Twitter: Damone Clark Relative Athletic Score

[CapnB]

The kid was a legit 1st round talent coming out of LSU. The so called "hype" that some think the cowboys are doing is something that many around the league have thought as well. Saw a post just yesterday from a media person that covers the giants talking about Clarke and wishing the giants took swings like that on players from here on out.

 

[Ken]

This guy is even more of a freak, but is supposedly on trade block.



So RAS is very nice but actual production trumps all.

That said I trust DQ to maximize freakish athletes.

Simmons is a great player too.

If Clark is anywhere near as good, look out.

 

[ondaedg]

Sean Lee is up there as one of my favourite Cowboys ever and a very sad "what if". I remember his tackle for loss a few years' ago against the Eagles that basically took them out of field goal range, Flew like a missile across the field to tackle the ball carrier.

That man could have been a 1st ballot HOF if injuries hadn't hammered him.

He wasn’t big enough to take the abuse he took especially with our smallish DL.

 

[Praxit]

.. physical IQ, is much different then football IQ.

 

[conner01]

This guy is even more of a freak, but is supposedly on trade block.



So RAS is very nice but actual production trumps all.

That said I trust DQ to maximize freakish athletes.

That is a good point
Just how does RAS actually translate to the field would be interesting
Nothing is a better indication of success than previous success though

 

[TequilaCowboy]

He needs to be our LB coach.

Why is Lee not our full time linebacker coach? It's a travesty to not utilize his knowledge of the position and ability to teach. I thought that was his calling. Can't find out what he is doing now. I did find out Manny Diaz is the DC and the LB coach for the Nittany Lions. So i guess that's why they are not gonna hire someone to threaten Diaz hold. Even moreso to bring Sean to Dallas i would think. But then got my shovel and kept digging some more found out that Dallas LB coach is Scott McCurley....an ex GB coach who came with MM....so good buddies .. That is why he is not our LB coach. LOLLLLL, yeah just call me Inspector Clouseau .

 

[beware_d-ware]

Sean Lee had a terrible 40 time but put up huge numbers of tackles also. This shows that he recognizes schemes and can sense where the ball was going to. I also believe that tackles does translate well into the pros and Sean Lee is proof of it.

That's why it's good to look at dozens of linebackers instead of only Sean Lee.

NFL Draft Analytics for DEF | By The Numbers (nbcsportsedge.com)

From the article.

If you want to play linebacker in the NFL, you better be fast -- specifically straight-line speed -- and you better have a lot of tackles in college -- specifically solo tackles. Everything else is basically worthless. That includes the bench press, side-to-side combine drills, and assisted tackles.

You rarely see a trend as strong as this in NFL Draft analytics, unless you’re building models -- you’ll see the results of mine in future columns. If a linebacker doesn’t run the 40-yard dash in under 4.79 seconds, it’s really bad news. Meanwhile, those linebackers that run under 4.6 seconds have had a pretty high hit rate for NFL Draft standards. Speed kills at this position, and it’s arguably only going to get more important with NFL offenses changing.

Annoyingly big graph of solo tackles vs NFL success

Spoiler

https://lh6.***BROKEN***/oBx3hScEMjnBKisW2E2QQjf3Xx891p2gFWiQSQKICnhrT_98VSBx8kZzUHrK37AP50aysbEXat4cwT0nWySkUg1r_XjOaQt1TOQtqG2GfY_WryANJuNWceoF3X15DlPXecriTyS-

Big graph of LB 40 times NFL success. The title is wrong, but the axes are correct.

Spoiler

https://lh4.***BROKEN***/l_C7bGitRLyMWid8dQvHNcVbRzrE2jVtmdTGFf5SzwV0CO_w-xcEV_sxRFiob0f_3Z5H12EDvOQpJ6cndCLV8hNIewW00_2v8GXXJwcv3sfc5-rZ4eRst2wwKOMljGaRvEo6mNqU

If you look at the average value trendline, both Clark's 40 time (4.57) and solo tackles per game (6.4!) predict him having an AV of about 0.5 per game.

So for fun, let's say that's an AV of 8 over a 16 game season. For comparison, Pro Football Reference gave Anthony Hitchens AVs of 6 or 7 for his time in Dallas. Meanwhile, Sean Lee's career averages out to 11 AV, if you average out his total value by games started (too few).

