Another needs analysis

a little different than many ... no mention of Lendale White being a Panther probable


Atlanta Falcons (8-8 in 2005)
Head Coach: Jim Mora (Third Year)
Key needs:
1. Offensive tackle 2. Defensive back 3. Defensive tackle 4. Linebacker 5. Tight end

1. Offensive tackle: The Falcons have pressing needs at left tackle after the loss of Kevin Shaffer. The acquisition of defensive end John Abraham leaves them without a first-round pick. With their second-round pick, they will look at tackles Daryn Colledge and Jonathan Scott.
2. Defensive back: They could surprise and take cornerback Johnathan Joseph in the second round. They will look for a strong safety in the third round. The team likes Greg Blue and Darnell Bing, but they may not be available that late.
3. Running back: Atlanta has relied on veteran Warrick Dunn to carry the load recently. Former top pick T.J. Duckett is limited to goal-line situations and has little creativity as he enters the final season of his contract. The Falcons like Joseph Addai and Jerious Norwood in the second or third round. They also like P.J. Daniels for a second-day selection.
4. Defensive tackle: With Abraham paired with Patrick Kerney, the Falcons have a terrific pass-rushing duo on the outside. The team hopes to strengthen the inside with a run-stuffer to join Roderick Coleman and Jon Babineaux.
5. Linebacker: The Falcons hope to land an inside linebacker for their 4-3 set if veteran Ed Hartwell is slow to recover from injury. With Keith Brooking on the outside with a few young prospects, this unit hopes to step up if all are healthy. They have little depth inside and may look to select Abdul Hodge midway through the first day.
Insiders' Insights: The Falcons hold the 47th overall position in addition to two third-round picks. Though their biggest needs are on defense, a big mobile left tackle may be too good to pass on if Colledge or Scott is available. That would give them a fine outside pair of pass protectors for Michael Vick. The defense will be the primary focus of the draft, with tackle, linebacker and cover men the priorities. In a good defensive back class, they may address both corner and safety on the first day.
First pick: Johnathan Joseph, CB, South Carolina. Rising prospect has fine playmaker ability
Alternate pick: Daryn Colledge, OT, Boise State. Athletic left tackle would be a fine addition for young offense.

Carolina Panthers (11-5 in 2005)
Head Coach: John Fox (Fifth Year)
Key needs:
1. Linebacker 2. Offensive tackle 3. Tight end 4. Running back 5. Defensive tackle

1. Linebacker: The Panthers lost Will Witherspoon in free agency and released Brandon Short. They will consider Bobby Carpenter or D'Qwell Jackson late in the first round. They like Roger McIntosh and Jon Alston in the second round. With little depth, this position should be addressed at least twice, once at the 27th spot.
2. Offensive tackle: The Panthers invested their No. 1 pick three years ago on left tackle Jordan Gross and he has performed at a nice level after moving back to the right side. They need a more athletic left tackle and hope Eric Winston or Marcus McNeill falls to the end of the first round. They can find young tackles later with Daryn Colledge and Jonathan Scott available late on the first day.
3. Tight end: This has been a little-used position, and an area they want to improve. The Panthers would love to land Anthony Fasano or Marcedes Lewis with their second pick. They also like Garrett Mills and Tony Scheffler, but with a selection in the middle rounds.
4. Running back: The Panthers re-signed DeShaun Foster and used their second pick last year on Eric Shelton – who spent the season in IR. Both are injury prone. They will add another back after releasing veteran Stephen Davis. In a deep class, they can certainly wait until the middle rounds for runners like Brian Calhoun, Cedric Humes and Wali Lundy.
5. Defensive tackle: With perennial injury concerns about Kris Jenkins and the release of veteran Brentson Buckner, this position became critical. They added Damione Lewis and Maake Kemoeatu, but will look for depth in the draft.
Insiders' Insights
The Panthers look to re-supply some key areas to get back in the playoffs. They hope to land a premier linebacker in the end of the first round, targeting Bobby Carpenter and D'Qwell Jackson. Getting a high-quality offensive tackle is a top priority. They like Eric Winston with their No. 1 pick and Marcus McNeill in the second round. In this strong tight end draft, they could find a quality prospect like Anthony Fasano or Marcedes Lewis on the board in the second round – either would be difficult to pass up.
First-round pick: Bobby Carpenter, LB, Ohio State. Explosive outside force would be a great addition.
Alternate pick: Eric Winston, OT, Miami. Fine blocker could be the answer at left tackle.

