James Anderson criticism...Wow...

[TruCatzFan]

Not that I should even put my .02 in here but here's my take:

Anderson is a HELL of a LBer, and has an undeniable nose for the football. We already knew that he has Always been a liability in pass coverage... Which is another reason we drafted Kuechly.

Anderson is still a beast. The author quoted in the OP seems to single handedly blaim Anderson for the Defense's shortcomings as a whole...

How bout on any given one of those plays that he gets beat Johnson or Hardy sacks the QB or maybe even a 4th string DT (at the time) gets a couple of fingers and deflects the ball... This wouldn't be a topic of discussion. It's ridiculous how some people try to rationalize their own opinions.

[bigdog10]

Good research by the author, however he could easily do that with any other defender in the league.

Bad linebackers don't rack up that many tackles. Good linebackers on bad defenses do.

[KendrickPanther]

So the guy was able to pull 4 bad plays from a 16 game sample size. James was asked to do more than he should have because he was playing with bums. Matching him up against a RB with 4.2 speed is a disaster waiting to happen. Jimmy Graham beats everyone. He broke a record for receiving yards by a TE. Cholston is a tough match up for a LB and as I remember he was playing underneath coverage, not man. Brees dropped it in perfectly to a pro bowl wide receiver.

With all that said James is a quality starter, not a superstar. I have nothing but respect for him holding it together the last several years.

[CRA]

So the whole argument is based on word choice now lol? Because I said he's a great linebacker instead of a 'good' or 'decent'?

You just love to argue, and argue against your team man, it's horrible and I don't know why you waste your time doing such a thing. Anderson is not a top linebacker in the league but certainly does a very good job, and while our star linebacker sat on the bench last year, Anderson stepped up and made great plays.

So fuging sorry that I back up my teammate rather than critiquing his every move and calling him 'just another guy'.

Get lost, loser.

Um yeah.... words matter.

If you claim someone is x and he is y.....people are going to respond.

You literally just said it shouldn't matter if you call someone "great" or "decent". There is a HUGE difference in the great NFL players and decent ones...league wide and per roster. Are you so busy trying to label me as a hater that you don't even read what you write?

[Stroupe-a-loop]

I don't really care if some guy wants to throw out some criticisms of our 3rd best linebacker, but how the hell is a 7-yard 4th down sack a "Hidden Play". That goes on the stat sheet and highlights.

Also what the fug is a JAG? I'm sure we're all aware of the awesome mid-90's show about the Judge Advocate General's Corps, but it doesn't seem like we are talking about that.

[Montsta]

Jag=just another guy=meh player

[PhillyB]

cherry-picking seven out of hundreds of snaps an NFL player participated in to draw a conclusion? yahoo sports with the statistical analysis masterpiece

[Montsta]

Beason got beat by Jeff King last year against AZ when he went down with his injury, and Patrick Willis' whole defense got carved up by David Gettis and Matt figgin Moore two years back. Does that mean they suck? No it means poo happens.

[iamhubby1]

Now this is all well and good for most of you. And I don't begrudge you any of it. But I was under the impression James was our best cover LB. It took him a couple of years to get the rest down, as he has proven the last few years, but coverage was always a strong suit with him.

That said. Cord. look for matchup problems. RBs and many TEs are a matchup problem for almost any LB. The safety has to be aware of these type situations and be there for support to keep those short throws, short plays. Not every completion can be avoided with good D.

I say he covers better than most, tackles better than most, but his blitzes are still iffy. To me that is more than jag. That is borderline Pro Bowl. And if the Pantherz were more relevant, maybe more people would see it.

Just my thoughts on the subject. And GOOOOOO CATS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Hotsauce]

Valid points....but we had some major holes in the line

[Mage]

Did they really just blame him because he coudln't cover Marques Colston?

[Keep Pounding]

I think this article pretty much is right on about James Anderson.

http://www.derp/2012/7/6/3140992/dispelling-myths-james-anderson-carolina-panthers

[Zithers]

there aren't a lot of 4-3 backers better than james anderson. he's not an elite daryl smith/thomas davis/lance briggs type but it seemed like his leadership grew last year (might not have happened if TD and beason were in there) and he's makes plays when the time is right (the sack on 4th down against the skins, picking off yates to seal houston game). also obviously good at getting to the ballcarrier for the tackle. but yeah, he's a liability in coverage and is being demoted to a 2 down guy with kuechly on board. whatever helps though.

[JawnyBlaze]

Anderson is weak in coverage, that's his only real problem. He's more than "just a guy", but he's not perfect. Every "the bad" point was about covering TEs and WRs, he's not good at that. He's good at just about everything else though, and he's a very good LB who just isn't good at coverage.