Is Shaq Thompson a bust?

[usmcpanthers]

Its hard to shine when you play with two of the best LB's in the game! The jury is still out on Shaq, but we wont know until he is a full time starter, but with TD staying another season, i dont know if we resign Shaq or not. Shaq has been solid to me.

 

[Ricky Spanish]

1 minute ago, Carolina-Chuck10 said:

A 1st rounder LB who weighs 2x more than Kamara couldn’t tackle him. 

Shaq Weight 229

Kamara Weight 215.

Today I learned that 14 lbs = 430lbs.

[coralreefer_1]

16 hours ago, t96 said:

No but lack of opportunity has hurt him. I guess it’s a good problem to have though that TD has played so well this late into his career after the injuries too, and he’s still going... Nobody could’ve expected that.

Now this is so true. TD needs to man up and hang it up so this young buck can come into his own. TD talking about possibly playing again next year is a nail in the coffin for this young man. TD is going to run Shaq out of Carolina where he will beast out for the next 5 years for some other team, while TD will play one more and retire. A talent trained under TD and Luke, but will be on some other team? Fug that! 

[BrianS]

6 minutes ago, coralreefer_1 said:

Now this is so true. TD needs to man up and hang it up so this young buck can come into his own. TD talking about possibly playing again next year is a nail in the coffin for this young man. TD is going to run Shaq out of Carolina where he will beast out for the next 5 years for some other team, while TD will play one more and retire. A talent trained under TD and Luke, but will be on some other team? Fug that! 

This is on the coaches, 100%.  It's not TD.  The coaches need to do what they have been saying they will do - cut down on TD's time to get Shaq more involved.  Not TD's fault.  Not Shaq's fault.

However, when it comes time to sign a contract, I think the coaching staff are doing their chances of re-signing Shaq great harm by not giving him adequate opportunities.  Shaq needs to play, and that's on the coaches to look into the future of their club and realize that as great as TD is, his time in the league is coming to a close.  They have a guy who physically has the tools to step into that role, but aren't giving him enough opportunity.

Asking Shaq to play slot coverage on opposing receivers is not the same as giving him reps in the roles that TD holds.  Yes, Shaq was largely out of his depth against slot receivers, but the fact that he was even in the frame on those reps indicates that against TE's and RB's, he would probably grade out fairly well.  We simply don't know.

[mc52beast]

Let’s see what happens during the first four games this year when he takes TD’s place... will find out a lot 

[jumpman910]

37 minutes ago, Carolina-Chuck10 said:

You are a Shaq homer. If you were not biased, you would agree with me. 

AJ Klein was and is better than Shaq. 

No he isn't, the saints want to dump him and if they don't Klein will ride the pine 

[FugAllY'all]

Uh, he was linebacker picked 25th, there's no such thing as a non-QB bust in the NFL outside of the top 5. 

That aside, he's basically spent most of his time either playing out of position or buried behind two All-Pro starters. He's just ok in coverage, and shouldn't be lining up against slot receivers or tight ends all game long, or he will get burned. He has and will shine as a starting linebacker in our base defense in the middle or outside.

[NOVA_Panthers85]

Can't tell either way yet. He has been solid but for me a first rounder has to end up a little more then solid. These first 4 games will tell us a lot. I do believe in him though, he has the talent and has flashed for us so I see him taking the next step this season. It is going to be exciting; he can fly all over the field and "tag your fanny". 

[LinvilleGorge]

To me, a bust is a guy who badly under-performs based on his draft position. Take a guy like Aaron Curry at the same position. He was an OLB who went #5 overall and was seen by many as the "safest" pick in that year's draft. Virtually everyone thought his floor was a good starting LB for a decade. In actuality, he only played four seasons and totaled 190 tackles in his career. If you had told people that would happen back in '09, no one would've believed you. The guy checked every box. He was a can't miss prospect. THAT is a bust.

Shaq is just a guy who is pretty much performing near the floor of his expectations when drafted. I think it's fair to argue that he's been a bit disappointing, but he's definitely not a bust IMO.

[TheCasillas]

22 minutes ago, Carolina-Chuck10 said:

You’re a lying crap

why did they sign Demario Davis then? He is an MLB. They paid a pretty penny too.

[Ricky Spanish]

3 minutes ago, LinvilleGorge said:

To me, a bust is a guy who badly under-performs based on his draft position. Take a guy like Aaron Curry at the same position. He was an OLB who went #5 overall and was seen by many as the "safest" pick in that year's draft. Virtually everyone thought his floor was a good starting LB for a decade. In actuality, he only played four seasons and totaled 190 tackles in his career. If you had told people that would happen back in '09, no one would've believed you. The guy checked every box. He was a can't miss prospect. THAT is a bust.

Shaq is just a guy who is pretty much performing near the floor of his expectations when drafted. I think it's fair to argue that he's been a bit disappointing, but he's definitely not a bust IMO.

Agreed. I wouldn't even necessarily label Reggie Bush a bust either. He wasn't worth the #2 overall pick, but he still had a solid career and wasn't a horrible player.

[Car123]

He’s solid, but wasn’t the right pick.

[LinvilleGorge]

1 minute ago, Cracka McNasty said:

Agreed. I wouldn't even necessarily label Reggie Bush a bust either. He wasn't worth the #2 overall pick, but he still had a solid career and wasn't a horrible player.

Yep. Bush wasn't the next coming of Barry Sanders like a lot of people thought, but 10,000 career all-purpose yards is definitely NOT a bust. That's comfortably in between Jonathan Stewart (9000) and DeAngelo Williams (11,000). Not necessarily the numbers you want to see out of a #2 overall pick at RB, but definitely not Trent Richardson either.

[panther4life]

OP was obviously motivated to post this to embarrass someone who said Shaq was a bust or OP has lost his mind lol.

1. Shaq is a good starting caliber LB. I can't think of any 4-3 teams where he'd not be a starter.

2. He's already a starter, don't know why anyone else would think he's not.