With many here calling for Dansby and McClain, right now Anderson & Moses would be our starting OLB. That would be kissing 2010 goodbye. Anyone wish to reconsider?
Wouldn't mind Q on the strongside, and one is assuming Jason Taylor is not resigned and don't forget about Cam Wake and Erik Walden.
if mcclain is there you take him i think if he is gone i would take brandon graham outside linebacker position is a shambles so it has to be addressed someway somehow moses and anderson arent going to get better and are second tier taylor is an old man who is done pretty much wake is the best of the group but is a project who hasn't really played lb he can be developed for the future the inside linebackers on this team are garbage so i would go mcclain first if available
Sup Killer, I would agree on most parts except for Moses, I think theres something there brother, I saw some flashes of exceptional short area agility and quickness, besides that, his body keeps getting bigger and stronger.. I saw some real ability to play on the edge from him.
Q has really good straight line speed, my question with him is dropping into coverages. And if JT leaves, he is a candidate to fill in as the nickel DE across from Wake. And what if Merling to compete for Roth's old LB spot are true?
I see the OLBs as most likely being Wake, JT, Anderson and Moses. IMO Wake is a potential all-pro, JT is still good and can play both sides, Anderson is good enough to be a starter and Moses is decent depth. I don't see it as ideal, but I wouldn't call it kissing 2010 goodbye.
I'm really doubtful Cameron Wake wouldn't be. And it's really ridiculous to pretend if it doesn't get addressed with the highest priority in FA or the draft it won't be addressed. If you say so?
Well, we are in a sort of gray area here rafi, Q has been in the NFL for 4 yrs and never has been a starter, yet he is the most logical starter on the Strongside, Wake has 1 yr of nickel DE duty and has also not started as a OLB in the NFL. Wake and "Q" are intriguing, but come with huge risks.
Every year you're going o have some players that are question marks that have to step up. A very recent example is the Colts and their WRs. That's the nature of the NFL game.
There is no assumption, JT is not signed and a big ?. Wake played great at DE. He may, or may not be a LB. Walden is ST's, and nothing more,
The assumption is that if we signed Dansby and drafted McClain (not my choice BTW) we are suddenly locked in to Anderson and Moses as the starting OLBs. I see that as a very big leap.
I've studied what Bill Polain does just a bit and they always have a #1 Wr, we have no equivalent at Lb, Polian also keeps really physically talented players in reserve just in case, we do not have that situation either, at least we would not appear to have it. Behind Collie and Garcon are guys like Sam Giguere. That is a part of the reason why players like Walden and Q are going to have show they can be starters for us or it is time to level and rebuild both the starters and the depth at OLB, Right now the only prospect at OLB is JD Folsom everyone else has either played more than a handful of snaps or they have been in the NFL for a number of years and have not shown much. Ilb with Ayodele, Crowder and Torbor is not looking so hot either.
It is possible but, not likely. You're going to have to do better on an example. Colt's WR's had Peyton, Harrison, and Dallas Clarke surrounding them, two HOF'ers and maybe a third. On D, we have Wilson, Bell, and a couple of rookies.
I see Wake as a potential all-pro. I also see JT as available if we want him. I think he is still a top 10 3-4 OLB. Therefore I don't see the cupboard at OLB as bare. I know you and others may have a different opinion as to their abilities but I just don't agree. I see our weakest talent areas as WR and ILB. At WR we have a couple of guys who could be decent #2s and nobody with even the potential to be a #1. At ILB we have one okay starter in Crowder and nobody else. I don't see OLB as being anywhere near as dire.
I think the odds are very high that we sign JT. In the first round, I think the board looks like Bryant, Odrick, Graham. I also think the odds are good that Wake is a starter and that Merling plays some at SOLB.
I believe we can be a legit contender with a VG NT, Crowder and Ayodele. I do not want it but, can deal with it. I do not believe that we can contend with Anderson and Moses in this pass happy league.
I believe that to be a legit contender we need a big receiving target and ball hawking FS. That's not all I would want, but I think those two pieces are requirements.
Wake, JT, Anderson and Moses, we're fine @ OLB. Coach them up & find a stud ILB to dominate the interior space w/the much maligned & underated Crowder. Got to get strong in the middle defense: NT, ILB & FS
IMO Moses looks like he is finally comfortable at OLB and I believe he is prime for a breakout season. The FO had to have kept him around for some reason and I believe we will see that reason soon. Also I can see Merling making the switcheroo.
Not anywhere near as worried about OLB as I am about getting an ILB, we MUST pick up or draft a stud ILB, IMHO it is top priotiry #1 this offseason for this team. Everything else comes second for me. The I want NT, Stud #1 WR, TE, FS and THEN OLB. That's my humble desire/belief, only I think FS should be right next to NT in priority.
Moses has had 4 years to "breakout". He'll be lucky to make the team if we do the required upgrading at the outside linebacker position.
