nittany ram wrote:

I think Donald is much more valuable on the D-line. I would be leary of moving perhaps the best DT of his generation to another position.

no you’re right.

just thinking out loud.

i keep donald as the weak side end/3 technique.

phillips started out as a dline coach.

he coached ware and watt. they’ve had career years under him.

i just wonder what kind of plans he’d have for a freakish athlete like donald.

Agamemnon wrote:

If you believe Donald and Quinn are athletic enough to play LB in a 34 and you don’t think that will hurt their production, then you can do a line up like this. Barron is sort of the odd man out. You have enough on the DL and you have backups there too. LBer starts to look thin.

Or, Wade coaches a 43 until we find more LBers.

i always wondered about donald as a middle linebacker. he’d be dominant.

Agamemnon wrote:

This thread is about speculation, so speculate.

there’s no doubt in my mind they need to at least add one more defensive end and one more linebacker to make this front 7 work. here’s some more speculation. in the article i posted above, here’s this little blurb about ware in a 3-4 vs a 4-3.

Ware at his best

DeMarcus Ware played eight seasons in the 3-4 defense in Dallas, including 3 1/2 with Wade Phillips as his head coach. Following two seasons in the 4-3, he has switched back to the 3-4 with Phillips as his defensive coordinator in Denver. Here’s how he’s fared in the two defenses over the years.

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Defense (Seasons) Games Tackles/G Sacks/G
3-4 (2005-12, ’15) 129 4.2 0.9
4-3 (2013-14) 29 2.8 0.5

just more evidence in my mind that this switch could benefit quinn greatly.

can josh forrest play mike? that’s the key for me. if he can, my guess is phillips can make forrest and ogletree work. he can make it more than work.

oh wait. the key also is if quinn can play weakside linebacker. according to phillips that’s where the sack production will come from.

you listen to demarcus ware gush about wade. i think he could be great for both quinn and donald.

Agamemnon wrote:

“If you’re talking schematics and you’re talking about the power running game, the gap blocking aspects of the power running game come into play,” Callahan said. “I think what Coach [Sean] McVay has brought here and what he’s done here has been very positive. We’re trying to augment what we’re doing with the gap game – which we’re going to evolve.”

hmmm… under mcvay washington was primarily a power blocking running attack. that doesn’t seem to fit an oline who basically sucked ass in a power blocking scheme and did better in a zone blocking scheme.

well. reading about mcvay his strong points include his ability to connect with people. that’s an ability that vermeil excelled at. maybe shanahan is strong in x’s and o’s but not with the ability to form bonds. that’d be huge as a head coach i would think.

that’s also something fisher excelled at. players are fiercely loyal to him. i get that sense with mcvay.

got this from the herd.

zn wrote:

InvaderRam wrote:

who does have last say?

i would guess snead?

You mean now? We don’t know yet.

Under Fisher? It was Fisher.

i mean now. i can’t imagine they give a 30 year old rookie head coach final say on personnel.

zn wrote:

Phillips has been a head coach or DC for a combined 34 years.

that’s longer than mcvay’s been breathing.

i just think this is a bad hire.

i think this amounts to demoff on a phone call with gruden with gruden telling demoff to hire this kid. and then demoff reading the si article on mcvay.

i don’t think for a second that demoff has any ability to evaluate a coach on his own.

i also worry that they missed out on a real opportunity to evaluate shanahan. but maybe they couldn’t wait. maybe they know something i don’t.

i do think shanahan should have been the first guy they interviewed.

this hiring is too risky.

here’s a thought. cory littleton – rams rookie of the year.

got more and more playing time as the season went on. probably needs to add some weight.

OVERVIEW
Littleton’s career at “U-Dub” was a bit up and down, moving positions and moving in and out of the starting lineup. But as they say, it’s not about how you start, but where you finish. Littleton’s final year on campus saw him receive honorable mention All-Pac-12 notice as a Sam linebacker, racking up 65 stops, 11 for loss, and six sacks. He had started all 13 games at defensive end as a sophomore, contributing 62 tackles, 10 for loss and five sacks for the Huskies, but found himself playing less in his junior campaign as a part-time starter (37 tackles, 3.5 for loss, one sack). Even Littleton’s first year in Seattle was a bit inconsistent, as coaches inserted him into the starting line-up against Oregon after not playing him at all in the first four games of the year. He made six tackles against the Ducks (one for loss), and finished the year with 14 stops, 1.5 for loss.

PRO DAY RESULTS
40-yard dash: 4.73 seconds
Vertical: 32 1/2 inches
Broad jump: 9 feet, 11 inches
Short shuttle: 4.39 seconds
3-cone: 7.01 seconds
Bench: 17 reps of 225 pounds

ANALYSIS
STRENGTHS Athletic with long arms and big hands. Has decent closing speed. Sinks hips and accelerates out of his change of direction. Moderate tackle production, but reduced his broken tackles and misses from a year ago. As edge rusher, has some edge bend with flexible ankles, effective shoulder dip and cat­-quick spin move. Credited with 35 pressures and six sacks on the season. Consistent special teams performer with 19 career tackles.

WEAKNESSES Play strength dips well below NFL norm for the position. Plays upright and blockers get under his pads. Allows both tight ends and fullbacks to derail his edge-­setting attempts. Can’t hold the edge and is a liability when teams run downhill at him. Shows some passivity. Needs to be more physical and use his hands to clear himself from blocks.

DRAFT PROJECTION Undrafted free agent

BOTTOM LINE Long-limbed, stand-up pass rusher who is built more like a wide receiver than a running back. Littleton showed some pass rush ability this season and his special teams ability may be his best attribute on the next level. However, his thin frame and poor play strength could make him a long ­shot to stick on the 53.

just thinking out loud. would being a standup edge rusher be easier on the back than a hands to the ground defensive end? i would think so.

if they did go to a 3-4, it might be easier on quinn if he can handle the position.

my only thinking on daddy shanny is that perhaps without the burden of hc duties he’d have more time to spend on vp duties.

but he knows qbs. he knows running backs. just one more football mind to add to the mix.

i like it. i think.

and yeah. try and bring phillips in for dc duties.

mcvay makes me nervous. a real boom or bust selection.

sanbagger wrote:

I don’t know about the other 350 carries (or whatever), but all this makes sense.

yeah. he shows a handful of clips where he missed a hole. and i imagine even the great ones miss a hole every now and then. i wonder exactly how many holes was he missing. and how many times he was getting slammed in the backfield. cuz i saw it happen often.

but his lack of balance was startling to me. i saw it almost every game i think.

i also think with an adequate offensive coordinator, we see some of these problems start to disappear.

• This reply was modified 9 years, 2 months ago by InvaderRam.
• This reply was modified 9 years, 2 months ago by InvaderRam.