Rey Maualuga?

[cstjohn17]

I didn't see much of the game, how did Rey Maualuga look?

Can't really argue with an OT, SS, CB and NT from round 2 but Maualuga and Barwin wouldn't have been too shabby either.

 

[Calciumee]

I didn't see much of the game, how did Rey Maualuga look?

Can't really argue with an OT, SS, CB and NT from round 2 but Maualuga and Barwin wouldn't have been too shabby either.

Who? Bar-what? Never heard of him

 

[Box_O_Rocks]

Maualuga looked great on the bench being worked over by the trainers. He did make a few plays against NE's second and third stringers, he's actually a good fit for the way Cincy runs that defense.

 

[FreeTedWilliams]

Maualuga light up a few Pats, he played well.

Did anyone else notice Michael Johnson in the Pats backfiled all night? They passed on him 6 times before Cincy grabbed him. Luckily he did not go to Pittsburg/Baltimore/Philly who would really know how to use him.

 

[Box_O_Rocks]

Maualuga light up a few Pats, he played well.

Did anyone else notice Michael Johnson in the Pats backfiled all night? They passed on him 6 times before Cincy grabbed him. Luckily he did not go to Pittsburg/Baltimore/Philly who would really know how to use him.

Yes, Johnson was a good test for Vollmer, I don't remembering Johnson being as effective against the run though... opcorn:

 

[WhiZa]

Yes, Johnson was a good test for Vollmer, I don't remembering Johnson being as effective against the run though... opcorn:

Neither is Burgess. Good question, who would you rather have Johnson vs Burgess? For a 3rd and a 4th we probably could have drafted Johnson this year.

 

[cstjohn17]

I didn't see much of the game, how did Rey Maualuga look?

Can't really argue with an OT, SS, CB and NT from round 2 but Maualuga and Barwin wouldn't have been too shabby either.

Maybe I was wrong, we don't need guys like this when we have TBC, Burgess, Guyton, Alexander and Ninkovich. Megs causes two fumbles in one game, what is the over under on the total fumbles forced by all the JAGs listed above.

YouTube - Rey Maualuga: Big Hit - Bengals vs. Packers (9-20-09)
NFL Videos: Bengals Defense Highlight, WK 02 vs. Packers 2009

 

[BillBelichickFan79]

I thought we were definitely taking ReyRey at 34 and I was a little pissed when we passed on him for the 2nd time. I thought we get Chung later on and Mayo-Maualuga would've been a nice inside pairing in the 3-4 for years to come.

I really don't know how Cushing or Matthews jumped way up and this guy fell all the way out of round one. I think some people over-analyzed a little and looked at measurables a little too much. The guy is just a great hardworking and talented football player and shined at USC. Hard hitting, good at getting after the QB (he rocked Juice Williams in the Rose Bowl), always making tackles, always around the ball. The fact that he came back to school for a senior year really hurt his draft stock. I do like Chung and think he was needed but I thought we could get him a little later on.

 

[Taxed in Maine]

I thought we were definitely taking ReyRey at 34 and I was a little pissed when we passed on him for the 2nd time. I thought we get Chung later on and Mayo-Maualuga would've been a nice inside pairing in the 3-4 for years to come.

I really don't know how Cushing or Matthews jumped way up and this guy fell all the way out of round one. I think some people over-analyzed a little and looked at measurables a little too much. The guy is just a great hardworking and talented football player and shined at USC. Hard hitting, good at getting after the QB (he rocked Juice Williams in the Rose Bowl), always making tackles, always around the ball. The fact that he came back to school for a senior year really hurt his draft stock. I do like Chung and think he was needed but I thought we could get him a little later on.

If you truly believed the Pats were going to take him you didn't pay much attention to draft.
He is a typical spoiled rotten USC brat with an attitude problem, off-field issues, and low football intelligence, and I'm quite sure his wonderlic was in the single digits. A poor showing at the combine didn't help much either.
Not exactly what most people would consider a Pats-type prospect.

He's probably lucky to have been drafted as high as he was.

 

[mayoclinic]

Maybe I was wrong, we don't need guys like this when we have TBC, Burgess, Guyton, Alexander and Ninkovich. Megs causes two fumbles in one game, what is the over under on the total fumbles forced by all the JAGs listed above.

