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STEVE REED
AP Sports Writer
SPARTANBURG – Well, it turns out that Luke Kuechly, the second-in-command of the Panthers, may have a minor flaw in his game.
Who knew? The 27-year-old Kuechly, considered one of the league's best players at his post, said that Sunday's training should improve "by leaps and bounds."
And coach Panthers Ron Rivera
"Yes, he needs" to improve, Rivera said. "As Cam (Newton) likes to tell you," Superman has his Kryptonite. "
Kuechly has been similar to Superman for Panthers defense over the past six seasons.
He has 818 tackles and 15 interceptions during, "and staked his most productive linebacker title ever played for the Panthers, with a realistic chance of clinching one of the top NFL standings with Ray Lewis, Jack Lambert, Dick Butkus and Mike Singletary.
Rivera has repeatedly stated that Kuechly is like having a field coach with his ability to throw an opponent's game call to his teammates before the ball is broken. He always seems to have the round ball and his mistakes are rare.
Reaching the quarterback has rarely been one of Kuechly's strengths.
He has 10 career bags, including only one last season. In comparison, linebacker Bobby Wagner of Seattle – whom Kuechly is often compared in the NFC – has 15 sacks during the same period.
Kuechly is working with new linebacker coach Steve Russ to improve his explosiveness and scrimmage ability, a skill that could potentially elevate the NFL defensive player of 2013 to a whole new level.
"Coach Russ has planned an attack to (improve it) and I hope it will result in a game," Kuechly said. Kuechly joked about the fact that he needs to put better pressure on the quarterback because his longtime buddy Thomas Davis, linebacker outside the team, "beats me in this (category) every year – and I have to try to get it back. " 19659003] It may be Kuechly's year to get the best of Davis, who will kick off the season by serving a four-game suspension for a positive result to a banned substance.
Kuechly is nothing new to improve. Over the last two years, Kuechly has spent a lot of energy to improve its hedging skills, an area in which it has shown a noticeable improvement.
Of course, the biggest concern for Kuechly will be to avoid another concussion. He has suffered a concussion in each of the past three seasons, causing him to miss 10 games.
The Panthers simply can not afford to lose it.
His speed and ability to chase ball carriers Rivera, who played linebacker for nine seasons for the Chicago Bears, won a Super Bowl in the 1985 season.
Rivera said that he had "seen everything" from Kuechly, but he mentioned a play last week. the coach pauses the movie and plays it back in slow motion several times. As Rivera says, Kuechly was chasing a running back to the outside when a blocker stepped in to cut him off
But that did not stop Kuechly from playing the game. [19659019wasinsideitshouldhavebeencut"saidRivera"ButhetookastepandtheblockercamedownwithhimandhejumpedaroundhimandspedoutandmadethegameThat'soneofthosewhereyousitrightthereandgo"Wow"
Rivera said that Kuechly remains a special player.
"He has that kind of ability and I think a lot of that is how smart he is as a football player, "Rivera said.
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