4 cuts, 4 signings, and 4 picks

[slapnut19]

cut-kalil, wallace, sullivan, locke

sign-osemele, b. irvin, leon hall, andre holmes, courtney upshaw

draft-whitehead, de runnya wilson, jalen wilson, nick martin

[Beo]

I think we are still a ways away from the Superbowl.


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I don't think we are very far away at all. We are 2 Teddy fumbles from beating both Denver and Arizona on the road and a ridiculous missed chip shot FG from beating the defending NFC Champs in the playoffs. If Carolina can go from a 7-8-1 team in 2014 to a 15-1 Super Bowl team in 2015 with basically no changes except for losing their best WR I don't think it is a stretch to think we couldn't go from a 11-5 Division Champ in 2015 to a 13-3 or 14-2 Super Bowl contender.

[DK Sweets]

I don't think we are very far away at all. We are 2 Teddy fumbles from beating both Denver and Arizona on the road and a ridiculous missed chip shot FG from beating the defending NFC Champs in the playoffs. If Carolina can go from a 7-8-1 team in 2014 to a 15-1 Super Bowl team in 2015 with basically no changes except for losing their best WR I don't think it is a stretch to think we couldn't go from a 11-5 Division Champ in 2015 to a 13-3 or 14-2 Super Bowl contender.

I completely agree. I don't see why this team shouldn't be considered contenders.

[PurpleMustReign]

I also agree, anf it scares the hell out of me.

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[autobon7]

Sent from my Nexus 5X using Tapatalk[/quote]

I don't think we are very far away at all. We are 2 Teddy fumbles from beating both Denver and Arizona on the road and a ridiculous missed chip shot FG from beating the defending NFC Champs in the playoffs. If Carolina can go from a 7-8-1 team in 2014 to a 15-1 Super Bowl team in 2015 with basically no changes except for losing their best WR I don't think it is a stretch to think we couldn't go from a 11-5 Division Champ in 2015 to a 13-3 or 14-2 Super Bowl contender.[/quote]

Truth.....

[mansquatch]

I really don't get it. We spent an entire season lamenting the play of our OL. It was obviously the biggest weakness of the team and now there is contingent of fans advocating that we cut both Tackles to save cap space???



How likely is it that one teams signs two of the biggest FA names? Also, what does that do to our cap when it comes time to resign our young defensive players from the past 3 years?

[fiestavike]

I really don't get it. We spent an entire season lamenting the play of our OL. It was obviously the biggest weakness of the team and now there is contingent of fans advocating that we cut both Tackles to save cap space???



How likely is it that one teams signs two of the biggest FA names? Also, what does that do to our cap when it comes time to resign our young defensive players from the past 3 years?

Good considerations, but what happens if Kalil performs somewhere around his career average and Loadholt isn't able to recover sufficiently to be a good RT? Their salaries make signing a backup plan prohibitive.

If they would rework their deals I'd be ok with retaining them to compete for their respective positions, but if they won't I would bet one of them will be cut to create cap space to bring in a player or two with fewer question marks.

[chicagopurple]

Kalil is a proven failure....his best is just mediocre....move on
Loadholt has BEEN very good, but injury prone and the most recent injury tends to be a nnagging one....dont bank on him
Sullivan has a blown out back...the WORST injury to have at his position and he will never be the same, let alone make it thru a season...move on
Fusco simply isnt very good, nevve has been....move on....but he is cheap so he can hang arond
Berger is a journeyman back up and good to have around
Clemmings.....too early to say and he has been surrounded by poor play on the line. Give hime a chance.

[mansquatch]

Again, and who is his replacement?

It's easy to say hack this guy or hack that guy. Fine. But someone has to march out on the field on Sunday. Right now at RT if you cut Loadholt then you are starting TJ Clemmings day one unless you sign somebody or draft somebody. That seems like a high risk move.

If Kalil gets cut, who backs him up? Is that also Clemmings? No has yet to make a persuasive argument that the replacements for Kalil and Loadholt would perform better than Kalil and Loadholt, yet everyone is saying CUT CUT CUT.

Glad you guys are not the GM.

[fiestavike]

Again, and who is his replacement?

It's easy to say hack this guy or hack that guy. Fine. But someone has to march out on the field on Sunday. Right now at RT if you cut Loadholt then you are starting TJ Clemmings day one unless you sign somebody or draft somebody. That seems like a high risk move.

