Felger waas going off on this all morning today. Bringing up all the non-starters in the 2006 draft, (all offense) and once again crying about Samuel. It was classic Felger tho, in that he selectively omitted such facts as AD and Rodney going down, and Wheatley and James Sanders, and finally Pierre Woods as well. That's about 60% of our projected QB pressure and our rookie Starting LCB from mid-season on. So, now we have Wilhite, our projected nickel back playing LCB and Lewis Sanders doing a decent job at safety. Merriweather is coming along nicely, and while he doesn't pack the punch Rodney did, he's faster and is developing blitz skills.
Felger talked for an hour and didn't mention AD once. IMO, we don't fully understand nor appreciate what this guy will be able to do for this team. Last year, he had to play MLB until the end of the year, and his pass-rush finally started to show up in the play-offs. Then, he broke his arm early this season. While valuable experience was gained by Woods until he went down, nothing could have replaced the pressure AD and Vrabel would have brought had he stayed healthy. Look at the decrease in sacks for Vrabel, without a threat on the other side.
I'm very excited about the rookies and 2nd, 3rd yr guys on this LB corps. I feel like I can finally stop watching the Waiver wire and wondering what retread BB will pick up . Our future is here with these guys.
Finally, I do have to agree with Felger about the CB position. While I'm not in favor of paying someone so much nobody will throw at him, as many top CB's think it works, we do need someone a little more solid. Someone mentioned Asomogough (sp?) but if Al lets him get away to the Pats, they really will have to lock him up. (Al, that is.) I'm not real worried about the middle, as IMO, as soon as Mayo and Guyton are established in there , It'll take care of itself. The safeties will be adequate as soon as their communication matures. It's the CB's.
