Pierre Woods as our starting OLB?

[RayClay]

This shows that Belichick has really dropped the ball in drafting LBers over the last four or five years.

The point has been made on this board before that Pittsburgh seems to be able to draft quality LBers in abundance over the years. http://www.patsfans.com/new-england...out-com-public-article-page2.html#post1416079

I agree with Hey Bro.

Our LBer corps the last two or three years have been slow. Woods isn't the answer. He's. Not. The. Answer.

He's a STer who can sub. I can't be fair to him, though, since his execrable attempt to hold onto a fumble recovery on a miserable SB vs. the Giants. How he gave it up to a tiny RB who wasn't even drafted seems to me to indicate he doesn't have that toughness and grit I'm looking for.

Thomas-Mayo-Guyton-Crable. Now that sounds more like it. I like Crable. You should too.

I've made the point that Pittsburgh puts a lot more emphasis on drafting and paying LBs. Not exactly the same as managing ro do it.

Outside of Mayo we haven't drafted high and only AD is an investment.

I'm resigned to the fact that those two and Crable (2nd highest pick BB era) will be our OLB rotation (though) that could change. Id Crable's special, that works.

I have no problem with them trying to spend less at a position. My only question is the small amount of FA, vet jags they've tried out over the years.

Seems to me, if you aren't going to spend, you evaluate as many bodies as possible hoping to find some gems. Seems to me they aren't leaving much room for error.

A lot is riding on Crabel Guyton and Lenon imo.

 

[spacecrime]

This shows that Belichick has really dropped the ball in drafting LBers over the last four or five years.

What a dud coach.

We're doomed.

Maybe we can lure Wanny for Pitt or Herm from wherever.

Thomas-Mayo-Guyton-Crable. Now that sounds more like it. I like Crable. You should too.

Boy, you should be our head coach. You already know who is better. Belichick still needs to spend about 300 to 400 hours with these guys during training camp to make his decision on who will start opening day. ANd even then he may not do it the way you say. Have you thought of emailing him and tell him to start Crable over Woods? You could save him a lot of needless practices, viewing tape, etc etc. plus he won't pick the wrong guy due to all that time spent with them giving him informatin that might conflict with your knowledge. Tell him you watch NFL Live every night and watched most of the games last year if he give you and backtalk.

How he gave it up to a tiny RB who wasn't even drafted seems to me to indicate he

And while your at it, remind Belichick how important draft position is. He seems to think that where a player was drafted is meaningless after the draft, that it all depends on the player. What a doofus.

 

[363839]

So, based on 1 muffed fumble recovery, you feel he's not qualified to start? That's how I felt when Tom Brady threw his first interception

And I won't mind if Woods turns into the next Ray Lewis.
BTW I'm not basing my opinion on that one play but that one
play was on the national stage. Not good.

 

[363839]

Wow, a panicky thread on Linebackers, who'd a thunk it? :yeeha:

The only saving grace for not acquiring any linebackers in FA or the draft is that Bill Belichick is our head coach.
You know....In BB we trust.

 

[jmt57]

Impatient as we are collectively as a group, we're just going to have to wait and see. Perhaps, for example, BB has seen enough in sessions outside of public viewing of Crable that he was not only convinced he'll get the job done, but his play gave him enough confidence to let Vrabel go.

A year ago we had no idea that Mayo would be as good as he was. Three years ago we were elated with what we considered to be a steal when the Pats received Doug Gabriel in exchange for a fifth round draft pick. It's still a bit early to declare how the Pats wil or will not perform at the position in 2009.

I wouldn't say the Pats are doomed because of the OLB position but it is certainly a question mark. I'm cautiously optimistic that somebody will step up among the group of Crable, Woods, Redd, TBC and Alexander. It should make for an interesting and competitive training camp battle.

 

[farn]

Prob not gonna happen, but what if Woods IS actually a pretty decent player given an entire year of snaps ? Will everyone then be back here ripping BB because he didn't get a deal done earlier and allow "such a valuable piece" to hit the market ?