New Orleans Saints (3-13 in 2005)
Head Coach: Sean Payton (First Year)
Key needs:
1. Linebacker 2. Offensive line 3. Strong safety 4. Tight end 5. Quarterback

1. Linebacker: The Saints defense has shown some improvement, but still comes up short. They are unable to stop the run and need an every-down defender. In the first round, they will have their choice of any linebacker – with A.J. Hawk the top prospect. They prefer an inside linebacker like D'Qwell Jackson in the second round and Abdul Hodge in the third round.
2. Offensive line: The Saints have a shot at the premier left tackle, D'Brickashaw Ferguson, with the No. 2 selection. He gives them a terrific book-end tackle for 2005 top pick Jammal Brown. They lost guard/center LeCharles Bentley to free agency and will consider a top interior blocker early in the second round, targeting center Nick Mangold and guard Davin Joseph. They have guard Charles Spencer on their board for a third-round selection.
3. Cornerback: The Saints' secondary made strides last year with safety tandem Josh Bullocks and Dwight Smith. They still need help on the corner. They like Kelly Jennings in the second round, Richard Marshall or Will Blackmon early in the third round.
4. Tight end: Have not utilized this position fully in recent years and could land a quality prospect in the middle rounds. They hope to address it on the first day with H-back Garrett Mills or Tony Scheffler as a middle-round choice.
5. Quarterback: They have little depth behind Drew Brees and will look for a future starter. Pick will come with an eye on value later in the second day – a youngster like Ingle Martin, Darrell Hackney or Brett Basanez.
Insiders' Insights: The Saints hope to address major needs on the first day with three selections. They will entertain all trades to move back from the No. 2 overall spot – with offers already from the Jets and Broncos. They each have two first-round picks. Look for multiple picks on defense where they have key needs: Middle linebacker, cornerback and tackle. They want to add a tough linebacker with the ability to be an every-down defender and have A.J. Hawk on their first-round list. They may look for an interior offensive lineman early in addition to selecting Ferguson at the No. 2 spot. The Saints like tight ends Marcedes Lewis and Joe Klopfenstein for selection in the early third round.
First-round pick: D'Brickashaw Ferguson, OT, Virginia. Premier left tackle too good to pass on.
Alternate pick: A. J. Hawk, LB, Ohio State. Explosive hitter being considered for the middle.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (11-5 in 2005)
Head Coach: Jon Gruden (Fifth Year)
Key needs:
1. Offensive tackle 2. Safety 3. Defensive tackle 4. Cornerback 5. Wide receiver

1. Offensive tackle: The Bucs attempted to sign many veteran offensive lineman in recent years with minimal success. They have adequate lineman Anthony Davis at left tackle and unproven talent behind him. They will get a chance at tackles Eric Winston and Marcus McNeill late in the first round. They also like tackle Daryn Colledge and have him earmarked for the second round. Expect guard and center picks in the middle rounds.
2. Safety: The Bucs lost free safety Dexter Jackson to free agency after parting with John Lynch two seasons ago. They will look to add a potential starter fairly early. They like Daniel Bullocks and Ko Simpson in the second round and Roman Harper in the middle rounds.
3. Defensive tackle: The Bucs re-signed Chris Hovan but have little depth. In the first round, they will consider Gabe Watson. They like Jon Lewis and Orien Harris in the third round.
4. Cornerback: The Bucs have veterans Brian Kelly and Ronde Barber as starters, but only have marginal backups. They hope to add a potential starter, and the best values on the board in the first round could be Tye Hill and Jimmy Williams.
5. Wide receiver: The Bucs are set in their multiple wideout offense but have little depth. Vets Joey Galloway and Ike Hilliard are near the end of their careers and the team will look for a replacement. They may put an emphasis on return skills, selecting Willie Reid or Skyler Green.
Insiders' Insights: The Bucs have made only a few changes in the offseason with an emphasis on re-signing players. They did address one problem area with the addition of guard Toniu Fonoti. The key decision will be how to address the offensive line. Gruden likes Colledge in the second round, a choice which would allow a focus on defense with other first-day selections. Look for them to choose a quality corner in their first two picks. They will consider a defensive tackle or linebacker early if good value is on the board. Tackle is a high priority and should be addressed on the first day.
First-round pick: Tye Hill, CB, Clemson. Fast cover man may be the highest rated prospect on the board.

 

... and then of course you look at their mock and they have us taking White and passing on Carpenter. Sheeesh.

