panthergf

New user on here but piggy backing off the Falcons & Bucs State Of The Franchise threads figured we get a Panthers one going. So at this point we have seen moves that most of us have scratched our heads about by our GM this off-season thus far after what seemed like a brilliant off-season last year. Releasing the teams all time best WR in Steve Smith after him & Gettleman's relationship seemed to fall apart, seemed to become personal, and probably some due to his decline in production even though he was still the best WR on the roster and should have retired here. We have watched them let players walk or sign elsewhere due to our cap situation with all of our other three WR in Hixon, Ginn, & Lafell. Then Mitchell, Captain, Hartsock, Senn, Florence, and others. Add in the retirement of LT Jordan Gross, and Wharton in FA unsure still about his future. We look at a team who finished 12-4 NFC South Champs and the #2 overall seed who appears to be in shambles on the offensive side of the ball and the secondary again. Which some we can partly blame the Hurney regime over due to his massive contracts to Williams, Stewart, and Johnson and putting our cap in this situation in his final years with us. Now as of today we look at how Gettleman is filling these rolls and take our guesses of what they are thinking going into the draft to fill spots. Up to this point we have filled some of the WR roles by replacing some spots with former Bucs WR Tiquan Underwood 27 years old, former Steelers WR Jerrcho Cotchery 31 years old, and former Eagles WR Jason Avant 30 years old going a lot older then I thought they would and a young former Georgia WR King & young McNutt sitting on the roster. Missing out on LT Collins in Free Agency as he ended up with the Bucs & WR Nicks after he ended up with the Colts. Then signing former Rams pass blocking TE Mike McNeill 26 years old and on the verge of signing former Ravens TE Ed Dickson 26 years old. Then we turn to how we filled roles in the secondary and defense resigning CB James Dockery, former Saints Safety Roman Harper 31 years old, and former Cardinals CB Antoine Cason 27 years old who has played under Rivera before in San Diego and had his best years under Rivera in SD. Some of the best moves of the off-season though imo tagging DE Greg Hardy ensuring he returns in 2014 while they continue to work out a long term deal to lower the cap hit & avoid the tag. Then the other day resigning DT Colin Cole ensuring our entire D-line returns from 2013 which should hopefully do like last year free up LB & help our patch work secondary. With rumors floating on Godfrey being on the cutting block to free up $5 million in cap as a June 1st cut and former Flacons CB DeCloud visiting as a possible fill in for that role. Rumors of moving Byron Bell possibly stepping over to LT after how poorly he played at RT. There is some hope in that secondary with two steals from UDFA with Lester & White who could do nothing but improve from last years rookie year. Now that most of the moves have been outlined. I am trying to stay optimistic about the future and where we are going even though after last year it seemed we were only a few pieces from making our first back to back playoff appearance in franchise history and maybe a chance at Super Bowl run. With all that said what do you think we should do in the draft, trade up, trade back, stay at 28 in each round? Where should we look to fill roles in the draft? What could they do with the draft that would make you feel better after and more optimistic we would have a chance at another good season?

Just thought I would post the trailer was released today with Panthers LB & DPOTY Luke Kuechly gracing the first trailer I am not sure how to post youtube videos on here yet so here is the link to the trailer if someone wants to post it,

NFC South has suffered hardcore from us, Atlanta, Tampa, and New Orleans with injuries this year which has lead to it still being wide open. While I expect the Saints to eventually be the team to beat. I think all these injuries to everyone is leaving this wide open for anyone to win this year.

