Cunningham

[Brettlax3434]

The Boston Herald expects second-round OLB Jermaine Cunningham to be given "every opportunity to make a big-time impact on the edge" as a rookie.

Cunningham is seeing plenty of time with the starters opposite Tully Banta-Cain, and he's said to look "quicker and more smooth" than veteran Pierre Woods. With Derrick Burgess telling friends that he believes he's played his last down in the NFL, Cunningham is poised to fill a key role.
Source: Boston Herald
Related: Derrick Burgess, Pierre Woods

(From Rotoworld.com)

 

[sbpatfan]

YouTube - Pass Rush Moves.wmv

I just hope he has some of that in him.

 

[PATRIOTSFANINPA]

Someone actually looks better than Woods?

Get outta here,I don't believe such BS

 

[makoute]

Someone actually looks better than Woods?

Get outta here,I don't believe such BS

I don't either lol.

 

[ahmed]

YouTube - Pass Rush Moves.wmv

I just hope he has some of that in him.

He needs to visit this camp...

 

[BionicPatriot]

At this point we need somebody capable of playing OLB opposite TBC. That's not exactly going out ona limb. If Cunningham cant beat out Nikovice or Woods we're in deep ****.

 

[patsfan-1982]

if Cunningham, can't beat out Woods, and Ninkovich, two Career ST/ ok back up OLB's then i hate to say but he would be a wast of a pick

 

[Ring 6]

if Cunningham, can't beat out Woods, and Ninkovich, two Career ST/ ok back up OLB's then i hate to say but he would be a wast of a pick

Thats ridiculous. Many good draft picks start their rookie seasons slow.

 

[patsfan-1982]

Thats ridiculous. Many good draft picks start their rookie seasons slow.

that's true but he has a lot more talent and size then both Woods, and Ninkovich, the only thing i could see holding him back from starting is not picking up the system fast a nuff

 

[Ring 6]

that's true but he has a lot more talent and size then both Woods, and Ninkovich, the only thing i could see holding him back from starting is not picking up the system fast a nuff

Its not just picking up the system. Its making a position change and adjusting to the NFL.
Players that develop slow are much more often having trouble adjusting to the level of competition and speed of the game, than not picking up the system. Its very rare that a player having played football for 10-15 years isn't smart enough to know the play calls.

 

[patsfan-1982]

Its not just picking up the system. Its making a position change and adjusting to the NFL.
Players that develop slow are much more often having trouble adjusting to the level of competition and speed of the game, than not picking up the system. Its very rare that a player having played football for 10-15 years isn't smart enough to know the play calls.

will i hope he makes that adjustment from DE to 3-4 OLB fast cause Woods, even playing 50% of the snaps is not a good thing.

 

[BradyFTW!]

if Cunningham, can't beat out Woods, and Ninkovich, two Career ST/ ok back up OLB's then i hate to say but he would be a wast of a pick

wtf are you talking about? 1- he's a rookie, 2- WOLB and SOLB are different positions, 3- he's already switching positions after being a DE in college. If he can beat out Woods and Ninkovich, then that just speaks to his talent, versatility, and work ethic. To expect him to beat them out, though, is just ridiculous.

 

[BradyFTW!]

will i hope he makes that adjustment from DE to 3-4 OLB fast cause Woods, even playing 50% of the snaps is not a good thing.

We won't be in the base 3-4 in 50% of total snaps anyways. Woods isn't ideal as the starting SOLB, but he doesn't screw us either. He's a mostly capable player who knows the system; we could do a lot better, but we could do a lot worse too. If people go back and look at what Vrabel gave us as a passrusher from the strong side in the SB years, I think they'd realize that it's not like there's some impossible void to fill there. If we can bring along a guy who can cover, set the edge, and get 3-5 sacks per year, I'm okay with that. The pass rush issues are definitely not exclusive to OLB. We need Mayo and whoever's replacing Seymour to pick up a lot of the slack, too, because that's where a great deal of the dropoff is coming from.

 

[Ring 6]

wtf are you talking about? 1- he's a rookie, 2- WOLB and SOLB are different positions, 3- he's already switching positions after being a DE in college. If he can beat out Woods and Ninkovich, then that just speaks to his talent, versatility, and work ethic. To expect him to beat them out, though, is just ridiculous.

WOLB and SOLB are different positions. But we do not flip our OLBs to the formation. So every OLB plays W or S depending on how the offense lines up. 30 years ago the defensive left was the strong side 90% of the time, but thats not the case any more.
Bruschi spoke about this.
While on any give play we have a WOLB, SOLB and WILB, SILB and WS, SS we align as Right and Left not Weak and Strong, so every player must know both positions, and will play both based on what the o does.

 

[BradyFTW!]

