The first three picks, although not what was expected provides the team with our future in the defensive backfield. Davis had character concerns, and to be honest thats why I never felt he was coming here. Apparently character is a hit and miss issue with this regime in many ways.

Sean Smith I liked due to his size and speed. I commented several times that this regime liked big corners, and that was proven true. But, given the coverage we are supposed to be playing, and receivers we will face week in and week out size was probably a priority.

Now, the 3rd and 4th rounders i do not like. I could handle either one, but not both. I understand the regimes desire to double up and ensure that one or both make the cut. But, Hartline i think makes me more confused than any other. Is there a problem with Camarillo coming back? I know we needed wide receivers, but I think that using one of those picks on a front 7 player would have been better. Defensive linemen dropped in this draft, that is clear, but to say there was no one around that was better for us than Brian Hartline doesn't say much. Personally I'd have taken maybe 5 other guys than Hartline easy there; Shawn Nelson would have been the first one for instance. I could have even lived with a running back, but two wide outs there I personally feel is a bit much.

The lower half of the draft continued to provide the team with talent, and to be honest i think gave us great value in Chris Clemons and Andrew Gardener. Both player should give us some depth, especially at swing tackle, where we had no one previously. Our O-line should be set in terms of acquisitions. Clemons hopefully will provide the required depth we need behind both Bell and Wilson. if not we will have issues on the back end. our secondary as a whole just got a whole lot better when you also factor in our FA signing as well.

Nalbone (sp) I don't know much about, but Boomer had some stuff on him. Our newest linebacker better hope he can cover, as that may be his only shot to stick long term.

My initial thoughts are that I would have gone another way after round 2. I'd have liked to bring in someone to help rush the passer. We are pretty thin here regardless of Wake, and I know that differs from the teams view obviously. But, One injury to Porter and we have an unknown and very little else. We also lost Vonnie Holiday, who was very under appreciated here IMO. We have no one to replace him, and if you say Merling will, then who backs up our former backup? Starks? And then who of any quality? We are thin up front IMO compared to last year, and it could jump up and bite us in the ***. Last year we didn't have a great deal of injuries, and most were on the offensive side. If we lose two players up front on defense, we could be a very different team in a hurry.

Thats my concern going into this season; our depth up front on defense looks a little thin to me.

Right now, I'd say B-. The final rounds bumped it back up after Turner and Hartline. I could handle either, just not both, thats my issue. They could be nice players, but very out of place for at least one IMO.

 

Don't forget about that guy we traded a 7th for from the Jags, DT I believe. it will be depth at the least.

Hopefully the UDFA pool has some front 7 help for us.

 

Tony McDaniel.

 

It's obvious the is regime is banking on Merling and Langford developing into better players this year. As well as Lionel Dotson. IF that happens we will be in great shape on the front 7. If not... then our fears will come to life.

 

i still fail to see how we will be in great shape on the front 7 from a pressure stand point. most 3-4 defenses have 3 to 4 guys in their front 7 that are very good at rushing the passer. we have 1..........

 

If Merling and Langford develop into what they were drafted to do, that will be 3 guys. Not counting Cam Wake and possibly J.T

Although Langford is more of a run stuffer than a rusher.

 

It's obvious the is regime is banking on Merling and Langford developing into better players this year. As well as Lionel Dotson. IF that happens we will be in great shape on the front 7. If not... then our fears will come to life. I think you missed what Brother Trackstar was saying bro. Let's see what happens with Undrafted Free Agents before we throw the season under the bus already.:wink2:

 

I'll go a step further and say lets let all the rookies play before we throw them and the season under the bus.

 

Last year we got Bess on offense who went undrafted, perhaps it is the defense's turn this year.

 

was surprised to see ILBs and Gs do so badly in this draft .... leaves some decent picks for UDFAs though:

McDuffie (S), Garcia, Allen (Gs), Sutton (RB), Beckwith, Joseph, Williams (ILBs), Walters (OLB) to name a few that we had interest in from Simon's series ... we can make up some ground on some of these - especially Garcia, Beckwith or Joseph ...

personally, i am still not excited about White or either WR ... but am curious to see what this regime sees White, as he has some versatility. i thought we would spend 3 picks on the secondary ... of course -- not at the points we took them. getting both Davis and Smith is a pretty good coup though. Simon harped on Nalbone in his series, so that wasn't surprising -- i just thought he would end up as a UDFA vice a pick ... guess there must have been some interest in him.

