2006 DL Draft Depth

[TheMalcolmConnection]

http://www.footballsfuture.com/2006/..._mahelona.html

Also won the "Nice Guy Award". Gibbs type of guy, looks to go in the second round so we might have a shot at him.

[Big C]

i was hoping that darryl tapp from vt would be available when we picked. he has a non-stop motor and good all around skills

[FRPLG]

One thing that is interesting to me is that there seems to be some noise from the defensive guys(both players and coaches) that they think the DL is fine. Comments like "we don't need much" and "the line has been doing real well" lead me to believe they are happier with the DL than fans are. The DL with Griffin is seriously a good line. Not a great pass rushing and sack type line but a good pocket collapsing line. I wonder if Williams just likes his DL to be good run stoppers and decent pocket collapsers? A one trick pony pass rusher may not fit too well in our scheme. For example: it seems to me that a guy like Freeney, who is awesome by the way, would probably be only amarginal upgrade for the scheme here. He isn't particularly strong against the run so they'd have to back him uo with a LB which would negate a lot of his upgrade since a lot of his worth is in being good enough to rush the passer that they can drop LB back into coverage rather blitzing them.

[Big C]

i agree. that is why i dont think we should go after robert mathis, because he is solely a pass rusher. if we draft a DE, they have to be able to stop the run. also, our FO has to realize the age of our DE's. wynn is 31 and daniels is 32. sooner or later we are going to have to get some young talent in there. maybe not as high as the 2nd round, but who knows

[Big C]

http://www.footballsfuture.com/2006/...rryl_tapp.html

he is a character guy i think gibbs and williams would love to have

[firstdown]

Originally Posted by Big C

i was hoping that darryl tapp from vt would be available when we picked. he has a non-stop motor and good all around skills

I like the way Tapp plays but I'm not sure if he has the size.

[TheMalcolmConnection]

I agree with that, but I also think we could use some depth on the DL. Mahelona would be a Griffin-type of player and a great talent if he slips to #2. Good run stopper and pass rusher.

[TheMalcolmConnection]

I'd love Tapp but I have a feeling that he won't there for us to pick.

[Big C]

do we know what pick we have in the 2nd round?

[Schneed10]

Originally Posted by FRPLG

One thing that is interesting to me is that there seems to be some noise from the defensive guys(both players and coaches) that they think the DL is fine. Comments like "we don't need much" and "the line has been doing real well" lead me to believe they are happier with the DL than fans are. The DL with Griffin is seriously a good line. Not a great pass rushing and sack type line but a good pocket collapsing line. I wonder if Williams just likes his DL to be good run stoppers and decent pocket collapsers? A one trick pony pass rusher may not fit too well in our scheme. For example: it seems to me that a guy like Freeney, who is awesome by the way, would probably be only amarginal upgrade for the scheme here. He isn't particularly strong against the run so they'd have to back him uo with a LB which would negate a lot of his upgrade since a lot of his worth is in being good enough to rush the passer that they can drop LB back into coverage rather blitzing them.

I feel the exact same way. I'm happy with the line as is. I wouldn't change a thing about Daniels, Griffin, or Salave'a. Collectively, they are tremendous bargains when you consider what we're paying them.

Wynn could stand to be upgraded, but he plays the run really well. I don't want a pass rusher who is weak against the run. We went that direction when we signed Bruce Smith. Before he got all old and busted, he was rushing the passer pretty well, but was getting killed against the run. That's no good. If we're going to upgrade Wynn, the new guy needs to be a good pass rusher and good run stopper. And that's damn expensive on the free agent market. If we thought we could get such a player in the draft though, I'd be all for it.

[FRPLG]

Bruce Smith is a great example. He was so bad against the run that he didn't even try to stop it. Nor was he expected to. It seemed his only job was to rush the passer and if he didn't get there well then that was it. I think is Freeney is better than that because he is more athletic than Smith was when he was here so it allows Freeney to make a few athletic plays in the run defense but what happens when Freeney has lost a step in 4 or 5 years? One word: liabilty. Wynn seems to have minimal pass rushing skills but good run defense skills. Maybe we can find someone who is an upgrade at pass rushing but still brings something to the table in run defense. I think though it is hard to be really good at both since they take different approaches.

[That Guy]

Originally Posted by FRPLG

Bruce Smith is a great example. He was so bad against the run that he didn't even try to stop it. Nor was he expected to. It seemed his only job was to rush the passer and if he didn't get there well then that was it. I think is Freeney is better than that because he is more athletic than Smith was when he was here so it allows Freeney to make a few athletic plays in the run defense but what happens when Freeney has lost a step in 4 or 5 years? One word: liabilty. Wynn seems to have minimal pass rushing skills but good run defense skills. Maybe we can find someone who is an upgrade at pass rushing but still brings something to the table in run defense. I think though it is hard to be really good at both since they take different approaches.

4 or 5 years? by then you'd hope he'd be smart enough to refine his run stopping technique... meanwhile he'd have finished out his contract and given you 70 sacks.

our DL, like our CBs have some old guys, so young talent would be a good idea (at worst they're cheap young backups with time to learn and at best they end up in the pro bowl their rookie year).

I really think tapp could be a great pick and the mocks having him going late 2nd to late 3rd (we pick 24th-28th i believe), so there's a good chance we'll be able to get a good DE and DT or a DE/DT and a WR (the ONLY WRs i really like this year are S Moss and Samajdza who might not ever play in the nfl).

[saskin]

I'm kinda for Tapp....some of the mock drafts have us picking him I believe.

[Kevikazi]

I think getting a pass-rush specialist to come in for obvious pass situations will help our defense. It seems like during 3rd and long situation, we are always a second away from sack. Also, we need a DE with speed to chase down these QBs when they scramble. Wynn and Daniels had hard time chasing down Eli Manning and Matt Hasselbeck when they were forced out of the pocket. I'm sure someone like Freeney, Kearse, and Peppers would have chased them down for a sack before they could complete a pass or run for a TD.