Have at it - my midseason thoughts

[hasbeen99]

My midseason thoughts and projections...



Overall. The moment we lost James, Stuessie, Donnalley, and Grant, I knew we’d be in trouble for this year. When the pics (and Wp28’s report) of our vaunted DL lazing about training camp came out, I knew we’d be in worse trouble. Then the team came out flat and injuries started happening. When you’re standing in a hole that deep, you’re doing well just to see daylight again, and we’ll be doing very well to finish .500 this year. I haven’t had a chance to watch much Panther football this year, but all of what I’ve seen has absolutely disgusted me, until the second half of last week’s game in San Francisco. That was the first time the Panthers looked anything like last year’s team, and I was encouraged. A lot. We’ll see what the rest of the season looks like.



Quarterback. Jake hasn’t looked nearly as sharp as he did late last season. All of us had expected him to be much more polished coming into this year, and much more in command of the team. He was neither. He was flat in the Green Bay game, and since Smith went down, he’s played like lost his best friend. His fire has been largely absent, which is most disappointing. Granted, he’s running for his life most downs and has little or no running game to support him. Not to mention, he’s not getting a lot of help from the coaching staff. Still, he hasn’t looked like the same player he was last year.



Running back. The curse of the black cat found this squad with a vengeance. What team loses 5 backs to injury in one season? Call me pessimistic, but I think microfracture surgery will end Stephen Davis’ career. He may get a few carries here and there next season, but I doubt he’ll come all the way back. DeShaun Foster will be our starter in ’05. And we’d better find some quality to back him up, because Foster has an injury history. I like what I’ve seen of Joey Harris, and he should challenge Smart for the #3 spot. The only advantage Rod has over Harris ATP is his special teams ability. I think there will be some FA’s worth looking at this offseason for depth. Next year’s backfield should look different – and better.



Fullback. Hoover continues to impress the heck out of me. He just gets the job done. He’s developing into a very good all around fullback who can block, catch, and rush. He could be used as a 4th quarter clock-killer in the future, if Davis can’t come back. Goings is still more of a tailback than anything else, but still impresses me for a depth guy – good hands, decent speed, but not a breakaway threat. Honestly, I haven’t noticed his blocking skills. But I think he’s perfect for his role with the team.



Wide receiver. I honestly don’t know whether Steve Smith’s value was realized more last year or this year. I’ll say this up front – he’s a lot better WR than I ever gave him credit for. I hope he can come all the way back from that ankle. Moose is slipping fast. He’s still capable of a few big plays a game, but has not stepped up into the #1 role we needed when Smith went down. I really thought he would shine again when forced to rise to the occasion. He’s not been bad – but certainly not the go-to guy he was a few years ago. Not all of that is him, though. Jake, for reasons both justified and not, has been seemingly reluctant to throw to him. Moose has made some spectacular catches (largely because of bad ball placement on Jake’s part, IMO), but not enough of them. Colbert is being asked to do a lot, and will only get better. I had thought he had more speed, but it doesn’t look like he’s going to ever be much of a big play threat. Probably more of a #2 or even a slot receiver at best. Proehl should be gone next year, as his hands are no longer sure, and for the most part can only get open on hitch routes. There are a few prospects waiting in the wings, but it wouldn’t surprise me to see another receiver drafted in April.



Tight end. It’s good to see Seidman getting some playing time, even if it’s only to fortify the right side of the line. Gaines has been impressive for a 7th round rookie, which isn’t really saying much. Still, the three TE’s on the roster are all pretty capable of doing what Henning’s offense asks of them. Mangum could catch better, as could Seidman, but none will be thrown at much. All three seem to block well. Competition is always a good thing, though, and they’ll probably see some this offseason.



