So Jay Ratliff is our 3 tech?

[LatinMind]

I personally think you people are putting too much thought into this whole 1 tech and 3 tech. If you listen to Kiffin he just wants players who can attack. Im sure theres more into it then what he says. But i think he just wants a DT to get in there and attack the QB, Defend the run 2nd. Thats why Tampa, chicago, seattle had some of the high tackling lbers in the nfl runnning this defense. Because their primary objective is to attack that run

 

[koolaid]

Exactly.

The talk about releasing the guy do to whatever reason should simply stop– pretty much a waste of keystrokes.

I hear and understand what you are saying, but I can't get on board with Ratliff being on this team after his drunk driving incident. If he is on our roster at the start of next season I will not purchase merchandise and I will boycott the first game.

 

[MichaelWinicki]

I hear and understand what you are saying, but I can't get on board with Ratliff being on this team after his drunk driving incident. If he is on our roster at the start of next season I will not purchase merchandise and I will boycott the first game.

Hey I get that and respect your point of view.

I just think it's one of those "It is what it is".

 

[speedkilz88]

I think it really depends on what happens with Spencer.

I think Ratliff is suited best for the 1-tech, where he doesn't have to face double-teams and is allowed to use his quickness to shoot the B gap.

However, if Dallas re-signs Spencer, I think Ratliff will end up playing 3-technique because he's one of our few linemen who can play both spots. The NT spot in this defense would not be much different for him than the NT spot in Wade Phillips' D.

The reason it hinges on re-signing Spencer is that likely will determine where Hatcher plays. I don't think Hatcher is suited for the 3-technique, but he's a good fit for the 1-technique. However, if Spencer isn't re-signed, I think Hatcher will be moved to RDE.

So the way I see it is:

Spencer re-signed — Ware, Hatcher, Ratliff, Spencer.

Spencer not re-signed — Ware, Ratliff, FA, Hatcher.

Another option if Spencer is not re-signed might be Sean Lissemore at the 3-technique. Not sure how I feel about him starting, though, although I think he's a good player.

The other primary option we have is Tyrone Crawford, and I certainly hope Dallas doesn't hand him a starting spot. He needs to have to beat someone out for one.

I agree with pretty much everything you said except you have the terms backwards (you aren't dyslexic are you? ) 1 tech is NT, 3 tech is 1 on 1, if Hatcher plays end it will be on the left side or strong.

 

[Eskimo]

I think we should put our best interior player at the 3 tech and right now that is probably Hatcher. If Ratliff comes back at 90% of what he was in 2010/11 then he is our best penetrating interior player and matches up with that spot better.

Right now, for a healthy Rat I would suggest:

Hatcher Lissemore/Brent Ratliff Ware

If Ratliff is not quite the penetrator that he used to be then I would suggest:

Crawford Ratliff Hatcher Ware

Right now my big hope is that we draft a very good DT in the draft and then go forth:

Crawford Rookie Hatcher Ware

We can sub in Ratliff into some pass rush situations. I just think he is a very limited player at this stage and it is a shame JJ had to sign him to that ridiculous contract after the 2010 season when he had two full years left on his deal - we would be clear of that deal now.

in 2014 with Rat gone we should be able to invest in a young vet preferably around are 26 or 27. If Ware can stay productive for a few more seasons and Crawford can become a productive LDE we could be very good next year:

Crawford Rookie Young vet Ware

You may ask why not just sign Spencer instead - to me the issue is that he is going to run out of steam soon just like Ware will. I'd like to avoid that.

 

[Galian Beast]

I think it really depends on what happens with Spencer.

I think Ratliff is suited best for the 1-tech, where he doesn't have to face double-teams and is allowed to use his quickness to shoot the B gap.

However, if Dallas re-signs Spencer, I think Ratliff will end up playing 3-technique because he's one of our few linemen who can play both spots. The NT spot in this defense would not be much different for him than the NT spot in Wade Phillips' D.

The reason it hinges on re-signing Spencer is that likely will determine where Hatcher plays. I don't think Hatcher is suited for the 3-technique, but he's a good fit for the 1-technique. However, if Spencer isn't re-signed, I think Hatcher will be moved to RDE.

So the way I see it is:

Spencer re-signed — Ware, Hatcher, Ratliff, Spencer.

Spencer not re-signed — Ware, Ratliff, FA, Hatcher.

Another option if Spencer is not re-signed might be Sean Lissemore at the 3-technique. Not sure how I feel about him starting, though, although I think he's a good player.

The other primary option we have is Tyrone Crawford, and I certainly hope Dallas doesn't hand him a starting spot. He needs to have to beat someone out for one.

I think you got it backwards. The 1 technique is going to face more double teams than the 3 technique.

 

[TwentyOne]

That sounds like a fantasy. He will be getting 6-8 million/year easily from someone.

Maybe. But that wasn't my point.

If he get that kind of contract then the best decission is to let him walk.

