Player Ratings - Linebackers

[Ian]

For the sake of creating some more interesting discussion, here's a cool activity I thought I'd throw out there.

Keeping this simple, I've set up a rating system from 1-4, explained below. Put your grade next to each player, and let's see what the overall grading is for this group (I've kept the ratings simple to try and encourage people who wouldn't normally participate to hopefully join in - they're pretty straightforward). Just cut and paste the info to make it easy. I'll put this in a block to make it easier to grab:

PLAYERS:

Tully Banta-Cain
Dane Fletcher
Gary Guyton
Jerod Mayo
Marques Murrelll
Rob Ninkovich
Brandon Spikes
Tracy White
Jermaine Cunningham

GRADES:

4 - Exceeded Expectations
3 - Met Expectations
2 - Did not Meet my expectations
1 - Failed

INCLUDE ANY NOTES BELOW:

 

[Dufflebagz]

Tully Banta-Cain - 2, Didn't have anywhere near a repeat of 2009
Dane Fletcher - 4, produced way more than I or anyone could have imagined.
Gary Guyton - 3, borderline 2 but I knew he wasn't great against the run coming into the season.
Jerod Mayo - 4, I expected him to step us a leader and be a force in the middle....I didn't expect him to lead the league in tackles.
Marques Murrelll - NA, Not enough playing time to grade.
Rob Ninkovich - 4, suprisingly became our #1 OLB
Brandon Spikes - 3, I was hoping he would be solid against the run and he was.
Tracy White - 3, I didn't really have expectations for him but BB traded for him because he liked what he did on ST, In Bill We Trust. So, he did what I hoped for.
Jermaine Cunningham - 3, Pretty much what everyone expected. He grew throughout the season.

If this was based on only production there would be lower grades.

 

[fair catch fryar]

Tully Banta-Cain-2 Pretty much disappeared
Dane Fletcher-3 Didn't have high expectations in the first place
Gary Guyton-2 Started off well, but then kind of fell into mediocrity
Jerod Mayo-4 Stayed healthy and racked up a lot of tackles
Marques Murrelll- 3 Again, didn't know much about him so Ididn't really have high/ if any expectations
Rob Ninkovich-4 Thought he was consitsently one of their best playmakers
Brandon Spikes-3 I thought he would exceed, but his suspension didn't help his case, I have higher expectations next year though
Tracy White- 3 Seemed like a decent special-teamer

 

[Boston Boxer]

PLAYERS:

Tully Banta-Cain: 1
Dane Fletcher: 3
Gary Guyton: 3
Jerod Mayo: 3
Marques Murrelll: 3
Rob Ninkovich: 4
Brandon Spikes: 3
Tracy White: 3

GRADES:

4 - Exceeded Expectations
3 - Met Expectations
2 - Did not Meet my expectations
1 - Failed

INCLUDE ANY NOTES BELOW:
Tully Banta-Cain really was a disappointment. He is supposed to be a pass rush specialist and was a failure. Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, come on man! Time for him to take his show elsewhere.

The other really lived up to the expectations i guess. Mayo leads all with tackles, but i think he is too slow. It must just be me, because everyone else thinks he is the second coming.

Overall, the LBs need to be better in the passing game and rushing the QB. In BB Defense, the front 3 are there to take on blockers and the LBs need to be able to make plays. I think they failed

 

[fair catch fryar]

Tully Banta-Cain - 2, Didn't have anywhere near a repeat of 2009
Dane Fletcher - 4, produced way more than I or anyone could have imagined.
Gary Guyton - 3, borderline 2 but I knew he wasn't great against the run coming into the season.
Jerod Mayo - 4, I expected him to step us a leader and be a force in the middle....I didn't expect him to lead the league in tackles.
Marques Murrelll - NA, Not enough playing time to grade.
Rob Ninkovich - 4, suprisingly became our #1 OLB
Brandon Spikes - 3, I was hoping he would be solid against the run and he was.
Tracy White - 3, I didn't really have expectations for him but BB traded for him because he liked what he did on ST, In Bill We Trust. So, he did what I hoped for.
Jermaine Cunningham - 3, Pretty much what everyone expected. He grew throughout the season.

