1 dominant OLB will change this defense dramatically

If we could add one beast lb like Harrison in his prime ,will make the rest of this defense look above average,look at the Indy and Baltimore game where we crushed Harrison was playing out of his mind putting pressure and sacks, that made secondary look better more turnovers etc Harrison had it for few games but he fizzled I cant blame him, Jarvis isn't the answer,where do we get this guy I don't know , draft again? fa Justin Houston (dreaming), I would put all our eggs in landing one,and if we could sign Worilds reasonable price of course, I think that would do it, then draft 2 cbs,a te and we should be good to go.

 

I posted in the other thread Pernell McPhee from Baltimore will be a free agent. Sadly though, some very bad signings and extensions will prevent us from bringing in any quality free agents. Also, Worlids can walk IMO, he stinks against the run.

 

I think one big hulking dominant NT would do the trick. It all starts right there with the 3/4

 

I don't know of him but sounds like a steelers type of signing, I kinda agree with u as far as Worilds goes,but I do thinkas the 2nd guy, he would be ok, he does show some signs at times, kinda has Harrison body type maybe I just think its James, we need a lot of help on defense but so does every team when u look at it, im trying to be optimistic, I think our line is gonna be good Tuit,Heyward ,Mac, good , lbs should be good inside with all the guys we have, I believe Worilds can hold one spot, Jarvis just stinks, he doesn't show u anything to believe otherwise, no speed ,power waste of a pic, Shazier on the other hand u can jujst tell hes gonna be good, the secondary all depends on Allen if he can shake it off and start balling,then it all goes into place Gays a decent 2,McCain decent 3 all not great but hey other than 2 -3 cbs whos good they all get burned, I belive a Harrison type LB would change everything, hey then we could draft a cb or safety with 22nd pick

 

we might be a lot more than just a olb. I mean is Thomas really gonna be the guy to step up and replace troy?

we desperately need a solid corner we can depend on. McClendon shows flashes but then he get dominated a lot.

i think we can draft a couple of guys who can really help this defense. we have talent but at certain positions we suck. olb is a position we have some talent.

 

Mccullers and McClendon are more than adequate for NT. It also makes zero sense to spend a high draft pick on a player that's only on the field for 25% of the snaps.

 

We cant have an allstar at every position the way Troy played this year im sure Shamarko or Allen will be fine,we need that lb nasty presence like Porter,Lambert Silverback type of guy

 

I just looked at the top 3-4 olb prospects on Walter Football and all but Alvin Dupree from Kentucky and Markus Golden from Missouri didn't have red flags as far as strength, although I've read conflicting reports about Dupree's strength. And I'm sorry but if Jones dosent get a pass then neither does Shazier, they were both non factors this year.

 

So did it make zero sense to draft Casey Hampton in the first round?

 

What do you do when your NT is playing great, but you still aren't getting enough of a pass rush from the edges? Get another NT??

Yes, the 3-4 struggles with a bad NT. But we are set at NT. McLendon is a good player. The 3-4 struggles with insufficient DEs and OLBs, too. We need better play from our LDE (that's coming - Tuitt will get good) and a better pass rush from both sides.

I think Worilds is likely gone. For me, the ideal scenario is shifting Jarvis over to that spot, where I think he can thrive (much like Worilds improved as soon as he got over there), and landing some kind of stud on the other side in the first 3 rounds of the upcoming draft.

 

1) The game was different then. We played much more base than we do now. As much as I love Big Snack (check out my name!!), I wouldn't draft him above the 2nd round in today's NFL. We'd only play him probably 40% of the time.
2) Hampton was a huge upgrade over who we had at the time - Kimo V.O. playing out of position (he sucked as a NT) and Kendrick Clancy, who I believe was somewhat untested and more of a career backup, anyway.
3) We weren't desperate for a pass rush at the time. We were right in the heart of the never-ending stream of excellent Pittsburgh OLBs. We have bigger needs at CB, OLB, and S. McLendon and McCullers are a good combo, and pretty young.
4) Even if we got the type that played sub-packages as well, like Dontari Poe, it's not much of a need for us. Heyward is good, and Tuitt is not good enough right now, but he will be. We will get so much more bang for our buck by targeting another position.

 

Fair enough and your thoughts are well reasoned and I understand what you're saying, but I'd have a hard time passing on a guy of Hampton's stature late in the first round, even today. That guy was responsible for so many of the sacks our linebackers were credited with during his time with the team. When you've got a guy at the nose taking up two and sometimes three blockers, it becomes a numbers game, advantage our linebackers. I just think if we wait to draft a player like Hampton in the second round he won't be available to draft.

 

A dominant player at ANY defensive position would make a huge difference

 

if we were to go with a straight up NT Shelton would be my pick, but I don't think we will be after that type of player nor do we need one right now.

I like how McCullers came along this year and I think he will get better. mac is a stud when healthy but that's been few and far between the last two years. yes he's played but played hurt. shoulder trouble is not good for a NT. if they fix it he can be part of a good duo.

that said, instead of a 3rd NT, we should be looking for a guy that is versatile and can play some NT,DE and a role in a sub package. personally I like this carl davis kid from iowa. not flashy but strong at the point, plays down the line well in pursuit and doesn't give a lot of ground when doing it. I like what I've seen on tape from him so far. this could be the type of guy we were hoping for from cam Thomas. take a look when you have time.

 

Lets go get Mauro back from Arizona and convince Joey Bosa, from Ohio State, to come out early. Easy peezy.



Spartacus

 

The game has changed which is why we spend so much more time in subpackages. Casey wouldn't be on the field.

 

So what should we do though?

If we bring back Harrison AND sign a guy AND try to see what JARVIS has there isn't enough snaps to go around. We need to find out what Jarvis has, we cant stunt his growth. He needs to poop or get off the pot. And Harrison will not come back to sit the bench, that is a fact.

 

This is a passing league my friends,Mclendon will suffice plus he gets more pressure on the qb then Hampton did, we need pressure, the whole Jarvis thing is this its 2 years has he shown anything for u to believe,hes slow,weak and his sacks were by accident,at least with Shazier hes freaky fast we can build with that ,Jarvis has shown nothing,as far as Harrison I would love him back but as a backup situational player at bestmhe showed glimpses at times then towards the end of the season he showed why we let him go, but who knew that would be better than what we got from Jarvis and the rest the last 2 years.

 

THERE HAS TO BE ANOTHER LEVON KIRKLAND OUT THERE!!!

Seriously, Woodley was good for about 3 years. He was big enough to hold the edge against the run and he had a good to great pass rush. He was also able to drop in coverage before he put more weight on.

I don't think you'll ever see someone like Kirkland again. Underrated isn't enough for him.

 

I think we need more than 1 OLB.
Just count how many possible players that may not be with the team next year, that played considerable amount of time. I think we have our work cut out for us.

 

OP forgot to add "...in three years time." to the thread title.

I think we'll see a couple of OLBs picked in the draft. But safety is where the highest pick should be.

 

You don't think if Troy and Will Allen are gone Dangerfield might be interesting. He's at least 5'11" 200