Mark Anderson scares me.

[ahmed]

I don't care how much he sucks in coverage. Send someone else to cover instead of him. His rushing ability is very valuable to us especially with our DBs. I also don't think he's as bad against the run as some people are saying.

 

[PatsBoy12]

Huh? Nink has been a great pass rusher the last few games. Anyone who thinks Nink is mediocre frankly just isn't paying attention.

I agree. I think people are still judging the Nink that used to be, not the Nink that exists now. He has arrived. He has made play after play for the last half of the season. He even got National attention from a few pundits. He's beginning to draw more comparisons to the guy whose number he is wearing, and I can't disagree.

 

[BlueThunder]

I like Nink, but he still has room to be even better....when he gets his tackling a bit better behind LOS, he'll be deadly....:rocker:

 

[celticboy04]

I agree. I think people are still judging the Nink that used to be, not the Nink that exists now. He has arrived. He has made play after play for the last half of the season. He even got National attention from a few pundits. He's beginning to draw more comparisons to the guy whose number he is wearing, and I can't disagree.

Greetings,
The progression we are seeing from Rob Ninkovich is reminiscent of the progression of Mike Vrabel and to a degree Tedy Bruschi. I am not saying he will ever reach their Pro Bowl level of play, but if you notice something about all 3 it took a long amount of time for those guys to become decent starters in the NFL. I am not even going to lie, before the season began I thought BB was foolish going into another season with him being a starter. He keeps getting better each year and I love that.

Cetlciboy04

 

[patchick]

I agree. I think people are still judging the Nink that used to be, not the Nink that exists now. He has arrived. He has made play after play for the last half of the season. He even got National attention from a few pundits. He's beginning to draw more comparisons to the guy whose number he is wearing, and I can't disagree.

FWIW, if you look at Ninkovich and Vrabel's 5th & 6th season stats, they're virtually indistinguishable. That's not to say Nink will make the same 7th year progress Vrabel did, but his improvement from year 5 to 6 -- by the eye test as well as numbers -- has to give you hope.

 

[PatsBoy12]

Greetings,
The progression we are seeing from Rob Ninkovich is reminiscent of the progression of Mike Vrabel and to a degree Tedy Bruschi. I am not saying he will ever reach their Pro Bowl level of play, but if you notice something about all 3 it took a long amount of time for those guys to become decent starters in the NFL. I am not even going to lie, before the season began I thought BB was foolish going into another season with him being a starter. He keeps getting better each year and I love that.

Cetlciboy04

FWIW, if you look at Ninkovich and Vrabel's 5th & 6th season stats, they're virtually indistinguishable. That's not to say Nink will make the same 7th year progress Vrabel did, but his improvement from year 5 to 6 -- by the eye test as well as numbers -- has to give you hope.

Yup! That's exactly my sentiment. The guy has done nothing but get better and better. He may never emerge as someone the opposing offense has to game plan for, but that's not what the Pats need necessarily. If he can continue to do his job and hen add the one or two big plays a game like he as been, then that's all the doctor ordered. Heck, that's petty much what Vrabel did to make a name for himself. Vrabel, however, was a sure tackler . . . one of the very best on the team when he was here. You rarely saw anyone escape his grasp.

 

[Ochmed Jones]

First off I love that we have a pass rush, we use to ask can he rush the passer about every player. Between him and carter they got 20 sacks through out the season. However watching last night when Anderson had to drop in coverage he looked lost out there allowing the TE a TD.

Also when he rushes the QB he tries to use his speed to beat the OT who seemed to force him past the QB but also left a huge space for Flacco to move into an extend a play. Flacco didn't really take advantage of this but I am sure Eli will. He need's to contain more or the DE need's to do so allowing Anderson to get after the QB.

This is the great debate. If we rush while seeking to contain the QB, Eli will sit back there and pick our secondary apart.

If we rush to get the corner, Eli has a lane to step up into.

San Fran had tremendous success with overload blitzes and stunts up the middle. Which is why I think Wilfork goes back on the nose for the bowl. The Giants will have to double team him and hopefully that allows the other DL to apply some pressure, preferrably inside pressure, which is Manning's weak spot.

 

[Dessalines]

I like Mark Anderson, he plays with great enthusiasm and he has been reborn as a pass rusher here. I wish Carter wan't injured because as a tandem they presented real problems for offenses. That said however, the pass rush seems pertty good these days.

