Linebacker Unit..Transformation complete..Cam Wake had an excellent preseason.

I agree...I saw some play out ou linebackers we havent seen in a lon time...Dansby blanketing Gonzalez in coverage...Wake playing down the line and stuffing a run from the backside..

I like our LB crew...cant wait to see them unleashed for real on Sunday!!!

They better be good along with the defense line because somebody is going to have to carry our secondary this year. CB's are not really anything special and one really young saftey. They better get pressure on the QB quick and not make these young guys cover for a long time.

Trent Edwards will once again be hit by an EarthWake.

"Shamboubou wrote:

They better be good along with the defense line because somebody is going to have to carry our secondary this year. CB's are not really anything special and one really young saftey. They better get pressure on the QB quick and not make these young guys cover for a long time.

what have we done the best this preseason on either side of the ball?...I would say stop the rush no?.....If we can stop the rush against Buffalo, and force trent edwards to pass in 2nd and 3rd and long, press their wide receivers at the line, and Unleash Wake and Starks on the rush, I think were gonna be OK.

I agree DJ this is a good LB unit. I think we will be fine for the season opener.

dj, whilst i agree our LB corps is in a better position than it was last year ... i still think we aren't where we need to be at OLB .... guess we'll see - but we still don't have that 'crasher' from the outside, less passing plays in Wake.

i'm happy we are trying something other than Smith at CB .... i thought and still think he was our biggest liability in the secondary .... just don't really have any confidence in Allen. i absolutely believe that Carroll wiill be there next year ...

"djphinfan wrote:

This man was all over the field against the cowboys, and I don't mean just rushing the passer...It looks as though his progression at playing linebacker is on point.. At Different time's, I saw him do what outside linebackers do, and he's been doing it all preseason....Let's hope that gameplanning offenses don't slow him down some, but I think we can let out a few howls for this wolf based on what the tape says.

I saw him play with his head up, I saw him react to the run, set the edge, cover the flat, drop in coverage, shed the block with passion, crash down the LOS, and OH yeah, rush the passer...You put all his preseason snaps together and I think we have something here...serious upgrade over last year.

I think our coaches have done a fantastic job with him, and it gives me hope about our new acqusition's of Goldie locks and Ike,.....I like the formula, start out with one very athletic, talented, mentally flawed football player, make them respect the code, rebuild the mind of the great athlete, and see what happens...

Guy's, like Sick said, were good man.

I really think our overall linebacker unit is better, more physical, bigger, and more athletic than last.

Top to bottom, our linebacking unit has been completely transformed.. .Offseason mission accomplished, thank you front office, we needed it..:up:

Dansby..Wake..Misi...Dobbins...Crowder..Moses..Ike.. Micah..Carpenter.....so much better than last year.

Mission was not accomplished since they failed to fix the secondary. The LB were not the only need on this team... While i agree we are better there we are weaker now on the Oline, and Secondary.

Wake was all off the field against the 2nd teamers, that is expected.....

Hopefully he can keep it up when Miami starts playing for keep this Sunday...

I wouldn't exactly call Cam Wake's preseason "excellent".

"ckparrothead wrote:

I wouldn't exactly call Cam Wake's preseason "excellent".

Care to elaborate? Not being a smart arse, just wondering what you saw in run support and pass coverage. Pass coverage I thought he did ok to be honest.

Rushing the passer he seems to be a one trick pony getting around the edge low on the RT, but seems to provide a lot of pressure, so I don't mind.

Where do you think he is at?

I hope the fix is in by the buffalo game
need the QuickStart to contend in 2010

Well, the thing with Wake is what we saw in the preseason is probably not what we will see during the season, Wake will be penetrating more and dropping into coverage far less than he did in this preseason.

And how about my boy, Ikaika, winning the Starting SOLB job?

Granted that is a sort of misnomer as Nolan heavily rotates his OLB's, but still from DT to SOLB in about 2 months, he'd better swim cause if he sinks Sparano has no problem cutting a player.

The thing with Ikaika is, the improvement was clear to see, just from the Jags game to the Cowboys game, his light came on and he was blowing some wannabe blockers up.

Deej, look at this picture and compare Ikaika and McCoy to Wake and tell me what you see..

vernon gholston?

just kidding :lol:

This is the year Wake makes a name for himself across the NFL.

