Jason Peters plus or Jeff Otah?

[Squirrel]

TDs 1st with 10 (tied)

Carries 5th (11.5/game)

Yards per game 5th (among RBs with 100 or more carries per game)

Rush Yards 5th

1st downs 5th

you know who was in the top 5 with him? RBs who were the primary RBs on their teams.

Matt Forte...19.8 carries per game

Steve Slaton...16.8 carries per game

Chris Johnson...16.7 carries per game

Kevin Smith....14.9 carries per game

Jonathon Stewart....11.5 carries per game

Stewart was the backup and still hung with them. Had he been given the same amount of opportunities that they had, especially that forte had, he would have blown them away.

stewart with 19.8 carries per game, based on his production this past year (with a questionable foot) would have looked like this:

316 carries(what forte had)/1422 yards (@4.5/att) /17 TDs (yeah, he scored a TD with every 14.8 carries)

forte...316/1238/8

now if you are going to say, "you can't make that comparison because they were in different situations" then what would be the standard by which you judged that stewart wasn't even in the top 5 of rookie RBs?

Valied points but was he worth the 13th pick?

[Kurb]

Valied points but was he worth the 13th pick?

Yes 100%

[Fox007]

Valied points but was he worth the 13th pick?

I think it was, there is no guarantee that Williams or especially our passing game would have landed us those 10 TD's that he did.

10TD's is huge.

Plus there is also no guarantee that Williams will remain with the Panthers, and if he can put up those numbers spelling a great RB, imagine what he would/could do as the main back.

Remember the main goal of 2008 was to get into the playoffs, and our 1st round picks(both of them) were an integral part of that.

It's not their fault the QB let em down

(hell Stewart scored in the playoff game)

[rayzor]

Valied points but was he worth the 13th pick?

absolutely.

we have only chipped a little bit off this huge iceburg.

many thought that had it not been for his toe injury that he would have been the unquestioned 1st RB off the board and an easy top 5 pick. getting him at 13 was a steal.

[Squirrel]

Im not complaining to much about Stewart he is a good rb. Just thought we could have gotten one in later rounds and saved our draft picks. Im still miffed about not picking up Schmitt. We still need a Fb for when Hoover retires.

[Brandon]

Valied points but was he worth the 13th pick?

Here's why Stewart is so valuable, not only can he handle 30 carries per game if need be, he is the perfect compliment to DWill. Both are character guys, both make big plays (in different ways), they're best friends, perfect citizens, great locker room guys, and the list goes on.

Im not complaining to much about Stewart he is a good rb. Just thought we could have gotten one in later rounds and saved our draft picks. Im still miffed about not picking up Schmitt. We still need a Fb for when Hoover retires.

We may have missed out on Schmitt, who I wanted badly as well, but I don't think giving up either Stewart or Otah would be worth it. It's not just that we picked up two very talented players who contributed right out of the gates, it's that these guys still have a lot of room to grow.

[Delhommey]

Owen was largely a special teamer last year. Little more. I haven't seen what we've "missed" at this point.

[bleys]

Owen was largely a special teamer last year. Little more. I haven't seen what we've "missed" at this point.

ditto... He jumped over a guy... we totally missed out on that.

We have possibilities to replace Hoover, but IIRC he is going to be around a little bit longer, so it's not like he will be retiring this year.

Stewart and Otah are easily a better pick up... Sure, we could have grabbed a RB later on, but we have a high class character/talented player in both guys and you can't replace that.

I will not regret a few picks for what I saw on the field last year. As Rayzor pointed out, Stewart would have killed the rookie class this year if he got the same carries as others. What is amazing is he didn't and he was still in the top 5.

I understand people questioning this, but to seriously believe we missed out is a bit over the top.

[Squirrel]

Owen was largely a special teamer last year. Little more. I haven't seen what we've "missed" at this point.

He is going to start this year. Thing is yes Hoover has been good but he is going to retire in teh next few years. Picking up a FB to groom under Hoover would have been great instead we will most likely be scrambkung to find his replacement.

[Delhommey]

How can we judge Stewart by last year's stats but when we look at Schmiditt we look at his potential?

It will not be difficult to find one in the later rounds or in FA. FB is the least of our worries.

[littlebigman89]

I wouldn't have paid that much for Peters.

We gave up a lot for Otah, but helped our line get better. We would have probably been stuck with Bridges at RT if they hadn't picked Otah. He wasn't the only reason the line was as good as it was. Gross had a career year, Wharton elevated himself to an elite guard imo, Kalil was much improved and Vincent was solid.

All that being said, I'm happy with the trade.

[Snake]

Originally Posted by Fiz

yes there was but that doesn't address my contention at all

To address it fully. Otah was a part of a working machine that made holes. Kalil had growing pains and Otah did as well. Gross was well Gross and Wharton was very good along with Vincent. When you took any of the starting players out of the mix the line was not as good. Take it how you want but they all are talented and worked well with each other. When one failed they all did and when one was out the hole line looked weaker. There you go

[frash.exe]

How can we judge Stewart by last year's stats but when we look at Schmiditt we look at his potential?

It will not be difficult to find one in the later rounds or in FA. FB is the least of our worries.

It's not by far the most pressing need, however I agree it is something to look into later in the draft since, well, Hoov is 32 himself, and he was a great help to the running game with his lead blocking. ...we could use a fresh option to do the same thing for years to come.

but then again the coaching staff/Front office's MO is playing guys until they obviously can't play anymore so it will take Hoover either getting driven into the backfield, the defender reaching the RB before he can engage the defender, or just simply falling flat on his face nearly every single play before John Fox realizes we could use a new Fullback.

[panthersphan]

Otah > Peters