Linebackers

[SBBlue]

3 minutes ago, Sgt Schultz said:

 Am I shaking my head as much as I did late last year?  No.  Whitehead became addition by subtraction.

Yeah Perryman>Whitehead on paper. This was an upgrade.  

Quote

That said, I expect the group will perform better than they did last year.

Yeah, just by the change in personnel.  Additions elsewhere should help as well.

I do agree this looks like the weakest part of the D right now.

Depth doesn't look great either.  

[LinvilleGorge]

43 minutes ago, Icege said:

I will never understand why the Huddle refuses to acknowledge that Shaq Thompson is a solid LB. 

It blows my mind how some people create an argument that doesn't exist in their own heads. No one argues that Shaq isn't a decent starting LB. The issues people have with Shaq is that contract. We overpaid. Significantly. Luke was retiring and Hurney panicked. Hurney has always loved paying LBs anyway, it's not like he needed much nudging. And yeah, Shaq does not measure up to the standard of 1st round LBs for the Panthers but that's not really the issue. If Shaq's contract was half of what it is like it should be that wouldn't be an issue. It just adds salt to the wound when looking at that contract. The kicker was choosing to pay Shaq over Bradberry who signed elsewhere for similar money per year while being a better player at a higher value position. That's not Shaq's fault, but again just more salt in the wound.

 

[kungfoodude]

6 minutes ago, SBBlue said:

Yeah Perryman>Whitehead on paper. This was an upgrade.  

Yeah, just by the change in personnel.  Additions elsewhere should help as well.

I do agree this looks like the weakest part of the D right now.

Depth doesn't look great either.  

Perryman's issue is if he can stay healthy long enough to matter. He may be 2021's Russell Okung, if not.

[onmyown]

Yea better than last year, but that’s not saying much. I think the biggest question on defense is the dline’s run stopping ability which was atrocious last year.

And it in turn wears out everyone behind them.

With the addition of Reddick and Horn and Chinn at safety, I’m honestly not that concerned about the passing defense.

Lat thing they need is zero run defense like last year. I’d like to see Chinn shut down pass routes and cause havoc in the backfield rather than constantly being the cleanup guy like last year, 8+ yards down the field.

Edited June 12, 2021 by onmyown

[Scott12345]

8 minutes ago, onmyown said:

Yea better than last year, but that’s not saying much. I think the biggest question on defense is the dline’s run stopping ability which was atrocious last year.

And it in turn wears out everyone behind them.

With the addition of Reddick and Horn and Chinn at safety, I’m honestly not that concerned about the passing defense.

Lat thing they need is zero run defense like last year. I’d like to see Chinn shut down pass routes and cause havoc in the backfield rather than constantly being the cleanup guy like last year, 8+ yards down the field.

I’m still worried about our pass defense 

[onmyown]

2 hours ago, Scott12345 said:

I’m still worried about our pass defense 

Well the pass defense was ranked average last year. Considering we have a blitz specialist in Reddick added as well as horn and Chinn back there, plus Burns was always better vs. the pas….I just can’t see any way we don’t pull out above average.

Not much changed to address the run game however which was bad. Maybe some better LB play, but Chinn is maybe no longer there so that’s a wash.

Brown and the whole dline will have to step up big time in the run game from last year to keep the backfield fresh.

[Basbear]

Shaq is in that weird area of the huddle, just as Gano and Bradberry were in aka Poor take land. Yes hes not a bargain, but its not a extreme overpay either. Very few LB have Shaqs toolset and its incorrect saying he can not cover. He locked up HOFer Larry Fitz as a slot CB and played as a big nickle with good success. He a hard working type and puts in plenty of weight training time. He does have issues with play recognition and that makes him appear slow on the field or in the wrong area at times. 

FYI no player has constant stats. If player X has 16 sacks in a season, he did not get one each game. Every time he had 4, 3, 4, sack games against a weak opponent. Shaq is no different in his stats. 

Honestly I hoped the team finally turned on their brain and not over valuing the LB spot. I had no issue with cutting Shaq before the team triple down by converting his base into a signing bonus. Now we are stuck with Shaq and CMC......feels like old times......heaaaa 

[LinvilleGorge]

9 minutes ago, Basbear said:

Shaq is in that weird area of the huddle, just as Gano and Bradberry were in aka Poor take land. Yes hes not a bargain, but its not a extreme overpay either. Very few LB have Shaqs toolset and its incorrect saying he can not cover. He locked up HOFer Larry Fitz as a slot CB and played as a big nickle with good success. He a hard working type and puts in plenty of weight training time. He does have issues with play recognition and that makes him appear slow on the field or in the wrong area at times. 

FYI no player has constant stats. If player X has 16 sacks in a season, he did not get one each game. Every time he had 4, 3, 4, sack games against a weak opponent. Shaq is no different in his stats. 

Honestly I hoped the team finally turned on their brain and not over valuing the LB spot. I had no issue with cutting Shaq before the team triple down by converting his base into a signing bonus. Now we are stuck with Shaq and CMC......feels like old times......heaaaa 

That one game against a faded Fitzgerald is still the one thing people are hanging their hats on to convince themselves that Shaq is good in coverage. He's a decent starting LB. Nothing more, nothing less. Decent in coverage. Decent against the run. Decent blitzer. Decent. Hurney paid him to be top tier, but that's not Shaq's fault. Hurney is an idiot. Shaq is decent. He's a hard worker. He's well liked by staff and teammates. None of the issues with Shaq are Shaq's fault. He can't help that the standard of Panthers 1st round LBs is higher than he's achieved. He can't help that an idiot of a GM gave him a bloated contract. He can't help that same idiot of a GM let a better player at a higher value position walk for similar money.

