All aboard the Dan Connor express.....

[KillerKat]

Not like its new to him and he played good there. Beason - Connor - Davis would be the best combo instead of Davis - Beason - Connor/Anderson/someone new and moving 2 other guys around as well.

[Wither]

Not like its new to him and he played good there. Beason - Connor - Davis would be the best combo instead of Davis - Beason - Connor/Anderson/someone new and moving 2 other guys around as well.

I'm thinking in terms of a reset to before he got hurt; no need to make adjustments if they aren't required.

You never know; a LB might step up and play well at SLB (other than Davis).

[KillerKat]

Then Connor would either have to settle for being a backup again, play strongside, or get traded. I dont think he'd wanna be a backup and he hasnt been practicing at strongside at all. And I think he is a better player at his position than Anderson is at his so I hope we dont trade him.

[Baschski]

Anderson is very underrated at Sam. He's done well anytime he has been on the field and has only improved since he's been here. If Davis comes back and the coaching staff is confident that he can stay healthy (that's a big IF), I wouldn't be surprised if we saw Beason move back to the middle and Davis back to weak side. Connor is best in the middle and I highly doubt he could be better than Anderson on the strong side.

[Delhommey]

Even if Davis comes back, he'll still be a player that messed up the same ACL twice. I'm not putting a whole lot of faith in him playing out the year or even his career.

[Wither]

Even if Davis comes back, he'll still be a player that messed up the same ACL twice. I'm not putting a whole lot of faith in him playing out the year or even his career.

It's sad but true.

[MHS831]

We agree that Anderson needs upgrading, and TD is our best upgrade if healthy. The big picture moving forward:

LBs: Beason, Connor, TD-all first round talent. Reserves: J. WIlliams, Anderson, Norwood. Sounds like the Miami Heat starters.

DE: Hardy, Brown, Johnson (Brayton probably gone next season). Maybe Norwood moves here (Meeks ball), or maybe we keep E. Moore. Scary.

DT: Landri, Tyler, Leonard, Johnson. Doesn't sound intimidating now, but the way they have played, they will be by next season.

Throw in a fast and Deep defensive backfield, and this could be special--85 Bears special.

[MadHatter]

He wants to stay here and play for us, and I know the FO doesn't want to let a 1st round pick we have a lot of time invested in just walk. He's one of the better linebackers in the league and if we let him go it would be a huge mistake. Even though our LB corps is good right now, it gets even better when he's back.

Depends on the severity and long-term impact of the injury. Two ACL tears in the same knee is a BIG issue for a speedy LB. He may never recover to pre-injury levels.

[MadHatter]

We agree that Anderson needs upgrading, and TD is our best upgrade if healthy. The big picture moving forward:

LBs: Beason, Connor, TD-all first round talent. Reserves: J. WIlliams, Anderson, Norwood. Sounds like the Miami Heat starters.

DE: Hardy, Brown, Johnson (Brayton probably gone next season). Maybe Norwood moves here (Meeks ball), or maybe we keep E. Moore. Scary.

DT: Landri, Tyler, Leonard, Johnson. Doesn't sound intimidating now, but the way they have played, they will be by next season.

Throw in a fast and Deep defensive backfield, and this could be special--85 Bears special.

Wow....I love what this defense has shown in the first 3 preseason games. However, mentioning them in any sentence with the 85 Bears is nuts.

[TarPanther9180]

We agree that Anderson needs upgrading, and TD is our best upgrade if healthy. The big picture moving forward:

LBs: Beason, Connor, TD-all first round talent. Reserves: J. WIlliams, Anderson, Norwood. Sounds like the Miami Heat starters.

DE: Hardy, Brown, Johnson (Brayton probably gone next season). Maybe Norwood moves here (Meeks ball), or maybe we keep E. Moore. Scary.

DT: Landri, Tyler, Leonard, Johnson. Doesn't sound intimidating now, but the way they have played, they will be by next season.

Throw in a fast and Deep defensive backfield, and this could be special--85 Bears special.

I say start a "We Need to Run a 4-6 like the 85 Bears" Then you can have Connor, Beason, TD, Anderson, Norwood, and Williams starting at LB

[mj4life]

Wow....I love what this defense has shown in the first 3 preseason games. However, mentioning them in any sentence with the 85 Bears is nuts.

agree, our defense has played lights out so far and hope it carries over into the regular season, conner seems at his best between the hashes and taking on blocks which frees up beason to make even more plays,so won't hurt my feelings to see him stay on the weak side even if davis comes back

[Baschski]

We agree that Anderson needs upgrading, and TD is our best upgrade if healthy.

No. Anderson is a legit starter. And I'm not convinced that moving Davis back to the strong side following two consecutive ACL tears is an upgrade over Anderson, who has done a great job so far. Connor also won't be very effective unless he's in the middle. Anderson is our best option at strong side right now.

[pantherclaw]

Just finished reading the 40th post, and haven't seen it mentioned yet...and it should be!

Our defensive tackles are doing well at keeping blockers off our linebackers, and allowing them to do their jobs.

I've never had any doubt about Dan Connor's ability. You don't become a leader at Penn State without being successful.

Dan Connor is a natural MLB. He makes plays, and is often getting into the backfield.

[Panthers128]

I think people like this guy so much because he's a white linebacker. Hasn't shown me much but it's preseason. With how bad our offense is, I want to see how he does when we're doing our 3 and out thing and the other team is dominating the time of possession. Need an entire game to see how good any player is honestly.