Gosselin: Anthony Hitchens doesn't have best measurables, but Cowboys' "Tampa 2" allows for that

[CF74]

Your hoping he makes a career out of making tackles six yards downfield

Not talking about his decline but his glory Pro Bowl years lol

 

[jrumann59]

This I agree with. At least the guy can play.

The reach doesn't bother me as much as when you consider his football instincts.

There is literally nothing exceptional about Hitchens. I'm shocked he even had that many tackles. When you watch him, he doesn't appear nearly as impressive as the other two. And yet he was more productive than them.

I am hoping he is just one of those producers that doesn't stand out. In that case, there is a role for him on this team.

His play reminds me of Brady James. Not flashy but always around ball . He appears to cover better than James.

 

[RonSpringsdaman20]

I'm rooting for the kid.. we don't know what he is yet....
BUT...
Telvin Smith would have looked good with a star on his helmut.

 

[Zekeats]

Going out on a limb. Hitchens starts by midseason.. either at MLB or WLB.

The limb just broke

 

[TwoDeep3]

What I don't understand about Twodeep is, he gripes about fans on this forum all the time! Why he cares so much about what fans on here think is really crazy. To him it's always about "how come fans here do this or do that", or "how come fans here say bad things about some things then say good things about the other things"....around and around and around...with the fans on this forum. Why should he care what other fans besides him think?

It's like he comes here to try to cast dispensations on how or why fans say the things they say! smh

Pot, meet kettle.

 

[TwoDeep3]

So says the guy that had a sig for years talking about 'real fans' and 'you' have been found unworthy.

I am not the only one that think this way. As evidenced in this thread, several others feel the same way. Your martyr routine is amusing but not compelling.

And we both know what you were getting at when you talked about:



Being coy is not convincing either.

You do categorize fans. If you don't like being called out on it then stop doing it. If you continue to do it then quit complaining when people take issue with it.

That sig was in direct contradiction to the ludicrous nature of your sig, Fuzzy. I am not a coward because I assess what the team has in my opi9nion then speak about it. People take issue with most of the things I say. I have no problem with that. But I call out hypocrisy when I see it, and this place is lousy with it.

If you don't like it, don't read it. Simple as that.

Vegas will not post odds on you doing such.

 

[the_h0wey]

Go look at that the linebackers used from '91 until '99... check out their sizes.

And that defense was very similar to this one.

I think last year made it apparent this Defense doesn't work in todays NFL like it did 15 to 23 years ago.

 

[jnday]

I think last year made it apparent this Defense doesn't work in todays NFL like it did 15 to 23 years ago.

It was sure called into question if Kiffen's version would work. The jury is still out. injuries made it impossible to get a fair evaluation. I didn't see them run a scheme that was comparable to the Seahawks as was promised when Kiffen was hired as DC. If they ran it, it was so bad that I couldn't recognize it.

 

[speedkilz88]

I think last year made it apparent this Defense doesn't work in todays NFL like it did 15 to 23 years ago.

There are plenty of teams running the same or similar scheme that have been very successful. Including the Seattle Seahawks.

 

[xwalker]

SportsDay columnist Rick "Goose" Gosselin hosted a chat Monday to talk about all things sports. Here are some of the highlights:

Question: I’m curious why so many media members and Cowboy fans think that Anthony Hitchens out of Iowa was a bad pick. As a Hawkeyes fan I can say several Hawks that are or were in the NFL have or had very productive NFL careers! I think it was a great pick!

Gosselin: Probably because of the height; he's 6-0, which is a bit short for an NFL linebacker. The draft is all about measurables. You rise or fall based on your height, weight, speed and strength. Too often college productivity is the last step in the equation. That's what hurt Johnny Manziel. And that's what hurt Hitchens. Good player, though. The Tampa 2 scheme allows you to play with players who don't have the ideal measurables but do have the speed.

Question: Anthony Hitchins the MLB in 2015, Sean Lee to the weak side, Bruce Carter the odd man out. Feasible?

