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Quote:

Originally Posted by rezburna (Post 613204)

Our linebackers are slow.

+1 Rez.

The LB position has to become a priority in next years draft. And I don't mean selecting guys in the 4th, 5th rounds either.

I was watching that LB Shazier (rookie) kid for Pittsburgh last night. Where ever Cam Newton thought of running, there Shazier was.. on a B line to make the tackle for minimal gain OR to wipe him out.

We need someone like that to arrive with bad intentions at the LB position.

Apparently our secondary doesn't have any talent..............:roll:

I agree with K Major. I wanted the saints to draft him thats another Lavonte David. Once in a generation speed and solid coverage skills.

...lacks ball skills & instincts. Hence ZERO int's in last 5 games (that includes playoffs) with & without Harper and Jenkins.

Quote:

Originally Posted by K Major (Post 613339)

We already have a Shazier-type player in Vaccaro. If we are going back to the defense we used last year, like the ESPN article today said, then we are set up with a lot of pursuit speed at the second level.

---------Bush---------------------Byrd----------

White--------------Vacarro------------------Lewis

-----Galette----------Lofton--------Hawthorne----

------Jordan-------- Bunkley---------Hicks--------

This is a setup that gives you tons of flexibility because Vaccaro can move practically anywhere on the field pre-snap. I do not understand why we abandoned it early in this season but if the Triplett article is correct we're going to see a lot more of the 2013 style defense in the coming weeks.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Danno (Post 613314)

Why does our front office suck so bad at acquiring stud linebackers?

I have NO IDEA about why, today, this is so true. But I do remember, something I read from back in the relative start of the Gregg Williams era.

I wanted to know more about GW, so I went digging for articles about him and his past defenses, his past career history as a coordinator. This must have been in late '09 to maybe 2010 sometime. I really dug for articles all over the place, every team he'd had a defense for, I read a ton about him.

And this one Washington DC sports writer wrote an article, that was kind of a post-mortem autopsy on WIlliams' time in Washington as he was leaving there. And in it, he kinda said that, one of Gregg Williams' "things" that he did on defense at all his various different teams, was to have ONE really good linebacker, to sort of anchor the position, and then surround that one key player with a bunch of faceless fly-by-night nobodies around him, journeymen linebackers, plugging them in and out. But your anchor guy at LB was gonna carry the day for the group. Which is sort of exactly what happened with Vilma, here.

And one of the downfalls of that Gregg Williams defense in Washington DC, mentioned in that article, was that as time went by, they couldn't replace the BIG playmaker guy (Marcus Washington) as anchor, and they were left with nothing but faceless fly-by-nights.

Now obviously, of course Williams is long gone and we've had two different coordinators in here since then, and no idea what Ryan is thinking....

But the lingering effects of those 2-3 Williams era defensive drafts (P-Rob, Malcolm Jenkins) and the style of building the defensive team over the last 3-4 years, PLUS a virtually useless funky Spagnuolo/Bountygate draft, PLUS never really properly addressing replacing Vilma as a STUD linebacker and true LEADER of the defense (a leader, not "Captain").....I dunno....just a theory, but maybe that is some of what we are seeing with our lame linebacker corps.

I mean right now Lofton is supposed to be "THE GUY" at linebacker, the stud, and everybody else is sort of like, who? Who is this guy? And nobody is standing out. They're all pretty useless.

Quote:

Originally Posted by SaintsBro (Post 613484)

Lofton was such a huge acquisition though. He always looked like the best player on ATL's defense. He still makes a ton of tackles. He's just really slow. I think that's the main reason he has issues in coverage. Same for Hawthorne. That was supposed to be a huge pick up.

You see other teams linebackers getting interceptions, maybe just 1 or 2

The last interception one of our linebackers got was in 2010, Scott shanle picked off a tipped matt ryan pass.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jack Vegas (Post 613379)

True. I'd prefer if we got Hawthorne off the field all together. I've been clamoring for James Harrison for a while now. Looks like he's back with the Steelers, but I definitely feel we could've have benefited from his mean streak and attitude.

Quote:

Originally Posted by dizzle88 (Post 613491)

You see other teams linebackers getting interceptions, maybe just 1 or 2

The last interception one of our linebackers got was in 2010, Scott shanle picked off a tipped matt ryan pass.

Will Herring had an INT against Miami last season
Vilma had one against Carolina in 2012
Herring got one against the Giants and Shanley had one against the falcons (probably the one your thinking of) in 2011

I bash Lofton because of his no-cover skills, I praise his hustle and for the most part his tackling, he and Hawthorn are not a good paired together. Last season the DB.s and front 4 masked their lack of lb. support. We don't have the lb.'s to run a true 3-4 which I think we would be better off with although we do have the players for a 4-3 but would be thin there, it's kind of like damned if you do damned if you don't. The 3-3-5 with a SS sitting down low in the box will help but most of our SS are a little light in the butt. Now enter Baptiste, I know he was drafted(2nd round I might add) I would make him a roving SS to do that job, the guy is big, tall, fast but if he hits like a mack truck he could be perfect. I wish we had that 3rd round pick back.

Ah yes, the Shanle interception! I remember that! I will tell my grandchildren about it someday. That, and I'll also be telling them to be on the lookout for Halley's Comet, which returns in 2061.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Utah_Saint (Post 613493)

My bad, thanks for the correction

I think the point I'm getting at is when in zone coverage, other linebackers at least attempt to make a play on the ball - it always seems like ours are always chasing the receiver after the catch

Quote:

Originally Posted by dizzle88 (Post 613502)

(I was just pickin nits)

It's still not very many so your point is still valid.

Here's a cool fact about our secondary (or LBers, entire defense, whatever) after WEEK 3:

Tied for last with 0 Int's with 5 other teams: KC, MIA, NYJ, PIT, & SD
We are dead last in forced turnovers with 1.
You know who is tied with multiple other teams for 2nd-to-last in forced turnovers with 2? NY Jets.

NY Jets Defense run by...Rob Ryan. Isn't it ironic, don't you think?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Barry from MS (Post 613538)

NY Jets Defense run by...Rob Ryan. Isn't it ironic, don't you think?

REX Ryan, just sayin.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Halo (Post 613539)

REX Ryan, just sayin.

CRAP!!! Beat me to it before I could correct it. I have a bad brain. And it's not irony, either....it's coincidence. Maybe I should stop posting...