After the Colts Game ...

[Marqui]

I'm 50/50 with you hear. You made alot of sense when you mentioned the running game. The area where we differ is with running back. While I do think this is a need, why waste a first round pick on a running back when we don't run the ball very often.

We could say that we don't run often because of our mediocre talent at running back. We could also say that we don't run often because our offensive line doesn't run block well. I tend to fall in the second category. Why? Because I don't think that we all of a sudden change our entire offensive philosophy because of a talented young 20 something year old. We could, but let's not get carried away.

Did you not see the Falcons game? As soon as they realized Fred Taylor could tear ATL up rushing they let him run the ball nonstop. The pass attempt to rush attempt ratio was nearly 50/50. I'm sure if the Patriots can build a strong rushing system, they would be perfectly happy running the ball a lot more. Not to mention taking stress off their 32 year old franchise QB that had major reconstructive knee surgery.

 

[mayoclinic]

Did you not see the Falcons game? As soon as they realized Fred Taylor could tear ATL up rushing they let him run the ball nonstop. The pass attempt to rush attempt ratio was nearly 50/50. I'm sure if the Patriots can build a strong rushing system, they would be perfectly happy running the ball a lot more. Not to mention taking stress off their 32 year old franchise QB that had major reconstructive knee surgery.

Absolutely. ZI want a power running game and a balanced offense. We can be pass first, but we have to be able to run the ball effectively - to take pressure of Brady, to wear down opposing D's and keep them off balance, and for the cold weather games.

Also, I never said we should take a 1st round RB. But I think we should take one day 1, either Jonathan Dwyer or Ryan Mathews. I would also considering using our 4th round pick on a Kevin Faulk replacement. Noel Devine of West Virginia and Dexter McClutcheon of Mississippi are both options if either is available.

 

[CTHuskies]

Looking at my priorities for the offseason and draft after the Colts game, I feel more strongly than ever about focusing on the following areas:

1. The pass rush. The pass rush. The pass rush. We need at least one bona fide rushing threat. Preferably 2. Indy showed how hard it is to stop both Freeney and Mathis. We shut down Freeney and Mathis killed us. I'd like to see us use 2 of our day 1 picks on pass rushers. Michael Johnson was huge for Cincinnati yesterday against Pittsburgh. It would have been nice to have someone like that. Derrick Morgan (an unstoppable force), Greg Hardy, Everson Griffen, Carlos Dunlap and Jason Pierre-Paul are all day 1 prospects who could play DE and the elephant, and provide a power rush. Sergio Kindle, Jerry Hughes, Jeremy Beal, Ricky Sapp and Eric Norwood could all provide a speed rush off the edge as 3-4 OLBs.

2. The power run game and the right side of the OL. I put these together. Vollmer is going to be a stud at LT, and if we can re-sign or franchise Mankins then the left side of our OL will be studly. But the right side is a weakness, with Neal aging and injury prone and Kaczur serviceable but no better. We found a franchise LT picking at #58 in the draft last year. I'd like to see us use two of our other picks on a stud RT, RG or running back. Jonathan Dwyer and Ryan Mathews continue to look good. Toby Gerhart is intriguing. As for the OL, it should be a lot easier to find an RT and/or RG in the second round than a franchise LT. Mike Iupati, Maurkice Pouncey, and Gabe Carmini are all attractive. I think LSU junior Joseph Barksdale could be another Vollmer on the right side. Jason Fox and Jeff Linkenbach would probably both be upgrades over Kaczur at RT. Bruce Campbell from Maryland is probably wasted on the right side, and Vollmer currently looks too good to consider moving to the right side long term.

3. The run defense. We need more depth on our DL. Obviously, having Green and Warren injured hurt a lot, and Pryor and Brace should only get better. But I'd like to see us pick up another bona fide 3-4 DE. Cameron Heyward, Leonard Marsh, Arthur Jones, Jared Odrick, Adrian Clayborn, Corey Wootton, Vince Oghobasse, and Brandon Deaderick are all options. Someone good will slip to the early 3rd round, and we should look to trade up. If we use a day 1 pick on DL then we should look at picking up an OL, RB or pass rusher in the early 3rd round. With the depth likely to be available in this draft, there will be day 1 talent (even late 1st round talent) slipping to the 3rd round.

Our weaknesses burned us against the Colts. Mathis hurt us on the right side. We couldn't power run in the 4th quarter. Our DL wore down and couldn't stop the run in the 4th quarter. And above all we couldn't get enough pressure on Manning.

