Your reaction if we go DBs in the first couple rounds?

[SevyDamus]

I want an OLine in the 1st or 2nd. With that being said I would be able to get on board with 2 CBs or a CB & S. Weakness to strength definitely matters more if they pan out for us or show flashes for the following season. CBs usually take longer to develop then most position.

[beastson]

Considering we run a primarily zone scheme id RAGE if we drafted a CB with our first two picks. 

 

Seattle run zone too. You can't just plug mediocre to 7th round picks in at CB and expect stellar performance. You need to be able to do it all

[Mr. Scot]

It's a need, so it wouldn't bother me.

Other needs would be addressed other ways.

[micnificent28]

Jordan Matthews with our first...the end. I could see that guy putting up 700 and six Tds his first year. Much like Keenan Allen

 

Really cause i hear he's bombing in the senior bowl. droping passes and cant separate.

[TheRumGone]

Really cause i hear he's bombing in the senior bowl. droping passes and cant separate.

 

i've heard the opposite.

 

made the greatest catch of the day. catches fuging everything.  one poster said it looked like he didn't care he was there but that he was putting on a clinic.

[Scuba Steve]

I would only be disappointed in a pick if I felt it was a reach....BPA is always the way to go....get value picks and plug holes in FA after the draft.

[jarhead]

Then consider me a dolt.

 

If it was 1, yeah, I'd probably understand. Using our first 2 on defense would leave me with serious questions about our draft strategy.

 

Bell/Chandler are every bit as weak as our weakest DB's. Maybe Kugbilla pans out, but that still leaves Bell to deal with. And of course our limitations with our receiving corps has been thoroughly discussed.

 

We need touchdown scorers and OL at least as badly as we need DB's.

 

Who knows who will fall to you in the draft but to double down on DBs with a zone defense will not get us  to a super bowl.

 

The real question is what upgrades will give us a better chance to win?

 

We obviously need a talent upgrade at db,wr,and OL.The way I look at if a stud is there to upgrade our OL I would take him. We need to block to improve our running game ......we need to block to improve our passing game. The problem is the likely hood of one being there does not look good unless someone drops so BPA will probably prevail I would love to see a Keenen Allen type receiver being there in the 2nd or 3rd.

[Mr. Scot]

i've heard the opposite.

 

made the greatest catch of the day. catches fuging everything.  one poster said it looked like he didn't care he was there but that he was putting on a clinic.

 

USA Today: Risers and Fallers

 

Matthews quickly earned respect from his new teammates during the very first day of practice. Auburn CB Chris Davis described Matthews as the best wide receiver on the squad after going against him during Monday’s practice.

 

Matthews built on a strong initial effort and continued to play at a high-level during the South team’s second practice.

 

As the wide receivers went through their route progressions early in practice, it quickly became apparent Matthews is the smoothest among those participating in the game. He is fluid out of his break and creates separation. There is very little wasted motion.

 

Matthews also displayed tremendous body control. He caught a pair of passes along the sideline, where he kept his feet in-bounds despite falling out of bounds during the catch. The second catch along the sideline was highly impressive since Matthews had to adjust on an under-thrown pass as he contorted his body to make the reception.

 

There were a couple drops due to poor passes, but Matthews generally plucked the ball with ease out of the air.

Matthews entered Senior Bowl week as the top rated wide receiver prospect on the rosters, and he continues to prove why during each practice.

 

[TheRumGone]

USA Today: Risers and Fallers

 

yea a fellow huddler Growl is actually at the event right now. he's been posting about it in the draft forum.

 

he said another person to look for is cody hoffman from byu. dude is a beast.

 

also said he spoke to mike craft and gettleman indeed said they are looking for weapons for Cam.

[Mr. Scot]

yea a fellow huddler Growl is actually at the event right now. he's been posting about it in the draft forum.

 

he said another person to look for is cody hoffman from byu. dude is a beast.

 

also said he spoke to mike craft and gettleman indeed said they are looking for weapons for Cam.

 

No shock there.

 

Stated before my preference for this year is to get immediate OL via free agency and look to the draft for receivers.

[CPF4LIFE]

Yeah that doesn't it. Matthews is the guy

[panthers55]

Considering we run a primarily zone scheme id RAGE if we drafted a CB with our first two picks. 

