Should Irving be a LDE or do we move him to the 3

[Kaiser]

I picture Irving more as a LDE but Marinelli is the best DL coach in the NFL so I trust him to put Irving at whatever spot is best.

Either spot is fine if he can be more consistent and look like he did in his dominant flashes, he could be a complete beast at either LDE with McClain and Thornton at 1T or playing the 1T with Crawford starting at LDE.

 

[gimmesix]

I'm a huge Collins fan ( I wasn't when we drafted him ) How would a combo of Irvin and Collins look at the DT position. Or should we keep Irvin at the LDE spot.

I think Irving will get playing time at both LDE and 3-tech, so it's not really a question of either/or. Collins, Thornton, Crawford and Irving will all line up inside at times, with Thornton probably only playing on clear run downs.

 

[negativecreep]

I'm a huge Collins fan ( I wasn't when we drafted him ) How would a combo of Irvin and Collins look at the DT position. Or should we keep Irvin at the LDE spot.

I would like to keep him as a DE.

 

[brymatt94]

That was my bad bro

Sorry, I came across more direct than I meant to. I was just messing with you man.

 

[stilltheguru88]

He's a LE IMO. Crawford is the one they need to quit playing at LE and keep a 3T.

So he can get hurt again? Crawford is too soft to be a tackle, we've already seen that story. He'll be the starting d end again this year or a backup end.

 

[waving monkey]

So he can get hurt again? Crawford is too soft to be a tackle, we've already seen that story. He'll be the starting d end again this year or a backup end.

Many feel like Crawford is a bad investment at any position. Yes his shoulders dont seem to hold up at the tough interior positions

 

[stilltheguru88]

Many feel like Crawford is a bad investment at any position. Yes his shoulders dont seem to hold up at the tough interior positions

He is a bad investment at any position but he's probably not going anywhere this year so it's whatever

 

[Silver N Blue]

Lawrence couldn't sniff Greg Ellis' jock

Or TT's for that matter...

 

[tm1119]

He is a bad investment at any position but he's probably not going anywhere this year so it's whatever

I wouldn't rule out a June 1st cut for Crawford...just from a sheer #'s standpoint I think someone on the current roster will have to go if the front office is serious about upgrading. We already have 5 guys that will need snaps at DE and if we sign a free agent + draft someone that's 7. Not possible to play all of them. So it will be interesting to see if they are willing to bite the bullet and cut a guy like Crawford (or maybe even Lawrence) to get younger, healthier upgrades.

 

[Dalmations202]

Why in blue blazes would you put tank over the other teams best pass protector. I think tank is good but he is more Greg Ellis and less demarcus ware.

For me, tank is good enough as a pass rusher but not elite. He is big enough though to stand up when the size is needed for the run.
With Tank, Poe, Collins, Irving -- plenty of size to stop the run, and who gets the double team, and who is singled? These 4 could get pressure, IMO, without the need to bring extras.
For pass rush situations, then you have Crawford, Mayowa, 1st RD DE, Tapper, etc that be rotated in and they would be fresh.

How are you going to get Poe -- that is the question.

 

[stilltheguru88]

I wouldn't rule out a June 1st cut for Crawford...just from a sheer #'s standpoint I think someone on the current roster will have to go if the front office is serious about upgrading. We already have 5 guys that will need snaps at DE and if we sign a free agent + draft someone that's 7. Not possible to play all of them. So it will be interesting to see if they are willing to bite the bullet and cut a guy like Crawford (or maybe even Lawrence) to get younger, healthier upgrades.

That's been the whole reason I've been saying our dline won't look that much different. There are too many guys who probably aren't going anywhere. I don't think we have the guts to cut Crawford

 

[tm1119]

That's been the whole reason I've been saying our dline won't look that much different. There are too many guys who probably aren't going anywhere. I don't think we have the guts to cut Crawford

We'll know by the end of April which direction they plan to go. If they sign a free agent DE + draft a rookie in the 1st/2nd round then it will almost have to mean someone is getting the ax. Only scenario someone doesn't is if Tapper/Lawrence's back injuries are more worrying than they seem. Or we'll just go into the season with pretty much the same D line...let's all hope not.

