Jones, Hightower and Dennard make second year leap.

[Brady6]

•Jones could be considered a DPOY candidate if he continues his current play over the entire season, he has been the best player on the field the last 2 weeks in my opinion, on the season he has 14 tackles, 3 sacks and 1 stuff.
•Hightower has really come into his own, with Von Miller drugged out Hightower could potentially become the best 4-3 OLB in the NFL, on the season Hightower has 15 tackles and 1 stuff.
•Dennard has been very impressive in my eyes, with the exception of the difficult reception Williams made 1on1 with him on Sunday Dennard has shut down his opponent, on the season he has 8 tackles, 4 pass defends and 1 interception.

Belichick really struck gold with these 3 selections, getting a top DE, OLB and CB out one draft is unparalleled.

 

[Ice_Ice_Brady]

• Hightower has really come into his own, with Von Miller drugged out Hightower could potentially be the best 4-3 OLB in the NFL

What????????

 

[BradyFTW!]

I think people forget how scary-good Jones was before he hurt his ankle last year. Seems like a combination of picking up where he left off, having added some bulk to his frame, and playing a new role that really suits him on passing downs.

Hightower is intriguing as hell: ever since seeing this article (Dont'a Hightower joining some lofty company in wearing green dot for Patriots defense - Going Deep - Boston.com) I've felt that he's going to make a leap this year. Seems like he's being groomed to be the MLB of the future, and it's a testament to his athleticism and versatility that in the mean time he can play OLB capably, let alone well. I definitely wouldn't put him on Miller's level; he's not that kind of sheer, disruptive presence. But he's absolutely a very good player, and it's been encouraging seeing him make some plays in the open field. It's been a while since we had more than one linebacker who could do that with any reliability.

 

[jmt57]

• Hightower has really come into his own, with Von Miller drugged out Hightower could potentially be the best 4-3 OLB in the NFL, on the season Hightower has 15 tackles and 1 stuff.

While I applaud the enthusiasm, I think Clay Matthews and Lance Briggs are still well ahead of Hightower, and Chad Greenway and Lavonte David are not bad.

Hightower might soon become the best in the AFC however; when you restrict the conversation to only 4-3 OLBs the primary competition would be Tamba Hali in KC. Others to consider would be Koa Misi in Miami, the Jets' Calvin Pace, the Colts' Robert Mathis. edit: scratch Pace and Mathis

 

[Ring 6]

While I applaud the enthusiasm, I think Clay Matthews and Lance Briggs are still well ahead of Hightower, and Chad Greenway and Lavonte David are not bad.

Hightower might soon become the best in the AFC however; when you restrict the conversation to only 4-3 OLBs the primary competition would be Tamba Hali in KC. Others to consider would be Koa Misi in Miami, the Jets' Calvin Pace, the Colts' Robert Mathis.

Calvin Pace is terrible. Mathis and Misi are one-dimensional.

 

[Rob0729]

Jones had two half sacks on Sunday. So he is actually getting to QB a little more than his sack total indicates. Other players are just getting there just as fast. I think he has the potential to be a stud player and even one of the best defensive players in the NFL by year's end. His versatility is amazing and he is unblockable one on one.

I would pump the breaks about Hightower being the best 4-3 OLB in the NFL. He is making progress, but he hasn't had any wow factor. Happy he is becoming a lot better in coverage. He went one for one with Doug Martin a bit in coverage and was able to win the battle for the most part.

Dennard has been spectacular at times and has had a few less than stellar plays. He needs to be more consistent. But he definitely hasn't hit the sophomore slump that most drafted DBs on this team have had in recent history. He is definitely improving.

 

[Oswlek]

Thus far, HT made a second year hop. He looks more comfortable out there and is obviously earning the coaches trust based on the snap count, but he ain't remotely a top OLB in the league. Long, long way to go.

 

[Brady6]

Re: Re: Jones, Hightower and Dennard make second year leap.

Thus far, HT made a second year hop. He looks more comfortable out there and is obviously earning the coaches trust based on the snap count, but he ain't remotely a top OLB in the league. Long, long way to go.

I agree, I read my own post and edited it to say 'potentially become' which is more what I was attempting to convey.

 

[Luxusdk]

Now you say "potentially become" the best OLB.. I'm guessing Hightower is MLB when Collings learn the D and he can become OLB. Spikes leaves after the season unless he sign for cheap.

 

[ctpatsfan77]

While I applaud the enthusiasm, I think Clay Matthews and Lance Briggs are still well ahead of Hightower, and Chad Greenway and Lavonte David are not bad.

Hightower might soon become the best in the AFC however; when you restrict the conversation to only 4-3 OLBs the primary competition would be Tamba Hali in KC. Others to consider would be Koa Misi in Miami, the Jets' Calvin Pace, the Colts' Robert Mathis.

Isn't that an automatic disqualifier?

