Mid Season thoughts

DT is easily the weakest position on the team, so it mystifies me that you guys think they won't make adds there regardless of Edwards.

 

I guess it's more the lack of obvious options. Unless we go on an unlikely tear and wind up picking 15-20, and could maybe justify taking The kid from Clemson at that spot, or find a surprise add in FA what else is out there?

 

There are plenty of options for the 2nd round.

 

there's really not much point speculating on this prospect v/s that prospect at this point. While the college season is about done, a lot happens in the next six months anyway. I'm still good with a DT, we have to stop the run, but you never know what will happen there, or CB, or various other places we have youth (including WR) and investments.

I don't mind McClain instead of Nevis. I haven't watched Indy but it's not like they're fantastic there with one of my 09 guys, Moala, and Nevis. McClain has, at the least, shown some penetration ability. We did get locked in to taking a DT or two there, we didn't get great value. I definitely would agree there. The entire 11 draft was plagued by that, a reach here or there when we could still have used the best player.

It's a tough situation. You have a lot of important players uncertain with the future, you have enough positions you could let grow if you wanted (WR an easy example) or could easily still throw a high pick in that direction. Next year has to be a BPA year.

 

Next year has to be a BPA year

I'm sure you didn't mean that in the absolute sense. At least in the first and to a lesser extent the second, need and value will be a part of it. If one looks at "value" there are those sweet spots that picks make more sense.

For top picks one might look at the franchise tag numbers to see what teams actually pay for top prospects at certain postions.

Here is the 2010 with 2011 projections


Quarterbacks: $16 million ($16.4 million in 2010)
Running backs: $9.5 million ($8.15 million in 2010)
Wide receivers: $11.3 million ($9.5 million in 2010)
Tight ends: $7.3 million ($5.9 million in 2010)
Offensive linemen: $10.1 million ($10.7 million in 2010)
Defensive ends: $12.9 million ($12.4 million in 2010)
Defensive tackles: $12.5 million ($7 million in 2010)
Linebackers: $10 million ($9.7 million in 2010)
Cornerbacks: $14 million ($9.6 million in 2010)
Safeties: $8.8 million ($6.5 million in 2010)
Kickers: $3.1 million ($2.8 million in 2010)

In this projection, WR and CB were almost equal in 2010, but in 2011, they were projecting CB to be a higher value than WR. Of course there are other variables such as team needs and availability that might have skewed the numbers, but it's an indicator.

 

Well if you're picking between two guys that are nearly equal, then need makes the choice, and obviously the team isn't going to take a QB or HB (at least hopefully) if they're BPA. But other than that, I agree that the team needs to focus on getting the "best" players they can right now. Filling needs is what a contender does when they're trying to make a run. This roster is so thin at so many spots that the team can't get hung up on drafting position ________ in round _______. I want a DT, but if the value is at another position then I'm fine with that.

 

Fill me in on BLackmon? Is he that bad of a headcase?

 

It's also important to remember that while we debate whether x+y > Cam, or z+r-o squared > Cam's mother, we had a choice to make. We sat on the #1 overall, and there was no trading out of that.

It wasn't going to be Andy game manager fucking Dalton. It wasn't going to be a DT, with Clausen at the helm. And we had no second round pick. The choice was the first overall.

Cam Newton was the only real choice there. He's turned out to be a really good player who shows incredible promise. It was the right choice. And sadly, it probably bought Hurney a lot more time with us.

 

Yes, and what bothers me most is that it affects his play on the field. He does things that show he cares more about himself, his stats, and highlights than anything else. That said, he plays extremely hard and is incredibly talented.

Cam Newton was far from the only choice. Every single draft analyst thought Dareus was a better prospect than Newton, and almost all of them agreed that Cam wasn't a top 15 guy. Now you'll argue that they've been proven wrong because Newton put up a lot of numbers in a pass-happy offense expertly designed by Chudzinski, but they haven't been. Maybe they will be, but it hasn't happened yet. Casual football fans get obsessed with yardage and overlook the subtle things that actually make the difference between winning and losing.

And while the Panthers didn't have a second round pick to take Dalton (who won't be a very good QB long-term anyway), they could have ended up with Mallett in the third and a veteran starting for now. Obviously that ship has sailed, but it's depressing to me when I look at the dearth of options at DT in the draft or free agency and think about how that's going to cripple the defense for years to come. Hopefully Cam continues to develop and the team scores enough to make up the difference.

 

Was Dareus really worthy of a #1 oap, considering his position as well? just asking