YouTube - Rey Maualuga: Big Hit - Bengals vs. Packers (9-20-09)
NFL Videos: Bengals Defense Highlight, WK 02 vs. Packers 2009

GB's OL wasn't very good on Sunday. Odom had something like 4 sacks and was AFC DPOW. Not to take anything away from Maualuga, but it's easier to make plays when your DL is dominating their OL.

No one ever said that Maualuga's not a big hitter and couldn't make some plays. The questions with him dealt with character, intelligence, ability to handle complex defensive schemes, coverage ability, and ability to take on blockers instead of just swoop in and make the big hit when the other guys have done the dirty work. Those are all things which the Pats demand of their LBs.

So far, Laurinaitis looks much more studly than Maualuga, and looks like a great find for St. Louis. He already has 22 tackles and has become their defensive signal caller as a rookie. My issue with Laurinaitis was that we already had Mayo, and at best he is another 3-4 ILB, but better suited as a 4-3 MLB.

 

[Ochmed Jones]

So far, Laurinaitis looks much more studly than Maualuga, and looks like a great find for St. Louis. He already has 22 tackles and has become their defensive signal caller as a rookie. My issue with Laurinaitis was that we already had Mayo, and at best he is another 3-4 ILB, but better suited as a 4-3 MLB.

I agree. Laurenitis tended to run around blockers rather than take them on. He showed early in his senior season that he could do it, but didn;t look like he wanted to do it.

I wonder how Laurenitis would look as an OLB in our quaisi 4-3 defense??????

 

[mayoclinic]

I agree. Laurenitis tended to run around blockers rather than take them on. He showed early in his senior season that he could do it, but didn;t look like he wanted to do it.

I wonder how Laurenitis would look as an OLB in our quaisi 4-3 defense??????

I think he would look very nice, thank you. I never saw him as a 3-4 SILB fit for us, but I never questioned him being a good player.

 

[cstjohn17]

No one ever said that Maualuga's not a big hitter and couldn't make some plays. The questions with him dealt with character, intelligence, ability to handle complex defensive schemes, coverage ability, and ability to take on blockers instead of just swoop in and make the big hit when the other guys have done the dirty work. Those are all things which the Pats demand of their LBs.

The Patriots have run a very vanilla defense since about 2005, it doesn't seem like you need Einstein to play LB in their system. At some point you need play makers (aka players who make plays), not a bunch of jags running around just hoping to be in the right place.

Safeties are a dime a dozen, Merriweather keeps improving and one day he could be good but IMO he will never be elite. Average size, average speed, terrible hands, good tackler.. sounds like a 4th round pick not pick 21.

 

[mayoclinic]

The Patriots have run a very vanilla defense since about 2005, it doesn't seem like you need Einstein to play LB in their system. At some point you need play makers (aka players who make plays), not a bunch of jags running around just hoping to be in the right place.

I agree that the Pats have run a fairly vanilla defense on the field, but their defensive playbook is anything but simple. Adalius Thomas talked a great deal about how much more complicated the defense was than what he was used to or had expeted when he came over from Baltimore in 2007, and how it took him a full year to get comfortable with it.

I have wondered whether the defensive playbook may be unnecessarily complex, and whether it wouldn't be better just to get some playmakers and let them make plays. I don't know the answer. It is certainly incongruous that we have such a complex defensive playbook but play such a vanilla defense.

Safeties are a dime a dozen, Merriweather keeps improving and one day he could be good but IMO he will never be elite. Average size, average speed, terrible hands, good tackler.. sounds like a 4th round pick not pick 21.

Someone should tell Ed Reed, Troy Polamalu and Bob Sanders that they have average size and speed and shouldn't be elite safeties. There's nothing wrong with Merriweather's size or speed. He had 4 INTs last year, and his hands are markedly improved. "Terrible hands" suggests that you are either living in your past or don't know what you are talking about.

Safeties may be a dime a dozen, but NFL teams keep spending high picks on them. Meriweather was one of 4 taken in the 1st round in 2007, with Eric Weddle going in the high 2nd. In the past year plus he's performed as well or better than Leron Landry, who was taken #6 by Washington, and Reggie Nelson, taken #17 by Jacksonville. Only Michael Griffen has clearly played better over his first 2 years. If you can find Meriweathers in the 4th round, then you should be drafting for us. BTW, he was taken #24 in 2007.