FuzzyLumpkins
The Boognish
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Sometimes as a LB push comes to shove literally and you need to be able to stack and shed OL if you want to make plays in the run game. This fact of football seems to have the club with somewhat of a dilemma even if it is the kind you want to have.
Hitchens is nothing if not precocious and his ability kept us afloat last season. He has short arms though and stacking OL particularly the blockers that hang around the edge is a dicey proposition. If he beats them to the punch or simply outflank them he can do it but overall it is something good blockers take advantage of.
At the WILL and SAM he is lined up ~5 yards behind the los. There his ability to quickly diagnose along with his running ability allows him to flank would be blockers. OTOH, at the SAM he right on the line and tackles and TE usually have rangy builds and are in arms reach at the snap of the ball. It's strange when boiled down but it is easier for TE to block him than guards.
While the MIKE is a more natural fit for him than SAM. We need somebody to play it and we've ended up with a pretty interesting battle at starting LB even if it is for the first 4 weeks. Not only does an eventual third MLB need to be better than his opponents but he has the additional handicap of playing in Hitchens best spot. He has to make up for that difference as well. Good for him though that McClain is such an enigma. You need 3 guys that can play MIKE on the roster.
Brinkley seems to have instincts and is physical. He isn't as athletic as Lee. I really do not have any feel for him in coverage. The TC footage with all the ground level shots makes it difficult to see anything beyond him running from sideline to sideline. Tonight's game should be very revealing.
Wilber has had a very up and down career. Drafted as a 3-4 OLB by Rob Ryan, he barely played sparingly behind entrenched starters, before Kiffen and now Marinelli have taken over with their 4-3. Coaches then similarly tried to figure out what to do with him. That second year with the release of Ware and Spencer's leg, they started him out on the line and moved him to LB after Carter, Durant, Lee and the kitchen sink got hurt midseason.
He played well to end that year. I particularly remember him manhandling Hynoski, a decent FB, with the Giants in NY. You might recall that the defense had been quite awful to that point. I think GB was the week before and I may have had some relative bias but I was quite encouraged by his play. On the road in a meaningful late season game against a division rival is what it is.
He came back in last year and laid an egg. Looked stiff and slow during the preseason. He looked every bit that 4.7 he ran at the combine chasing guys. In pass defense his best attributes are jamming receivers and rushing the passer not running in space. Putting him in man is asking for trouble. He needs to find some of that 2013 magic.
Gachkar is new to me. I haven't taken the time to watch him play for the Chargers. The Chargers did have a decent defense and he made a good amount of tackles. He runs very well:
http://www.nfldraftscout.com/ratings/dsprofile.php?pyid=69980&draftyear=2011&genpos=OLB
So that is always a big plus in my book. He was hurt going into camp but I believe he is healthy now.
First watch, these are the guys I am going to pay most attention to tonight. I know the DL that are going to make it.
Hitchens is nothing if not precocious and his ability kept us afloat last season. He has short arms though and stacking OL particularly the blockers that hang around the edge is a dicey proposition. If he beats them to the punch or simply outflank them he can do it but overall it is something good blockers take advantage of.
At the WILL and SAM he is lined up ~5 yards behind the los. There his ability to quickly diagnose along with his running ability allows him to flank would be blockers. OTOH, at the SAM he right on the line and tackles and TE usually have rangy builds and are in arms reach at the snap of the ball. It's strange when boiled down but it is easier for TE to block him than guards.
While the MIKE is a more natural fit for him than SAM. We need somebody to play it and we've ended up with a pretty interesting battle at starting LB even if it is for the first 4 weeks. Not only does an eventual third MLB need to be better than his opponents but he has the additional handicap of playing in Hitchens best spot. He has to make up for that difference as well. Good for him though that McClain is such an enigma. You need 3 guys that can play MIKE on the roster.
Brinkley seems to have instincts and is physical. He isn't as athletic as Lee. I really do not have any feel for him in coverage. The TC footage with all the ground level shots makes it difficult to see anything beyond him running from sideline to sideline. Tonight's game should be very revealing.
Wilber has had a very up and down career. Drafted as a 3-4 OLB by Rob Ryan, he barely played sparingly behind entrenched starters, before Kiffen and now Marinelli have taken over with their 4-3. Coaches then similarly tried to figure out what to do with him. That second year with the release of Ware and Spencer's leg, they started him out on the line and moved him to LB after Carter, Durant, Lee and the kitchen sink got hurt midseason.
He played well to end that year. I particularly remember him manhandling Hynoski, a decent FB, with the Giants in NY. You might recall that the defense had been quite awful to that point. I think GB was the week before and I may have had some relative bias but I was quite encouraged by his play. On the road in a meaningful late season game against a division rival is what it is.
He came back in last year and laid an egg. Looked stiff and slow during the preseason. He looked every bit that 4.7 he ran at the combine chasing guys. In pass defense his best attributes are jamming receivers and rushing the passer not running in space. Putting him in man is asking for trouble. He needs to find some of that 2013 magic.
Gachkar is new to me. I haven't taken the time to watch him play for the Chargers. The Chargers did have a decent defense and he made a good amount of tackles. He runs very well:
http://www.nfldraftscout.com/ratings/dsprofile.php?pyid=69980&draftyear=2011&genpos=OLB
So that is always a big plus in my book. He was hurt going into camp but I believe he is healthy now.
First watch, these are the guys I am going to pay most attention to tonight. I know the DL that are going to make it.
