O-line Vs D-line

[bLACKpANTHER]

we re-vamped the O-line really quickly.. or so it seems.. it actually took us 2-3 years to get all the pieces in place.. and some luck on top of that..

Gross was the only piece that we have had for awhile.. we definitely need to keep him, obviously.. but the other pieces were gathered over time.. Wharton has been with us for a few years now, and that huge contract he got doesnt seem so crazy nowadays, does it?

but Kalil fell right into our lap in the 08 Draft.. Vincent was a huge surprise for what we paid for him.. and Otah was everything we thought he could be for our run game.. so its taken about 2-3 years to redo 60% of our line..

will the D-line take as long to rework?

what pieces do we already have? Kemo? C.Johnson?

is there a Vincent out there in FA that our D-line cud get for cheap?

are we gunna get the 1st we think we will get for Pep so we can replace him?

[Its The Milk]

I am excited to see what happens in this offseason.

The defensive line is going to need some work. I honestly think that Charles Johnson could be a solid starter. That's just my opinion. Kemo is a beast. But beyond that I am not quite sure. Brayton didn't impress me last year but at the same time he was never at fault for something big occuring so...I suppose he was solid.

[Seamonk]

We will not replace Pep with the 1st rounder we get for him. I don't think it's our DEs that are the problem. We have plenty of quality depth there. It's our tackles. If we get a first, we're getting a DT or a CB.

[SorthNarolina]

We pretty much need to devote all of the first 3 rounds to defense, unless a blue chip WR or RG fell to us.

What is important is that peppers has been our highest paid player the last two years he has been here. So the cap room he frees up along with the draft picks we get for him will help considerably with getting talent on the D-line.

We need a lot of help at DT, kemo and lewis shouldn't ever play 3 downs and they were starters this season.

[Ncstatefan]

Johnson/Kemo/(1st or 2nd round) DT/Brayton or another FA or Draftpick who knows about this spot, Peppers even..

That will be the line next year unless so major deal goes down

[mountainpantherfan]

Maybe it's just me but after the Meeks hiring I was thinking about the way Johnson plays and it kinda reminds me of Freeny. Same size and build. Both are very quick off the ball and are deceptive with their power. Johnson may not be as good of a pass rusher as Freeny (and doesn't have the spin move) but he is better against the run. I think Johnson, now being given the opportunity and with two years under his belt, could step in and be a big surprise to a lot of teams.

Brayton reminds me of Rucker towards the end of his career. Occasionally he will get a rush on the QB but not often but he will always be in position to stop the run. He isn't going to wow you but you are not going to be screaming at the TV because of a mistake on Brayton's part. But with Johnson taking a starters spot that leaves a void in the rotation of DE (Hylee Taylor is not the answer) and the Panthers are going to have to bring in another DE. If this DE comes in the form of a 1st round pick or a high priced FA then Brayton may have to take on the role of backup/rotational guy. If this new DE comes from the 2nd round or higher or as a mid-level FA then Brayton would stay in the starting role. I feel that Brayton staying a starter isn't a bad situation if...

The Panthers upgrade the DT position. This is an area I'm just not sure on. Kemo is fine as the starter but needs to have a player like Lewis as a rotational guy. The problem in this is Lewis is talented enough to be a starter (albeit not a great starter) and more importantly is paid like a starter. If the Panthers "upgrade" that position, what do they do with Lewis? And Lewis' injury which is going to put him on the sidelines until the start of training camp or longer only complicates the matter even more. The team could cut Lewis but that would leave the Panthers searching for two starting quality DTs instead of one. If they keep him and try to demote him then you might not get great production out of him as he once gave as a backup. I am hoping more on the side of cutting Lewis and finding two new DTs (one from the draft and the other from FA maybe) but I think Fox and Hurney may end up doing neither and Kemo and Lewis will be the starters again next season. Although I didn't think they would have cut Wahle and Hartwig last offseason either in efforts to rebuild the offensive line so who knows.

All in all I think that defensive line could be in the same situation the offensive line was in last year. Some of the pieces have been gathered and now they just need one or two more to complete the process. The only problem is I think for Fox and Hurney Peppers was always apart of this process and now they are going to have to reconfigure their master plan.

[joemac]

I just hope that our starters next year arent C.Johnson, Lewis, Kemo and Brayton.....that might be the worst starting D-Line in the league.

[Frizzy350]

Maybe it's just me but after the Meeks hiring I was thinking about the way Johnson plays and it kinda reminds me of Freeny. Same size and build. Both are very quick off the ball and are deceptive with their power. Johnson may not be as good of a pass rusher as Freeny (and doesn't have the spin move) but he is better against the run. I think Johnson, now being given the opportunity and with two years under his belt, could step in and be a big surprise to a lot of teams.

Brayton reminds me of Rucker towards the end of his career. Occasionally he will get a rush on the QB but not often but he will always be in position to stop the run. He isn't going to wow you but you are not going to be screaming at the TV because of a mistake on Brayton's part. But with Johnson taking a starters spot that leaves a void in the rotation of DE (Hylee Taylor is not the answer) and the Panthers are going to have to bring in another DE. If this DE comes in the form of a 1st round pick or a high priced FA then Brayton may have to take on the role of backup/rotational guy. If this new DE comes from the 2nd round or higher or as a mid-level FA then Brayton would stay in the starting role. I feel that Brayton staying a starter isn't a bad situation if...

The Panthers upgrade the DT position. This is an area I'm just not sure on. Kemo is fine as the starter but needs to have a player like Lewis as a rotational guy. The problem in this is Lewis is talented enough to be a starter (albeit not a great starter) and more importantly is paid like a starter. If the Panthers "upgrade" that position, what do they do with Lewis? And Lewis' injury which is going to put him on the sidelines until the start of training camp or longer only complicates the matter even more. The team could cut Lewis but that would leave the Panthers searching for two starting quality DTs instead of one. If they keep him and try to demote him then you might not get great production out of him as he once gave as a backup. I am hoping more on the side of cutting Lewis and finding two new DTs (one from the draft and the other from FA maybe) but I think Fox and Hurney may end up doing neither and Kemo and Lewis will be the starters again next season. Although I didn't think they would have cut Wahle and Hartwig last offseason either in efforts to rebuild the offensive line so who knows.

All in all I think that defensive line could be in the same situation the offensive line was in last year. Some of the pieces have been gathered and now they just need one or two more to complete the process. The only problem is I think for Fox and Hurney Peppers was always apart of this process and now they are going to have to reconfigure their master plan.

i hope he doesnt emulate freeney, then we are stuck with a crappy Dend that the sports media for some reason thinks is good

[SorthNarolina]

I just hope that our starters next year arent C.Johnson, Lewis, Kemo and Brayton.....that might be the worst starting D-Line in the league.

the D-line is bad by our own standards, not the NFL's