Gosselin: Feasible. (DeVonte) Holloman also could be in the mix. Lee is the best player on that defense and I'd be reluctant to move him. That said, he's the best pass-coverage linebacker on this team and could play the weak side. If Lee gets hurt again, Hitchens is great insurance on the inside.

Question: Nothing against Hitchens, but couldn't they have gotten him in the seventh round. Isn't the draft about getting the best value? He may end being a great player, but everything I've read had him as a 7th or FA pre-draft. Obviously, mocks and ratings mean little, but still, if that was the consensus, was it smart to spend a fourth?

Gosselin: The Cowboys liked him there and took him there. His productivity certainly warranted it. His measurables didn't. He fits a need. You don't have to have all the ideal height-weight measurables to play in this Tampa 2 scheme. What you need is speed.

More... http://www.***BANNED-URL***/sports/...ut-cowboys-tampa-2-scheme-allows-for-that.ece

There is really nothing wrong with his measureables. He is 6'-1/2" which is slightly below average; however, he has longer than average arm length which somewhat offsets the height issue.

He had a 1.61 10-yard split which is better than many LBs drafted earlier. He had the same forty and ten as Sean Lee.

 

[Idgit]

I think last year made it apparent this Defense doesn't work in todays NFL like it did 15 to 23 years ago.

We really weren't playing the defense we wanted last year. We started out building toward that. But when the pressure dropped off and the wheels fell off the DL and MLB position, and we didn't have enough press CBs for a while, we ended up playing what we all saw to try to limit big plays for a unit that had no pressure and no healthy coverage LBs. And I use the term 'limit' loosely. The original plan, though, was very different. If we had down linemen able to rotate and get pressure and CBs playing press-bail with rangier Ss looking inside for the ball, it'd have been pretty fun, schematically, to watch. We'd probably still have given up a ton of yardage, but the big plays (turnovers) would have kept coming at a higher rate, and the games would have been more fun to watch. I think we see more of that this year, just because we've got more consistent depth (even if the players aren't as good). Hopefully we get lucky with the cover corner we added, too, for the inevitable injury to Claiborne/Carr/Scandrick.

 

[Nightman]

We really weren't playing the defense we wanted last year. We started out building toward that. But when the pressure dropped off and the wheels fell off the DL and MLB position, and we didn't have enough press CBs for a while, we ended up playing what we all saw to try to limit big plays for a unit that had no pressure and no healthy coverage LBs. And I use the term 'limit' loosely. The original plan, though, was very different. If we had down linemen able to rotate and get pressure and CBs playing press-bail with rangier Ss looking inside for the ball, it'd have been pretty fun, schematically, to watch. We'd probably still have given up a ton of yardage, but the big plays (turnovers) would have kept coming at a higher rate, and the games would have been more fun to watch. I think we see more of that this year, just because we've got more consistent depth (even if the players aren't as good). Hopefully we get lucky with the cover corner we added, too, for the inevitable injury to Claiborne/Carr/Scandrick.

Another year of experience, healthier, younger, in some cases better players and I see a big improvement.

 

[xwalker]

I think last year made it apparent this Defense doesn't work in todays NFL like it did 15 to 23 years ago.

It worked really well in 2012 for the Bears. They were a top 5 defense and #1 or #2 in turnovers.

 

[DBOY3141]

There is really nothing wrong with his measureables. He is 6'-1/2" which is slightly below average; however, he has longer than average arm length which somewhat offsets the height issue.

He had a 1.61 10-yard split which is better than many LBs drafted earlier. He had the same forty and ten as Sean Lee.

McClay likes speed and speed isn't always about the 40 time. I'm hoping for the best out of all our draft picks.

 

[MichaelWinicki]

I think last year made it apparent this Defense doesn't work in todays NFL like it did 15 to 23 years ago.

Yep, it's apparent all that talent out there was being held back by the scheme.

 

[MichaelWinicki]

It worked really well in 2012 for the Bears. They were a top 5 defense and #1 or #2 in turnovers.

2012?

That was a long time ago.