This needed to happen. The only thing about this restructure is it doesn't help us past this season. It only gives us more wiggle room for this year pushing our cap above $10 million in space so I would assume this is to make moves in emergency situations for this seasons without affecting the cap he wants to roll over into next year. After seeing the o-line the last two games which has done decent in pass protecting at times but terrible in run blocking since the start of the year. I would love to see this extra cap space used to trade for a o-lineman. Specifically a OT, if Tennessee continues to lose I would love to see them go after Roo's and then extend his contract to about a 3 year deal which would be plenty of time to draft and develop someone at LT. 30+ years old isn't too bad for a offensive lineman and plus they drafted his replacement this year. They could get a later round pick out of it and we could afford his contract this season with it because he is in the last year of his deal. This would immediately help our line and we could move Bell back to RT given I think Chandler has been worse then Bell to this point even though I don't like Bell that much either and give us better depth at OT. I also think it would help with the poor run blocking which has really struggled with Bell at LT. While it wouldn't fix all problems I think in a looking at the bigger picture it be a smart move if Tennessee would be willing to move him if there season continues to go south.

Hopefully this is not pushed back to next year like most think it will be which "IF" Hardy is found innocent will put him out the entire year. The whole guilty verdict deal everyone keeps pointing to is a little off because in the state of NC once the trial moves to a jury trial that verdict is thrown out and no longer holds any grounds. If Hardy is found guilty by jury he deserves anything that happens to him but from what I have read they need a unanimous guilty verdict to convict him in this case so if they are able to to convince one person of the jury that this is suspicious or that there is not enough evidence then this will get thrown out. From everything I read the day of the court case I don't believe there is enough there unless they produce something new to warrant a unanimous guilty verdict. Having Hardy sit now could also be viewed as the Panthers taking early action at suspension. The NFL could come in later and fine him but given the place this put the NFL & the Panthers they would have taken some sort of action even if he is found innocent so doing it now may lessen the blow if he does get found innocent. No one knows what really happened but the way it sounds a bunch of drunk people who made some dumb decisions. I just think after sitting through the news sources that tweeted every statement that day there is way too much he said she said and not enough evidence from what we the public know at this point for this to end any other way once it does go to trial. This isn't as cut and dry as the Rice situation where he admitted to what he did and there was video of it. Where Hardy still holds on to his plea of being innocent. I do worry finding a impartial jury may be hard for this case given the media storm and lack of detail the media has produced from it doing nothing but focusing on the accusers statements from the bench trial and none of what could question her credibility. Also has nothing to do with being a homer or fan. If I read these details of this case in context no matter who victim and the accused was I would still question everything including the ruling on the first case giving it was made off of feeling like the friends statements held more merit then the statements of the witnesses from the accused side when the friend seen absolutely nothing but supposedly heard it.

Missed practice yesterday but practiced in full today he will play Sunday, Stew who did practice is doubtful for Sunday against the Bears. Also Thomas Davis will return Sunday which should help some in trying to right the ship on stopping the rushing attack which the Panthers have unlike themselves been playing poor at the last two games. If they can fix the run stopping problems and get teams to play 2nd and long or 3rd and long instead of 2nd and 3 or 3rd and 3 it should help the pass rush.

