What will Ted Thompson do about the ILB position in the Off Season?

[Patler]

Assuming he lost the weight in the offseason, he had to know before camp there was a problem. He could have chosen surgery at almost any time, including before Tretter's injury. After that it wasn't an option, but he has a lot of time and choices before that.

That was my point; why didn't he fix it last off season? It seems he knew about it. Had he chosen surgery at any point before Tretter's injury, and Hawks prognosis was really 6 weeks as they are saying now, my guess is that Tretter would still have gotten the IR-DTR when the season started, and they would have carried Hawk on the 53 for the month to six weeks he would have needed.

[vince]

Surgery or no surgery, Hawk is too slow and unimpactful to pay what he's making. He's been rode hard for a long time. Time to put him to pasture and bring in a couple badasses who can play. If it has to be a couple rookies that'd work too. Not ideal but the only risk I see in hanging onto Hawk is him being on the field again next year. No risk in bringing him into camp I guess but he can't keep you from signing Cobb or Bulaga.

I could see Hawk getting cut or renegotiating before camp. I wouldn't complain a bit if it was because Ted needs the money to sign his replacement.

[vince]

My fantasy scenario would be signing Rolando McClain and drafting Denzel Perryman. This dude knows how to tackle. I think he's quicker and more instinctive than some scouts will give him credit for.

Badass

Scouting Report from Walter Football

Strengths:
Instinctive
Extremely physical
Fabulous run-defender
Takes on blocks extremely well
Adept at shedding blocks
Excellent tackler
Quick, covers a lot of ground
Enough quickness to defend perimeter runs
Play recognition
Intelligence
Hard hitter
Takes on blocks
Can shed blocks
Gets depth in his pass drops
Aggressive attitude
Blitzing ability
Explosive
Good open-field tackling
Made some plays in pass coverage
Scheme versatility

Weaknesses:
Lacks elite speed
Lacks length
Short
Could be limited in pass coverage

Summary: Before the NFL became a league that was passing based, middle linebackers like Perryman were a prime commodity to build a defense around. With the league trending toward the aerial offense, middle linebackers have been downgraded in their emphasis in the NFL draft. Still, quality middle linebackers are a critical ingredient to any good defense and there are plenty of teams interested in drafting Perryman early in the 2015 NFL Draft.

Perryman steadily improved over the past three season as a tough defender for the Hurricanes. He notched 64 tackles with six tackles for a loss, two passes broken up, one forced fumble and an interception returned 41 yards for a touchdown in 2012. Perryman took his game to another level as a junior with 108 tackles with five tackles for a loss, one sack and three passes broken up in 2013. He considered entering the 2014 NFL Draft, but decided to return to school.

2014 was Perryman's best season with 110 tackles with 9.5 for a loss, three forced fumbles, two sacks, five passes broken up and one interception. He had a big impact in a number of games and showed an improved ability to play the pass.

For the NFL, Perryman looks like a three-down starting middle linebacker. He is a tough run-defender who is a force in the tackle box. Perryman takes on blocks well and is quick to read his keys. He has good instincts and uses them to limit runs. Perry is also a good tackler and a very physical defender. He will tackle backs with violence and plays with a mean streak. While Perryman doesn't have elite speed, he is quick enough to get to runs on the perimeter.

Perryman might not have the skill set to be a pass-defender who can cover in man like some elite middle linebackers in the NFL, Luke Kuechly for example. Still, Perryman does well to read the eyes of quarterbacks and disrupt passing lanes. He moves well in zone and picks up targets in his area. Perryman doesn't have great length, fluidity or is extreme speed. Thus, he is somewhat limited in pass coverage. However, Perryman could improve with NFL coaching.

Perryman also is a leader. He commands the defense and provides a real presence with his physicality. Sources say that Perryman could go late in the first round of the 2015 NFL Draft and shouldn't get out of the second round.

[smuggler]

Perryman is a leader. I like him. Not sure if he's one of the 30 best players in the draft, though...

