Leighton continues to impress!
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INCowboysFan
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Vander Esch is doing fine, but I'm ready to see him make some plays. He has one TFL and 0 passes defended on the year. Yes, he's racking up a ton of solo tackles, which is great, but it's time to start seeing some impact plays. Jaylon was our best player last night, flying around and laying the wood to Watson a few times. 3 TFL, a sack, a pass defended 2 more hits on the QB.
tyke1doe
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First and foremost, we need sure tackling. Interceptions, strips and sacks will come. But I'm tired of defensive players whiffing on tackles. When the LVE machine tackles, offensive players don't move forward. Fundamentally sound. That's what we need.
SultanOfSix
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LVE is definitely playing well for a rookie. And like tyke1doe says, he is good at tackling. I wish other players were as fundamentally sound and knew how to do their jobs as well as this rookie.
TheCount
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My only issue with LVE is he's not a thumper. All of his tackles are drag downs, whereas someone like Jaylon actually brings the thump. Maybe it's because he's so tall, so he's losing leverage battles and it's not like he isn't a good tackler, it's just that with his size and athleticism, I expected a little more violence in his game.
Risen Star
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He's developing really nicely. It'll be his defense down the road. He'll be the leader.
CyberB0b
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I just don't think he's that guy.
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He has one less combined tackle than J.Smith.
No sacks where J.Smith has 3 at this time.
J. Smith made some wow tackles last night.
However nobody should be belittling LVE at all right now.
He might not make the wow tackles but he does make the majority of the tackles.
I was going to post earlier that some of this tackles seem odd that he is not slamming people or being big hits but at the same
time he is not missing most of them either nor getting any penalties for them. He is very steady and making the tackles.
This will become even more impressive once he gets bigger, stronger and gets more experience in the system.
As fast as he plays now you can still see him thinking before attacking.
When he has played enough that his exp kicks in he will be making even more tackles and my guess is those will turn into more
tackles for losses unless he is in coverage.
No sacks where J.Smith has 3 at this time.
J. Smith made some wow tackles last night.
However nobody should be belittling LVE at all right now.
He might not make the wow tackles but he does make the majority of the tackles.
I was going to post earlier that some of this tackles seem odd that he is not slamming people or being big hits but at the same
time he is not missing most of them either nor getting any penalties for them. He is very steady and making the tackles.
This will become even more impressive once he gets bigger, stronger and gets more experience in the system.
As fast as he plays now you can still see him thinking before attacking.
When he has played enough that his exp kicks in he will be making even more tackles and my guess is those will turn into more
tackles for losses unless he is in coverage.
CATCH17
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How many game changing plays have we seen from Sean Lee over the years? A Handful? And he is considered one of the best in the game.
LVE is making big plays. When Saquan Barkley is in open field and LVE takes him down with ease then he just made a huge play for your team that a lot of linebackers can't physically make.
The middle of our defense was atrocious last year and with Lee out we may have upgraded with Vander Esch instead of being awful there.
Sydla
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Really playing well for a rookie.
Question for those really paying attention........... have the Cowboys been mixing up where LVE and Smith have been playing? Meaning sometimes Smith plays MIKE and then plays WILL?
I think ideally Smith should be the WILL and LVE the MIKE down the road.
Question for those really paying attention........... have the Cowboys been mixing up where LVE and Smith have been playing? Meaning sometimes Smith plays MIKE and then plays WILL?
I think ideally Smith should be the WILL and LVE the MIKE down the road.
jrumann59
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I think that he is still a step slow, I think he needs a little more time to get 100% comfortable with his assignments. Still a little thinking and less reacting. I also believe he is a technician. Remmber last year basically Jaylon's rookie year he was flying everywhere and taking bad angles. I think LVE right now plays under too much control and wants to make 100% of all his tackle opportunities. I am fine with that. I would rather a guy learning the game be technique sound instead of a missile that only hits 50%.
CATCH17
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I agree with you but I would say the issue is a non issue.
He's also a baby and hasn't even been in a NFL offseason yet.
He's on the verge of being a superstar player in this league I think.
In a pass happy league Leighton Vander Esch is really a perfect linebacker.
CATCH17
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I love that guy. I hate that we picked him when we did but Jaylon is the easiest guy ever to cheer for.
He's got so much heart and wears it on his shoulder.
Denim Chicken
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Curious, why do you say that over Smith?
Sydla
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My one issue with Smith is that you can see that he still struggles at times to get off blocks. It's why I think he's better suited at WILL down the road.
People are pointing out coverage issues with our LBs but I think that's partly due to scheme. A couple times last night, the Texans had some easy 7-8 yard gains over the middle because our LBs are sprinting 15 yards downfield in zone coverage.