Linebackers on our depth chart

Yeah. The signs were there. God bless Mark. Seems like being a Panther LB is a hazardous occupation.

 

I almost want to see Davis at SLB just so we will be able to cover the tight end. He should be an awesome blitzer too. He may not hold up against the run too well though. I think it more likely that it will be Short at SLB though.

I look for a lineup of :

SLB Short
MLB Morgan
WLB Spoon

and then about game six

SLB Short
MLB Draft
WLB Spoon

Maybe Morgan is back for the playoffs.

 

Is Brandon Short still with the Panthers ?

 

yes

 

>>Chris Draft
He is a bit small but obviously can play. Davis is about his size

that Thomas Davis is roughly his size isn't relevant. That he's highly productive despite being 5'11, that he's compact like Mills, that he can play inside or strongside, that is.

You could make a case for us keeping him inside, or having him compete with Short outside, depending on Davis, but that we must push Davis out of panic probably isn't best for the team - if Davis is naturally a good fit at LB, then sure. Actually, if we were smart, we'd use Davis situationally and train him at first as a nickel LB, which is interchangeable with the dimeback role anyway.

>>Short

hasn't ever been considered an ILB by Fox, after a number of years, so I don't expect that's at all a consideration. Plus, he's been here as a SLB, which is where we have the need...it's just a matter of who else gets pushed there. Short's realistically the only career SLB left on the roster - Davis the S, Draft/Lawrence/Seward come from the inside. So the chances of Short moving inside are somewhere between slim and none.

That means they could either feel like Short's the designated starter and Draft is extreme Morgan insurance, or Draft will float between the two. All in all, a fine signing, and in retrospect it's hard to criticize the Short signing from last year (even though, for all accounts, he wasn't good starting last year and the D didn't come on until Fields did) since he's back in position to start.





>>Adam Seward

Probably will have to fit in wherever Draft doesn't - some think of him as an ILB, but I like him more strongside. He's

I don't honestly see Armstead as an option - however, we're weak at WLB, and don't really have a true backup there. You could make a case for Marcus Lawrence, and it's possible they could push a guy like Ciurciu there if they felt he could actually have worth as a backup there.



The six best linebackers we have, if you take Davis and Kyle out of the equation?

WW
Morgan
Draft
Short
Seward
Lawrence


That, luckily, also gives us a pair of backups who can interchange between ILB and SLB (or, possibly, means Draft could move inside, if you want to nitpick). Then it's up to our rooks to grow, and hope we don't need them immediately.

Actually, it was 97, so that's 8 years. Hell, the guy who replaced him's out of the league.

 

The versitility is great, especially with Morgan's health issues. Fox and Trgo will put them in the right positions.

 

Who's better at MLB -- Ciurciu or Seward?

 

Hard to say right now but I think Seward has a lot more upside potential.

 

yup. But it's hard to know if he'll have the heart and drive that Ciurciu has. I think that could go a long way.

 

Right now, its gotta be Ciurciu. He did start a couple of games in 2004, and Seward hasn't done anything yet.