Cole Luke

[Seltzer]

It appears Cole Luke is going to be given a legitimate shot (among some others) at securing a roster spot for the 4th safety spot and potentially rounding out the depth there behind Eric Reid, Rashaad Gaulden, and Colin Jones.

The Panthers coaching staff must see something in him, b/c he has stuck around in some capacity since being an UDFA in 2017.  

According to Jourdan Rodrique he had the defensive play of the day today, making an acrobatic interception at the end of team drills.  She also made a point of pointing out that he has switched positions from nickel cornerback to safety (which happened last year).

This perhaps gives further credence to the idea the coaching staff are looking for safeties that are somewhat interchangeable with nickel CB's.  Rivera has made a point of saying Gaulden can be used in both capacities, and Colin Jones has played the "Buffalo" nickel throughout his time here.

This could help the defense further disguise coverages without having to go to a true nickel "3 CB's" look so much, which has become the defacto base defense for many teams given that many offenses use 3 WR's as their base offense.  This would also allow the secondary to incorporate into Rivera's larger hybrid defense which allows for a multitude of looks.

That being said, Cole Luke's measureables (especially speed) are the main reason he was not drafted after a productive career at Notre Dame.  Much like Gaulden, his SPARQ numbers were not good, but his play with pads on was much better.  

He will someone to watch in the preseason.  I still think ultimately the team will have to sign or trade for another safety when it's all said and done, but I wish him the best and hope he can prove everyone he's worthy of a roster spot.

 

[kungfoodude]

There is going to be a point where we just simply have to make an upgrade athletically at that spot. 

[Seltzer]

3 minutes ago, kungfoodude said:

There is going to be a point where we just simply have to make an upgrade athletically at that spot. 

I agree with you, but it does seem like the coaching staff wants for a guy like Cole Luke or Damian Parms to win the spot.

To me, while they might be good stories, I dont see the practicality in going that route when guys like Tre Boston and Eric Berry are still out there and will be cheap.

We already have a safety depth guy who is a core ST in Colin Jones. We need another guy who could legitimately start behind Reid and Gaulden (if he is at that level).

My post is just trying to verbalize what the coaching staff might be thinking at this point.

[micnificent28]

Colin Jones is still around? Wow that guy has made a career out of making a career special teams play.

[fortyrod]

6 hours ago, micnificent28 said:

Colin Jones is still around? Wow that guy has made a career out of making a career special teams play.

At this point, he could probably walk off the field straight into an ST coaching job.

[SOJA]

9 hours ago, kungfoodude said:

There is going to be a point where we just simply have to make an upgrade athletically at that spot. 

I've believed this for years as well but at this point I think it's a factor of the following:

1. Ron values veterans at the safety spot above all else 

2. Hurney does not value the safety spot highly enough to invest a top tier draft pick in it. 

Resulting in us consistently having older veteran stop gaps. Hell the only reason we got the talent in Eric Reid is bc of something not football related. 

[CPcavedweller]

12 hours ago, Seltzer said:

It appears Cole Luke is going to be given a legitimate shot (among some others) at securing a roster spot for the 4th safety spot and potentially rounding out the depth there behind Eric Reid, Rashaad Gaulden, and Colin Jones.

The Panthers coaching staff must see something in him, b/c he has stuck around in some capacity since being an UDFA in 2017.  

According to Jourdan Rodrique he had the defensive play of the day today, making an acrobatic interception at the end of team drills.  She also made a point of pointing out that he has switched positions from nickel cornerback to safety (which happened last year).

This perhaps gives further credence to the idea the coaching staff are looking for safeties that are somewhat interchangeable with nickel CB's.  Rivera has made a point of saying Gaulden can be used in both capacities, and Colin Jones has played the "Buffalo" nickel throughout his time here.

This could help the defense further disguise coverages without having to go to a true nickel "3 CB's" look so much, which has become the defacto base defense for many teams given that many offenses use 3 WR's as their base offense.  This would also allow the secondary to incorporate into Rivera's larger hybrid defense which allows for a multitude of looks.

