Lions sign Chris Board to 1 year deal

From 2021:

Moving out west & playing with Derek Carr we’re the main reasons:

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Or even Superbad!!!

christopher mintz plasse superbad GIF

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Every college linebacker ever could say that, lol

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“Every linebacker could say that”

There just wanted to clean it up for ya, you don’t need college in there :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

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“You can put in on the boaaaaaaaard - yyyes!”

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The more I read up about this player the more I think we slept on the consequence of this move. I think the plan is for him to be one of our primary linebackers. He was perceived to be one of the elite special teams players in the league. At under 2m for 1 year I think he could have found similar money and a spot on a much better team as a special teams ace. I think we were able to recruit him due to the idea that he could earn starter minutes during a prove it year.

The Ravens fans seem to like him quite a bit and in particular say he’s excellent on third down and in space. He’s a 4.6 flat guy and most Ravens fans seem to acknowledge that he’s quite good in coverage. Seeing as how they’re used to competent defensive play I see that as high praise. We of course have had a void in that role for a very long time. A few Ravens fans on Twitter have expressed that he needs to improve with his processing. Hopefully that can come with additional reps

Here is Jim Harbaugh on Board, “He’s a heck of a football player. In terms of special teams, he’s going to be a stalwart. I think he’s also a very good LB. He’s a good space LB, good coverage LB. (Detroit) is getting a great guy & heck of football player."

Lastly here’s a clip that kind of jumped out to me. Gio Bernard has for years been one of the better pass catching RBs in the league. I can’t remember having a LBer able to cover like that. Heartening to see Brad and the rest of the braintrust target an area of need. Hopefully it proves successful. Even if he just fills that niche and gives us good special teams play he’s a steal at 1.99m. I think there may be more upside there…

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Reminded me of the Chris Evans TD vs the Bengals.

RB - LB matchup …“go” route.

Board is the upgrade to JLM.

Thanks for the link @CuriousHusker

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I liked JRM but they got a faster, younger version that’s better in coverage and on special teams for less than one half the guaranteed money.

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Here is another one. It’s completed on a beautiful pass to MVS who runs a 4.37. But that’s elite coverage from a LB. You can tell that he started out at NDSU as a safety.

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It’s encouraging to me that Holmes and the staff aren’t just looking to sign every former player they ever coached before 2021.

There were a few former Ram LBs available this offseason (Littleton, Kiser, Kenny Young)… and I wondered if Holmes might sign one… but seems like he is keeping his eyes open for other players as well.

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Not gonna lie. When I heard that we signed Chris Board that’s the first I knew of him existing.

After familiarizing myself with him I’m mostly just happy that the fan base and the brain trust seem to be on the same page. We’ve been screaming at the TVs about LBer coverage for what, decades? Last year was a small improvement but we need more progress. And it’s just two clips so I’m not going to get too excited . But I don’t think we’ve had a LBer that could keep himself in that sort of position against that level of offensive weapon in a long time. Maybe Levy pre dickfish? Reggie Brown for a flash? Who else am I forgetting in terms of quality coverage LBers?

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just watched video below… and realized the Ravems traded Kenny Young to the Rams a few years ago… and chose to keep Board. :eyes::eyes:

Well I’m on Board with the signing.

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Let’s not go overboard here …

Like @CuriousHusker mentioned… I knew nothing about Chris Board prior to this signing.

I checked out snap counts, stats, and watched some of his play in 4 games from 2021.

Looks like he was earning more playing time each year. The Ravens drafted Patrick Queen in 1st round of 2020 (75% of snap in (2021) and former Lion Josh Bynes played 50% of snaps.
Malik Harrison… who was a 3rd round pick in 2020… played 16% of snaps.

I am guessing that having 2 LBs drafted in the top 3 rounds of 2020 draft is the main reason the Ravens didn’t offer Board more money to stay.

Things I noticed on tape:

His weakness appears to be taking on OGs in between the tackles. These pics are showing Vaitai driving him back. Not too surprising that he was overpowered… but he didn’t make a great attempt to slip the block here, and I saw it happen in Dolphins game as well.


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On the other hand… he showed he can set the edge in the run game.


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The 1st pic shows him turning the play inside…
and the next pic shows him getting off the block to try to assist on a tackle.
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I don’t think believing Board is better at LB than JRM is going overboard.

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Sorry, I was just making a lame attempt at a little humour …

Over-Board …

Kinda lame I know … :roll_eyes:

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We all a certain level of lame brother!!

Rock with what you got!! :heart::upside_down_face::+1::crazy_face::pray:

It’s only a one year deal. I wonder if after this year we let him Board walk.

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As long as he’s not Chris Bored, I’m good with the signing.