Five Wonders: Room for Bruce Carter, Anthony Spencer

[Smitty]

I'd like to think we can keep them all, but I know we won't. I think Carter is a goner, which sucks because he is finally fulfilling his potential. Definitely want Spencer back and hope he takes into account he got two big paydays from Jerry, so he takes a little less.

You'd love to have everyone back but Carter is probably one I'd miss the least.

If McClain improves with another year of offseason conditioning, Lee is obviously back, and then you can get Durant back on a much cheaper deal (as he's older than Carter and did not finish the season), that is a nice threesome right there, with Hitchens as a super-backup at all 3 spots, and you've also got Wilber around as fodder, but at least he's not Cam Lawrence.

Half the time you only play 2 LBs anyway, so those would be Lee and McClain. No place to give Carter a big contract with those two around.

 

[Smitty]

We should definitely keep Spencer and then one of Durant or Carter, which ever is cheaper.

How could Durant not be cheaper?

 

[Smitty]

Give me the younger guy in Carter.

That's emotion, you want to bet on that upside.

But Durant seems to me to be the much better fit for our situation.

 

[Simpleton]

How could Durant not be cheaper?

Who knows, I'm just saying.

I have no clue what Carter would command on the open market but if the price is basically the same I'd keep Carter just because of his age and his higher ceiling.

 

[Smitty]

Who knows, I'm just saying.

I have no clue what Carter would command on the open market but if the price is basically the same I'd keep Carter just because of his age and his higher ceiling.

If price was equal I'd roll the dice on Carter because of those things, but I'm not sure he was actually a better player than Durant for the period of time this year Durant was healthy. Durant was pretty steady.... Carter was more up and down until the end of the season.

If Carter is measurably more expensive.... Durant is the player that makes sense. Carter isn't gonna want to ride the pine anyway... and Lee is gonna be eating up a shit ton of the available snaps next year assuming he stays healthy. McClain will also get a bunch.

Carter will see much less snaps next year than he did this year if those two are healthy. For that reason alone, its logical to go with the role player in Durant.

 

[Donpingon]

Do we miss Jason Hatcher?

 

[Texas Ace]

Do we miss Jason Hatcher?

Sorta.

If you could give me last year's Jason Hatcher and put him next to Crawford right now with the way he's playing, we'd have quite the interior pass rush going. But that was the one and only season that Hatcher ever played like that, so there's no guarantee that he'd be doing that again this year.

If I don't regret letting Ware walk, then I certainly won't fret over Hatcher being gone. I like this defense just the way it is and wouldn't bring back any of the guys we had before.

Hell, IMO, one of the biggest reasons why this defense is playing the way it is is because we don't have those guys anymore. The past should be left in the past and we should focus on here and now. I'm excited that we're playing January football and all I care about are the guys who are here contributing to this great season.

 

[ravidubey]

Sorta.

If you could give me last year's Jason Hatcher and put him next to Crawford right now with the way he's playing, we'd have quite the interior pass rush going. But that was the one and only season that Hatcher ever played like that, so there's no guarantee that he'd be doing that again this year.

I think we got what we would have gotten from Hatcher already in Melton. Hatcher is older and that was part of our problem when we relied on him. I'm more convinced than ever that older linemen, especially on defense, are a bad investment. You can't ever get back the plays they take off.