That being said, Cole Luke's measureables (especially speed) are the main reason he was not drafted after a productive career at Notre Dame.  Much like Gaulden, his SPARQ numbers were not good, but his play with pads on was much better.  

He will someone to watch in the preseason.  I still think ultimately the team will have to sign or trade for another safety when it's all said and done, but I wish him the best and hope he can prove everyone he's worthy of a roster spot.

 

If he is a safety our run defense is going to be severely limited. You can't go in with Gaulden, Luke, and Jones and expect to be able to attack the run from that position. 

Again, what is Eric Berry asking for? At age 30, if we could sign him to a deal like we did with McCoy our starting defense would be akin to what the Browns have done on offense. 

[bababoey]

3 hours ago, fortyrod said:

At this point, he could probably walk off the field straight into an ST coaching job.

He probably will.  Chase Blackburn and Ben Jacobs both did. 

[PanthersAddict]

 

4 hours ago, CPcavedweller said:

If he is a safety our run defense is going to be severely limited. You can't go in with Gaulden, Luke, and Jones and expect to be able to attack the run from that position. 

Again, what is Eric Berry asking for? At age 30, if we could sign him to a deal like we did with McCoy our starting defense would be akin to what the Browns have done on offense. 

Why would we be limited? Gaulden is a very good run defender, that's his strength. Coverage, play rec is what needs work at

[micnificent28]

7 hours ago, pennywise said:

Jones get bashed for no reason. He’s not a starting caliber safety but makes play when needed. Also a very important part to the st. 

No.. he has had his shot at starting a few times and been burned to a crisp.not saying he isnt a decent special teams guy. Im just shocked he is on the roster after all the turn around on defense.

[CPcavedweller]

50 minutes ago, PanthersAddict said:

 

Why would we be limited? Gaulden is a very good run defender, that's his strength. Coverage, play rec is what needs work at

Again, the position Rivera seems to want is similar to what Kam Chancellor played. We don't have anyone on the roster capable of that other than perhaps Jermaine Carter. 

[micnificent28]

On 6/11/2019 at 10:44 PM, Seltzer said:

It appears Cole Luke is going to be given a legitimate shot (among some others) at securing a roster spot for the 4th safety spot and potentially rounding out the depth there behind Eric Reid, Rashaad Gaulden, and Colin Jones.

The Panthers coaching staff must see something in him, b/c he has stuck around in some capacity since being an UDFA in 2017.  

According to Jourdan Rodrique he had the defensive play of the day today, making an acrobatic interception at the end of team drills.  She also made a point of pointing out that he has switched positions from nickel cornerback to safety (which happened last year).

This perhaps gives further credence to the idea the coaching staff are looking for safeties that are somewhat interchangeable with nickel CB's.  Rivera has made a point of saying Gaulden can be used in both capacities, and Colin Jones has played the "Buffalo" nickel throughout his time here.

This could help the defense further disguise coverages without having to go to a true nickel "3 CB's" look so much, which has become the defacto base defense for many teams given that many offenses use 3 WR's as their base offense.  This would also allow the secondary to incorporate into Rivera's larger hybrid defense which allows for a multitude of looks.

That being said, Cole Luke's measureables (especially speed) are the main reason he was not drafted after a productive career at Notre Dame.  Much like Gaulden, his SPARQ numbers were not good, but his play with pads on was much better.  

He will someone to watch in the preseason.  I still think ultimately the team will have to sign or trade for another safety when it's all said and done, but I wish him the best and hope he can prove everyone he's worthy of a roster 

Seems everyone is forgetting quin blanding. I keep seeing his name pop up ans has been putting on a show the last few practices. Two picks

[Mayor Qumiby]

On 6/11/2019 at 11:12 PM, pennywise said:

We’ll see.... He’s this year’s Dean Barlowe, Damiere Byrd, etc

The Dean Barlow !!!

 

[KSpan]

14 hours ago, micnificent28 said:

Seems everyone is forgetting quin blanding. I keep seeing his name pop up ans has been putting on a show the last few practices. Two picks

Can't forget a player you've never heard of. After looking him up the guy wasn't even on a practice squad last year in his first year out of college, so low expectations seem reasonable.