Your Thoughts on the D-line...

[SmootSmack]

Nice thread.

My thoughts are that OL and LB will, and should, be higher priorities this off-season. Here's my take on each player

Daniels/Griffin: I'm lumping them together because at this point they're one and the same for all intents and purposes. A couple of aging veterans (PD more so) who are valuable locker room guys and not everydown run-stoppers. I think one of them is gone and in the end it will be Phillip Daniels.

Anthony Montgomery: Next to DeAngelo Hall, re-signing this guy to a long term contract should be a priority. We can build a defensive line around this guy.

Kedric Golston: He probably plays above his talent level. He's best served as a back-up, but we haven't had the luxury of consistently playing him as a back-up. I'd bring him back because he's young and provides depth.

Andre Carter: Until his restructuring, I thought 2009 would be his last year with the team. Now I'm not as sure. I was a big proponent of signing him as I thought he would add the missing pass-rusher we needed. When he's good, he's very good but it's not often enough. He's not a one man show, like some other dominant DEs. He needs help to be successful. If we can provide that for him somehow, he can be a 10+ sack guy again.

Jason Taylor: I think last year was an unfortunate fluke health-wise. He showed though in the few games that he was healthy how disruptive a force he can be. He's not getting any younger so that has to be taken into consideration. There's been a lot of speculation of playing him at linebacker and if the season started today I'd say he's the starting WLB (with Rocky moving to the strong side). I think he and AC can be effective on the field together, just not at opposite ends of the same line.

Lorenzo Alexander: If nothing changed between now and the start of the season personnel wise I'd start this guy next to Montgomery. That's as much an indictment of the lack of quality along the interior as it is a testament to Alexander's hard work and underrated skills. I was very impressed with him last year and think he's a solid 3rd DT.

DeMetric Evans: Here's another overachiever who has been a solid part of this team for a while now and has stepped in admirably when needed. That said, I'd let him go. He's a 30-year old jack of all trades, master of none and it's time to start cutting the cords on some of those guys.

Chris Wilson: He may be better suited to be a linebacker. But he really needs to show he can excel as a situational pass-rusher this spring/summer or he could be gone.

Rob Jackson: Whatever it is the team sees in him, I'm not seeing it. Not yet at least.

Alex Buzbee: I know the team is very high on him as a pass-rushing specialist. If he's back from his knee injury he becomes the White N.D. Kalu right away.

Ryan Boschetti: He'll be cut..and probably back again in October

Free Agents: On the DL, there's really no one out there that's really worth bringing in so I think we look elsewhere, which leaves the draft (because I doubt we're making any trades)

Draft: In my perfect world we somehow are able to get an OL and still somehow add Tyson Jackson who gives you basically a young Phillip Daniels that can play DE and DT, and add Connor Barwin who would be a DE/LB freak of nature. Other names to consider are SenDerrick Marks, Dorell Scott as possible DTs, and a guy who is flying under the radar it seems-Paul Kruger at DE.

At the end of the day, I think the changes are minimal for 2009. I think we may add a player but really it will be a reshuffling of the players we already have.