Beason has been a Carolina staple since he came to the Panthers and started showing his ability to be a Ray Lewis type MLB. Beason is a strong, overpowering force when blitzing and great in a zone pass coverage, he simply lacks the agility to cover a WR in man coverage. Beason’s only real weakness has been his ability to stay healthy. Last year he may have very well lost his MLB spot to the up and coming sophmore Kuechly, after Kuechly has an unbelievable rookie season.

The Panthers have moved Beason to a strong side linebacking position, which in reality means Kuechly has beat him for the MLB spot. Beason may be better here, consideing he is fantastic on run coverage and he could then be in place to handle the pitch or outside run. Beason may not respect the move now, however I believe the motive will become clear.

Thomas Davis has had a similar problem as Beason:staying healthy. Davis always tends to get a concussion or tweak an appendage right at a crucial point in the season. Personally I believe Davis is one of the best outside LB’s in the league, when healthy.

Davis is tenacious and loves to hit hard and follow through the tackle. A LB that lovs to lay out a RB or a wide out is a puzzle piece a defense has to have. Davis is also tremendous in pass coverage, and rarely bites to hard on the run to be able to back out in case of play-action. Davis is sure to make his impact felt.

A LB many fans may not remember is Jordan Senn. Senn is now a leader on special teams, but the man was a great MLB filler when Beason got hurt in Cam’s freshman season.

Senn may not be the best player on the field as far as talent, but he definetly has ability if push comes to shove and has great tackling form. Senn really stepped up under pressure, so throwing him in during a game when a starter needs a rest is nothing to fear. He understands his position.

The newest addtition to the Panthers LB core is A.J. Klein. Klein honestly surprised me as being the Panther’s 5th round pick. All bets were that the pick would go to a DB.

Klein, in college, was never great in pass coverage, although he was great on the run. With the Panther’s division filled with pass happy QB’s im not sold on the pick, but who knows? Klein could surprise everybody. Klein is most likely Jason Phillip’s replacement, a backup LB and a career special teams player.

Last but not least is the young stud of the Panther’s linebackers. Luke Kuechly showed up last year as a possible career MLB. Kuechly proved that he has the one thing, more dangerous than brawn at the LB position; he has smart reactions.

It would be a challenge to find a tackle last year that Kuechly did not have his hand in. He always rushed over to get a piece of the play; and for such a young player, he showed the maturity to lead a defense under pressure.

When you look at history, Kuechly has some big names to live up to as far as top LB picks. Those names include Vilma and A.J. Hawk. Obviously Kuechly is past the point of being an Aaron Curry draft bust, but he still has to prove himself since taking Beason’s MLB spot.

Will the pressure have an effect on the young Panther? Probably not, but anything can crack a player. The Panther’s linebackers are all studs and athletes, with depth being added with Klein and Senn. I would hate to block any of them on a blitz, or try to be the RB to run through them. Beason, Kuechly, and Davis all love to play and love to hit. They are bound to be the linebackers to beat, and I don’t forsee any team being able to beat them if they are all healthy.

The Panthers Linebacking Core was already set for another great season, with Luke Kuechly and Thomas Davis coming off great seasons, and Jon Beason coming back from IR. Kuechly obviously the center of the Panthers defense and the Panthers have taken all the steps to put him in as the leader. Moving him into the middle, a spot that has been relegated to Jon Beason up until last year, positioned him to be the immovable center of the Panthers defense. I am expecting him to be named the defensive captain in the next coming years; it seems to be inevitable.

Nov 18, 2012; Charlotte, NC, USA; Carolina Panthers head coach Ron Rivera talks with outside linebacker Thomas Davis (58) after a personal foul penalty during the fourth quarter at Bank of America Stadium. The Bucs defeated the Panthers 27-21 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports

Davis also adds another layer to the Panthers Linebacking unit. Davis is the Panthers Ray Lewis, or at least he is to me. He adds the emotional center for the Panthers defense, and though Davis may not be the better Linebacker, he is still a starter in the NFL and would be on any other team. I’m not so sure if you remember when Davis recorded that one interception against Atlanta, but I sure do, and when he caught that ball I remember the entire defense running up and celebrating with the rest of the team. Coming off of his huge surgery, his ready to work attitude only added to the strength of Davis’s stance with the team, reaffirming his role as the emotional center of the defense.

With Beason coming back, the Linebacking unit will only grow in strength. Beason is a three time pro-bowl selection for the NFC team and the defensive captain for the Panthers during his active time as the Panthers middle linebacker. And he only seems amicable to let Kuechly take his spot as the Panthers middle linebacker, he also seems willing to do anything for the future success for the Panther’s franchise. However, the Panthers did cut James Anderson during the offseason leaving them without their starting outside linebacker for a small amount of time, before we knew where Beason would end up.

