Chris Harris Traded For LB Jamar Williams

[Murph]

thin at secondary what the hell

the panthers can shake a bush and find an acceptable DB

especially with the coverage schemes they use.

Anyways, I agree that Harris' 09 play was subpar in coverage but he was still a beast the first part of the 08 season. As Godfrey's rookie performance started to drop throughout the season, some of that blame was put on Harris. I also think that the piss poor secondary coverage in the playoff game has also skewed some perception that '08 was not that good of a season for Harris but I think he was still a decent player in our system.

Still, it looked like Meeks system was not the best fit for him so we may very well be praising Hurney for this trade 8 months for now.

[ItsNotGonnaBeAlright]

Well, I just don't understand the unwarranted love for Harris. He's a cool guy, certainly. He has a great attitude.

But he was never great in coverage, and from what I observed, his tackling suffered a bit more recently as well. He takes bad angles a lot, and it's not exactly a sure thing. He's no Chris Gamble, but he's not the kind of hitting safety that you want if you're sacrificing some coverage by having him in the lineup.

See, when you break things down to the simplest of all factors, is this move really that hard to understand?

Sure, he was a vocal veteran leader on a young defense. But when you're facing a year as uncertain as the next one, with a defense designed to stop the pass, you don't burn a starting posistion on a guy who excells at taking down guys who already have ahold of the ball and not much else. He could hit hard, he could cause fumbles, he could not stop a pass from happening, he lucked into interceptions. None of those things gel with anything I've come to learn about a Ron Meeks defense.

[ChucktownK]

Kinda torn on this trade.

For one, I'm excited that Sherod Martin just jumped into the starting lineup. We'll finally have a ball hawking safety.

On the other side, we just lost one of my favorite Panthers, and one of the only true veterans left on defense. I just see it "don't fix what aint broke." He was apart of the #4 ranked pass defense last season, it's not like he's a bad player..

sigh, front office you confuse me.

I wanted a Hard Hitter and a Ball Gitter safety combo. Now what do we have?

[Fiz]

Hey, let's consult William of Ockham. What's more likely:

a) Chris Harris is a very good safety. Fox (a former DB) and Hurney are too stupid to recognize a very good safety. They're also too stupid to shop Harris around to other teams and build some sort of a market for his services, opting to accept the first trade offered. They got owned by a Bears front office that is known for outstanding personnel moves (that Jay Cutler trade is working out pretty well for them, eh? And how about that massive contract they gave Peppers?)

Chris Harris is severely overrated and, after weeks of searching, the best deal the Panthers could find for him turned out to be a backup linebacker.

i really think occam's razor is a little heavy handed here.

[DawgzLife]

To be fair, Harris was never that great and had been the most overrated player on the team among fans during his stint here. But to go from Chris Harris to Sherrod Martin starting is a big downgrade and to only get a special teams flunkie in return just adds insult to injury. Not to mention that Chris Harris was an all-around awesome guy and added a lot of leadership to the defense.

After digesting this...b/c I was as ticked off as the rest of the group...I really don't think this will be a drop off. The big hits, yes, we will miss those, but the overall SS play should actually improve (Harris was a liability in coverage) & more speed has been added. I loved his run support. Since Harris was discontent & made it known, I think this was a good move. Either be part of the team or move on was the message sent (that will carryover for more than 1-2 seasons to other players). A discontent player can drag the whole lockerroom down ('the Peppers effect'). The Panthers have been screwed salarycap wise for years...this is the perfect time to reset...going into the uncapped year.

I do not agree with the front office on this, but the sky is not falling either. I hate the going on the cheap mode, but veterans have to understand this is a young man's game & that teams have to move younger at times to succeed over the longterm. The FO screwed up in past years by overpaying vets who underperformed for their contracts (this was not Harris, but he couldn't understand the Panthers, so they decided to part ways). We will miss his attitude & leadership.

[Razzy]

After thinking about it, I don't hate the move but I still don't like getting rid of one of the few veteran leaders the team has left. We needed depth at linebacker and there won't be too much of a dropoff at safety.

And it's funny that someone pointed out that Williams has a career tackle to stops ratio of about 2:1. Meeks (and our linebacking corps) is all about having the 1st person make a stop so the 2nd person there can strip the ball. I think Fox/Hurney know what they're doing.

OR

Bring back Colin Branch!

He was perfectly mediocre enough for 3 years.

[MadHatter]

As I said, my problem isn't the trade - it was obvious that we would most likely look to get rid of Harris, it was suggested before the season was over... That's fine. But we could've done much better in terms of what we got back.

You are all assuming that this was NOT the best compensation that we could get for Harris. Maybe the rest of the league does not value him like some on here.

Just a thought

[Fiz]

You are all assuming that this was NOT the best compensation that we could get for Harris. Maybe the rest of the league does not value him like some on here.

Just a thought

jerry angelo is not exactly what i'd call a good gm

[The Question]

Rich needs to die.

Harris was a god damn leader.

[MadHatter]

Rich needs to die.

Harris was a god damn leader.

Who could not cover worth poo.

He always went for the strip and the big hit. He was successful in 2007. 2008 and 2009, he gave up big plays trying to strip the ball rather than making the solid tackle.

I question the release, but it is not like we just traded Smitty or DWill.

[ItsNotGonnaBeAlright]

i really think occam's razor is a little heavy handed here.

Side question: is it possible for a philisophical postulate that advocates simplicity in all mental processes to ever come across as "heavy handed"?

[Fiz]

it is when it's as pedantic as a something invented in the 14th century by a monk

[beastson]

WTF WHATTTTTTTT???

For whooooo???????

You got to be kidding me. He went BACK to the damn Bears. So we've decided to keep Godfrey instead. Can anybody explain this move?

And why is that almost every player who leaves the Panthers, they get bashed once they gone. If S.S get traded, he'll get bashed too. Sad

[ItsNotGonnaBeAlright]

it is when it's as pedantic as a something invented in the 14th century by a monk

Well that's the simplest explanation I suppose.