I think Izien could play a light LBer role… Rolder has a hammy so probably starts on IR and is back around October, but he’ll be behind.
Obviously Campbell/Barnes/Rodrigo are locks… Probably Nowaske… Reeder probably makes it too now with Rolder out… Damon Clark could make it for ST
Agree but I see Clark beating out either White or Nowaske.
That’s the way I see it too, Clark over White. We went after Clark right away, Shep clearly had a plan for him. Not that White can’t beat him out but as of the time they were brought onto the roster I’d say Clark has a big leg up.
It’s honestly how I see it too. The fanboy in me chose White over Clark. But I fully recognize that Clark is likely the better Linebacker.
I think the conversation about extra DB vs extra LB comes down to which spot offers more values on ST’s.
Usually the LB (ht, wt, body type/speed ratio) is more important to have for a teams spot than a DB
Risdon on White is basically: Jarrad Davis but bigger. Same issues. Great at stopping runs. Poor coverage instincts
The unit has some upside but outside of Campbell, it’s littered with question marks. Rodrigo was a situational guy even when healthy, no idea what he’ll be post-injury, Barnes was not good last year, White has been bad most of his career, Nowaske, Clark etc. are barely NFL caliber, Rolder I wouldn’t expect much from this year.
AA even in his diminished form is a huge loss. Outside of safety, LB is the biggest question mark on the team. Well, corner too. The defensive line could be really good especially with Alim healthy and Tyliek with another year of experience but the defense is a mess otherwise to be quite honest.
White as a blitzer and pass rusher is one skill he was decent at with the Bucs.
He does have 25 career sacks. Obviously you never want him in coverage but perhaps they could scheme up some pass rushing opportunities for him on 3rd downs. He’s got some juice and speed.
i’m a Branch fan, but he would get destroyed. 5-11 190lbs does not hold up at LB against the run very well in the NFL. he’s a small framed dude in person
He was AWESOME there as a rookie though. There are plenty of slot corners/safeties who are roughly that size and awesome. You don’t want him taking on blocks obviously, but the best ones rarely do. They use their instincts to live in the backfield instead. I’ll never forget Branch’s performance in that Atlanta game, best he’s ever looked.
I think coming off an achilles tear there’s no way I see him standing up RBs in the hole. Not anytime soon.
I think standing up to RBs will be easier than planting and cutting, at least at first. I just thought he was most impactful for us near the line of scrimmage in general. In fact I was against his move deeper at the time, and while he’s proved to be a plus there as well, I STILL believe he’s best near the line of scrimmage.
How many pounds of force in standing up an NFL RB vs. planting and cutting? Not really close near as I can tell. But I too would like to see him able to do everything at some point, and if he’s lost a tick of speed he will likely be best used in the box as you’d prefer.
No, not close, but the force is spread out standing up to a RB, whereas the achilles often takes a lot more of it when planting and cutting, at least off of the corresponding foot. It’s also generally forward force - at least when engaged - than the lateral force of cutting/planting. I just think overall he’s much more impactful in a Palomalu-esque role than a deeper/hybrid role (though he is very good at that too). And I think going forward, once he’s healed, that might be doubly true. Any lost juice is far more likely to be on the lateral plane.
Hmmm, seems to me that standing up a RB requires mucho force in the feet vs. the upper body, which is more about absorbing the energy than creating it. I do hope he returns to form, he’s one of my most favorite players to watch.
It is, but it’s the whole lower half, glutes, hammies, calves, etc… of both legs (as well as the achilles, admittedly), and generally in a forward-facing alignment, at least if it’s engaged. Whereas cutting/planting is often on one leg, no glutes or hammies. It’s why so many knee/ankle/achilles injuries happen then, they’re taking a ton of force by themselves, or without as much ‘help’.
Or as AI puts it more succinctly: absorbing contact is a linear, multi-joint force, while cutting creates extreme eccentric loads and rapid rotational torque.
PFF ratings you mean. Which suck and mean nothing. He was inconsistent but still very productive. His poor rating came mostly on coverages and the way PFF rates things is the closet player to the catch. Meaning if the receiver catches the ball the closest defender gets the negative grade.
He could be playing the play and picking up the coverage breakdown and get the negative grade caused by the DB. Which if you watch his film you will see this happened a lot in LV.
He’s definitely not a stud or a great player but he’s a serviceable backup who has starter capability.
Multiple ratings, actually, including PFF. You can dig into his profile via any metric, in fact, and see how bad he was. Yes, he can blitz. He’s still fast in a straight line and a good tackler (if he doesn’t run by a guy). He can be weaponized properly, as Vegas showed, but it’s a very narrow path. And that’s doubly worse here, guys without versatility struggle to get minutes for us.
I agree that PFF isn’t the be-all-end-all, but there’s gray area numbers then there’s dead last for two straight years. He didn’t pile up those scores just by being close to the guy who caught the balls.
Honestly, if he was worth a damn why did it take him so long to sign? Why didn’t Vegas bring him back? There are no contract details yet, but as he signed LAST year for the vet minimum, it’s highly likely that’s what he’s on again.
He’s a big name, but he’s not a good player, by any stretch. He’s been bottom of the roster fodder for the past 2-3 years, and I suspect that’s how the rest of his career will play out.
I don’t love pff as it grades on specific assignment and that’s just part of the equation. A lot of other factors aren’t taken into account or even measurable. But it is a source that grades everyone on the same scale. So although I’m not a fan, I do take it as a useful tool to some degree
We’re not debating him being a quality starter.
We’re debating weather he’s a serviceable or above average depth player. Which I think he is. He has played both inside and outside.
I do think he can start in this league.
The biggest issue with him is consistency but that’s a far lesser concern when he’s coming off the bench.
If he’s a good locker room guy then I think he has a good chance to stick.