Two Weeks Out: Are They Better?

[Fletch59]

Two weeks past the draft, some of the euphoria drops out; taking away a natural regression toward the mean (i.e., it's just hard to be a two win team or worse, two years in a row), have they done things to really change for the better? 
I suppose first, you battle a lack of continuity with new opportunity. Some losses were hard - it's tough thinking of a defense that lacks Brian Burns, Frankie Luvu and the dysfunction in the building wasn't their fault - but for that type of situation, you also have the correction that includes lots of veterans who didn't significantly contribute to culture or to success.  At its best, a lot to find worry in being sentimental about several players who were a part of the bad old days, so to speak.  
So - have they put together good enough?  I think, with the things they control, maybe so. But some of the things you would figure out of their control, like paying guaranteed salary* to guys who won't be around.  That does leave you with a feeling they tried earnestly to start over to a point, something no one has done well enough in doing in five years. 
Now on paper, who are they? 
Coach and GM combo who might not have been highly sought, but seem a good pair, good cohesion, names aren't sexy under them but they might stick, Ejiro Evero excluded. 
2nd year QB, who showed very good accuracy last year and didn't get rattled, but damn sure got rushed.  They improved his guards, which should include better time in the pocket.  They gave him an X who can run routes to get open, which hasn't been the case; they gave him another possible X who can do the brute force thing.   You aim to be better intermediately and you have at least a threat deep.   Said QB, who doesn't need more than a step open by his WRs, might actually get it. 
Improved guards often means good running, you add a back to it, you hope that by tweaking to the outside zone you can actually run outside zone well.   If all of that works, that's a solid team on offense. 
Now the defense?  They looked at the flaws of last year - after all of that dust settled last year - and knew, even if they'd have kept their guys last year, they didn't get a lot of opportunities.  So, improved ability at IDL, better edge setting at ... edge, and maybe a bit of assimilation to how things should go in the secondary.  It's not a star-studded unit back there but, Evero has not been huge on stars (I go back to trading Bradley Chubb early and still being quite good, in Denver).




As for any predicting discrepancies I had - I'm still surprised that they spent heavily on so many foundational but unsexy spots.   Yeah, top pick was a WR, and they threw picks at skill, but - 2nd round pick being RB, 3rd being ILB, and the two big contracts being guards?  I'm not against it!  But I'm a little surprised.  Surprised is OK, throwing tons of resources at too many different non-critical positions can be a drag in the long run and, if you're getting flashbacks to early Marty Hurney obsessions over paying too many LB and RB to consistently play, I get it. 


*Guaranteed money in general is part of the business, but I'm talking specifically 2nd year guaranteed salary.   I don't love contracts like DJ Chark's (where you spread the signing bonus over a few years on a one year deal to hide some money until next year), and I understand the need to put 2nd year guaranteed money on a 3+ year deal if you're paying the Bad Team Tax but Carolina's sea change this year included some good-enough starters to be paid for being elsewhere in game checks. 
So getting to the point - are they there yet?  I don't think anyone really ever is.  Hell, some of the best Carolina teams both had some real flaws and did not immediately look to be better than years past.  Would I have done what they did?  NO, but do they fit with the personality of who did it?  Yeah.  Sometimes that matters.   Did they solve all of their problems?  Definitely not, but they sought to avoid the things that gave them the problems, and that's smart enough. 
Sometimes the remainder of it's just that fresh start.  Who ever knows?  But I do think, if you put 90% of what was around last year in the same situation with a little less of a caustic tinge, a little less expectation, you probably find 2023 a lot more successful.  If overpaying guards and that fresh start (even just down to, the young coaches are less likely to know how to go snitch to Dave Tepper and also have allegiance to their coach first and foremost), that's gotta be a few wins right there.   Everyone pushing in the same direction. 

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