Vela's Blog - OLB Analysis

[Rack]

You can stick to the probablies, I will stick to what was seen.

Carpenter was seen to show good coverage skills. Maybe not "outstanding", but good.....good enough to play OLB and do it well.

theogt usually is an intelligent poster but he's got some serious MannyLove blinding him at the moment. Just take what he says about ML with a grain of salt.


Lawson >>>> Carpenter in coverage... yeah ummm, ok.

 

[theogt]

You can stick to the probablies, I will stick to what was seen.

Carpenter was seen to show good coverage skills. Maybe not "outstanding", but good.....good enough to play OLB and do it well.

Sure, I'll stick to "probablies". It wouldn't make any sense to say it any other way. I don't know with any certainty that Lawson will be better, but I think that he probably will be better. I haven't seen that Carpenter has shown "good" coverage skills. I've seen him play a pretty good bit and I would say he's average. Manny on the other hand has the potential to be well above average in coverage.

 

[neosapien23]

I'm just going to say this. I really wish Dallas would have taken Kalif Barnes last year instead of Burnett. I think Burnett would be a great fit in the 4-3, but he isn't big enough to play the OLB spot. Even Lawson-who is being questioned for being too skinny-is bigger than he is. Barnes on the other hand is looking like the real deal and he is only going to get better.

 

[theogt]

I'm just going to say this. I really wish Dallas would have taken Kalif Barnes last year instead of Burnett. I think Burnett would be a great fit in the 4-3, but he isn't big enough to play the OLB spot. Even Lawson-who is being questioned for being too skinny-is bigger than he is. Barnes on the other hand is lokking like the real deal and he is only going to get better.

I think there are a few better picks than Burnett at that point in the draft. Hopefully he'll prove us wrong.

 

[big dog cowboy]

I think Burnett would be a great fit in the 4-3, but he isn't big enough to play the OLB spot.

Coming out of college:

Height: 6-2
Weight: 239

Wouldn't surprise me if he was 250 when the season starts. Good enough for me.

 

[Vintage]

theogt usually is an intelligent poster but he's got some serious MannyLove blinding him at the moment. Just take what he says about ML with a grain of salt.


Lawson >>>> Carpenter in coverage... yeah ummm, ok.

Sounds good.

 

[theogt]

theogt usually is an intelligent poster but he's got some serious MannyLove blinding him at the moment. Just take what he says about ML with a grain of salt.


Lawson >>>> Carpenter in coverage... yeah ummm, ok.

I think I'm putting this in the sig. haha

 

[Vintage]

Sure, I'll stick to "probablies". It wouldn't make any sense to say it any other way. I don't know with any certainty that Lawson will be better, but I think that he probably will be better. I haven't seen that Carpenter has shown "good" coverage skills. I've seen him play a pretty good bit and I would say he's average. Manny on the other hand has the potential to be well above average in coverage.

Carpenter has shown he can cover TE's, etc.

Lawson hasn't.

Hence, Carpenter is better in coverage, until Manny can prove he can do it on the level Carpenter has.

Furthermore, Carpenter has shown the ability to not only take on T/G's, but shed their blocks.

Lawson relied on going around them with his speed/athleticism.

Scouts are worried about Lawson's ability to cover, take on blockers in a 3-4, and they should be. He hasn't shown a propensity to do it (partially bec. of the system he was in).

Carpenter has.

Carpenter is the safer pick, we'd get better production from him immediately (most likely), and its not like Carpenter is a slouch either.

He's the perfect fit for the SOLB in our 3-4.

If it makes you feel any better, the Patriots are rumored to be very high on him.

 

[Vintage]

I'm just going to say this. I really wish Dallas would have taken Kalif Barnes last year instead of Burnett. I think Burnett would be a great fit in the 4-3, but he isn't big enough to play the OLB spot. Even Lawson-who is being questioned for being too skinny-is bigger than he is. Barnes on the other hand is looking like the real deal and he is only going to get better.

I was hoping for Barnes too.

However, if Burnett is healthy, he has some speed to him.... I'd like to see him as the SOLB if he can prove to be starter material. He has the speed/athleticism to cover and he did well in college. He needs to improve in that area, but he has the intangibles.