OL. Gross hasn’t been the all-pro I’d hoped for at LT, but my expectations were probably too high for this year. He could still easily develop into one, and under Maser’s tutelage he probably will. Still, he’s good enough this year to largely not have to worry too much about Jake’s blind side, which is saying a lot for a 2nd year player playing LT for the first time in the NFL. Fordham hasn’t been bad at RT, but doesn’t have the power or mobility that Gross had last year. That explosiveness on the right side has been missed in the running game this year. Willig is likely gone, and Fordham and Kadela can fight it out this offseason. I think an upgrade on the right side is a necessity to revive the outside running attack for ’05.

I’m not sold on either of our current guards ATP. Wharton isn’t bad at pass blocking, and is mobile, but gets overpowered in run blocking. He needs to get a lot stronger, and fast. Reyes is average at best, and probably is no better than a backup in this offense. I doubt he’ll ever develop into much more than he is right now, and right now he’s not good enough. We need to find a road grater to play RG this offseason, and preferably one who is 31 or younger and doesn’t have an injury history.



Mitchell remains solid, and still one of the best in the NFC. Probably not Pro Bowl caliber anymore, but definitely someone we need to keep here. Behind him we’ve got next to nothing. Nelson would probably suffice as a backup if he didn’t have the hip issue. Seeing as how he does, though, I see Nelson getting an injury settlement and being sent on his way. Center is definitely on the shopping list for ’05.

 

[hasbeen99]

DT. We found out just how good Jenkins is this year. He’s the only defensive lineman who actually came close to living up to the hype this year, and he didn’t play a healthy down all season. Buckner has a few moments here and there, but is definitely in the twilight of his career. Moorhead is probably average, or maybe a little more, but not a good fit for this defense. I was surprised to see Duckett waived, but at least he’s back on the PS. I wouldn’t mind a FA move or draft pick at this position at all next year.



DE. For whatever reason, Rucker is not performing at all like he was last year. Peppers has actually made some impressive plays, but the more I watch, the more I think the two should be flipped. I agree with Magnus – he plays better in space, where he can use his speed. He’s much closer in ability to Simeon Rice than Michael Strahan or Kevin Carter. Just the opposite for Ruck. Al Wallace is a superb backup, and needs to be retained. Rasmussen is probably only decent as a backup on the weak side, but not bad. Both Rucker and Peppers need to have their contracts restructured – they’re getting paid far more than their play is worth.



OLB. It’s great that Fields is playing again this year, but has largely been a non-factor. Witherspoon has been taking blockers heads-up, and he’s getting pummeled. He’s a finesse player who works better in space. Brandon Short is great coming off the bench, and should contend for a starting job next year. Brian Allen is a worthless lump of roster spot, and should be gone.



MLB. The injury bug has bitten Morgan again this year, but not as bad as in the past. Jenkins being out has really hurt Dan’s production, too. Honestly, he hasn’t developed into the stereotypical leader at MLB I thought he would. I truly believed he would take command of the defense with intangibles like Seau, Urlacher, Thomas, and others have, but it just hasn’t happened. He gets it done on the field, but not really in the locker room, and that’s disappointing. Vinny Ciurciu is an interesting backup. The guy plays with a huge heart, and I love that. I don’t know if it’s enough to overcome his lack of size, strength, and talent, but I sure want to root for him.



CB. Gamble has looked like a rookie, but not a bad one. My concern is that his head will never quite develop, based on his Wonderlic score. Manning has been less than stellar this year as well. He may have been more lucky than good last year. That being said, RMJ is the most solid tackler I’ve seen in the backfield this year, and that’s cause for deep concern. I’m disappointed that Wesley hasn’t developed more than he has, but I’m interested to see how well Eddie Jackson does with the PT that he’s been given for the back half of the season. I’m thinking he’ll probably beat out Wesley for the dime spot.



S. Tillman should be starting at FS. Branch should probably be moved over to backup Minter on the strong side, but I’m not even sure he should stick there. I could probably live with Tillman/Hampton on the weak side, though. Minter seems to be tailing off from a couple of years ago. He’s not making the big hits he used to – I think he’s lost much of his intimidation factor. The team probably needs to take a hard look soon at grooming his replacement.



