PFF on Dan Connor

[MattB]

Carolina made a bold decision in the offseason to move Jon Beason, one of the league’s more impressive young MLBs, to the weakside, so they could play Dan Connor in the middle.

The call was risky, and it was much derided, but Connor is currently sitting as our No. 3 ILB — one spot above Ray Lewis. Anybody see that coming besides John Fox?

A look at Connor’s career arc:

Rest of the article is here http://www.profootballfocus.com/blog/2010/11/04/stories-of-the-season-dan-connor/

[Jackofalltrades]

Question is, what do we do with him once Davis comes back?

I like the depth, but I don't see him as a SLB and would hate to move him back to the bench.

I'd say trade him once TD show's he's back to form while his stock is high.

[Miaoww]

We keep him at MLB. He's very, very good there.

[mmmbeans]

Last season the Carolina Panthers graded out No. 25 defending the run. This season, with all three linebackers playing well, they are grading No. 12, ahead of teams like the New England Patriots that basically play run-stuffing nose tackles all across the front. Carolina may have a lot of problems on the roster, but they seem to have found something in the play of Connor and the balance he gives their linebackers.

wow.

[Carl Spackler]

Guy who never gets pub but totally deserves it. Another to a lesser extend would be Derek Landri. In our incessant bitching about the offense we're forgetting we have playmakers on defense not named Beason or Godfrey.

[PhillyB]

wow.

seconded. say what you like about the front office, but their draft strategies have tended to work out pretty well for us. picking up connor when we did could pay in spades for years to come.

[scpanther22]

good read makes me wonder what will happen to Connor in the future.

[Anybodyhome]

We may be seeing the future linebackers as they are. Thomas Davis may not get a contract offer from Carolina given he's missed a season and a half with injuries. The remainder of the season is his NFL audition to 31 other teams.

[scpanther22]

We may be seeing the future linebackers as they are. Thomas Davis may not get a contract offer from Carolina given he's missed a season and a half with injuries. The remainder of the season is his NFL audition to 31 other teams.

Beason would be best at MLB and that leaves Connor out.

[Urrymonster]

Guy who never gets pub but totally deserves it. Another to a lesser extend would be Derek Landri. In our incessant bitching about the offense we're forgetting we have playmakers on defense not named Beason or Godfrey.

Landri has been better than expected but he certainly hasn't been Connor standards.

For the record, you shouldn't change the LB corp at all. To do so is crazy. Why pull a productive player for someone who hasn't played a game in a year and had two rehabs on the same knee...?!

Anyone thinking TD will be able to just walk back into the starting lineup and not miss a beat is seriously deluded.

Personally I get the feeling many people are a bit butt hurt that Beason is not producing like he did in our old system with him at MLB, however as a whole our LBs are much much much more balanced.

[Panthro]

Will Beason want to be a WLB? Will we offer him a contract like one?

[Urrymonster]

Beason would be best at MLB and that leaves Connor out.

Sure he might be the best MLB, but the OLB takes a significant hit. The sum of all parts is what is important and that article spells it out, all three are playing at an extremely high standard, especially considering the amount they are on the field. They obviously click together.

Last season Beason was the only LB we had on the team that they ranked in the positives beyond TD and he wasn't ranked that high. This combination is the best we have had in a while, why break it up?!

Connor is a force against the run, something that he IS better than Beason at. Another thing he does well is crash the holes and force FBs and other blockers to deal with him, thus freeing up the two OLBs.

[KSpan]

I find this just as interesting:

In addition to Connor, the other two members of this 4-3 linebacker corps are firmly lodged in the top 10 of our 4-3 OLB rankings. James Anderson (first) and Beason (eighth), along with DE Charles Johnson, have teamed with Connor to give the Panthers a bright spot in an otherwise wretched season.

[Doyle]

How come no one else is mentioning him? I haven't thought he was doing bad but I haven't seen anything spectacular either.