Mr. ChumChums

Would you rather the Jests won?

The last few seconds were the funniest. Ahh... penis jokes.

http://sports.espn.go.com/boston/nfl/news/story?id=6038519 Either this is a very well played joke on Rex Ryan, or the Pats* have found their built-in excuse for that loss to the Jests. Either way, boohoo.

Yes, actually. In a 3-4, virtually ALL the playmaking is made by the LB corps. This isn't like a 4-3 which demands production from our D-Line. A LOT of responsibility is placed on our OLB's in a 3-4, namely because they not only have to be able to rush the passer (a la Demarcus Ware / James Harrison), but also stop the run, and cover tight ends. The reason people call the 3-4 such a "flexible" scheme is because of the versatility of the LB's, of which we have MAYBE 1 right now (in Moats). I also don't appreciate the name-calling, as I have given you nothing but sound reasoning... something which has been lacking on this board as of late.

Like I said in most of my post - the LB's (namely, Torbor and Kelsay).

While parts of me agree with you re: Williams being a better d-end, it's all really a matter of scheme. Depending on the type of 3-4 that we employ, Williams very well CAN be a penetrating NT, instead of a big body in the middle that the "traditional" 3-4 warrants. Think about Jay Ratliff, and how he's able to play very successfully in the Phillips style 3-4 in Dallas as their NT. It's all a matter of scheme, and whether or not our coordinators and coaching staff have the smarts to employ a scheme that maximizes the talents of who's on the roster. To be honest, we might be better served just simply taking the BPA on the front 7 in the draft, regardless of whether or not they play on the D-Line or LB.

I may be in the minority among this board, but I disagree about us needing any help on the DL. I think Dwan Edwards was fine this year - remember, a 3-4 DE doesn't necessarily notch tackles. His first and foremost responsibility is to take on blockers so that the LB's could make plays. Unfortunately, our LB's couldn't tackle horse-sh*t. Personally, I think that our biggest needs are in the LB corps, in that order. So, my biggest needs are as follows: 1 - OLB: many of the open holes that we gave to RB's were because our OLBs (Kelsay and Torbor) couldn't watch their lane assignments. There were wide open holes where a LB should have been. 2 - ILB: Poz is our only passable ILB (especially with David injured). Not sure what will happen once Davis comes back from injury, but outside of Poz, there isn't a starting caliber LB for our interior LB's. 3 - QB: self explanatory. Nothing against Fitz, but I still believe that this team needs a FRANCHISE QB. 4 - RT: Not sure if I want Cordoro Howard starting at RT for us next season... 5 - CB 6 - TE

Same place that Dicky J is interviewing? Doomed.

Sup Spags!

Doesn't Wanny look a lot like Bill Cowher? Just noticed this. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dave_Wannstedt

And he has good feet. Always keeps his best foot forward. Feet are important, they let you throw good balls. His feet look like they move well. He seems like he would be a good foot soldier.

This is probably the best set of highlights I've seen on Blaine Gabbert. It's pretty much every throw that he had against Illinois - think of it as watching an entire game on him. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q5nGYHLeB2g The things that stood out for me: - He gets skittish in the pocket. While his protection WAS bad, he made it worse by running around trying to save himself early. If he just stood for an extra second much of the time, he probably would have delivered some pretty good balls. - Even though he gets skittish and starts moving around, it looks like his footwork is pretty good, EVEN under duress. When he starts running around, he is still ALWAYS looking down the field to deliver the ball to his receivers. His shoulders are still always squared away, allowing him to deliver his ball pretty quickly and relatively accurately when he's running. - Has a pretty fast release, and looks like he has the arm strength to deliver all the NFL throws. He's able (and often) fits his balls in some tight windows. - His balls have zip on them, and often, his receivers drop the balls because they have too much heat on them. Not sure if this is a good or bad thing. That is all. I wouldn't take too much stock in my words though... this is my attempt to be an armchair scout .

Interesting, in that he's going to try to turn Mario Williams into a Bruce Smith-type 3-4 DE. At 295 pounds, he does have the size and athleticism... so we'll see if it works. In the Wade Phillips 3-4, this could work - I think it'll be interesting to see how it pans out, and if Williams can replicate similar sack production.

Very true. And don't forget that it usually takes a few seasons for d-linemen to really develop. Troup and Carrington could very well be future stars at their position (wishful thinking, I know). I'm really hoping for us to draft a few stud linebackers to shore up that front.

That would actually be an interesting look - although much of it is affected by situation. For example, the Bills may have used 3 down linemen in running situations, and 4 in passing more, etc... which would affect the performance numbers. Still, would be interesting to look. And I would prefer if they drafted a beast Linebacker, not a best D Lineman. Just my preference.

I'll drink to that. To the Bird Bowl!

They were running a 1-gap 3-4, which gave them a formation similar to a 4-3 under. Kelsay was often used as a flex lb/details, sometimes putting his hand in the ground.

Here's probably the best article I've ever read on NFL defenses. Gives you an explanation on pretty much any alignment, as well as the defensive theory that goes behind it. Explains pretty much whatever you need to know. http://subscribers.footballguys.com/2009/09bramel_idpguide.php This article has also been featured in the NYTimes 5th Down blog. I haven't been able to watch the games as much as I would like to, so I can't really place which version of what defense we're using. however, from what I've been hearing, we've been running the 1-Gap 3-4, with except with Kelsay's hand on the ground, giving us something SIMILAR to an OVER 4-3, but not quite the same.

I think he was making a penis joke.

wat

To be fair, that was a great offensive play design to get Calvin Johnson away from McKelvin and into a mismatch. Granted, I still believe that George Edwards has done a piss poor job of implementing the new defense...

And don't forget out ILB's too. The only LB worth anything on this team is Poz, and he even has his ups and downs. Our 3-4 ends are not the problem - they're doing their jobs by tying up blockers. It's the LB core that's killing this team right now.

Haha they are literally laughing at the stupidity of Torbor and Kelsay. Wow... I've watched those 2 play, and I new they were bad...but I never realized they were THAT bad! WOW.

Agree here. +1

Yeah just saw it. Called Moorman an all-star.