Vitt Says Linebackers Group is "The Deepest I Have Been Around"
 

Given the addition of the three middle linebackers, how much do you anticipate the competition level rising?

That’s what it’s all about, and it’s there, it’s on.

Where do guys like Scott Shanle stand?

Scott Shanle has had an outstanding camp. Scott has started at the Sam position for us this spring. I think Scott is one of those guys, one of those rare breeds. I’ve been with him since ’06, and you have not seen any diminishing skill level. He still has the footwork and the fluid hips. One of his real high qualities that he has is his man coverage skills. He’s come into camp in great shape, so he has done a great job.

Is it safe to say that this is the best group of linebackers that you have had since you’ve been here?

I’ll tell you, it’s probably the deepest group I’ve ever been around. I would say that linebackers 1-7 or 1-8 could start for a lot of teams in the National Football League, and that’s a compliment to the group.

What have you seen from Curtis Lofton that maybe shocked or surprised you?

Number one, he’s lost some weight and body fat. His ability to change direction in space, his ability to drop his weight and burst on the ball, and then his angles to the ball and his closing speed have been shocking to me. They’ve been shocking to his teammates too. We know what we’ve got; we’ve got a thumper. We’ve got a guy who loves the contact, he’s a downhill linebacker. To watch his athleticism in space, his ability to flip his hips and burst, has really been a nice addition.

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Vitt Says Linebackers Group is "The Deepest I Have Been Around"

Oh my, my heart skipped a few beats.

All the criticism Lofton received while playing with the Falcons about being just a 2 down thumper, you know he's going to be playing with a chip on his shoulder. I'm glad we get to play the Falcons twice a year.

"I think Scott is one of those guys, one of those rare breeds. I’ve been with him since ’06, and you have not seen any diminishing skill level. He still has the footwork and the fluid hips. One of his real high qualities that he has is his man coverage skills."

Are you freakin kidding me?????? He must be slipping the coach's hallucinagins or something. This dude is like a cockaroach..they just don't die.

Anybody there watching all this? If so......anybody willing to pull a Tonya Harding on Shanle??? PLEASE!!!! If he keeps playing well, we might have him another year. Ughhhhh...................

Its funny, before he left he was a priority player to resign, after he signed with us he was merely a two down LB who sucks in coverage.

LOL!!!

Mike, you just shot down all my excitement about Lofton. If he's that impressed with Shanle then the Lofton accolades are meaningless.

If Shanle starts, our linebackers still suck. At least its deep with sucky LB's.

:lolup:

Sucky linebackers............yeah we're deep alright.:rolleyes:

He's right - deep as in there have never been this many LB's on the roster.

"Deep" does not equate to "talent".

Casillas - Injury prone
Vilma - goners
Lofton - new system, known for being slow, liability in coverage
Shanle - shanle
Wilson - now a DE

Throw the next several names in a group I like to call "who the hell really knows???" and you've got to be slightly concerned about our LB corps this season.