Well Brian O'Neill Youth Jersey , it turns out that maybe Panthers four-time All-Pro middle linebacker Luke Kuechly may have a minor flaw in his game.

Who knew?

The 27-year-old Kuechly, considered one of the best players in the league at his position, said after Sunday’s practice his pass rushing ability needs to improve ”by leaps and bounds.”

And Panthers coach Ron Rivera was quick to agree.

”Yes, he does” need to improve, Rivera said. ”Like Cam (Newton) likes to tell you, `Superman has his Kryptonite.”’

Kuechly has been akin to Superman for the Panthers defense over the past six seasons.

He has 818 tackles and 15 interceptions during that span, and has staked his claim as the most productive middle linebacker ever to play for the Panthers -with a realistic chance to go down as one of the NFL’s all-time bests along with Ray Lewis, Jack Lambert, Dick Butkus and Mike Singletary.

Rivera has repeatedly said Kuechly is like having a coach on the field with his ability to call out an opponent’s play call to teammates before the ball is ever snapped. He’s seemingly always around the ball and his mistakes are few and far between.

Getting to the quarterback has rarely been one of Kuechly’s strengths.

He has 10 career sacks, including just one last season. By comparison, Seattle middle linebacker Bobby Wagner – whom Kuechly is often compared to in the NFC – has 15 sacks during that same span.

Kuechly is working with new linebackers coach Steve Russ to improve his explosiveness and ability to penetrate the line of scrimmage, a skillset that could potentially elevate the 2013 NFL Defensive Player of the Year to a whole new level.

”Coach Russ has a planned attack for (improving) that and hopefully it will translate into a game,” Kuechly said.

Kuechly joked that he has to get better at pressuring the quarterback because his longtime buddy Thomas Davis, the team’s outside linebacker Rashaad Penny Jersey , ”beats me in that (category) every year – and I have to try to get him back.”

This may be Kuechly’s year to get the best of Davis, who will start the season serving a four-game suspension for testing positive for a banned substance.

It’s not anything new for Kuechly to target an area to improve. For the past couple of years Kuechly spent extra energy working on his pass coverage skills, an area in which he has shown noticeable improvement.

Of course, the biggest concern for Kuechly will be avoiding another concussion. He has sustained a concussion in each of the past three seasons, causing him to miss 10 games.

The Panthers simply can’t afford to lose him.

His speed and ability to chase down ball carriers from sideline to sideline still amazes Rivera, who played linebacker for nine seasons for the Chicago Bears and won a Super Bowl in the 1985 season.

Rivera said he’s ”seen everything” from Kuechly, but pointed to a play he made last week in practice that caused the coach to pause the game film and replay it in slow motion several times. As Rivera describes it, Kuechly was chasing down a ball carrier to the outside when a blocker stepped in his way to cut him off.

But that didn’t keep Kuechly from making the play though.

”The position he was in, he should have been cut off,” Rivera said. ”But he made a step in and the blocker came down with him and he jumped around him and accelerated to the outside and made the play. It’s one of those where you just sit there and go, `Wow.”’

While the focus this summer will be on improving as a pass rusher, Rivera said Kuechly remains a special player.

”He has that kind of ability and I think a big part of it is just how smart he is as a football player,” Rivera said.

—


As free agency kicked off the start of a new football season, the NFL sent a clear message to anyone paying attention:

Colin Kaepernick Jason Witten Jersey , you’re still not wanted.

Probably not ever.

Oh, and while we’re at it, it’s pretty clear the owners have every intention of clamping down on any other players who tries to carry on Kaepernick’s legacy.

Rattled by another big dip in the television ratings and an increasing number of empty seats, the league seems determined to banish peaceful protest from the playing field.

While it’s quite a stretch to say those trends are intimately related – injuries, bad games and poor showings by several of the league’s most popular teams were surely bigger factors in the waning popularity – the guys sitting on what remains an enormous cash cow aren’t taking any chances.

Since Kaepernick is the one who got this whole thing started by having the audacity to silently kneel during the national anthem to protest racial injustice – the nerve of that guy! – his career could very well be over.

Never mind that he’s undoubtedly more talented than many of the quarterbacks who still have paying jobs.

Just look at those who have already agreed to new deals heading into the 2018 season.

– Kirk Cousins , who has a losing career record as a starter and has yet to win a playoff game.

– Case Keenum , coming off a marvelous season with the Minnesota Vikings but definitely a candidate for one-year wonder.

– AJ McCarron , who has just three starts in four years.

– Mike Glennon , saddled with an awful career record of 6-16.

– Tom Savage , who went 1-6 as the Texans‘ starter last season.

– Chase Daniel, the epitome of a journeyman.

– Josh McCown , who is 38 years old and, despite the lack of any apparent success over his long career, keeps landing on his feet.

While all those guys keep cashing checks Walter Payton Jersey Youth , Kaepernick was working out privately on a field in Houston , quietly going through the grind with only the help of his personal trainers, apparently still hopeful of restarting his career.

His optimism is likely misplaced.

While there’s always a chance of some owner breaking ranks to sign Kaepernick, the possibility grows less likely with each passing day. If anything, the owners are intent on nipping social consciousness in the bud.

Stephen Ross of the Miami Dolphins probably spoke out loud what most owners are saying behind closed doors when he was quoted as saying his players would be required to stand for the national anthem this season.

Ross quickly backtracked, saying his comments were ”misconstrued,” but a statement explaining his position left no doubt that he’s had enough of taking a knee.

”I’m passionate about the cause of social justice, and I feel that kneeling is an ineffective tactic that alienates more people than it enlists,” he said.

There was also a report from the Houston Chronicle that Texans owner Robert McNair doesn’t want to acquire players who have engaged in protests or might be likely to going forward. While the team quickly denied the report, McNair’s stance on such issues is apparent to everyone. At an owners meeting last year, he grumbled that ”we can’t have the inmates running the prison” – a remark that prompted most of his players to join arms and kneel before their next game .

Meanwhile, the Seattle Seahawks cut ties with two of their most outspoken players, Michael Bennett and Richard Sherman . While a point could be made that these moves were strictly designed to clear room under the salary cap and rebuild an aging defense, one couldn’t help but wonder if their support of Kaepernick’s protest contributed to the moves.

After clearly being blackballed last season Terrell Edmunds Steelers Jersey , Kaepernick filed a grievance alleging the owners colluded to keep him out of the league . But it would probably take a mass walkout by all the fellow players to get him back on the field, and that’s not happening.

There’s too much money at stake to risk it all for a single player, no matter how unjustly he’s been treated. Even if all the players could come together as one, chances are their protest would collapse as soon as they miss a few paychecks, just as it did during the infamous 1987 strike when a plethora of big-name players crossed the picket line.

So, as we get started on a new NFL season, Kaepernick can expect to keep working out in solitude, at least until he decides on another line of work.

A bunch of less-qualified quarterbacks will continue to hold jobs.

The only message we can send:

Shame on you, NFL.

—

Paul Newberry is a sports columnist for The Associated Press. Write to him at pnewberry(at)ap.org or at .