Starters: Cameron Wake at Will Koa Misi at Sam Rotational backups: Charlie Anderson at Will Ikaika Alama Francis at Sam? Well, I love the Athleticism, all 4 move well, are under 30, but have virtually no Starting experience at OLB outside of Charlie Anderson. All 4 have also played DE, two, Misi and Francis have even played DT, Wake is probably the best DE of the bunch up to this point, of the 4 only Charlie Anderson has shown even a modicum of coverage ability at the NFL level. Like all 4 players, but there are many legitimate questions. The real problem is, there is no one else behind them, just Chris McCoy, AJ Edds, and Q Moses. Those 4 players are "it", they are what Mike Nolan has to work with in 2010 at OLB. What say you?
Fine with me. I'm fine with gambling on the lack of experience. We develop these guys and hope they become studs. Better than falling back on some above average vet like A Thomas who's already at his ceiling. I'll go with potential.
Eh, is this a good gamble? Three conversion players and one marginal NFLer? I mean, roll with it, as the upside is huge, however the downside is large as well. I wouldn't mind taking a look at a Shawn Crable for the 2nd team Will, and if Nolan isn't comfortable with this group I could see adding Thomas..but only in an emergency such as an injury or once the pads come on some of them disappear.
i like it much better than last years rotation.we definately needed a change and have one of the better coaches in nolan to get the most out of their potential.i am loving the fusion of youth and speed to the spots.looking just at our olb spots isn't that glamorous but our d-line will be really good this yr and moving crowder over and replacing him with dansby is going to be a big help.
Agree. Last year we had zero future potential at the OLB spot. This year there is potential there although limited at the moment. I would have loved to have the potential that a Brandon Graham or a Jerry Hughes could have given us there but they made their bed their way. Now they have to lie in it.
i still believe Misi is more of a weak side guy ... which doesn't agree with most here, but he just doesn't meet the 'standards' set by this regime at SOLB. he will likely end up there this year -- but more because we don't have anyone to fit that mold outside of Moses who is not worthy, McCoy who is a rookie and will need much time and Francis who is a project. I do believe Francis can step in and perform about as well as Roth did 2 years ago on 1/2 downs .... i also will doubt that Wake can make the transition to an every down OLB ... he is very good as a situational pass rusher -- and i think he should remain as such ... if for no other reason that to maintain the stamina required for the season. i am good with Francis / Wake on the SOLB side and Misi / Anderson on the WOLB side ... and put Edds in on passing downs to take on the TE -- still leaves us vulnerable on non traditional downs and 1st down passing ... it could also happen that Dansby and Crowder switch on passing downs and Dansby covers the TE ... since we know that Crowder can't -- and that it isn't a strong suit of Dobbins either.
Definitely put Edds in on passing downs but have him replace Crowder who is definitely a liability out there against the pass. I think that is the plan. Edds was drafted so the ILB that is not Dansby can sit on 3rdown.
No love for Misi huh? Sorry, but I don't think Koa's a "make your bed now lay in it" kind of prospect (especially considering it afforded us a much needed DE, the draft's top 3-4 guy, in the process.). I'm willing to bet dollars to doughnuts that Misi makes a bigger impact than Hughes this season........ and I'll take Odrick-Misi over Graham and no second rounder ANY day of the week. *Fine Print: Krispy Kreme only.... and anything over a dozen must be broken down into multiple installments to ensure freshness*
i was a huge hughes fan and liked graham as well but neither of them fit our size requirements for the position. we have a certain scheme and to just draft players that dont fit the scheme for the sake of drafting them makes no sense
IMO it wasn't the size that turned them off from Jerry Hughes. Size was not an issue in Denver when Nolan had Elvis Dumervil. It had to be something else. I think it may have been that he was a weak side rusher and they didn't feel the need to add that so early in the draft, with Cameron Wake on the roster already. I felt that Hughes could have played SOLB in a downhill scheme but with so much coverage duties on the strong side in Nolan's defense, he was not going to be put there. I don't know how they could have justified drafting Hughes to play weak side with Cameron Wake on the roster already. JMO.
It'll be tough to judge who makes a bigger impact between Misi and Hughes IMO. Their responsibilities are likely to be completely different. Misi will be starting and spending quite a bit of time in coverage whilst Hughes will be a rotational pass rusher in Indianapolis behind two guys who are pretty damn good at their respective jobs. I recently read that they were going to use Mathis, Freeney and Hughes on the line all at once, ala the Giants.
