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Will be the guy at field OLB.
Will be the guy at field OLB.
Gabriel article on Dixon
- Thread starter inWV
- Start date
The kid is very versatile vs the spread, and will be a factor in games vs teams that run a spread, but against Wisconsin, Iowa, Michigan, Michigan St, he could be a bit of a liability against the run, especially if he is lined up to the wide side of the field. JMHO
But it seems very feasible the starting line-up against those teams will be changed as needed, doesn't it?.
Hopefully he just learns how to read and attack and get rid of blocks or force the runner to go where he doesnt want to.
If so he will be fine. If he dances or turns his shoulder to meet the contact he will get owned.
Sure, but if that is the case he won’t be the man at OLB.
I just don’t think he is big enough to be every down OLB yet.
Yeah, no kidding. I usually do it every Christmas.
I tend to agree with this view, as I stated in a previous thread a few weeks back.
However, it is also true that sometimes smaller guys can play larger than their weight would suggest. How heavy was LaVonte David? We don't have the luxury right now of having the truly gifted linebackers who combine the whole package of weight, strength, speed, and agility. So if I had to choose between a smaller, faster and athletic linebacker and a heavier, slower dude, I would take the former.
Agreed. Not sure he’ll be able play OLB each down. That said, I think he’s more like an Eric Hagg type of player. I think more than anything the coaches see (and the article suggests) he has the ability to be disruptive. He has the ability to drop into coverage and disrupt passing lanes, but also has the football instinct to come up in run support quickly to maintain contain forcing the RB to either hesitate and cut back, or run sideline to sideline to string out a play. Both instances allowing others to get off of their blocks and get to the ball carrier. I also thing guys like Dixon who are faster and more athletic are better in space. Get him one on one with a QB or RB in the backfield and he’s probably going to be successful in getting a TFL or no gain more often than not. Or put him one on one with a WR in the flat and he’ll be able to break down and stop them more often than not.
My biggest concern with Dixon is how well the DL and the ILB’s play. If our DL and ILB’s are getting obliterated against a tough Offensive Line, as Tuco suggests, then it’s not going to matter how well Dixon plays in space or disrupts run or pass lanes. If a pulling guard is consistently beating our end and Dixon is man up on a Guard it’s going to be difficult for him to maintain any sort of contain, and that’s where the trouble lies.
IMO, Frost’s approach is going to be similar to TO’s in the late ‘80s And early ‘90s. I remember throughout the ‘80’s and ‘90’s we just could not seem to get over the hump against those Florida teams. We just couldn’t keep up with the speed. So TO went out and recruited kids with speed and athletic ability (some were track athletes), put them in a superior S&C program and taught them to play fundamentally sound football. Eventually he got kids that fit that mold physical and had good football instincts to go with it and it resulted in 4 conference titles and 3 national titles in a span of 5 years. Frost seems to be taking a similar approach. Start with speed and a superior S&C program and build from there. It worked for TO, it worked at Oregon (to a lesser extent), and it worked at UCF. No reason it can’t work again at Nebraska.
I was curious about some of our other LB’s, so I checked on a couple. Since you referenced David, as of 2010-2011 he was 6’1” 214. He was 6’1” 233 by the NFL combine. Hagg was 6’1” 205. Farley back in the day was also 6’1” 205. As someone else mentioned, for a 19-20 year college kid, if he hits the S&C program hard and does the right things from a nutritional standpoint he could very easily pick up weight this summer. I doubt 15 pounds, but he could certainly pick up 7-10 which would put him in the 214-217 range. That’s the same playing weight as Lavonte David.
Oh I see, Dixon is gonna be the Gebbia of the defense where he doesn't weigh enough to play LB without snapping in half if a tight end blocks down on him. This will be the theme until he starts leading the team in tackles in the fall.
Anyone remember this guy at 6'1 225?
http://www.huskers.com/ViewArticle.dbml?ATCLID=204880410&DB_OEM_ID=100
But he REALLY had to beef up for the NFL. He's listed at 233 now.
Anyone remember this guy at 6'1 225?
http://www.huskers.com/ViewArticle.dbml?ATCLID=204880410&DB_OEM_ID=100
But he REALLY had to beef up for the NFL. He's listed at 233 now.
They won't have the same responsibilities. David was a weakside backer in a 4-3. He played off the LOS a vast majority of the time, played inside out and was able to clean up because those who set the edge for the defense did a good job of doing that. When they didn't do a good job of setting the edge, he was athletic enough to catch them from the backside. He wasn't responsible for setting the edge very often, if at all.
If I am not mistaken, Dixon will be in a position where he will be responsible for setting the edge and will be worried about more than just a TE blocking down. He will have pulling G or T.
David's position also allowed for him to freelance a little more than what Dixon will be allowed to do. JMHO
I thought the whole point of the article was that his responsibilities will be more akin to a roll-down safety?
What did they call that in the heyday, the Rover?
The point of the article, to me, was that he was playing against the Scott Frost offense. Like I said, against the spread, he will be fine. I am more concerned about when he is playing against Michigan St, Iowa, Wisconsin, to a bit of a lesser extent Michigan and Penn St.
If he's got it, he's got it. Only one way to find out. If weight were the answer to everything we could throw cheeseburgers at Mick until he's 330 lbs and buy our tickets to Indy. Plenty of dudes out there who look the part and can't get off a block.
If Griffin could do it at a similar weight and with one hand I'll reserve judgement on Dixon until some Saturdays pass by.
Similar weight? Griffin is 20lbs heavier, if 20lbs is similar weight then there is no need to throw cheesburgers at Mick, he is within the allowance.
Wit
With the amount of conditioning they will do this summer, I would be surprised if he is at 210.
With the amount of conditioning they will do this summer, I would be surprised if he is at 210.
No doubt. It's amazing how much kid at that age has to eat when they are in a conditioning phase of training.
In high school, my son played 3 sports and ate around 3000-5000 calories per day and even at that, he had a hard time putting on weight, especially in the summer. It's amazing how many calories these athletes can eat, especially if they are the right calories.
This. I think the coaches are more interested in the team being able to go at a high rate of speed for 4 quarters than they are putting on size, especially year one. I think year one is implementation, get the scheme, speed, conditioning implemented and flip the roster. We’ll win games simply because we’re better, we’ll win a couple simply because we can go faster for longer and will wear teams out, and we’ll get beat by the better teams. Year 2 is the size factor. That’s when you grind teams out because you’re bigger, faster, stronger, and can last for 4 quarters.
Again, and I'm going out on a limb here, I'm going to guess that the professional staff in the s&c and nutrition departments can figure out a way to put 10 or 15 pounds on him in the next three months.
he seems to be a great athlete with a great deal of potential .. hopefully he will be a major contributor
many are making a number of major assumptions about a kid who played in a total of 3 games last year - and contributed in 5 total tackles none of which were a sack or were for a loss
many are making a number of major assumptions about a kid who played in a total of 3 games last year - and contributed in 5 total tackles none of which were a sack or were for a loss