Haven't been on these forums that much but just thought I would throw my two cents on the Smitty rant. I think people need to look at this from a neutral perspective and agree he could have refuted these reports from Rapoport in a short statement instead of going on a 20 minute shot taking rant on a local Charlotte radio station to throw the Panthers and management under the bus. I have said from the get go no body's hands are clean in this situation though and there are three sides to this story Smitty's version, the Panthers version, and the truth (which we will never know). Also taking a shot at Hardy was uncalled for in this rant as well. Smitty did all the talking he needed to on the field Sunday and got his "Revenge" and Gettleman did handle this process poorly as to his release but as a Panthers fan I still think this was the best move for both parties. This gave Smitty a chip on his shoulder again to prove people wrong and a fresh start in a team he seems to fit in with more. The Panthers wanted to go younger at the WR group and believed with him here it would hurt the development of KB. I agree I don't believe KB would be doing as well as he has with Smith here. There were reports Sunday by Ian Rapoport that Smitty had asked for his release and refused a paycut. If you listen to Smitty's rant Smitty basically admits to the paycut part when his contract is brought up. As for Smitty's side of the story being 100% truth. I don't believe it sure some parts may have the truth in them but stretched to a degree including once you listen to the counter interviews that happened the very next day on the same station he ranted on from Ian Rapoport and very credible Panthers news source and owner of Black and Blue Review Bill Voth. I will link the audio below to both those interviews. In the end the Panthers WR group is much improved this year and done much better then last year and not our issues on offense this season, I would venture to say Cam has played much better from the pocket this season and accuracy has seemed much better. Even had #89 stayed he would not be able to help with the o-line issues and injuries at running back, injured QB, and probably wouldn't be having the start to the year he is having with the Ravens who's offensive line and offense in a overall perspective is much better built then the Panthers at the moment. This was the best move for both parties and while I hope Smitty returns under a one day contract and retires a Panther and has his number retired and all. I just hope his mouth on this rant didn't delay that from happening. Anyways here is the links to the audio on the interviews that happened the next day I think is worth a listen when given this situation a better perspective from all sides not just Smitty's version. Bill Voth of BBR Interview (The day after Smitty Rant). Click the link below & forward to 25:00 minutes in. http://charlotte.cbslocal.com/?podcast_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.podtrac.com%2Fpts%2Fredirect.mp3%2Fnyc.podcast.play.it%2Fmedia%2Fd0%2Fd0%2Fd1%2Fd6%2FdC%2FdG%2FdC%2F16CGC_3.MP3%3Fauthtok%3D5562525654022896267_406rX4yDEhLwAH8sbvN1Xv3A2Vk&podcast_name=10+2+Hour+4%3A+Bears+Talk+And+Bill+Voth&podcast_artist=The+Mac+Attack&station_id=91&tag=&dcid=CBS.CHARLOTTE NFL Insider Ian Rapoport Interview (The day after Smitty Rant). Click the link below. http://charlotte.cbslocal.com/2014/10/02/ian-rapoport-on-steve-smith-my-report-was-accurate-it-is-accurate/

vs :Patriots: O-line struggled last night, our entire starting right side sat last night Chandler & Turner and it looked like a completely different line without them in. The right side was atrocious and Bell had a few struggles gave up one or two sacks I believe but nothing egregious for him considering who he was going up against. Depth is a huge issue O-line wise. Better hope we don't sustain injuries during the season though I expect after last night some changes will be coming to anyone not named Bell, Turner, Chander, Kalil, and Silatolu. Cam still struggling with timing missed some open WR's and TE's again. Opportunities were there, not sure if it wasn't felt comfortable with the O-line or if it still a issue with being out the time he was with the ankle. No running game didn't help but there were no running lanes thanks to the struggling O-line. KB had another good outing including when you take in he was going up against Revis. Cotchery and Avant on the other hand didn't really do much of anything. Bersin had another solid game when he finally came in with 2nd unit, King had a nice grab as well before Anderson threw the pick in the red zone trying to hit King on slant route. Philly did a decent job returning kicks & punts had a nice return called back but would say that job is his. Right now still believe Bersin, Philly, & King make final roster. Final score is really not a good indication of first units play. Luke only played 15 snaps all together to give more film time to back up LB's. Luke is the QB of the defense adjusts them and gets them in the right spot with him & Blackburn out AJ had to assume Luke's MLB role. Johnson was out, also rotated in Ealy guys like that a lot on ends. When Luke was on the field defense gave up a FG, once he left both TD's on first unit came off of the back up LB's even though Klein who I thought would win the starting OLB job this year was victim to the Vereen wheel route, just hesitated to long to get on the back coming out the backfield. Norman struggled think starting secondary will be Cason, White, Bene, DeCoud, and Harper when he returns if not then Lester.Don't think Thomas, Dockery make the roster wouldn't be surprised to see them add one or two off other teams cuts or some way. Back up units didn't fare too well once on the field, no one really made any plays, all in all bad outing overall not really reading into the final score too much. Take away o-line depth behind starters is a issue, Cam needs another game or two so its good there going to play him against Pittsburgh next week. Wouldn't be surprised if they look to replace guys through other teams cuts for back up roles or via trades. Not a good outing but not jumping off a ledge over it either. Including coming off short week, some starters sitting along the O-line.

