Von Miller

[YoungPanthers89]

no thanks

[koolkatluke]

We are so good at LB and no plans right now playing a 3-4. So no.

[SorthNarolina]

He's been mentioned as our pick here and there, is on contention for BPA for the draft and has a ton of upside with squeaky clean character marks.

Let's assume we do draft him, at 1 or a little later, how does he fit in a 43 D? Most have him projected as a 34 rush OLB.

I don't see him as a Sam and in coverage, so does he go Will? If so, what do we do with a healthy TD?

Doubt it happens, but I'm tired of talking about QB's.

Thoughts?

A 3-4 rush guy would be a perfect SAM especially one with Miller's skills.

[Mr. Scot]

Let's assume we do draft him, at 1 or a little later, how does he fit in a 43 D? Most have him projected as a 34 rush OLB.

I don't see him as a Sam and in coverage, so does he go Will? If so, what do we do with a healthy TD?

From what I've read, the Sam backer blitzes more often in the Jim Johnson scheme, but not necessarily always from the outside. Johnson loved to blitz two linebackers through the A gaps (either side of center) out of a nickel formation in third down. Even if it's picked up, it screws with the protections.

So my guess would be strong side. If Davis isn't ready, Beason stays at the will and Connor is the Mike.

If Davis is ready, it gets complex. Davis has played both sides but played weak side last, if I remember right (could be wrong). If you put Davis back in that role and play Miller at strong, then you'd then have to decide between Connor and Beason in the middle. Love Connor, but I have to imagine that edge goes to Beason.

If you go with the 'three best guys' theory and decide that's Beason, Connor and Davis then you've got to move either Beason or Davis to the strong side. I think Davis might be the better blitzer, so Sam would make sense, but dang I'd sure like to go an offseason without asking Thomas Davis to switch positions yet again :(

(all of this assumes Davis is re-signed of course; James Anderson quite probably wouldn't be)

[SorthNarolina]

LB is the one position where we literally need the least help

Davis has torn his ACL doing the exact same action 2 times in a row, Anderson could bolt for more money. Connor has that hip injury that has been rumored to be serious.

It's pretty far down on the list of needs but it's nothing like it was in 08.

[carpanfan96]

Hmmm, Miller, Beason, Davis.... Thats just wrong and nasty....

By selecting Miller, Carolina would give itself some serious flexibility on defense... You could edge rush Miller from an occasional 3-4 defense front, use him as the blitzing LBer in JJ defense that Carolina will most likely be running... Lots of movement and blitzing.... whats not to like????

Go out and get a solid DT in the third and have a top 5 defense that creates lots of pressure.

Also on a side note, Miller's proven that he can drop back if needed.

[bigdog10]

I see so many people plugging Davis back into the lineup like it is a guarantee, and that he will return to pre-injury form. You guys do realize he suffered a significant knee injury not once, but twice, don't you?

I'd be shocked if he even plays half as good as he used to.

Linebacker is not a need in this draft however, if Davis can't stay healthy and we lose James Anderson to FA (if and when that comes back), linebacker immediately becomes a need again.

[Sch25]

You can always find a spot for players as gifted as Miller, however I am not sure he is worth the top spot for our D. Now if we ran a 3-4 like Phillips, where they have an edge rusher that doesn't drop into coverage as much, e.g. Ware, then I would say yes

[TarPanther9180]

I'm sure he may turn out to be a good player, but we don't need LB right now. If we go D, we need DT or CB. Miller kind of reminds me of Aaron Curry from a couple of years ago. Everyone said he was probably the BPA, but he fell a few spots. Curry has been a solid player for Seattle, but not pro bowl level though.

[Mvp2014]

Why are we talking about TD? hes been out of football for 2 years and most likely will never be the player he was turning into. James Anderson played very well last year, is he forgotten now?

[JawnyBlaze]

Yea in our 4-3 it would really be a waste of #1 overall to take a LB. If we drafted him and went 3 best LBs on the team it'd probably be him at Sam, Davis (if healthy) at Will, Beason obviously at Mike (Conner?? I like him and all, solid player, but he's not in the best 3 BEFORE drafting Miller...). If Davis doesn't come back full strength, Anderson at Sam and Miller at Will I guess (whoever's faster and better in coverage at Will). If we were to trade down to like 6 or later and Newton, Gabbert, Green, Peterson, and Dareus are all gone I'd be able to get behind drafting Miller. Better him than Fairley anyway...

[JawnyBlaze]

Why are we talking about TD? hes been out of football for 2 years and most likely will never be the player he was turning into. James Anderson played very well last year, is he forgotten now?

We're talking about TD because he's still on the team, and still the second most talented LB on the team (and it's even pretty close). He may or may not come back from the injury, I don't think the team won't plan for the case that he can't. He missed a year and a half of football, he played the first 9 or 10 games of 09. It's far from a foregone conclusion that his career is over.

[Mr. Scot]

Hmmm, Miller, Beason, Davis.... Thats just wrong and nasty....

By selecting Miller, Carolina would give itself some serious flexibility on defense... You could edge rush Miller from an occasional 3-4 defense front, use him as the blitzing LBer in JJ defense that Carolina will most likely be running... Lots of movement and blitzing.... whats not to like????

Go out and get a solid DT in the third and have a top 5 defense that creates lots of pressure.

Also on a side note, Miller's proven that he can drop back if needed.

Yep. I just talked about what you could do with him in a 4-3 (or 5-2 nickel) but it is also true that Rivera wan't some 3-4 looks.

And if he can drop back, then maybe he could play weakside too (they do that more in this scheme).

[Mr. Scot]

As an aside, if you have the time to look around and read up on Jim Johnson and the way he ran defenses, it's worth the read. The man truly was brilliant.