What if ... (the Rookie Class gets it)

[FRPLG]

Originally Posted by GTripp0012

Jason Taylor is the ace in the hole for the defense down the stretch. Problem is, who are you going to bench for him? Evans has been playing brilliantly in relief of him, and Carter's is our only serious pass rushing threat.

At this point, his only way onto the field is as a linebacker. Which he did a little of in third down packages last game, but we need the additional pass rush, why not use him a little bit in a rotation with Blades on 1st and 2nd downs?

I like the idea. In the right matchups he is clearly a better option at LB for us than Blades. I like Blades as depth but he isn't a starter obviously. If Taylor can play OLD a bit and be a pass rusher with only minimal coverage responsibilities then that plays to his strengths. Line him up behind Carter and try to block those two coming from the same side...or run the ball the other way at Evans. Why haven't we done this before?

[skinsfan69]

Originally Posted by FRPLG

I like the idea. In the right matchups he is clearly a better option at LB for us than Blades. I like Blades as depth but he isn't a starter obviously. If Taylor can play OLD a bit and be a pass rusher with only minimal coverage responsibilities then that plays to his strengths. Line him up behind Carter and try to block those two coming from the same side...or run the ball the other way at Evans. Why haven't we done this before?

Blades has been more than a capable back up. And I'm going bet that Blades will be the starter here in the near future. You'd rather put Taylor at LB?? You gotta be kidding me. JT is a pass rushing DE, not a LB.

[Lotus]

I do not blame the coaches because I do not see the practice field, but why isn't Devin Thomas at least giving a boost from punt returns?

[GTripp0012]

Originally Posted by skinsfan69

Blades has been more than a capable back up. And I'm going bet that Blades will be the starter here in the near future. You'd rather put Taylor at LB?? You gotta be kidding me. JT is a pass rushing DE, not a LB.

I agree, in the sense that he wouldn't take on blocks any better at LB than he would at DE, but we're getting thinner at LB so it may be a chance to get him on the field. Same problems though, but at least we don't have to take Evans off the field.

[Skinsfanmania]

Great Thread, this is what I have been telling my friends who are just as impatient as most fans. I agree with you 100% and feel we had an excellent draft. I also agree that Jackson and Royal, if they were drafted by us wouldn't have performed as well with us, because we have more depth at WR than those teams.

Most people would have rather had a DL and or OL at that position, but I believe we were set to draft Trevor Laws instead of Davis, but he was picked right before we chose him. The first two rounds of the draft shouldn't be drafting by need, rather by best player available. Do you actually think Scott Pioli, GM of the Pats drafts by need or by the best player BPA.

[SouperMeister]

Originally Posted by Skinsfanmania

Great Thread, this is what I have been telling my friends who are just as impatient as most fans. I agree with you 100% and feel we had an excellent draft. I also agree that Jackson and Royal, if they were drafted by us wouldn't have performed as well with us, because we have more depth at WR than those teams.

Most people would have rather had a DL and or OL at that position, but I believe we were set to draft Trevor Laws instead of Davis, but he was picked right before we chose him. The first two rounds of the draft shouldn't be drafting by need, rather by best player available. Do you actually think Scott Pioli, GM of the Pats drafts by need or by the best player BPA.

I would definitely say Jerrod Mayo was a "draft by need" selection by Pioli in the first round last year. Most saw Mayo as a mid-first rounder (15-20 range), and was a slight reach at #10 overall. That said, he has worked out well for the Pats this season.

Vinny definitely stuck to our draft board with the 2nd round picks this year, but don't say that we've always done that. In 2005, we were absolutely picking CB with our 1st pick after Smoot departed via free agency. Both Merriman and DeMarcus Ware were on the board at that point, and some had one or both rated higher than Rogers.

Are you saying that we should go TE if that's the highest rated player on our board when we go on the clock in the 1st round next draft? I would prefer to trade out of that spot, add more picks, and get a player closer to filling a real need without reaching.

[tatrave]

What if We had a Killer Instinct...we capitalized on turnovers, we took it to teams early and often, we disn't settle for field goals.

We would have beat the Steelers, Rams, and Cowboys

[SFREDSKIN]

I would not be surprised if it happened. I've been waiting and I know it will eventually happen, we still need to draft a DE,LB and OL help for next year.

[SBXVII]

Kinda hard to evaluate any of the rookies when they are not getting on the field for whatever reason. If you listened to Zorn or what Zorn wants you to believe all the rookies are special ed and don't get the offense. I wonder how much of that is Zorn setting the team up for the second half of the year....oh wait we are there. The big question is are the rookies the rabbits Zorn is planning to pull out of a hat at some point or are they truely slow on getting the offense.

Also I for one would think as long as most of your team is coming back each year then drafting for best available player is the best idea, but if you have needs or wholes that need to be filled then you have to draft for that hole. Hopefully next year we pick up some higher round DL or OL. As long as we have no injuries we will be set at CB with 2 young CB's in Hall and Rogers. I think we are set at LB but we could pick one up in later rounds, set at WR, RB, QB, and TE. Our issues on offense are G, OT, on defense its DL possibly another DE if we don't start seeing more out of Taylor, and James.

[That Guy]

if you hit 66% in the 2nd round, that's successful (cause the outlay of cash on a 2nd rounder is only $1mill a year or so, so the risk just isn't there... they just aren't matt ryan type contracts).

I'm still wary of kelly's knee long term, but i think davis will work out eventually... I think devin is going to need 3 or 4 years though - he missed a lot of playing time in college (not starting or skipping a year) and he's going to have to make that up now. 4 year ncaa starting WRs just seem to transition soo much better into the nfl game (cause they generally have an entire year to focus on weights and refining details after showing they're ready to play).

[saden1]

This is a #3 defense in the NFL...if it ain't broke don't fix it. On the offensive side it appears we're not as far ahead as I would like. Still, I like what I saw from Zorn yesterday. He actually called on Campbell's number a few times to keep the defense honest...something miserably absent the last few weeks. I like the reinsertion of screens and bootlegs into the game plan.

[53Fan]

Originally Posted by saden1

This is a #3 defense in the NFL...if it ain't broke don't fix it. On the offensive side it appears we're not as far ahead as I would like. Still, I like what I saw from Zorn yesterday. He actually called on Campbell's number a few times to keep the defense honest...something miserably absent the last few weeks. I like the reinsertion of screens and bootlegs into the game plan.

Could'nt agree more!