vs Defense started slow again for us really would like to see them start a little better slow starts are going bite us one of these times, but then as the game progressed got better and back to how they usually are. D-line still just looks crazy good and is very very deep. Cam had a slow start coming back off that ankle surgery, a lot of mental errors early but after the 3rd drive seemed to put things together and start playing like he looked in practice. Ankle looked to hold up good, had two opportunities to take off and scramble down field but you could tell was hesitant and stayed in the pocket and just looked down field instead of taking off causing two of the three sacks on him. Don't expect him to take off running until the regular season will probably throw away or just take sack if no one is open in the mean time. Secondary really looked good in this game quick to react White & Cason especially DeCoud had a good game over the top. Surprises this week Anderson Russell & Colin Jones. KB in his brief moments in the game continues to show why he was our #1 pick had guys beat on one play way down field but Cam just over throws him on the bomb then made a couple other grabs. Made a stupid mistake before the half with that scuffle pushing us out of FG range but just rookie mistake I expect that worked out. Philly Brown pretty much all but secured his roster spot as PR/KR/WR including after Barner trade which more then likely means Pilares is going to be out the door, it wasn't a good week for him to be out. LB's still really like our top 4, I think with Blackburn out AJ made have finally took his starting OLB job making a lot of good plays including the INT on Aaron Murray. Think his pass coverage skills are better then Blackburns anyway. I am worried with the guys past that top 4 which struggled after they were pulled out, Jacobs was the one who messed up the coverage on that long TD pass by Murray. TE Brandon Williams "Swoll" continues to look impressive had a chance for a TD later in the game but got the PI call really think he replaces Dickson as #2 before season is out. Avant had a couple nice plays, one where he drew the PI call but had his man beat then the other nice catch to get us into the red zone. Bersin has his coming out game with a few really impressive grabs, pretty much a lot of what we had seen at camp and practice. Think he secured his roster spot. King came up hurt on the one pass play he got but is practicing this week and will play Friday so that is a good thing still think he is one of the 6 WR's on the roster if they keep 6 along with Bersin & Philly Brown. Barner did better this week, not great but improvement over last week but still was overshadowed by Fozzy. Figured he was on the verge of getting cut but then they managed to trade him to Philly for a conditional 7th this week, so I am happy to get something out of him if he makes there roster. I figured he would have ended up in Philly anyways had we cut him just because of Kelly maybe they can find a way to get something out of him that we couldn't. Fozzy, just went crazy after the starting units went out, was moving the ball really well keeping his legs churning. Him and Reaves are why Barner is gone and will be battling out that 3rd RB spot. Fozzy has the inside track right now because they are giving him reps this week with Philly at KR, if he can prove valuable there and productive then his roster spot as the 3rd HB is all but secured over Reaves who I would suspect would go to PS. Dockery continued to struggle giving up a big pass play in the 2nd quarter. Thought the O-line did a pretty good job this game could be because Bell has officially been named LT and that competition is over. Noticed they pulled a lot of 2nd unit guys earlier this game as well and put guys in on the very back end of the roster in sooner guess to get some film before cuts. Also a lot of WR's seen reduced snaps was a little disappointed King didn't get more reps after the game he had the week before against the Bills, Same for Lucas who seems destined for PS. Underwood, McNutt, Clemons, and Pilares all seem to be on there way out the door unless they blow the roof off against the Patriots this week. I expect all except maybe Underwood on the first round of cuts, I just say Underwood sticks past the first cuts because they seem to want to give him every chance to make the roster but doubt he survives the last cut. Also think KC has some nice weapons, Thomas is going to be a beast with Charles he was a really nice grab late in the draft. EDIT: Also forgot Norman has had a good off-season but his mouth could cause him to be cut off this team, its bad when not only do you head butt a opposing player but then mouth off to your team leader after he restrains you namely Thomas Davis. He was pulled and didn't come back in. His mouth could end up costing him the roster spot I suspect he has.