So statistically, Clark projects as like a better Anthony Hitchens. And he is on the on the juicy high-upside end of both distributions, that suggest a career that could be closer to a guy like Lee.

I know this is TL;DR and I know I'm stat nerding out, but there is predictive power in large distributions.

 

[jterrell]

The Cowboys need instincts and Football IQ at LB more than just raw athleticism.

As a former LB I agree to an extent. Then again last week Micah ran 4 yards away from the play and reversed field and still caught the ball carry at the one, ultimately saving 7 points.

Last year Warner playing MLB kept getting 30 yards down field on pass coverage at the sidelines!!! Took Amari out of that playoff game.

Freaky athleticism is tough to match.

 

[CouchCoach]

In other words he's really good

That's great that his family does well but how about him?

 

[dsturgeon]

Why is Lee not our full time linebacker coach? It's a travesty to not utilize his knowledge of the position and ability to teach. I thought that was his calling. Can't find out what he is doing now. I did find out Manny Diaz is the DC and the LB coach for the Nittany Lions. So i guess that's why they are not gonna hire someone to threaten Diaz hold. Even moreso to bring Sean to Dallas i would think. But then got my shovel and kept digging some more found out that Dallas LB coach is Scott McCurley....an ex GB coach who came with MM....so good buddies .. That is why he is not our LB coach. LOLLLLL, yeah just call me Inspector Clouseau .

He is not a LB coach because the cowboys would have to pay for his rehab when he injured himself watching game film

 

[Jarntt]

I can't wait to see this guy play and his athletic ability should really shine in our defense if he is good enough to play. That being said, other than the neck which is just a massive issue, my only concern with Clark was that to me he looked like he played too upright and "light" in the run game at the point of attack and not violent or strong like great run stopping LBs. Hopefully this is just because of his height and not an accurate impression on my part. I didn't see a guy drilling ball carriers, but more grabbing them but again hopefully this was just me not seeing enough of him because obviously the tackling ability didn't seem to ever be in question

 

[CWR]

In other words he's really good

He has the heart for it also. This one might be pay back for Jaylon.

 

[maryquality]

Sean Lee was defensive coordinator in a player’s body. The guy was a football genius when it came to processing offenses. The injuries killed a Hall of Fame career.

Lee was one of my favorite players. He even took a pay cut to stay on the team. I can remember when he broke his hand/arm, and he played with a cast on it - looked like a club!! LOL

 

[CoachD]

The cowboy hype machine in full effect

When isn't it?

 

[mahoneybill]

Sean Lee had a terrible 40 time but put up huge numbers of tackles also. This shows that he recognizes schemes and can sense where the ball was going to. I also believe that tackles does translate well into the pros and Sean Lee is proof of it.

Dat Nugyen( sp?) was another don’t believe he was fast but good instincts

 

[maryquality]

Dat Nugyen( sp?) was another don’t believe he was fast but good instincts

Dat, I believe, was the first ever Vietnamese player in the NFL. A serious neck injury ended his career too soon.

 

[cnuball21]

Just hope he's made a full recovery to return to being that type of athlete.

He's the modern day LBr and I love how he'd give us someone who is actually physical and will bang up blocks.

 

[Silver Surfer]

Would have loved to see Lee play with this line in front of him. Them wreaking havoc and forcing the QB to throw early with Lee reading his eyes and reacting. Would have been fun.

 

[Pass2Run]

In other words he's really good

Love the way the Cowboys are going for players who are generally very high on the RAS scores.

It's not the end all analysis, but it's a very good indicator and part of the reason I think they're having more recent success.

That said, I don't see Clark as any sort of replacement for LVE right now. If they were to start him in LVE's spot, it would be stupid, because he doesn't have the experience.

That said, I like it for depth. They had to activate him right now due to the rules, I suspect. JMO, but I don't think he plays much this season, at least during the regular season. A few snaps here and there maybe.

Then again, maybe I'm wrong, as I've been before. I just don't see the need to throw an unknown element out there when you already know what you have with LVE.

And regardless of what people say, he's been playing pretty well this year.

 

[Captain43Crash]

The Cowboys need instincts and Football IQ at LB more than just raw athleticism.

100%!!