If Kalil gets cut, who backs him up? Is that also Clemmings? No has yet to make a persuasive argument that the replacements for Kalil and Loadholt would perform better than Kalil and Loadholt, yet everyone is saying CUT CUT CUT.

Glad you guys are not the GM.

Obviously some of the big ticket FAs could be an upgrade, but I have frequently suggested using some stop gap options to raise the floor on this offensive line in veteran players such as Donald Penn, Ritchie Incognito, Stephan Wisniewski, etc. If a Cordy Glenn is available that would be great too.

If Kalil, Sullivan and Loadholt were signed for 5 million a year I would just say bring in these veteran type players as backups anyway, but it won't be possible if we keep those players at their current salary. So it becomes an either/or, and I guess I'm just more comfortable with players that might have a higher floor and have fewer questions while we develop some younger players.

[chicagopurple]

a good GM should be able to replace these guys...many have been a failure for quite a while (kalil) and there ought to have been a plan by now. I would be shocked if Spielman doesnt have at least 2 new guys lined up for the OL.....thats what GMs do...he MIGHT gambble on Loadholt and Sully but he better have a good back up ready, especially for Sully

[mansquatch]

Kalil has had his ups and downs, but so has Loadholt. I'm sure if you looked at the tape of the guys on the market you'd find that they have issues as well. Very rarely is a FA a silver bullet that solves a problem. The only guarantee they bring is a cap hit. Frankly, if the perception is that Kalil has short comings then his contract will be lower which could be a boon in terms of the overall roster. Keep in mind if we sign some monster deal it might mean seeing a player like Barr or Rhodes hit the open market in a few years.

[DK Sweets]

Kalil is a proven failure....his best is just mediocre....move on
Loadholt has BEEN very good, but injury prone and the most recent injury tends to be a nnagging one....dont bank on him
Sullivan has a blown out back...the WORST injury to have at his position and he will never be the same, let alone make it thru a season...move on
Fusco simply isnt very good, nevve has been....move on....but he is cheap so he can hang arond
Berger is a journeyman back up and good to have around
Clemmings.....too early to say and he has been surrounded by poor play on the line. Give hime a chance.

This post makes up its own history, and I don't like it. In 2012 Kalil looked to be solidifying our line and made the Pro Bowl. Therefore, his best is not mediocre. That is not proven and it is not fact.

You say Fusco has never been any good, but at RG he played very well. Whether he recaptures that form or not remains to be seen, but he has, previously, been good.

Berger played at above a backup level last season. To dismiss his play is unfair. His age is what should concern fans.

Ironically, the one player you did defend was the player who was without a doubt the worst starter on the unit last year.

[chicagopurple]

please...Kalil has done nothing but be inconsistent and frequently gets dominated both on running and passing downs. Moreover, he has a unique ability to generate drive killing penalties. In addition, he seems to have had a questionable dedication to his work and is injury prone......

I don't have any great hope about Clemmings but he is young and was playing on a mediocre line last year. It would be silly to give up on him too soon. Give him a year to show his true colors....Kalil has already had too many years and shown little good and much bad.

[dead_poet]

please...Kalil has done nothing but be inconsistent and frequently gets dominated both on running and passing downs. Moreover, he has a unique ability to generate drive killing penalties. In addition, he seems to have had a questionable dedication to his work and is injury prone......

Has it occurred to you his inconsistency may result from his injuries? He played very well at times in 2015, particularly before his toe injury later in the season, which I believe is what you're referencing. Was he above average? Probably not. I also don't recall Kalil getting flagged for drive killing penalties in 2015. Do you have any examples? And I don't know about the dedication to his work part either. Berger was on a podcast recently and had good things to say about his dedication and work ethic. Khalil also was reported to be spending extra time with position coaches last year as well. My guess your "questionable dedication" comment has more to do with his appearance in interviews than anything concrete or specific.

I don't have any great hope about Clemmings but he is young and was playing on a mediocre line last year. It would be silly to give up on him too soon. Give him a year to show his true colors....Kalil has already had too many years and shown little good and much bad.

Make no mistake about it: Clemmings was one of the main reasons that line was so mediocre (and that's putting it nicely). He was one of the worst right tackles in the league last year. Kalil had a good rookie year followed by two years of poor play thanks in large part to his injured knees. His knees were probably the healthiest they had been since 2012 and his play reflected it. Again, he wasn't great but he was certainly not the main problem last year.