"texasPHINSfan wrote:

vernon gholston?

just kidding :lol:

:D

Look at Cam's triceps and compare them to McCoy and Ike's, Cam's are massive, McCoy looks sorta doughy and Ike has a bit of muscle but nowhere near Cam's.

McCoy really needs to hit he weight pile as he is way underdeveloped physically.

BTW, Peter King will talk about Wake in his Friday Game Plan column.

"padre31 wrote:

:D

Look at Cam's triceps and compare them to McCoy and Ike's, Cam's are massive, McCoy looks sorta doughy and Ike has a bit of muscle but nowhere near Cam's.

i knew that's where you were going with that. :lol:

I like Wake and I think he has good potential, but he didn't exactly have an "excellent" pre-season, IMO. He needs a better variety of moves. He has a great bull-rush and burst, but I think he needs to be able to drop his shoulder and run the arc better. He's gotten better, but he still is going to need to get better in coverage. With that said, I do really like him and if he keeps working hard, I think he'll be a good player. I just hope he can get it done this year, but there are some ?s, imo. Our LB crew as a whole actually has me a bit concerned for this season. I do think we'll see more of Q. Moses this year than maybe previously expected. That may be a good thing.

Waaaay too early to celebrate, imo.

It is preseason. When he does it consitently throughout the real season, then we have something.

"ckparrothead wrote:

I wouldn't exactly call Cam Wake's preseason "excellent".

excellent in terms of showing us what everybody was counting on...I knew he was a great pass rusher, I questioned whether he could do the rest, me, I was suprised, and very pleased from what I saw.I thought it was a big jump from where he was perceived.

I'm with CK on this one, I thought he was just OK

Hopefully with the chains off he will show more.

"padre31 wrote:

Deej, look at this picture and compare Ikaika and McCoy to Wake and tell me what you see..

Theres no comparison, freakin Wake is a rocket ship, but the frame's are there on those young players...Have you seen Geathers, great frame, big dude..

Congrats on your boy Ike, good call, and like I said, our front office, staff and code, give's us advantage's on turning players around who have natural talent..I really like that dynamic.

"Sceeto wrote:

I like Wake and I think he has good potential, but he didn't exactly have an "excellent" pre-season, IMO. He needs a better variety of moves. He has a great bull-rush and burst, but I think he needs to be able to drop his shoulder and run the arc better. He's gotten better, but he still is going to need to get better in coverage. With that said, I do really like him and if he keeps working hard, I think he'll be a good player. I just hope he can get it done this year, but there are some ?s, imo. Our LB crew as a whole actually has me a bit concerned for this season. I do think we'll see more of Q. Moses this year than maybe previously expected. That may be a good thing.

all iam claiming with wake, is he will be a great pass rusher, and servicable, maybe better, at the other duties...so for me iam excited about that, cause I had my questions..I have some peace of mind now...

The reason why I started this thread was because I believe, from what the preseason tape showed, he answered all the offseason question's..was wondering why there was no hype about it considering the attention it got this offseason.

Ive extrapulated his numbers like most here have, there's a decent sample size of data thats encouraging, if he and those numbers prove correct, and this guy is doing what he does best, about 3 times as much as what he did last year {which isn't that much considering his rep count}, man are we gonna be talkin about this guy..

"djphinfan wrote:

all iam claiming with wake, is he will be a great pass rusher, and servicable at the other duties...so for me iam good, cause I want him rushing the passer as much as schematically possible, and keep his failure risk at his other duties low by doing so.

The reason why I started this thread was because I believe, from what the preseason tape showed, he answered all the offseason question's..Thats huge for us, wanted to talk about it.

Ive extrapulated his numbers like most here have, there's a decent sample size of data thats encouraging, if he and those numbers prove correct, and this guy is doing what he does best, about 3 times as much as what he did last year {which isn't that much considering his rep count}, man are we gonna be talkin about this guy..

I hear ya deej, but one of the things I pointed out was about his pass-rushing. Believe me, I like the guy and I'm psyched to see what he can do and i think he can be a good player, but regarding pass-rushing; I said that I think he needs to be able to drop his shoulder and run the arc a bit better. He needs a better variety of moves. He now relies a bit to much on his bull-rush. Also, if you're going to be successful, you're going to have to be able to cover as well as pass-rushing. These days, with the passing game wide-open and so many teams passing on first down, etc, you never know what's really a run or passing down so you better be a somewhat well-rounded player.

However, like you, I am praying to see a more dominate pass-rush from this team and I really hope Wake will be a big part part. We'll see.