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Mesmer's Quick Fix for 09 Thread

Mesmer

By Mesmer,
in Carolina Panthers

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Mesmer

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The game's over, our season is over, and the off-season process has begun. What needs to be changed? Who stays? Who goes? Those are all very interesting questions. While there's some consensus on a few of the names (Trgovac to be specific), there's some disagreement on just about everything else. So, let's talk about the players themselves.

For the record, I'm going to try to not talk about Delhomme too much. The truth is, this is the first time in a long time where it's just a wild card to how the front office will react. There's a lot of factors that come into play with Delhomme that are way beyond just throwing a football. I'm guessing this decision will have a lot to do with how the front office gauges the player's reactions. The players don't run the team, but if the front office feels like Delhomme no longer has the locker room behind him, they may have no choice in the matter...

With that said, I give you...

Quick Fix's for 09, brought to you by Mesmer (Village Idiot Extraordinaire)

...sorry it's so damn long

Bring in another QB during the off-season.

This move doesn't really have anything to do with the office's decision on Delhomme. The fact is, he's 34, and he's not going to be here forever. Sure, we have Josh McCown and Matt Moore, but I'm not really sold on either of those guys being the signal caller for this team just yet. Bringing in a middle-range QB would really help my confidence in this team. I'm not talking about a big name guy that's going to cost the farm, but I'm not talking about the next Brett Basanez either. We need to bring in someone else who has some experience, and can manage a game. There are plenty of these guys on the free agent market every off-season. As often times, one team's trash is another team's treasure. *See Jake Delhomme 2003 :)

Franchise Tag Peppers (I'm talking about Julius Peters for those who listen to FOX's commentators lol)

This is probably inevitable due to cap room, but just hear me out. I'm not completely retarded. Earlier, I would've said that I'd rather see Peppers locked up and Gross franchised, but I'm on the fence right now. Gross played very well this season at LT. This was especially true towards the end of the year. Not only was he a reliable pass protector, but he was a big piece of the puzzle for our dominant running game. Losing him would cause the line to shuffle a bit, and most likely weaken it (even if we tried to replace him). The left side of this line was pretty dominant for most of the season with Wharton playing the inside now, and Otah is a stud in the making at RT. He's a run mauler, and I don't want to see him playing LT. At least not yet. The main idea to this tag is to see if we can get another team to bite. I'm a big Peppers fan, and as you can tell, I like Gross a lot too. However, getting those picks would probably be worth giving one of these gentlemen up. The nod's going to go to Peppers on the franchise tag. He's still got it in him to be a dominant DE in this league, but I really don't want to break up this offensive line after all the success they've had this season.

Release or restructure Ken Lucas

I don't know a lot about Ken Lucas. By that, I mean, I'm not sure how bad he would want to stay here if approached about the matter. I'm assuming that given the choice, he'd probably walk and play elsewhere. If that's the case, and he's not willing to restructure, it's probably time to say goodbye. I'd absolutely love to see Lucas restructure and stay on as the Nickel Corner, but I don't see it happening. Mr. Lucas, you were a brilliant cornerback for us when we acquired you, but unfortunately, father time waits for no one. Age is starting to show it's ugly face with Ken Lucas. It's unfortunate, but that's the world of pro sports.

Reinforce the front seven through the draft

I know most people think defensive drafts are boring. Hell, I'll agree with that. I work every single Saturday afternoon. I've probably watched a total of 5 college football games in the past two years. I have no idea who 3/4 of the people are that are drafted on day one. However, retooling this defense through the draft is what needs to be done. Even though the risk of a bust is high, we all love to see our team draft high profile stars. Even though it's fun for at least a little while, drafting a big profile QB or something is just not what this team needs right now.

Our defensive line, except for big ol' Kemo, is getting too small. Yes, I know that Lewis would probably eat me whole, but he's not a run stuffer. Getting Tyler Brayton last off-season was a good move. He may not be the best tackler of all time, but he's one of the better players when it comes to gap control. I know we like to pressure with the front 4, but I'd like to see us get some guys that are heavy, stuff the run, and control their gaps. When Beason and Davis can run free and pursue the ball carrier, our defense looks unbeatable at times. Pressuring the passer with just your front 4 is great. However, fundamentals come first. Gap control needs to get better up front.

Behind them we need to add more speed. Beason and Davis are super fast, yes, but I'd like to see another linebacker added that can spell at least one of the starting 3 without much drop off. Sorry Landon Johnson, you just didn't work out for us. :( Oh yeah, and get well soon. That hit did not look pleasant.

Acquire a CB that can play bump-and-run

I've already mentioned that Ken Lucas probably needs to go. If you pay attention to my posts (I wouldn't advise doing it), then you know that I love Chris Gamble. The guy can't catch a thing, but he's the best corner we have by a long mile. Marshall is still up and coming, but he'll be a quality starter soon. To fill the void between Marshall's emergence and Lucas' departure, I'd like to sign a physical corner back. Our weakness in the secondary has never really been the big play. We defend the intermediate and long passes pretty well at times. The problem is the short routes. We just don't have anybody that we can line up across from the other team's go-to guy on 3rd and 5, that will completely disrupt the route's timing by jamming the receiver at the line. Along with my QB suggestion, this doesn't have to be a biggest name on the market. I'm talking about picking up a solid guy who's asked to be physical, and can get that job done. Make sure he's got safety help over the top every down if necessary. We just can't keep backing up and waiting for the dink-and-dunk passing teams to mess up. Good QB's don't make unforced errors. Especially not on 3 to 6 yard routes. Seeing how well we were schooled by the Cardinals on a national stage, I think it's safe to say that our weakness was exposed. Now it's time to do something about it.

----

Thoughts?

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Mesmer Newbie

Mesmer

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The fact is that, even though it was later in the game, we did try to jam their receivers. The problem is, we just don't have anyone who can do it. Their guys just waltzed right by us, caught the ball for the 1st, and immediately got tackled.

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Sloth Apprentice

Sloth

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QB - I really dislike Delhomme, so I can't be trusted to post rationally about this one for a few weeks. I really do hope they at least bring a mid level guy in and have an honest competition for the spot this year, not the normal wink/nudge.

CB - This is actually getting scary. Lucas magically turned 64 somehow during the season. We over payed Gamble, but he is our best corner at the moment. Marshall is regressing and might never be more than a ST monster/nickel. He will also walk once his contract is up if he isn't starting by then.

DT - We have two rotational guys in as full time starters. We need work here in a bad way.

WR - We still need a #3

We'll know more about DE/OT later, I guess.

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Mesmer

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So you're not sold on the potential of Jarrett as the #3? To be completely honest, I laughed every time I read his name until late this year. He hasn't done anything amazing, but he's on the field and catching some passes. His hands seem to be pretty good. I'm unsure of his blocking ability, but he is a big guy. As long as Moose will come back I don't think we have a very big problem at WR. Could it be better? Yeah, but I think we've got other needs to take care of.

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Sloth Apprentice

Sloth

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So you're not sold on the potential of Jarrett as the #3? To be completely honest, I laughed every time I read his name until late this year. He hasn't done anything amazing, but he's on the field and catching some passes. His hands seem to be pretty good. I'm unsure of his blocking ability, but he is a big guy. As long as Moose will come back I don't think we have a very big problem at WR. Could it be better? Yeah, but I think we've got other needs to take care of.

I'm not going to be sold on Jarrett until he makes enough of a statement to nail down that slot. Somethings going on there or he wouldn't be a game by game rotation.

I also think he's gonna walk once his contract is up

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