My needs in order:

skimpier cheerleader outfits
a catchy song
some mojo

OT (personal pet peeve ... but the candidates seem pretty iffy beyond Justice)

OG (i have no faith in Mathis and think it will be a sore spot if not addressed. still we got by with Willig on the OL and i doubt anyone else could be as bad)

Power back (we've never been great with first and short to the goal-line, but last year we were surprisingly (almost magically to the point i was pretty confident we were going to get a TD when we got close) effective with Davis and then became obviously horrible, even moreso than in the past, when he went down. shelton at this point is a prayer. the bigger hope than shelton is that they can teach Foster to drive it over. they cured him of fumblitis so i think there's reasonable hope here. if so, a mid-round pick as precaution to his injury bugs seems like a reasonable strategy). still if white is there and his character isn't as bad as he is making it appear, i gotta draft him as there are too many "ifs" at probably the most important position on this team. ya know, Earl was questioned alot about his work ethic ... until ya got him in a game. who knows, give white a little skoal and not only does white lose his appetite but also no one wants to tackle him.

OLB (what else needs to be said ... very scary with Seward and Davis penciled in as starters by default. but, then we did go to the SB with Favors and a still iffy 'Spoon)

FS (very worrisom but we got by with Minter, Branch and Grant so probably not as important as i deem it)

TE (it would be somewhat a luxury to have a good one on a team that has been very successful without a lot there; but i think it would be huge for Jake and our offense and I pray everynite before i go to sleep that we get one this year)

OLB depth


a weird thought ... any chance Shelton would be moved to FB?

 

Did you post where you got this from and I just missed it?

This kind of statement annoys the shit out of me. It's fine to speculate on who the team should or may take, but to act like they have some kind of insider knowledge is silly. Even mentioning which guys have been interviewed is fine, but saying which guys they want (unless it's blinding obvious, like Houston with Reggie Bush) just undermines their credibility in my eyes because it looks like they're making stuff up.

Gah. Morons. Winston eats folds of rotten cunt, while McNeill doesn't fit us at all.

More buffoonery. First, be sure to spell player names correctly, and then stop pretending to know what the team would "love" to do.

Shelton is not injury prone. He wasn't even seriously hurt last year, they just used a minor injury as an excuse to IR him when it looked like he might not even make the team. And no, there isn't any chance that he will be moved to FB.

 

What names did they spell incorrectly? Fasano and Lewis seem fine to me.

In the Saints piece they mention Denver made an offer to trade up. Going back to the Davis thing yesterday. Who would they be seeking that high up?

 

To me, an legitamite "injury concern" would entail a player continually injuring one part of his body. Jenks has suffered two major injuries, neither related. The one last year was the result of a freak play.

I have no concerns about Jenkins being injury prone. I do have concerns that any player, at any given moment, can be struck with a freak injury. But to say that Jenkins has any sort of tendency to injure one part of his body would be inaccurate. Thus, he's not injury prone.

It's the same thing with Foster. The media's favorite line about Foster is "well, in his four seasons, three have ended on IR." First of all, all three injuries were unrelated. Some are going to argue that he runs too high, and that causes repeated health problems. I don't know if I buy that. Sometimes, shit just happens. And to say that he ended 2005 on IR is extremely misleading. Dude was healthy all year.

Now, Morgan is injury prone. It's always the same few things. Shoulder, head, etc. A weak spot (or two) have been indentified with DM.

Whatever. I just get a little annoyed when Johnny Reporter doesn't bother to dig a little deeper and provide some sort of context.

 

I certaintly dont want to start defending that piece as i agree with most of what Collin said, however, that piece never said Jenks was injury prone. It said "perennial injury concerns". That much is true. Also, if Jenk lets his weight rise as other have noted that indeed may lead to unnessesary injuries, ie putting more weight/stress on his knees. Kinda like what MAY have happneded last year.

I have a hard time defending Foster being injury prone. Yes his injuries appeared freakish, the ankle, collarbone and fibula were all unrelated (except they happened on the field of play) but his running style and effort does increase the odds it appears. He really needs to learn when go down and live another day IMO.

 

Marcedes should be Mercedes.

 

Marcedes is correct.

 

Incorrect. They gave him an A in Marcedes to make it "more masculine".

Doesn't explain why they gave him Alexis as a middle name, the poor bastard.

 

Wow. All the times I've seen his name I never noticed that.

Yeah, that "a" really makes a difference. Definitely more masculine