Dominique Easley - what it could mean.

FreeTedWilliams said:

If Dr. Andrews gave the Patriots any information about Easly's medical history/status, he would be in serious violation of HIPPA law.

Click to expand...

Unless Easley gave Andrews permission to do so

patchick said:

One big risk with ACL recovery is that athletes unintentionally favor their good leg, overstressing it and putting that knee in jeopardy. For better or worse, Easley has already gone down that road and no longer has a good leg to overstress.

Click to expand...

That's an excellent point and an important one. People see the second ACL pop as a sign of being injury prone, but doubling down on ACL injuries are very common. Injuries lead to all kinds of mobility issues and imbalances all over with compensatory injuries. As an anecdotal story I had my front delt torn from being an idiot and not tapping to a kimura. I continued to train through it and subsequently had all kinds of thoracic spine issues and eventually broke my first rib because of overcompensation from my trap. Blowing out both knees is essentially a reset these days.

FreeTedWilliams said:

If Dr. Andrews gave the Patriots any information about Easly's medical history/status, he would be in serious violation of HIPPA law.

Click to expand...

If Easley signed a release, the doctor could provide full disclosure. I would be shocked if BB didn't go that route for a 1st round pick.

He was cleared in his combine medical recheck two weeks ago. Belichick is also tight with Muschamp, there's obviously a risk but you can bet Bill knows exactly what he's buying.

patriot1136 said:

Stupid question but is Easley a DE or DT?

Click to expand...

He can play any spot on the line. At Florida he has lined up at end, nose and tackle.

So as BB likes to say "he's versatile"

SeanBruschi54 said:

He can play any spot on the line. At Florida he has lined up at end, nose and tackle.

So as BB likes to say "he's versatile"

Click to expand...

Would love to see him line up at DE with chandler jones as a bookend and vince and kelly occupy the middle.

patriot1136 said:

Stupid question but is Easley a DE or DT?

Click to expand...

He's both. I think he'll play the 7 (strongside end) in base/run packages, and slide inside to play over the guard in sub. Super versatile guy...think of a more athletic, more aware Mike Patterson.

Galeb said:

If Easley signed a release, the doctor could provide full disclosure. I would be shocked if BB didn't go that route for a 1st round pick.

Click to expand...

And if Easley believes he's medically good to go, I'm sure he WANTS Andrews to release that info to as many teams as possible.

Easley's forte is his explosion off the snap. It's what makes him so disruptive. Not to be a Debbie downer but, hopefully the explosive element is still there in his game after this latest ACL tear.

SeanBruschi54 said:

He can play any spot on the line. At Florida he has lined up at end, nose and tackle.

So as BB likes to say "he's versatile"

Click to expand...

Think of him as another nail in the coffin of the "base defense."

patriot1136 said:

Stupid question but is Easley a DE or DT?

Click to expand...

He played all DL positions in College. Consensus for NFL seems to be DE on first down and DT on passing downs. One of the intriguing things about this pick is how BB will use him.

This could Easily be the steal of the draft

I think the Pick is a moderate risk/high reward type of pick. Of course there will be injury concerns, but one can't complain though that at the end of the first round there was a player that, without the injuries, could have been a top 10 pick. Getting a "scratch and dent" discount on a high quality prospect, such as Easley, is great value in the late first.

Sicilian said:

And if Easley believes he's medically good to go, I'm sure he WANTS Andrews to release that info to as many teams as possible.

Click to expand...

That's the idea.

The other thing that bears mentioning is where Collins will play this season in their 43. He's going to be the strongside linebacker which means he will be stacked over Easley quite a bit. The rushing combinations that will open up on that side are obviously immense, as will be what it will free up for Jones. What really interests me though is that Easley will keep guys off of Collins very well to enable him to use his athleticism and range on that strong side curl to flat zone both in the pass and run. What does that mean? It negates the need for the playside safety to come crashing down which enables way more 2-high safety looks with two ball hawks (McCourty/Ryan), the two outside corners pressing hard, and excellent defense of the seams which have killed this team (particularly with the tight end) in the past. It really, really impacts the entire defense and scheme. They're gonna be faaaaaaaaast this year. I can't wait to watch them swarm.

If you watch tape on this guy you will be a believer. SI had a cutup of his tape against Miami early in the 2013 season...he was LIVING in the backfield. Yes, sometimes he got swallowed up by double teams, he is not Vince Wilfork in that regard clearly. But the explosion off the snap is absolutely unbelievable particularly at the interior rusher position. Best first step for a DT I've personally seen since Warren Sapp. His stats don't reflect how important he was to the defense - he was usually the guy creating the initial disruption that teammates would then finish off. And to top it off he has a fantastic motor and is surprisingly strong for his size (he exhibits great leverage to neutralize larger offensive linemen). Bottom-line, when healthy this guy is clearly a top 5 type of candidate - HOF caliber talent esp if put in the right scheme - an attacking, 1-gap 3 tech DT.

At the bottom of the first round this is a no brainer. ACL injuries aren't indicative of someone with durability problems, more of bad luck. I'd be more worried about recurring ankle, muscle, neck, and back injuries.

Can we fix his name in the thread title? For some reason really bothering me.

Anyway...I'm admittedly always optimistic and am hoping he fully recovers for the start of training camp and develops into a John Randle type player in the NFL.

I could mean

Ninkovich
Jones
Easley
Jones

as the front 4 on 3rd and long.

Deus Irae said:

I could mean

Ninkovich
Jones
Easley
Jones

as the front 4 on 3rd and long.

Click to expand...

No more Jones please. Wilfork and or Kelley should not be off on third down situations and I do not care if theyre not running down the field to continue to make a play. Jones had good games at times but lets not forget he would have others where he was getting swallowed up.

BelichickFan said:

He was cleared in his combine medical recheck two weeks ago. Belichick is also tight with Muschamp, there's obviously a risk but you can bet Bill knows exactly what he's buying.

Click to expand...

Andrews told BB he had a "lower body injury" and "he'll live".

SeanBruschi54 said:

No more Jones please. Wilfork and or Kelley should not be off on third down situations and I do not care if theyre not running down the field to continue to make a play. Jones had good games at times but lets not forget he would have others where he was getting swallowed up.

Click to expand...

Chris Jones was asked to play a role last year that he's just not suited for. In a limited role, as a pass rush specialist he could be very useful. I'd take him over Wilfork for sure at this point on 3rd and long.