That is one way to put it, I like Q as much as the next fan but sooner or later they have to perform, and Q doesn't play ST, so, like Ted Ginn and the 5 other kick returners on the roster already, hopefully the message is coming in loud and clear for Q Moses. Funny thing is, when I watch Q play OLB, he looks fine, he had maybe 100 snaps or something and you never saw Q trying to catch somone from behind because he blew a coverage or missed a tackle.
I agree. Seems like Anderson started at least one game in Porter's place and as I recall he looked pretty decent. Both he and Moses have not looked out of place in the limited action they have seen on the defense, IMO. To say even if they somehow end up as our starting OLBs, that the 2k10 season is lost, seems rather foolish to me at this point.
I love JT, but he didn't get to the QB nearly enough this past season. He did good at times. He was actually setting the edge real good, but we need to put more pressure on the QB. If Anderson can step it up and he's shown flashes at times, Wake on the other side, whom I think we'll be a great player for us. I think we can probably get by with our OLBs. We have a decent corp of guys to sub in and keep everyone fresh, but I'd still like some youth an upgrades at that position. I would really love to get B. Graham. I think he's going to be a hell of a player. Need or not, I think he will just make us so much better. I'm not completely sold on McClain as of yet. As I've said many times; I think FS is a serious, serious need, but I think well have to hope to find someone later or possibly through FA.
JT has said that the team has not contacted him, and that he was not happy sitting out in some passing downs. Wake has not played LB, and could be a year away. Merling, as a 290 pound LB, is something I'm not counting on.
Anderson and Moses will not end up being our starting OLB. However, they are what we now have, and the forum appears to have ignored this huge need.
Phillip Merling is clearly not a linebacker as well. The only people who are talking about moving Merling to SOLB are the fans on message boards. I can almost guarantee you that they aren't talking about that in the football offices in Davie. Every year, there always seems to be some idea the fans get that they just won't let go. Ever since Merling was drafted, the idea has been there that he would make a position switch. Two things stand out to me that tell me he was never going to be a linebacker in the NFL. First, he didn't play the bandit position at Clemson like Gaines Adams. When Merling was at Clemson, the bandit was Ricky Sapp. Merling played the closed side defensive end. Second, Merling has always been more of a run stopper than a pass rusher. Through three years of college, Merling only had around 12 sacks. He wasn't terrible at it, but he clearly wasn't a guy you look at and say "Hey, I think he could play linebacker." Third, Merling is a 300 lbs defensive end right now. This is in no way similar to moving Matt Roth to linebacker. Matt Roth actually started out as a linebacker and got moved to defensive end. Matt came out of college at about 255 lbs. He gained weight in his second season to play the closed defensive end position. He played SOLB for Miami at around 275 lbs and lost weight in his second season at the position before being cut and going on to Cleveland to be a stud OLB.
IF we would have re-signed Roth, and IF we had JT under contract, I would be thinking differently on our OLB's.
What the hell ever happened to Tuna saying you never have enough good LB's?? Two years later, and we don't have any.
Uhm, they had him work with Vonnie Holliday and Matt Roth in linebacker drills in the 2008 offseason.
JT was fine as a SOLB in 09, but I'm not sure you can rely on him to make it through a full season. I can see the current unit being adequate. By I can also see it being disastrous. If JT gets hurt, Wake remains one demensional, and Moses doesn't progress, then we are up a creek. Really if any one of those happens, our defense is in trouble. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
And he was like a fish out of water and has never been put back in that position again. The guy is clearly not a linebacker.
Exactly, not enough proven depth, and the depth that is there, outside of Q and Anderson, is very green and untested, even adding JT there would still be 2 or three legitimate holes to fill with newbies or just better replacements than Torobr, Ayodele and the holes at OLB. 2 olb's and at least 1 ilb are needed ASAP along with rotational depth.
It's pretty obvious that our whole linebcaker core is lacking. This is not to say they are garbage, but IMHO Inside linebacker is worse off than the Outside linebackers. The only inside guy we really have is Crowder and I am not a big fan of his. I really think we need to get McClain if he is there at 12 and put him next to Crowder. Resign JT for one more year and go with Wake as the other starter at outside. I think we will look for another Olb later in the draft and we still may get someone in free agency, although it's a pretty small pool this year. We still need to find a playmaker at reciever and a NT prospect as well. So many holes on this team still.
I have liked what we have seen from Moses. Plus, he has bulked up quite a bit. I'd like to see what he can do on a full time basis.
Guys, I have aqua eyes, no need for the colored glasses. I have backed Jay, AJ, DC, Hagan, J Allen, Wilson, and Ginn, to name a few. However, backing Anderson, 122 tackles and 7.5 sacks in 6 years or, Moses, 17 tackles, 2.5 sacks in 3 years, is too much even for me. According to the Herald, the team believes it's biggest need is OLB, and I wholeheartedly agree. No link but I will look it up. I do not make stuff up.