WOLB and SOLB are different positions. But we do not flip our OLBs to the formation. So every OLB plays W or S depending on how the offense lines up. 30 years ago the defensive left was the strong side 90% of the time, but thats not the case any more.
Bruschi spoke about this.
While on any give play we have a WOLB, SOLB and WILB, SILB and WS, SS we align as Right and Left not Weak and Strong, so every player must know both positions, and will play both based on what the o does.

Definitely, it wasn't my intent to say otherwise and I should have clarified that in my post. Just like Bruschi said that ILBs need to be able to flip, obviously the OLBs do too. That said, naturally different players will be ideally suited to different roles, and putting a natural WOLB on what is more often than not the strong side is an added complication. Same holds true for Spikes, Chung, et al. In recent years, Belichick has picked a lot of guys who more naturally fit on one side of the spectrum, and while I'm sure they can be coached up to be more versatile, I dunno how realistic it is to expect a ton of versatility out of a rookie who's already learning a new position. All of this, of course, is why I have a hard time imagining Cunningham as a starter this year, and think he'll likely be a pass rush specialist instead. I'll be shocked if he's starting at the beginning of the season, and moderately surprised if he's starting at any point this season. So to hear people complaining that he'll be a wasted pick if he's not starting is just ridiculous.

 

[patsfan-1982]

wtf are you talking about? 1- he's a rookie, 2- WOLB and SOLB are different positions, 3- he's already switching positions after being a DE in college. If he can beat out Woods and Ninkovich, then that just speaks to his talent, versatility, and work ethic. To expect him to beat them out, though, is just ridiculous.

Woods, and Ninkovich, only had a 100 snaps each at OLB will Adalius Thomas, had over 260 snaps i think we can all agree AD was a piss poor OLB last year. and they could not take snaps away from him so IMO even as a rookie Cunningham, should get more snaps at OLB/DE then both Woods, and Ninkovich,

 

[wcpatsfan]

I think we will see Ninkovich starting opposite TBC, at least to start the year. The coaching staff seems very high on Nink. He does have a nice story but so far he's been an also-ran. You could've said the same thing about Vrabel too though...

 

[Ring 6]

Definitely, it wasn't my intent to say otherwise and I should have clarified that in my post. Just like Bruschi said that ILBs need to be able to flip, obviously the OLBs do too. That said, naturally different players will be ideally suited to different roles, and putting a natural WOLB on what is more often than not the strong side is an added complication. Same holds true for Spikes, Chung, et al. In recent years, Belichick has picked a lot of guys who more naturally fit on one side of the spectrum, and while I'm sure they can be coached up to be more versatile, I dunno how realistic it is to expect a ton of versatility out of a rookie who's already learning a new position. All of this, of course, is why I have a hard time imagining Cunningham as a starter this year, and think he'll likely be a pass rush specialist instead. I'll be shocked if he's starting at the beginning of the season, and moderately surprised if he's starting at any point this season. So to hear people complaining that he'll be a wasted pick if he's not starting is just ridiculous.

But BB wants and expects them to be versatile and I think he drafts with that in mind. (Chung for example, as well as Meriwhether are equally capable as ss or ws)
Ultimatley, there isnt that much difference for an OLB being on the strong side or the weak. I mean in terms of being effective, not how the play presents itself.
In the running game whether you are blocked by the TE, or a pulling G or a FB isn't a matter of different skill sets.
In the passing game we rarely ever have an OLB in man coverage on anyone, so the flat is the flat whether its strong or weak.
I think that part of the reason BB does not flip players is because ultimately there are situations where there is no strength.
One back with 4 wides, or 1 back with 2 TEs has no strong or weak side.

 

[Ring 6]

I think we will see Ninkovich starting opposite TBC, at least to start the year. The coaching staff seems very high on Nink. He does have a nice story but so far he's been an also-ran. You could've said the same thing about Vrabel too though...

His career path resembles Vrabels.
However there were 50 other players who's career resembled Vrabels that never became good players, and few that did.

 

[Ring 6]

Woods, and Ninkovich, only had a 100 snaps each at OLB will Adalius Thomas, had over 260 snaps i think we can all agree AD was a piss poor OLB last year. and they could not take snaps away from him so IMO even as a rookie Cunningham, should get more snaps at OLB/DE then both Woods, and Ninkovich,

I think you have to consider there are other factors that impacted Thomas playing time.
They didnt walk into camp on an even keel.
Thomas owned a starting job, and had been a good player here. While he was playing his way out of a job, I am sure that the hope that he would turn things around had an impact on that decision.
If BB were Kreskin and knew at the beginning of the season what Thomas' season would be the playing time distribution would have been very different.
It is not easy pulling the trigger on deciding a formerly good player now sucks and must be benched. BB needed Thomas to step up. He needed to give hm opportunities to do that, even if in retrospect it was a bad idea.