Billy Bullocks said:
seriously? have you seen him play in the 3-4? Totally agree with you Rack. How is standing up against the run any different than being a downlineman. You still need to fight off your blocks and get to teh ball carrier, that part of it doesn't change.
Actually, while I don't know whether it would make him better or not, there is a difference here.
As a LBer, he is playing in more space and has a better chance at getting past the tackle using his speed. The down is that he loses some leverage, as the lineman can pop him in the chest.
Note that this applies to outside running plays, in which he will still have to worry about guards and even FBs.
Now if it is an inside wham, he has either advantage or disadvantage, depending on which gap the end is lining up in and where the LBer's responsibilty gap is. TOo many ways that can go for me to sit and describe - but it can be either easier or harder.
If they are going straight against him, off tackle, it's about a wash, because his main responsibility will be to stand the tackle up until the RB gets there and then either A) keep the hole small enough to keep any cutback lanes from developing and allowing a gap LB or DB to come in or B) break the block and get to the RB, which really depends on where the RB is going to go and where the OLB's support is.
