CFZ Can Jerry please stop his love affair with injured linebackers?

[TheMarathonContinues]

Plus was a later round pick so taking a flier on an uber talented kid that is injured is worth the risk to me. I'll take that risk all day long.

The Jaylon Smith one was the real risk. Using a premium pick on a kid coming off a catastrophic knee injury was an unnecessary risk.

I agree. The Jaylon move was a flex for them. It became less about football and being proven "right". It's the same errors that plagues them throughout the 2nd round. They did not have to take Schoonmaker there....didn't have to take Joseph there...or Hill. But they have to prove they are the smartest guy in the room. Instead of taking the singles they want to go for the homeruns.

 

[TheMarathonContinues]

Good point. Wouldn’t mind any gamble after the 5th, but 2nd way too high. And like I put in original post, you’re just putting money on stupid odds if gambling on health at a position like LB.

I Think also a big issue is...you look around the league......there isn't much good linebacker play. Off the top I Think of the Ravens and 49ers as having solid play. But you look at the Eagles and my goodness they're begging for Cunningham to get healthy because Howie either can't draft linebackers or refuses to do so.

 

[bigE79]

Ironic the dude they drafted that would have been their best LB ended up being a better pass rusher.

And let's face it,if not for him,our pass rush is just average

 

[kskboys]

Why do I single out Jerry? Because he’s always been cheap with linebackers. Not until Dexter Coakley did he even bother re-signing one. And the amount of pre-injured linebackers we sign has wildcatter Jerry written all over it. The entire draft staff admits in interviews that they like to take chances on players rounds 2-4! Don’t we want a unit like the Niners field at LB?

Can we all agree that a linebacker is the most punishing physical position on the defense? It’s the running back of the defense. if you have a condition already, it WILL get exposed in the NFL.

• Sean Lee
• Jaylon Smith
• Damone Clark
• LVE
• and so on….

All guys who dropped in the draft because of physical concerns. How did they work out? That’s a lot of fairly high picks! For the ones that lasted more than a few seasons, how many times did our defense drop a notch as we waited for them to get healthy again? The MLB is often the QB of the defense. Wouldn’t it be nice to have continuity?

And now we lost the sweepstakes on ANOTHER injured LB, Shaq Leonard.

SOLUTION?

• Get some physical ‘steady eddies’ like Parcells or Jimmy drafted. Brady James, Kevin Burnett, Dixon Edwards, Darrin Smith, etc… don’t have to be 3-4 LBs, just no FRAGILE labels.
• If we’re going to gamble, let’s gamble on a small baller who can handle the punishment. Dexter Coakleys, Zach Thomas, London Fletchers of the world.
• Parsons was not drafted to be what he is right now. But he’s too good a pass rusher Not to be rotating on that defensive line, So appreciate the high pick we spent on him, but realize you never filled the LB role you had him pegged for at such a high pick.

This LB issue is magnified, because we sometimes struggle to find great DTs and Safeties are another weak position we go too cheap on lately and are paying for it, but that’s another thread.

Judgment day may be coming soon. Good offensive lines and offenses can still bully this team and there are plenty on the upcoming schedule to test us.

Very well said.

We need another Bradie James. He was not a great player, but he was a good player and always available.