a whole lot of kuechly love from the steelers (w/ a little for TD as well)

[rayzor]

i was bored and couldn't sleep and i found this gem while perusing through a thread on a steelers forum.

 

very good read, imo.

 

excerpt:

 

The Force Is With This One

Over the last two seasons combined, the Panthers rank fourth in the NFL against the run and fifth overall defensively.

Remember those good ol' days, Steelers fans?

 

Yes, while the Steelers were finishing up their era of elite defensive standing, the Panthers ranked 24th overall in the 2010-11 seasons combined.

 

The seemingly abrupt change in the Panthers' defensive rankings over these last few years is due mainly to the drafting of middle linebacker Luke Kuechly with the ninth pick in 2012.

 

The NCAA's No. 2 all-time leading tackler (532) in only three seasons at Boston College, the Cincinnati-born Kuechly came to the NFL with the following names attached to the awards he received after his junior season: Dick Butkus, Vince Lombardi, Bronko Nagursky, Ronnie Lott and Jack Lambert.

 

Yes, there IS a Lambert Award for linebackers, but it's not likely Jack made a personal visit to Boston College to hand Kuechly his trophy the way Butkus did.

 

"I played against him," Steelers tight end Rob Blanchflower said of UMass's 45-17 loss to Boston College in 2011. "I just remember being very impressed with Kuechly and how good of an athlete he was, always making plays, coverage, blitzing. He was good at everything."

 

"I don't remember too much," Steelers running back Dri Archer said of Kent State's 26-13 loss to Boston College in 2010. "But I know we had a big game plan for him. He was just like he is now, but he's even better now."

 

"He's a great player," said Steelers linebacker Sean Spence. "Him being in the ACC I saw him play a lot. I had a chance to play against him. He's everything that everybody says."

.

.

.

"Luke Kuechly is quite simply one of the best in the business," said Mike Tomlin. "I think he is legitimately in the argument of a J.J. Watt in terms of some of the most exciting young football players in our game. There’s nothing that he can’t do. He is good at blitzing. He is good versus backs when he gets on running backs. Backs have a problem from a protection standpoint. He is a sideline-to-sideline tackler. He has innate instincts. He can slip blocks. He can defeat blocks physically. He is great in the passing game in zones and man. There is really nothing he can’t do. He doesn’t have many holes in his game as a linebacker."

 

"And you've got Thomas Davis right next to him," said Haley. "Those two are really the cornerstone of the defense as you watch on tape. They're in the middle of the action down in and down out. Up front they have a great rotation. But I would say it starts with 59 in the middle."

 

Davis, the weakside OLB in the Panthers' 4-3, leads the team with 22 tackles, with Kuechly trailing by three. Last season, Kuechly made 176 tackles to lead Davis and the rest of the team by 25.

 

read the whole thing: http://pit.scout.com/story/1453103-the-force-is-with-this-one?s=68#/story/1453103-the-force-is-with-this-one?s=68

 

 

[PandaPancake]

He's even better now.

I'm just going to laugh like maniac until the game starts

[LUUUUUKE]

The 8 teams before us that didn't select him are kicking themselves right in the ass!

[LUUUUUKE]

Rk Year Rnd Pick Player Pos

1 2012 1 1 Andrew Luck QB

2 2012 1 2 Robert Griffin QB

3 2012 1 3 Trent Richardson RB

4 2012 1 4 Matt Kalil OL

5 2012 1 5 Justin Blackmon WR

6 2012 1 6 Morris Claiborne DB

7 2012 1 7 Mark Barron SS

8 2012 1 8 Ryan Tannehill QB

9 2012 1 9 Luke Kuechly LB

Edited to make it more aesthetically pleasing

[smash_n_dash]

Well, Indy was going to take Luck and I highly doubt anything could dissuade Redskins from taking Griffin, so it's just the 6 other teams that screwed up by not taking Luke

[Verge]

Rk Year Rnd Pick Player Pos

1 2012 1 1 Andrew Luck QB

2 2012 1 2 Robert Griffin QB

3 2012 1 3 Trent Richardson RB

4 2012 1 4 Matt Kalil OL

5 2012 1 5 Justin Blackmon WR

6 2012 1 6 Morris Claiborne DB

7 2012 1 7 Mark Barron SS

8 2012 1 8 Ryan Tannehill QB

9 2012 1 9 Luke Kuechly LB

Edited to make it more aesthetically pleasing

 

 

SO instead it would look something like

 

1. Colts: Andrew Luck

2. Redskins: Russel Wilson

3. Browns: Robert Griffin III

4. Vikings: Luke Kuechly

5. Jaguars: Josh Gordon

6. Cowboys: Matt Kalil

7. Bucs: Ryan Tannehill

8. Dolphins: Nick Foles

9. Panthers: Dontari Poe/Alshon Jeffery/ Kendall Wright/Michael Floyd/Riley Reiff...?

[rayzor]

Well, Indy was going to take Luck and I highly doubt anything could dissuade Redskins from taking Griffin, so it's just the 6 other teams that screwed up by not taking Luke

 

i would say the redskins screwed up by taking griffin and moving up to get him the way they did, esp. when they picked up the better QB several rounds later.

 

[cbarrier90]

SO instead it would look something like

1. Colts: Andrew Luck

2. Redskins: Russel Wilson

3. Browns: Robert Griffin III

4. Vikings: Luke Kuechly

5. Jaguars: Josh Gordon

6. Cowboys: Matt Kalil

7. Bucs: Ryan Tannehill

8. Dolphins: Nick Foles

9. Panthers: Dontari Poe/Alshon Jeffery/ Kendall Wright/Michael Floyd/Riley Reiff...?

Josh Gordon was ineligible so the only way he could have been selected was via supplementary draft.

In terms of BPA Kuechly goes to the Skins.

I still laugh on game days thinking about my reaction to the Panthers picking a middle linebacker we "didn't need" at 9.

That draft could have been scary good for the Bucs had they taken Kuechly over Barron. They followed that up with Doug Martin late in the first and Lavonte David in the second.

[Carolinaboy1979]

 

Here's more Panthers love, very riveting

[B.BERSIN]

Still scratching my head why people will underrate Thomas Davis.

[Clicheking]

Here's more Panthers love, very riveting

What in the FUG did I just watch??

[Bj-Monster23]

Here's more Panthers love, very riveting

. Da fug is this.

Sent from my iPhone using CarolinaHuddle

[Shufdog]

 

Here's more Panthers love, very riveting

 

Ooohhmmmm

[5158Poundin]

Thomas Davis needs some love!  He is the yin to Kuechly's yang and our defense is built on these two.  One is not great without the other!  They are fuel for each other and thrive off each other's play on the field.

 

I am getting a TD jersey now…I want to specially make a jersey that has TD on one side and Keeks on the other half…the two combined is why our defense is so special!!!!

 

WT…heck was that video about…I couldn't get past the first 10 seconds…..yeesh.