If this was based on only production there would be lower grades.

I noticed Cunningham wasn't on there and realized they have him listed as a DE on the official roster. I'd have to concur with your assessment as well.

 

[resdubwhite]

Tully Banta-Cain 2.
Dane Fletcher 4.
Gary Guyton 3
Jerod Mayo 4
Marques Murrelll
Rob Ninkovich 4
Brandon Spikes 3
Tracy White 3

 

[Dufflebagz]

I noticed Cunningham wasn't on there and realized they have him listed as a DE on the official roster. I'd have to concur with your assessment as well.

They have him listed as a DE? We knew right when he was drafted he was switching to OLB.

 

[zimmy]

Tully Banta-Cain 2 - lost his starting job and couldn't keep up the performance from last year. Not terrible though
Dane Fletcher 4 - exceeded expectations by just playing. Even made a few plays too
Gary Guyton 3 - back in his sub role, had a nice season. A few picks and fumbles
Jerod Mayo 3 - racked up a lot of tackles but didn't make too many big plays. Pretty much what we all expected. Same as the last two years. Good season.
Rob Ninkovich 4 - made a few plays and overtook Banta-Cain. A nice surprise. How can he develop from here though?
Brandon Spikes 3 - shot some gaps and stopped the run. Bit undisciplined but learnt. What I was expecting going in.
Tracy White 3 - Meh. Special Teamer

 

[Dufflebagz]

Tracy White 3 - Meh. Special Teamer

Are you underestimating the importance of ST.....ALL THREE PHASES!!!

 

[ATippett56]

Tully Banta-Cain - 2 (liability against the run, one trick pony)
Dane Fletcher - 3 (rookie undrafted free agent)
Gary Guyton - 3 (pass defender)
Jerod Mayo -4 (healthy once again and it showed on the field)
Marques Murrell - 0 (not enough evidence to grade)
Rob Ninkovich -3 (at least he was better than Derrick Burgess last year)
Brandon Spikes - 3 (run stuffer)
Tracy White -3 (special teams linebacker)
Jermaine Cunningham - 2 (expected more sacks in rookie season)
Shawn Crable - 1
Pierre Woods - 1

GRADES:

4 - Exceeded Expectations
3 - Met Expectations
2 - Did not Meet my expectations
1 - Failed
0 - Incomplete

 

[Ian]

They have him listed as a DE? We knew right when he was drafted he was switching to OLB.

I noticed that, and went ahead and added him to the list.

 

[Deus Irae]

I'm going to add a "0" to the list, for those that hadn't generated any expectations at all.

4's:
Gary Guyton
Rob Ninkovich

3's:

Jerod Mayo
Tully Banta-Cain
Marques Murrell
Brandon Spikes

2's:
Jermaine Cunningham

1's:

0's:

Dane Fletcher
Tracy White


Some people will argue with my rankings, especially of guys like TBC and Mayo. However, if people go back and look at what I'd been saying about them. I expected TBC to have a much less effective year, given that last year was a career year for him and he's always a liability against the run, and I expected Mayo to be much better since he'd have been able to completely heal.

I could put Murrell in under "fail", but that would be unfair, since that's what I expected him to do.

Spikes was a tough one, due to the suspension. In the end, I just ignored it for evaluation purposes, and graded him solely on the games he did play.

Cunningham didn't show the improvement I'd expected over the course of the season. That's why he got rated where he did.

Guyton seemed to get a little (not much) better against the run, which got him a '4' rating, and Ninkovich was a little better than I figured he'd be.

 

[JackBauer]

I'd give TBC a -10. Otherwise, I pretty much agree with the consensus on the others.

 

[RobertWeathers]

2-Tully Banta-Cain- I expected more pressure on the QB

4-Dane Fletcher- Low-level draft choice who made some good plays for the D

3-Gary Guyton- I expected him to make some plays this year and be better in pass defense and he did just that.

