Ken Lucas

[NewEnglandAFChamps]

I'm trying to figure out what happened to Ken Lucas? Once upon a time you couldn't throw it on his side just because you wanted to. Hell, I used to think he was the second coming of a Deion Sanders, or Ty Law. His coverage was perfect, he could tackle, you couldn't beat him deep or short and he would always outsmart you in some form or fashion. People used to fear going to his side and if you tried him underneath you could forget it. I wonder what happened? And he spends an awful lot of time cussing out Godfrey and Marshall lol after every bad play..

[KillerKat]

Maybe cause most of the time its their fault. We've seen Godfrey out of postion a few times this season. A CB is always gonna give up a couple big plays. The fault's of Marshall and Godfery along with Lucas' couple big plays makes everyone jump all over his back.

[AKPantherFan]

I blame it on the rain

[Tar Heel Blues]

Lucas was never the second coming of anyone. There was a time though when he was one of the best corners in the league. He should have made the Pro Bowl a few years back, but coming from Seattle to Carolina, both small markets, he didn't get a lot of pub.

That said he's getting old. He's turning 30 in a month or so, and for a cornerback without elite speed, that can be tough to overcome.

[panthers55]

There is nothing wrong with Lucas. He is best in a physical man scheme where he can pressure the receiver off the line. Unfortunately what we ru these days is a soft zone. He doesn't get burned so much as he releases the player to the safety who isn't where he needs to be and then Lucas has to recover to make the play. It looks like he is 10 yards behind the receiver when really he is trying to catch back up when he recognizes a blown coverage by Marshall or Godfrey.

If Lewis let him play his preferred style we would be much better off. When Lewis was a corner for Green Bay he was a great man corner. Seems the zone is what they want here but it surely isn't where Lucas and Gamble both excel.

[Snake]

God I wish people would get off this crap. The reason for it is Godfrey. He is a rookie and because we made our D more complex in the second half of the season he has been confused alot. It will iron out. Fox is a guru of DBs.

[kcanty]

Finally, a mesage board format with people who understand football, unlike the Charlotte Observer sports writers. You guys are absolutely correct, Ken Lucas has been and continues to be one of the best corners in the NFL. You guys are also corect when you write that Charles Godfrey, a rookie with a lot of talent, has blown coverages and to the uneducated football fan, it appears that the closest cornerback was at fault. Lucas had a great game against the Giants and only had one pass caught on him. Terrible all against him in the endzone, he had great coverage. Gamble actually had 3-4 passes caught on him that game. Lucas also played great in run support.

[Squirrel]

Maybe cause most of the time its their fault. We've seen Godfrey out of postion a few times this season. A CB is always gonna give up a couple big plays. The fault's of Marshall and Godfery along with Lucas' couple big plays makes everyone jump all over his back.

Have to agree I think it more of Godfrey's play.

[PanthaSan]

I like Ken. I also feel we owe him a Superbowl ring. But I gotta admit, he has seemed a bit sluggish lately. Maybe it's because he is helping the rookie, maybe it is because of the rain or te alignment of the stars.

He is Pro Bowl quality and I think we will see him come alive during the next few games. There is a reason Manning didn't go after him much and that should be proof enough of what other teams think of Ken's abilities.

[kcanty]

The casual observer also doesn't realize how many times QBs look at the receiver being covered by Lucas and Gamble then checks down to the second and third option because the first option is well covered by Lucas and Gamble. Those count as wins for a DB and a good grade by the DB coach in the film room when the player is being graded out. Out of 100 defensive snaps in a game if a corner or safety gives up one play, they still grade out well by the DB coach. The Charlotte Observer writers should keep that in mind when grading all units on the team.

[Blade]

You guys need to realize that a lot of it has to do with our shitty coverage schemes.

[Edley]

Wow.... are you all for real? Please watch the tapes on the Atlanta, Tampa (in Charlotte), Green Bay and New York. We won two of those games despite him. Ryan, Rodgers, and Garcia routinely attacked him when they needed first downs and I don't need to remind you the field day Antonio Bryant had in our stadium on Monday night. The sad thing is that our offense is so much better than in years past that he keeps getting bailed out! The worst part about it is that he's usually in position to make a play and just refuses to close distance aggresively. Sure Godfrey is out of position a fair amount and Harris is strictly a hitter, but they're safeties! This guy hasn't been a quality corner since Reggie Wayne torched him for 150+ last year. At $5.6 mil in '09 and $6 mil in '10 he should be and will be gone next year.

[1789Cardiac Cats9020]

It would be easy to blame it on the rookie Godfrey, however Lucas has fallen (literally slipped) in coverage a lot of times this season, he's been out muscled for the ball, and I honestly believe, we should look at putting him at safety and bringing Godfrey to CB next year because quite frankly, neither is getting it done in their respective positions. One more thing, Lucas has been injured a number of times especially on the knee and ankles. This can slow a man's speed quite a bit. I suspect we're beginning to the effects of those injuries at this stage in his career. Kinda like how Foster went from agile to plodding in 2yrs

[Lt Pinkerton]

Lucas has been picked on for about six weeks now. In the Tampa Bay game he gave up play after play and in the Green Bay game he gave up passing first down after passing first down. He looked fine in the Giants game, but that was only because Eli Manning attempted about seventeen passes. He has been nothing short of garbage for quite a while now, he is getting old, and he is not worth the money we will be paying him.