Sharpen Dull Edges: The Jarvis Jones Edition. Final Take.

Pittsburgh, for a long time.. has always relied on the abilities of the edge rushers to generate heat and obtain sacks. However... since the beginning of last year.. Keith Butler moved away from a scheme that had allowed the linebackers to make plays and transitioned it towards the defensive line. This scheme would become known as the "Eagle" scheme... as shown below..







Defensive lineman are now the stars for the Steelers defense. However.. this does not make the edge rushers any less significant nor important. They still have to get to the quarterback regardless of scheme. This is something former 1st round pick Jarvis Jones has not done at all. In fact.. the number of sacks in his career thus far equates to the thumb and four fingers on one's hand. Clearly said position is due for a tune up. How this is approached though will be interesting. One thing I had thought to myself to come up with a possible solution;


" I wonder if there is a Preston Brown type of player that is in this draft. A player who can play 34 DE and 34 OLB."


I understand this possibility sounds awkward.. but considering that Cam and Tuitt still need a someone to switch out with and Jarvis is not getting it done, such a player would solve two issues with one makeup. Well.. there is such a person.




Please enter;


Deatrich Wise Jr.







Height: 6'6


Weight: 271


Age: 22



Normally... I like to start things off on a positive note.. but to understand Deatrich as a player and what he provides... we have to start out with the negatives. To begin.. Deatrich does not have a great build. He is top heavy, has a marginally thin waist.. and his lower body is only about average. In comparison to his peers.. he does look like he will need some time in the weight to round out his physique.



Even if we are not talking about his athletic abilities... his toolbox is also lacking in many areas. Granted.. this is a college based issue for many athletes.. but Deatrich cruises more on talent more often than not. On that note.. while he is good at getting to the passers-by and disrupting plays... his get off is only average by NFL standards. Furthermore.. he is not a twitch level athlete either.. further degrading his value.



Now to the good. While his build is in question... tall and long based pass rushers are the rage these days when it comes getting to the passer. Deatrich's primary armament is his length. With it, disengaging offensive lineman is not an issue. Another quality trait of this is he is able to keep lineman from launching punches into his numbers. That, coupled with a non stop motor.. makes him quite a commodity for many NFL teams. One more thing that I find intriguing is that he can play both spots within a 34 defense or a nickel using a 34 alignment.



Due to Wise's height and length.. he is able to stand up or place his hand in the ground in either position. While that may not sound all that much, considering that Tuitt and Heyward will need to be put on a break every now and then.. having that level of versatility is something valuable to have. He will not be beat by guards.. and he can handle himself against offensive tackles. Add that motor and disruption together.. and Wise is a quite a good football player.





As I have stated earlier.. Wise reminds me a lot of Preston Smith when coming put of college. Both do not have the twitch to be 43 DE.. but both can be used in hybrid 34 alignments. Personally.. I do believe that.. like Smith.. Wise can improve his explosive abilities considering similar statements were said about Smith's lack of explosive power. Currently though... Wise's year has been trending upward with improvement every game. If he can have another good year like last year and test well at the combine.. a late 1st round grade does not sound all that crazy. Should he only perform average and test average.. he is as good as a late 3rd to early 4th.




That does it for my series of edge rushers. Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed. Next time I will be covering the safeties. Before I go here are some of the sources used;



Matt Bowen of Bleacherreport.com for the "Eagle" front


Official Arkansas website for Deatrich info.


Bleacherreport.com again for the pick.


Anyway guys.. if you have a suggestion.. let me know. Until then.. take care and I will see ya next time.

 

Sorry again for placing this in the wrong section. Can someone move this to the "Bill Nunn Draft" section please?


Thank you in advance.

 

this actually started with dick lebeau the year before his last. butler has used it much more as a mainframe defense but it started some time ago.

 

Oh. This I did not know. Either way.. Deatrich does represent a new method at which the Steelers can use at their disposal.

 

this seems like what they are trying to do with chickillo. this type of player converted to olb. i'm not giving up on chick yet either. he's getting experience and learning at the same time. we still expect these types to be able to cover as well as rush the passer and defend the run on the edges. it's a tough position to learn. we need not only size and speed but some brains at this spot when we draft one.

 

Indeed with Chickillo. However.. to me.. while Chickillo does have the twitch aspect down... power, while good.. is nowhere near Wise's level. At the same time though.. I would consider to split the snap count of Jarvis and Chick to see who is the better player if they have not already...

 

chickillo is getting playing time for sure which is good. i do expect his strength to be worked on during the next off season which is something most young players do. with his weight loss he is in the midst of transforming those strengths which takes some time. wise would have the same type of training regiment required of him if he's the guy. the quickness he'll need in coverage would dictate that. assuming we keep this defense as a status quo. we can't just pick guys that would be a better fit in a 4-3 and expect them to have an all around game that would translate to what we want our edge players to do. you know there is give and take in these situations.

i liken wise to more of a woodley type. it had it's pluses but also it's disadvantages too. will it work now? he was the robin to harrisons batman. his coverage skills were not great. his run stopping was not great either. even dupree will need time. it's a shame he's lost this valuable time which would help the guy on the other side too.

 

ifeadi oddenigbo from northwestern has been looking pretty good so far.