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What the future holds and how can we replace what we lost?

Fan01

By Fan01,
in Carolina Panthers

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Fan01 Enthusiast

Fan01

Posted
Posted

Look at last years production of the guys we lost and ask if it's possible to replace that production.  Forget names.

 

Jordan Gross - Nope.  Even at his age he would have been the most talented LT out there.  That one really hurts and it's probably going to hurt for a while.  Get used to seeing the TE over there helping whomever we end up with.

 

Best guys left - Donald Penn, Micheal Oher, really, there's not much quality starters left out there.

 

Captain - Yes.  There are plenty of corners out there that would be good enough especially with our front 7.

 

Best guys left - Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, Champ Bailey, Charles Tillman, Drayton Florence

 

Steve Smith - Yes.  Hakeem Nicks is the only guy that has potential #1 receiver ability but there are numerous guys who can give us better production than Smith did.  

 

Best guys left - Hakeem Nicks, Jullian Edelman, James Jones, Sidney Rice

 

Brandon LaFell & Ted Ginn Jr. - It won't take a lot to replace their production.  

 

Best guys left - Kenny Britt, Miles Austin, Jerricho Cotchery, resign LaFell

 

Mike Mitchell - Yes, we all wanted him to stay but no way were we going to pay him 5 million a year when your average safety makes around 3.  

 

Best guys left - Major Wright, Thomas Decoud, Nate Allen,  (there are a ton of average safeties or ones like Mitchell who are young and might just need a fresh start with the best front 7 in the NFL to rehab their image.  

 

Luckily for us this draft is very deep at tackle and WR.  If we can get Wharton to play LT next year or at least find a stop gap 1-year player that's not a turn style we'll be OK on the O-line.  I wouldn't be shocked to see a Rookie starting at one of the Tackle spots.  

 

Our defense will be just as good as last year if not better and honestly our O-line and WR's where at the bottom of the NFL anyway so it'll be about the same.  Just like the last few years, we'll go as far as Cam takes us.  Between this years draft and next years draft along with FA by next year our WR and O-line situation will be a strength.  

 

And the year after that most of the bad contracts will be off the books.  I know no one wants to hear a rebuilding story and we're not rebuilding as much as we're putting the pieces slowly, carefully and surly around Cam.  Our defense will carry us the next 2 season and continually get better.  We are good enough as a whole team to make runs those two years as we get even better.  By the 2016 season we'll have one of the most elite teams in the NFL built for the long haul.  Cam and Luke will be in their prime along with our DT and the Kracken.  By then we'll have all the hog mollies we need and a WR corps as good as an team in the league.  And our salary cap will be stable.

 

Sit back, stay calm and enjoy the ride.  There will be bumps but the Carolina Panthers with an elite defense and Cam Newton are setting up to be on top of the NFL for the next 10-12 years.

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Smithers Grand Master

Smithers

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Finally, some rationale.  You would think we just lost 5 pro bowlers.  We lost guys that people on this very board refused to get excited about when we signed them last offseason.  Yes, Gross retiring hurts.  But Mitchell, Ginn, and Captain???  C'mon now.  Mitchell was energetic and brought a great attitude to the game.  But his coverage skills are lacking.  When opposing QB's had more than 3 seconds to throw, Mitchell's man would get free.  Ginn is fast, but dropped a lot of balls.  He is average at best, and very replaceable.  Captain made some great plays last season, but also made a bunch of really bad ones.  When not in the slot, he is below average. 

 

It sucks losing Smitty...I love the guy, and am just as sad and pissed off as everyone else.  But how many times did people on the Huddle gripe and complain about those dropped balls, fumbles, stupid penalties, etc.?  Defenses did not have a tough time taking Smith out of games this year.  Sure, part of that was due to the lack of another threat.  But part of that was also due to the fact that Smitty does not have the speed and hops he used to. 

 

Our core is still intact.  We need to work on 3 positions...CB, OT, and WR.  Most teams in the NFL would be happy if they only had major holes to fill at three positions. 

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TheNewStandard Newbie

TheNewStandard

Posted
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This draft is gonna make or break us, not only for next season, but maybe for a while.

We need at least 3, maybe 4 starters, regardless of what position they play. We can't afford busts and still hope to be perennial Super Bowl contenders.

It just sucks because of our draft position and no one would want any of our running backs, so we can't use them for trade bait to grab an extra pick in the top-3 rounds. Our stars are not worth losing for draft picks either, so they are off the table, in my opinion.

Just gotta hope for the best.

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Ketchup Newbie

Ketchup

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Ginn was on his way out the NFL as a one-trick pony.

Mitchell was a back-up

Smith hurts, but we all wanted major WR overhaul

Captain will be harder to replace than most think

Gross-hardest hit, but needed to happen(need to get younger)

Great to see someone be sensible This is a young mans game. No one knows who the next SS Who is only drafted as a KR and had to learn the recieving game from the others

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PhillyB Grand Master

PhillyB

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I'll tell you exactly how to fix it. Sign and trade Greg fugin Hardy.... We could have signed decent starting left and right tackles and brought pep back with that 13 million, played rotational opposite of big money and been just fine.

 

im trying to figure out which part of your post is utterly ridiculous and i can't quite pick it out

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jptaylor84 Newbie

jptaylor84

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I guess a lot comes down to hardy! If in the coming weeks he doesn't sign a longterm then we can't afford to simply go all season renting him out! If i'm DG I'm saying look you got til the end of the month and then we're looking to trade options, he knows his market due to the Bennett and Johnson deals this offseason.

Then we go from there, I'm not as hopeful on getting too much for him but possibly swap first round picks with say a team like the raiders and maybe snag there second and I'm happy with picking higher in the first and having two second rounders this year, we also then can draft one of the elite LT in this years draft class, and pick two solid starters in the second round, I just think DG has seen gross retire and expected the rest of the line to follow and made his mind up that he may aswel stop doing what Hurney and he did last year by bandaiding all the time and just rip the whole dam thing up including smitty and start again! He has his franchise qb on place so nows time to stop holding him back and go all in with an offense built for years to come.

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MDPanthersFan Newbie

MDPanthersFan

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Would have been nice to have Gross stick around for another year so that a LT could have beend drafted and play on the rightside for a season before transitioning over... would have also given us a season without relying on Bell at RT...

 

Hopefully, with any luck, they will bring in either a WR or OT that can fill a need; WR is more likely given the remaining FA class... would like to see something happen prior to the draft... Britt shouldn't garner a huge price with his injury issues, but has shown the potential to be a #1; why not bring someone like that in who you only have to pay like a #2 or #3... aside from that, I don't see any true #1 WRs out there as everyone else has their "red flags"

 

Time will tell...

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