Should we be worried about our linebackers?

[lostinomiya]

How do you weigh up our LBs?

D Ware - a standout player. B James and Akin ok but maybe weak link?. Greg and Zach good but getting on.
Bobby a disappointment, Spencer we are still waiting on, Burnett I don't know.

Should we be worried about, especially out MLBs, a year from now? Are the coaches high on Spencer? Or how would you hope to see it/expect to see it developing?

 

[theogt]

We probably have the best LB corps in the entire NFL.

 

[lostinomiya]

asserted rather than argued - can you explain?

 

[tomson75]

We have four backup LB's that would likely start on 50-75% of the teams in the NFL...I think we're doing OK. I do, however think its time to see what we can get for Ayodele, and see what we have in Carpenter and Burnett.

 

[theogt]

asserted rather than argued - can you explain?

The "worst" two linebackers on our squad are 1st and 2nd round picks that would likely be starters on well over half the other teams in the league.

 

[Vintage]

I think we have a nice LB group....

The main problem with our starting LBers is that the coverage is pretty poor.

 

[Hailmary]

We have a good mix of youth and experience. Not psyched about the Zach Thomas signing because I want to see some of the younger guys get PT, but then again, it probably won't take much for him to change my mind.

 

[lostinomiya]

The "worst" two linebackers on our squad are 1st and 2nd round picks that would likely be starters on well over half the other teams in the league.

you cannot possibly know this. getting Zach Thomas would suggest there is not that much confidence in Ayodele, Carpenter has greatly underperformed, Spencer an unknown quantity yet, Burnett a special team player that has been backgrounded in favour of Spencer and Ayodele and Z Thomas.

Not saying our LBs are bad at all but the best? and no concerns or doubts?

 

[Vintage]

you cannot possibly know this. getting Zach Thomas would suggest there is not that much confidence in Ayodele, Carpenter has greatly underperformed, Spencer an unknown quantity yet, Burnett a special team player that has been backgrounded in favour of Spencer and Ayodele and Z Thomas.

Not saying our LBs are bad at all but the best? and no concerns or doubts?

Not sure how Spencer pushed Burnett in the background.

Spencer is an OLB; Burnett is ILB.

 

[lostinomiya]

....who played OLB at Tennessee

 

[AdamJT13]

We have two outside linebackers who had 14 sacks and 12.5 sacks last season, and they both went to the Pro Bowl. Their primary backup was a first-round pick last year who showed a lot of promise in his somewhat limited playing time.

We have three starting-quality inside linebackers backed up by a former second-round pick who plays well in the nickel and another former first-round pick.

What, exactly, is there to worry about? We have quality starters and quality depth. If everything goes wrong that can, the position might become a problem, but I can't imagine that too many teams have a position group where they have fewer concerns than we have at linebacker.

 

[sago1]

Ware is great. Ellis is another good pass rusher & Spencer has certainly shown enough to reassure us he'll replace Ellis very soon. Carpenter hasn't shown enough to get on the field at any linebcker position so he better have a good TC this year -- although cap hit prevents us from cutting/trading him this year.

Bradie James is pretty good against the run, but Ayodele didn't play well for much of the 07 season. Burnett substitutes for Ayodele mostly in the nickel or whatever the package is called. DMN's Albert Breer's in his analysis of our loss to the Giants in the playoff wrote that Burnett played the run better then Ayodele. So I wouldn't have been surprised if he beat out Ayodele until we signed Zach Thomas.

Poor performance from Ayodele & obviously not much better from Burnett (also maybe even from James) contributed to less then stellar pass coverage in the middle of the field. Believe we jumped on signing Zach Thomas cause Phillipps obviously believes Thomas is a better tackler then Ayodele & better in pass coverage then any linebacker we have not named Ware or Spencer (Breer cited Spencer as better against the run in the playoff loss then either Ellis & even Ware). If Thomas can play at 07 level & remain healthy, he's a big upgrade at ILB. Don't forget Romo cited Thomas' play as to why we had difficulty scoring in much of the Cowboys-Dolphin game.

Believe we bringing in ILB Beau Bell for a look-see because Phillips knows we need an ILB who plays the run well & is good in pass coverage. If we draft Bell or another ILB this year, it's to learn under Thomas & eventually replace him. Doubt Ayodele has much of a future with us; same may be true about Burnett's once his contract is up unless he takes a major step forward this season.

 

[big dog cowboy]

getting Zach Thomas would suggest there is not that much confidence in Ayodele

If the coaching staff didn't have the confidence Ayodele could do the job, he wouldn't have been the srarter. The opportunity to get Thomas was to much for us to pass up.

While I personally think we could have used an upgrade at Ayodele's position this off season, I don't draw the conclusion that the signing of Thomas is a result of the performance of Ayodele.

It just so happens they play the same position. Which works out pretty good for us.

 

[austintodallas]

Hopefully Zach will take Carp under his wing and mold him Into the ILB we need him to be. I'm sure the coaches had this in the back of their minds as another positive aspect of signing Thomas.

 

[speedkilz88]

....who played OLB at Tennessee

It really doesn't matter what he played in college, that was also a 4-3. Parcells flirted with Burnett at OLB, but that was when they had no depth at the position. The best position for Burnett in the 3-4 has always been inside and in Wade's system on the WILB. If he ever leaves for another team that is when he will go back outside and play WOLB.

 

[Aven8]

Mark my words. With Zach on board it will completely change our defense. Yeah he's old, but this guy has a lot more left in the tank then the Pats LB's. And, he is FAR better then Bruschi ever thought about being.

Look at it this way, with Bradie, Zach making tackle after tackle, at least 250 tackles between them. Ellis & Ware on the outside. Tank in the middle, and Ratliff, and Canty/with another year under Wade's tutelage. Are you kidding me??? I promise look out!

I think Spencer is going to be a player also....if we can get 7-8 sacks out of him this year I'll be stoked! On another note though, MAN would Dwayne Bowe look good opposite TO??? Oh well, what could have been!!!

 

[JPM]

....who played OLB at Tennessee

Can I play this game too ?

Ware played DE at Troy
Spencer played DE at Purdure
Akin, played DE at Purdue and OLB for the Jags
Carp played OLB for Ohio State
Ellis played DE for North Carolina, and Dallas

 

[Vintage]

....who played OLB at Tennessee

So? Is he at Tennessee now? No. So its not relevant what he played in college.


In Dallas, right now, he is an ILB. In Dallas, right now, Spencer is an OLB.

So how is Spencer burying Burnett on the depth chart?

 

[Cowboysfan22]

I think we have a great linebacker squad. I think Thomas will prove to be a great player and I think Spencer is on his way to greatness . I don't see us seeking much more depth at lb.

 

[NeonNinja]

Our LB unit is one of the strongest in the NFL.