Eagles Need To Draft A Linebacker With The Size And Speed To Cover Tight Ends
BREAKING NEWS, Eagles Draft, News, NFLDraft Tuesday, April 17th, 2012
Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots didn’t beat the New York Giants in the Super Bowl and one of the big reasons for it was the leg injury suffered by their Pro Bowl tight end Rob Gronkowski in the AFC Championship game. He was their most dominating receiver, who opposing defenses had no answer for.
He played in the Super Bowl but he wasn’t himself. Gronkowski was one of the main reasons the Patriots were able to carve up NFL defenses without a speedy downfield receiver. They did most of their damage between the hashes. They utilized the talents of Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez as well as slot receiver Wes Welker.
They did things with their tight ends which have never been seen previously in the NFL. Gronkowski had a record breaking season with 90 catches for 1327 yards and 17 touchdowns. Hernandez caught 79 catches for 910 yards and 7 touchdowns.
The NFL is a copy cat league, so you know there are offensive coordinators throughout the NFL looking at tape today of the Patriots and putting in some of those routes and plays for their tight ends. If your defense can’t cover tight ends, it will have problems stopping the offenses in the NFL. I guarantee that tight ends will be utilized much more in 2012 than they were in 2011.
Big physical receivers like Gronkowski are almost impossible to cover because of the way referees protect the receivers. Belichick was wise enough to go to a tight-end heavy passing attack.
When I look at the Eagles depth chart on PhiladelphiaEagles.com, I can’t help but be astounded that they would write in second year linebacker Brian Rolle as the starter at Will linebacker. He’s a good football player, but he’s too small to be starting at Will linebacker for anybody in the NFL. Rolle is about 5’9″.
Could you imagine him being matched up against the tight ends in the league?
I expect the Birds to move Jamar Chaney over to the Will spot, when they start lining up and running plays.
Akeem Jordan is slated to be the starter at the SAM linebacker spot. Tight ends didn’t totally torch the Eagles in 2011 like they did in previous years but the Birds didn’t totally shut them down either. Regardless, I don’t know that you could give Jordan credit for it.
Tight ends are matched up against the linebackers and the safeties of NFL defenses. Can middle linebacker DeMeco Ryans, Chaney and Jordan along with the team’s safeties Nate Allen, Jaiquawn Jarrett and Kurt Coleman shut down the outstanding tight ends in the league?
I don’t feel comfortable about those matchups. It’s the main reason I want to the see the Birds draft an athletic linebacker who has some size.
North Carolina’s Zach Brown has the size and speed to be that guy, but he looked awful in the tape of saw of him. He’s athletic enough to cover the tight ends in the NFL, but he’s not a good football player. In all likelihood he’s going to be drafted in the second or third round.
I like Keenan Robinson from Texas much more than Brown, but he may not be fast enough to cover the tight ends in the league. nearly as well. This youngster has the size, but he’s not a blazer. I wouldn’t have a problem with them going with Robinson, but they need to stay away from Brown.
I’m going to continue looking for which players would best fill this need.
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Posted by GarryCobb
on Apr 17 2012. Filed under BREAKING NEWS, Eagles Draft, News, NFLDraft.
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List of SAM Backers in this Draft
OLB COurtney Upshaw 6-2 265lbs (Some teams see him as pass-rusher)
OLB Shea McClellin (Boise State 6-3 260lbs) – very versatile,can play inside,outside and even DE in the down position.. Has had 2 pretty severe concussions while at Boise State which has to be checked out
OLB Ronnell Lewis (Oklahoma 6-2 253lbs) – A very athletic,hard hitting player who can raise a lot of havoc and has the speed to cover downfield and to also blitz the QB.. Has a very nasty dispostion and sometimes plays out of control.. Keep him focused and could be a very goodf NFL Player
OLB Nigel Bradham (Florida St 6-2 241lbs) – Probably one of the more complete LB’s in this draft, does everything well and has the type of frame to easily put on anoth 10 lbs with NFL Conditioning while keeping his speed
OLB Josh Kaduu (Oregon 6-3 235lbs) Aonther speedster with some size who will also get a little bigger as a Pro.. A very good cover guy and raw athlete who needs to get stronger and more technically sound.. A solid 3rd Round Prospect
OLB Kyle Wilber (Wake Forest 6-4 249lbs) – Was originally recruited and played DE during his 1 Season at Wake before converting to an OLB, has the long arms and speed to cover TE’s, solid in the running game and a smart intelligent player who is moving up the Draft board and is now probably a solid late 3rd Round/4th Round Prospect
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upshaw weighed 279 lbs paulman .. no way were drafting him .. we already get abused by tightends..
