Other starting OLB - Whose gonna get it?

[3irty1]

Brad Jones was the man coming into last year, he's been decent as a pass rusher, an ace in coverage, a kinda poopy against the run. Rumor has it that he's taking reps at MLB as well as OLB, probably because of his 3rd down abilities in a role similar to that of Brandon Chillar in past seasons.

Frank Zombo was the man last year. His name is fun to say, he's a really underrated athlete with good size. He's at least as good as Jones as a pass rusher, decent in coverage, and surprisingly weak against the run. Words I've heard in camp so far is that he's in impressive shape.

Walden caught on late last year and was something of a standout. I didn't give him much of a shot to steal the starting gig from Zombo this season but his name seems to come up the most from those reporting on training camp. The guy is certainly the most stout against the run of the three options here.

[pittstang5]

Barring Injury, my money's on Zombo.

[Brandon494]

I hear Greene has been going crazy over some of the plays Walden has made so far in camp.

[Patler]

Erfrad Walzones will be the starter.

[Brandon494]

THUMBS UP

The three-way battle between Erik Walden, Frank Zombo and Brad Jones at right outside linebacker has taken a turn in Walden's favor. Since the start of camp, Walden has been the most dynamic of the three, throwing his body around with reckless abandon and making life miserable for the team's left tackles. Walden still needs to develop better pass rush moves, but when he rushes it's with force. And he has consistently played well against the run, stacking the line of scrimmage by getting under the tackle's pads and giving him a good shot. Walden also has shown his versatility by dropping into coverage and had outstanding coverage on fullback John Kuhn on a third-down play near the end of practice Friday. It's probably a good sign for Walden that linebackers coach Kevin Greene has been going nuts over some of his plays.

[bobblehead]

I disagree with your assessments of all three guys to be honest. Zombo is the best against the run of the three. Walden is the most athletic and has a poppinga type motor it seems. Walden is the LEAST stout against the run from what I have seen. Jones is well rounded and my pick since he is healthy now....that could change at any moment. Robert Francois is someone we might here from as well. PBmax was on him last year and I respect his opinion a lot. I've heard coaches talking about his improvement this camp so I guess what I'm really saying is this puppy is wide open.

[vince]

I disagree with your assessments of all three guys to be honest. Zombo is the best against the run of the three. Walden is the most athletic and has a poppinga type motor it seems. Walden is the LEAST stout against the run from what I have seen. Jones is well rounded and my pick since he is healthy now....that could change at any moment. Robert Francois is someone we might here from as well. PBmax was on him last year and I respect his opinion a lot. I've heard coaches talking about his improvement this camp so I guess what I'm really saying is this puppy is wide open.

I agree with you regarding Zombo and Walden regarding their performance last year vs. run and pass. Both have reportedly enhanced their strength and look bigger this year. I think one of those two "start" (play on first downs).

[wist43]

1. Walden
2. Jones
3. Zombo

Walden is the most athletic, Jones is a decent backup, Zombo is just a guy.

[pbmax]

Thanks for the shout out Bobble, but as I recall, Francois was an emergency fill-in at OLB once Matthews and a couple of other guys started to miss practice and preseason snaps. That he played well and didn't embarrass himself (it was like the 3rd preseason game wasn't it?) after limited practice is good, but the coaches seem to have voted on the inside for him again this year. Unless the injury bug strikes again, I think he is in the middle, esp. since the Packers are short on bodies there this year.

As for their profiles, Jones had the most natural pass rush (and early success) of the three. It did not show last year, possibly due to his shoulder injury as pointed out by Cliff Chirstl's favorite Wisconsin player and asst. coach Eric Baranczyk.

http://packersnews.greenbaypressgazette.com/article/20110807/PKR07/110807042/Eric-Baranczyk-analysis-Zombo-Walden-Jones-could-share-ROLB-job?odyssey=tab|topnews|img|FRONTPAGE

[3irty1]

I disagree with your assessments of all three guys to be honest. Zombo is the best against the run of the three. Walden is the most athletic and has a poppinga type motor it seems. Walden is the LEAST stout against the run from what I have seen. Jones is well rounded and my pick since he is healthy now....that could change at any moment. Robert Francois is someone we might here from as well. PBmax was on him last year and I respect his opinion a lot. I've heard coaches talking about his improvement this camp so I guess what I'm really saying is this puppy is wide open.

I'd say that Jones is by far the worst against the run but it should come as no surprise as he's relatively small, length, and least physical of the three. He does have great range though and can shut down the outside stuff with ease much like CMIII.