Ouch. Well, we'll see, the way I look at it, Ike has to not only show he can play SOLB well, he also has to handle ST duties, Walden is a 4 core player, so basically Ikaika has to beat out EW and Q. Porter was a turd, he was right when he spoke about the OLB's behind him, he did single out Walden as a natural player and passrusher. YMMV
1 million percent agree!! Would've been pissing away a draft pick or limiting Wake's soon-to-be terror on QB's. Misi fit's what we need in Nolan's D like a silk spandex glove IMO..... and I dont think the same could be said for Graham.
IMO Cameron Wake and Koa Misi are going to surprise some people. They both have good natural talent and appear to have polished their game. Misi was impressive at Utah, to me at least. I felt that he was a great athlete, he had a very good first step, he had surprising strength and he showed good range as well as a closing burst. He didn't play in coverage for no reason. They played him at ILB and let him cover slot receivers. It appears that his athleticism and range has been displayed in camp as well, as a camp attendee stated that he looked good in pass coverage drills.
All true, that is what makes preseason games so important, they showcase the relatively finished product against unknown to them competition. And recall last preseason, what unit a player was on #1's, #2's, #3's, all had players who made huge contributions during the season, the old saw of the "players out on the field in the 4th qtr of the 4th game take a good look at them as they won't be on the final roster" is not a truism. This year there is a tonne of physical talent in the depth/backup/udfa class and the preseason will give the Walden/Francis/Folsom's a chance to show what they can do out on the field. I really want to see some of the skill position players like Sheets and Wallace and RGM and Tristan Davis can do, all are 4.4 types. Ditto Nolan Carrol and Reshad Jones.
agree that that could have been a consideration but I dont buy that Parcells was going to throw away a lifetime of size/ speed requirements just because he brought in Nolan. Nolan isnt going to dictate a new body type to parcells and ireland but rather will work with what they give him. still the overall point that they may have liked what they saw from wake and didnt feel the need for a WOLB is valid. how tall is hughes 6'2"? too small. wake is what 6'4"? i would bet if wake bombed thhis year they would repplace him in next year's draft with a linebacker 6'4" or 6'5"
Rotation nothing. It's Koa Misi and Cameron Wake all the way for like 900 snaps each, knock on wood that they stay healthy. The depth behind them is scary. Charlie Anderson is a 4-3 OLB. Quentin Moses is a SOLB that can't cover. Ikaika Alama-Francis probably the same but with less read ability and less ability to get off blocks. Chris McCoy is a rookie and we've heard naught of him, other than what I'd heard pre-draft which was that he's not the brightest light bulb in the pack, and also I saw him play and I think he's strictly a downhill player that doesn't back up well. Erik Walden is a special teams guy. I can't be happy with the depth situation at OLB and Pass Rusher. You would hope to have three edge rush presences. We don't even know for sure that we have two.
Also as for what "turned them off" to Jerry Hughes...I kind of take it that when Jeff Ireland kept repeating the chant "we went by our draft board" almost like a man with PTSD, he was trying to say that they weren't at all down on someone like Hughes, but they just had Odrick higher.
They remind me I live in a shell Safe from the past, and doin' okay, but not very well. no jolts, no surprises, no crisis arises: The D-line goes along as it should, it's all very nice, but not very good. And...I'm...ready to take a chance again. Ready to put Cam Wake on the line with Q. Been blitzing with nothing to show for it; You get what you get when you go for it, And I'm ready to take a chance again with Q. ...I hate myself
Exactly, and the "depth" has a handful of starts among them at OLB. I suspect they are supremely confident in their ability to identify and coach up fmr Defensive Ends into linebackers, Sparano certainly sounded confident in Bill Sheridan's ability to do so with the Giants.
new coach new system new ideas who knows? having said that Cameron Wake too much of a weapon to sit any rotation will include him
You think the real problem is that you don't see much among our 3rd string OLBs? I hope that's our real problem at every position.
Friend ckparrothead said: Rotation nothing. It's Koa Misi and Cameron Wake all the way for like 900 snaps each, knock on wood that they stay healthy. sounds about right to me.