Mid Season thoughts

I know it's eary for this, but we are half way through on a bye.

WR, DT, OLB is where I would focus on during the draft. At this point in that order.
I know most will pine for upgrading the Defense first, but ask your self this:

What will this offense be with out Smith. With all the Chump shots he is taking at his age, are you willing to bet the season on him being healthy? This offense is built around creating space for the weapons.
do you think D Coordinators are going lose sleep over the other WRs?

If Smith does stay healthy through out the season, can you imagine having two WRs that require double teams. How will that open up the rest of the field? Any of the top three WR would be pretty good catches and should fall in that value area. Cam likes open fields not crowded ones.

What about the defense.

Here is where I think we can get lucky.
Crick was the top rated DT or at least in the conversation prior to his pectorial injury. I think he will now fall to the second round. He is the top 3 or 5 technique. Patience might be required depending on his injury,
There is a lot of value for OLB at that second spot if he isn't there.

I like Josh Chapman in the middle rounds for a NT. Sabin has a knack for developing that spot. Darius and Cody. He's short and stout against the run.

I haven't looked at the linebackers much this year, but I think for the rest of the draft, that would be the focus. Hurney usually can find one gem in the late rounds, hopefully he can get lucky. Those guys benifit ST play and depth.

 

Good thoughts. I'm starting to talk myself into Blackmon if we pick high enough. I don't want Jeffrey, though.

 

This is where I was going with my question, half way through, what specific needs are surfacing as "need to be adressed"

I think we have some "potential" at both WR and DT, I'd like to see an upgrade "VET WR" over Nanee, and see if Gettis and Lafell continue to devlope, we invested a lot in DT in last years draft, right wrong or indifferent, I can't see them adding more early. maybe bringing in a decent vet. s for LB, we went from a strength to holes. can't rely on Davis or Beason being Healthy, so OLB is definately a big need IMHO.

I think we need a top pick pick CB and invest again high in another safety.

draft rounds 1-3, CB,OLB,S

 

Fua & McClain are just depth, really, and I'm not sure that McClain is even on the roster two years from now.

 

agreesome, just don't know that they'll invest early in the draft again, hard to get a read this early on whether Chico will recognise his mistakes early and fix, just thinking at this point, they'll add a vet rather then an early pick.

 

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/...-could-fit-all-32-teams-glaring-holes/page/22

 

Eh, I think a second round DT is very likely. First won't happen simply because none are worth it, but the only way they don't take one in the second is if they take Coples in the first or someone else they had a first round grade on falls to their spot. Unfortunately there isn't going to be much available at DT in free agency, so they almost have to address it via the draft.

Keep in mind that Bleacher Report is one of the dumbest, least reputable sources for sports analysis on the web. You can find random college guy blogs that make more sense. I hold them in more esteem than PFT, but only because they're not intentionally trying to deceive or tout themselves as some final authority, but you should basically treat them as nothing more than a random message board post. In this particular case, there is no chance whatsoever that the Panthers would go after DeSean Jackson. They're already squeezed by the cap, and Jackson isn't remotely what this offense would need as a complement to Steve Smith.

 

Blackmons badass. He's got some attitude issues, but most WRs coming out do. Maybe it's a testosterone thing that gets corrected when he's around adults.

I've seen some nice clips on Jeffreys but not enough bad ones to know what he's doing wrong. He has bad QB in a run first offense, so that will hinder his numbers this year.

LaFelle is improving, but remember he is playing mostly against nickle backs and safetys. Do you think he or anyone other than Smith makes those plays against double coverage or top CBs?

As far as the DTs, I'm in a wait and see mode till next year. Playing two rookies against some vet OLs is unfortunate. It's hard to be patient and not just look at the product on the field. It's a hard position to fill on D. Always a roll of the dice. You never know how those guys will hold their weight. I'd roll the dice on Crick in the second and put McCain behind him.

 

I was by no means endorcing it, but did find it intriguing. It was literally the first result for a "2012 free agent class DT" google search. On that note, I'm not finding many free agent DT's out there next year...

 

What? No, he isn't. He's playing against strongside cornerbacks, and looks decent enough when he's in there for me to feel good about his future. I don't see WR being a huge need, it's just that Blackmon is such a special player that you'd take him anyway. Don't downplay his attitude issues, though. They're not your usual college kid immaturity, they're serious personality defects that raise legitimate concerns about how that will affect his professional career. He is a major, major headcase. Unfortunately the rest of the draft class sucks so much that he still looks better than the alternatives.

I'd think about Crick in the second, but honestly he's a lot better fit as a 3-4 DE than as a 4-3 under tackle. He'll probably go to a team running a base 3-4.