Reiss concerned about Cunningham

[Sciz]

True that. His opinions tend to be off mark.

Anyone remember his Jabaal Sheard love?:bricks:

 

[cstjohn17]

I respect your opinion, Cstjohn. However, I feel it's just too early to tell, especially when the kid showed some great flashes last season. I know that everyone has moments, but he had many last season. There were many times that he was within inches of a sack before the QB got rid of the ball.

I see something. I can't say if it's good or great, but I do see something there. I watched him play in person many times at UF, and he just never gives up on the play. He has the Clay Matthews motor. We'll just have to wait and see.

No problemo, we are all hoping for the best. I just think the expectations don't match a realistic career path of the guy. IMO he becomes a solid 3 down player, sets the edge, gets a few pressures and contributes on special teams.

Hopefully he gets a few sacks every now and then and helps the 3rd down defense.

 

[patsfanboy]

Regardless of how good our OL is, in a game situation there will be great OL that will block him as well, he must take this opportunity of working this these guys and get better. But i think Reiss is expecting him to show up to camp and become a elite pass rusher. But i would like some opinion from the people that saw the training camp.

 

[PatsBoy12]

No problemo, we are all hoping for the best. I just think the expectations don't match a realistic career path of the guy. IMO he becomes a solid 3 down player, sets the edge, gets a few pressures and contributes on special teams.

Hopefully he gets a few sacks every down and then and helps the 3rd down defense.

I hear you. We'll see. If he can stay healthy, then he can continue to learn. That's the best thing about training camp. It gives each player a chance to be coached, sometimes individually, so that they can continue to learn and hopefully progress.

 

[DaBruinz]

The guy was mentioend as the next big time pass rusher but in reality he is likely to be just a pretty good player not dynamic in any special way. McGinest was a top 5 pick, Vrabel was the all time sack leader at Ohio State, Colvin was a prized free agent.

Cunningham was a 2nd round pick without much of a pass rushing resume. IMO he will evolve into a dependable starter but nothing special.

I don't remember anyone calling Cunningham the "next big time pass rusher". On the contrary, many people pointed out that they believed that it was because of him that Dunlap was able to have such a good senior year.

Cunningham came out as a more well rounded LBer who could also rush the passer. He also had the same number of Sacks as Dunlap. 19.5. That shouldn't be over-looked.

I find it funny that people are getting all disappointed over Reiss' statement, but are disregarding that there had been several GOOD reports about Cunningham, up to this point.

 

[DaBruinz]

One week of practice, probably getting shut down by Vollmer, and we're sweating the kid?? Really? As long as he doesnt get hurt in practice, I dont think we need to be concerned. Soon enough, we'll all get to see w/ our own eyes in an actual game what he looks like.

Let's expand on that. If he's playing the Strong Side DE position, then he's going up against Vollmer AND/OR Gronkowski.. Vollmer was a 2nd team All-Pro and Gronkowski is one in the making..

 

[PatsBoy12]

I don't remember anyone calling Cunningham the "next big time pass rusher". On the contrary, many people pointed out that they believed that it was because of him that Dunlap was able to have such a good senior year.

Cunningham came out as a more well rounded LBer who could also rush the passer. He also had the same number of Sacks as Dunlap. 19.5. That shouldn't be over-looked.

I find it funny that people are getting all disappointed over Reiss' statement, but are disregarding that there had been several GOOD reports about Cunningham, up to this point.

I am genuinely asking that you point me to what you've read that was good (no flaming). The reason I ask is because I've read many articles to the contrary. I have seen many people in addition to Reiss who have mentioned that the kid has struggled.

 

[JackBauer]

Only a homer would believe he was impressive last season. I don't think he's a bust already, because he was a late second rounder--you shouldn't expect so much out of him. He did what is to be expected of a late second round pick changing from a DE to an OLB, but it was by no means impressive. He can impress later in his career, but he hasn't done anything to warrant a not-so-great sophomore season as a slump.

As a first-year OLB in a notoriously difficult system? Yeah, he was impressive. Once he builds on his upper body strength, you can project him to be an 8+ sack/season type of guy.

You can call me a homer to your heart's content for holding that opinion, but rest assured I find your position similarly nonsensical.

 

[PatsBoy12]

As a first-year OLB in a notoriously difficult system? Yeah, he was impressive. Once he builds on his upper body strength, you can project him to be an 8+ sack/season type of guy.

You can call me a homer to your heart's content for holding that opinion, but rest assured I find your position similarly nonsensical.

Yeah, I mentioned the strength thing in a previous post. He appears to be a bit weak, so he must get stronger. He's not extremely quick, so he is going to need to develop the strength a bit. I saw times last year when the tackle had no problem pushing him aside. He also won't be able to deal with any double teams if some team thinks he's even worth doubling.

 

[PittPatriot]

I love Mike Reiss when he focuses on reporting the facts. When it comes to actually offering his opinion, he tends to been more miss than hit. This is plainly evident in his draft reviews...

I actually don't like Reiss as much as I used to. He seems to opine more than he used to. He is still a "yes man" who is rarely critical of the Pats and his video blogs seem forced to me.
Plus it bother me that a reporter writes, "blocked easier" rather than the grammatically correct, "blocked more easily."