Go watch the first Falcons game again if you think Zombo can hold the point vs the run. His performance in that game was KGBesk to where it become evident that their whole offensive strategy revolved around running right at Zombo. Not super fair of me to use one game as an example but I'm doing it anyways.

Walden has some really good instincts and is probably the most physical. We haven't seen a ton of him but his play against the run seemed like a strong point to me. I think the "more athletic Poppinga" is a decent comparison. I remember seeing him get crushed at the point of attack a few times but I also remember seeing him move around vs. the Eagles and stuffing anything that came through his gap. The guy has great instincts around the LOS.

Furthermore I don't think I'd call Walden the most athletic. That honor has to go to Jones--he is faster by a good margin and can change directions better as well. Zombo is the most explosive by a good margin and IMO has the most upside as a pass rusher. The guy is physically gifted with his size/acceleration combo. The only thing that really sticks out for me with Walden is his instincts and his super physical style--but those guys are sometimes really tough to keep off the field though.

[mission]

I like Walden for having the highest ceiling IMO. The only real negative in his run defense last year wasn't so much his point-of-attack strength but just losing contain and following a bad read down the LOS. I'm looking forward to seeing him with a little more beef and a full offseason to learn his responsibilities.

[bobblehead]

I like Walden for having the highest ceiling IMO. The only real negative in his run defense last year wasn't so much his point-of-attack strength but just losing contain and following a bad read down the LOS. I'm looking forward to seeing him with a little more beef and a full offseason to learn his responsibilities.

Regarding the latter part of you post I feel this way about all 3. Jones has been hurt and maligned for not being tough, and if this is accurate it will show up in lack of improvement. Due to the injuries I gave him a bit of a year 1 to year 2 pass (same for TJ Lang). If those 2 come in this year looking like they still haven't taken the next step they may be in danger of losing their jobs. HOWEVER, if they look like they did take it seriously, I love both players and I think Jones will get more snaps than the other 2 guys (Zombo could start in base for superior run play imo).

[Harlan Huckleby]

Eric Baranczyk http://packersnews.greenbaypressgaze...share-ROLB-job

The Green Bay Packers have three guys in the hunt to start at right outside linebacker, and after a week of practice, it’s hard to predict how it will shake out.

Frank Zombo, Erik Walden and Brad Jones all have question marks, and maybe it really will be some kind of platoon. That’s not a bad thing. The Packers do it with their down linemen all the time. Howard Green comes waddling off the field whenever they go nickel. It’s probably good because you’ll have fresher legs out there, especially in the fourth quarter, when you need fresh legs.

Zombo was solid on the run last year, good at holding the edge and making sure outside runs were turned back and that running backs didn’t get the edge on him and turn up field too soon. As a rookie, he was mechanical in the pass rush. This year, he looks a little more fluid but there’s still something missing. Not sure whether it’s technique or quickness. He needs to be a better pass rusher if he’s going to be the guy there.

In pass coverage, Zombo isn’t a liability, he’s just fine. Last year, he was mechanical in some of those things. Now he understands the system. He’s getting to that point in his second year in defensive coordinator Dom Capers’ scheme. He can be OK, but to take the next step I think he needs to take some chances and get better at pressuring the passer. You have to do your job but you also have to make plays.

Walden is much more physical on the edge against the run compared to last year. Same thing with him. He sometimes plays a little too conservatively. Several times in the Family Night scrimmage on Saturday, when the tackle stepped in the bucket on an obvious pass, Walden hesitated. When there’s a pass rush, it’s time to go. Don’t hesitate, don’t juke. It’s time to go now.

Jones is the most fluid pass rusher of the three. He didn’t have any sacks last year in six games, but that was tough. He had a shoulder injury going back to training camp. In 2009, he had four sacks as a rookie, and his forte is pass rush. He’s a little weak on the edge against the run, but he has the speed to be a good coverage linebacker. The questions with him are health and playing the run on the edge.

One of them probably will have to move to inside linebacker at some point and be a swing guy. Jones played all the positions in college, so he’s the most likely to do so. Walden did it some last year, playing inside as a spy against the Bears in that last regular-season game and was NFC defensive player of the week. So maybe he can do both

[Harlan Huckleby]

Jones is probably best suited to spell or replace Matthews on the other side

[pbmax]

...As for their profiles, Jones had the most natural pass rush (and early success) of the three. It did not show last year, possibly due to his shoulder injury as pointed out by Cliff Chirstl's favorite Wisconsin player and asst. coach Eric Baranczyk.

http://packersnews.greenbaypressgaze...|img|FRONTPAGE

Eric Baranczyk http://packersnews.greenbaypressgaze...share-ROLB-job

Link plagiarist.