Understanding the Neal Pick

[twoseven]

I never complain about a defensive lineman being drafted. So many of them don't pan out, and it's a rotation position, so you have to play the numbers game.

+1

[twoseven]

I still disagree. If you want 5 good CB's and only 4 good lineman, you're not a treches guy. 5 is not too many, not even if they're healthy. It's just not.

..and you also find yourself in a position to trade one down the line should you be so lucky as to have too many quality DL. corey williams went for a 2nd or 3rd, didn't he?

[Guiness]

Just one thing that occured to me - is Cody not a fit for out D at all? Not that it matters, but a much higher rated prospect was left on the board. I wonder why TT ignored him and too Neal?

[Pugger]

I thought I read somewhere online that our D linemen got gassed late in games in the second half of the season so maybe addressing the line was a need. And I'm sure Capers was consulted on these moves.

[Tony Oday]

I have to say all successful GMs draft for 3 years from now because what rookie contributes a ton to a super bowl run? Really I would like to know. They are not the ones that put you over the top of a 10-6 season, its the guys that were drafted two years ago that step in and step up.

[Lurker64]

Just one thing that occured to me - is Cody not a fit for out D at all? Not that it matters, but a much higher rated prospect was left on the board. I wonder why TT ignored him and too Neal?

Cody's a fat slug (slowest player to ever be drafted in the modern draft era) who can really only play the nose in this defense, a position already manned by two highly paid guys in Raji and Pickett. Neal is a 295 pound man with 6 pack abs who ran a better 10-yard split than Sergio Kindle. Cody played maybe 20 plays a game for Alabama, while Neal played nearly 80 plays a game for Purdue.

Only one of these guys is going to address concerns about your DEs getting gassed in games.

An ideal defensive line rotation for a 3-4 team consists of:

2-Starting DEs (Jenkins and Jolly), one starting NT (Pickett), one backup DE (Neal), and one swing player who can play DE and NT (Raji).

Last year we had, as our backup DE, Michael Montgomery who was spectacularly useless in this defense (even moreso than any other defense).

[The Leaper]

Neal DOES provide something for us this year if he works out.

Depth on the DL is always a priority IMO. LBs are far more easy to acquire than a capable player on the defensive front.

Jenkins, when healthy, is a true every-down 3-4 DE. He plays both the run and pass pretty well. That is not true of Jolly...at best Jolly is an average pass rusher as a 3-4 DE, and probably is a little below average. His best play against the pass is batting down passes, not collapsing the pocket.

Neal will be more of a pass rushing 3-4 DE. You bring him in on passing downs with Jenkins and Raji. Neal also may be athletic enough to occasionally drop into coverage if we want to blitz 3 LBs to confuse the QB...Jolly sure isn't that kind of athlete.

Jolly is also on the NFL's "personal conduct policy" radar. Ben's ass smacking down in Georgia put any player with some minor run-ins on notice. Jolly is probably one small incident away from suspension. I'm sure we are all hoping Jolly stays out of trouble...but TT certainly can't just expect that will happen and must have a plan B.

[mission]

Nice posts Lurk, Leap... pretty sound reasoning.

[vince]

Nice posts Lurk, Leap... pretty sound reasoning.

I agree.

I can see both sides of this argument. If Neal can add to the pass rush, then this is a great pick. If he doesn't, then we need to get a lot of improvement from Jones in that area this year. It'll be interesting to see what strides he and Obiozor, who appears to be more or less a lock to make the squad, will make this year.

If they can't beat one-on-ones on the left side, Matthews will appear to decline because he'll be double-teamed, chipped, and otherwise schemed against all year. Somebody is going to have to make teams pay for that.

[packrulz]

08/13/2009 - Sometimes you hear the stories of strong men such as Paul Bunyan, John Henry and Pecos Bill, guys so big and powerful you have to see it to believe it. Except, of course, these guys are myths, so you see nothing but the legend. Here on the Bermuda grass of Ross-Ade Stadium, you see senior defensive tackle Mike Neal in all his 6-4, 302-pound reality. He laughs off the legendary strength reference as if it is a tailback trying to stop him from crushing a quarterback. "There are no legends," he says. "I'm pretty strong. That's it." Coach Danny Hope calls Neal Purdue's strongest player and the numbers back him up - a 510-pound bench press, a 615-pound squat, a 385-pound clean. "This is the best I've ever felt," Neal says. "Injuries mean nothing to me. I've never had a major injury. I played a lot. I'm not worried about getting hurt and not being able to play." "Michael Neal can be a great player, not only at his position, but in this league," Hope says. "I think he'll be a premier defensive tackle, maybe the best defensive tackle that's played at Purdue since Jeff Zgonina (the Big Ten defensive player of the year in 1992 and a 15-year NFL veteran). He's got a good motor and he's usually in a bad mood, and that's a good sign for a defensive tackle. He was dominant in the spring and he has a chance to be dominant this season." - Pete DiPrimio, Fort Wayne News Sentinel

Neal just might be the strongest man on the team. Wow!

[falco]

In 2007, we were able to do a lot of rotating on the DL thanks to our depth, and it had a very positive effect on our D that year.

[twoseven]

08/13/2009 - Sometimes you hear the stories of strong men such as Paul Bunyan, John Henry and Pecos Bill, guys so big and powerful you have to see it to believe it. Except, of course, these guys are myths, so you see nothing but the legend. Here on the Bermuda grass of Ross-Ade Stadium, you see senior defensive tackle Mike Neal in all his 6-4, 302-pound reality. He laughs off the legendary strength reference as if it is a tailback trying to stop him from crushing a quarterback. "There are no legends," he says. "I'm pretty strong. That's it." Coach Danny Hope calls Neal Purdue's strongest player and the numbers back him up - a 510-pound bench press, a 615-pound squat, a 385-pound clean. "This is the best I've ever felt," Neal says. "Injuries mean nothing to me. I've never had a major injury. I played a lot. I'm not worried about getting hurt and not being able to play." "Michael Neal can be a great player, not only at his position, but in this league," Hope says. "I think he'll be a premier defensive tackle, maybe the best defensive tackle that's played at Purdue since Jeff Zgonina (the Big Ten defensive player of the year in 1992 and a 15-year NFL veteran). He's got a good motor and he's usually in a bad mood, and that's a good sign for a defensive tackle. He was dominant in the spring and he has a chance to be dominant this season." - Pete DiPrimio, Fort Wayne News Sentinel

Neal just might be the strongest man on the team. Wow!

at least now AJ has a lifting partner.

[twoseven]

if Dom Capers, who has really turned our defense around in a short time, is the guy who thinks Neal was a good pick, i am not going to spend too much time banging my head against it.

[rbaloha1]

Neal, Raji and Harrell (assuming recovered from injury) is a young, strong and athletic front.

The secondary is blessed with young and talented players. Its the lb that are a concern. Sure would be nice if we could draft Rolando McClain types.

[Gunakor]

I can't wait for Brad Jones to break out this year and shut all of you up that say we absolutely needed a new OLB. Can't fucking wait for that to happen.

You bitch about Thompson not being able to find that 7th round gem, and when he finally does you bitch about how he wouldn't find an upgrade. Talk about a no-win situation.

We're fine at LB.

Neal addresses little this year other than another warm athletic body to add to the DL rotation. He fills a big need going forward, a much bigger need than we had at OLB to begin with. The more I think on this pick the more I like it. I don't know if I like where and how he was taken - I think TT might have been able to find a trading partner to move down 10-15 spots and have gotten Neal anyway. But I like the player. He's going to be a quality addition to our roster.