Starting defense wasn't in long in the pre season opener and according to BBR which is a good place for real in depth Panthers info right now he sits a top the projected depth chart by them, like I said not enough of a sample yet but he hasn't really done nothing too bad to take notice. Only Safety I have noticed is Harper and that is because he has sit most of camp they say he is fine I guess just resting the vet and trying to keep him fresh for the season but here is the piece I found I think yesterday of rankings by BBR leaving camp.

Having back and forth performances so far from what I have seen. I went down for three days of camp didn't really do anything that stood out but nothing so bad I took notice either. Give me another pre-season game or two to watch and I will get back to you on it though lol just not enough of a sample or info to really give an account yet.

Haven't been on for a while but my take away's from what I had seen and read that translated from camp to the field in this game and even some surprises. KB has been solid in camp and not dropped many passes this seemed to continue into the game Anderson missed him on one of his two looks he got but 2nd look was KB just making a incredible catch for the TD. From everything I read and seen when I went down and watched 3 days of camp him and Cam are practically attached at the hips literally never leaving each others side even when WR's would go to the opposite side of the field for drills he would stay by Cam. So I am really looking forward to seeing those two together when Cam returns next week they look to have really good chemistry. King has been having a really good camp, and had a really good game probably the best out of the WR's yesterday I wouldn't be surprised to see him take Avant's place at some point this season was running with the one's some when I was down and even reported by local reporters he should move up the depth chart some next week. Bersin has been a stand out in camp and a target Cam really likes, looked good for the time he was in and has had a really good camp. Brown also looked good yesterday and has had a pretty good camp right now if I had to guess favorites to make the roster on the back end of the WR's if we keep 6 is Bersin, Brown, & King. WR's don't look no where near as bad as been made out, I actually think we have improved from last year and this also includes because we will be running more two pass catching TE sets. Brandon Williams "Swoll" will be giving Dickson all he wants for that number two TE spot across from Olsen. All TE's looked solid yesterday, Williams, Dickson, & Brockel should all make the roster more then likely with us carrying 4 TE's one pure blocking TE in Brockel. Bell wasn't terrible at LT but interested in Chandler as he gets his shot next week. O-line did better then expected Trai Turner looked really good in the Guard spot. Defense gave up some runs but I don't really read a lot into that. I agree the secondary is probably spots I worry about the most mainly Godfrey more then the others, I think he needs moved back to safety he is just too slow to play CB. I am surprised Byndom didn't get more playing time as he played well in camp, Bene looks solid, and Cason has had a pretty good camp so with that D-line I am not overall real worried but if there was a spot on that defense its the secondary. McNutt, Underwood, Clemons, Pilares haven't done much and are the first bunch I think are on the cutting block in the WR's. Lucas has had a good camp and was hoping he did well yesterday but had some rookie struggles. Webb surprised me and I think he will take Blanchards spot after Blanchards terrible play last night even though those two are both really don't matter too much anyways as we should only keep two QB's. Reaves also looked pretty good, I thought he did a better job then Barner. Special Teams on returns has me worried I think ultimately Cason or Bene will be returning when its said and done or probably Philly Brown. Anyways not a bad overall first pre-season performance including given Cam, DeAngelo, Stew, Johnson, Harper, Gano, and others sat out.

