Just sitting here watching Fua and McClain get abused.

[necroplasm]

Interior DL upgrade and LB's return away from being contenders..I'm tellin' ya.

Oh poo. 2012 PANTHERS, MOFO

But wait...we are Panthers fans

Jump to future:

Panthers are 11-2....

"this just in, polar shift impact is awaiting to occur..scientists have revealed."

:(

[CatMan72]

...and take Olsen for example, what are our chances of drafting a TE in the 3rd round that would be as good as Olsen?

[Bj-Monster23]

Not saying they aren't good but you do know Florida State and Maryland are probably 2 of the worst rushing teams in the ACC for a reason?

Yeah i know. He is a good player and he also played good against South Carolina last year and VT this year. He also dominated against Auburn this year, it was a good game.

http://youtu.be/

[Udogg]

I'm just frustrated because we're so close to being 4-1 or 5-0 and I'm watching these young guys get blown off the LOS... it's not the only thing we need to fix, but it's close to the top. I do agree that you have to be careful about trading away picks, but this is an area where we might be able to find someone that has an immediate impact.

Yeah, I know what you mean. However I look at it like this:

Arizona: Special teams

GreenBay: Secondary

Chicago: Special teams/Front 7

New Orleans: Whoever was guarding Graham.

Lots of holes, but we still have to stop making mistakes on both sides of the ball. Hell hindsight is 20/20 but if Cam would have thrown inside on one play and outside on another the entire game could have been different. The key with Fua and McClain is not to look at Detroit. They skew your perspective. They are getting better, and next year as a team we will be better for it. We have to learn how to win with whoever is on the field ala Green Bay. Both tackles were out and they slowed down for about a quarter, figured everything out and kept rolling. Same with our team, even with TD and Beason out we are in position to win games. We just have to learn as a team how to do it. You won't learn faster by playing. IMO.

[necroplasm]

...and take Olsen for example, what are our chances of drafting a TE in the 3rd round that would be as good as Olsen?

exactly. i'm always up for trading picks for a proven player, especially with good character that would be loyal. draft picks are all out risky, guys like olsen.. are not.

[Ivan The Awesome]

Pat William is still available.

[Udogg]

exactly. i'm always up for trading picks for a proven player, especially with good character that would be loyal. draft picks are all out risky, guys like olsen.. are not.

Right but looking around the league people are locking up good young DT's like they are going out of style. I mean the only reason we got Olsen is because Chicago listened to Mike Martz and believed their only problems was they didn't have a blocking tight end. No sane team would have traded him. A lot of old, coming off injuries DT's are out there, but all are stop gaps.

[CatMan72]

Yeah, I know what you mean. However I look at it like this:

Arizona: Special teams

GreenBay: Secondary

Chicago: Special teams/Front 7

New Orleans: Whoever was guarding Graham.

Lots of holes, but we still have to stop making mistakes on both sides of the ball. Hell hindsight is 20/20 but if Cam would have thrown inside on one play and outside on another the entire game could have been different. The key with Fua and McClain is not to look at Detroit. They skew your perspective. They are getting better, and next year as a team we will be better for it. We have to learn how to win with whoever is on the field ala Green Bay. Both tackles were out and they slowed down for about a quarter, figured everything out and kept rolling. Same with our team, even with TD and Beason out we are in position to win games. We just have to learn as a team how to do it. You won't learn faster by playing. IMO.

Good points, and I'm not expecting us to trade for Suh or anything close to that, but there's a lot of room for improvement between that and the DT's we have now.

Not giving up on either of these kids in any way, but they are rookies and we're a talented team who has missed out on 4 wins by less than TD in each game. Something as subtle as our interior d-line being able to hold their ground on rushing downs and getting a decent push on passing downs could have enough of an impact to make the difference in these close games.

If nothing else, we might be better able to absorb some of the other mistakes we've made by having more solid interior d-line play. Special teams play is difficult to address because there are so many moving parts, but if you can find one interior d-lineman who can command a double team it would have a dramatic effect on our defense as a whole.

[Proudiddy]

McClain is going to be a baller, Fua has had moments but much less compared to McClain. But, what would it hurt to bring in a big body vet to come in there and clog up the middle and let McClain pressure and Fua rotate in? I still think if Kemo was healthy we should've brought him back.

I'm with CatMan, just because we're developing young guys doesn't mean we shouldn't expect to win. I said in another thread that I seriously believe, we are one starting-caliber DT OR LB from winning consistently this year. I have no idea why we settled on what we had when everyone saw this as a problem since the PS.

[SauceBoss]

Seriously we can't stop the run and Fua and McClain aren't the answer. We went into the season with Edwards and the hope someone else would step up. Well none of that happened. We can't stop the run and god forbid Hurney spend money during the season. Sign Fat Pat Williams and let him take up space and clog the middle, it's what we need, not some non fat guys getting pushed back every play.

[CatMan72]

Look at teams who want to run the ball and are bad at it and then offer them Goodson and a pick for one of their young starting-caliber DT's or a DE in a 3-4 defense that could play DT in a 4-3.

Right now, the 5 worst teams at running the ball according to NFL.com rankings are:

1. Titans

2. Jets

3. Colts

4. Seahawks

5. Giants

Giants have a plethora of talent on the d-line and the whole offense is built around the ability to run the ball, so maybe they would be willing to offer up a d-lineman for a promising young prospect like Goodson and a decent pick?

Out of all these teams, the Seahawks are 9th at stopping the run and the Titans are 11th so they obviously have some talent on the d-line that they might be willing to part with in exchange for the ability to improve their own running game. I realize these stats can be somewhat misleading, but it's an interesting way to look at it.

[mick eye]

Edwards was meant to be the vet stop gap. Frank Kearse has the size but have not noticed him on the field. So i would agree that a DT would be a decent pick up but... i wonder if we have the salary room to bring someone in. Also i wonder if we really want to trade any draft picks away. I mean Aaron Curry was out there for a SONG and i know the huddle is divided about his potential, you can argue our depleted LB unit is every bit as suspect as the interior dline. Last but not least looking into the future i don't see DT as a priority even in next years draft. Young talent to eventually replace Gamble and Smitty are more important.

[necroplasm]

Right but looking around the league people are locking up good young DT's like they are going out of style. I mean the only reason we got Olsen is because Chicago listened to Mike Martz and believed their only problems was they didn't have a blocking tight end. No sane team would have traded him. A lot of old, coming off injuries DT's are out there, but all are stop gaps.

oh i know...i was kinda talking outside of this situation a bit. just really supporting the idea of aggressively going after those type of players. just the risk factor thing...

[MaineManPanther]

McClain is going to be a baller, Fua has had moments but much less compared to McClain. But, what would it hurt to bring in a big body vet to come in there and clog up the middle and let McClain pressure and Fua rotate in?

Fua has been more impressive.

Fua: Qb disruptions- 4

Tackles- 10

Defensive stops- 9

All in 208 snaps

McClain: Qb disruptions -5

Tackles-3

Defensive stops- 3

All in 215 snaps

Neither has been impressive in rushing, but Fua has been pretty decent vs the run while McClain has struggled.