Phil Taylor our new NT?

[BAT]

I wish we had a big, massive NT like Baylor's Phil Taylor or Cardinals potential free agent Gabe Watson. I'd move Ratliff all around the d line but mainly DE on obvious run plays and then NT on obvious passing downs.

That's just my opinion. I think Ratliff was not as effective against the run this year but he is still as good as it gets as a pass-rushing NT.

Depends on the new DC. If the new DC requires the NT to control the A gaps then Rat is not the answer. But if the new DC allows Rat to one gap then he absolutely is the best NT in the league.

Continuing to use a one gapping 3-4 I would much rather surround Rat with bigger (and faster) players who can penetrate from the DE position. 2011 FA will have many guys to choose from. I would love to get Richard Seymour (likely not cheap) and Shaun Rogers (should be fairly cheap) to play alongside Rat. Both would be huge upgrades to the current DEs on the team.

Jettison all the UFA & RFA DEs on the roster. Cowboys can groom Lissemore, Brent, Geathers and whoever they draft in 2011.

 

[RoyTheHammer]

Wrong. Ngata played primarily DE when Gregg was not injured.

Yea, i noticed that on their depth chart. Definately a twist, but both guys are big boys.

 

[TheCount]

Yea, i noticed that on their depth chart. Definately a twist, but both guys are big boys.

Which is why I want Ellis, he's got that type of versatility.

Don't forget that the Ravens also went ahead and drafted Terrance Cody, I think they plan to keep Nagta at DE.

So while in the past they may have had a brief moment with a smaller NT, they certainly want bigger guys there now.

 

[dbair1967]

The Steelers also have considerable talent around them, and their starting NT is 325.

Kelly Gregg is 320 lbs, but im pretty sure Ngata is their NT.

Either way you won't find another guy near 290-295 playing NT in the national football league.

You don't need "some fat guy", but having a guy there with strength and mass benefits the rest of the front seven.

Ngata plays DE for them in their 3-4 sets, Gregg lines up at NT.

 

[VACowboy]

Which is why I want Ellis...

I love Ellis' game. Everybody does. But word is that his ejection from the team in SC resulted from repeatedly failed drug tests. I dunno how true that is, but the last thing we need on our team is a guy with a substance issue.

 

[TheCount]

I love Ellis' game. Everybody does. But word is that his ejection from the team in SC resulted from repeatedly failed drug tests. I dunno how true that is, but the last thing we need on our team is a guy with a substance issue.

True, the team would have to do their background work.

 

[jblaze2004]

Which is why I want Ellis, he's got that type of versatility.

Don't forget that the Ravens also went ahead and drafted Terrance Cody, I think they plan to keep Nagta at DE.

So while in the past they may have had a brief moment with a smaller NT, they certainly want bigger guys there now.

yes....mount cody is huge isnt he like 6'5+ and about 370

 

[TheCount]

yes....mount cody is huge isnt he like 6'5+ and about 370

He lost some before the actual draft, but the Raven's have a pretty strict conditioning program so if he's not in shape, he won't play. It's in his best interest to be in shape.

 

[dallasfaniac]

Ratliff is great at NT because he is so fast off the ball that the center has difficulties snapping and getting his hands back up to engage him, which is why he faces so many double teams. Moving him to DE might nullify his advantage or at the very least create a point of weakness up the middle and left (or right) side.

If we could find a big bodied NT that could generate a push up the middle as well as Ratliff and draw the double team away from Rat, then you'd have to think about it. However, it would be easier to "fix" the defensive line by plugging in a DE that requires attention rather than the likes of Igor and crew who appear to be running in water all the time.

 

[Chocolate Lab]

Depends on the new DC. If the new DC requires the NT to control the A gaps then Rat is not the answer. But if the new DC allows Rat to one gap then he absolutely is the best NT in the league.

Exactly. It's so hard to speculate yet when we don't even know what scheme we'll be playing.

BTW, I tend to agree with Manwiththeplan that weight alone is overrated even in a two-gap NT. Besides the guys he listed, Jason Ferguson was only 310-315 or so, and he was a very good one... He just wasn't fat, because Parcells wouldn't allow it. He, like Ratliff, could easily spend all offseason at Krispy Kreme and build a huge gut up to 330 or more, but it wouldn't make him a better player.

Anyway, it seems every year -- no, it doesn't "seem", it is every year -- people find a 350-lb guy in college and assume he'd be a better NT than Rat, and these guys almost always are just average pros, if even that.