Special teams. Sauerbrun, even with all his baggage, is still one of the best punters in the league and probably will be the only Panther in Honolulu this year. Kasay is still an exceptional kicker, but is starting to have injury problems. He’s still serviceable for a couple more years, but after that the hunt should be in full swing to find his successor. Jason Kyle is a machine at LS, and should stick around here as long as he keeps getting it done. I don’t think we’ve found the solution in either return game, however. Add KR and PR to the ’05 shopping list.



Coaches. Fox has lost some of his mojo this year, but I still think he’s one of the top 5 coaches in the league.



Henning isn’t a bad OC when he’s got the roster to do what he wants to do. As much as I’ve blasted him, I can’t argue with what the offense did last year. My beef with him is that he either doesn’t have the will or the ability to adjust to what he has. And in today’s NFL, with frequent injuries and high turnover, that’s absolutely unacceptable. I was ready to punch him square in the face after the San Diego game. As bad as everyone played, that game was still winnable – but bad clock management and horrible playcalling killed any chance of winning. Henning needs to go. Maser and Skipper are not only the best assistants on this team, but I’ll put them up against any assistants in the NFL. I wouldn’t mind seeing Skipper being promoted to OC at all in ’05 if we can’t get Weis or someone equally stellar.



Trgovac is a stellar DL coach, but IMO is inadequate as a DC. We’ll probably be alright if he stays (and hopefully improves), but he just seems lacking in the area of motivating the defense. And the DL has definitely slipped since he took his eye off them. Sunseri is definitely a step backward for the DL. As inspired as the LB corps played for Mills last year, they seem equally as flat this year. No fire, and I wonder how much that has to do with Sam’s deteriorating health. Rod Perry is starting to cause me to draw serious questions about his ability. Our secondary is green as can be but even they’ve been underachieving, IMO. Someone needs to light a serious fire under the collective backside of the defensive secondary, including their coach.



Outlook for 2005. I’d be shocked if we weren’t playoff contenders next year, and dark horse favorites to go all the way. There’s a lot of work to be done, but the cap should look pretty good next year, and hopefully the front office has learned its lesson from the mistakes of 2003-2004. Hopefully the three-headed genius of Hurney, Richardson, and Fox knows where the team needs to spend money and where it doesn’t.

 

[McFly41]

I'll sum up my thoughts in short...

Injuries SUCK!

The FO dropped the ball in the offseason.

The players finally got some hype, and appearently bought it lock stock and barrel!

 

[magnus]

>>The moment we lost James, Stuessie, Donnalley, and Grant, I knew we’d be in trouble for this year. When the pics (and Wp28’s report) of our vaunted DL lazing about training camp came out, I knew we’d be in worse trouble.

Inevitably, we were doomed to come out flat. The preseason "greatness" only masked it. I won't say that we were in total trouble because of the moves we'd made, but nothing really made sense about the moves all the same. We never really improved anywhere but linebacker, and we've had a total of four good games from 6 linebackers. We got worse at almost every other position, in retrospect.









Fullback. Hoover continues to impress the heck out of me. He just gets the job done. He’s developing into a very good all around fullback who can block, catch, and rush. He could be used as a 4th quarter clock-killer in the future, if Davis can’t come back. Goings is still more of a tailback than anything else, but still impresses me for a depth guy – good hands, decent speed, but not a breakaway threat. Honestly, I haven’t noticed his blocking skills. But I think he’s perfect for his role with the team.



>>Wide receiver. I honestly don’t know whether Steve Smith’s value was realized more last year or this year. I’ll say this up front – he’s a lot better WR than I ever gave him credit for.

He grew a lot



>>Moose is slipping fast. He’s still capable of a few big plays a game, but has not stepped up into the #1 role we needed when Smith went down. I really thought he would shine again when forced to rise to the occasion. He’s not been bad – but certainly not the go-to guy he was a few years ago.

I absolutely disagree. While I'm certainly a Moose guy, I did calculate his averages a couple weeks ago and found that Moose would've projected to finish the season around 90 rec., 8 TD, which was pretty much Smith's season in 2003.