 

[DaBruinz]

I am genuinely asking that you point me to what you've read that was good (no flaming). The reason I ask is because I've read many articles to the contrary. I have seen many people in addition to Reiss who have mentioned that the kid has struggled.

Not sure if you can read it...
NFL Draft Scout----Powered By: The Sports Xchange

Under the News Section.

Also, if you read through Bedard's "Love me some One on Ones" you'll see that Cunningham started off well (through Practice #8 anyways) but hasn't done much the last few days..

 

[PatsBoy12]

Not sure if you can read it...
NFL Draft Scout----Powered By: The Sports Xchange

Under the News Section.

Also, if you read through Bedard's "Love me some One on Ones" you'll see that Cunningham started off well (through Practice #8 anyways) but hasn't done much the last few days..

Thanks for posting this.

 

[RussFrancis]

Let's expand on that. If he's playing the Strong Side DE position, then he's going up against Vollmer AND/OR Gronkowski.. Vollmer was a 2nd team All-Pro and Gronkowski is one in the making..

Yeah, you know with some people, he's either gonna be the next Lawrence Taylor or he'll be a failure. And it goes without saying, that he'll be, without question, the most scrutinized young player on the team right now. All eyes are literally on him. He's expected to be the pass-rushing savior. So, if after a week he isnt looking like the second coming, its "concern, concern". Like I said, the kid is healthy right now, practicing right now, learning, and improving, regardless of however much he may actually be "struggling". People need to relax and allow young players to develop. And has been said, listen to Reiss when he writes a nice article or reports news, but when he wants to offer analysis, realize that's NOT the man's strong suit.

 

[crowell33]

Vince Wilfork had a second year slump too.

Cunningham had one sack last season. If he " goes into a slump " this year what does that mean? Negative sacks ?

 

[DaBruinz]

Yeah, you know with some people, he's either gonna be the next Lawrence Taylor or he'll be a failure. And it goes without saying, that he'll be, without question, the most scrutinized young player on the team right now. All eyes are literally on him. He's expected to be the pass-rushing savior. So, if after a week he isnt looking like the second coming, its "concern, concern". Like I said, the kid is healthy right now, practicing right now, learning, and improving, regardless of however much he may actually be "struggling". People need to relax and allow young players to develop. And has been said, listen to Reiss when he writes a nice article or reports news, but when he wants to offer analysis, realize that's NOT the man's strong suit.

For me, I want Cunningham to be able to hold the POA against the Run in the 4-3 or set the edge if he's lined up at OLB in the 3-4 if the run is to his side. If it's away from him, I want him to recognize and slide down the line or offer backside pursuit. I want him to put pressure on the QB. He doesn't need to be some ELITE Pass Rusher.. Just get the QB on the move. By nature, that puts a majority of QBs off on their throws and allows for a greater potential for an interception. The sacks will come if the other people are doing their job.

 

[JackBauer]

Cunningham had one sack last season. If he " goes into a slump " this year what does that mean? Negative sacks ?

Because sacks are the only measure of a player's productivity, right? Is that what they teach you over at PFF?

 

[PatsBoy12]

Yeah, you know with some people, he's either gonna be the next Lawrence Taylor or he'll be a failure. And it goes without saying, that he'll be, without question, the most scrutinized young player on the team right now. All eyes are literally on him. He's expected to be the pass-rushing savior. So, if after a week he isnt looking like the second coming, its "concern, concern". Like I said, the kid is healthy right now, practicing right now, learning, and improving, regardless of however much he may actually be "struggling". People need to relax and allow young players to develop. And has been said, listen to Reiss when he writes a nice article or reports news, but when he wants to offer analysis, realize that's NOT the man's strong suit.

I agree and posted the same sentiments earlier. I think we all just need to calm down and allow the man to go through the progressions. I saw enough good things from him last year to feel like I'm willing to be patient and remain pretty confident that he can be a difference maker.

 

[jah]

As a first-year OLB in a notoriously difficult system? Yeah, he was impressive. Once he builds on his upper body strength, you can project him to be an 8+ sack/season type of guy.

You can call me a homer to your heart's content for holding that opinion, but rest assured I find your position similarly nonsensical.

I don't take anything into account except for performance when I decide if something is impressive or not. Cunningham was an average starter last year. That's impressive when you consider the situation he was thrown into, but if you ignore the conditions, he was still just average.

EDIT: But I do agree that he has the potential to be an 8+ sack guy.

 

[RobertWeathers]

I've always felt that expectations were way out of wack for Cunningham in the first place. If he was a guy who could scream off the edge and make OTs look foolish all of the time he would have been a 1st round pick.

My belief is that BB wants to develop JC into a well-rounded OLB who can set the edge, stop the run, chase down RBs in coverage and yes, put pressure on the QB when needed.

 

[JackBauer]

I don't take anything into account except for performance when I decide if something is impressive or not. Cunningham was an average starter last year. That's impressive when you consider the situation he was thrown into, but if you ignore the conditions, he was still just average.

EDIT: But I do agree that he has the potential to be an 8+ sack guy.

With all due respect, that sounds like a pointless endeavor. What's the point of evaluating a player if you don't consider the context?