[NAS]

The only concern I have is depth, would still like to see Jeremy Chinn play linebacker in passing situations 

[Basbear]

10 minutes ago, LinvilleGorge said:

That one game against a faded Fitzgerald is still the one thing people are hanging their hats on to convince themselves that Shaq is good in coverage. He's a decent starting LB. Nothing more, nothing less. Decent in coverage. Decent against the run. Decent blitzer. Decent. Hurney paid him to be top tier, but that's not Shaq's fault. Hurney is an idiot. Shaq is decent. He's a hard worker. He's well liked by staff and teammates. None of the issues with Shaq are Shaq's fault. He can't help that the standard of Panthers 1st round LBs is higher than he's achieved. He can't help that an idiot of a GM gave him a bloated contract. He can't help that same idiot of a GM let a better player at a higher value position walk for similar money.

Id rate Shaq much higher than decent or average. For a LB he has great coverage skills, not many LB are good covering TEs, RBs, and slow WRs. Thats super important in the this passing era NFL. Shaq can and has done it plenty, more than the one fitz game. I didn't like the contract(CMC too) either, but like you and I posted years ago said- Herniay hardcore panicked. One thing panther do right with 1st rounders is they are most times the youngest(or very close) player in draft. Shaq is only 26 and played 6 full seasons, so he could be just entering hes prime. But please dont believe Shaq is "decent/average". If average is a 5 on the 10 scale, Shaq is a solid 7 overall. He truly is a modern LB too- many can not biltz, cover, hit with force, fast, quick, tough, work in traffic, shed blockers like the package Shaq brings.  

[PootieNunu]

55 minutes ago, Basbear said:

Id rate Shaq much higher than decent or average. For a LB he has great coverage skills, not many LB are good covering TEs, RBs, and slow WRs. Thats super important in the this passing era NFL. Shaq can and has done it plenty, more than the one fitz game. I didn't like the contract(CMC too) either, but like you and I posted years ago said- Herniay hardcore panicked. One thing panther do right with 1st rounders is they are most times the youngest(or very close) player in draft. Shaq is only 26 and played 6 full seasons, so he could be just entering hes prime. But please dont believe Shaq is "decent/average". If average is a 5 on the 10 scale, Shaq is a solid 7 overall. He truly is a modern LB too- many can not biltz, cover, hit with force, fast, quick, tough, work in traffic, shed blockers like the package Shaq brings.  

Shaq is an average LB. He is not great at covering he has 17 pd and 1 int in 76 games as a starter. He is a decent tackler, but does not have a lot of power, which is showcased with 4 career FF. Shaq is average at all aspects of the game,which makes him average. If he hit the open market there would not be a bidding war. He would probably be looking at a few years of 1 year contracts unless he suddenly has a breakout year,  which is unlikely. 

[kungfoodude]

2 hours ago, NAS said:

The only concern I have is depth, would still like to see Jeremy Chinn play linebacker in passing situations 

Our depth is better than last year, on paper.

I think LB could be a weakness but I don't think it will be the dumpster fire it was last season.

[LinvilleGorge]

2 hours ago, Basbear said:

Id rate Shaq much higher than decent or average. For a LB he has great coverage skills, not many LB are good covering TEs, RBs, and slow WRs. Thats super important in the this passing era NFL. Shaq can and has done it plenty, more than the one fitz game. I didn't like the contract(CMC too) either, but like you and I posted years ago said- Herniay hardcore panicked. One thing panther do right with 1st rounders is they are most times the youngest(or very close) player in draft. Shaq is only 26 and played 6 full seasons, so he could be just entering hes prime. But please dont believe Shaq is "decent/average". If average is a 5 on the 10 scale, Shaq is a solid 7 overall. He truly is a modern LB too- many can not biltz, cover, hit with force, fast, quick, tough, work in traffic, shed blockers like the package Shaq brings.  

Outside of that one game against a faded Fitz, Shaq has been decent at best in coverage. He's definitely been a disappointment in that department having come into the league billed as a S/LB hybrid. Unfortunately, he is.  He covers like a LB and run supports like a safety. He's not a bad player by any means, but he's not a guy you pay. You pay Bradberry and let Shaq walk. Just IMO.

[OceanPanther]

15 hours ago, Basbear said:

Id rate Shaq much higher than decent or average. For a LB he has great coverage skills, not many LB are good covering TEs, RBs, and slow WRs. Thats super important in the this passing era NFL. Shaq can and has done it plenty, more than the one fitz game. I didn't like the contract(CMC too) either, but like you and I posted years ago said- Herniay hardcore panicked. One thing panther do right with 1st rounders is they are most times the youngest(or very close) player in draft. Shaq is only 26 and played 6 full seasons, so he could be just entering hes prime. But please dont believe Shaq is "decent/average". If average is a 5 on the 10 scale, Shaq is a solid 7 overall. He truly is a modern LB too- many can not biltz, cover, hit with force, fast, quick, tough, work in traffic, shed blockers like the package Shaq brings.  

Shaq was a first round draft pick, 25th over all pick.  Maybe we've been spoiled by our linebacker play over the years,  but we expected Shaq to dominate.  He consistently has played in the shadow of Luke and TD,  not breaking out unto his own as a starter.   

Last year I didn't see him playing better than when Luke and TD were here. 

Lets hope we see a newer more dominate player in Shaq and all the linebackers this coming season.

Shaq hasn't made it as a pro bowl player.  Yeah, ya kinda expect somewhere along the line , your first round draft pick to be one of the best.  Oh, we've had first round bust.  And Shaq is NOT a first round bust by any means.

Right or wrong ,  some have expected more from him.