Panthers sign Ron Edwards NT 3 year deal

Edwards isn't the type to occupy two blockers either. You are correct that Landri is a 3 technique while Edwards can play the nose in a 4-3, but both are primarily run defenders, so I completely disagree with your statement that he gets moved off the line. He held the point reasonably well last season.

 

I felt like our DT's got pushed around as a group way too much. Landri (who I DO like and would like to see back) was no better or worse than the rest of them.....It just appeared to me that if he didn't win the first step he had a hard time holding up...

 

*shrug* I don't remember Landri getting driven downfield. But again, it's not that I think the team has no use for someone like Edwards, it's that his age means he's not a long-term contributor, and we already have that guy in Fua.

 

Rivera talked so much shit about our existing DTs. We needed this type guy, fresh, different. Age is a little high but we also have all but no veteran presence like him, save for a Brayton if he stays. I mean, it's not like they signed him to be the cornerstone of the franchise, they signed him because Rivera watched a bunch of tape of shitty DT play and figured we needed a situational player.

 

I think we started to go a bit overboard with the Indy philosophy towards the end w/ Fox.

 

Not so fast
From insider posted today AFTER the Edwards signing

UPDATE II: ESPN's John Clayton tweets -- yes, Clayton is tweeting people, get in line -- that Denver is trying to land Mebane. He adds that New Orleans is also in the picture.

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UPDATE: ESPN NFC West blogger Mike Sando reports that Brandon Mebane is in Seattle, and the Seattle Seahawks are trying to work out a deal with the free agent defensive tackle. Nothing's for certain, but his presence at Hawks HQ at least show's that he's willing tostick around if the money is right.

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UPDATE: Bad news for the Seattle Seahawks, but very, very good news for Brandon Mebane: The four-year defensive tackle will be an unrestricted free agent under the new CBA.

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UPDATE: Eric D. Williams of the Tacoma News Tribune disagrees with national writers who expect free agent defensive tackle Brandon Mebane to leave the Seattle Seahawks.

"The Cal product voiced displeasure over not getting a deal done with the Seahawks before the lockout began in March, and now is looking forward to test the free agent market once the lockout comes to a close," Williams writes. "A four-year starter for Seattle, Mebane should receive a lot of interest on the free agent market, and picked up some more leverage when it was revealed that Colin Cole's offseason surgery on a high ankle sprain that forced him to miss five weeks last season could mean that the Iowa product will not be ready for training camp. The Seahawks are thin at defensive tackle, and could use Mebane's versatility, playing him at nose tackle until Cole is ready to go."

Williams explains that Mebane is simply to valuable to lose. "Mebane has more value to Seattle because of his productivity and knowledge of Seattle's defensive scheme," he writes. "I think he stays."

- Vince Verhei

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UPDATE: ESPN NFC West blogger Mike Sando doesn't expect Brandon Mebane to return to the Seattle Seahawks. His source? Mebane himself.

"I feel like I wasn't in their plans," Mebane told Eric Williams of the Tacoma News Tribune two months ago. "And I feel like I have that right to think that because I got a third-round tender. If they really wanted me, they had plenty of time to do what they had to do. Me personally, from my experience, I don't think I was in their plans. I would love to come back here, but I don't know what their plans are."

So where will Mebane play? Besides the Bears, Sando says likely suitors will include the St. Louis Rams, Carolina Panthers, Tennessee Titans, Denver Broncos, and Indianapolis Colts (see below).

 

That's just copied from the NFC West blog, and was originally posted May 14th.

 

From Insider
Edwards is a seasoned veteran of ten NFL seasons and has been productive starting for the Buffalo Bills and the Chiefs. He struggled to stay healthy in Buffalo but has managed to play in all 16 games every year in Kansas City. He can play both the one technique (nose tackle) or the three technique (DT) depending on the scheme. He shows good initial quickness along with the ability to keep his pad level down to leverage his way to the ball. He has the power and bulk to hunker down and hold his ground when at the point of attack. He is more effective defending the run than he is getting upfield and pressuring the pocket -- he lacks an explosive burst as he gets to the edge. He is quick to read blocking schemes and has a good feel for angles. Although his skills are starting to diminish, he still has enough left to give a team quality starts.

 

Torn triceps.

 

Sigh.