We are set at DT for next season.

[Doyle]

In a world with no injuries sure.

[bleys]

you can "let players grow" all you want but if you're banking a big need completely on "growth" you're a damn fool.

i'm sorry but the only response i have to this is "no poo"

I'm sorry, but that's because you have no idea about what you are talking about...

how you find this relevant at all is a great mystery to me... I can spout off random ass cliched remarks all day, but most likely they aren't relevant to the situation at hand, like your opinion on this matter..

[Ja Rhule]

those were some of the worst drafting years in the history of this franchise..

True, but we still have the same GM so who knows?

[ed bell]

Cutting Fua would be silly at this point. However, listening to some of you trying to validate his performance this year is equally laughable. He flat sucked on the field.

Throwing around excuses about his youth and lack of conditioning does not hold much water when you consider the age/experience/conditioning of Kearse, Shirley and Neblett.

It is entirely possible he just isn't very good or not big/strong enough.

Give him another year but please don't plan on him starting.

If Kalil says he's strong as a bull, I'll wait for some off-season weight training and guidance on his technique before I assume he's never amounting to anything. I'm fine with the fact that it sometimes takes a couple years for a DT to fill into a starting role.

[Snake]

I expect us to sign some DTs. They are not going to be headliners though.

[bleys]

True, but we still have the same GM so who knows?

Fox and Hurney were on even grounds... Fox built his team as he sought was the best scenario (for that team)..

Since Don Gregory and his staff has been brought on: it has improved by leaps and bounds..

towards the end of Fox's career, it seems obvious to me that Hurney was helping his coach attempt to keep his job..

[CPF4LIFE]

no way Fua gets cut a season after spending a draft pick on him... especially the way Rivera kept making remarks about how he was improving

don't expect any draft picks to be spent on DT... we're loaded with players at the position at the moment, and they're all going to fight for a spot in TC next year

makes no sense to me how people on this forum keep harping that we need to draft a DT again next year when they haven't been patient with the ones we drafted this year. what if we hadn't given players like CJ and James Anderson the time to grow into their positions?

Dont forget Greg Hardy, he already needs to be replaced too!!!

[bleys]

Dont forget Greg Hardy, he already needs to be replaced too!!!

:lol:

[CPF4LIFE]

Please explain to me this GAPING HOLE you see at corner? Gamble and Butler are just fine. Hogan and Captain are sufficient.

:confused5:

[chef17]

I think the trio of Kearse, Neblett and Shirley have done an outstanding job since the rookies went to IR, and it's not like they faced teams that don't run the ball and so their performance is artificially inflated by that. They faced Michael Turner (held him to a respectably below average game), Blount (a bull dozer with a good o-line), and Arian Foster did well but not as well as you'd think one of the star RBs in the league against our d-line would.

I don't think the team NEEDS to add a DT, either in FA or the draft. But it wouldn't surprise me if they did. I wouldn't be upset with a Poe or Thompson in the 2nd, someone who already looks very strong and secure in the middle. Fua never looked like that to me, before the draft and after the draft I had watched videos on him and he never looked like an anchor.

Foster was averaging 6.8 yards a carry. That is a star RB number. The first Bucs game we stacked the box cause freeman was out and Blount was benched in the 2nd game and their RBs combined for 13 rushes. Our defense has been fortunate our offense gets a big lead and other teams are forced to pass. They did do a good job containing turner but there are too many variables (teams playing from behind, stacking the box more, etc.) to say they have done outstanding IMO.

[Kuech the Sneak]

I don't even think DT is a need anymore, they've played well. With

Fua and mcclain we couldn't even stop Donald brown...now were stopping Michael turner and Blount, these DTs aren't really built to stop the zone running scheme that Houston runs, they fare better against straight ahead power teams

[rmoneyg35]

I would wait until training camp or preseason until I even think about a player getting cut.

[klbishop143]

One of the biggest liabilities on our defense is Pugh. That man gets beat like a drum. I would put safety as a need right up there with DT

[mountainpantherfan]

Rivera is the type of coach who "coaches players up." In Chicago he had some big name players but he also had some no names that turned into pro bowl type players ie Lance Briggs and Hunter Helenmyer. In SD, I honestly couldn't tell you any of the starters on that number 1 ranked defense. A lot of those guys were later round draft picks and undrafted players.

We were so use to Fox's motivational style of coaching where he would basicly just ask talented players to out play their opponents. That's not Rivera style. Finding those players that are overlooked won't be by chance like it was with Fox.

With that said I think DT could still use an upgrade but as others have said the draft isn't the source. That doesn't mean you pass on a DT. Draft BPA and if that's a DT so be it. That won't be in the 1st this year though. The talent just isnt there this year in the first.

The only real needs I see on this team from both a draft and FA standpoint are CB and Kicker. At CB we have Gamble and then a couple of really good nickle and dime backs. That 2nd CB position needs to have certain physical skills that you can't just coach up. We need a CB will at least a 6' frame and right now that CB just isn't on the team.

Kicker is a surprise need for me. I thought Mare was a good replacement for Kasay. Hes been good on kickoffs but as we all know field goals have been a big issue.

After those two there are a bunch of questions with injuries and depth but at least from a fan standpoint we just don't know if any of those a needs at this point in time. They could be but we just don't know. But DT is a position that falls into that coach them up category. There could already be pro bowl DT on the roster and we just don't know it yet. SD and Chicago fans didn't at the time...