3-Jerod Mayo- I expected him to be outstanding and he was such.

3-Marques Murrell- I didn't have any expectations and I still don't.

4-Rob Ninkovich- I expected him to be a backup and he started and made some great plays.

4-Brandon Spikes - I thought that he wouldn't make the impact he did on the running game. I thought he was excellent.

3-Tracy White- I didn't have any expectations and I still don't. Outstanding on STs but TBH I really didn't know a heck a lot about him before he came to the team.

2-Jermaine Cunningham- I haven't given up on him but TBH I was a bit disappointed in him this year. He had a great camp and then got hurt and seemed to scuffle around a bit. He had the play on Manning but I really can't remember any game-changing plays. I expected 5-7 sacks and decent pressure and didn't see either one consistently.

GRADES:

4 - Exceeded Expectations
3 - Met Expectations
2 - Did not Meet my expectations
1 - Failed

INCLUDE ANY NOTES BELOW:

 

[Keegs]

Tully Banta-Cain -2
Dane Fletcher - 4
Gary Guyton - 3
Jerod Mayo -4
Marques Murrell - ?
Rob Ninkovich - 4
Brandon Spikes -3
Tracy White - ?
Jermaine Cunningham - 3



GRADES:

4 - Exceeded Expectations
3 - Met Expectations
2 - Did not Meet my expectations
1 - Failed

 

[gomezcat]

Tully Banta-Cain - 2, Didn't have anywhere near a repeat of 2009
Dane Fletcher - 4, produced way more than I or anyone could have imagined.
Gary Guyton - 3, borderline 2 but I knew he wasn't great against the run coming into the season.
Jerod Mayo - 4, I expected him to step us a leader and be a force in the middle....I didn't expect him to lead the league in tackles.
Marques Murrelll - NA, Not enough playing time to grade.
Rob Ninkovich - 4, suprisingly became our #1 OLB
Brandon Spikes - 3, I was hoping he would be solid against the run and he was.
Tracy White - 3, I didn't really have expectations for him but BB traded for him because he liked what he did on ST, In Bill We Trust. So, he did what I hoped for.
Jermaine Cunningham - 3, Pretty much what everyone expected. He grew throughout the season.

If this was based on only production there would be lower grades.

I pretty much agree with you, although Ninkovich and Cunningham need to get better at setting the edge. It is still an essential, if underrated part of being an OLB.

Cunningham rushed reasonably well and will be helped if we get a stud 3-4 End to take some of the heat. Mayo was just a machine all year. Hats off to him.

 

[A.C Vegas]

Tully Banta-Cain 2
Dane Fletcher 4
Gary Guyton 3
Jerod Mayo 4
Marques Murrell 2
Rob Ninkovich 4
Brandon Spikes 3
Tracy White 4 nice ST pick up there
Jermaine Cunningham 3 lots of upside

GRADES:

4 - Exceeded Expectations
3 - Met Expectations
2 - Did not Meet my expectations
1 - Failed

 

[Sciz]

Tully Banta-Cain - 2
Dane Fletcher - 4
Gary Guyton - 3
Jerod Mayo - 3
Marques Murrell - 1
Rob Ninkovich - 3
Brandon Spikes - 2
Tracy White - 4
Jermaine Cunningham - 3

TBC basically disappeared. Fletcher had some spectacular plays in his first year as an ILB. Guyton was one of the biggest playmakers on defense, but struggled against the run. Mayo's week 16 and 17 game me a lot of hope as to what kind of player he can become. He really needs a strong and healthy DL ahead of him though, as seen by the Jets playoff game. Murrell was irrelevant. Ninko made some nice plays in his first year as a starter. Spikes needs to get his head screwed on straight, but was great for the first 12 weeks. White did exactly what was asked of him, placing second on the team in ST tackles (which is great for not being a gunner). Cunningham did everything we could have hoped except actually tackle the QB. He got tons of pressure when healthy.