Jasper Brinkley All-22 Review

[xwalker]

Jasper Brinkley
Age 29
Height: 6015
Weight: 252
40 Yrd Dash: 4.72
20 Yrd Dash: 2.77
10 Yrd Dash: 1.64
225 Lb. Bench Reps: 26
Vertical Jump: 35 1/2
Broad Jump: 09'06"
20 Yrd Shuttle: 4.32
3-Cone Drill: 6.92

Basically the same as reported. A savvy veteran MLB that generally comes off the field in the Nickel. He would have been a 16 game starter if the defense had been in base to start all games.

He can move ok, and is not as slow as you might think based on the reports. He can get to the sidelines fairly well. He does not look like Bradie James in the final years with the Cowboys where he looked like he had bricks for shoes.

He is normally pointing and shouting instructions to the other defenders prior to the snap. His specialty is obviously taking on or avoiding blocks by OLinemen and having a feel for where the run is going.

He was ok in covering shallow crossing routes or playing a shallow zone. I didn’t see him exposed to any deep or intermediate coverage.

Summary: He would be fine as the MLB in the base defense as long as the Cowboys are playing a more conventional defense like they did last year and not asking the MLB to drop in to deep coverage like the old pure Tampa-2. Lee and Hitchens are likely to be the Nickel LBs even if RoMc was re-signed; therefore, if they need to play Brinkley as MLB in the base with Lee as WLB and Hitchens at SLB they would be fine.

 

[DBOY3141]

thanks for the info. So we have Lee, Hitchens, Wilbur, Rivers, Brinkley, Watson, and Gatcher. If we don't sign McClain and our interest in B. McKinnley is true, who do you think we go forward with?

 

[gimmesix]

Summary: He would be fine as the MLB in the base defense as long as the Cowboys are playing a more conventional defense like they did last year and not asking the MLB to drop in to deep coverage like the old pure Tampa-2. Lee and Hitchens are likely to be the Nickel LBs even if RoMc was re-signed; therefore, if they need to play Brinkley as MLB in the base with Lee as WLB and Hitchens at SLB they would be fine.

I've got to believe, based on the quality of the players, that this is the plan if we don't re-sign Rolando. I see Rivers and Gachkar as competition at best and backups at worst, but Gachkar has starting ability in the middle that would allow us to put Lee at WLB. I'd still rather have McClain back because he's the better player, but I can't blame Dallas for being wary of giving him much money.

If we get McClain back, an LB corps of Lee, McClain, Hitchens, Brinkley, Rivers and Gachkar seems like it would be an overall improvement over what we had.

 

[reddyuta]

I am not high on McKinney, we need a 3 down lb like Kendricks.

 

[xwalker]

thanks for the info. So we have Lee, Hitchens, Wilbur, Rivers, Brinkley, Watson, and Gatcher. If we don't sign McClain and our interest in B. McKinnley is true, who do you think we go forward with?

I see Lee at WLB with Hitchen at either MLB or SLB with Lee/Hitchens as the 2 LBs in the Nickel. That leaves either MLB for Brinkley or MLB/SLB for Gachkar. Wilber is likely the backup SLB and Rivers/Watson are likely the backup WLBs.

It will be an interesting position to watch in training camp.

I'll be surprised if the Cowboys really like McKinley that much unless he is available in the 3rd or later.

 

[xwalker]

I've got to believe, based on the quality of the players, that this is the plan if we don't re-sign Rolando. I see Rivers and Gachkar as competition at best and backups at worst, but Gachkar has starting ability in the middle that would allow us to put Lee at WLB. I'd still rather have McClain back because he's the better player, but I can't blame Dallas for being wary of giving him much money.

If we get McClain back, an LB corps of Lee, McClain, Hitchens, Brinkley, Rivers and Gachkar seems like it would be an overall improvement over what we had.

The Cowboys seem to have taken the approach of overloading at positions in terms of numbers going into training camp. They got burned in 2012 on the OL and 2013 on DL with injuries in training camp. The approach seemed to change in 2014 which was after McClay became the top dog. Despite their effort, they still ended up with Keith Smith and Cam Lawrence playing some snaps in 2014.

 

[erod]

So Brinkley plays against running teams and teams with lousy QBs. The Gachkar dude plays against the others.

Got it.

 

[DFWJC]

The Cowboys seem to have taken the approach of overloading at positions in terms of numbers going into training camp. They got burned in 2012 on the OL and 2013 on DL with injuries in training camp. The approach seemed to change in 2014 which was after McClay became the top dog. Despite their effort, they still ended up with Keith Smith and Cam Lawrence playing some snaps in 2014.

exactly

Marinelli and Will Clay have his ear. These are low risk, low cost insurance moves.

 

[gimmesix]

The Cowboys seem to have taken the approach of overloading at positions in terms of numbers going into training camp. They got burned in 2012 on the OL and 2013 on DL with injuries in training camp. The approach seemed to change in 2014 which was after McClay became the top dog. Despite their effort, they still ended up with Keith Smith and Cam Lawrence playing some snaps in 2014.

