The system is EXTREMELY pertinent to the discussion.
Adam Carriker might have been useful in the Pats system but he's useless for the Rams.
They tried to fit a square peg into a round hole and it didn't work.
You've got the wrong part of the system. The Pats OLB's are taught to read and react. The gapping system has very little to do whatsoever with the responsibilities of our OLB's. Their job is to read the play and adjust accordingly. One gap - two gap, it doesn't matter. It's the style of the defense.
The comparisons to Woodley and Dumervil are useless because they play in completely different defensive systems from the Pats 3-4 two gap system. You need different types of players and physical builds to succeed in each system.
The Broncos style is similar to ours. It's not a two gap, but it's most certainly a read and react D.
And you don't need to be Willie Mac size to succeed in our system, of course the coaches would prefer our edge guys to be 6'4" 270lbs, we all would, but Rosie and now Tully have proven that you can succeed despite lacking that height. What really matters is that you have the game. And Graham does.
How did Klecko do? He just didn't have a position to play in the Patriots 3-4 system. If he had lined up on the ground as a 4-3 DE his quickness would have made him effective. But standing up, he couldn't get to speed fast enough, and the OL got into his pads and rendered him useless because his arms are too short.
How did Tully do? Why do you keep going back to the failures and ignore the successes? And there's a heck of a difference between a 4th round shot in the dark, and a first round pick. Graham's going to go high for a reason - because he plays the edge as well as anyone in the country.
And this is where your different systems garb doesn't hold weight - whether you're in a one gap, Bum Phillips 3-4, or the two gap Fairbanks 3-4, your OLB's are standing up. The gap or the style doesn't matter. It's about burst and the first step. Klecko didn't have it, Graham, Woodley, Dumervil, Harrison et al do.
The same weaknesses in turn apply to BG when trying to plug him into the Pats system on the outside. Believe it or not, SYSTEM DOES MATTER, FIT DOES MATTER, and SIZE DOES MATTER.
And again you miss the point. It's about instincts, burst and technique for OLB's. You can be 6'4" and have 36" arms - but it won't matter if you're as dumb as a rock and have the first step of a Coke machine.
If Graham was 2 inches taller, he'd be a top 10 pick. And you'd be waxing the Dolphin.
Stick BG into the Steelers, or Chargers, or Broncos system, and he might be great, since he'll be allowed to just attack his one gap.
Epic. Fail.
Again, it's not about the gaps, its about reading. You can have an attacking two gap system. You can have a read and react one gap system.
Which the Broncos do have.
Stick him in the Pats system where he has maintain responsibility for two gaps, then attack from a standing position, and has to take on Tackles or Guards and he'll likely disappoint. This is all logical, it's not a knock on BG as a player, it's just a rational analysis based on scheme.
It would be a rational analysis based on viewing his play. Sadly you're wrong, which you would know were if you'd watched him play. His attributes and his ability are a perfect fit for this defense. His height is not, but then neither is TBC's, nor was Rosie's, or even AD who looked a stud when asked to play OLB.
But hey, keep on hating.
BG's only hope to fit in the 3-4 two gap would be a conversion to ILB. And then maybe his stack and shed skills, if they are as good as you say would help him succeed there, or maybe not. But I'm not willing to spend a 1st round pick on a conversion project to ILB which is not as nearly as big a need as OLB.
Or simply, play Graham at OLB where his attributes and abilities are perfectly suited, especially for this team.
Anyway, the pick is made, I'm delighted with it, it seems most of the forum would be delighted with it in real life - discussion over.
