Linebacker roles starting to become defined

[Kaiser]

I think its these 8, barring injury. Gachkar and Wilson are primarily Special Teamers and we keep an extra player at LB to take the Dwayne Harris jack of all trades ST roster spot.

Lee
McClain
Hitchens
Wilson
Gachkar
Brinkley
Rivers
Kyle Wilber

 

[Awakened]

I think its these 8, barring injury. Gachkar and Wilson are primarily Special Teamers and we keep an extra player at LB to take the Dwayne Harris jack of all trades ST roster spot.

Lee
McClain
Hitchens
Wilson
Gachkar
Brinkley
Rivers
Kyle Wilber

Do you give special teamers $2 Million guaranteed??

 

[xwalker]

Do you give special teamers $2 Million guaranteed??

The Cowboys did.

I think he is saying those players with be special teamers this season, not that they could play defense if needed. The LB coach has already said the top 3 are Lee, McClain and Hitchens.

They didn't expect McClain to return when they signed Gachkar and Brinkley. They always have to treat Lee as if he won't make it through the season, so backups are very important at LB.

 

[xwalker]

What did Eberflus say?

He said Hitchens, Lee and McClain are top 3.

 

[starfrombirth]

There is really no way to know where Wilson ranks. They paid decent money to Gachkar and Brinkley. If healthy, Rivers is probably ahead of a rookie.

FYI - James Anderson is gone. The the roster on the Cowboys website is not accurate.

I don't really care who is #4, just who makes the 53 and how many they keep. It will likely come down to a choice of something like keeping a veteran like Rivers or a young player like Nzeocha.

Lee
McClain
Hitchens
Wilson
Gachkar
Brinkley
If they keep 7, then Rivers or Nzeocha with Wilber being a long-shot.

Cam Lawrence has no chance, IMO.
Will Smith and Keith Smith are PS eligible.

Love your sig!

 

[DallasDW00ds0n]

I was actually thinking the opposite. LB is arguably the deepest position on the roster.

Our base defense is the nickel, so we're only trotting 2 LB's out on the field about 75% of the time. If one of Lee or McClain gets hurt, you have to feel confident with Hitchens in there after what he displayed last season as a rookie.

And if God forbid, Lee and McClain are both out at the same time, we'd still have Hitchens and Wilson (or Gachkar/Brinkley/Rivers) logging the majority of snaps at LB. You can do a lot worse. Like Cameron Lawrence.


Brinkley has the skillset to be a good special teams player. He blocked a punt that was returned for a TD in a game last November.

Brinkley is not a WLB.

Doesn't mean jack. Hitchens isn't playing in an ideal spot for his size right now

 

[darthseinfeld]

When Rivers, Brinkley, and Gachkar were first signed, there was speculation that at least two of them would be starters with the departures of Durant and Carter.

That was an excellent start to the off-season, said no one.

Rolando McClain hadn't been re-signed yet, so the signings were met with groans because all signs were pointing to a downgrade at the defense's strength last season.

Now it appears that all three of those signings were for depth purposes. Exhale. I don't see any of the three even cracking the top 4 LB spots.

The pecking order based off of Eberflus' comments appears to look like this:

1a) Lee
1b) McClain
3) Hitchens
4) Wilson

Hitchens and Wilson are the two most versatile back-ups at the position. Eberflus has said Hitchens and WIlson can play any of the three linebacker spots. That versatility was a big reason they were high on Wilson. It gives you the flexibility to mix and match guys easier in case of injuries (Ahem, Lee and McClain).

After the top 4, you have Gachkar and Brinkley.

Gachkar is the ST ace that has the ability to be a spot starter. He made Dekoda Watson expendable.

Brinkley was signed with the intention of him being a two-down starter in case things didn't work out with McClain, but now he's a luxury two down MLB. Good news is he can contribute on ST, so he's not completely useless with McClain healthy.

After the top 6, you have Rivers, Mark Nzeocha, Kyle Wilber, Cameron Lawrence, James Anderson and Will Smith.

I think only 1-2 guys make the cut from this group. Rivers was signed for the vet minimum, so he's easily expendable if he doesn't show anything in training camp. Nzeocha is intriguing because of his athleticism, but seems like a PS candidate. Wilber's days are numbered because he's not seeing the field in two LB sets and he's useless at DE. I don't know that I would call Wilber versatile, but one thing he has going for him is that he can play multiple positions (SLB and DE). Cam Lawrence is a waste of space.

Gachkar is a darkhorse SAM IMO. I wouldn't put money on it, but there is a possibility he could beat our Hitchens and Wilson

 

[darthseinfeld]

He said Hitchens, Lee and McClain are top 3.

That SAM spot is going to be interesting to see who wins. Wilson is a similar swiss army knife type LB that Hitchens, but I believe he is more suited to be a SAM then Hitchens is. I think he is a better downhill physical player whereas I see Hitchens more effective sideline to sideline. Gachkar to me is a real darkhorse in that if they want to play the position similar to what they did with Carter he is likely the best suited of the 3 to attack downhill and was rather effective at ILB in a 3-4(admitingly in limited snaps)

Even if McClain and Lee stay healthy, I think you could see all three get solid snaps at SAM

 

[tm1119]

I feel great about our LB's....I just wish we had a decent 1 tech so they can do their jobs effectively. Hard for any LB to look good when your 1 tech (Hayden) is being pushed back into your lap on run plays.

 

[darthseinfeld]

Brinkley is a guy I liked when he was in the draft and we were running a 3-4. Thought he was a good 3-4 strong side Mike and a good thumper. Similar to James. However thats why I dont like him now as his play style has never translated to an NFL 4-3. He may serve a role on the defense as a goalline LB, but thats it IMO

 

[dallasdave]

I think its these 8, barring injury. Gachkar and Wilson are primarily Special Teamers and we keep an extra player at LB to take the Dwayne Harris jack of all trades ST roster spot.