Devon still is the complete package.. has all the moves plays the run and pass better first step than worthy and stronger..
That’s why I stated that many teams view Upshaw as more of DE than a OLB
and if he were an OLB, it most likely be in a 3-4 Scheme like a DeMarcus Ware/Terrell Suggs type where they are really are pass rushers coming from the OLB position..
Upshaw, Melvin Ingram are 3-4 Types that don’t fit the Eagles schemes and needs as a everydown OLB in Eagles 4-3 Scheme… ,
I don’t think either one of these were even thought of by the Eagles .
P -man the 1st 3 Sam backers on your list are all 3-4 OLB’s or 4-3 DE’s… All 3 are pass rushers not Sam Linebackers. These guys are closer to the position Jason Babin plays than what Philly needs at SAM backer…Now the Eagles have been known to draft guys like this (Ricky Sapp, Bryan Smith, Chris Gocong) in Mid Rd’s and try to change them to Linebacker but it really hasnt worked out to well for them. Chris Gocong maybe the exception to that. Gocong has played well in Cleveland.
McClellin, Lewis, Bradham by most NFL Scouts project to be more of OLB in the NFL as opposed to pass-rushing specialits as DE’s at the Pro level..
All 3 of these players did both at College are not just stricltly pass rushers (though these 3 are all pretty good at it) and have experience in dropping back in pass coverages,etc.etc.. again the SAM LB position is going to engage versus TE and OT’s and FB in the running game and may be pulled off the field in obvious Passing situations to allow for another DB or faster LB to come in in passing downs..
LB R Lewis has stated that he would prefer a stand up 3-4 OLB position..
Watch for the PAtriots scoop him up with one of their 2nd Round Picks
I dont want anymore conversion DEs mcclellin love his athletic ability but hes more of a DE as is lewis … but bradham wow that guy can do it all
must be a day that ends in the letters “D-A-Y” – because Paulman is GUSHING bullshit.
SAM LBs in this draft can really only be identified by subjective professional scouts – which is why I’ve been directing people to Tommy Lawlor’s sites igglesbolitz.com and scoutsnotebook.com for a while now – because he does throrough homework, detailed analysis and actually works at it. He also doesn’t ‘throw stuff at the wall’.
Paul casually pretends he knows what he’s talking about.
I really don’t understand the Bradham love on here. He’s decent, but struggles with blockers big time. All of his “highlights” are when he has a clean shot at the ball carrier. He doesn’t seem like he wants to get dirty. My top pick would be Wagner in the 2nd. Then I’d look for Robinson or Demorio Davis in the 3rd.
Schill, what’s your handle on igglesblitz? That’s a good group over there.
@ ceterisparibus.. why i think bradham is good for us is he can cover TEs hes fast and and can really hit.. we have no enforcers at all… i like wagner also wagner can fly . bradham is faster than robinson and davis TEs will expose them
Ceteris, don’t have one. I’d just be preaching to the choir over there… I only read that site.
New draft buzz is the eagles would trade up for cox not tanehill..
igglesblitz is another official eagles site masking as if it’s a regular blog. garbage’
and once again songs would have a point if it was remotely close to being accurate
cue fart sound and cartoon “wah wah wah wah”….
Songs, do you EVER make an effort to be correct or sensical?
It’s just like this site, except for 1 guy’s point of view only in the posts – as if it was only Garry writing the articles. Except igglesblitz doesn’t have the repulsive adds, the viruses, or videos. Anyone can still comment. Oh yeah, other difference is that people aren’t HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE, random exception, HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE, stupid haterbait bullshit article, HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE. No, over there it’s reasonable.
Hi, my name is Songs and I have no idea what the word ‘official’ means.
Jerel Worthy brings nothing more than what we already get from Mike Patterson. No Thanks.
uh, gmcliff – can’t disagree with you more. Worthy is bigger, taller (already), and is a pash rush, get in the backfield as quickly as possible guy. Relentless and plays on the other side of the line of scrimmage. Patterson is a run stoper. A space eater type. Worthy would play the UT position in the wide nine. Patterson plays the NT.