 

[Rack]

I think I'm putting this in the sig. haha

Like I said, the serious Mannylove is blinding him. He didn't even consider the tremendous backfire he could get with that quote in his sig.

 

[theogt]

Carpenter has shown he can cover TE's, etc.

Lawson hasn't.

Hence, Carpenter is better in coverage, until Manny can prove he can do it on the level Carpenter has.

Furthermore, Carpenter has shown the ability to not only take on T/G's, but shed their blocks.

Lawson relied on going around them with his speed/athleticism.

Scouts are worried about Lawson's ability to cover, take on blockers in a 3-4, and they should be. He hasn't shown a propensity to do it (partially bec. of the system he was in).

Carpenter has.

Carpenter is the safer pick, we'd get better production from him immediately (most likely), and its not like Carpenter is a slouch either.

He's the perfect fit for the SOLB in our 3-4.

If it makes you feel any better, the Patriots are rumored to be very high on him.

Actually Lawson has shown that he can cover excellent TEs. He's played against a couple big names and apparently shut them down. (note - this is second hand information that I've heard from this board) Also, watch some of the clips on Lawson. Sure he has great outside speedn and can usually beat the OT on the outside, but he's clearly shown the ability to shed blocks. I can think of a few examples off the top of my head.

 

[theogt]

Like I said, the serious Mannylove is blinding him. He didn't even consider the tremendous backfire he could get with that quote in his sig.

It's a joke. Backfire? what the hell are you talking about?

 

[neosapien23]

Coming out of college:

Height: 6-2
Weight: 239

Wouldn't surprise me if he was 250 when the season starts. Good enough for me.

Normally I would agree, but most of his time will be diverted into rehabbing his knee. He will probabaly not get bigger and he might even lose weight. Rehab is time consuming and people just try to get back their range of motion, not bulk up.

 

[Rack]

It's a joke. Backfire? what the hell are you talking about?

Eh. Nevermind. I misinterpreted (sp?) what you meant. No biggie.

 

[MichaelWinicki]

I'm scared of Manny "Mamula".

 

[dwmyers]

Ok, I'm no OLB lover in general, but one of the things I do like about Carpenter (hard to test with his injury), is that the size/speed ratios I saw floated for this guy were just a little south of Vernon Davis.

Yes, Manny is provably fast, but given Carpenter's size, if the pre-Combine estimates of his speed are true, then Bobby can really motor.

In other words, I don't think Manny has much of a speed advantage over Carpenter and you know, Carpenter is a lot bigger.

So I'll ask this: who is the better hitter of the two? I've not seen tapes. What do the tapes say?

David.

 

[theogt]

In other words, I don't think Manny has much of a speed advantage over Carpenter and you know, Carpenter is a lot bigger.

I will just have to disagree with you here and I think most others will too. Manny has a significant speed advantage over Carpenter. They're about equal in strength, but Manny won in bench reps. Carpenter certainly isn't "a lot bigger" either.

 

[MiStar]

I just went though Gil Brant's records of every single pro day, and there were no DE's or OLB's that were both bigger and faster than Carpenter, although it should be noted that Stanley McGlover was three pounds heavier and had the same average 40-times (two runs averaged together).

Then consider the fact that he's coming off an ankle injury and the fact that he ran a 4.53 at OSU's pro day last year, in which Hawk posted similar times to what he did this year, and you have someone in a class of his own. When no one is both bigger and faster than you, that makes you a special athlete.

So, in conclusion, Manny Lawson is faster than Bobby Carpenter. However, Bobby Carpenter is at the top of his weight class, in terms of 40-speed.

 

[AdamJT13]

Is it just me, or does this sound a lot like the Ware-vs.-Merriman debates last year?

 

[MiStar]

It reminds me more of the DJ-vs.-Merriman debates before the draft last year. The predraft Merriman-vs.-Ware debates didn't really get into full swing until after the draft because 1) hardly anyone had ever seen Ware play 2) hardly anyone thought that Ware would be selected early in the first round until a week or so before the draft.