mayoclinic

That's part of why I see him as a SILB more than an OLB. He's got a great motor, is very physical, is adept at taking on blockers, can stack and shed, can set the edge and play the run, and can generate terrific interior pressure. But he doesn't have fabulous outside speed, he's short (6'1") with very short arms (30.5"), and I haven't yet seen that he has loose enough hips to drop into coverage or particularly good ability to play in space. Put him inside at SILB and those weaknesses are minimized, and his strengths maximized. At 3-4 OLB, he brings a lot of plusses but also a lot of liabilities.

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"OVER Loading at ANY position can create a Fatal Advantage. THAT is what interests ME. Attacking With Concentrated Force. THAT is what WINS. In the words ~ more or less ~ of General Patton: 'I'm fighting a WAR, here. Let the B*****ES worry about their FLANKS.' " - Off the Grid

"The key to any successful organization is to anticipate things, not react to them." - Michael Lombardi

Ochmed Jones

A playeer who has power and uses his hands really well, can over come the disadvantage of short arms and it appears Graham may be that kind of player. But regarless, you have to know that once an NFL tackle gets his hands on Graham, it is game over, the most Graham can do at that point is resort to bull rushing and at 260 plus pounds, I wish hinm luck with that.

In a lot of ways Graham is like Thomas, but without the speed or coverage skills.

At the end of the day, can you see Graham setting a hard edge against former team mate Jake Long? I can't. Can you see Graham taking on a pulling Alan Faneca or setting a hard edge against Fergusion? I can't. How many TE's could Graham cover in space? What happens when San Diego isolates Gates on him? TD, we lose.

I think BB passes on Graham for the same reasons he passed on Woodley.

alvinnf

James Harrison says Hi!

Ochmed Jones

Last time I looked, Harrison played in Pittsburgh, however when Pittsburgh waived Harrison a few years ago, BB passed on him.

Harrsion is a great self made player in that defense, but teams have success runing at him and BB just won't stand for that in his defense.

mayoclinic

And Pittsburgh waived Harrison more than once before he became a star, with no one being "smart" enough to pick him up.

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"OVER Loading at ANY position can create a Fatal Advantage. THAT is what interests ME. Attacking With Concentrated Force. THAT is what WINS. In the words ~ more or less ~ of General Patton: 'I'm fighting a WAR, here. Let the B*****ES worry about their FLANKS.' " - Off the Grid

"The key to any successful organization is to anticipate things, not react to them." - Michael Lombardi

mayoclinic

I agree, unless you can project Graham inside to SILB. I think he's a great DE with phenomenal intangibles who just doesn't project well to 3-4 OLB in our scheme.

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"OVER Loading at ANY position can create a Fatal Advantage. THAT is what interests ME. Attacking With Concentrated Force. THAT is what WINS. In the words ~ more or less ~ of General Patton: 'I'm fighting a WAR, here. Let the B*****ES worry about their FLANKS.' " - Off the Grid

"The key to any successful organization is to anticipate things, not react to them." - Michael Lombardi

wilfork is beastin'

Graham's my biggest binky in the draft. I'd have no problem if we took him in with our first pick. and if he's avaialbe in the 2nd there's no reason not to take him

patsfan55

If you go back to the archives you'll see MichiganDave (haven't seen him in a while) and myself to a lesser degree talk up Woodley to no end. I definitely felt Meriweather was the right pick at the point, but hoped we'd take Woodley with the second first rounder. Personally if I had been in charge of the Pats draft that year that's what I would have done at the time. This time last year it looked as though I would have been stupid to pass up on the chance of Mayo. Now, not so sure.

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“My favorite ring? I've always said, you know, I always said the next one. The next one is the best,” Brady says.

alvinnf

There wasn't any real tape on Harrison. He hadn't played yet. Once he did, he blew up. With his balance and low center of gravity. People are rethinking the prerequisites for OLB. The thing that is so intriguing about Graham is how good he is against the run. He plays with similar lean to Harrison and looks like he has great balance. I am not sure he is as explosive. But in our scheme you could line him up at end on passing downs. He comes down the line so well, he would be great against the draw in sub packages.

bucky

If that's what you're drafting him for, how early do you take him? You're basically talking about converting a DE to ILB with the hopes that he'll become a 2 down player for you. That's like 6th-7th round material.