We run a lot of cover 1 which uses man on the outside by the corners.  We usually go to cover 2 or a nickel against 4 receivers but that still means at least one DB will be in single coverage with no support.  Many plays it is 2 DBs in man coverage so the idea we can defend without good corner covers is wrong.  With receivers getting more physical and bigger we need our corners to be bigger and physical as well and that requires good man and press coverage.

[carolina-chuck]

Gap between Seattle, Carolina is secondary

January, 20, 2014

Jan 20

12:45

PM ET

By David Newton | ESPN.com

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- We get it. Seattle's Richard Sherman is the best cornerback in the NFL. He told us so time and time again after Sunday's 23-17 victory over the San Francisco 49ers put the Seahawks in the Super Bowl.

And despite his over-the-top postgame comments and classless choke sign, Sherman's tipped pass that turned into a game-clinching interception is the reason Seattle is headed to New York.

Pay attention, Carolina. That's what you need to get there next season.

Not the over-the-top stuff.

Cornerbacks like Sherman.

Coach Ron Rivera and general manager Dave Gettleman said last week that Seattle and San Francisco were the models for what the Panthers (12-5) had to get to in order to win the NFC.

They didn't get into specifics, but as you watched the conference championship it became glaring the area Carolina most has to improve to reach the next level is the secondary.

The Panthers match up well with both teams in the front seven. Their run defense ranked No. 2 in the league, better than the Seahawks (seventh) and 49ers (fourth). They had more regular-season sacks (60) than Seattle (44) and San Francisco (38).

But where Seattle in particular holds an edge is the secondary. The Seahawks led the league in pass defense and interceptions. As Sherman showed with his clutch play at the end, the "Legion of Boom" is the best in the league.

Not that Carolina's secondary was bad. The Panthers finished sixth against the pass and fifth in interceptions, which considering injuries and the money spent there was solid.

But as we saw in the second half of a 23-10 loss to San Francisco in the NFC divisional playoff game, when Anquan Boldin broke free for a 45-yard catch that led to a touchdown and 20-10 lead, there were breakdowns.

This one happened in part because starting strong safety Quintin Mikell was injured and there was a communication issue with rookie Robert Lester.

But that wasn't an isolated case. In Carolina's final seven regular-season games, it gave up 25 pass plays of 20-plus yards. To put that in perspective, the offense had 14.

The Panthers don't have what you would call a shutdown corner as Seattle does with Sherman. As well as Captain Munnerlyn played this season, he was beaten twice by Miami's Mike Wallace for passes of 50-plus yards and would have been beaten a third time had it not been for an overthrow.

As well as undrafted rookie corner Melvin White played, much of that had to do with keeping the plays in front of him and taking advantage of help with Carolina's zone coverage. There never was a game in which the coaching staff felt it could relax and say he's got it handled.

So the secondary has to improve, and has to be addressed because three-fourths of a starting group that was nicknamed the "Legion of Whom" -- Munnerlyn, Mikell and free safety Mike Mitchell -- is scheduled to become unrestricted free agents.

Mitchell seems to be a no-brainer to bring back. He brought a level of physicality and attitude to the secondary that Sherman brings to Seattle's.

The others have to be nervous.

"We've got to evaluate those guys and see how they fit," Rivera said diplomatically when evaluating the secondary this past season. "I'm very pleased with the way our guys played. We finished ranked very well in pass defense. I know people say, 'Well, you also led the league in sacks.' Yes we did. We also led the league in turnover margin as well.

"So we did some good things defensively. Some of our guys that played really well were our defensive backs at times. But again we've got to get consistent. We've got a good group of guys. But again we've got to evaluate. That's probably the key word right now, we've got to evaluate."

In trying to close the gap on Seattle, the Panthers may have to get bigger and more physical in the secondary. The Seahawks average 6-foot-2 and 201 pounds at the corners. The Panthers average 5-10 1/2 and 200.

It's hard to imagine the 6-3 Sherman getting his hand on the pass to Michael Crabtree in the end zone had he been 5-8 like Munnerlyn.

Overall, Seattle's secondary averages 6-1 1/2 and 209 pounds. Carolina's averages 5-10 3/4 and 203 pounds.

And Seattle is without its other shutdown corner, Brandon Browner (6-4, 221), who is suspended for violating the league's substance abuse policy.

So as Carolina moves forward into the offseason while the Seahawks move on to the Super Bowl, the secondary must be addressed.

It doesn't have to get outspoken like Sherman.

It just has to get better.

 

[pantherclaw]

If it's BPA, what would it matter?

I know it's the off season, and ya gotta have some to talk about.