Star + Short= playoffs

[La Pantera]

DT depth is the key(and we have that now). Limiting the rookies snaps is a must, so they don't run out of gas at the end of the season.

[auburnman]

Atlanta: better D-line equals no fractured hand for me.....bar tops aren't very forgiving

 

Oct 1st game, Falcons 60+ yd bomb?  I almost poo myself...worst D performance i have seen....EVER.

[DaCityKats]

another thing in common is in those games we lined up in the same coverage for the last series. coaching fail.

[PhillyB]

i think it may indeed be the difference-maker. it should propel a top 10 defense to top 5 and take the pressure off of an already-excellent offensive unit to score on every play. more stops will equate to more offensive series, and for once may actually mean that a punt is not a bad play.

 

i still want a vet guard though.

[CarolinaCoolin]

The defense will be alot better. Rivera is the key piece in all of this like rayzor said. You had collusal fug ups from him to cost us those games. In the last stretch of last he looked different. Took risks and it paid off. This offseason he looks relaxed and confident. Most important to me he actually looks happy. Hopefully that translates onto the field. Cam is going to improve even more and make our receivers better. My honest prediction is 10-6 wildcard.

[PantherGuy]

While assuming that we will make the playoffs this year based only on applying the changes we made this offseason to last year's schedule, with its own countless variables, is logically questionable, I do think that immediate production from Star and Short will at least result in better chances of making the playoffs because our run defense would be much better. Last year, I honestly think other teams' running games gave us more trouble than their passing games. Adding Star and Short will help with that.

[L-TownCat]

Oct 1st game, Falcons 60+ yd bomb? I almost poo myself...worst D performance i have seen....EVER.

It actually took place on September 30th. I know because that was my wedding day. :\

[CelibatePimp]

It actually took place on September 30th. I know because that was my wedding day. :

 

Sorry that such horror and joy will forever be wed in your memory bank.

[bigskypanthersguy]

Sorry that such horror and joy will forever be wed in your memory bank.

 

 

every year, my birthday tends to happen during one of our worst losses of the season.  i'm really getting tired of that.  these last two years, meaning last year and this, we face the giants.  i fervently hope to see a gridiron crater created on the field where we leave their psyches after this particular encounter, as i'm that fed up of having the team i put my heart and soul into get embarrassed on my, uh, "special" day.  

 

that said, it's not like anything meaningful ever happens on that day anyway.

[PantherPhann89]

I have to admit that I wasn't overly excited about the Short pick. I was expecting and wanting a S. However, I wasn't mad about it either. I just thought that a very good S would serve us better. But I can see the Gettleman direction and I like it...

[ItsNotGonnaBeAlright]

While assuming that we will make the playoffs this year based only on applying the changes we made this offseason to last year's schedule, with its own countless variables, is logically questionable, I do think that immediate production from Star and Short will at least result in better chances of making the playoffs because our run defense would be much better. Last year, I honestly think other teams' running games gave us more trouble than their passing games. Adding Star and Short will help with that.

Not saying we'll make the playoffs this year. I'm saying we would have made the playoffs last year if we had won those three games and that those three games would have been won on one play apiece with better interior defensive line play.

[Happy Panther]

Playoffs will depend on the coaching and how our S/CBs perform. We have plenty of playoff caliber talent at almost every other position

 

Gettleman says load up on big guys and rely on a second tier secondary. 

 

We will find out how this philosophy works in a few months.

[stirs]

Our fate this season now rests with the OLine's performance. If we can open holes and run the ball, then we are playoff bound.

[RoaringRiot]

Not saying we'll make the playoffs this year. I'm saying we would have made the playoffs last year if we had won those three games and that those three games would have been won on one play apiece with better interior defensive line play.

Not necessarily....Chicago was 10-6 and they didn't make the playoffs. Or have you gone through the tiebreaker scenarios with Minnesota? Unfortunately....10-6 is no guarantee in the NFC with all of the strong teams.