I actually agree with Schiller and like Jerel Worthy and think he has a lot of upside as a Pro and is definitely more of a penetrator than Mike Patterson is or ever was.. I wouldn’t pick him at #15 if the Eagles are to stay put at the spot .. But if they were to trade down and had a pick down in the mid/late 20′s, I would think he would be a very good player to grab towards the end of the 1st Round and think he will make a very good NFL Player for someone.. I would not be surprised to see the Steelers or Packers grab him if he is still on the board when they select late in the 1st Round.. .
I like Worthy too. You’re wrong about this one GM. Sorry. Dude loves football, is bigger, stronger, faster than Patterson & actually can make plays, other than take up space, like Patterson has done for the last 7 years. He has 15.5 sacks, 332 total tackles, 252 solo tackles, 4 FF & 1 interceptions, in 7 years. That’s 7 years. That’s a half of a sack a year & 36 SOLO tackles a year. He is a non-play making, non-factor. He should have went BYE-BYE with Bunkley last off-season, but he had the brain issue, so they couldn’t do anything with him. Landri has more sacks, in 3 fewer seasons as a part time player, than he does. There is no comparison, Patterson is an okay, non-play making DT. He for sure is no difference maker. Their is a reason why we couldn’t stop the run since he has been here, & it isn’t only the LB’s fault. When you got 320+ lb O-linemen getting into the second level of the
D-backfield & gashing you with the run, that tells me 2 things, your DT’s are getting abused & your LB’s aren’t good enough to back them up. Strenghten the center of this DF & the LB’s & we could be a good DF next year. We got Ryans so far, now we need a good young DT, a veteran SS & 2 good, young OLB’s, & IMHO we would well on our way to being much better this season. I hope. They need to make very good decisions at our priority positions, & not try to be cute & through any curve balls at us. They must come out of those first 3 picks with a DT, OLB, DE- DT 2 OLB’s- or DT, OLB & SS.
*** Meant 2.5 sacks***
@ larr, Davis tested out better than Bradham in every speed and agility category. I still only see Bradham making plays when he’s kept clean and roaming. He doesn’t play like he wants to engage, and that’s a big problem lining up over TEs in the NFL. I guess my point would be that if you like Bradham as an early 3rd prospect, I’d rather wait a round and take Davis or Robinson.
@Shill, and DCar – You know me if someone disagrees with me, my respomse is we will see. This is where I make a note of who disagree with me, and 2-3 years down the road I tell you I told you so. I think you are toatally overvaluing this guy. I’ve watched him play as well, and he played some good games but to weigh his skills against NFL Offensive lineman, is another thing. I see Mike Patterson. DCar, he is the same size as Patterson, he is not bigger, and they have similar games, and Patterson will never be a nose tackle. Patterson made plays in college as well, he was just under the radar because scouts felt he was too short to stand up to the bigger NFL O- Lineman. I say you guys are wrong, but we’ll see.
Some, a couple of years mocked me because, in the past I wanted to trade up for Eric Berry, and Patrick Peterson, draft Michael Oher, Ryan Mallett, Marcus Cannon, LaGarrette Blount, and Justin Houston, now we wished we had them because they are positions of need now. We wil see fellas.I n my opinion Worthy is your average Defensive tackle (Mike Patterson)
Kendell Reyas is a better prospect than Jerel Worthy, and will be a better pro. His game mirrors Cullen Jenkins. Oh, Who would I want Patterson, or Jenkins?
GM, my bad. I was mistaken. I got him mixed up with Kendall Reyes. It’s a moot point anyways. We both think Patterson has been virtually a non-factor & mediocre DT & I like Cox, Brockers, Reyes, Still & Thompson anyways.
I like DT’s Kendall Reyes & Derek Wolfe and believe both players have a better upside in the NFL than the Top DT’s like Poe,Broickers,Still & Worthy that are rated above them..
I would Trade that #15 PIck down to a Team for later pick in the1st Round and get an additional 2nd or 3rd ROund Pick in return
A few teams who may be interested in trading for that Eagles #15 Pick to get that SPecial Player that they like..
Browns (Have 4th & 22nd Picks in 1st, then 37th in the 2nd Round)
Bengals (Have 17th & 21st Picks in 1st,then 53rd in the 2nd Round)
Patriots (Have 27th & 31st Picks in 1st, then 48th & the 62nd in the 2nd Rd)
Titans (Have the 20th PIck in the 1st and the 52nd in 2nd Round)
Lions (Have the 25th Pick in thet 1st and the 54th in the 2nd Round)
With the Eagles having CB Samuel or DE D Tapp availalable to trade along with a 15th pick and 2 2nd Rounders, the Eagle will have many options on moving up or moving down..
