First, Capers and Fangio were able to bring a BUNCH of very talented but older FAs especially on defense. They brought in Lathon, Greene, Sam Mills just to name a few. That is one of the reasons why the Panthers were so successful early on. These already knew how the game should be played before coming in. This is also why the fell so quickly, as these guys were all on the older side when they got to Carolina. Fangio had the worst defense in the league when he coached at Indy before coming here, and I was shocked that we hired him based on what he did in Indy. GW was very specific in faulting Fangio and not Capers. He said specifically that the defense we ran here wasn't Caper's style. GW played for Capers in JAX and he said this defense was WAAAY different. He said that he loved playing in Caper'd defense but the Fangio's was ridiculous and that he missused the talent he had. Take that for what it is worth. With regards to the O line, when Reeves evaluated the game films and schemes the Texans were trying to run on offense (and he was an excellent offensive coach) he found our blocking schemes to be unintelligable. This is per John McClain on 610am, and that is a direct quote. That makes me wonder how much of our problems were scheme and how much were talent related. Don't get me wrong we have holes, especially at RT - Wade is horrible in pass protection but he is an excellent run blocker. I think the most prudent thing to do is to draft the most talented player available, unless we clearly don't have a need (ie WR at this point). I am fine trading down, but more to get extra picks than to avoid Bush. I have seen a ton of college ball and I have seen alot of the guys that people compare him to play ball. The Desmond Howard, Rocket Ismail comparisons are ludicrous. Those guys were WRs that could run the ball alittle. Bush has incredible change of direction ability, in league with Sanders, although I compare him more to Marshall Faulk. I view Bush as an offensive weapon. This crap that he should only touch the ball 10-15 times a game is silly. If you ran Bush 12-15 times at RB and had him in the slot another 10-12 times he could give you more than enough production to justify the pick. Additionally, he will absolutely draw attention when he is on the field creating favorable matchup with the other offensive players, AJ, EM, JP, DD, ect... I would take the best available OT in the second and I would consider trading the 2 3rds to move up in the second to take Lewis at TE (although hopefully he would fall into the third but I am not crossing my fingers on that one). That would give us an offensive package that included AJ and EM at WR, M Lewis and JP at TE, Bush and DD at RB and that my friend would be difficult for anyone to contend with. BTW, there is a LB from Virginia that got kicked out of school and is avaiable in the supplemental draft i would try to pick him up as well. He is supposed to be a beast, but he was nicked up this past season. Got to throw the D a bone.
Actually, isn't it Denver that doesn't have any first round draft picks on it's offensive line? I think Indy also has maybe just one? I remember reading an article about how some of the best offensive lines in the league weren't built around high draft picks. As for Morency, I wouldn't be putting any money on him and the difference sbetween a Davis/Morency backfield and a Davis/Bush backfield are numerous and significant. I don't dispute your argument about backs being easier to find than linemen though. I think you are being a tad optimistic. I'm not knocking Carr, but comparing him to one game that Rothlisberger played isn't a fair comparison. Look at what Big Ben did to get there in the first place. Dilfer is a bad comparison because his team didn't need him to win for them. They were built around defense. Kubiak isn't a defensive minded guy. And Rosenfels is clearly a step down from Banks at this point or, at the very best, a sideways move. But, that isn't really part of the argument here. Lendale White could be a possibility assuming he makes it into the second round, but that is doubtful even with his poor showing on pro day. We do need offensive line depth, to be sure, but I wouldn't bet on D-line being nearly the priority that defensive back and linebacker are. Right now, our 2nd corner is either Faggins or...I don't even want to go there. I wouldn't exactly say that. Remember that even Kubiak admitted that 20+ sacks last year were on Carr, not on the offensive line. There were also a not significant number attributed to missed assignments by the backs, noteably Davis who has never been known for his pass protection. I'm not saying the line isn't a problem. It was. But, it wasn't as if this team was a scoring machine when they were able to move the ball. They have always struggled to score touchdowns in the red zone and in 4 years has only gone over 3000 yards one time. He hasn't even been within 400 yards of that mark in any other season. Personally, I think Carr can do the job. And I do think an improved line will help. I'm just not sure you bail out on number one pick in the draft unless you get a ridiculous offer just for an O-lineman.
FYI, there is another draft special on ESPN right now. I heard they are going to run a new one everyday up until the draft.
I agree with those experts and I'm still hoping we decide to build around VY. I'd say the chances are slim but I'm still hoping.