 

[Batman]

I don't dislike Anderson he just scares me with his play sometimes. I am really high on nin though he is not the best at any of the stuff a LB needs to do but he is good at all of it he can play all 4 downs an all situations of them run or pass, cover or blitz. With him mayo spikes and a new OLB next year our 34 will be set and our 43 will have a good set too if we can keep Carter. Anderson as a sub rusher is great him and Carter on the same side kill an OL

 

[shmessy]

I like Nink, but he still has room to be even better....when he gets his tackling a bit better behind LOS, he'll be deadly....:rocker:

This.

He GETS to spots beautifully. However, he still leads the team in missed arm tackles. He HAS improved that one huge gap in his game, and I look forward to further improvement there. Sometimes it looks like someone eating soup with a fork.

 

[PatsBoy12]

I like Mark Anderson, he plays with great enthusiasm and he has been reborn as a pass rusher here. I wish Carter wan't injured because as a tandem they presented real problems for offenses. That said however, the pass rush seems pertty good these days.

It was thinking the same thing. I wish Carter was part of all of this because he was a beast all year. As a tandem they were just beginning to put things together when Carter got hurt. It would have been awesome to have both of them giving Eli something to think about.

 

[Deus Irae]

I just don't get what Rob Ninkovich has to do to be raised above the "mediocre" level in fans' eyes...

He could get to the point where he's better than mediocre.

 

[crew1954]

We had crummy contain on Flacco, who wound up doing one heck of a Ben R. imitation (only without the limps).

He was missing the yellow tape.

 

[Steve1iron]

Not fair to criticize Anderson. He has been a welcome at DE and his pass rush has provided a boost to the defense. I want to see more of the same out of Anderson plus blitzes from Mayo and Ninkovitch and Spikes. We need to put pressure on Eli and force him into mistakes and he sure can make mistakes.

 

[Marqui]

I just don't get what Rob Ninkovich has to do to be raised above the "mediocre" level in fans' eyes. It is so, so hard to find a big guy who can hold his own in coverage AND setting the edge in the running game AND pressuring the quarterback. He's been invaluable.

But you prefer Anderson, the classic one trick pony?

And I don't get why some pats fans have to act like Ninkovich is a much better player than he really is. In reality Ninkovich is not a consistent impact player other offenses have to game plan for. No one's afraid of him. I think he's a nice rotational OLB to use in certain situations, but he's certainly not elite or "invaluable" or un-upgradable. I agree he's probably the best the Pats have to work with now though.

 

[JackBauer]

And I don't get why some pats fans have to act like Ninkovich is a much better player than he really is. In reality Ninkovich is not a consistent impact player other offenses have to game plan for. No one's afraid of him. I think he's a nice rotational OLB to use in certain situations, but he's certainly not elite or "invaluable" or un-upgradable. I agree he's probably the best the Pats have to work with now though.

There's a pretty significant gulf between mediocre and consistent impact player.

 

[ALP]

First off I love that we have a pass rush, we use to ask can he rush the passer about every player. Between him and carter they got 20 sacks through out the season. However watching last night when Anderson had to drop in coverage he looked lost out there allowing the TE a TD.

Also when he rushes the QB he tries to use his speed to beat the OT who seemed to force him past the QB but also left a huge space for Flacco to move into an extend a play. Flacco didn't really take advantage of this but I am sure Eli will. He need's to contain more or the DE need's to do so allowing Anderson to get after the QB.

if its the TD play i am thinking of, i blame spikes more for it

 

[Marqui]

There's a pretty significant gulf between mediocre and consistent impact player.

True. And maybe I'm just biased against the guy because I really dislike DE/OLBs that aren't very good pass rushers which may make me underrate all the other "do your job" stuff Ninkovich does.

 

[celticboy04]

And I don't get why some pats fans have to act like Ninkovich is a much better player than he really is. In reality Ninkovich is not a consistent impact player other offenses have to game plan for. No one's afraid of him. I think he's a nice rotational OLB to use in certain situations, but he's certainly not elite or "invaluable" or un-upgradable. I agree he's probably the best the Pats have to work with now though.

Greetings,
I do not think most of us are saying he is an elite player at all. What many of us are saying is he has made some big strides from where he came from since he has been in New England. He has gotten better every year and shows a hunger of wanting to get much better. I highly understand that opposing teams do not gameplan for him. To me it is what it is, with the salary cap some positions will be much better than the others. I think he is an Ok starter who still has ways to go.

Celticboy04

 

[JackBauer]

True. And maybe I'm just biased against the guy because I really dislike DE/OLBs that aren't very good pass rushers which may make me underrate all the other "do your job" stuff Ninkovich does.

I don't think he's a great pass rusher by any stretch, though he has occasional moments.

I think if he's the worst we have starting at linebacker, we'll be okay.