I said there was absolutely NO chance of Olivier Vernon EVER making any impact as a pass rushing end. Well... he sure had an impact today. I still don;t see him beating tackles with speed, or power, or an iside move... but somehow he's getting to the QB. Once it was unimpeded, but I'll take it. Between today's game and how good he looks in pass drops, he gives us a lot of felxibility from the DE spot. I was wrong to take such an extreme stance. I hope I was wrong when I swore he'd "never post double-digit sacks in a season in his entire career". Here's hoping he proves me wrong on that one THIS season.
He made a few plays against the run as well. Best game yet from Vernon. That sack at the end essentially won us the game.
With any player from the Randy Shannon era, the upside is always going to be more than what they showed in college. Also, most likely it's going to take a little bit of time. Vernon has gotten better every week IMO. And this looks like yet another in the growing list of check marks for Jeff Ireland.
Vernon had a good game but looking who he went against tempers my enthusiasm some. Wayne Hunter and Barry Richardson are one of the worst tackle tandems right now in the NFL I would assume. That being said, I'm glad Vernon did well and I hope it continues.
Pass rushers generally take a little time to develop as well. JT only had 5 sacks as a rook. This kid is SOLID and plays with a high motor. This is turning out to be a great draft for us.
Basically that Jared Allen made Ray Edwards while hoping you don't realize he now lines up across from John Abraham I guess?
Proof If Ray Edwards > Olivier Vernon And Jared Allen + Ray Edwards = Cameron Wake + Olivier Vernon Then Cameron Wake > All
Pretty productive for a 21 year old I also LOVED the play where he made that tackle , that was one thing stood out for me when I watched him in college , he made plays around the line of scrimmage. For 2 or 3 yards as opposed to letting the ball carrier get 5 or 7 ... That is something some players have and others don't , he has had a good start to his career and I really like his upside , he may not fit into an easy definition , but I look at him and see a "football player" .
Remember when I said I still liked Vernon in that thread? Now you see part of the reason why. The fact that the rams tackles are somewhere between the pro level and college level concerns me but at least we can kick the tail of crappy Tackles.