Twitter: Neal's off to good start

[superonyx]

Well its gonna happen here because Neal is playing behind Jaylon. So obviously talk about Jaylon's performance will be brought up. So its relevant to the topic. Geezz, what is more tiring than hearing about Jaylon sucks are comments wondering why it has to be brought up so much. This is a forum and things like this will be discussed whether you like it or not. No more about Dak's contract, LVE's injury, or Amari's mood. So Jaylon is on the block now. Not everything is lollipops and rainbows. That's the way life goes.

Crap man. I was excited when I saw someone quoted my post and thought maybe you would share nice nice analysis of Neal and his move to LB. Or maybe how Neal and Parson could play well together in space.

Instead just more of the same old tired repeat negative complaining about Jaylon. Oh well maybe next time.

 

[RonnieT24]

Crap man. I was excited when I saw someone quoted my post and thought maybe you would share nice nice analysis of Neal and his move to LB. Or maybe how Neal and Parson could play well together in space.

Instead just more of the same old tired repeat negative complaining about Jaylon. Oh well maybe next time.

The worst part was the assertion that "Neal is playing behind Jaylon.." No he's not. Jaylon is an inside backer plain and simple. The one year he played outside was his worst in the league.. Let's pray that Quinn is not stupid enough to repeat that mistake. Neal on the other hand is exclusively a weakside linebacker. He's 30 pounds too light to play inside. Just because we've seen the guys bouncing all over in preseason does not mean that's how they're going to play. I think when the bullets go live Jaylon is the starting middle backer (where he will be fine) with Parsons at Will and LVE at Sam. I think Neal rotates in at Will when Parsons moves inside in place of Jaylon or over to Sam in place of LVE. I think intially it's a 4 man rotation which Cox and Gifford mixing in sporadically. I think Parsons will play all three positions in large doses and will also sneak in at DE on long yardage passing situations. I think not turning that speed loose to chase the QB when it's a 7 step drop situation would be a huge mistake. Neal has always been known as a thumper in the mold of Roy Williams.. the thing I like most about him is he takes the ball away... and by that I mean that he literally will come into a pile and snatch the ball out of the ball carrier's hands. Which means his hands must be ridiculously strong. I think that skill is going to serve us well.. and I think it's going to become contagious after he does it a few times.. other guys are going to start doing it as well. I just hope they don't start trying to do it BEFORE securing the tackle. That's always the rub with that particular technique.

 

[TwoCentPlain]

From what I have seen, Jaylon is only in on running downs where they have 3 lbers. When they goto the nickel, its Parsons and neal or Parsons and LVE.

Jaylon has looked soo bad in preseason I dont see how they continue to let him on the field. Once he starts getting burnt in real games something has to give.

I thought I saw Jaylon out there in the 2nd quarter against AZ. That may show how far he has fallen. I have the LB pecking order as Parsons, LVE, Neal, Cox, and Jaylon/Gifford. Jaylon is lucky Bernard and Hines got hurt or he would even be lower.

 

[Hawkeye0202]

The worst part was the assertion that "Neal is playing behind Jaylon.." No he's not. Jaylon is an inside backer plain and simple. The one year he played outside was his worst in the league.. Let's pray that Quinn is not stupid enough to repeat that mistake. Neal on the other hand is exclusively a weakside linebacker. He's 30 pounds too light to play inside. Just because we've seen the guys bouncing all over in preseason does not mean that's how they're going to play. I think when the bullets go live Jaylon is the starting middle backer (where he will be fine) with Parsons at Will and LVE at Sam. I think Neal rotates in at Will when Parsons moves inside in place of Jaylon or over to Sam in place of LVE. I think intially it's a 4 man rotation which Cox and Gifford mixing in sporadically. I think Parsons will play all three positions in large doses and will also sneak in at DE on long yardage passing situations. I think not turning that speed loose to chase the QB when it's a 7 step drop situation would be a huge mistake. Neal has always been known as a thumper in the mold of Roy Williams.. the thing I like most about him is he takes the ball away... and by that I mean that he literally will come into a pile and snatch the ball out of the ball carrier's hands. Which means his hands must be ridiculously strong. I think that skill is going to serve us well.. and I think it's going to become contagious after he does it a few times.. other guys are going to start doing it as well. I just hope they don't start trying to do it BEFORE securing the tackle. That's always the rub with that particular technique.

So you're saying of the four, Parson will be the only 3-down player?

 

[quickccc]

Damn.......Parson, Neal, LVE, and Jaylon. Something gotta give....is Jaylon starting job in jeopardy? I'm not sure you keep him if he can't start, too much money.

Jordan Ross is not getting it .. Jaylon does not have the bend and flexibility to be a designated pass rusher on the edge,
and he can only run str8 forward as a middle LB blitzer.

Your best bet is to stand him up and stunt/twist with the DL as Richard did in 2017.
But with Parson on board and doing the designated twist and stunts blitzes around the line, why give that to the far less effective Jaylon ?

 

[quickccc]

Neal has been playing good so far. It really is a great idea to have moved him from SS to WLB. He went from being slow for a safety to being really fast for a LB. The guy is physical enough to play weak side and his coverage for a LB will be good.

A nice situational piece for Quinn to use.

As for Jaylon… I don’t really love him as a starting LB. However, last year he was overused and under coached. He played something crazy like 98% of the defensive snaps, which is waaay too much. He was worn down by half time and the coaches had the defense such a mess that it’s really no surprise he played the way he did.

Reduce his snaps down to maybe a third of what he did last year, put him in position to play forward, and give him clear instructions on what you want from him, and I think we will see a much better player. Will he be worth what he’s being paid if he’s used like that? Probably not, but he’ll play much better.

