Panthers Senior Bowl Prospects

by Jaxon on Jan 22, 2008 7:38 PM EST in Panther News

Since every NFL franchise will have scouts at the Senior Bowl I thought I would report on who the Panthers might be watching very closely. I admit I’ve never watched this game in its entirety as the ESPN highlights will usually do. Yet this year I find myself wondering if I can get on the same page as the Panther brass.

I’ve been big on the Panthers taking a left tackle. If the Panthers agree then keep an eye UCS tackle Sam Baker, who should start at left tackle for the North squad.

As enticing as that may sound I think I prefer the Panthers going after a free agent left tackle, say... Flozell Adams of the Cowboys. If the Panthers wait to draft a tackle keep an eye on the South’s Chris Williams from Vanderbilt. His player review is much like Baker’s yet he should be there in the 2nd. Both would be great additions once they get a little experience and bulk.

If the Panthers address the o-line prior to the draft then I love the thought of taking WR Early Doucet. Did you see him in the National Championship game? If he shines in this game as well then I call that value at #13. If we can ever get a threat opposite Steve Smith we won’t have to worry so much about the running game. Another wide out to watch is Oklahoma St.’s Adarius Bowman. He’s another big wide out with great hands who could make us forget Moose.

There's not many other seniors playing this game that the Panthers would consider at #13. I will look to see who the defensive stars are as a another DE is a possibility in one of the later rounds.

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the draft

I like your post and I think we need to get a tackle in the 1st rd. We can't mess around. Look at the Patriots, Colts, Giants, and Chargers. All those teams keep their QBs clean and have room to run.

Nonetheless, I think we already have a pretty solid offensive line, and drafting an OT upgrade could make us dominant. I say that because when Matt Moore played, we had fewer sacks, and when D-Will was on the field, we averaged an entire yard more per carry. So I think we need to look more at how detrimental Foster, Testaverde and Carr were to our success. When D-Will is on the bench, and Foster loses five yards and then fumbles, it reduces our yards per carry, as if the OL caused the turnover. The OL is pretty good, and another OT could make us dominant. No one available in the draft will be as big a playmaker as D-Will. You said it best that he had more plays of 20+ yards than anyone else in the league. Well what if we double his carries and receptions? Then guess who's running for 1500 yards with the exact same offensive line? Add that 1st rd OT, and he's breaking off 2000+ all-purpose yards and 17 TDs. So we do that with two TE sets, and all of a sudden, our #2 receiver is our third or fourth leading receiver. I see D-Will catching 60 passes, and both TEs (King and Rosario) making an impact in the passing game, and blocking better as well.

Add to that a better season from Jon Beason and Richard Marshall, 16 games from Jake, and Smith being Smith, and we're going 13-3 next year.

And let's not forget the importance of the touchback. You're exactly right about that. Our defense would have allowed much fewer points if the opponents average starting field position was around the 20, but poor kick coverage and turnovers killed our defense before they even took the field.

We'll fix that and Fox will have us in the Superbowl. If we miss the playoffs, then hello Cowher or Schottenheimer.

by usana_gaines on Jan 23, 2008 8:48 AM EST reply actions

Yeah, we only need to tweak the line

Get an upgrade at left tackle and right guard. Let Hartwig & Kalil battle for the center spot. Keep Gross & Wahle. I think Wharton would be a good guard if we drafted a top notch LT.

by Jaxon on Jan 23, 2008 10:48 AM EST reply actions

james lofton

We need to tweak the offensive line. They got blamed for many things that weren't their fault. One issue we had is 3rd down conversion percentage. The QBs held onto the ball too long and got sacked or the receivers dropped passes. With an improved OL, Williams getting to start and Jake healthy, what's next is better overall play from our receivers. What do you think? Should we hire James Lofton as our receivers coach? Do we even have a receivers coach? Can he turn Drew Carter into a productive big guy like Vincent Jackson? What do you think?

by usana_gaines on Jan 23, 2008 1:15 PM EST reply actions