Now he projects to 80/1090/12TDs, and I don't know how either the above number or this one isn't stepping up. He's not going to have 120 receptions in this offense, no. And he did get shut down to one reception against Champ. But 80 and 12 TDs is remarkable. Regardless of what happens from here on, he'll have at least the third best season of his career, other than scoring, where he'll be setting a new personal high. I don't see "slipping" here.



>>(Colbert) Probably more of a #2 or even a slot receiver at best. Proehl should be gone next year, as his hands are no longer sure, and for the most part can only get open on hitch routes. There are a few prospects waiting in the wings, but it wouldn’t surprise me to see another receiver drafted in April.

Hopefully not a blue chip one. I feel like we can't afford not to find a way to bring Muhammad back, with Smith hurting the way he is, and find a guy who has deep speed and some return skill.



>>Still, the three TE’s on the roster are all pretty capable of doing what Henning’s offense asks of them.

I really wish we had one good guy and a roleplayer or two. But if we can get better everywhere else, I'm fine with roleplayers at TE. Still, there's an air of "what we have is allright" on this team to the point where it just doesn't seem like we're interested in improving in some spots.



>>Moorhead is probably average, or maybe a little more, but not a good fit for this defense. I was surprised to see Duckett waived, but at least he’s back on the PS. I wouldn’t mind a FA move or draft pick at this position at all next year.

I never got all the hype around Duckett. The guy did nothing on the field.
Moorehead's a decent fit here - he's just not that talented. He's got some skill and enough to be a valuable backup, but he's just a big guy who gets off the snap. He's a 5th round DT - what we're getting out of him is a major plus.



>>Al Wallace is a superb backup, and needs to be retained.

Yeah, we did that. $1.5 mil a year so he could sit the bench and watch Rucker get bogged down. We've got him for years.





>>I truly believed he would take command of the defense with intangibles like Seau, Urlacher, Thomas, and others have, but it just hasn’t happened. He gets it done on the field, but not really in the locker room, and that’s disappointing.

He's not been "the total package", no. He's never been that guy. Never really had to be, and never will be. Sad, he's as talented as they come and he just happens to have holes in his game.

>>Vinny Ciurciu is an interesting backup. The guy plays with a huge heart, and I love that. I don’t know if it’s enough to overcome his lack of size, strength, and talent, but I sure want to root for him.


I don't. I like players who hustle, but they have to have legit attributes, and I don't see them in him. I wish we had a legit backup MLB.

>>I’m disappointed that Wesley hasn’t developed more than he has, but I’m interested to see how well Eddie Jackson does with the PT that he’s been given for the back half of the season. I’m thinking he’ll probably beat out Wesley for the dime spot.


Wesley did OK in his chance, but they did obviously penalize him for his stupid penalty late by benching him again. Jackson, however, came out of nowhere and now looks to have made people notice. for a 4th CB, more than enough. Good, and cheap.


>>S.

We need a pair of players here. I expect Minter will play out his contract (2005) and that's it for him. We must have a pair of good safeties, ASAP.




Special teams. Sauerbrun, even with all his baggage, is still one of the best punters in the league and probably will be the only Panther in Honolulu this year. Kasay is still an exceptional kicker, but is starting to have injury problems. He’s still serviceable for a couple more years, but after that the hunt should be in full swing to find his successor. Jason Kyle is a machine at LS, and should stick around here as long as he keeps getting it done. I don’t think we’ve found the solution in either return game, however. Add KR and PR to the ’05 shopping list.




>>I can’t argue with what the offense did last year. My beef with him is that he either doesn’t have the will or the ability to adjust to what he has.

I think that's my main argument - he forced chains on his QB and didn't back off. He ran the ball over-the-limit to the point where he was wearing out his backs, and it seemed to be all or nothing with him - we'll run and punt, or we'll pass unconditionally. No significant effort to put a simple drive together based on various disciplines, thoughts, and ideas, just big-assed one dimensionalism.