Good analysis, there are my thoughts on who we should target:



* = Junior


Anthony Davis* T Rutgers 6-5 330 5.30 1
Mike lupati G Idaho 6-4 325 5.30 1
Cam Heyward* DE Ohio State 6-5 285 4.90 1
Brandon Ghee CB Wake Forest 5-11 190 4.45 1
Corey Wootton DE Northwestern 6-6 270 4.85 1
Vince Oghobaase DE/DT Duke 6-5 310 5.10 2
Sergio Kindle OLB-(3/4) Texas 6-3 235 4.65 2
Daryl Washington ILB TCU 6-2 230 4.60 2
Akwasi Owusu-Ansah CB Indiana PA 6-0 195 4.50 2
 Brian Jackson CB Oklahoma 6-0 200 4.55 3
Jon Asamoah G Illinois 6-4 315 5.10 3
Jarrett Brown QB West Virginia 6-2 220 4.60 3
Kyle Calloway T Iowa 6-6 315 5.30 3
Matt Tennant C Boston College 6-3 285 5.10 3
 Myron Rolle SS Florida State 6-1 215 4.65 3
Rashawn Johnson FB Virginia 6-0 245 4.55 4
 Justin Woodall SS Alabama 6-1 220 4.65 4
David Gettis WR Baylor 6-3 205 4.50 4
 Emmanuael Sanders WR SMU 5-10 180 4.40 4 (KR/CB)
Alex Carrington DE Arkansas State 6-4 280 4.80 4
A.J. Edds OLB-(3/4) Iowa 6-3 245 4.70 4
 Jerome Murphy CB South Florida 6-0 185 4.45 4
Andre Anderson RB Tulane 5-11 210 4.55 5
 Austen Lane OLB-(3/4) Murray State 6-5 260 4.70 5
Vladimir Ducasse G UMass 6-5 325 5.35 5
 Aaron Morgan OLB–(3/4) Louisiana-Monroe 6-4 245 4.75 5
Randy Philips FS Miami 5-11 210 4.60 5 injured
Jameson Konz FB (TE) Kent State 6-3 225 4.45 6
 Keiland Williams RB LSU 5-10 230 4.55 6
Lonyae Miller RB Fresno State 5-10 220 4.55 6
Taylor Price WR Ohio 6-0 210 4.35 6
 Tony Washington T Abilene Christian 6-6 300 5.35 6
Doug Worthington DT Ohio State 6-5 275 4.80 6
 Al Woods NT LSU 6-4 315 5.20 6
Sherrick McManis CB Northwestern 5-10 190 4.45 6
 Robert Johnson FS Utah 6-1 195 4.45 6
Aaron Webster SS Cincinnati 6-1 215 4.55 6
A.J. Jefferson CB Fresno State 5-11 190 4.45 7
 Joe Webb WR (QB) UAB 6-3 220 4.65 7
Jack Corcoran FB Rutgers 6-0 230 4.65 7
Kerry Meier WR (QB) Kansas 6-2 215 4.55 7
Arthur Moats OLB-(3/4) James Madison 6-2 240 4.55 7
Jeff Cumberland TE Illinois 6-4 245 4.60 7
 Jared Veldheer G Hillsdale 6-6 320 4.90 7
Caz Piurowski TE Florida State 6-7 270 4.80 7 injured
Kade Weston NT Georgia 6-4 325 5.10 7
 Jimmy Graham TE Miami 6-8 260 4.75 7
Corey Peters NT Kentucky 6-2 300 4.95 7
Derek Hardman T Eastern Kentucky 6-4 295 5.35 7
Terrance Gaston ILB Northeastern State 6-2 230 4.65 7

 

[BionicPatriot]

Great post. I put my comments in bold. I think we definitely need some serious pass rushing talent. Adalius Thomas must restructure his contract and Derrick Burgess must as well. So much money and so little talent. Also, if Crable doesn't turn things around and stay healthy (durability is an asset), then I say let's find someone that can.

On Offense, I say draft an interior offensive lineman. We are going to need one in the near future. We can find a good running back in the second round or free agency.

Fully agree with your assessment on Koppen. I've felt like **** about the guy since watching Williams eat his lunch in the SD game last year. The guy cannot handle physical DL to push back, period.

 

[JoeShmoe]

Fully agree with your assessment on Koppen. I've felt like **** about the guy since watching Williams eat his lunch in the SD game last year. The guy cannot handle physical DL to push back, period.

Agreed, it also stymies our run game. Also watch that 4th and 2 when the Indy front 4 rush, Koppen literally collapses. A hard centre(think Jeff Saturday) would allow the Guards more leeway to run block better

Any Centers next year?