Remember that best Value of this Draft is to get as many Selections between #25 thru about the #100 Pick.. Right now the Eagles have 3 Selections in this range (#46,#51 & #88) and if they trade down from #15 and acuire an additional pick and then maybe Trade Samuel with a 5th Rounder for a teams 3rd Rounder then they could have 5 Selections in this Range which would be awesome..
gmcliff. Yeah, you and I clearly disagree on our assement of the dts, and agreed, we shall see how it turns out. But don’t tell me that patterson and worthy are the same size. 3 inches and 10 pounds does not equal 0 inches and 0 pounds. And worthy is younger and can add weight to his frame. Opinions are one thing, but facts are another. And Worthy is bigger. Don’t play with facts to fit your opinion man
For my money, the only DT I want at 15 is Cox. Any of the others I’d trade back for and take my chances. If they don’t go DT in the 1st, I’d target Reyes early in the 2nd, or Wolfe in the 3rd.
That’s exactly how I see it Ceterisparibus..
I take Cox at #15, and if he’s gone which is probably the case, then I am going for a CB (Stephon Gilmore) or try to trade down
If Reyes is still on the board at #46, I then Select him and again, I thnk he will be gone and would select OLB or SS
At #51, If I was unable to get the DT I wanted, then I am taking DT Derek Wolfe
jaye howard is also a good DT paulman.. but im with ya with cox if hes there at 15 its a no brainer you gotta take him
Shill, we will just agree to disagree brother. I don’t like Worthy a little bit, but we’ll be talking because like I said…………we’ll see.
@ Shill – I give less than a darn about his size, his game is exactly like Mike Pattersons, that I have had my full of. I don’t want any mediocrity from this draft, I want ass kickers. You can have Worthy.
I feel the same way about Wolfe; no interest at all……….we already have Derek Landri
@Lawrrd – Jaye Howard has been mocked to be a 5th-6th round player. Not physical enough in the trenches, overwhelmed by larger offensive lineman; could possibly be CFL, Arena League bound.
Cliff, Mike Patterson plays the 1-technique for us, Worthy is a 3-technique DT. Their game isn’t the same. Worthy has an explosive first step, just like Cullen Jenkins. Patterson has to play with better leverage because he’s taking on the Center/Guard double team.
I like Reyes, but only as a 2nd rounder. He was way too un-productive in Big East for my taste to be a first rounder. Worthy was as productive in 3 years as Reyes was in 4, against better competition. I’d take Worthy if I wanted to trade back into the 20s, but not Reyes there.
Again, Landri is the back-up 1-technique DT. Derek Wolf is a 3-technique DT. They don’t play the same position. Wolfe was as productive as any DT in this draft, and if you can get him in the 3rd it would be money well spent. I’d still rather have Cox in the 1st, but if that doesn’t happen and they don’t select a DT in the 2nd, I’d love to grab Wolfe in the 3rd. Just my $0.02
Is that why he mocked to go in the middle of the second, and not the first. I say he is totally overvalued like a lot of the latest, and greatest prospects every year that draft fans get excited about. But reality sets in when training camp starts and they actually gets on the field.
Screw that one technique, five technique crap. Is he as good as looks on tape. Worthy played against a weak offensive lineman talented Big Ten, just like Devon Still, also mocked for the second round – outside Wisconsin- and you use that as your argument. Sounds to me the scouts see what I see in their so- called production, as somewhat misleading about their true abilities, because there are alot of games last year he flat out disappeared, or was overwhelmed when he played against more talented offensive lineman, like Wisconsin.
C, I respect your opinion, as well as Shillers but there is more here than just liking a players ability. How does that ability stack up against NFL TALENT?
i STILL SAY he is Mike Patterson, and Patterson at this point is better because he has at least played in the league, and proven he’s ok, and thats stretching it for me.. I say no thanks to Jerel Worthy, but you can have him if you want. But I don’t want him on the Eagles.
Worthy was also unimpressive at the Senior Bowl against better offensive lineman.