>>Henning needs to go.

Agreed, I guess. I really feel like, at minimum, we need a real QBs coach. If we can get a Weis or a McCarthy, we need to. IF we have a QBs coach, however, it'd at least make the transition better when Henning hangs it up - he's aging fast, he's behind the times, and if he and Williamson retired, that's a killer. Now we have to find 3 separate passing game oriented coaches willing to work in the confines of a run offense, and make it work. With the QBs coach, you can always promote that guy, or Skipper, but you have an option or two.



>>Trgovac is a stellar DL coach, but IMO is inadequate as a DC. We’ll probably be alright if he stays (and hopefully improves), but he just seems lacking in the area of motivating the defense. And the DL has definitely slipped since he took his eye off them. Sunseri is definitely a step backward for the DL. As inspired as the LB corps played for Mills last year, they seem equally as flat this year. No fire, and I wonder how much that has to do with Sam’s deteriorating health. Rod Perry is starting to cause me to draw serious questions about his ability. Our secondary is green as can be but even they’ve been underachieving, IMO. Someone needs to light a serious fire under the collective backside of the defensive secondary, including their coach.



It's hard to say, as far as the rah-rah ability of our coaches. The D played great last year with this setup, and without the rah-rah. I do think it's necessary that Trgovac take charge of his men, or Fox for that matter, but they're just outright playing bad at times. I put that more on the players.

Sunseri was and is a fine coach. I do think the linebackers are directly suffering from either overcoaching (two LBs coaches) or Flajole isn't reaching them and Sam can't work enough, but the DL doesn't seem undercoached. They seem young, undisciplined, and like they were sitting around until September and decided to start working.

 

[Southern_Yankee]

STEELER'S ARE GOIN TO THE SUPERBOWL :xyzthumbs

​

 

[hasbeen99]

[Re: Moose slipping] I absolutely disagree. While I'm certainly a Moose guy, I did calculate his averages a couple weeks ago and found that Moose would've projected to finish the season around 90 rec., 8 TD, which was pretty much Smith's season in 2003.

Now he projects to 80/1090/12TDs, and I don't know how either the above number or this one isn't stepping up. He's not going to have 120 receptions in this offense, no. And he did get shut down to one reception against Champ. But 80 and 12 TDs is remarkable. Regardless of what happens from here on, he'll have at least the third best season of his career, other than scoring, where he'll be setting a new personal high. I don't see "slipping" here.

If we had any kind of running attack and a better #2 WR, I'd agree. But as we're now down to Nick Goings and Brandon Bennett, and our #2 is a rookie who has trouble getting open consistently, I'm wont to think that's not good enough.

I'm thinking about the quality of those catches, too. I've seen him drop too many balls in the end zone this year -- admittedly, not all his fault. But for a WR of his body type, he should be much more reliable in the end zone and on third down than he's played this year. I'm not saying it's all on him -- a lot of blame can be placed at the feet of the OL, Jake, and Henning. If Henning was smart enough to adjust his offense to fit what he had left on the field, Moose should have '99 type numbers, or at least the opportunity to get them.

I guess it boils down to an unmet expectation rather than a true objective evaluation of his play. He's a decent receiver, but he's not emerging as the go-to guy I want him to be. He's a veteran with a Pro Bowl past. Jake's other option is a rookie lacking Smith's game breaking speed and Moose's savvy. I want to see a lot more chemistry between Jake and Moose. I just expect someone of Moose's proven ability to emerge as "the guy". I guess my expectations are just unrealistic. It's not that I think Moose is a bad receiver. I'm just frustrated that he isn't stepping back into the #1 ball hawk he was in his past. But I also know, that's not all his fault.

 

[hasbeen99]

That figures... Just as I post this, panthers.com posts an atta-boy article on Moose. Granted, he had a good game against SF. A lot of our guys did, that haven't in a long while. Maybe this is finally the beginning of what I've been waiting to see. If so, it sure took long enough...



