Webster Guy

This has been discussed to death on this board. Here's a simple answer.... A lot of very effective defenses attempt to fool offensive linemen and quarterbacks by keeping them guessing. One common way to do this is zone blitzes, overloads to one side, dropping a D lineman to cover a passing lane etc. It's beyond debate that this method is proven when done properly. Guys like Dick LeBeau have stymied great quarterbacks with these techniques for decades. My personal belief is that when a D coordinator sees that one of his rushing lineman is getting handled consistently and failing to reach the qb (like Mario was last year in most cases by mediocre RT's) then he'll drop them a little more than usual, which is still only one play out of 5 or 6. An earlier poster pointed out Von Miller dropping in coverage and creating a game changing play. That's the best pass rusher in the game right there, with a top notch defensive coordinator calling the play. It works.

And the only guy on our team that consistently pressured the qb all season.

Which is why I'm confused by the premise of this post. He's the last guy I'm worried about on defense. I thought we overpaid him on the extension, and that his breakout season was due to 3 other D'line pro bowlers taking the heat off him, and that he was the most undisciplined head case/15 yard personal foul per game slug we've ever had. Then he goes out and has an even better season with Rex's system, develops his game even more, plays to the whistle and smoked some stud LT's consistently. Everything Mario wasn't last year, Jerry Hughes was. I still think drafting a true NT and a speedy/coverage type LB would have served us better, but Jerry will be a headache for opposing qb's all year.

Boy he really seemed excited about Hankerson, I always thought it would be sammy woods salas dez boykin with listenbee/goodwin as the bubble guys for 6th spot. After hearing this I'd say Hankerson over Boykin if he had to pick today. Obviously a 100 days of practice til final cuts so it will be interesting.

Get Jarius Wynn back on the phone Doug, you never should have released him anyway he was not expensive and the guy can play. Manny Lawson working on his LDE spin move as we speak.

There isn't a single team in the league that added 3 starters on defense in a single draft, and that includes us, regardless of Whaley's statement. Adolphus has never played a single snap against an NFL lineman, and judging things like leverage and pad level are meaningless against college blockers. It's why we have camp, and also why its impossible to make any type of meaningful analysis until the hitting starts. We got a runner, a backup qb, and 3 defensive players that are locks to make the team. That's pretty awesome, and thats about all we know at this point. Listenbee might crack the top 53, but if he doesn't, keep in mind how many 6th round WR's ever do.

Agreed. I'm now convinced these guys that follow 32 teams are clueless, and even though Clayton is the best of the bunch in terms of overall league knowledge, I challenge him or anyone to show me any game last year where Bradham, Mario or Leodis changed the outcome.

He owes a lot of draftees a formal apology. Way too negative on most reviews, nobody wants to hear the minuses on a guy their team just picked. What a stupid approach. We turned to another network after the first handful of picks because it was so ridiculous. He said Nassib was the best qb of his draft too. Good call Johnny, he's lighting it up.

Brandt should have referenced the last time we played the Pats in foxboro, in November. Rex and Thurman called a great game, we held brady to 50% completion, Gronk to two catches, and held them to 20 points. Thats with no Kyle and Mario wasting a roster spot getting handled single coverage by a crappy RT all game. We only managed to score 13 points, mostly from weak line play on that right side, not able to stop Ninkovich and co. Im telling you, we are not that far behind them.

Thats so true. I laugh every time I see a national guy try to write about us. Hilarious. Couple of mock drafts had us taking a corner 1st round because "rex loves corners" wtf.....

Good work. Very interesting. Man its hard to swallow that a bum like Mario gets twice what Bruce got per season in real dollars, and HOF Jim Kelly made a third of what Osweiler will make next year in real dollars.

Someone make this thread real and do some math on what Kelly made in his prime vs the 18-20m that franchise qb's get today. How does Kelly's pay look in terms of todays dollars and percentage of team cap?

Maybe. Woods is such a fearless player he seems better designed for the slot, but Rex says Dez has been a gym rat so maybe this is his year. Not a burner though, so the best he can get is 4th WR on the chart.

i still think listenbee goes practice squad, easley gets a spot again, then dez, hankerson, salas and goodwin complete the 7.