 

[Deep_Freeze]

I think we should put our best interior player at the 3 tech and right now that is probably Hatcher. If Ratliff comes back at 90% of what he was in 2010/11 then he is our best penetrating interior player and matches up with that spot better.

Right now, for a healthy Rat I would suggest:

Hatcher Lissemore/Brent Ratliff Ware

If Ratliff is not quite the penetrator that he used to be then I would suggest:

Crawford Ratliff Hatcher Ware

Right now my big hope is that we draft a very good DT in the draft and then go forth:

Crawford Rookie Hatcher Ware

We can sub in Ratliff into some pass rush situations. I just think he is a very limited player at this stage and it is a shame JJ had to sign him to that ridiculous contract after the 2010 season when he had two full years left on his deal - we would be clear of that deal now.

in 2014 with Rat gone we should be able to invest in a young vet preferably around are 26 or 27. If Ware can stay productive for a few more seasons and Crawford can become a productive LDE we could be very good next year:

Crawford Rookie Young vet Ware

You may ask why not just sign Spencer instead - to me the issue is that he is going to run out of steam soon just like Ware will. I'd like to avoid that.

Most of your plans include getting rid of Spencer of course, but if we do let him walk, his spot would be more of a need than a DT. Of course it depends on where Crawford fits in, which will have to be determined by the staff, but drafting an edge rusher would be far higher on the list and harder to find than a 1-tech with both TRat and Hatch on the roster to fill the interior spots.

A drafted rookie DT might not even beat out TRat or Hatch, and could be riding the pine. An edge rusher would start for this team immediately if we let Spencer walk, and as a premium position, it would become the biggest need of this team.

 

[jobberone]

Rat can play the 3 and should excel at it. I don't like the idea of him playing a 1 or 0. We only have one true 1 on the team and I have no idea how well he can play. Brent can do it but he's really an unknown.

 

[speedkilz88]

Rat can play the 3 and should excel at it. I don't like the idea of him playing a 1 or 0. We only have one true 1 on the team and I have no idea how well he can play. Brent can do it but he's really an unknown.

How many true 1s do the Bears and Seahawks have? Or the old bucs and vikings for that matter? They use guys who played either. The Seahawks actually moved the one run plugger they had to SDE for run downs.

 

[Eskimo]

Most of your plans include getting rid of Spencer of course, but if we do let him walk, his spot would be more of a need than a DT. Of course it depends on where Crawford fits in, which will have to be determined by the staff, but drafting an edge rusher would be far higher on the list and harder to find than a 1-tech with both TRat and Hatch on the roster to fill the interior spots.

A drafted rookie DT might not even beat out TRat or Hatch, and could be riding the pine. An edge rusher would start for this team immediately if we let Spencer walk, and as a premium position, it would become the biggest need of this team.

I just seem to remember that Tampa 2 style defenses seem to want a dominant interior pass rusher and one exterior pass rusher. These two are then mated to one guy who is more like a 1-tech DT and another guy who is more like a 5-tech 3-4 DE.

To me, on our roster, the pass rushing DE is Ware. The 3-tech based on last year should probably be Spencer. If you think Ratliff is back to 2010/11 form then he probably is the better player and should be the 3-tech. Right now I consider this scenario unlikely so I think Hatcher belongs at the 3-tech. As for the 1-tech, the best candidate right now is Rat assuming he can hold up. Maybe he can split reps with Lissemore or even Brent if he is allowed to play next year. Then finally the best 5-tech who is left over should slot into LDE and that is Crawford to me.

So right now I think the situation looks like this:

Crawford Ratliff Hatcher Ware

This is the way Seattle lines up their guys and Kiffen said that is the closest thing to how we intend to play next year. Now in the above lineup our two interior guys who are probably more important keys in the defense than the LDE to my understanding are both over 30, Rat is likely a cap casualty in 2014 and Hatcher is a FA. That to me suggests DT is a huge need for us. Good DTs don't come cheap so it makes sense to invest there. In contrast, 5-techs can be found later in the draft so it isn't nearly as big a deal to try and replace Spencer.

Now the upshot of all this is this is a great DT draft but only an okay DE draft, especially with Dion Jordan's injury and Werner's limited athleticism.

 

[jobberone]

How many true 1s do the Bears and Seahawks have? Or the old bucs and vikings for that matter? They use guys who played either. The Seahawks actually moved the one run plugger they had to SDE for run downs.

I'll have to take your word for it as I don't know their rosters. I'd suspect they didn't find a one easily enough including placing priorities elsewhere. If you're saying you don't have to have a prototypical one then yeah. There is a reason really big guys don't star there and that's because it's hard to find one who can take on dble teams and also rush the passer and be able to exert themselves like that for a lot of snaps.

We can get by with what we have even with the loss of Spencer IMO.

 

[jobberone]

I think Spencer is a 5/7 guy and Rat a 3 Eskimo.