I've always liked the approach of getting veteran depth to back up the starters because you want to have guys step in who know what they are doing. That's an area that's always bugged me with Dallas, because we seem to put young, unproven, ST guys behind our starters (and a big reason for that is the ST part) and when we lose one we've got a guy out there swimming upstream.

I liked the approach last year of getting guys like Mincey and Terrell McClain to serve that kind of role for the DL. I just didn't like that we were looking to them as possible starters instead of backup depth. ... I'll kind of feel the same way if we don't bring Rolando back. Brinkley is a great depth acquisition if Rolando's the starter. These are guys we can actually platoon in at times to give the starters a rest.

 

[xwalker]

I've always liked the approach of getting veteran depth to back up the starters because you want to have guys step in who know what they are doing. That's an area that's always bugged me with Dallas, because we seem to put young, unproven, ST guys behind our starters (and a big reason for that is the ST part) and when we lose one we've got a guy out there swimming upstream.

I liked the approach last year of getting guys like Mincey and Terrell McClain to serve that kind of role for the DL. I just didn't like that we were looking to them as possible starters instead of backup depth. ... I'll kind of feel the same way if we don't bring Rolando back. Brinkley is a great depth acquisition if Rolando's the starter. These are guys we can actually platoon in at times to give the starters a rest.

These guys are veterans but still not too old:
Keith Rivers 28
Jasper Brinkley 29
Andrew Gachkar 26
Dekoda Watson 27 (added mid season 2014)

Darren McFadden 27 (6 months older than Murray)

Ryan Williams 24 (PS in 2014)

 

[jobberone]

Jasper Brinkley
Age 29
Height: 6015
Weight: 252
40 Yrd Dash: 4.72
20 Yrd Dash: 2.77
10 Yrd Dash: 1.64
225 Lb. Bench Reps: 26
Vertical Jump: 35 1/2
Broad Jump: 09'06"
20 Yrd Shuttle: 4.32
3-Cone Drill: 6.92

Basically the same as reported. A savvy veteran MLB that generally comes off the field in the Nickel. He would have been a 16 game starter if the defense had been in base to start all games.

He can move ok, and is not as slow as you might think based on the reports. He can get to the sidelines fairly well. He does not look like Bradie James in the final years with the Cowboys where he looked like he had bricks for shoes.

He is normally pointing and shouting instructions to the other defenders prior to the snap. His specialty is obviously taking on or avoiding blocks by OLinemen and having a feel for where the run is going.

He was ok in covering shallow crossing routes or playing a shallow zone. I didn’t see him exposed to any deep or intermediate coverage.

Summary: He would be fine as the MLB in the base defense as long as the Cowboys are playing a more conventional defense like they did last year and not asking the MLB to drop in to deep coverage like the old pure Tampa-2. Lee and Hitchens are likely to be the Nickel LBs even if RoMc was re-signed; therefore, if they need to play Brinkley as MLB in the base with Lee as WLB and Hitchens at SLB they would be fine.

Watched him in college and he can thump

 

[gimmesix]

These guys are veterans but still not too old:
Keith Rivers 28
Jasper Brinkley 29
Andrew Gachkar 26
Dekoda Watson 27 (added mid season 2014)

Darren McFadden 27 (6 months older than Murray)

Ryan Williams 24 (PS in 2014)

They are also not too expensive that they can't be bumped off in competition with a younger player or rookie. We've spent too many years just handing jobs to unproven players because we lacked quality depth. It seems that we've figured out we can get some guys with experience with prudent shopping so that we don't fall apart when we lose players to injuries.

 

[cowboys1981]

These guys are veterans but still not too old:
Keith Rivers 28
Jasper Brinkley 29
Andrew Gachkar 26
Dekoda Watson 27 (added mid season 2014)

Darren McFadden 27 (6 months older than Murray)

Ryan Williams 24 (PS in 2014)

Yeah, it works perfect. Once we're done with most of these guys they'll be in their late 20's or just pushing 30.

 

[BAT]

So Brinkley plays against running teams and teams with lousy QBs. The Gachkar dude plays against the others.

Got it.

Who plays against teams that can run AND throw?

 

[gimmesix]

I've got to believe, based on the quality of the players, that this is the plan if we don't re-sign Rolando. I see Rivers and Gachkar as competition at best and backups at worst, but Gachkar has starting ability in the middle that would allow us to put Lee at WLB. I'd still rather have McClain back because he's the better player, but I can't blame Dallas for being wary of giving him much money.

If we get McClain back, an LB corps of Lee, McClain, Hitchens, Brinkley, Rivers and Gachkar seems like it would be an overall improvement over what we had.

That was supposed to say Brinkley.

 

[xwalker]

Who plays against teams that can run AND throw?

Brinkley is OK in pass defense in the base where he is in shallow zones or picks up crossing routes in man-under. He is just not a guy that will be in when they are in the Nickel defense and he is not an option to play WLB in the base.

 

[Craig]

So Brinkley plays against running teams and teams with lousy QBs. The Gachkar dude plays against the others.

Got it.

So he can significantly contribute in at least 6 games this year.