 

[nashvillepatsfan]

Absolutely. ZI want a power running game and a balanced offense. We can be pass first, but we have to be able to run the ball effectively - to take pressure of Brady, to wear down opposing D's and keep them off balance, and for the cold weather games.

Also, I never said we should take a 1st round RB. But I think we should take one day 1, either Jonathan Dwyer or Ryan Mathews. I would also considering using our 4th round pick on a Kevin Faulk replacement. Noel Devine of West Virginia and Dexter McClutcheon of Mississippi are both options if either is available.

I agree. If we had a 21 year old Dillon on this team, they would run more. Speaking of which, can we draft the next Dillon please? I really want one of those for Christmas Seriously, in terms of power, vision, and burst, who's the best coming out next year? I only get to see Bama games down here, so im not really up on the other teams.

As for others comments about the interior line, its not all Koppen. When Neal goes down, its like they all sink with him. BB really needs to find a replacement for Neal. Maybe he already has him on the roster, but another Gaurd in this coming draft would be fine with me.

 

[glm]

I agree. If we had a 21 year old Dillon on this team, they would run more. Speaking of which, can we draft the next Dillon please? I really want one of those for Christmas Seriously, in terms of power, vision, and burst, who's the best coming out next year? I only get to see Bama games down here, so im not really up on the other teams.

As for others comments about the interior line, its not all Koppen. When Neal goes down, its like they all sink with him. BB really needs to find a replacement for Neal. Maybe he already has him on the roster, but another Gaurd in this coming draft would be fine with me.

Ryan Mathews

YouTube - Best Runningback in NCAA

and Johnathan Dwyer.

YouTube - Jonathan Dwyer For Heisman

 

[mayoclinic]

Agreed, it also stymies our run game. Also watch that 4th and 2 when the Indy front 4 rush, Koppen literally collapses. A hard centre(think Jeff Saturday) would allow the Guards more leeway to run block better

Any Centers next year?

Maurkice Pouncey, junior, Florida. 6'5", 318#. Compares quite favorably with Alex Mack and Eric Wood. Very powerful.

 

[SidelineSid]

I agree. If we had a 21 year old Dillon on this team, they would run more. Speaking of which, can we draft the next Dillon please? I really want one of those for Christmas Seriously, in terms of power, vision, and burst, who's the best coming out next year? I only get to see Bama games down here, so im not really up on the other teams.

As for others comments about the interior line, its not all Koppen. When Neal goes down, its like they all sink with him. BB really needs to find a replacement for Neal. Maybe he already has him on the roster, but another Gaurd in this coming draft would be fine with me.

I'll admit that Koppen is not the biggest problem on our offensive line. Kaczur isn't that great either. The problem is that we have an aging Stephen Neal between them. In fact, it seems that it's Neal's presence offers the stability that we have on the right side of our line. Out of Koppen, Neal, and Kaczur, Neal is the only one with a real mean streak. He makes defenders think twice about coming at Brady.

The problem is that the two guys on the other side of him are weak points in our line. They force an aging player to over extend himself and thus compound the problem.

Look at the Colts game. We contained Freeney. Volmer mostly kept him under control with occasional help from tight ends and slot receivers. The Colts adjusted to this. They began stunting and overloading the inside of our offensive line. This forced Neal to help Koppen, but left Kaczur one on one with Matthis. Bad news for us.

Our offense sputtered and Matthis ate Kaczur alive. We can't continue to have this. If he upgrade the Center position, we could allow Neal to focus more on helping Kaczur. This would really open up our passing game by letting our tight ends become more involved in the passing game.

Florida's center Pouncey was mentioned. He's one of the few Florida players that I'm interested in. He could play either Center or Guard. More importantly, he could be drafted with one of our high 2nd round draft choices. If he forces Koppen to play better, great. We could use him as an eventual replacement to Neal. If he does replace Koppen, then we could trade him and get at least a 2nd round draft choice for him based on his reputation.

If you don't think that Center is an area of concern, then think of the pressure that the Jets were able to get on Brady by blitzing up the middle in September. We adjusted to it in the second game, but Brady began getting pressured from the right because Kaczur kept getting beat.

 

[sg14]

After the Colts game I came away with two thoughts,,

1) Colts DEs are a pain,, Whoever said we need to strengthen the right side of the OL, I am on board with that,, What makes the Colts good on defense is Freeney and Mathis, they shorten the field for the most part, the DB's and LBs usually are playing downhill to the LOS. If we had tackles than could anhilate the two DE's, we win.
A power back would not hurt, but I would like to cancel their strength with a second topflight OT. (So what will be the story when Light returns??)

2) The Colts scored big on their draft (maybe a free agent too) on their CBs. They are going to be a pain in the future. That Powers kid looks special.