It is was it is.  9-7 is incoming and I’m not worried one bit.