5 guys who should step up

[nosuchthingasapanther]

The TEs you mentioned need for Jeff Davidson to step up. He has the creativity of a mill worker. These two are threats, but his lameass, predictable, conservative, playcalling sucks. In Indiannapolis, these two would be superstars.

on a team with payton "i can make anyone with 2 hands into a star reciever with one throw" manning?

one of these days people will realize that jeff king is the man in carolina because king excels in everything that the panthers' offense needs in a te...and isn't one dimensional.

[MHS831]

on a team with payton "i can make anyone with 2 hands into a star reciever with one throw" manning?

one of these days people will realize that jeff king is the man in carolina because king excels in everything that the panthers' offense needs in a te...and isn't one dimensional.

Jef King is an average TE who is versatile and a nice fit. Hardly a weapon. Rosario and Barnidge are not average until they start getting used as weapons. I don't see the same formations, the same routes, etc. That Collie and Clark get in Indy. They are used in the passing game as more than check down, third option receivers. Manning is not that much more physically gifted than other QBs, but he has 2 things going for him: An incredible Football IQ and coaches who let him use it. Davidson is conservative to a fault and his answer to someone shutting down the pass is WIldcat or the draw play. We still can't execute screens and we don't use our TEs as first option weapons.

[MadHatter]

4 positions that will have to step up:

1) #2 WR - I wouldn't be surprised to see Gettis here before long. He has dropped some balls, but he uses his body to shield defenders off. And the guy can take a hit and hang on to the ball. In reference to the OP's list, wouldn't be shocked to see Rosario and Barnidge split out as wideouts on 4 and 5 WR sets.

2) DT - OK, Landri and Hayden you won the spots and will see a lot of action in rotation, how will they respond? I expect the Panthers will use Brayton and Hardy in the middle as well. Remember last year the team used 4 DE on passing downs and had pretty good success pressuring the QB.

3) "Dime Back" - Robert McClain beat out CJ Wilson for the spot, hopefully he responds to the challenge. The team is short on depth at CB, hopefully they can stay healthy. McClain has great speed, but having a rookie as your only option in case of a injury early in the year, is sort of scarry! I guess the coaches saw a lot of promise in him and felt he was up to the challenge.

4) Safety - Hudson begins his 5th year in the league as a ST player and backup at SS. Pugh a rookie with a "high motor" should help on ST, but how about his coverage skills?

Overall our starters look pretty good, except the question at #2 and will Smitty be able to come out of the gate in top form? Depth at DT, LB and Denfensive Backfield scares the hell out of me. At QB, hopefully Moore can return to last years form, now that he has more weapons back and healthy.

Hardy is only 277 lbs. You will NOT see him in the middle. You are likely to see Brayton and Johnson at DT on some passing downs.

[weyco2000]

Hardy is only 277 lbs. You will NOT see him in the middle. You are likely to see Brayton and Johnson at DT on some passing downs.

Landri is 290, Brayton is 280 and Johnson is 275, so what the hell do you mean? On some passing downs I expect to see all 4 DE in at once, which is something we had success with last season. It's not a boxing match, it's football, and remember they are up against 300 lb OL... so I guess we need 400 lb DT?

[...]

1, 2, 3, 4) John Fox

[MHS831]

We have the one-gap penetrators, but we could probably use another 2 gap plugger (nose, if you will). Ed and Louis are it for now. But for the pass rushing type of DT, we have Landri, Hayden, and Neblett--not to mention Johnson and Brayton. Just knowing this makes Ed tired.