Panthers: Minter hopes to stay

You're right. We should just put a guy out there in a wheelchair and hand him a drink with a fucking umbrella in it.

 

So you guys think Minter is staying? :huh:

 

We need a competent Free Safety, not a great one. All 11 guys need to tackle.

Branch could be that, but he needs a push.

Alexander is a good comparison to Branch. They both took terrible angles in run support and neither is good in coverage. Branch is faster, but they are similar players.

 

Branch has potential to get better. But, like many, I feel that if there is an available upgrade, it couldn't hurt, at least from a standpoint that if would push Branch harder to do certain things better. Branch got toasted in Week 17. He screwed up against Seattle when he batted the ball OB rather than falling on it. He looked awful against Denver, Seattle and a few other teams when it came to shutting down the run. But, he did improve that area of his game, and we did go 6-2 in the second half, forcing the most interceptions in the NFL. So I would say that maybe our secondary, and the play of our linebackers, is not as bad as some would have you believe.

He did play pretty well considering he was playing most of the season with a cast on. He had a 3 picks, and had another BIG one negated in the Oakland game because Peppers jumped offsides.

Like I said, if there are options out there to improve at FS, then we look into it. As for Minter, I feel like he should, and will, be back at starting SS in 2005. He has always made plays for Carolina. 2004 was a strange year for Mint. I don't think his skills have diminished. I just think he had an average year. He had a very good year in 2002 and 2003. He scores touchdowns when he picks balls off, something I personally like. He is also an emotional leader on this defense, an asset that I still see as valuable enough to warrant his return.

 

Maybe we can just do the 2005 NFL Season on Madden 2006, and turn the salary cap off.

That way, Carolina can just cut marginal players (FS Branch, LB Short, TE Mangum) and go out and sign FS Dawkins, LB Urlacher, and TE Gonzalez.

Ah, forget the fact that this franchise tied up half of it's payroll into its defensive line.

I'm not trying to be a wise-ass here, just saying that sometimes, you don't have any more money to spend.

And, when you pay your front seven the money we pay them, you should expect more than seeing them getting blown off the line by a light Denver offensive line and by an average Seattle offensive line. Doesn't excuse the play of anyone in the secondary, but one has to meet the other halfway. And, IMHO, it was our vaunted d-line that let us down early in the season.

 

Yes, because that's all I've suggested - overspending, right? That's all I want. I want the biggest, best, most expensive players ever. Thanks for totally missing the basic point.

So let's settle for mediocrity, and then be a wise-ass for no reason?

allright. Very true. However, I can't blame someone else for my shitty performance if I play shitty, and that's what you're doing here. I don't know anyone that didn't let us down early, the difference is, we know the others can play football.

 

Well, by the looks of Mike Rucker this season, I would have never guessed he was ever a pro-bowl player. He gets a lot of hype, but he played like absolute monkey-shit this season.

Branch gets no hype. He is what he is, a young, late round safety. And, honestly, that's kind of how he plays. He maks errors. But he also makes a few plays.

I don't know if he's the answer. Hell, I'm all for an upgrade. But I don't know who would be one at this point. And I don't want Thomas Davis. You want problems, stick another rookie back there. I want an immediate, veteran upgrade. Problem is, there are very few of those on the market.

Branch is not w/o his faults. However, no one, certainly not you, called out the defensive line with as much passion as you called out Branch, from week one on. We played fat and happy up front, and the secondary was left to clean up many of the plays that would otherwise be made by just a decent front 7.

I want to see results. I want a high level of play from all 11 men. And of the 11 men on our defensive lineup, Branch is not the person that stands out like a sore thumb from my perspective. Every one of those 11 men, with the possible exception of Peppers and Manning, played like garbage at one point of the season or another. So, as a UNIT and TEAM, we must improve.

 

Relevance? He had a down year, mostly that he had 1/3 of his usual sacks. We still know that he can play football, and he still made more plays than Branch.

Yeah, Roy Williams sucked awfully bad as a rook. I know 2nd, 3rd round safeties who regularly don't suck from day one.

I called Branch out when he screwed up. I'm not in control of how often he screws up.

So tell me all about this guy if he's worse than Branch.

 

that's a joke right?