Closer look at talented Nebraska DT Jared Crick, who might enter the upcoming draft.

[cowboyjoe]

http://huskerextra.com/sports/football/article_cb7be228-9f0a-5414-ace8-ffa4b7913ed8.html

"Jared is a football guy," John Papuchis was saying.

A football guy. A synonym for "student of the game." A junkie of X's and O's.

Yet in 2010, Crick has 63 tackles, and a team-leading 16 tackles-for-losses and 9½ sacks.

Compare those to these numbers: 34 tackles, 15½ tackles-for-losses and 6 sacks. Those were the numbers of Oklahoma's Gerald McCoy last year. He was the third pick overall in the most recent NFL Draft.

Different systems. Different circumstances. Different players. But if you are one who lives by the numbers, understand that Crick's speak loudly.

Asked about his season on Sunday, Crick said: "Wasn't what I wanted. But I can't say it was terrible by any means."

Started the season slower than he'd like, Crick said. The finish was better.

Oklahoma's Landry Jones knows about that fast finish. The 6-foot-5, 285-pound Crick was a royal pest to the quarterback during the second half of the Big 12 Championship.

An 8-yard sack in a crucial situation. A 14-yard sack in another crucial situation. With the season's goal on the line, in the second half of a tie game, Crick was the force he was projected to be before the season. He was giving the quarterback headaches.

 

[jblaze2004]

could he play DE. He seems like he is pretty good at getting to the QB which is something we need along the D-line. Along with a Monster NT. Maybe Powe from Ole Miss is still avaible in the 2nd or 3rd round.

Or we can hope price-brent adds 10-20lbs of muscle and work on his technique and man the nose.

anymore good NT prospects maybe
Sione Fua, NT, Stanford who is listed at 6'2 308 but we can get him to hopefully add 20lbs or muscle.

 

[Kevlee06]

Yes. He could play the DE spot in a 3-4. Probably better suited there. And could move inside in the Nickle & Dime. Would actually provide some solid pass-rush ability in the base defense that is pretty non-existent with Spears and Igor there now.

 

[SDogo]

Thing is this guy could possibly be had with our 2nd round pick and would be a great addition.

 

[Doomsday101]

I like Crick but I would be more inclind to swap our 1st and get an additional 2nd rd pick to get Crick.

 

[Rynie]

I like Crick, but I think he's overrated. For example, toward the end of last season Crick was getting all this praise, saying "he's the next Suh" yada yada yada. Crick is a beast, but he was pretty absent all season long compared to what everyone thought he was going to be this season.

 

[Randy White]

Thing is this guy could possibly be had with our 2nd round pick and would be a great addition.

Make it a 3rd ( since it's early ) and you have yourself a deal, but I still wouldn't draft him.

Perhaps is Bo's system, or the this little pesky fact that he's not playing next to this guy named Suh anymore, but Crick had disgressed from last year. Bo's system is a little like the old Cowboys' " Flex ", which is based on read and react, hold your ground, and block passing lanes more than actually attacking the QB. Maybe Crick would blossom on a more attack system, especially if it's a 4-3 as a DT.

Having said that, the reason why I wouldn't draft him is because the Cowboys have dept at the D-line. Hostile posted yesterday that both Bowens and Hatcher are still restricted free agents and both are much better than Crick is right now. Along with Ratt, Brent, Igor ( who's salary is very reasonable for next year at 3 million ) and Lissemore, who showed he could be a solid player in limited time, I don't see the need to spend an early pick on a D-lineman.

and at worst case scenario, Spears could be brought back for a 1 year deal since it's doubtful he'll get a long term contract coming off an injury.

 

[Kevlee06]

Sticking with the status quo still doesn't help this team. The defense sucked the entire year. Outside of Ratliff and sometimes Bowens no D-lineman can get pressure on the QB which has a negative effect on Ware and Spencer. Hatcher, Lissenmore, and Bowen may be good for depth but this team needs more playmakers to be successful. Need players that could start on other teams. Just can't depend on Ware to get pressure on the QB especially in the base defense.