Yeah its a pretty messed up ruling, I followed the tweets live all day long as they came out and this judge had her mind made up well before this case. It was a very biased judge who basically had the 10 hour trial for show for the public. I am glad it is going to a jury trial. As for Holder she testified this wasn't about money then moments after the ruling her and her lawyer stated they were going to go after Hardy's money to the media which basically shows her ultimate goal is what everyone thought from the start. The sad thing about this given our past with Carruth and Mr. Richardson's no tolerance past on these situations keeping Hardy long term is probably out the door after this year now. They said it could be after the season before they even have the jury trial. Unless they feel like the general portion of the public and wait this out because they can't believe the ruling either. Most teams would try to give the guy the help he needed including on a first offense heck the Ravens are sticking it out with Rice with video evidence but that has never been a thing with this organization they like to get as far away as possible from anyone with this kinda rep following them even if this does get dismissed. I am hoping cool heads prevail and they wait until the jury trial is over with and they decide then if they should pursue keeping Hardy or not. I would say if he stayed he may come at a cheaper rate now given the circumstances and problems this has caused. I don't believe he would be able to ask for a contract the size of one he did before but we probably will never see that happen knowing how they usually handle these things. Anyways this ruling had BS written all over it including if you go back and read all of the tweets and all of the statements made. There were police who said she tried to flee the scene, she was clutching her purse pretty hard noted by cops (which probably had cocaine in it), security at the Epicenter noted seeing her going nuts on Hardy verbally bashing him in public because he wouldn't take her home with him, they had video of her leaving the apartment and she didn't leave like she was in any hurry they said she casually left. The person that the the judge said was the most credible witness couldn't even decide if she heard or seen anything and admitted she had done cocaine and was drunk. So much was messed up with the way this was handled, now even ESPN's Ashley Fox has a article out saying the NFL needs to suspend Hardy now and a big piece neglecting the stuff that came out in this trial trying to act like she is standing up for women everywhere. This situation is really messed up including when the general public sees the problem with this ruling. I have read several comments under the articles on ESPN, NFL agreeing that this ruling was messed up from non homer fans.

Figured I would make a thread to come to discuss the everyone's schedules that were just released. Talk about games you are looking forward to, games you might go to, match ups, SNF, MNF, TNF, and what you think of teams overall schedules. Who ended up with the easiest or hardest?

I believe they had a marathon at one point of nothing but hard knocks but lately they have been spreading it out like you said I have been catching episodes here and there. I figure as time goes on the once they have ran there time on HBO they will be on NFL Network. Makes sense seeing it has the NFL's name attached and there players this way it gives there network more content. Kinda like going to see a movie in the theater then waiting for the network to get the rights to play it after its been out so long is the same kinda feeling I get with the Hard Knocks series and NFL Network. Wouldn't be surprised to get a marathon soon anyways, as content for them to play to keep interest in the network dwindles in the dead time between camp the next month & a half or so EDIT: Yeah they had a marathons I thought I remembered them having some here was the announcement in 2010 from the Bengals site when they had a marathon of the one from the Bengals

I doubt he ends up in Carolina given the cap space we have and what he would probably demand price wise if he did I would gladly have him in though if he would come at a reasonable price

Ah once its done airing it will end up on NFL Network anyways like the others have so I will just wait until then instead of buying HBO the only interest I have in it anyways is because its a NFC South team.

