One year ago today...Kuechly

[CRA]

I mentioned him in several posts and so did others ie. panthers55 .When everyone was arguing that Beason could come back from a torn Achilles there was a strong contingent that did not

I was also one of the first of the Luke bandwagon...

Was also bashed for telling people not to put much stock in Beason's shirtless hype video...

[jarhead]

I was also one of the first of the Luke bandwagon...

Was also bashed for telling people not to put much stock in Beason's shirtless hype video...

I remember that...I thought Pantro was going to ban me for even suggesting it

[panfan32]

I'm not going to lie, i thought we would've had a healthy Beaston and didn't want anythign to do with Keeks. And when Cox was on the board i thought there was no chance in hell we were gonna pass over him.

And then we took Keuchly and I was mlldly upset but then I just dealt with the fact he was a Panther and rolled with it.

Now I love the kid.

Same here. I could not see the need for another LB, with Beason, Anderson and Davis coming back. Although Davis was a ???? But I also like the play of Sean that season and thought he may be able to take over a starting spot. But then again I always cheer for the under dogs.

[MHS831]

Not sure where I posted it and i do not care, but I predicted Kuechly--just not one month before the draft--it was a few days before the draft. I did not see him as a need, and Marty drafted for needs. I think my decision was based on how impressed RR was with him after his visit, however, the biggest factor in my decision was based on Marty Hurney's fear.

There are some positions he did not draft in the first round. They are the "high bust, long-developing" positions like DT and WR. Marty drafted safely in the first round. He wanted immediate results.

If you have ever been around a player with an Achilles injury (some teammates in college got them and were done), you would not have been so optimistic about Beason returning to form in 2012.

[CatfanMO]

[thunderraiden]

One year + 4 months ago I posted the following thread in the draft forum:

http://www.carolinah...ound +bandwagon

LOL at all the "not another Dan Connor" comments.

I was on the Kuechly bandwagon early and the Cam bandwagon early as well. Hopefully I can keep my record in tact this year and we'll draft Quinton Patton in the 2nd.

Patton and Austin both will be gone before we pick.

[Floppin]

Boy KKL sure loves him some Cox

[TheRumGone]

I feel much better about Patterson after reading kkl posts about keek.

[rayzor]

i admit to being rather closed minded and parroting what i saw others say about him early on when he was seen as just another unathletic tackling machine white LB throwback. i didn't want him right away and i ridiculed the notion, esp. seeing that we were set at MLB having just signed beason to an extension and this was HIS defense. he was the heart and soul of it and he looked like he was pretty close to 100% and even at 80% he was still the beast. it made no sense to draft him esp. when we had such greater and more immediate needs, like DT.

that was well before the combine. i decided to look more at the kid just like i did others and challenge my own early perception. what i saw really impressed me. i saw a whole lot more than a tackling machine. i saw a machine and a leader who could do it all. many looked at the lack of sacks as a sign that he wasn't good as a pass rusher, but i saw it as the work he did on his side of the LoS allowed others to blitz and pass rush. he was the one that made it easier for the defense to take risks. he was that defenses security blanket. that dude was everywhere because he knew where the action was going to be. he was polished in many aspects, but what got me was his instinctiveness. then the combine came and he blew every stereotype about him being unathletic out of the way.

i saw him as being at least the second best defensive talent in the draft last year and thought he deserved to be in the top 5 picks...definitely top 10...but i still wanted us to draft someone else because, again, MLB wasn't a need. DT was. OL was. CB was. WR was. but not the MIKE. i thought, tho, that if we did draft him that it wouldn't be a bad pick because of how talented he was. i just wanted a DT. brockers was my favorite.

kuechly was the right pick and i don't mean just because beason wasn't healthy yet. but because of the talent he had as well as the potential he had to be great. he was an opportunity that couldn't be passed up because we had greater needs elsewhere and because he wasn't really someone who fit the modern day LB position and NFL as i and many thought early on.

point is, don't close your mind to any prospect or position. it may not be likely. it may go against conventional thought. it may not be what you deem as a need. but it may still be the right guy. kuechly was a safe pick. newton wasn't. kuechly was polished, newton wasn't. both had one thing in common, they were naturals and had a ton of potential.

i called newton early. i didn't kuechly. just because you are right about one guy one year doesn't make your opinion a special snowflake. we are all just throwing darts blindfolded. we may think we know who will succeed. we may think we know what direction the team is going to go. we may think we're smarter than all these morons in the huddle, but the truth is we are all on the same level. we are all blindfolded and guessing...some guessing may be a bit more educated than others, but the results are always the same.

if we hit the nail on the head, it was a lucky swing. more often than not we are wrong, so expect it and when it happens shrug it off. when we get lucky, don't get a big head, don't go out tooting your own horn, and don't go out rubbing people's noses in it because you just as easily could have been wrong and you will be wrong again. that is the only thing you can bank on.

[DaCityKats]

my reason for not wanting Luke was because we had already used a good number of picks on that position.

[panther4life]

i would have no problems with Blackmon, but i would prefer Keenan Allen next year in the 1st. that guy is a beast.

and go best DL this year or MoCl.

Well if we land Keenan Allen, then we know who to give the credit to for being the first to mention him.

[DaCityKats]

Well if land Keenan Allen, then we know who to give the credit to for being the first to mention him.

i been driving that bus for a while lol.

[RockyTopVol]

I remember lots of threads about Kuechly. He was a polarizing topic, if I remember correctly. Reminds me of the Tavon Austin talk this year.

[rayzor]

my reason for not wanting Luke was because we had already used a good number of picks on that position.

one big lesson to learn is that we should never consider the players already at the position, proven or not, given a a chance or not, as a deterrent to drafting that position.

just because we have guys we may like at a position who have yet to be given what we consider to be a real opportunity doesn't mean that we won't or shouldn't invest a high pick. you draft who you think could have the biggest positive impact on your team regardless of who is already there...esp. early. you may have potential at a position, but if you see a player you think could be great...not guaranteed (because there are no sure things or guaranteed things in the draft), but who could be great then you take them.