 

[LocimusPrime]

I picture Irving more as a LDE but Marinelli is the best DL coach in the NFL so I trust him to put Irving at whatever spot is best.

Either spot is fine if he can be more consistent and look like he did in his dominant flashes, he could be a complete beast at either LDE with McClain and Thornton at 1T or playing the 1T with Crawford starting at LDE.

We have all those players and when they where on the field none of them looked beastly. Maybe an occasional flash but nothing consistent

 

[FuzzyLumpkins]

I'd like to see him play like Chris Doleman used to for the Viking back in the 90s. He started as a DT but the Vikes would move him around the formation to find matchups. Fo

 

[Kaiser]

We have all those players and when they where on the field none of them looked beastly. Maybe an occasional flash but nothing consistent

But that is the whole thing with Irving, he was completely dominant in two games but a non-factor in others. If they can unlock whatever the difference is he could be a complete beast.

And we didn't have anyone who stood out last year but there are a number of reasons/excuses for that. Marinelli's scheme is a wave attack that doesn't highlight one position. Also the 1 Tech position will always be doubleteamed, you aren't going to get a star at that position but we got good production there from McClain and Thornton.

At the other positions DLaw and Crawford were hurt most of the season and we didn't spend any real resources to get the guys we had other than a #2 pick on DLaw. The rest were after that like a 3rd on Crawford and a 3rd on Collins. Irving, Jack Crawford, Mayowa, McClain and Thornton were all FAs or bargain signings.

Some combination of getting healthy, young guys developing, a FA signing and a high draft pick could make the unit look entirely different.

 

[waving monkey]

Questions about Poe

 

[xwalker]

You remind me of my 7th grade language arts teacher, she could never pass up an opportunity to correct misspelled words or grammatical mistakes. I showed her my notes from a student council convention and she took out her red pen. LOL, she's retired, divorced and her kids don't speak to her anymore.

You make that sound as if it was very very recently.

 

[xwalker]

I'm a huge Collins fan ( I wasn't when we drafted him ) How would a combo of Irvin and Collins look at the DT position. Or should we keep Irvin at the LDE spot.

It depends on what other players end up with on the roster. If they get more DEs, then keep Irving at DT. If they re-sign T.McClain or otherwise get a quality DT, then keep Irving at DE.

Towards the end of the season he played LDE and when they used the 3-2 alignment, he played NT.

They normally use what is primarily a 3-man rotation at DT with a 4th player getting just a few snaps.

I would be OK starting the game with:
Irving: 3-tech starter
Collins: 1-tech starter
Thorton: Rotates in primarily on run downs at 1-tech.

Collins primarily played 3-tech in 2016 but did play some snaps at 1-tech.

In obvious passing situations, both DTs basically line up as 3-techs. That combined with the 3-man DL alignment, means that they only have a true 1-tech in about 1/3 of the defensive snaps, maybe less against some opponents.

 

[rockj7]

It depends on what other players end up with on the roster. If they get more DEs, then keep Irving at DT. If they re-sign T.McClain or otherwise get a quality DT, then keep Irving at DE.

Towards the end of the season he played LDE and when they used the 3-2 alignment, he played NT.

They normally use what is primarily a 3-man rotation at DT with a 4th player getting just a few snaps.

I would be OK starting the game with:
Irving: 3-tech starter
Collins: 1-tech starter
Thorton: Rotates in primarily on run downs at 1-tech.

Collins primarily played 3-tech in 2016 but did play some snaps at 1-tech.

In obvious passing situations, both DTs basically line up as 3-techs. That combined with the 3-man DL alignment, means that they only have a true 1-tech in about 1/3 of the defensive snaps, maybe less against some opponents.

It's just a dream X but I would love from left to right to be Irving POE Collins who ever the rookie RDE is would ( should) have a much easier time with those 3 to his left. I realistically can't see a rookie RDE giving us 12-15 sacks in year 1 I just cant see it I could be wrong.

 

[Ranching]

You make that sound as if it was very very recently.

Actually, she was my teacher in 1979, but she ended up working with my wife a few years ago before she retired.