 

Nothing on Pat White, Conifucus?

 

as far as the front 7 goes: Merling and Langford are good, just not sure how much better they can get (maybe stronger or improve technique -- but that is about it ... and that doesn't improve their pass rushing per se) ... we must be relying on the addition of McDaniel, Wake or the impending signing of JT to help with the lack of pressure of last year, because otherwise that person is not on our roster just yet. there are also some quality ILB - UDFAs available in Beckwith, Joseph ... and an OLB in Walters ...

equally, with the improved secondary .... pressure might not be our achilles heel this year - since we just might be able to cover some folks with the additions of Wilson, Davis and Smith ...

bottom line is that our defense did 'ok' with the personnel we had last year ... and we are improved this year -- so we should be in good shape

 

problem with that is, in the 3-4, your Ends are going to be more eaters and disruptive then true pressure guys. if they ever combine for 10 sacks, id be surprised. the pressure and sacks need to come from your 4 LBs. and currently we have one that is good at rushing the passer. and that is not good in this type of defense. we dont know what we have yet with Wake, so i cant include him.

 

well first of all, no one is throwing the season under the bus, dispite what some think around here.

and 2nd, we have no rookies in our front 7. so there goes that idea.

 

I think you just need to slow down, and relax. Let's see who we sign as UDFA, and see how the drafted players do. There maybe a JT deal out there, or something else with Beck and a defensive player in a trade. Just need to see what happens, and keep the faith. :wink2:

 

We are not done yet, the draft just ended.:tantrum:

 

lol, you can hope to get production from a UDFA next year if you choose. but i wont.

and we have no drafted players in our front 7, so we cant wait to see how they do.

lets be serious here, on this message board it sounds like im panicking, and people on here are getting frustrated because of that. im not panicking, im talking football here. we went 11-5 last year with not much pass rush.

this whole thing was started because i said i dont see how we ARE in great shape, meaning as of today. if we sign JT it will help calm my concerns about pass rush, but as of now, im worried about it. that is all. im not aloud to be worried about one part of our team? we arent perfect here.

 

I think it's a valid concern Nap. I thought for sure we would draft a conversion DE/OLB. We needed one IMO. However, the coverage unit will be much better this year and that will help the pass rush.

We will see if some guys we are not counting on emerge as a good sack specialist outside of Porter.

 

I think overall this draft was pretty solid. Vontae and Smith are both guys who should be contributing to our secondary this year in big ways. Combine them with the acquisition of Gibril Wilson and we might just be fielding a pretty special unit out there.

Pat White was a reach, but I think Parcells/Ireland couldn't have cared less. They have dreams for this guy and we'll just have to wait and see.

Patrick Turner I actually like. I think his senior season was solid (741 yds, 10 tds) and he had a good pro day. I think Turners only knock is that he didn't have the phenominal season everyone expects the #1 wr at USC to have. Think about it, if he had that kind of season at a different school, he would be looked at much differently. People believe he's 'slow' but he's no different in this category and than Nicks or Barden were and everybody wanted them.

Hartline was a terrible pick. I'll never be convinced otherwise.

Clemons was a fantastic pick however. Really excited to see him in the future. he was a playmaker at clemson, and the fastest timed DB at the combine.

This draft really hinges on what you think of Pat White. if you really hated that pick, this is a C draft to you. If you like Pat White, this is a B. No matter what though, the lack of depth in the front 7 is a concern.

 

JT would alleviate concerns for the immediate future but we still need to think longterm and it's shocking to me we ignored that huge position of need. Not every tweener pops off like Ware or Merriman. The transition is at least a year, maybe two (I'm curious to see Wake play). Joey Porter isn't getting any younger and he's coming off his all-time best season.

And when you consider Parcells draft history, the lack of LB is surprising... He drafts him when he needs them and even when he doesn't.

 

Maybe there are trades that may take place, or they know of cuts, or the tag being removed on Hill in Seattle.

 

I think Parcells, a former linebackers coach, has seen enough linebackers in his time to probably have a decent handle on what they may have with Wake.

 

Maybe the FO felt strong about our rotation we did add Tony Mcdaniel, Lionel Dotson may be the wild card, and who knows what Rodrique Wright can provide...