Let's chill and see what happens. Reiss thinks they go with Woods for a couple of downs and use Crable-TBC on 3rd and long. We'll see.

 

[Dirk3601215]

There's a couple options at LB. It is pointless to say "player A sucks, player b should start" when we haven't even seen these guys enough to form any knowledgable opinion on them. I'll take the wait and see approach. Whoever is playing the best by the end of the year should get the starting nod. Heck, maybe someone runs away with the job.

 

[eagle eye]

While its clear that there are players have to step on on previous performances and almost all of us would have liked to see some LBs coming in, the fact that BB didn't take any in the draft when there was ample opportunity and the fact that we have not signed any free agents in that position makes me believe that we are in very good shape with our linebackers. We all identifield LB both inside and out as key positions that needed to be addressed in the draft but BB decides we don't need any.

You got to trust that the greatest coach in the game knows exactly where he is at as regards our linebacking core.

 

[DW Toys]

Prob not gonna happen, but what if Woods IS actually a pretty decent player given an entire year of snaps ? Will everyone then be back here ripping BB because he didn't get a deal done earlier and allow "such a valuable piece" to hit the market ?

Let's chill and see what happens. Reiss thinks they go with Woods for a couple of downs and use Crable-TBC on 3rd and long. We'll see.

Redd.
DW Toys

 

[OldNEPatsFan]

I don't know why people are complaining about Woods. When you look at his stats for last year he played in 12 games, started in 3, had 35 tackles and one sack. Compare that to Thomas who started 9 games, had 34 tackles and 5 sacks and Woods did a pretty good job last year.

 

[Patjew]

This shows that Belichick has really dropped the ball in drafting LBers over the last four or five years.

The point has been made on this board before that Pittsburgh seems to be able to draft quality LBers in abundance over the years. http://www.patsfans.com/new-england...out-com-public-article-page2.html#post1416079

I agree with Hey Bro.

Our LBer corps the last two or three years have been slow. Woods isn't the answer. He's. Not. The. Answer.

He's a STer who can sub. I can't be fair to him, though, since his execrable attempt to hold onto a fumble recovery on a miserable SB vs. the Giants. How he gave it up to a tiny RB who wasn't even drafted seems to me to indicate he doesn't have that toughness and grit I'm looking for.

Thomas-Mayo-Guyton-Crable. Now that sounds more like it. I like Crable. You should too.

It's hard to take you very serious when you admit you "can't be fair to him". Next time maybe just keep that to yourself.

Why do you like Crable more than Woods?

 

[kas]

Woods is an okay player. His biggest strength is setting the edge in the run game. He's definitely not a great pass rusher though despite his great athleticism. I expect Crable to sub in for him on passing downs, and if he progresses, to gradually gain pt as the season goes on. Having quality role players like Woods is key for any successful team. I do agree with the masses though - he is currently the weakest starter on the team and the sooner Crable beats him out the better.

 

[jmt57]

Woods is an okay player. His biggest strength is setting the edge in the run game. He's definitely not a great pass rusher though despite his great athleticism. I expect Crable to sub in for him on passing downs, and if he progresses, to gradually gain pt as the season goes on. Having quality role players like Woods is key for any successful team. I do agree with the masses though - he is currently the weakest starter on the team and the sooner Crable beats him out the better.

Nice analysis. Going with Woods-Crable rotation might not be the worst thing to happen, just as the Bruschi-Guyton rotation seems to be okay. Sure, a three-down guy would be nice but reality is every team is going to make a few concessions in their starting lineup due to the salary cap. There are going to be teams that will start an offensive lineman that is a very good pass defender but not a very good run blocker, for example. And while opponents may pass on first down with Woods in the game, or run on third down with Crable in there, the Pats coaching staff should still be able to put the defense in a position to succeed.

There will be times when the opponents execute and the Pats don't, but as long as the Patriots win the last game of the year all that will be forgotten.

 

[PatsChamp88]

Unless this is September in July I don't think the depth charts have been set in stone for week one. And if he is starting are you seriously doubting the coaching staffs ability to evaluate, tell me again how many championships you have won?