Dudes just huge standing next to DeAngelo Williams

Agreed, while we all agree letting Smitty go was a mistake the fact remains the passing attack for the last few years including last year has been lack luster and had no signs of improving regardless if we added Benjamin or not. I admit I thought the only loss's we would have this year was Lafell & Hixon. I was expecting to retain Ginn and let Smitty retire here but like I said before I understand it and there reasoning for doing it. Dutch is right when your 29th in passing, from a glance this team looks better then 29th right now. Could they still not be all that great, sure we signed two complimentary older vets to fill some of those holes left due to our cap situation. That doesn't mean no younger guys besides Benjamin step up and with there being no one on the roster now guaranteed a roster spot like there would have been had Smitty & others would have been should they have stayed now it will be a open competition that will allow younger roster guys to have shots a starting spots even UDFA. Side Notes: I know we are just in OTA right now but King has been running with the 1's all week. Brandon Williams the 6'6 TE we have been developing from Oregon has been impressing a lot this week and has a shot to beat out Dickson for the starting TE roll across from Olsen and back up Olsen. Cory "Philly" Brown the UDFA WR has looked really good in OTA's compared to his rookie mini camp which he didn't do as well in including at PR/KR. the CB Bene Benwikere we got from SJSU this year in the 5th has been the other rookie impressing in OTA so far outside of Benjamin. AJ Klein getting a lot of praise and attention at OTA's, I still believe he beats out Blackburn for a starting spot with TD & Luke. Benjamin has keep on what he did in rookie mini camp. Then at the end of practice UDFA WR Lucas, WR Benjamin, and WR Pilares stuck around after practice to work with Cam and run routes letting Cam throw to them. Kinda rooting for Lucas to make the roster would like to have another big WR like Benjamin on the roster. I think if not make the actual roster they will replace guys like Bersin, Pilares and others who I expect to get cut in favor of thisyears two UDFA rookies Brown & Lucas. This is still too early to take too much from this waiting until pads come on in camp before we get a good look at these guys but its nice to hear some of these reports.

He would have to take a pay cut more then likely for that trade to work anyways, but I wouldn't mind it I think it be better for Cam's backside then Bell.

Its been a little slow since the draft outside of the stuff with Hardy which seems to be quieting down. I did find these two articles interesting the first originally started because of a tweet from our WR coach Ricky Proehl who suggested the possibility of bringing in the old crew he played with in St. Louis to work with our WR at Training Camp who used to be known as "The Greatest Show On Turf". Holt, Bruce, & Hakim are the ones Proehl is talking about bringing in. My personal opinion this is a great idea to let our young guys like King, McNutt, Benjamin even the UDFA and lower roster young talent get to work and pick these guys brains. I think it could benefit these young guys quite a bit to have those guys around including with so much uncertainty and unknown at what our WR group can actually do this season. The next piece was on NFL.COM this morning on the main page, they listed several possible Summer trade possibilities going into camp and one move in particular I have been interested in since the draft happened. This article had us listed as possible landing spots for a trade involving QB Christian Ponder and WR Danarius Moore which both don't sound too appealing at this moment. The other spot though given a glaring hole in our LT spot caught my eye that they mentioned and I had thought about this once the draft was over so it was nice to see it brought up by NFL writers. The other person they had us as a potential landing spot for was LT Michael Roos from the Titans, with them drafting a OT the possibility of this trade peaked my interest because with the additions of Roos we could at the very least move forward with a proven veteran LT and fill a glaring hole. The only problem is Roos contract he is owed 6 million this season and I think we are under 5 million in cap room. The only way this could happen is to trade someone to free up that room or Roos take a paycut to make the trade possible. I for one wouldn't mind this trade because it would fill that need to get us through this season with someone proven at that position though I would prefer a younger talent I am not confident that talent is on the roster right now Roos wouldn't be a long term solution but another bandage to get us through these rough cap problems until we can draft a LT next year or one emerges from what we have. Here are those articles

