Why this may be the year to take a Linebacker early

[sebman2112]

I just watched that youtube video and Gofff likes to hit up real high. I'm not sure that will work in the pros, but he appearred to have a knack for finding the ball even when the DL was pushed back off the LOS.

If Goff runs under 4.7, BB needs to jump on this guy big time.

When I watch those youtube clips I'm paying attention to maintain, and things of that nature. Obviously I like to see big hits, and solid tackling as much as the next guy, but that's to be expected, as it is a "highlight" video afterall. So, I pay attention to other things.

The one thing you'll notice when watching Jon on tape is that he keeps maintain, and (as you mentioned) has a nose for the ball. He's also able to put pressure on the QB, and fight through trash.

I know Jon's a sure tackler (You'll notice that offensive players rarely go forward on those tackles), and while I'm not sure how they're teaching him at Vandy, I'm sure BB, Pees, Pepper, Vrabel, and Bruschi would teach him the Patriots way of doing things. The funny thing is that I also noticed Patrick Willis tackling in a simular fashion during his college games.

Edit: I just wanted to note that while Jonathan does seem to tackle high on some of those plays, he's also going low on others, and when he does go high he usually gets his shoulders on level with or under the pad level of the RB. For those unaware, getting your pads low can be a challenge for taller LB's, when their facing short RB's, and Jonathan seems to win most of those battles (the ball carrier usually ends up going backwards). If you notice during that video Goff meets McFadden in the hole, and blows him up three different times. knowing that, and having watched him play a number of times, I'm not at all worried about his ability to tackle at the next level.

 

[mesoslo]

what the hell would we need Plaxico Burress for?

Is this a joke?

whats wrong with plaxico? not very many WR like him in the NFL. Plaxico would be awesome in the redzone offense.

 

[chunkypony]

whats wrong with plaxico? not very many WR like him in the NFL. Plaxico would be awesome in the redzone offense.

well, we would have on our roster:
Wes Welker
Jabar Gaffney
Chad Jackson
Kelley Washington
and possibly one or more of the following:

RANDY MOSS
DONTE STALLWORTH
TROY BROWN

the patriots would be putting way too much money into the recieving corps with the addition of plaxico. I understand he's a great player, but isn't that a bit overkill?

If we let Moss and Stallworth BOTH go (something I do not see happening), then I think it would be a good idea to draft a WR on the first day.

Trading for plaxico burress is ludicrous as far as I am concerned.

 

[mesoslo]

Plaxico buress = Randy moss inside the redzone offense.
Matt jones = Randy moss inside the redzone offense.

Tom Brady can make Buress and matt jones look as well as randy moss looked inside the redzone offense.

I dont want to see the patriots loose a beat in their passing game if an injury should ok, so maybe load up on WR corp, because if the patirots go undefeated and win it all, next year, every WR that wears a pats uni is marked for a punishing hit.

 

[dryheat44]

Plaxico buress = Randy moss inside the redzone offense.
Matt jones = Randy moss inside the redzone offense.

Tom Brady can make Buress and matt jones look as well as randy moss looked inside the redzone offense.

I dont want to see the patriots loose a beat in their passing game if an injury should ok, so maybe load up on WR corp, because if the patirots go undefeated and win it all, next year, every WR that wears a pats uni is marked for a punishing hit.

First of all, Burress doesn't like to practice, so rule him out.

Instead, let's make trades for Joe Thomas, Steve Hutchinson, LaDainian Tomlinson, Bryan Westbrook (he'd be killer on 3rd down), Larry Fitzgerald, Jason Whitten, Walter Jones, Haloti Ngata, DeMarcus Ware, Rashean Mathis, Peyton Manning (in case Brady gets hurt), Troy Polamalu, Nambdi Asomugha, Josh Cribbs, Mike Scifres, Bart Scott, James Harrison, and Patrick Willis.

I'd trade my entire 2008 and 2009 drafts for those guys. We'd probably go undefeated.

 

[Clonamery]

Is this the year BB does what we have all been wanting him to do for the past 3 years? I think it is.

From your lips to God's (I mean BB's) ears.....

 

[BritPat]

This mock has us taking Keith Rivers.

 

[rookBoston]

What does all this mean? I think when Colvin went down, it moved Thomas into a position he was not and still remains uncomfortable in. I think Thomas is struggling to adjust to the fact that we play a different defense every week. This has had a ripple affect through the entire defense and affected what types of schemes we can and can not run.

Doesn't it mean that without Colvin, the LBers cant rotate and stay as fresh long into the game as they would with an extra elite player on the roster? Not sure I jump to the idea that Thomas is struggling, only that the scheme has one less body to rely on.