[red]

the big problem with perryman is that he is not 6'1 like the video says, he's 5'11

is that tall enough?

we had that high motor short ILB a couple years ago that we let walk even though some of us wanted him to get a real shot. he was too short, at about the same height as perryman

[vince]

the big problem with perryman is that he is not 6'1 like the video says, he's 5'11

is that tall enough?

we had that high motor short ILB a couple years ago that we let walk even though some of us wanted him to get a real shot. he was too short, at about the same height as perryman

What the hell was that guy's name? He was closer to 5'9 than 5'11" I'd say. I remember him from watching training camps up close and in person. Ol' whatshisname was clearly the shortest guy on the team back then. He almost looked like a midget out there.

Plus, the short 6th round pick who moved around the league trying to stay on a roster didn't play like Denzel Perryman. If he can tackle Marshawn Lynch like he does in his highlight reel then I think 5'11" is tall enough.

[smuggler]

http://www.nfldraftscout.com/ratings/dsprofile.php?pyid=81533&draftyear=2011&genpos=olb

5'10" 5/8

He was limited athletically, and then suffered a nasty knee injury on a dirty block. The dumb thing was that the Texans had Cushing knocked out for the season the week before and bitched something fierce about how the crackback blocks were dirty. Then the very next week, Duane Brown fucked up DJ's knee in the exact same fashion.

In a little more than 5 games in 2012, DJ Smith had two sacks, three stuffs, four passes defensed. He was very productive. He just couldn't pass his physical with us after the knee injury.

[red]

i missed almost all of the LBer workouts today, but i cringed when mayock closed out the group by saying he was really disappointed by the lack of athleticism by the group

the group that had all the guys we're looking at for the middle of our defense

not good

btw, perryman looked short, fat and slow

[Carolina_Packer]

I enjoy reading the lists of sleeper picks: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2...sition/page/12 Check out the write up on Zach Vigil and look up some Youtube on this kid. Seems very instinctive, and will likely be overlooked. If you could get him late or undrafted, I think that would be a nice pickup.

[Joemailman]

i missed almost all of the LBer workouts today, but i cringed when mayock closed out the group by saying he was really disappointed by the lack of athleticism by the group

the group that had all the guys we're looking at for the middle of our defense

not good

btw, perryman looked short, fat and slow

I doubt that TT has a 1st round grade on any ILB. That's okay though. You can get good ILB's later. Desmond Bishop was a 6th round pick. Sam Barrington was a 7th round pick.

[vince]

Somewhere, somehow, Ted needs someone to plug into the starting lineup day 1. It's probably too much to expect two new guys right away but they could use that too IMO.

Choosing two among Barrington, Lattimore, Hawk, another low-round draft pick, Palmer and Bradford isn't exactly an embarrassment of riches there.

[red]

Somewhere, somehow, Ted needs someone to plug into the starting lineup day 1. It's probably too much to expect two new guys right away but they could use that too IMO.

Choosing two among Barrington, Lattimore, Hawk, another low-round draft pick, Palmer and Bradford isn't exactly an embarrassment of riches there.

i agree, we need to find someone new to start day 1, and i don't know if that guys in the draft, and i don't know if he's a free agent right now

right now our starters for next year are barrington and hawk

yuck

i say trade the first round pick for a decent starter ILB, if there is one (i have no clue who that player is, but we need him bad)

[smuggler]

As long as rook is ready by playoff time.

[red]

That was my point; why didn't he fix it last off season? It seems he knew about it. Had he chosen surgery at any point before Tretter's injury, and Hawks prognosis was really 6 weeks as they are saying now, my guess is that Tretter would still have gotten the IR-DTR when the season started, and they would have carried Hawk on the 53 for the month to six weeks he would have needed.

is hawk one of those "natural healers"? we know he use to sleep in the hyperbolic chamber, he always struck me as a "holistic healer" type of guy

do we know of any previous surgeries he's ever had?

i can tell you first hand, ankle injuries can slow you waaaaaay down

[smuggler]

He's never had a surgery to my knowledge. At one point early in his career it was mentioned that he had never dealt with injuries in his playing history and that was his biggest challenge in transferring to the pro game.