How would you rate the ILB and the OLB groups this year compared to the last few years? What kind of progress is being made and what are your thoughts for the next few years?
OT: Grading the Linebackers
- Thread starter Charlie Marlow_rivals363743
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JoJo easily the best. his nose for the ball and coverage ability are a nice combo. he's an asset.
Honas still slow, still takes bad steps, still kills us when he misses his keys (especially on counter action), but has improved on his play from last year.
Reimer has a nose for the ball, needs more experience & to shore up his tackling.
Counting the days until Tannor is gone. an absolute liability in every phase, including stupid penalties.
Nelson undersized, can be undisciplined. kind of a tweener. needs pass rushing experience.
hope Miller can make a full physical recovery.
Heinrich needs more experience. not sure what to make of him yet, but doesn't really jump off the screen.
Cooper/Payne TBD, though Cooper does make tackles on kick coverage and Payne seems to play hard when he's in there. Might be a better run stuffer than pass rusher.
I'm sure I'm missing some.
Honas still slow, still takes bad steps, still kills us when he misses his keys (especially on counter action), but has improved on his play from last year.
Reimer has a nose for the ball, needs more experience & to shore up his tackling.
Counting the days until Tannor is gone. an absolute liability in every phase, including stupid penalties.
Nelson undersized, can be undisciplined. kind of a tweener. needs pass rushing experience.
hope Miller can make a full physical recovery.
Heinrich needs more experience. not sure what to make of him yet, but doesn't really jump off the screen.
Cooper/Payne TBD, though Cooper does make tackles on kick coverage and Payne seems to play hard when he's in there. Might be a better run stuffer than pass rusher.
I'm sure I'm missing some.
Because we turn to this board for the latest mask wearing advice, COVID scientific data and election news, duh.
I've particularly noticed Honas for his striking this year. He's noticeably physical at the point of attack. Jojo still making splash plays.
Reimer was an absolute steal, kid is just and Rs-Fr and flashing with regularity. Interesting to think about when you consider him coming in with 4* in Hannah and Henrich and who is racking up PT and tackles.
Miller getting hurt somehow feels like it was years ago already. I don't know that his play jumped out at me one way or another but I have heard people who know their football speak well of him.
All OLBs not named Jojo...yeah. Still a screaming need in recruiting.
They're gonna have a lot of dudes who are ready to contribute especially at MLB next year. It would be a real plus if some of those guys could slide outside and make an impact even if it's only in situational pass rushing.
Reimer was an absolute steal, kid is just and Rs-Fr and flashing with regularity. Interesting to think about when you consider him coming in with 4* in Hannah and Henrich and who is racking up PT and tackles.
Miller getting hurt somehow feels like it was years ago already. I don't know that his play jumped out at me one way or another but I have heard people who know their football speak well of him.
All OLBs not named Jojo...yeah. Still a screaming need in recruiting.
They're gonna have a lot of dudes who are ready to contribute especially at MLB next year. It would be a real plus if some of those guys could slide outside and make an impact even if it's only in situational pass rushing.
I wish they didnt defend so many receivers.
We keep our 7 slowest players on defense most of the time.
Good luck with that.
We keep our 7 slowest players on defense most of the time.
Good luck with that.
this was my question as well, but then saw Chicolby's response. Unfortunately, he is correct.
I am surprised how stiff Nelson looks at times. As in no flexibility. He's a kid! Needs to go to yoga or stretch more. Honas has made some good plays, but he is too slow. Nothing he can do about that. I like Reimer, as you say is always around the ball and I agree JoJo is the best of the group.
I agree with a lot of this. JoJo is a decent player for sure, but I don't think he's so good that he needs to play every snap. It would be nice to get an actual nickel corner in on passing downs. JoJo seems to have improved his coverage skills, but they're still not amazing. It would also be nice to get a young guy ready to play this position when or if he leaves. Maybe Cooper? He's done some nice things on kick coverage. I wish we'd see him get more opportunities on defense.
I agree with you on Honas and Reimer. Both have been kind of hit or miss. To be fair though, when our DL plays well they play well and are able to get to the proper gap quickly to make a play. The problem is our DL rarely helps them out a whole lot. They both struggle in pass coverage at times just like all of our other linebackers.
Agreed on Tannor. There's guys like Mo Barry and Dedrick Young who aren't good football players, but Tannor is on a whole other level of just never being in the right place or knowing what to do. Honestly he just looks completely lost out there and I'm not sure why he gets any playing time, let alone the amount he does. He's not a pass rusher either, so the staff needs to get that out of their heads.
Nelson does look a little leaner this year. I think he needs to gain some weight and he can be a really good run-stuffing OLB. It may even help with his pass rushing skills if he adds a little more strength.
Heinrich has some pass rushing skills, but he struggles in pass coverage and I think that's always going to be the case. Given that, his best position might be where he is currently at OLB. Payne seems to play hard. Needs to play with more discipline I think.
Yeah, we don't seem to have an actual nickel package where we bring another DB in. We just slide Domann over to nickel and put our "pass rushers" in.