Well it's Crowders turn to show what he's got. The pressure is on him to perform to where his ability puts him....we haven't seen that so far with him. I had him figured as one of the starters all along...there is competition though...
No, I don't either. I think that Long, Smiley, Satele, and Carey are as close as anyone on the team - but even they shouldn't be considered a sure thing.
I can name a few. I'd be shocked if Porter, Will Allen, Satele, Long and Smiley don't start. Ginn? Unless Hagan steps it up 100%, so there is quite the battle there. But other than that, yeah not too many locked positions.
Crowder is no way a lock. I hope he does well, as I hope Roth does well. I wouldn't even be surprised if Channing was traded at some point. It is his last year and if he doesn't come up big time, I see him gone. I am not saying he isn't capable, just doesn't do enough for me. Maybe the 3-4 will be a blessing in disguise.
I think the odds are definitely in his favor. He's already impressed the coaches with his classroom abilities and leadership of the unit. The candidates to start are Crowder, Torbor and Ayodele. Ayodele was just a last minute add-on to the deal they were targeting for Fasano. They know what they have in him. As Omar Kelly is saying, they're going to want to find out what they have in Crowder. They already paid a price tag for Torbor. I would bank on a healthy rotation of the three. In Dallas, they had three ILBs with a good amount of tackles, suggesting a healthy rotation among them. Bradie James (101 tackles), Kevin Burnett (53 tackles) and Akin Ayodele (57 tackles) all rotated at ILB...it would seem.
Actually, if Hagan steps up, he will most likely start ahead of Wilford, not Ginn. Ginn is a deep threat where Hagan and Wilford would both be more chain movers. Ginn's biggest threat to him being a starter is himself.
I think Crowder has been slacking until now because he didn't need to do more. The team had strong leaders in Thomas and Taylor, and he knew as long as Thomas was there, he was 2nd in line. I hope he learned all he could from Thomas while he had the opportunity, and I have a strong feeling that he did. He is a smart kid, now he gets his chance to bring it to the next level... and I think he will.
