SB Nation - Hilee Taylor

Ask the Expert: Cardinals vs Panthers

Andrew602 — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 18:11:55 -0000

More photos » by Nell Redmond - AP

This is a sight we might see on Sunday.

Today we sit down with Cat Scratch Reader lead blogger, Jaxon, who gives his insight on the team we face this Sunday, the Carolina Panthers. He was nice enough to take the time out of his day to answer five questions, and you can check out the five questions he asked me over at there site. So to continue on, let's look at how he answered my questions.

1. Obviously you had to see question 1 coming - Do you think that Jake Delhomme's struggles stem from the playoff loss last year and if so, how?

To a degree I think the answer is yes. That loss provided the first crack in his confidence that he admits carried over into this season. I think his continued struggles stem deeper than that though. I think for an NFL QB the mental aspect is just as important as any physical gifts. If Delhomme can’t get his head back on straight this might be the end for him.

2. Steve Smith was a receiver that we had all grown accustomed to seeing make big plays and put up fantastic numbers. So far this year he's projected to finish with 72 catches for 954 yards and 1-3 TDs, which would be his worst year since '03 minus the injury year. Do you feel Delhomme is to blame or is it the offense entirely?

Smith’s lack of production is mostly due to Delhomme. He is unable to hit to hit the long ball which is what makes Smith dangerous. The bracket coverage he commands limits his effectiveness in the short game. Some blame goes to the play calling too. Very little would I place on Smith himself.

3. Getting back to Delhomme, what do you see the Panthers doing with their quarterback position in the future? You guys traded your first round pick next year to San Francisco and it seems that Delhomme's career is done. Could you see them make a trade? a la Jay Cutler type trade?

Fox and GM Marty Hurney prefer to look for and sign young free agents like Delhomme and groom them. I don’t expect them to draft a QB early though given how deep the upcoming draft is at QB this year might be the exception. A trade is a possibility but nothing of the ‘blockbuster’ variety. They are too cautious for that.

4. What's going on with Julius Peppers? He does have 6 sacks (5 against bad teams) but we haven't heard his name as much and in the off season he wanted to play for a different team. Will he remain a Panther or end up with a different team next year?

He started slow but has played better the past few games. I expect him to play well this weekend and he loves to match up with Cardinals LT Levi Brown. If there is no salary cap this off-season the Panthers may franchise him again and try to trade him. I can’t see them paying him $20M for one season. They just might let him walk if Peppers again indicates he won’t sign the tender until after the draft.

5. What's your impression of Everette Brown? 7 tackles and 1 sack doesn't scream rookie of the year. Is he being groomed to take over for Peppers or just struggling in his first year?

He hasn’t played a lot so the stats are misleading. He’s played well when in there but the Panthers have two other young DE’s playing well in front of him, Charles Johnson and Hilee Taylor. Regardless, rookie of the year he is not but I’m still okay with the trade, unless the Panthers continue to tank and that pick ends up being a top 5 pick. Then it would look like a really stupid move by the Panthers. If Peppers does leave then he is the obvious heir-apparent to play the right side.

Panthers New DL Coach Baker Brings a New Focus

Jaxon — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 18:30:22 -0000

I really enjoyed this piece by Andrew Mason on Panthers.com, not just because it's a well written feature on young DE Hilee Taylor, but also because we finally get a peek at new DL coach Brian Baker' philosophy. He is not only bringing much needed change to the DL scheme but he is also focusing on the mental aspect of each players one-on-one match-up.

"(Baker helps) you get to focus on the negative things -- which for me is being a one-move guy. I'm trying to pattern myself to be a guy that always keeps the offensive line guessing. When you keep the offensive line guessing, you'll have a good day."

It shouldn't be a surprise to anyone that a rookie DE came into the league and quickly realized his go-to pass rushing move was no longer effective. I imagine the inability of a DE to learn and expand his pass rushing moves is what washes out many young DE's. Yet learning and using multiple pass rush moves is not enough. A player must mix up his moves and keep his match-up guessing as to which method he is going to use on a given play, similar to the way a pitcher mixes up his pitches to keep a batter off-balance. If a LT leans to the outside expecting a quick edge rush and instead the DE uses an inside rip/power move (ala Reggie White), even if its not a greatly executed, can result in a sack. Taylor goes on:

Pictured: Taylor sacks Falcons QB Matt Ryan and adds a tomahawk chop for good measure!

"Speaking for myself, I like change," Taylor said. "I don't like the same stuff every day. With Coach Baker, we've got drills thrown at us every day since mini-camp. For me personally, I like it, because you're working different things.

"We don't do drills just to do drill work. We're always working to do something. When you work on that individually and it carries over to team play, it becomes automatic and a natural movement."

What I think Taylor is saying here is that Baker is taking the time to explain how the drills apply to each players objective in particular situations. In a nutshell, getting back to basics I would say. He also seems to be inspiring them to ignore the fact that LT might have 60 lbs on them, speed, power and...strategy will make you successful.

"That's another plus of his defense," Taylor said. ""If you've got speed and you can handle your own as far as power and keeping the offensive line guessing, it really doesn't matter how big you are, because if you can get power with speed, you'll have a good day."

