Pulling the trigger

[Mark Morse]

Mortenson on ESPN says it could be Crabtree.

Well if its ESPN, it must be true!

 

[alvinnf]

Maybe Detroit will draft Crabtree.
They like taking wr's early. lol

Qb makes great sense for detroit if they had kept R.Williams. Now I wonder if they are just better served taking the best OL and lean on K. Smith a little more.

 

[mayoclinic]

i guess I just have an ingrained hesitancy to draft a wr so high.
Blame Chad Jackson.

I'm not a big fan of drafting WR high either. And I prefer to go defense. But if BB wants to draft Crabtree, then IBBWT. Larry Fitzgerald, Andre Johnson, and Calvin Johnson don't seem to have turned out too badly.

The thing is that there's a relationship between BB's success as a drafter and his success as a coach. Jax could draft Crabtree at #8 and he might be a bust. He has some off-field issues which could become an issue. But put him on the Pats in a highly structured environment with TB and Randy Moss to keep his ego in check, and he could be dynamite.

The same is true about a lot of other prospects. I think that many of them would have a better chance of success if drafted by the Pats than if drafted by most of the top 10 teams.

 

[Ochmed Jones]

I respect that fact that your all pre-draft frothed. Why Orakpo?????

He sets a fine edge that Orakpo.....

It is going to take a lot of work to get Orakpo to be a complete 3-4 OLB. But I would not mind seeing him come off the edge on 3rd and long. And I bet he is more than strong enough to set a solid monster edge on running plays.

My fear is seeing him in coverage. I doubt he could cover a fire hydrant.

 

[mayoclinic]

It is going to take a lot of work to get Orakpo to be a complete 3-4 OLB. But I would not mind seeing him come off the edge on 3rd and long. And I bet he is more than strong enough to set a solid monster edge on running plays.

My fear is seeing him in coverage. I doubt he could cover a fire hydrant.

He might be able to cover Vernon Gholston if the Jets switch Gholston to TE.

 

[Ochmed Jones]

He might be able to cover Vernon Gholston if the Jets switch Gholston to TE.

Ouch! that is cold. Didn't Atlanta move a number #1 overall DL pick toTE years ago?

 

[alvinnf]

It is going to take a lot of work to get Orakpo to be a complete 3-4 OLB. But I would not mind seeing him come off the edge on 3rd and long. And I bet he is more than strong enough to set a solid monster edge on running plays.

My fear is seeing him in coverage. I doubt he could cover a fire hydrant.

I don't know I like all the glitz and the spinning around stuff, but he strikes me as the typical 43 whirling dervish.....

 

[Ochmed Jones]

I don't know I like all the glitz and the spinning around stuff, but he strikes me as the typical 43 whirling dervish.....

I agree at the end of the day, he looks like a DE in a 4-3 defense.

 

[mayoclinic]

I agree at the end of the day, he looks like a DE in a 4-3 defense.

Agreed. Despite my sarcasm, I think Orapko's a fine player, and I actually think Vernon Gholston was a fine 4-3 DE prospect as well. I just think it doesn't make sense to get carried away with every 250-270 lb. pass rushing DE and think that they can be a demon 3-4 OLB, particularly in as complex and demanding a system as BB runs. For my money, BJ Raji or Andre Smith have nearly as much chance of succeeding at 3-4 OLB for the Pats as Orapko. OK, I'm being sarcastic again.

 

[Ochmed Jones]

Agreed. Despite my sarcasm, I think Orapko's a fine player, and I actually think Vernon Gholston was a fine 4-3 DE prospect as well. I just think it doesn't make sense to get carried away with every 250-270 lb. pass rushing DE and think that they can be a demon 3-4 OLB, particularly in as complex and demanding a system as BB runs. For my money, BJ Raji or Andre Smith have nearly as much chance of succeeding at 3-4 OLB for the Pats as Orapko. OK, I'm being sarcastic again.

That brings us to Ayers. Even the Boston Globe guy, is talking about him now.

If BB stays at #23, is he a viable option at OLB?

 

[mayoclinic]

That brings us to Ayers. Even the Boston Globe guy, is talking about him now.

If BB stays at #23, is he a viable option at OLB?

I don't know the answer to that, and I wish I did. Ayers started out as an LB but at ILB, not OLB. Tennessee has moved him around a lot including inside at both ILB and DT. He is very strong against the run and has strong interior moves. He's fairly good at dropping back into coverage for a guy his size. He seems to lack raw speed and also some lateral agility - his 3-cone and short shuttle weren't terribly impressive. He uses his hands well and handles blockers nicely. I've thought he might be a possible SILB conversion. I'm not convinced he could be a good OLB for us. If BB thought so I'd obviously defer, but he doesn't seem like a natural fit to me.

 

[Ochmed Jones]

I don't know the answer to that, and I wish I did. Ayers started out as an LB but at ILB, not OLB. Tennessee has moved him around a lot including inside at both ILB and DT. He is very strong against the run and has strong interior moves. He's fairly good at dropping back into coverage for a guy his size. He seems to lack raw speed and also some lateral agility - his 3-cone and short shuttle weren't terribly impressive. He uses his hands well and handles blockers nicely. I've thought he might be a possible SILB conversion. I'm not convinced he could be a good OLB for us. If BB thought so I'd obviously defer, but he doesn't seem like a natural fit to me.

I agree. I think he projects inside in a 4-3. Hopefully TB is looking at him and he won't be on the board when we draft.