Could 2012 be 2007 all over again?

[panthers55]

Kuechly won the butkus award folks, he was the best linebacker in football before he blew up the combine. He had better measurables coming out of the combine that Beason or Davis. He compares to someone else in this thread, Patrick Willis. I suspect we don't go this direction because I think the front office believes Davis will come back ( I hope so but wouldn't count on it). But he will be an immediate impact guy who you could plug into the SAM spot day one and he could play it well.

So yeah if we took Kuechly it would be 2007 all over only this time we get our player and don't have to drop down this time.

[Brandon]

gaither is 27.

I just found out Gaither and I were born on the exact same day. Scary.

[rayzor]

Can Luke K play all 3 spots?

i think i heard this question earlier...yep.

asked and answered in the draft forum.

Can he (Luke) play every spot?

I'm not sure about WLB, but I think so. He showed some athleticism I didn't think he had. Very smart player with good instincts, which is probably why his game film didn't look like he would have good combine numbers showing above average athleticism.

agreed here. i was of the opinion that while he was probably the smartest D player in the draft this year and was more impressive as a tackler than anyone i've seen in a while, i thought he was limited to the Mike position just because i didn't see him being "quick" truth is, though, that he is and those combine numbers proved it.

he's solid enough in overage that i would feel good about him dealing with any TE or slot receiver if needed. he didn't blitz much, but i don't think it was because he wasn't good at it. they wanted him to control things in the middle of the field and from his production it's hard to argue with that decision.

that said, i think he's got enough speed to take care of QBs or RBs behind the line of scrimmage. if he was asked to blitz i think he'd be as solid as anyone we could want. he's not as fast as TD (was?) or james anderson, but few are. at this combine he was the 3rd fastest LB (or 4th if you count bruce irvin as an OLB). that 4.58 40 is just flat impressive.

i wouldn't consider him a particularly hard hitter, but he's as good of a tackler as you are going to find.

i don't see him taking beason's place any time soon, but if we needed someone to step up there he'd be better than anyone.

the thought of beason and keuchly playing ILB when we run a 3-4 gets me a little excited, actually.

i've said this before...i'd rather us take a DT or CB, but if we drafted keuchly at the 9 spot i wouldn't be pissed. imo, he's among the top 3 defensive players in the draft. in fact i wouldn't argue against the idea that the only defensive player better than him is claiborne.

i've dismissed the idea of keuchly in the past, but if that was the pick i'd be on board with it pretty easily.

[rayzor]

Can Luke K play all 3 spots?

saw that asked and answered somewhere else.

oh yeah, in the draft forum.

Can he (Luke) play every spot?

I'm not sure about WLB, but I think so. He showed some athleticism I didn't think he had. Very smart player with good instincts, which is probably why his game film didn't look like he would have good combine numbers showing above average athleticism.

agreed here. i was of the opinion that while he was probably the smartest D player in the draft this year and was more impressive as a tackler than anyone i've seen in a while, i thought he was limited to the Mike position just because i didn't see him being "quick" truth is, though, that he is and those combine numbers proved it.

he's solid enough in overage that i would feel good about him dealing with any TE or slot receiver if needed. he didn't blitz much, but i don't think it was because he wasn't good at it. they wanted him to control things in the middle of the field and from his production it's hard to argue with that decision.

that said, i think he's got enough speed to take care of QBs or RBs behind the line of scrimmage. if he was asked to blitz i think he'd be as solid as anyone we could want. he's not as fast as TD (was?) or james anderson, but few are. at this combine he was the 3rd fastest LB (or 4th if you count bruce irvin as an OLB). that 4.58 40 is just flat impressive.

i wouldn't consider him a particularly hard hitter, but he's as good of a tackler as you are going to find.

i don't see him taking beason's place any time soon, but if we needed someone to step up there he'd be better than anyone.

the thought of beason and keuchly playing ILB when we run a 3-4 gets me a little excited, actually.

i've said this before...i'd rather us take a DT or CB, but if we drafted keuchly at the 9 spot i wouldn't be pissed. imo, he's among the top 3 defensive players in the draft. in fact i wouldn't argue against the idea that the only defensive player better than him is claiborne.

i've dismissed the idea of keuchly in the past, but if that was the pick i'd be on board with it pretty easily.

[Mage]

Let's spend a 9th overall pick on somebody that will probably come off the field for 50% of the plays!

Huh? Luke is solid in pass coverage and has terrific instincts. Why would he come off the field for 50% (a ridiculous amount to begin with) of the plays?

Apologies if you are talking about someone else not named Luke but I don't see why he'd need to come off the field that many times and he'd be valuable in the future if we ever went to a 3-4.

[hepcat]

Trading back would be fine by me...especially if they grab a 1st and 2nd rounder out of the deal. We could only hope the 2012 draft is as good as the 2007 draft! If you just look past the Dwayne Jarrett bust (which looked like a great pick at the time), that draft netted two Pro Bowlers (Jon Beason & Ryan Kalil) and one who's likely on his way to his first very soon (Charles Johnson)

[DaCityKats]

Kuechly won the butkus award folks, he was the best linebacker in football before he blew up the combine. He had better measurables coming out of the combine that Beason or Davis. He compares to someone else in this thread, Patrick Willis. I suspect we don't go this direction because I think the front office believes Davis will come back ( I hope so but wouldn't count on it). But he will be an immediate impact guy who you could plug into the SAM spot day one and he could play it well.

So yeah if we took Kuechly it would be 2007 all over only this time we get our player and don't have to drop down this time.

no way Luke compares to Pat.that is a reach, and i admit that i didnt think he was nothing more than a MLB.but he does have the athletic ability to play SLB, but if he could rush the passer than he would be a nice safe pick.also Fox is gone, Marty might swing for HR again in the first.

[Pantherman]

Beason will to......he may get better in a couple years but he's def not gunna be the same player. So def could see us drafting for the future/depth this year

Sorry about the pie. Didn't mean to give it to you. But sorry I have to disagree. No one knows how Beason will respond going into Training camp and beyond. I have faith that he will be fine and fully back to his old self by training camp time. Everyone is different. Just got to have a little faith in the doctors and the players themselves.

[Paintballr]

Ryans had a significant reduction in tackles this season

MLB switching from a 4-3 system to a 3-4 system when the year before he didn't play the whole season?

[panthers55]

no way Luke compares to Pat.that is a reach, and i admit that i didnt think he was nothing more than a MLB.but he does have the athletic ability to play SLB, but if he could rush the passer than he would be a nice safe pick.also Fox is gone, Marty might swing for HR again in the first.

How do they not compare??

Combine--- 40-----BP----vertical-----20 shuttle-----BJump

kuechly--- 4.58----27------38"----------4.13-----------123

Willis-----4.51----22-------39-----------4.46------------119

College numbers for Willis 4 years versus Kuechly's 3 years- Kuechly- 532 tackles, Willis- 355

tackles for loss- Kuechly- 35.5 , Willis 32

Sacks- Kuechly- 2.5, Willis- 11

Int- Kuechly- 7 Willis- 1

Passes Defended- Kuechly- 17, Willis 7

Add that Keuchly lead the nation in tackles as a sophomore and junior and was second in the nation as a freshmen.

Willis won Butkus award in 2007

Kuechly won Butkus award in 2011

Exactly how do they not compare????? In fact look at the numbers-other than sacks- Kuechly put up better numbers in 3 years than Willis did in 4 years.

[Argus Plexus]

I honestly hope Hurney trades back again, not too far though. Hopefully less than ten spots.