While I agree our off-season pick ups at this position aren't those most appealing and just more bandages to get through the cap mess we are in but for what we got they are proven solid possession WR's much better than just relying on a 3 man rotation which is basically what we did last year with Ginn, Lafell, & Smitty. I get some don't like Benjamin on here even though I really like the Benjamin pick up but if he can have a solid rookie year especially in the red zone which I think he can, we could have a pretty solid season as long as the defense performs like last year. I am optimistic with our WR group though I think they will be slightly better then last year which really isn't saying a lot they do have the chance to be much better. The whole point to wiping the slate clean at WR were cap purposes and to allow younger WR's on the roster to have a chance including a couple we picked up midway through the season last year who only one of those two saw one snap last season both entering there 2nd season in the league. I know its not the popular opinion because you don't know what you will get from unknowns or unproven talent including talent snatched from other WR deep rosters but there are two guys in King & McNutt who will get a chance to win a starting spot and show what they can do who were solid WR's in college and from a outsiders glance looks like there game could translate to the NFL pretty well. I have my eye on King out of the two I like his route running and ability to create separation with that speed to get YAC. Am I saying that will happen no I am not a physic but I am not gonna bash or jump to a conclusion on a group of WR's until I see how well they play together instead of just bashing them because there aren't any stand out names outside of a rookie on the roster and some vets who haven't played anymore than a #2 or #3 WR roll on other teams. If even one of these two guys can step up and Benjamin have a solid rookie season I think this group can be much better than people expect including with some solid complimentary WR's like Cotchery & Avant. Could we take a step back before taking a step forward sure its a bigger possibility that will happen then us having a solid year but don't just write off this group because they aren't the big names of this off-season. Plus its May this off-season is far from over you wouldn't expect much of anything else to happen given our cap situation but you never know. I think a lot is going to ride on the LT/RT position and how that plays out with Bell could be just as terrible as we think if he gets it then again the light switch could flip on because he is moved to the position he played in college and to the side he is more comfortable playing time will tell. I am just not ready to pull hope for a successful season because we didn't pick up the sexy picks in the off-season but I will agree from a outsiders perspective it does look doom & gloom in regards to the O-line & WR groups as a whole. Next two off-seasons will be big for this team, we should have extra picks in the draft due to compensatory picks we should receive for next years draft on top of that the high chance we end up trading Johnson to free up $11 million in cap room that is "if" they sign Hardy long term and all these legal stuff blows over which currently is looking like what is going to happen. Cap situation should be much better including with the overall cap rising about $140 million next year and $150 the year after that. They will also probably be moving one of the backs next year they will have to take a hit to do it but more then likely either Stew or Williams will be gone which is probably why they drafted Gaffney. Sorry didn't mean to write a book lol

As much as it hurt to see Smith go and the way it went down so close to the end of his career. I also understand the reasoning behind it. Most NFL players don't end there careers the way we all would hope them to including our favorite players thanks to decisions made one way or another. Then thing is how many WR's have you seen actually develop into decent starters while Smitty has been the #1 in all the years he was here under his veteran leadership. Can we blame that all on Smitty no, but we were going to have to move on without Smitty there to groom these guys at this rate anyways, and if they feel Smitty may have been hurting the young WR's growth or chances into developing I get it, I don't agree with it but I get it. As far as Benjamin goes I really like the pick and like him as a WR, sure he is raw but our coaching staff has worked well with very young talent over the last few seasons.Could he be a bust sure every pick early has that potential. We could take a step back the way the roster has been pieced together thanks to our cap and draft picks sure it has that potential but we could also surprise as well. We are returning most of the players from the #2 defense in the league with the addition of 3 young guys to that side of the ball so I wouldn't just write us off. Right now from an outsiders perspective our WR group looks bandaged together but it only take one or two of the young guys to change that. If there as high on King & McNutt as they claim I wouldn't be surprised to see one step up after having a season in the system. King played opposite of AJ Green for a couple of season's in Georgia then after AJ left had a pretty solid year. I am keeping my eye on King, then there are a couple of the UDFA I am also watching that could get shots given the status of our WR group that had solid college careers should they make the final 53. Cory "Philly" Brown might be a nice addition he is smaller but could be a nice slot guy, Marcus Lucas is raw and needs developed but he brings the size like Benjamin to the group. Our WR group has been in shambles for years only relying on Smitty to carry the load, so in the end I am sad about Smitty but we were going to have to face a year without him soon it just came sooner then expected and some players are going to have there opportunities to step up hopefully that happens.

More from the case the girlfriend is switching attorneys so never a good sign for her when her attorney walks out on a case but more added to the plot of her claims though

Audio of Hardy's 911 and call from neighbors call for anyone interested also a transcript of the call in the link below from Black & Blue Review still murky not a lot of proof other then neighbors guessing but will be interesting if Hardy taped it if they release that. http://blackandbluereview.com/greg-hardy-911-call/