Gm, do you think desean jackson is another chris johnson too? Just curious because you seem to ignore that guys play different positions
I think the talent in the Big 10 is better than the Big East if that’s what your asking. I also think it matters how they play on the Dline. Some guys are better suited to play the 1 technique. That’s why it exists!
Mayo k, kiper, and Scott wright all have Worthy as the 4th dt on the board behind Cox, Poe, & Brockers ahead of both Still and Reyes. He seems to be late first round prospect at this point.
In the end you may be right about him.
They both are DT’s Shiller; You can talk about 1 gap , 2gap, they’re both DT’s. What different positions were you referring to? In a Wide Nine, they would still be DT’s with the same assignment. Was that a serious question, or are you just trying to be sarcastic?
C, HE IS NOT A LATE 1ST ROUND PICK, and no one has mocked him in the first round either. He is a second round pick, period.
When did I even mention the Big East? How did you come to the conclusion, I was saying the Big East, was better than the Big 10?The talent of offensive lineman in the Big 10 was not what it has been in the past. That may have been a factor in why some players production didn’t really match their overall talent.
Devon, was the most productive DT in the Big 10.
C, brother people don’t realize how many bust Mel Kiper, and Todd McShay have predicted will be can’t miss, or even productive Pro’s in the NFL. I listen to them out of respect, but I trust my eyes and what I see as well. Can’t put all my stock in what Kiper says. The men I really listen to is Charley Casserley, Ray Didinger, and Mike Lombardi. Ray like Worthy too, but he feels he needs to do a better job getting off blocks against better talent,and double teams. He’s ok. I just don’t want him on the Eagles, because hereminds me of Mike Patterson..
Cliff, a few final points since there seems to be some confusion. Where a player mocks doesn’t necessarily equate to their grade. Mocks try to match where people think teams will fill needs with certain players. A player can have a late-first round grade and not actually get picked until the early second in a mock because of the team needs at the end of the first round. The player’s actual grade is what I’m going on, not where people mock him. Besides just to amuse you, Banks’ most recent have him selected at 31. SB nation has him selected at 33 (first pick in the second), Scott Wright has him going 25, Kiper has him in first few picks of the second, B/R have him selected at 31 as well. Bottom line, almost everyone has him either late-first round or very early second.
The Big E was brought up to compare Worthy and Reyes, who you like much better. I never said you said the Big E was better, I said that Worthy was more productive in a better conference, even if it’s down, in fewer years than Reyes. Thus, it’s not absurd to think the Worthy could be a late-first round option if Reyes is a mid-second round option.
I realize scouts are wrong all the time, and they will continue to be wrong again. But that doesn’t change where they grade players, and Worthy’s grade is a late-first/early-second. Sometimes I’m right on players they are wrong about and vise-a-versa, but that doesn’t mean I pretend to know more than they do. They spend their lives watching coaches film, not the broadcast film you and I get to see once a week. They go back painstakingly over each play in detail to grade players out. I’ll trust them more often than not over random people on a message board. Again, doesn’t mean they’ll be right and you will be wrong, but they have credentials and that you can’t ignore.
LOL C!!!!! ………..I heard that. They watch all that film for 2 years and still get it wrong huh!!??…….This draft will be fun to watch brother. C, continue doing your part in keeping these post interesting. Ilook forward to hearing from you on draft day. You know everybody is going to have something to say. Peace.
Gmcliff, to answer your question of which different positions I was referring to – UT (up tackle) and NT (nose tackle).
Google this exact phrase and click on the second link for a great explanation. “tommy lawlor, ut, nt, wide 9″
Doesn’t matter they are still DT’s; same positions with different assignments. Patterson has been a NT in a 3-4 setting before playing for the Eagles. Still a DT. I don’t see your point.
Gm, and patterson plays nt now for the eagles in a wide nine 4-3. Its not the 3-4 nt position. The wide nine has specific roles for different dts, the nt, and ut. Patterson is an nt in the wide 9. Worthy would not play that same position. Worthy would be an UT.
So again, your comparison of the vtwo players is misinformed because the would be playing different roles.
You have to realize that the wide 9 is not just a different name for 4-3, its a different system. We USED TO have two interchangeable dts, no longer though.
Get it now?
He played NT when JJ was still alive vs the Patriots in the 3-4 set they were playing……..Reading Comprehension!!?!!!? Do you get it yet?
Call it what you want he is a DT, You don’t see any prospects catergorized by UT……………They are all by definition DT’s. Their roles are their roles but they are all DT’s.