Though the Panthers may be taking it one ‘good day' at a time, I'm excited about the prospect of how those good days may add up in 2009. Baker appears to be bringing a new mental aspect to DL play at a time when the Panthers really need some fresh thinking. It was no secret the defense got stale and predicable towards the end of 2009 and that was a big reason for the increase in points allowed. If the Panther defense is going to rise to a Top 10 defense it will need to start up front. I'm feeling a lot better after reading that post that he just may be the guy to get it done.

Panthers Depth Chart Predictions – DE

Jaxon — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 14:30:15 -0000

The next Panthers positional review is defensive end. Prior to All-Pro Julius Peppers recent signing of his franchise tender the depth chart at DE was anybody’s guess. With Peppers back in the fold things are a little clearer at least on one side of the equation. The remaining question is who will man the other side across from Peppers on 1^st and 2^nd down. Here’s the current depth chart at DE for the Panthers current roster:

LDE	DT	DT	RDE
Brayton			Peppers
Johnson			Brown
Brinkley			Taylor

As much as I want to make a bold prediction that 3^rd year player Charles Johnson will unseat Tyler Brayton I’m thinking this is one of those cases where HC John Fox sticks with the more experienced player in Brayton. With that resolved the only question is whether the Panthers keep five DE’s or not. Last season they only keep four so this could be the end of Hilee Taylor and/or Casper Brinkley’s run with the Panthers. It’s hard to imagine with so many tough decisions at other positions (FB, TE, WR) that the Panthers would keep five. With that let’s go into more detail.

Julius Peppers – 100% chance of starting at RDE

There is no doubt we have spent enough bytes of space on this blog about Peppers so I’m not going to go into a lot of detail. I predict Pep will start on the right side but will be moved around just as he was last season. He could potentially line up at all 4 DL spots throughout the course of the game and I don’t see that changing. My hope is that he improves on his 14.5 sacks and 51 tackles last season in a bid to prove he is worth the huge price tag is commanding.

Tyler Brayton - 70% chance of starting at LDE

As stated earlier I’m going with the safe bet that Brayton sticks one more season in Carolina as the starter. I also think there is a small chance (5%) that he actually gets cut for salary cap reasons. This might happen if the Panthers first and foremost feel another player can fill his role and second, if they need some salary cap space after being unable to sign Peppers long term to reduce his cap hit. More than likely though Brayton remains in the Panthers plans due to his versatility to play DE and DT and the fact he is a better run stopper. Mechanics wise Brayton plays the stretch play well and keeps the play turned inside. He can also hold his ground on those off-tackles runs though he does struggle to get off well-made blocks. Stat-wise I don’t see him improving on his 40 tackles and 4.5 sacks from last season as I expect his playing time to drop with the development of the younger players below him on the depth chart.

Charles Johnson – 20% chance of starting at LDE; 100% chance to make the roster

This should be a big season for Johnson as he looks to show he has skills to be an every down DE in this league. His 6.5 sacks and 40 tackles last season as a back-up are impressive and the word is he has worked on his strength and size in the off-season. My hope is Johnson develops into a Mike Rucker type of DE who excels first as a run stopper but can also get after the QB. Though I only give an outside chance of him to start game one in 2009 I think that he will be a starter next year if not later this season.

Everette Brown – 10% Chance of Starting a LDE; 100% chance to make the roster

The Panther shave the luxury of letting the rookie Brown soak up the newness of the NFL and the Panthers scheme without throwing him in the fire. I have no doubt in future seasons he will be a starter for this team but I only see an outside chance of it happening right away. Brown will instead be the situational pass rusher similar to that of Hilee Taylor last season though I see Brown getting on the field more. The only question is whether he will stick to his more natural right side or play the left side as he did recently during OTA’s. Given the positive comments from RT Jeff Otah from OTA’s about Browns speed and strength he might end up the first pass rusher off the bench and line-up across from Pep. This the dream scenario for Panther fans in my opinion as it means we’ve speed coming of the edge from both sides.

Hilee Tayor – 10% Chance of making the roster

In 10 games last season Taylor registered 4 tackles and a sack which doesn’t sound too impressive but you have to remember he was a situational pass rusher who only got on the field a handful of plays a game if that. I thought Taylor played well as he got into the backfield a good bit but many times was a step late in getting the sack. In 2009 the addition of Everette Brown means Taylor days may be numbered. Given he doesn’t qualify for the practice squad I think Taylor at best has an outside chance of sticking.

Casper Brinkley – 5% chance of making the roster; 20% chance of making the PS

I believe Brinkley is still eligible for the PS and that is his best chance at this point in my view. Brinkley didn’t leave much of an impression last preseason so he really needs to step it up if he is going to stay in the league. If he plays well on special teams I think there is an outside chance the Panthers to use a roster spot on him but I wouldn’t bet on those odds.

Poll

How many DE's will the Panthers carry on the roster into the 2009 season?

4

128 votes

5

164 votes

6

16 votes

308 votes | Poll has closed