Not that I necessarily disagree with your conclusion: that we need help at ILB.

One other thing to mention: just because we draft a LB early doesn't mean we've solved the problem. Also, just because we draft him early doesn't mean that he's actually going to be any good. Reaching for a player doesn't make him a Top-10 talent, it just means we're paying him Top-10 money. I don't see any LBs in this class that deserve being selected #7 overall. Chris Long would probably help as a rookie, but he'll be long gone by #7. No other rook would be trusted to play ILB for any substantial period of time-- BB likes to bring players on slowly. Even if we draft a rookie to play LB, I still expect a veteran to come in and take most of the reps.

 

[mesoslo]

Reaching for a player doesn't make him a Top-10 talent, it just means we're paying him Top-10 money.

Ed reed, Peyton Manning. These guys were once draft picks, so I pay good money to have any of their services.

 

[sebman2112]

I just wanted to add some more info concerning Goff (for those who might not fallow this stuff as closely):

2007: 12 games, and posted 113 tackles (9.4 tackles per game), 6.5 tackles for loss, 3 sacks, 5 Pass Breakups, and 2 INT's.

2006: 93 tackles, 6 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks, 5 pass breakups, and 1 INT.

Four year totals:
47 games, 307 tackles, 15.5 tackles for loss, 6.5 sacks, 14 pass breakups, and 3 INT's.

His production over the past two years has been very good, and he's been effective in multiple areas of the game. Remember, Goff's putting up these numbers while playing in the SEC, so he's used to playing against top level athletes.

I'd be very happy to see NE trade up in the second and grab him, if he's still there. I can't for the life of me see this guy lasting much longer.

I honestly believe everyone on here would be talking about this guy if he played for OSU or some other schools, but a lot of fans didn't get to watch him much at Vandy.

 

[patsfaninpa]

I just wanted to add some more info concerning Goff (for those who might not fallow this stuff as closely):

2007: 12 games, and posted 113 tackles (9.4 tackles per game), 6.5 tackles for loss, 3 sacks, 5 Pass Breakups, and 2 INT's.

2006: 93 tackles, 6 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks, 5 pass breakups, and 1 INT.

Four year totals:
47 games, 307 tackles, 15.5 tackles for loss, 6.5 sacks, 14 pass breakups, and 3 INT's.

His production over the past two years has been very good, and he's been effective in multiple areas of the game. Remember, Goff's putting up these numbers while playing in the SEC, so he's used to playing against top level athletes.

I'd be very happy to see NE trade up in the second and grab him, if he's still there. I can't for the life of me see this guy lasting much longer.

I honestly believe everyone on here would be talking about this guy if he played for OSU or some other schools, but a lot of fans didn't get to watch him much at Vandy.

I know all-star games aren't the best thing to judge someone on. But, I tried to watch him in the East/West shrine game. He played MLB in a 4-3. He was lined up so deep was hard to even follow his route to the ball. Totally different than our scheme. That said. He didn't appear to get around the ball as much you would hope in your mlb. I'm curious how he measure out at the combine. Ht/wgh 40 time.


Sometimes a guy playing on a poor team makes a lot of tackles because he's the only good defender they have. I know Vandy's defense was improved. Not sure tackles are the greatest stat. Laurinaitis had 18 or something like than in the championship game and I thought he looked ordinary.

 

[VJCPatriot]

I know all-star games aren't the best thing to judge someone on. But, I tried to watch him in the East/West shrine game. He played MLB in a 4-3. He was lined up so deep was hard to even follow his route to the ball. Totally different than our scheme. That said. He didn't appear to get around the ball as much you would hope in your mlb. I'm curious how he measure out at the combine. Ht/wgh 40 time.


Sometimes a guy playing on a poor team makes a lot of tackles because he's the only good defender they have. I know Vandy's defense was improved. Not sure tackles are the greatest stat. Laurinaitis had 18 or something like than in the championship game and I thought he looked ordinary.

Right you can't rely entirely on tackle numbers alone to tell the tale.
I watched Patrick Willis closely in his college all-star game, and he was all over the field.
His range was tremendous, a true sideline to sideline linebacker.
And even better his tackling was fundamentally sound. Wrap up and make the guy go down.
I really would have liked to draft him, but as you know the Pats didn't have that high of a pick, we settled for Meriweather instead of moving up.

I guess the real question is, who is the NEXT Patrick Willis?
If that kind of talent is available, I have no problem with the Pats finally drafting a 1st round LB.
If no one quite that good is available, I'd say trade down a few slots and take BPA. You save money and with the extra pick, you can find a pretty nice player in the early part of round 3.