Moose on the loose again
November 18, 2004

By Brett Borden
Panthers.com

Wide receiver Muhsin Muhammad is coming off one of the biggest games of his career with six catches for 123 yards and three touchdowns in last Sunday's 37-27 victory at San Francisco. The nine-year veteran is en fuego, recording 22 catches for 323 yards and five touchdowns in the last three games alone.


"I have to give the credit to my teammates," said Muhammad. "The offensive line did a great job of blocking. The running backs did a good job with pass protection. And (quarterback) Jake (Delhomme) found me. He moved around well in the pocket and got rid of the ball. We were able to make some plays. Hopefully, we can keep it going."

Muhsin Muhammad scoring one of his three touchdowns versus the 49ers last Sunday. (AP Photo)

It's more than just his teammates, though. With the loss of fellow wide receiver Steve Smith and running backs Stephen Davis and DeShaun Foster to injuries this year, teams have more or less been forced to focus on stopping Muhammad. Even so, he has stepped up his game.

Muhammad's best season was 1999, when he registered 96 receptions for 1,253 yards and eight touchdowns. He followed that up a year later by catching 102 passes for 1,183 yards and six touchdowns. He is currently on pace to haul in 80 receptions for 1,090 yards and 12 touchdowns.

"It's opportunities," said Muhammad. "I've always said that given opportunities, I can make plays and still do the same things I've always done throughout my career. I'm in the scheme a little bit different than I was last year. I feel I can perform under any situation. You want me to block, be fast, whatever. Lately they have allowed me to show my versatility."

Muhammad has never been known as a speed receiver, but his 85-yard touchdown reception in Super Bowl XXXVIII will attest that he has enough to get downfield. He thinks that the Carolina receivers will have a chance to make more plays this Sunday when the Arizona Cardinals come to Bank of America Stadium.

"I know that they are really aggressive from a defensive standpoint," said Muhammad. "Their corners play a lot of one-on-one coverage. We'll have some opportunities to make some plays. We'll have to take advantage of them.

"It's going to be a challenge this week just like it is any week. Every team has good players. Every team has good schemes and good coaches. You have to do what you have to do to get ready for each game. We've been watching a lot of film. I think we're more concerned more with how we execute than what they're going to do schematically against us."

 

[hasbeen99]

[Re: Al Wallace] Yeah, we did that. $1.5 mil a year so he could sit the bench and watch Rucker get bogged down. We've got him for years.

He's not that much of a bench warmer. He gets rotated in a lot. There were times last year he seemed to get as much PT as Peppers. Maybe even more. As much as Fox/Trgo like to rotate the front four, it increases the need for high quality depth, and Wallace fits the bill.

 

[hasbeen99]

It's hard to say, as far as the rah-rah ability of our coaches. The D played great last year with this setup, and without the rah-rah. I do think it's necessary that Trgovac take charge of his men, or Fox for that matter, but they're just outright playing bad at times. I put that more on the players.

Ultimately, I do too. And last year, the rah-rah came from the players themselves, particularly from Minter, Rucker, and probably Buckner on defense. But for whatever reason, the passion is gone. Even Minter's been flat, which is surprising to say the least. If the players can't motivate themselves, I believe it's on the coaches to get them motivated. JDR was a great one for that. I think Marvin Lewis is, too, but in a different way. Fox is a great motivator, which is what's confusing me. How is his energy not filtering down?

Sunseri was and is a fine coach. ...the DL doesn't seem undercoached. They seem young, undisciplined, and like they were sitting around until September and decided to start working.

The latter is a reflection on coaching, IMO. Sunseri's okay, but he's not Trgo. This DL isn't a shadow of what it was when Trgo was coaching them directly.

 

[Piper]

The player I'm most confused about is Rucker.

Our high energy, high motor, great technique, Pro Bowl DE has a half a sack? Few hits? One of the best two DE in the league the last three years is being run at?

I haven't heard one injury situation with him. It's not like he's old, its his sixth year. His play is the biggest mystery.