NFL DRAFT SCOUT 1/30 mock (Alan Branch, DT)

[70Chip]

Originally Posted by Sheriff Gonna Getcha

I thought Golston played very well for a 6th round pick, but I would not trust him to start. As for Montgomery, again we saw so little of the guy (and considering the competition, that says something) that it is hard to evaluate him.

As for Carter, I thought he looked pretty damn good the last 5 games of the season. Four sacks and a lot of pressures and tackles is pretty damn good for any end. And when Griffin was out against Tennessee, we got run at up the gut and not around the edges.

I definately think we need improvement on the edges, but Carter showed enough in the latter part of the season to definately justify his starting position if not his salary. I think just about everyone concedes that we need help in the middle too. I just happen to think that we need more help in the middle than on the edges.

The reason why I think help at DT will have a far greater impact on Carter's performance than another end is based upon Carter's playing style. Carter is not a versatile end who can bull rush and outpower tackles. Carter is a speed rusher who relies on beating tackles by generally trying to go far outside. Outside rushers are generally ineffective if there is no push up the middle from DTs as the QBs can simply step up into a nicely formed pocket. Given that we got virtually no pass rush up the middle, it is not surprising that Carter didn't have a Pro Bowl season. Adding another DE who gets an outside push will not help collapse pockets, it will just push the pocket back inside. Moreover, if we need an upgrade at MLB (which we both think is the case), who is going to help stuff runs in the middle better, a DT or a DE?

Finally, I think that Holdman's departure and, hopefully, Rocky's rise will alleviate some of the problems we have with teams going outside to the left on our defense.

So, while I think you make a lot of good points and certainly agree that we need help at DE, I think we would get more bang for the buck with a DT.

What you're saying is that while we need help at DE, there isn't going to be any. We have to hope and pray that Carter is better than what he showed last year, that Daniels/Wynn have a season left between them, that Rocky will "rise", and that Branch himself is not a bust. I think the safer play is to trade the pick down and try to improve in other areas of the defense.

Also, I want to be clear that I respect Carter's speed and athleticism and I think he can contribute, it's just that whenever our opponent needed to get something going, they ran right at him with power. They will do so again next year. I think its unrealistic to expect a rookie DT to cover his gap and the LBer's gap and Carter's gap.