The Decline of Ken Lucas

[bleys]

Lucas was big in '05, esp in playoffs.. but I'm excited for Marshall in '09... He won't be perfect by any means, but I don't expect him to be too much worse than Lucas either.

[Delhomme17]

I watched the NFL Replay today of the Saints game...and I'm just tickled pink that Trgo is gone. That defense was the worse I've seen in the 2nd half of last year. I mean it was horrible. Watching NO come back on us and then the way we played against the Cards in the playoffs....I expect big things from Meeks. With the 2 DE's we have and Lucas (slowness) gone. We should be solid.

[KillerKat]

What happened to him? A guy called Turdo wanting him to play 20 yards off his man was the biggest reason. Injuries. Godfrey making rookie mistakes and Marshall missing assignments.

[JoCoLoco]

I watched the NFL Replay today of the Saints game...and I'm just tickled pink that Trgo is gone. That defense was the worse I've seen in the 2nd half of last year. I mean it was horrible. Watching NO come back on us and then the way we played against the Cards in the playoffs....I expect big things from Meeks. With the 2 DE's we have and Lucas (slowness) gone. We should be solid.

It's ridiculous the difference between the two Saints games. The first one we shut Brees down by tight coverage on the recievers and busting 'em up every chance we got. He completed like three passes in the first half, and most were to TE's, with only one to Henderson, I think. The second time he torched us in the second half.

[guyinchesapeake]

Maybe the pounding he took from Steve Smith last preseason had something to do with his decline!

[panthers55]

well, he was never as good as hyped coming from Seattle but he was a good CB in Carolina. Last year imo he was a victim of no pass rush, forced to play a soft zone, and has horrible communcation w/ a rookie playing saftey for the 1st time ever. He wasn't put in a good situation for success imo. The entire secondary didn't look good imo in coverage......

I think you are right about the defensive coverage not being a good fit for Lucas. He is better covering a guy in man coverage than zone and he constantly did not get the help overtop he expected from Godfrey. He is not particularly fast so he had to rely on anticipation, reading cues from the receiver and help over top.

Zone is not his forte and I don't know he would be great in a cover 2 . Zones usually require good closing speed and that is not his strength. He was better playing in bump and run and was good in run support. Playing him 10 yards off the line with no ability to disrupt the receiver early played against his skills.

[joemac]

all I know is that bs lining up 5-10 yards off WRs is the dumbest crap I have ever seen....there isn't a team in the NFL that does it as consistant as Carolina.

Hopefully that poo doesnt happen anymore....at least not every play, and for sure not against the best WR's in the game.

I think that Marshall is going to get picked on a lot because Gamble has proven to be one of the best CB's in the game the past few years. I dont remember teams throwing at him a whole lot.

[CanadianCat]

ill miss him, he always was a good player, too bad he left b/c of the $$

[Kurb]

ill miss him, he always was a good player, too bad he left b/c of the $$

He was cut because of Cap issues, he didn't "leave for the money" on his end.

Also,

Giving WR's a cushion has a purpose, but the Panthers did do it too much.

[Woodcookedbbq]

Does anybody know if he's going to start this season in Seattle?

[SCP]

So I was rewatching Antonio Bryant make Ken Lucas look awful and I got to thinking. What happened to Lucas in the span of two years?

I think some of it has to do with age and injury, but my question to you all is:

Is Tim Lewis partly responsible for the decline of Ken Lucas?

Ken Lucas was far and away our best corner in 06, however in 07 (Lewis first year I believe) Lucas' play began to decline. 08 was a joke for Lucas. He was slow and out of place almost every play.

I told you guys before, I was drunk and gave Ken Lucas coverage advice after the Broncos game. Here is the photographic evidence.

http://www.carolinahuddle.com/forum/members/southcakpanther-albums-southcak-pics-picture1267-ken-lucas.html

I apologized then and I'll apologize again today.

[Chris]

I spoke with Ken at training cap prior to '07 (he's a very approachable dude-- my Mom, GRWatcher, and I just stood there and he came up to us during a Fan Experience thing). Ken mentioned a deep thigh bruise that was from the end of the '06 season. I'd hazard a guess that the bruise led to his, "decline," in '07.

Our players play hurt 90% of the time, and usually the coaching staff tries to compensate by altering the schemes. However, Lucas was just put in awful situations where his true specialties (jamming, run-stop, close-quarters coverage) were not utilized, probably because we didn't have constant deep help for him. The staff probably thought it best for him to meet the receiver in the route and play for the ball rather than to have him at the line and getting burned every other pass play because he couldn't match the receivers' speed.

He's still a phenomenal talent, but might be better suited to a different scheme.

[Mr. Scot]

I agree with the notion that Trgovac's scheme is what primarily downgraded Lucas, though you'd have to say age would be a factor as well.

His skill set and physical condition weren't suited to the kind of "chase everybody" game that was necessary to run a "bend don't break" scheme.

Would he have thrived under Meeks? Maybe.

[CRA]

Hopefully that poo doesnt happen anymore....at least not every play, and for sure not against the best WR's in the game.

I think that Marshall is going to get picked on a lot because Gamble has proven to be one of the best CB's in the game the past few years. I dont remember teams throwing at him a whole lot.

come on now, Gamble is our best corner and is coming off a good year.....but he hasn't put many good seasons together. Prior to last season he had a knack for getting lost and out of position on big plays. Gamble biggest flaw is not capitalizing on gift wrapped plays....until he can I won't put him in that top category.