On the plus side, same article above rom Demovsky mentions he did his ACL rehab in 6.5 months. So that might argue for his not being fully up to speed in his first year post-surgery.
On the plus side, same article above rom Demovsky mentions he did his ACL rehab in 6.5 months. So that might argue for his not being fully up to speed in his first year post-surgery.
Bud Adams told me the franchise he admired the most was the Kansas City Chiefs. Then he asked for more hookers and blow.
First thing I thought with this pick was he will be another Hawk. If he has AJ's durability and work ethic, he's a great pick. Everyone always wants a superstar with every pick. But a team needs it's lunchpail players also.
He looks serviceable at best. I think he will get pushed around and be caught off balance quite a bit at the next level. I will echo everyone's sentiments about him being a crappier version of Hawk. The question is, will he be be a little less crappy than Hawk or a lot crappier than Hawk? i'm not sure I can stomach the latter.
I don't know why, but I think he will be just fine in GB. (Maybe we will find out once and for all if my endorsement is the kiss-of-death only for O-linemen, or if it is more broadly applicable.)
"Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts." -Daniel Patrick Moynihan
I'll bet he was good at getting his teammates lined up correctly too.
from http://espn.go.com/blog/nflnation/po...gan-linebacker"He just loves the game. I don't know if there was ever a day, and I had him for four years, there was never a time when he didn't come to meetings excited. He played hard all the time. You never had to get on him about the things that you had to with some guys.
"That's why it's the perfect fit for the kind of organization that Green Bay is."
Bud Adams told me the franchise he admired the most was the Kansas City Chiefs. Then he asked for more hookers and blow.
I'm not sure how coming to meetings with a boner is, as 3irty1 used the phrase, "boner-worthy" for fans.
But I do hope the guy ends up being a really good player.
We shall see. We get all freaked out because a guy isn't on Mel Kiper's radar, or because Todd McShay tells us that ILB is GB's biggest need. But I think TT has a good, really good, track record compared to other GM's, and as Bob McGinn pointed out, the talking heads on the networks are not scouts.
So we read their blurbs on the top players, we study maybe sixty or a hundred players (a very generous estimate) by watching YouTube videos and maybe looking up info, and then we go ballistic when TT doesn't draft the known names we fancy are the best players.
Sure, it's fun to guess and put the opinions out there, but this vitriolic judgment of some posters is clearly about more than the draft picks no one, not even TT or Hoody Genius or John Schneider, can be certain of.
"The Devine era is actually worse than you remember if you go back and look at it."
KYPack
I am just stunned there is still a market for this kind of tale.
Wilde* often remarks that he likes telling engaging stories about the players and teams more than X and Os. But he has also learned that he doesn't really know any of the players at all (after seemingly good guys turned out to be less than pristine - Sharper for example).
He hasn't connected the dots between the two and realize that much of what passes for coverage is inanity and less consequential than cotton candy.
*Its a Demovsky story but Wilde has talked about this before
Bud Adams told me the franchise he admired the most was the Kansas City Chiefs. Then he asked for more hookers and blow.
Hang on a second. It's just an endorsement from Greg Mattison, a Michigan defensive assistant with NFL chops. Sure, it's a fluff piece, but it's not Lori Nickel Lifetime Channel stuff about how nice he is with his best girl and their volunteer opportunities. It's just an endorsement article, but there's a fact in there (move to the inside to keep him on the field) and a quote from Eliot Wolf. Thin gruel, but not worthless.
"Never, never ever support a punk like mraynrand. Rather be as I am and feel real sympathy for his sickness." - Woodbuck
I agree its not about his 4th grade 4-H experience, but the fact that an NFL level coach came to the phone and produced a tale of grit and attitude rather than emphasize his NFL level skills and abilities is another instance of damning with faint praise.
"Boy he is tenacious"
"Can he start in the NFL?"
"Did I mention he gets excited for meetings?"
Bud Adams told me the franchise he admired the most was the Kansas City Chiefs. Then he asked for more hookers and blow.
gotcha, makes sense
although, i should note that anthony was also shooting up those big boards, just not as much as randall
and he did end up going 32. so him going 30 wouldn't really be a reach then
Last edited by red; 05-06-2015 at 11:29 AM.