 

[jah]

While I applaud the enthusiasm, I think Clay Matthews and Lance Briggs are still well ahead of Hightower, and Chad Greenway and Lavonte David are not bad.

Hightower might soon become the best in the AFC however; when you restrict the conversation to only 4-3 OLBs the primary competition would be Tamba Hali in KC. Others to consider would be Koa Misi in Miami, the Jets' Calvin Pace, the Colts' Robert Mathis.

Aren't Pace and Mathis 3-4 OLBs who would play DE in a 4-3?

 

[JackBauer]

Justin Houston waves hello.

 

[BradyFTW!]

While I applaud the enthusiasm, I think Clay Matthews and Lance Briggs are still well ahead of Hightower, and Chad Greenway and Lavonte David are not bad.

Hightower might soon become the best in the AFC however; when you restrict the conversation to only 4-3 OLBs the primary competition would be Tamba Hali in KC. Others to consider would be Koa Misi in Miami, the Jets' Calvin Pace, the Colts' Robert Mathis.

Hali is a fantastic 3-4 OLB, not sure about 4-3 though. I thought the Chiefs stuck with a 3-4 base? Between Hali, Houston, and Poe, their front seven is very well-suited for a 3-4. Same with Clay Matthews - he's more of a 3-4 OLB. If Hightower played in either the Chiefs' or the Packers' defense, I imagine that he'd be an ILB.

Similarly, the Colts run more of a hybrid scheme, AFAIK, with Mathis playing more of a 4-3 DE/3-4 OLB role. He was strictly a 4-3 DE before they changed to a 3-4 last offseason. I could be wrong there, honestly not sure. I also think I'm just not nearly as high on Misi and Pace as you are. I don't think either of them are very good.

As far as what that all means, I really dunno. I still think Hightower's playing out of position for as long as Spikes is here, so I don't give it too much thought. Spikes is a 3-4 guy, and I expect a 3-4 team to pay him this offseason, and I'll be surprised if we don't go into 2014 with Hightower as our starting MLB.

 

[jmt57]

Aren't Pace and Mathis 3-4 OLBs who would play DE in a 4-3?

Correct, my bad. Started trying to think of other AFC OLBs to list and wasn't thinking 4-3.

 

[patsinthesnow]

Dennard is a CB2 with CB1 coverage ability, he just doesn't have the size of a CB1.

We're so thankful he punched a cop, ran a mediocre 40, and is a shade under 5'10.

 

[Get it shawtaay]

A lot of the guys being listed (Justin Houston, Robert Mathis) don't really play the same position as Hightower. They are edge players. Likewise, 4-3 OLB can mean a lot of things.... Mayo and Hightower are very different players, but both play outside.

Anyway, if call Hightower a 4-3 SAM, there aren't many players to compare Hightower to. Its less publicized and extreme than the death of the fullback, but strong-side linebackers in that mold are kind of disappearing.

If you want to stick to that kind of player, you end up with Briggs (I suppose, he plays on both sides), Greenway, KJ Wright, Jo-Lonn Dunbar, Akeem Dent, Ahmad Brooks, Daryl Smith... there's not that many big stack-and-shed linebackers left. So yeah, he's got work to do to surpass Briggs or Greenway but he's on the right path.

If you want to classify him as with all the middle or outside linebackers who play off the line (which 4-3 OLB kind of implies), he's got to surpass the 3 or 4 guys in his draft class (Keuchly, David, Zach Brown, Wagner) who are better than him before he can be considered from a league-wide perspective.

 

[stelfans]

Collins Hightower Mayo will be awesome in the future.

 

[condon84]

•Jones could be considered a DPOY candidate if he continues his current play over the entire season, he has been the best player on the field the last 2 weeks in my opinion, on the season he has 14 tackles, 3 sacks and 1 stuff.
•Hightower has really come into his own, with Von Miller drugged out Hightower could potentially become the best 4-3 OLB in the NFL, on the season Hightower has 15 tackles and 1 stuff.
•Dennard has been very impressive in my eyes, with the exception of the difficult reception Williams made 1on1 with him on Sunday Dennard has shut down his opponent, on the season he has 8 tackles, 4 pass defends and 1 interception.

Belichick really struck gold with these 3 selections, getting a top DE, OLB and CB out one draft is unparalleled.

 

[Kontradiction]

Jones and Dennard were good last year. Dennard was the physical corner that this secondary has needed for sometime and Jones was off to a DROY start prior to injury. Hightower has improved leaps and bounds in coverage. I'm very pleased with all three of them so far.

 

[Joker]

and who was the Pats fan who told all of you that Hightower was covering TE's all over the field in practice as well as RB's and looked fantastic this year during preseason?

Who???....ME.....Joe E. Kerr..that's who...now you know

..please send all donations and marriage requests to I.M. Shakey @legpullers.com