Corner, DT

RR was DC for 2 years with Tank

 

Was in the ropes tonight, probably for the last time until later in the Fall. Couple notes:

1. Being in the ropes is neat, and that's it. Anyone with relative FB intellect can do what any beat writer does from their couch, with DVR. Just my opinion from 3 weeks of being around it.
2. Rivera likes Robert McClain. Alot. He's played as physical in practice as any CB not named Gamble. The young crop of DB's are probably going to force Jackson and Gordon back on the street, which I did not predict about a week ago.

I don't see DT as a need right now. Veteran depth is always nice, but Fua/Irvin are it. And very capable at "it".

 

Been telling people that, but nice to have someone else confirm it. Also, I agree about DT but CB still concerns me. They're playing physical, which is nice, but I worry about their actual coverage ability. We as fans got spoiled by not giving up deep passes under the Fox regime, whereas I see lot of press coverage and risk taking in this defense that will lead to a frustrating amount of long touchdowns.

 

The access is a great thing--gives you perspective into the minds (or lack thereof) of some of the more prominent "journalists" around.

Seeing how my bag is Top-40 music, and this is just a sidebiz, I don't mind saying that Pete Prisco, to me, was cocky, brash and doesn't provide enough detailed analysis in his filings to justify his swag.

But, with the exception of Person and Reed, who actually carry themselves like normal people, most of these are what my dad (a radio host since 1978) refers to as "Carnie Folk".

It was a good experience, but it's time to table it. Too much of it can make a man a little nauseous.

 

Mixon and Szoke were 100% class, as well. As was Jarrett Bell from USA Today and Gil Brandt from NFL.com (although, I think he thought I was Blaine Gabbert for about 10 minutes).

 

Well, again, at FanFest, while Rachel Nichols and friends were asking Rivera, "Coach, how does Cam's infectious smile light up the city?".....your humble correspondent here asked RR: "Hey, so, you come from the Jim Johnson school, where pressure with 6-7 blitzers and tight press on the perimeter were a staple. How does that translate to your 2011 squad?" (see below from the Panther.com transcript)

On the role of the cornerbacks in the Panthers defense: The one thing Jim (former Philadelphia Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Johnson) always wanted was corners that were physical and played with vision. That's what Chris (Gamble) is. He's a physical corner who's got good size and he plays with vision. Having him out there on the field, especially when you are bringing pressure, puts him in position to make plays even more so. One of the things that we did that happened my first year when I was with Jim and we did it in San Diego and we did it in Chicago was takeaways. It was a big thing that Jim preached about. The year before that we got there back in '99, that team was dead last in takeaways, and we went from last to first in takeaways I believe in '99. That's something that Sean and I feel very strong about as far as what we want to do defensively. We want to major in takeaways.

 

Awesome.

Man, i cant express what a fan i was of Jims D. With the addition of TE's back to our gameplan im absolutely stocked for the new season ahead.

Nice to see all the QBs able to matriculate the ball down the field.

 

I won't dare claim to be a coach, because I'm not. I could be a scout, but time is not a friend these days.

Nonetheless, yes, you like Johnson's D? You will like this D. It's not the same, in every way, but think of how Gregg Williams got after Carolina's ass since 2009. That's what the goal is here. Rivera said it.

 

Coming after the quarterback means exposing your secondary, though, and I don't think these CBs have the chops to handle it.

 

Oh, I'm not advocating that we are "all set". I was one of the few talking about the lack of physicality of corner + Rivera's scheme = potential conflict, way back in June.

Thought they would have added a stronger #2 by now. They didn't. They probably won't. I don't think it's a matter of "I'm Marty Hurney, and I'm fucking smarter than you, so you just wait and see how solid these young guys turn out to be"....

....more like: "I'm Marty Hurney, I re-signed my 'core" guys, overpaid in many areas, and simply ran out of cash. So, eat my ass, ok?"