ILB was a position of need for draft/FA, but where does ILB rank on overall position importance, particularly on the Packers? I'd say it's pretty low; that's why TT isn't gonna reach at all, and is comfortable drafting an ILB later in the draft.
Quick internet search:
Bleacherreport
15: OLB
14: Run stopping DE
13: OG
12: ILB*
11: RB
10: OC
9: DT, run stopping
8: WR
7: Cornerback
6: TE
5: Safety
4: OT
3: Inside pass rusher
2: Edge pass rusher
1: QB
*"The Prototypes: Patrick Willis, San Francisco 49ers; Bobby Wagner, Seattle Seahawks
Traditionally, the middle linebacker has been the heart, mind and soul of a defense. Frequently the roughest, toughest player on the field, the middle linebacker was trusted with the most important job: getting to the ball-carrier.
Fending off a fullback or pulling guard and stuffing the running back 10 times a game or more takes a special combination of size, speed, grit, instincts and thirst for violence. Often called the quarterback of the defense, to this day, the middle linebacker usually relays the play calls from the sideline to the huddle.
Now, though, if all a player can do is stop the run between the tackles, he comes off the field in passing situations—and most situations are passing situations.
Today's middle linebacker has to have the size, power and attitude to stop the run when called upon, but it's more important to have the athleticism to cover the middle of the field—whether in man-to-man against running backs or patrolling the middle of the field in zone coverage.
Players that excel at both, like Patrick Willis, are rare and valuable indeed. For most teams, though, inside linebackers who are "good enough" tacklers and very good in coverage are sufficient and plentiful."
I like how they list inside and outside pass rush separately. So if you think about it, by scheme they will generate inside rush without having to necessarily draft it at ILB using a high pick (on a guy, esp in this draft, who might not have those pass rush qualities). You would like to have more than Clay Matthews as your inside AND outside pass rusher; thus the pick up last off season of Peppers. I am assuming someone else will need to step up in those roles this year.
"Never, never ever support a punk like mraynrand. Rather be as I am and feel real sympathy for his sickness." - Woodbuck
I didn't read it carefully, but you're right:
I would include pressure from the ILB in a category of "Inside pass rusher" but that's just meThe Prototypes: Ndamukong Suh, Detroit Lions; J.J. Watt, Houston Texans
It's been said many times that the shortest path to the quarterback is a straight line. As anchoring against the inside run becomes less and less of a priority, explosive 300-pounders are being lined up inside and unleashed.
This revolution in approach is forcing offenses to reevaluate everything about how they protect the quarterback. Chicago Bears offensive coordinator Aaron Kromer admitted to Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune that the Bears were thinking about Ndamukong Suh lining up "over the right guard" when they drafted a right guard in the first round.
Whether they line up over the guard in a 4-3 defense or between the guard and tackle as a 3-4 end like 2012 AP Defensive Player of the Year J.J. Watt, these rare athletes force offenses to account for their disruptive power.
"Never, never ever support a punk like mraynrand. Rather be as I am and feel real sympathy for his sickness." - Woodbuck
i think ILB is pretty important in our system. our zone, or whatever the hell it is, leaves the ILBs responible for the whole middle of the field. we've seen for 5 or 6 years now that teams can almost trow at will on us over the middle
it may not me as important as a lot of the other positions on defense, but you can't just neglect it either
and TT has spent high draft picks on every position on defense EXCEPT ILB (hawk was drafted as a WLB for a 4-3)
I don't think its so much that the position isn't valuable to Ted as much as its a skill set where its theoretically easier to find good players with mid round picks and even UDFAs.
Until he got a big draft bargain on Lacy he hadn't brought in a high RB either. I like that comparison because with those two positions are similar in that success is more about vision and fit so they tend to be about as good as they're going to get immediately. This means you can search for an Arian Foster, Alfred Morris, Paul Worrilow, or Vontaze Burfict every year pretty effectively while using 1st round picks to address more difficult needs to fill. With LBs "bum mining" as wist puts it has the benefit of really helping your special teams too.
70% of the Earth is covered by water. The rest is covered by Al Harris.
I think the move of Clay inside and the increased emphasis on safety shows that the middle is important. You'd like to have that ILB that can cover and tackle, but I don't think it was really there in this draft, and to draft the guys available in the early rounds to do this dual job would have been reaching.
"Never, never ever support a punk like mraynrand. Rather be as I am and feel real sympathy for his sickness." - Woodbuck