PakiPride
Benched
- Messages
- 405
- Reaction score
- 0
some comments from the jaguars.com board:
-comments on weakness: Coverage, and general inconsistencies. Like Trill said he's a 3-4 outside 'backer. He was a tweener DE in college.
-You nailed his two main weaknesses. In coverage Akin will typically stay with the receiver, but when the ball goes to his guy Ayodele goes for the tackle instead of the big play. He'll be close enough to get the guy down the second he catches the ball, but you won't see him getting his hand up to defend a pass or even attempting an INT. This in turn translates to an overall lack of big plays on his part. His inconsistencies relate to everything but tackling which he excels at enough that some of think he'd make for a good MLB. He will make the tackles that he's directly responsible for, but he doesn't have the range and sideline-to-sideline speed to consistently get to the tackles that don't go his way. As a rookie he showed potential as a pass rusher, and he'll still switch up to DE at times, but he's never quite reached the potential we set for him early on. Over the past two seasons Akin found himself largely shut-out as a pass rusher. He'll still have his moments, and when he's at the line he's good at leaping with a hand up to deflect the pass, but he's just not the pass rushing terror we need and expect him to be.
Having said all this, Akin's really not all that bad. In fact there were several games this past season where he clearly outplayed our other outside backer Daryl Smith. Physically Akin has impressive size and strength, and his straightline speed is adequate. He's also a guy you can count on to always be in his gap, and he's a textbook tackler who will have double-digit tackle games. It's just that it's sort of like an American Idol situation at LB here. Del Rio, as a former LB, is searching for greatness at the position.
-Ayodele is solid, but not much more. I had high expectations for him after his rookie year. He never seemed to improve though. He would probably be a better fit in a system like San Diego in a Steve Foley-type role. I have met Akin and he’s a pretty cool guy. But I think his days in Jacksonville are over.
-saw him last night at Ocean Club. Super nice guy and I also think his days here are shortening.....
-He is a nice guy, but his extracurricular activities may be his biggest weakness.
Good summary Jags02. Our biggest weakness in our defense last year was our LB play in our zone coverages. Every time we went into a zone coverage 51 and 52 were getting tourched.
I think DD really helped cover up this weakness, but we found out real fast without him that we need some help here.
-I think all of Ayodele's problems are mental and not physical. I don't think he's very instinctive and isn't great at reading plays. In other words, he doesn't put himself in a good position to make the play on the ball and for a LB, being able to read the play is basically EVERYTHING. So in that sense, i think he's best suited to be a outside 3-4 backer whose primary job is to rush the qb. That is a responsibility which doesn't require so much thinking and instincts.
-I think all of Ayodele's problems are mental and not physical. I don't think he's very instinctive and isn't great at reading plays. In other words, he doesn't put himself in a good position to make the play on the ball and for a LB, being able to read the play is basically EVERYTHING. So in that sense, i think he's best suited to be a outside 3-4 backer whose primary job is to rush the qb. That is a responsibility which doesn't require so much thinking and instincts.
-
My pleasure, DM13. The 4.95 time is probably a significant reason why some in NFL circles labeled Akin Ayodele as a DE-OLB tweener, back in 2002. Having said that, a number of so-called DE-OLB's who played their College ball at Purdue have been very productive in the NFL.
In the March 2006 issue of Pro Football Weekly ( Page 8 ), they rated Akin Ayodele 46th of the scheduled FA's in 2006. In addition to UFA's, this includes Franchise Tag, Transition Tag, and RFA's. The following is the write up PFW provided on Ayodele:
" Fell out of favor in Jacksonville, where he was asked to drop and cover. Best-suited to play over the tight end in a 4-3 but could work as an outside linebacker in the 3-4. Will stamp you when he hits and has some natural pass-rush skills ".
-comments on weakness: Coverage, and general inconsistencies. Like Trill said he's a 3-4 outside 'backer. He was a tweener DE in college.
-You nailed his two main weaknesses. In coverage Akin will typically stay with the receiver, but when the ball goes to his guy Ayodele goes for the tackle instead of the big play. He'll be close enough to get the guy down the second he catches the ball, but you won't see him getting his hand up to defend a pass or even attempting an INT. This in turn translates to an overall lack of big plays on his part. His inconsistencies relate to everything but tackling which he excels at enough that some of think he'd make for a good MLB. He will make the tackles that he's directly responsible for, but he doesn't have the range and sideline-to-sideline speed to consistently get to the tackles that don't go his way. As a rookie he showed potential as a pass rusher, and he'll still switch up to DE at times, but he's never quite reached the potential we set for him early on. Over the past two seasons Akin found himself largely shut-out as a pass rusher. He'll still have his moments, and when he's at the line he's good at leaping with a hand up to deflect the pass, but he's just not the pass rushing terror we need and expect him to be.
Having said all this, Akin's really not all that bad. In fact there were several games this past season where he clearly outplayed our other outside backer Daryl Smith. Physically Akin has impressive size and strength, and his straightline speed is adequate. He's also a guy you can count on to always be in his gap, and he's a textbook tackler who will have double-digit tackle games. It's just that it's sort of like an American Idol situation at LB here. Del Rio, as a former LB, is searching for greatness at the position.
-Ayodele is solid, but not much more. I had high expectations for him after his rookie year. He never seemed to improve though. He would probably be a better fit in a system like San Diego in a Steve Foley-type role. I have met Akin and he’s a pretty cool guy. But I think his days in Jacksonville are over.
-saw him last night at Ocean Club. Super nice guy and I also think his days here are shortening.....
-He is a nice guy, but his extracurricular activities may be his biggest weakness.
Good summary Jags02. Our biggest weakness in our defense last year was our LB play in our zone coverages. Every time we went into a zone coverage 51 and 52 were getting tourched.
I think DD really helped cover up this weakness, but we found out real fast without him that we need some help here.
-I think all of Ayodele's problems are mental and not physical. I don't think he's very instinctive and isn't great at reading plays. In other words, he doesn't put himself in a good position to make the play on the ball and for a LB, being able to read the play is basically EVERYTHING. So in that sense, i think he's best suited to be a outside 3-4 backer whose primary job is to rush the qb. That is a responsibility which doesn't require so much thinking and instincts.
-I think all of Ayodele's problems are mental and not physical. I don't think he's very instinctive and isn't great at reading plays. In other words, he doesn't put himself in a good position to make the play on the ball and for a LB, being able to read the play is basically EVERYTHING. So in that sense, i think he's best suited to be a outside 3-4 backer whose primary job is to rush the qb. That is a responsibility which doesn't require so much thinking and instincts.
-
My pleasure, DM13. The 4.95 time is probably a significant reason why some in NFL circles labeled Akin Ayodele as a DE-OLB tweener, back in 2002. Having said that, a number of so-called DE-OLB's who played their College ball at Purdue have been very productive in the NFL.
In the March 2006 issue of Pro Football Weekly ( Page 8 ), they rated Akin Ayodele 46th of the scheduled FA's in 2006. In addition to UFA's, this includes Franchise Tag, Transition Tag, and RFA's. The following is the write up PFW provided on Ayodele:
" Fell out of favor in Jacksonville, where he was asked to drop and cover. Best-suited to play over the tight end in a 4-3 but could work as an outside linebacker in the 3-4. Will stamp you when he hits and has some natural pass-rush skills ".