 

[DaBruinz]

This shows that Belichick has really dropped the ball in drafting LBers over the last four or five years.

The point has been made on this board before that Pittsburgh seems to be able to draft quality LBers in abundance over the years. http://www.patsfans.com/new-england...out-com-public-article-page2.html#post1416079

I agree with Hey Bro.

Our LBer corps the last two or three years have been slow. Woods isn't the answer. He's. Not. The. Answer.

He's a STer who can sub. I can't be fair to him, though, since his execrable attempt to hold onto a fumble recovery on a miserable SB vs. the Giants. How he gave it up to a tiny RB who wasn't even drafted seems to me to indicate he doesn't have that toughness and grit I'm looking for.

Thomas-Mayo-Guyton-Crable. Now that sounds more like it. I like Crable. You should too.

The fact that you agree with HEY BRO doesn't do anything for you. In fact, it hurts you. The linebackers weren't slow last year. Or the year before.

Many people like Crable. That doesn't mean we shouldn't like Woods. But, whatever. Delusional people tend to just sit there and hype their own thing and not bother with the big picture.

 

[DaBruinz]

Woods is an okay player. His biggest strength is setting the edge in the run game. He's definitely not a great pass rusher though despite his great athleticism. I expect Crable to sub in for him on passing downs, and if he progresses, to gradually gain pt as the season goes on. Having quality role players like Woods is key for any successful team. I do agree with the masses though - he is currently the weakest starter on the team and the sooner Crable beats him out the better.

How do you know he's not a great pass rusher? Fact is that they didn't use him to rush the passer much last year because it was his first time starting. Just like they didn't use Mayo to rush the passer from the inside spot. Something they used to do with Ted Johnson and Tedy Bruschi.

 

[ctpatsfan77]

How do you know he's not a great pass rusher? Fact is that they didn't use him to rush the passer much last year because it was his first time starting. Just like they didn't use Mayo to rush the passer from the inside spot.

Just like they didn't open up the playbook for Cassel until the middle of the season (now there's a decision I wish they had made sooner. . . .).

 

[HEY BRO! WHAT UP?]

The fact that you agree with HEY BRO doesn't do anything for you. In fact, it hurts you. The linebackers weren't slow last year. Or the year before.

Why does it hurt him because he agrees with me? Are you the final say when it comes to who is right or wrong? Everybody has their opinion, get over it.

Many people like Crable. That doesn't mean we shouldn't like Woods. But, whatever. Delusional people tend to just sit there and hype their own thing and not bother with the big picture.

Nobody is delusional because they think Woods isn't good enough to be a starter in the NFL. Just like I don't think anybody is delusional for thinking he is. He's going into his fourth season and didn't do much to convince the coaching staff in finding a role for him. In fact, the only reason he saw the field last season was because of injuries. However, he will probably get his chance to be the starter and either prove people like me wrong, or make people like me look right. If he's the starter, so be it. I just hope that somebody will be able to guard the damn TE and the underneath routes that has been haunting the Pats for the past couple of years. Finally, I hope he's the next best thing at LB, but I'm not holding my breath.

Unless this is September in July I don't think the depth charts have been set in stone for week one. And if he is starting are you seriously doubting the coaching staffs ability to evaluate, tell me again how many championships you have won?

Why does everybody say this? How many Championships have you won? This is the whole point of coming onto a message board, to voice your opinion. How boring would this be if we agreed on everything?

 

[AzPatsFan]

Isn't it wonderful that all the juvenile jackasses posted on this post. What is it that they say. "Birds of a Feather stick together.." Pierre Woods might become a good SOLB for us and these yazoos wouldn't know the difference.

Sorry I'll tale the opinions of the Coaching staff before I listen to y'all...

 

[nashvillepatsfan]

Woods wasnt THAT bad last year. How about we wait for sept, and have this discussion then? As much as i hope Crable works out, where are we getting the idea that he is better than woods? He was exciting last preseason, but thats it. We have no idea how he'll play against the top offenses. Relax Francis. This thread shouldve been started after training camp.