Ochmed Jones

This is beyond a shadow of a doubt the most difficult projection in all of football. It basically involves finding the MOST athletic DE's in college and projecting how they will adjust from playing with a hand in the dirst to standing up. It takes a lot of athletic ability, football intelligence and size to play this position well.

And while these guys are rare, they are NOT nearly as rare as BB would have us think.

This year's draft is once again loaded with guys that project into the position in our defense,(some better than others) but it will not happen overnight, all will need time to learn the system and especially the techniques. Sadly because BB has refused to stock a pipeline of youngsters in trainging, we are bereft of anything even remotely resembling talent at this vital position.

1.) Robert Quinn UNC (6'5" and 255 pounds) - ubber athletic and a mean pass rusher to boot. Weak on run defense, but with a little courage and some sand in his pants, he could be sopecial in our defense. UNC and the NCAA are currently battling over and that will affect his status..

2.) Pierre Allen Nebraska (6'4" and 265 pounds) - somewhat athletic and has all the tools required for the position. This year is a good yerar to measure his true capabilities with Suh off campus.

3.) Ryan Kerrigan Purdue (6'4" and 260 pounds) - somewhat athletic but projects well in our defense. Gave Notre Dame fits.

4.) Winterswyk Boise (6'4" and 260 pounds) - poised for a great year and with a cream puff schedule should tear it up.

5.) Sam Acho Texas (6'3" and 260 pounds) - The latest in a long line of Texas DE's looking to convert to OLB in a 3-4 defense. Hopefully he is better on stairs than Kindle.

6.) Marshall South Florida (6'5" and 260 pounds) Gave Florida fits earlier in the year. May not be bright enough to learn our defense, but definitely fierce enough to play in it.

7.) Sheard Pittsburgh (6'4" and 260 pounds) playing opposite Romeus, he should see lots of single blocking, this is his chance to shine.

8.) Elmore Arizona (6'5" and 255 pounds) again somewhat athletic and projects well in our defense.

9.) Anthony Grambling (6'4" and 260 pounds) same as above.

10.) Egbuniwe Ga Tech (6'4" and 255 pounds) with Morgan gone this is his chance to shine and prove his ability to play 3-4 OLB.

11.) Beal Oklahoma (6'3" and 260 pounds) May not be athletic enough, but has a lot of the tools we need at OLB.

12.) Mathews SC (6'4" and 250 ponds) A little undersized but projects as a solid fit in our defense. With Norwood gone, he should have a monster year.

13.) Freeney Rutgers (6'3" and 250 pounds) Again under sized, but since BB drafted McCourty, it is reasonable to assume he watched a lot of Rutgers film, maybe this guy caught BB's eye.

14.) White Fla State (6'4" and 260 pounds) have not seen great production, but he has the tools we are looking for, he just has not put it all together yet.

15.) Hightower Alabama (6'4" and 250 pounds) A little small and coming off knee surrgery, probably projects better inside in our defense, but could project outside as well.

16.) McCarty Miami (6'3" and 245 pounds) again undersized and has had knee problems but with some bulk and time, he could be special in our defense.

reflexblue

What about Greg Romeous? I was seeing his name all over this board last spring.

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Defsoul

Romeus underwent back surgery last week and will miss at least six weeks. Understandably he didn't look very good prior to the surgery.

reflexblue

thanx......

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LuthierJr

On Beal from Oklahoma. I have watched every game he has played at Oklahoma (sooner fan!).

His production has been good. He does very well at setting the edge, he is a fairly big guy. Tackles well. Strong. He might be a solid, but not flashy OLB. He is not really fast (I'd guess 4.6-4.8 range fast enough I suppose), but decently strong. Don't know if he is strong enough to overpower NFL tackles. Probably not at this point. He kind of falls between a pass rusher and a edge setting run stopper. It will be interested to see how he develops, if at all, in the NFL. I wouldn't have him ranked really high for us personally.

D-Money

I love Quinn.UNC will have plenty of 1rst round talent this year.That Bruce Carter at LB is a freak of nature.

Ochmed Jones

Carter and Miller of Texas A&M are incredible talents, but just don't project well in our defense at OLB.

Same with Romeus and Calayborn or Iowa. Fantstic talents that don't project well in our 3-4 defense. Whole different ball game if Bb switches to a 4-3 however.

cstjohn17

Article on Ryan Kerrigan from Purdue, seems like a player who could be worth a look.

Boilermakers' Kerrigan bubbling up boards at DE - NFL - CBSSports.com - NFLDraftScout.com

Ochmed Jones

Depending on how he runs, he seems ideal for our defense. Because we do SEC/ACC games almost exclusively, Alabama/SC this weekend, I have not gotten to see him play this year and You Tube just doesn;t give me enough.

If he runs well and sets a mean edge, then BB should be in perfect position with Oakland;s pick to take him early.

MaineMan

Seems to me like BB is looking for (and the scheme sorta requires) guys who have proven ability to set the edge/defend the run, who can be a definite help in coverage rather than a liability, who read/react well consistently and who can get pressure in the backfield using something besides pure athleticism and/or speed.

Such guys may well be pretty rare.

So - how do the guys listed above rate in:
- setting the edge/run defense
- coverage
- read/react, football smarts
- getting pressure by using their wits