Big Play Bene

[Jeremy Igo]

Keep seeing tweets from media and others on how he is still the nickel.

 

I can tell you he intends to make a push for a starting CB position, as he said as much in no uncertain terms to us on the huddle podcast. 

 

Bene is a top talent at corner. Not sure why you would want to limit his snaps to 30% of overall plays (buffalo package being the main nickel package the Panthers use lately)

[My Goodness My Guinness]

I'm scared of how hard headed Rivera is with starting verterans no matter what. The question is, will Rivera pull Tillman when he starts playing poorly? We have seen this script before. 

[Jeremy Igo]

I'm scared of how hard headed Rivera is with starting verterans no matter what. The question is, will Rivera pull Tillman when he starts playing poorly? We have seen this script before. 

​Might take a couple months if the past is any indicator. 

[CarolinaNCSU]

With Bene's play last season, and Tillman being old/coming off injuries....I don't see how it makes sense not to have Bene on the field as much as possible.

 

But, Rivera gonna Rivera sometimes. It'll work itself out come game time...I hope. 

[Frizzy350]

Is it possible tillman sees rotational work at safety?

[O-Ther]

Keep seeing tweets from media and others on how he is still the nickel.

 

I can tell you he intends to make a push for a starting CB position, as he said as much in no uncertain terms to us on the huddle podcast. 

 

Bene is a top talent at corner. Not sure why you would want to limit his snaps to 30% of overall plays (buffalo package being the main nickel package the Panthers use lately)

​Had better stats outside than at nickel last year, so it makes sense. EXCEPT when  the #2 WR we face is bigger and slower than a typical #2 WR. I'd prefer matching up Tillman on Vincent Jackson, Marques Colston, and Andre Johnson (Colts). The extra height Tillman has is better for defending these guys than faster, but shorter Bene. That gives Tillman the #2 CB spot for 5 games, and Bene will be the #2 CB the other 11 games.

[Jeremy Igo]

Is it possible tillman sees rotational work at safety?

​nope

[Jeremy Igo]

​Had better stats outside than at nickel last year, so it makes sense. EXCEPT when  the #2 WR we face is bigger and slower than a typical #2 WR. I'd prefer matching up Tillman on Vincent Jackson, Marques Colston, and Andre Johnson (Colts). The extra height Tillman has is better for defending these guys than faster, but shorter Bene. That gives Tillman the #2 CB spot for 5 games, and Bene will be the #2 CB the other 11 games.

​I would imagine that is the case with all rookie corners. 

Bene is a big dude. He may not be tall, but he is built like a linebacker and has a great vertical. Kid is a baller. Keep him out there. 

[the_philosopher]

I want them to play and develop fast players in the secondary. I don't mind the Tillman signing for competition and depth, but he shouldn't get the snaps over anyone unless he's playing really good in camp. Let the young guys make their plays and their mistakes against top talent. And I don't care how good Roman Harper is at "coaching" younger players; he needs to sit. Harper can coach at practice.

[KendrickPanther]

Bene will get on the field a ton if he's healthy. I think he has great value to us in the nickel. But he will play on the outside too. 

[t96]

People are underrating the Tillman signing. He was a first team all pro in just 2012 and other than the 2 freak injuries on his arm, he's had no wear and tear on his body since then--lower body is what's most important for corners. It's conceivable he can play as well as he did in 2012, and if he does then he should see the field. I don't care what the media has been saying about Bene at nickel... The best player will play. I have a feeling it'll be Tillman after the battle plays out in training camp, but it could certainly be Bene and I'll be happy either way. Tillman's skill set fits the outside much better than Bene's, and Bene fits the nickel corner perfectly. If Coleman can replace Harper at SS and play well, our secondary could be among the league's best.

[O-Ther]

​I would imagine that is the case with all rookie corners. 

Bene is a big dude. He may not be tall, but he is built like a linebacker and has a great vertical. Kid is a baller. Keep him out there. 

​All for letting him prove he's better than a Pro-Bowler at the position. I just think if we're getting excited about Funch's size advantage over the #2 CBs we'll face, we should wonder if Tillman's extra height will give him the starts against taller WRs.

Honestly don't care who it is, just as long as they do the job.

[L-TownCat]

That will really frustrate me to see a budding star hampered in his development by a fossil.  I'm sure Peanut is a tremendous asset as far as knowledge and mentoring goes but Smitty burned him up repeatedly in 05.  '05, that was 10 freakin years ago.  Has peanut gotten any faster since then?  History says thats not how it works.

[thefuzz]

I'm going with the young guns until it backfires if I'm RR.

This has not proven to be his line of thinking though.