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I always wondered what happened with this guy. He was a "feel good" story when he came out and got lots of attention and ink. Last year, he kind of fell off the map. I caught a Bolts game last year and he barely played in it. This is some info I glommed off the net about the big Russian...
Igor Olshansky
Born: May 3, 1982
Dnepropetrovsk, Ukraine
Height: 6-6
Weight: 309 lbs. Age: 26
Pos: DE
Experience: 5 years
College: Oregon
Drafted: Year:2004 Round:2 Pick:3, Chargers
Expert's Take Olshansky is the starting RDE in the Chargers' 3-4 defense. He contributes mainly in regular situations, but also rush inside in sub. He has been a starter since the day he was drafted in the second round in 2004. In three of his four NFL seasons, the Chargers have ranked in the league's top seven in rushing defense. He is a blue collar type football player. He has good size and strength for the position. He plays hard on every snap and is very competitive. He's at his best versus the run and he is the Chargers' most consistent run defender. He has good recognition and play awareness to blocking patterns. Olshansky has good, strong hands with the ability to control blockers at the point of contact. He plays with good pad level and leverage. He can hold up at the point of attack and displays good shed ability. He is an explosive tackler who can find the ball, but he lacks great quickness off the ball and can be sealed off at times. As a pass-rusher, he shows good effort and motor. He has been productive with his rip move to the outside, while continuing to work up field. He doesn't have the closing speed and quickness to be an effective rusher off the edge. He lacks counters and the ability to redirect.
Combine numbers
His combine numbers are
4.98 40
41 bench press fourth best at that time in history
29 on the wonderlic
Olshansky was a #2 pick. He seemed to be progressing nicely in his career and had a solid season in '07. He also picked up a rep as a lazy and indifferent player in practice. He has a good motor, but never picked up a lot of tricks that would assist him in raising his game. Igor also developed a "big mouth" label. Writers flocked to him after games for his tendency to talk about things most players would remain mum about. He also shot his mouth off on several occasions when the Chargers played in big games, including calling the Patriots "scared" of the Bolts prior to a late season game. There was some talk of resentment by teammates of Olshansky's love of the press. He was included in many articles, replete with photos of his impressive power lifter physique and numerous tattoos. This did little to endear himself to fellow ballplayers.
Olshansky was also a whipping boy for new DC Ron Rivera, who replaced Ted Cottrell in mid-year. Olshansky experienced reduced playing time and his public pronouncements also dropped off considerably when Rivera took over the D coaching job.
He was rated a "Good Starter" by one of the scouting sites I looked at. They also commented his play falls off when faced against an elite starter.
Igor Olshansky
Born: May 3, 1982
Dnepropetrovsk, Ukraine
Height: 6-6
Weight: 309 lbs. Age: 26
Pos: DE
Experience: 5 years
College: Oregon
Drafted: Year:2004 Round:2 Pick:3, Chargers
Expert's Take Olshansky is the starting RDE in the Chargers' 3-4 defense. He contributes mainly in regular situations, but also rush inside in sub. He has been a starter since the day he was drafted in the second round in 2004. In three of his four NFL seasons, the Chargers have ranked in the league's top seven in rushing defense. He is a blue collar type football player. He has good size and strength for the position. He plays hard on every snap and is very competitive. He's at his best versus the run and he is the Chargers' most consistent run defender. He has good recognition and play awareness to blocking patterns. Olshansky has good, strong hands with the ability to control blockers at the point of contact. He plays with good pad level and leverage. He can hold up at the point of attack and displays good shed ability. He is an explosive tackler who can find the ball, but he lacks great quickness off the ball and can be sealed off at times. As a pass-rusher, he shows good effort and motor. He has been productive with his rip move to the outside, while continuing to work up field. He doesn't have the closing speed and quickness to be an effective rusher off the edge. He lacks counters and the ability to redirect.
Combine numbers
His combine numbers are
4.98 40
41 bench press fourth best at that time in history
29 on the wonderlic
Olshansky was a #2 pick. He seemed to be progressing nicely in his career and had a solid season in '07. He also picked up a rep as a lazy and indifferent player in practice. He has a good motor, but never picked up a lot of tricks that would assist him in raising his game. Igor also developed a "big mouth" label. Writers flocked to him after games for his tendency to talk about things most players would remain mum about. He also shot his mouth off on several occasions when the Chargers played in big games, including calling the Patriots "scared" of the Bolts prior to a late season game. There was some talk of resentment by teammates of Olshansky's love of the press. He was included in many articles, replete with photos of his impressive power lifter physique and numerous tattoos. This did little to endear himself to fellow ballplayers.
Olshansky was also a whipping boy for new DC Ron Rivera, who replaced Ted Cottrell in mid-year. Olshansky experienced reduced playing time and his public pronouncements also dropped off considerably when Rivera took over the D coaching job.
He was rated a "Good Starter" by one of the scouting sites I looked at. They also commented his play falls off when faced against an elite starter.
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