Starks, Merling, Langford, Mcdaniel, Dotson, Wright... is it really that thin?

 

Brother I hear your concern, but I think things will be alright. If our front seven sucks this year, I will send you some funds for your favorite beverages.:hi5:

 

Well, I wanted more pass rushing prospects as well, and Ireland lied when he said pass rushers make Cb's better as a philosophy, and then he promptly ignored several great prospects to take some dopey wide receivers and a third string Qb.

But we also got Vontae Davis, Sean Smith, and Hammlin, all three are very talented defensive backs, all three were good values, and all three can help create coverage sacks, something we lacked last season.

Basically what happened was, we upgraded the secondary to improve the pass rush, which is a touch backwards, but it will work, spread offenses beg to be blitzed, For example, you've got Joey Thomas on Randy Moss, how do you think that will turn out?

Put Vontae Davis on Moss...much better situation.

 

After those first three who played significant minutes at any time last season?

Wright didn't have a snap, and Dotson had a few in one game and McDaniel I can't speak for off the top of my head, but I doubt he was that great if it only took a 7th to get him.

Having guys doesn't mean you have depth. Those last few names are not worthy enough yet to alay my fears. Sorry, but no way.

You'd be comfortable with those guys if Merling or Langford missed significant time, or say Ferguson gets hurt, then what? Starks gets kicked inside for more snaps and then the backups may be needed to step up again.

Not really happy with it, nor at ILB to be honest.

 

:ffic:

I've wanted to hear your take FFic, do you like the White and Turner and Hartline picks?

As for me, I like Smith and Davis and the Clemson safety

 

I feel the same way. I thought it was a big need to get a backup/replacement for Ferguson. I cant see him playing at a high level much longer, indeed he missed time last year. And those games he missed the run defense suffered badly. Same with Crowder, another injury risk guy. Yet we did nothing to add to either spot.
Yet we had the picks to take a luxury in White, and then 2 WRs about 3 rounds too early. Hartline especially. How does he improve upon Bess or Camarillo. At least the other one has a shot to beat out Wilford.

 

Keep in mind though Conu, we are Year 2 of rebuilding still, those back ups aren't great, but no team really has quality back ups, I do think as prospects their upside is not great, but it could be simply because none of them have played very much so at best we can't say either way.

Merling or Langford miss time, if McDaniel and Starks fill in for them, we just have to wait and see, but that is how it goes.

They also must really like Walden and Wake.

 

I am very interested to see how White will be used. I thought we could of done better then Turner, but will wait to see how he does. I am very excited about the secondary. I can't wait for camp to start.:hi5:

 

:up:

I liked Turner, and I can't wait for camp to start because I am dying to see if Wake is good or not.

 

Maybe they are looking at seeing how our front seven does this year. Perhaps JT comes back, and maybe next year we will address our front seven since we did the secondary this year.

 

Could be?

The one legit beef is, we are thin as paper at Inside Linebacker, Torbor was terrible filling in for Channing last year, and he is the top ILB backup.

If JT comes back, he'd make a good 3rd down pass rusher, it would be easier on him as well, I'd like to have him.

 

Hopefully we get some good players signed that weren't drafted.:up:

 

If White is used right in the wildcat and we pass, and run, then White, Ronnie, Patrick, and Ricky should have some nice running yards.:hi5:

 

Dude don't turn into me and start talking to yourself. It's alright to do when you're alone but if you do it in public people start to question your sanity. Which is fine for me because I know I've lost it; but you... you're sane.

 

:sidelol: I was adding to my post bro. You made me laugh. Good thing I wasn't drinking my beer.:yes:

 

I feel so much better about the Secondary heading into camp now with Davis, Smith and Clemons who was an absolute steal in the 5th round..... Fastest Safety at the combine and very good in coverage.

The biggest steal whoever IMO is Gardener, you are talking about a 4 year starter at LT for Georgia Tech and I have had to watch him against the Canes and so glad he is gone now....... :lol:

He has excellent size, feet, tough, smart and would not have been taken so late if not for the injury his Sr season and Georgia Tech switching over the wishbone offense last year which has their lineman cut blocking all the time....

I feel very confident now we have our swing backup tackle for Long and Carey. Thats was the most glaring need on our OL IMO.