Free Agency

I have a hard time believing we move Smith, or sign another WR.

I like Wilson, and Mebane. I think BM can push the pocket well enough. Lots of guys enamored with Cofield. Jenkins can be good, don't think he'd come.

 

You're probably right, but I wish they would. I haven't seen anything out of LaFell or Gettis to make me think they're suited for more than spot duty.

 

Has anything come out about the use of the franchise tag? Players wanted to limit teams to using it only once on a player. Also has anything been mentioned about tendering potential free agent players with draft picks as compensation?

 

bump for those wondering what names the team might want to look at.

 

that's why Hurney's overall duplication has been troubling (and I anticipate that trend to continue with keeping good players, Anderson and Williams, possibly at the expense of other positions) when it feels like we bring solid prospects overall. We disagree to a point about what level of good these guys are at, and various other things including why you'd have to draft so many WR and QB (not being allowed to sign vets, for instance), but it doesn't change we have a shitload of young WR.

I mean, you can't say that you'd throw away getting a Gettis in 6, just that having that pair with two other young guys hampers what you can do. Rivera and Hurney may decide otherwise, that you have to earn it now while this veteran takes a job, but it seems smartest IMO to see what you have, so you're not throwing away more than you need to throw away, and spend next year when you know what you need.

 

I thought Lafell and Gettis looked promising. They were playing on the worst offense in the NFL with the worst starting QB in the NFL so to have shown anything was pretty good. If we are able to get a decent QB to throw the ball to them then they should flourish. If Newton is a bust or plays like Vick did before prison then it does not really matter who we have at WR.

 

racist

 

You're wrong. Gettis is a guy who can only run a limited set of deep routes, and has questionable hands on top of that. That doesn't make him useless, as it's nice to have a third or fourth receiver who can stretch defenses in wide sets, but he's not a future starter. LaFell has more potential in that respect, but really showed nothing to suggest that he'll be ready any time soon. That's not unusual for receivers, who tend to develop slowly, but keep in mind that the vast majority of drafted receivers never pan out to be anything significant. Having questionable, inexperienced wideouts was one of the reasons the offense looked so terrible last season, and not upgrading the position would hurt whatever chance Newton has to succeed as a rookie.

 

Steve Smith has been a solid WR for a long time and he had his worst season in a long time last year so I think it is logical to assume that poor QB play was a big factor. Gettis and Lafell may not have shown a whole lot but given the youth movement we are engaging in I think it makes sense to give them more time. Bringing in a veteran WR will prevent us from finding out what we have with those two guys anyway.

Newton does not strike me as the kind of QB who is going to make good use of his WRs anyway. I expect more running and dumping to the tight end and running backs from him.

 

Steve played like crap last season. I'm not referring to statistics, I'm referring to him dropping balls, not running routes at full speed, and basically looking like he wanted to be anywhere in the world besides playing for the Panthers. The dude checked out mentally. You want to blame Clausen for everything because you're being a homer who wants to pretend that the team is close to the playoffs without him, but you wishing doesn't change reality.

No, it wouldn't. You act like receivers never develop unless they get a lot of snaps for terrible teams. In fact, bringing in some veterans might help them get mentored, and would definitely push them to improve their game if they want to play. Doing nothing means that you're putting a very heavy bet on these guys to succeed, and if they don't then you're screwed.

I really don't mean to keep picking on you, and I actually feel bad about it because I appreciate and applaud how much you love this team, but this is just so not even close to reality. Newton is a downfield passer, Thelt. That's what he does. No back or tight end at Auburn last season had more than 17 catches. Cam has a big arm, and throwing deep is what he does best.