And people were saying "it's Bo's defense" last spring when trying to justify McCoy being rated above Suh. But I think Bo's teachings make for better all around defensive players who can play in any system.

 

[The Realist]

I like Crick, but I think he's overrated. For example, toward the end of last season Crick was getting all this praise, saying "he's the next Suh" yada yada yada. Crick is a beast, but he was pretty absent all season long compared to what everyone thought he was going to be this season.

Yes, he should have had a lot more than 16 TFL's and 9.5 sacks.

 

[Manwiththeplan]

Yes, he should have had a lot more than 16 TFL's and 9.5 sacks.

Can't see how Crick hasn't silenced his critics. I think he should come back for his senior season to have a chance to go top 5, but he's been a player w/o Suh

 

[BigWillie]

Yes, he should have had a lot more than 16 TFL's and 9.5 sacks.

Quite alot of those were coverage sacks. Like the Idaho game, which Crick put up great stats in, was a result of the secondary and Nate Enderle (aka Drew Bledsoe-Lite) having no idea when to get rid of the ball.

Crick needs to develop consistency. He will stat sheet stuff, but he can be rather non-existent in games for long stretches and can get blown off the ball quite often.

Now if Crick had played all year like he did in the Oklahoma game, I would likely take all that back.

 

[Manwiththeplan]

Hostile posted yesterday that both Bowens and Hatcher are still restricted free agents and both are much better than Crick is right now.

I'm pretty sure Hos is wrong and they are both UFA. They have completed 5 years (after next weeks game). Unless he knows something I don't about the labor rules that will be in place next year

 

[Randy White]

Sticking with the status quo still doesn't help this team..

and changing for the sake of changing doesn't help it either. This same " status quo " was one of the top defenses 11 months earlier and since most are still young players, they didn't suddenly went from the top to the bottom because of talent. Change the coordinator and bring somebody in here who could take advantage of their talents.

Stephen Bowens = 26 years old
Jason Hatcher = 28 years old
Igor Olshansky = 28 years old
Jay Ratliff = 29 years old
Sean Lissemore = 23 years old
Josh Brent = 22 year old.

With the exception of Lissemore and Brent who weren't here, the other 4 plus Spears had an excellent year the season before. There's no reason to believe tha with the right system, they couldn't be good again.

As far as creating pressure as D-linemen, well, if that's what the coach asks, then change them to the 4-3 formation. The reason why the Cowboys changed to the 3-4 was to create pressure with the OLBs for the most part. I just finished conducting a quick research of as many 3-4 defenses and their starting D-line as I could think of. I looked into the:

Steelers
Packers
Ravens
Chiefs
Dullphins
Jets
Chargers
Deadskins
Patriots
49ers
Bills
Broncos

and their starting D-linemen. That's 12 teams with 3 starting D-linemen each for a total of 36 D-linemen ( I didn't look into their back ups ) . Out of those 36 D-linemen, these were the sack leaders:

Haloti Ngata = 5.5, Ravens
B.J. Raji = 6, Packers
Antonio Garay = 5, Chargers
Justin Smith = 5.5, 49ers
Kyle Williams = 5.5, Bills

Everybody else, including the Cowboys ( which would make it 13 teams ), had 3's, 2's, 1's and a bunch had ZEROS.

The 3-4 D-linemen is not made to create pressure on the QB. They're usually in the 300+ lbs mold, with a strong below the waist base, but not necessarily quickness. Their primary job is to stop the run AND tie up the O-line so the LBs can make the plays. Each coordinator may have a different style, for example Wade wants the NG to penetrate more as opposed to just tie up the center and guard, but for the most part, the base philosophy is for them to stop the run first. Asking them to all of the sudden become Warren Sapp lite is not realistic.

 

[Randy White]

I'm pretty sure Hos is wrong and they are both UFA. They have completed 5 years (after next weeks game). Unless he knows something I don't about the labor rules that will be in place next year

The current rules are they had to have completed 6 years.

 

[Manwiththeplan]

The current rules are they had to have completed 6 years.

you're right, I thought it was moved from 4 to 5, not 4 to 6