Can this guy cover down the field? He wasn't very good at doing this in college. .....at Buffalo against very weak competition. So how much of a project is it going to be? If he had trouble covering small conference players how much will he struggle in the NFL? Point blank he is a 3-4 OLB and doesn't fit our system. End of story.
Yeah I really don't see us spending #7 on a LB. Mack and Barr are both good pashrushers, but they are linebackers.
Can this guy cover down the field? He wasn't very good at doing this in college. .....at Buffalo against very weak competition. So how much of a project is it going to be? If he had trouble covering small conference players how much will he struggle in the NFL? Point blank he is a 3-4 OLB and doesn't fit our system. End of story.
No and that's a major weakness for him.
I like Mack and think he'll be a very good 3-4 OLB for some team, but I honestly don't think he or Barr would have a drastic effect on our roster. We are a 4-3. We need our front four to generate a constant pass rush all alone without blitzing. I don't see a pass rushing Sam linebacker making a huge difference.
If we don't land one of the stud DE free agents , then pass rush must be addressed , and early .There's no getting around it .Assuming their are no trade suitors , which could very well be the case if the top 3 QB's are gone , would you rather :1. take an explosive edge rusher like Mack or Barr and scheme to make it work ala the Broncos and Von Miller2. Reach for a less dynamic guy like Kony Ealy simply because he "fits" 3. Wait until round 2 to and take a "meh" prospect like Jackson Jeffcoat or Scott Chricton .I vote for #1 . I think its a no-brainer. Point is , some of you better prepare yourself for the idea of taking an OLB if the offseason plays out this way.
1. There are too many good DEs in free agency for us to not land one. We have Lovie Smith. 4-3 DEs will want to come here.2. Our options wouldn't be Barr, Mack, or Ealey "cause he fits" if we can't trade back. We could take an Robinson, Donald, or Gilbert in your scenario. We don't have to pigeon hole ourselves and reach for a DE, even if we somehow managed to not get one in FA.3. If we want an undersized pass rusher we can get one in the middle of the draft. Guys like Corey Lemonier, Jason Worilds , Justin Houston, Ricky Sapp, Sam Acho, Vinny Curry, Ronnell Lewis, Sam Montgomery, Connor Barwin, ect.....can be found in the middle of the draft. If you are taking one in the top 10 you are saying he will be Von Miller....because if he is Dion Jordan, Shea McClellin, Akeem Ayers, or Jerry Hughes.....then it was bad value and you wasted you pick.There are guys like Dee Ford, Michael Sam, Jeremiah Attaochu, Marcus Smith, Trent Murphy, Prince Shembo. Scott Crichton, James Gayle, and Jordan Tripp that will be there is the middle rounds if we want an undersized pass rusher. Much better to gamble on one in rounds 2 thru 5 than in the top 10.
I still think the dead certainity that Mack can do the Von Miller thing is a bit presumptuous since, well really, no one else has done the Von Miller thing I'm not sure following an example of one is your best plan in the crapshoot of the draft,
I still think the dead certainity that Mack can do the Von Miller thing is a bit presumptuous since, well really, no one else has done the Von Miller thing I'm not sure following an example of one is your best plan in the crapshoot of the draft,
Exactly. Mathews or Robinson would almost certainly be an upgrade for our o-line. Not a lot of risk there.Gilbert would upgrade our secondary and give us a great trio of CBs. Plus he would likely be one of the best return men in the league right away.Donald would be a huge upgrade over Spence and give us an immediate boost in pass rush right up the middle.Even Watkins, who I don't want, would step in immediately and be a huge difference maker on offense.With Barr and Mack, unless they are otherworldly like Von Miller.....they simply won't make a big difference for this club. On a 3-4 defense where they are lining up as an OLB, pinning back their ears, and speed rushing through and open gap all game....maybe they will have a huge impact. Not here though.
1. You don't know for sure we will land a stud DE in free agency . Licht wants value . These guys are all aging and expensive. We may opt out of the race and look to the draft instead.2. We simply can't go into this season without addressing pass rush again . A Tampa 2 coach WILL have to address it early , because his defensive scheme will get torched without it. We ARE pigeon-holed thanks to the former regime.3. These middle round guys you always man-crush on are not of the same caliber as Barr and Mack . Get real.
I love how you just assume it's a given we are landing a guy like Jared Allen. LOLIf it happens , great , but it is certainly not a given .
I love how you just assume it's a given we are landing a guy like Jared Allen. LOLIf it happens , great , but it is certainly not a given .
Jared AllenGreg HardyMichael JohnsonMichael BennettRobert AyersJustin TuckJulius PeppersJason WorildsBrian OrakpoYeah...why would I think we would get a good free agent DE? Crazy me. It's not like there are a bunch of them or anything.This talk of taking Mack or Barr is no different than the infatuation with Jerry Hughes and Larry English. We wisely passed on both those guys even though the fans were clamouring for them, and we will pass on Mack and Barr too. 4-3 teams don't take 250lbs pass rushers in the first round very often for a reason. Especially not in the top 10.
Yeah let's sign Micheal Johnson and consider all our problems solved .....LOLOnly guys on that list that would take away the DE concerns for me are : Allen ,Hardy ,Bennett , Tuck. Even of those 4 the only slam dunk in my eyes is Hardy( the others have minor concerns like age, etc. ) , and none of those 4 will be easy or very cheap to land I'm guessing . The others on the list have major question marks and I'd still want to draft another guy early.
And I agree we need to do more than just sign one of those guys. We need to try and draft another pass rusher as well....just not in the top 10. And the disagreement is not whether one of those guys "fixes all our problems" The disagreement was whether we will get one of them. You changed the argument when you realized you were wrong.
I changed nothing. Trust me if we land Jared Allen I don't think we are pigeon-holed any longer.I simply think the only elite pass rusher in our current range happen to be Barr and Mack . The middle round guys are nice players but they don't have the upside or explosiveness these guys do. Hence their draft status. We need that elite pass rusher . If the only way we can get it is by getting an OLB ? ....so be it I say. Scheme it up.Bottom Line : I'm not leaving this offseason without an elite edge rusher in the fold . Period. I don't care what position he plays.
I still think the dead certainity that Mack can do the Von Miller thing is a bit presumptuous since, well really, no one else has done the Von Miller thing I'm not sure following an example of one is your best plan in the crapshoot of the draft,
That's the part that gets me. I mean, Von Miller is great (when he's playing), but I'm hard pressed to think of other 4-3 linebackers that are elite pass-rushers. I mean, if Lovie and co. go that route, I'll root for the player and hope it works out. I'm just concerned that it's not as plug-and-play as some people seem to assume.
