This is part of the reason, look where the Eagles and Vikings are compared to the Lions:
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It depends on the year… and who was on the team…
but he never really started games due to other injuries.
His rookie year in 2017… Anzalone was a top 2 LB for Saints.
Started his forst 4 games… then hit IR.
In his 2nd year in 2018… the Saints added Demarrio Davis… and Anzalone was the #3 LB (also behind AJ Klein)… so his 7 starts were dependent on personnel at start of game. Davis, Klein, & Anzalone combined for 38 starts…. which shows they had some games with 2 LBs starting and some with 3 LBs starting.
His 3rd year in 2019… it was looking to be similar to 2018 in terms of snaps counts, but he was injured and missed most of year.
In 2020…. Klein was gone and Anzalone was the #2 LB behind Davis for half the year… until they traded for Kwon Alexander.
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I think it is most accurate to say Anzalone was the #2 or #3 LB most of his time as a Saint when healthy… but they did look to upgrade from him when they had a chance.
I’d like to upgrade from him too… but my point has been that he has been much better than Cap has tried to claim. Cap has been saying he is barely a NFL caliber player… but he has started plenty of games and played plenty of snaps on a defense that was very solid.
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Every nut finds a squirrel once in a while
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Relax brother- I get that it would be fun to have a kid you clearly know/like playing for your hometown team on Sundays. Seeing him get drafted here, then hearing a little buzz early on must have been pretty exciting, and I get that.
Now we suck on D, the guys in front of him at LB suck on D…. Our DTs suck on D….none of that changes him being a bit lost out there when he plays.
Here is what I will say-
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There is no chance that Anzalone, or even Board is ever an impact starter. We can hope Rodrigo becomes one…
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Right now it’s clear that Barnes doesn’t understand gap assignment etc, and often overruns plays or drifts from his assignment.
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Verdict?
Barnes could end up being a lesser Jarrad Davis, OR he could end up Kyle Van Noy 2.0- I’m at
Least willing to see what a 245 pound thumper could/will do with extended snaps this week.
Given our near bottom ranked D, and desperation for high level LB play- I’d like to see the guy who at least has the physical skill set out there.
We have a long and sad history of overpaying, and overplaying “role players” from good teams and treating them like starters/stars…
Anzalone, A Hakim, T Flowers, J Coleman, J James, R Wagner, and even Big V- these are all mid to late round picks who did well on spot starts or even semi regular starting jobs on good teams, and then through lack of creativity- we anoint them!
If Analzone was a 50 pff guy surrounded by C Jordan, D Davis, Davenport, Rankins, Onyemata, Lattimore, Jenkins, M Williams etc…. THEN HE IS A 30 PFF GUY WITHOUT THEM…
You can’t take athletically limited role players off other teams, start them and expect big play results.
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4.63 forty at 6’3" and 241lbs for Anzalone is pretty good. Barnes ran a 4.58 at his pro day at 238lbs, not much difference.
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Who said so?
I agree with this….that is not bad upfront speed at all and it doesn’t even tell you about his speed in-game or instincts.
Does anyone really think Anzalone has played poorly? Maybe I din’t lnow whay I’m watching but heMs seemed solid this year.
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That’s a fact, Well…he’s actually having a pretty good year.
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Don’t forget the other coaches who have held him down…
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After Mark Deleone was let go……
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And even coaches at the college level….
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I’m not advocating the Barnes is good, or Anzalone is bad… Frankly I don’t think either is very good…
What I know is that Anzalone is that 9-11th best player on a good defense… If you need him to be your captain… your LB1… the field general- then your defense … well? It looks like ours!
When teams paid up for SDJ and Morgan Fox, they learned the same lesson we did- the guys who benefited heavily from playing next to Aaron Donald look like shit unless they are playing next to Aaron Donald!
SDJ has 11 tackles and 2 TFLs in only games away from Rams.
This is a small sample size… but I don’t think his role was dependent on Donald.
Morgan Fox also didn’t “suffer” too much without Donald… his QB pressures were nearly the same… and Carolina wasn’t leading too many games in 2021 to give the Panthers obvious pass rush opportunities.
Why not try this?
McNeill Benito Jones I Buggs
Hutch Rodrigo Anzalone/Barnes C Harris
Okudah AO
Elliott Hughes/Iffy
I am pretty damn sure we play better against the run from snap one… The best part about it is that We can bring Bryant in on rush downs for Benito and kick McNeill inside… We can rotate Julian Okwara, C Harris, Bryant, and Barnes at Edge along with Hutch…
We don’t have lock down outside CBs- despite Okudah looking sharp early on, and AO playing well last year… There is no point in trying to play man to man at CB with a weak safety tandem, and hoping Hughes or Lucas can effectively cover the slot 1-1… Half the teams have a strong SWR and I don’t like our 1-1 nickel match up on passing down… LET ALONE ON 1ST DOWN!
- If you can’t stop the run… the other team won’t both trying to pass… At least if you stone the run, your force the other team to adapt and try and find a rhythm passing… If you can get penetration and force a hold? Great! If you can get a QB sack or even a hit on the QB and force an errant throw? PERFECT!
Sacks, holding calls, fumbles and interceptions happen most frequently when the QB is rushed and rattled… If we let the opposing run for 5.5, 4.2, and 4.9 ypc carry then they only pass when they NEED to (like Washington) and that works to our favor- Philly and Minny only passed when they wanted to and it worked to their favor…
Seth Walder
@SethWalder
Double team rate at edge (x) by pass rush win rate at edge (y), updated through Week 3.-Micah Parsons came back to Earth, Von Miller leads the way now
-No sacks for Jaelan Phillips yet but a nice start from PRWR perspective
-Myles Garrett getting doubled more than ever before
If Romeo is healthy, Hutch might not be doubled as much. If they do, Romeo probably gets more pressure than Harris or if they don’t double Hutch as much, he likely gets more pressure too.
I’d really like to see them use Barnes as a QB rusher. He may get lost in coverage or a little slow to diagnose but he is fast so why not bring him in for blitz packages.
It’s what we should have done to Cousins on that last drive. Bring it
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I think it’s worth a shot. He did have 7.5 sacks the year he played D-end in college. Get him in the 3rd down nascar package.
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It’s dumb not to. Both he and Houston have freaky long arms on shorter frames which presents a different challenge to OTs.
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Teams that play Detroit know, when it gets crunch time, they can almost always march down the field and score when they need to.
Hutch would likely start on most teams. No one else on the D-line would likely be anything more than a rotational guy.
LB’s. Maybe there are a few teams with injuries that start one of our LB’s but I doubt it.
DB’s. You might get a couple of our guys that are starters but most would be nickel/situational guys.
The overall talent just isn’t there.
On offense it’s just the opposite, when healthy, most (that means 6+) of our players on offense would start for most teams in the NFL That’s why our offense is doing better (not just the OC). We have far more talent on that side of the ball.
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