Still cant believe Kujo was such a whiff. You'd think burning a 2nd rounder at RT would get you somebody at least mediocre. Cordy was a great 2nd round grab, but i'm sure Whaley is pissed at himself and/or staff for gambling on Kujo. Imagine our offense if he was a stud. How it would help Miller learn, add to our running game, Tyrod's development as a pocket passer, etc. Ok i'm over it. Every GM has a handful of picks that haunt them. Hope we get that side fixed somehow.

Hughes for sure. Everyone else seemed in line and well coached, especially as the season went on. I tell everyone who thinks rex and thurman dont know what theyre doing to watch the 2nd pats game. Despite missing some key guys we played an impressive game defensively.

Whatever helps the team. As long as Ray Lewis the felonious doesn't show up, i'm good....

honestly, my biggest concern is that we put a fun team to watch out there. it's nice to win, but I care more about having fun watching my team execute, so I like players that have amazing "how did he do it?!" plays (to quote the Murph) that's why I love guys like Shady, Sammy, TT, Hughes etc. (previous players like Spiller, Roscoe, Lee Evans, Moulds, etc) They do some amazing things on the field that very few athletes in the world can do. Didn't know much about Shady until we got him, but watching the guy play is awesome. Running backs can be effective and boring at the same time, but he's definitely not boring. The first time I saw him carrying the ball with his trademark one hand hook, I was like "how is this guy not fumbling a dozen times per game?" but somehow he doesn't. Love the guy.

Yup. Getting an NFL corner in your grill that screws up your release off the line is a whole lot different than some college punk trying to guard you. I'd be surprised if he makes the team, considering we cut some very good receivers last year at camp and we already have 5 they'll likely keep if you count Easley. But the dude has attitude and is really cocky, so maybe he'll spunk his way onto the 53 man roster and beat the odds.

The think I like about Reggie is that he just looks durable. Like that London Fletcher build, where everything on the guy is solid and he was born that way, not made in a weight room putting on muscle over a frame that wasn't made for it. I don't care how good you play the game as a LB, in order to be worth a high draft pick or big money in free agency you need to be durable and that's the toughest spot in the world to play if you're injury prone (ask Kiko). I'm sure Rex is going to test him in coverage every day in camp. Let's see if that 4.6 can translate to playing speed. Probably will be out on most 3rd downs unless he really shines in preseason. For what it's worth, I love that we got a 250 killer LB who was one of the best in the nation last year, even if he isn't as versatile as we would like, it's still great to have a bone cruncher out there.

I didn't realize Johnny Miller had a sub par season last year until I read up on the post season grading. He really struggled. The guy has the physical tools (I think), certainly the brute strength, but my guess is the staff has faith in him and Roman gave Whaley enough confidence in Miller's potential that we could pass on drafting a guard. As far as Henderson goes, I think he's a solid run blocker but a little stiff in pass protection, not athletic enough to be anything but a C+ type tackle. Considering it was a brand new system last year and we had two new guys at both guard spots, we may actually have FOR THE FIRST TIME IN A MILLION YEARS, the exact same O line returning with the same coordinator and HC. It's a miracle. We'll see how important experience and continuity are this season. All our guys will be at least in their sophomore season with a few vets sprinkled in.

So, we desperately need an edge rusher, Shaq is there at 19, every single draft guru has him as a top 15 overall talent, and Whaley loses his job for drafting him. Ok, got it...

Whoever it is, they have to have the long ball skills to worry an nfl free safety playing deep who knows Sammy is gonna get 75% of the big throws. The longball is a hard thing to throw accurately and consistently, but we have one of the best in the league in TT. Gotta draft accordingly, so dont give me some 6'4 possession guy please Doug.

stay put. best RG/RT on the board or WR (please no small burners that get hurt every play)

You can't say that on this board. Everyone thinks he's just a good blocker and a special teams guy, even though he has great hands, durability and gets open. But some college 3rd round pick was gonna come in camp and show Woods how its done in the NFL. Right.