I think that is what the coaches have in mind for Smith.

But I’m not going to lie: When he did that ridiculous dance in front of the Giants player, I wanted him off the team then. It was embarrassing.

However… I do think he’ll play much better this season, just not enough snaps to justify his contract.

My thought and question was how were the Falcons using Neal in their scheme ? i would assume he was far more In- the- box/at the line, as maybe a rover type ?
If so, who were really the safeties in the deep half of the field ?
But no doubt the coaches did not think he couldn't cover in deep coverage or match up with WRs in pass game.

Thus here they decided to make him a full time LB.

 

[DuncanIso]

Damn.......Parson, Neal, LVE, and Jaylon. Something gotta give....is Jaylon starting job in jeopardy? I'm not sure you keep him if he can't start, too much money.

#JaylonHate

 

[gimmesix]

Damn.......Parson, Neal, LVE, and Jaylon. Something gotta give....is Jaylon starting job in jeopardy? I'm not sure you keep him if he can't start, too much money.

I'd have to go back and look, but I think Neal has been out there in two-linebacker sets (nickel). When we've used three-linebacker sets (or four if you count the LEO), it's been Jaylon, LVE and Parsons. We seemed to use more nickel against Arizona than we did against Pittsburgh ... but again, I'd have to go back and look.

 

[gimmesix]

From what I have seen, Jaylon is only in on running downs where they have 3 lbers. When they goto the nickel, its Parsons and neal or Parsons and LVE.

I believe we also did some nickel with LVE and Jaylon.

 

[Verdict]

Hey let's see how long it takes for people to acknowledge Jaylon Smith for exactly what he is in this LB related thread.

OMG the hate.

It’s funny how that works, isn’t it? If Jaylon balls out and earns his spot, I’m all for him playing. But based on what we saw last season, the smart money is probably betting against that happening.

I hope Jaylon justifies his contract this year. But for now, color be skeptical on that happening. I’m taking the under on Jaylon as of the present time, and I almost don’t care where they set the betting line.

Jaylon had better hope that he rushes the passer and has success doing that. As a pure linebacker, he seems to be a fringe player at best right now.

 

[Verdict]

Neal has been playing good so far. It really is a great idea to have moved him from SS to WLB. He went from being slow for a safety to being really fast for a LB. The guy is physical enough to play weak side and his coverage for a LB will be good.

A nice situational piece for Quinn to use.

As for Jaylon… I don’t really love him as a starting LB. However, last year he was overused and under coached. He played something crazy like 98% of the defensive snaps, which is waaay too much. He was worn down by half time and the coaches had the defense such a mess that it’s really no surprise he played the way he did.

Reduce his snaps down to maybe a third of what he did last year, put him in position to play forward, and give him clear instructions on what you want from him, and I think we will see a much better player. Will he be worth what he’s being paid if he’s used like that? Probably not, but he’ll play much better.

I think that is what the coaches have in mind for Smith.

But I’m not going to lie: When he did that ridiculous dance in front of the Giants player, I wanted him off the team then. It was embarrassing.

However… I do think he’ll play much better this season, just not enough snaps to justify his contract.

I think that’s a very reasonable take. That also may be his ceiling. I hope I’m wrong and he plays well. But right now, I’m pessimistic on him, but hoping for the best.

 

[jterrell]

Will be interesting to see how the LB group shakes out.

I love that it appears Dan Quinn can mix and match guys to get a fit he likes in most play situations.

 

[JBond]

They have seemed to seriously upgrade the LB position. That group goes hand in hand with the play of the DT. Here's hoping they get those spots right at some point as well.

Better LB play will also help the DT's and the DLine as a whole. It is a symbiotic relationship. No different than coverage vs pass rush. Can the DB's cover a second longer so the rush gets home, or can the rush be quicker to the point so the DB's don't have to cover as long. Team game. Hoping the coaches have the right plans and the players can execute.

 

[gimmesix]

Will be interesting to see how the LB group shakes out.

I love that it appears Dan Quinn can mix and match guys to get a fit he likes in most play situations.

I think it will help all of them if they don't have to play practically every snap, too. Having fresher players is a good thing.

 

[jterrell]

I think it will help all of them if they don't have to play practically every snap, too. Having fresher players is a good thing.

Of course.
Plus you don't really need to play LBs all 3 downs unless they are super studs.
Nothing wrong with getting guys off the field in downs/distance that over expose them.

Joe Thomas playing 3rd and 1 was just awful. But he was an ace on 3rd and 8.

 

[BotchedLobotomy]

The only real question is, where does JJ have Jaylon on the depth chart?

 

[Typhus]

Will be interesting to see how the LB group shakes out.

I love that it appears Dan Quinn can mix and match guys to get a fit he likes in most play situations.

Thats a great concept if you already have an established defense, but this defense being so young and green, at least early on I bet DQ is just trying to get his best 11 on the field.
His scheme will evolve as this defense learns.
Not concerned with the LBs,, other than taking on OL from inferior interior DL play...
Need the LBs to stay healthy and be able to roam a bit for this defense to come together.

 

[Hawkeye0202]

 

[CowboyRoy]

I believe we also did some nickel with LVE and Jaylon.

As a backup option yes and it looked terrible.

 

[JD_KaPow]

Damn.......Parson, Neal, LVE, and Jaylon. Something gotta give....is Jaylon starting job in jeopardy? I'm not sure you keep him if he can't start, too much money.

It's the other way around. He may be too expensive to cut. If they cut him, they have to find at least $4.4 million in cap space (they'd eat $9.8M in dead money, and OverTheCap has them at $5.4M in cap room, don't know how accurate that is).

But that decision has nothing to do with whether he starts or not. If they have to keep him, nothing prevents them from making him inactive every week.