May 10, 2013; Charlotte, NC, USA; Carolina Panthers linebacker A.J. Klein (56) walks to the field prior to the start of practice held at the Carolina Panthers practice facility. Mandatory Credit: Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports

The Panthers made up for it by acquiring Chase Blackburn from the Giants and A.J. Klein through the 2013 NFL Draft, two quality Linebackers who add some serious depth to the unit.  Not to mention the quality backup Linebacker and special teams captain, Jordan Senn. So with all that being said, I honestly and truly think that the Panthers Linebacking unit will definitely improve from next year. Klein works hard, being one of the players that Ron Rivera has praised the most from the team mini-camp, and with his ability to play all three spots with the unit I expect him to be the first backup for all three spots. Blackburn also seems to be his very own entity. A special teams captain with the Giants for the past two years, Blackburn has worked his way up from the bottom, an undrafted free agent out of Akron, not getting any recognition at the beginning but then working hard to earn a starting job through hard work in the special teams unit. He also is a Super Bowl champion, something the Panthers seem to lack.

The Panthers have a great Linebacking unit. When it’s all said and done, the Panthers may have one of the better Linebacking units in the entire NFC and possibly the NFL. The unit is obviously a strength for the Panthers and is something the team should try to exploit. It should prove for a very exciting year for the Panthers Linebacking unit, something I can’t wait to see. That’s what I think about the Panthers Linebacking unit but, as always, what do you guys think? Please leave your thoughts in the comments below.

A lot of it was remembering just how good of a running back tandem Stephen Davis and DeShaun Foster were. More of it was how good the defense was. You remember. It was Rucker/Jenkins/Buckner/Peppers on the line. Dan Morgan and Will Witherspoon were prowling behind them. And then there was… well, behind our linebackers was… Neither of us could remember. I remembered Mike Minter, of course. I remembered Deon Grant, and Ricky Manning Jr. only because of the three interceptions he had against Donovan McNabb in the NFC Championship Game and because he beat up a guy in a Denny’s.

Neither of us could remember who the starting corners were. I couldn’t for the life of me remember their names. It was Terry Cousin and Reggie Howard. How could I have forgotten those household names? The Kings of Coverage was their nickname. But seriously, we knew their names when they were here, and I think that Reggie Howard went on later to play for the Jacksonville Jaguars. I could be wrong.

Anyway, the point that I’m trying to make is that that defense was built from the line back. For a number of years, until they were disbanded, our front four was the best in football, and our front seven was top five. Our defensive linemen attacked relentlessly and played smart football. Our secondary’s ability to cover was directly related to the success that the defensive line had. Don’t believe me? Think back to the second half of the Super Bowl. Our defensive line couldn’t touch Brady. Couldn’t sniff him. Our corners paid the price. Their’s did, too, but you understand what I’m saying.

I could take a poll of casual to more rabid NFL fans and I’m certain that the majority of them would be able to identify three, if not four, maybe even five, defensive linemen on the Panthers roster. They would know Luke Kuechly, and they may know Charles Godfrey, and they would probably say “And the Captain Morgan Guy.” At this point in the offseason I have no idea who our starting corners are going to be. I don’t even think our starting safeties are locked in to place.

I can tell you who our starting linemen and linebackers will be. And that’s what makes me think back to that 2003 Carolina Panthers defense. Because of the way it’s built. There is a very real possibility that we could have the best front seven in the National Football League. I think our secondary will benefit from hurried quarterback throws. I see us getting more turnovers, and for the few yards we allowed at the end of the season to decrease even more. 

Everyone’s all in a panic over us being in the NFC South and not taking a cornerback. I can understand it. We face Matt Ryan and Drew Brees twice a year. Logic and reason would state that we need people back in coverage to defend these two great passing attacks. That is logic that I understand and appreciate. Logic I like even more is how can either man throw the ball if they are on their backs, or getting pressured, or getting hit. Do they take a half-second too long making a decision and take a sack, or take half-second less and make a mistake?

It’s worked here before and I think it works again. Keep in mind that the 2002 Carolina Panthers were 7-9. The 2012 Carolina Panthers were 7-9. Could this be a case of history repeating itself? The 2002 Carolina Panthers were a team that was trying learn how to win, the same as the 2012 Carolina Panthers were and are. I can’t shake the feeling that very good things are coming for this franchise.