Lee
McClain
Hitchens
Wilson
Gachkar
Brinkley
Rivers
Kyle Wilber

sounds like a good group of LB's

 

[Kaiser]

Do you give special teamers $2 Million guaranteed??

You do when Hitchens and Lee have so many injuries on their record and you want to be three deep at every LB position. Dallas saw their season go down the drain two years ago when injuries to the had them signing street FA's to play every week, they aren't going to let that happen to the LB corps this year.

 

[Awakened]

You do when Hitchens and Lee have so many injuries on their record and you want to be three deep at every LB position. Dallas saw their season go down the drain two years ago when injuries to the had them signing street FA's to play every week, they aren't going to let that happen to the LB corps this year.

I guess it's just a semantics thing. No big deal. But I'd say Brinkley and Gachkar are primarily backups who may end up starting. They can also play special teams, but the reason they were paid so much was to play LB. In other words, they were paid so much because they would be adequate as starting LBers.

 

[Bluefin]

Brinkley is a guy I liked when he was in the draft and we were running a 3-4. Thought he was a good 3-4 strong side Mike and a good thumper. Similar to James. However thats why I dont like him now as his play style has never translated to an NFL 4-3. He may serve a role on the defense as a goalline LB, but thats it IMO

Jasper Brinkley was signed with the expectation of being the starting MLB.

The team didn't appear to be confident in re-signing Rolando McClain at the time.

Brinkley will have a chance to earn a role just like everyone else and McClain is by no means a lock to play every game, so we need injury insurance in the middle.

But I have to wonder if Brink will be active for games when McClain is, right now I say the answer is no.

 

[Bluefin]

He said Hitchens, Lee and McClain are top 3.

Matt Eberflus has a new interview up today on the Mothership.

It opens with him saying, "Nickel LBs in today's game have to be able to play all downs."

"So us looking for the first and second down LB anymore, that's gone away, many years ago."

"So we're looking for athletes, guys that can play in any system."

"You look at the best LBs in the league, they all can move, they're all intelligent and they all can strike."

"We're just looking for those things in our LBs."

 

[xwalker]

Brinkley is a guy I liked when he was in the draft and we were running a 3-4. Thought he was a good 3-4 strong side Mike and a good thumper. Similar to James. However thats why I dont like him now as his play style has never translated to an NFL 4-3. He may serve a role on the defense as a goalline LB, but thats it IMO

Jasper Brinkley was signed with the expectation of being the starting MLB.

The team didn't appear to be confident in re-signing Rolando McClain at the time.

Brinkley will have a chance to earn a role just like everyone else and McClain is by no means a lock to play every game, so we need injury insurance in the middle.

But I have to wonder if Brink will be active for games when McClain is, right now I say the answer is no.

Brinkley is a solid veteran 2 down LB. He is not nearly as bad in coverage as Bradie James. Brinkley can carry receivers across the formation reasonably well, he's just never going to be a Nickel LB.

I agree that when they signed him they were not expecting RoMc to return.

 

[Tenkamenin]

Do you give special teamers $2 Million guaranteed??

considering the injuries we suffered at the position last season, yes!

 

[FuzzyLumpkins]

Brinkley is a solid veteran 2 down LB. He is not nearly as bad in coverage as Bradie James. Brinkley can carry receivers across the formation reasonably well, he's just never going to be a Nickel LB.

I agree that when they signed him they were not expecting RoMc to return.

If we are going to continue to play undersized and/or weak players at the 1 then the MIKE had better have the size to take on blockers. McClain and Brinkley are the only ones that inspire confidence in being able to accomplish that. Hitchens and Wilson are more the run, sift, and hit as opposed to the stack and shed types.

 

[Bluefin]

Brinkley is a solid veteran 2 down LB, he's just never going to be a Nickel LB.

And the first thing Matt Eberflus said today is that Nickel LBs need to be able to play all 3 downs.

LBs now have to be athletic enough to do everything.

If we are going to continue to play undersized and/or weak players at the 1 then the MIKE had better have the size to take on blockers. McClain and Brinkley are the only ones that inspire confidence in being able to accomplish that. Hitchens and Wilson are more the run, sift, and hit as opposed to the stack and shed types.

Very true.

My question is how many MIKEs will dress each week?

Will Jasper Brinkley suit up when Rolando McClain does also, or just when he doesn't or is questionable with an injury?

The team typically takes 6 LBs to the game.

1. Sean Lee
2. Rolando McClain
3. Anthony Hitchens
4. Andrew Gachkar
5. Damien Wilson
6. ?

Will Brinkley offer enough versatility to claim the last spot over the option(s)?

 

[Galian Beast]

There is really no way to know where Wilson ranks. They paid decent money to Gachkar and Brinkley. If healthy, Rivers is probably ahead of a rookie.

FYI - James Anderson is gone. The the roster on the Cowboys website is not accurate.

I don't really care who is #4, just who makes the 53 and how many they keep. It will likely come down to a choice of something like keeping a veteran like Rivers or a young player like Nzeocha.

Lee
McClain
Hitchens
Wilson
Gachkar
Brinkley
If they keep 7, then Rivers or Nzeocha with Wilber being a long-shot.

Cam Lawrence has no chance, IMO.
Will Smith and Keith Smith are PS eligible.

I think Wilson ranks pretty well with the second team. I think Hitchens might be second team despite how high we are on him. I think they might want a different player at the SAM.

I think Nzoecha and Wilber are long shots, but Wilber might surprise us and end up starting at the SAM for all we know.