Updated Look at OLBs

Posted: June 23rd, 2014 | Author: | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 38 Comments »

We know Chip Kelly wants a 3-4 defense. We know he wants the players to use the 2-gap technique. We’re still trying to figure exactly what Kelly wants in terms of skill sets at certain positions. OLB is one of them.

Let’s look at the OLBs acquired since Kelly took over.

Chris McCoy – signed as street free agent…had played in CFL

Connor Barwin – signed as UFA

Travis Long – signed as undrafted free agent

Adrian Robinson – acquired in a trade for RB Felix Jones

Bryan Braman – signed as UFA

Marcus Smith – drafted in the 1st round

McCoy is 6-3, 261. He played DE in high school and college, as well as the CFL. Barwin is 6-4, 264. He played TE and DE while at the Univ. of Cincinnati and then moved to OLB with the Texans. Long is 6-4, 255. He played DE most of his career, but WSU moved to a 3-4 in his Senior season so he shifted to OLB. He was still primarily a pass rusher. Robinson was 6-1, 250 and a DE for Temple. Braman is 6-5, 241. He played DE in junior college and college before moving to LB with the Texans. Smith, 6-3 and 251, went to college as a QB. He moved to DE and then played LB as a Senior.

All of the players starred as DEs. Both Barwin and Smith had versatile backgrounds, but both thrived as pass rushers during their Senior seasons. Barwin led the Big East in sacks and Smith led the nation in sacks per game. The other players were disruptive pass rushers, just not as prolific. All of the players were productive playmakers in college.

We can see that the Eagles are looking for players 6-3, 250 and above. They want their OLBs to have size.

The 2 key acquisitions, Barwin and Smith, had athletic backgrounds and can both play in space. They are pass rushers first and foremost, but they can cover and play on the move.

It would help us to know what the Eagles were looking for if we had a list of some guys the team passed up. I don’t think the Eagles had interest in Dee Ford, but he was off the board when the Eagles picked. I wonder if the Eagles would have had any interest in DeMarcus Ware. He went straight to Denver so we can only speculate.

Keeping Trent Cole around does show some flexibility with the desire for all around LB skills. Cole will never be mistaken for William Thomas or Seth Joyner when you see him in coverage. He spent his college and NFL career lining up at DE and rushing the passer. He’s worked hard to adjust to LB, but you can only teach an old dog so many tricks.

In a fantasy world, the Eagles would have 2 OLBs who are adept at rushing and covering. That would give Bill Davis the flexibility to do different things on every single down. Few, if any, teams have had that luxury.

Almost every 3-4 team has one LB that can cover and one that can rush…or 2 that can rush. The 3-4 defense is built on the play of the OLBs. They must be playmakers. At least one has to be a force off the edge. You can get by with less dynamic rushers if you have a DE that is truly special (JJ Watt or Richard Seymour).  There must be one pass rusher that the offense fears.

Smith is a bit of an awkward pass rusher. His sacks came in a variety of ways. That’s okay because the Eagles will use him the same way. They will loop him to the inside. They will have him line up inside and rush around the edge. The whole point of the 3-4 is to line players up creatively and let them attack creatively. It isn’t meant to be a static, predictable defense.

Smith can line up in a 3-point stance and fire off the edge, but that’s not the only way he gets to the QB. This wouldn’t have meant a thing if we still ran the Wide-9. Creativity wasn’t part of that attack. The 3-4 is at its best when the players can rush in a variety of ways. The offense then has to deal with different concepts.

Is it possible the Eagles value athleticism over pass rush ability? Sure. We just don’t have any specific evidence on that. There weren’t a bunch of pass rushers on the board at 26. That’s one reason the Eagles felt they had to take Smith at that point and not move down again. They obviously didn’t feel Kyle Van Noy or Demarcus Lawrence were guys to move back for. Jeremiah Attaochu fell all the way to 50 so teams weren’t as high on him.

Chip Kelly is an unusual coach. It is possible he prefers athletic LBs to pass rushing LBs, but Smith was a productive pass rusher in college so he’s not a good example to point to.

One thing I continue to wonder about is what would have happened last year if free agency was a bit different. Remember that the Eagles wanted DE Ricky Jean-Francois. It was only when he said no that the team decided to go after Barwin. What would this defense have looked like with no Barwin? And who would the Eagles have gotten to play that role?

Thank you Ricky.

***

Quick note on LBs…I still don’t know what the Eagles are doing with Josh Kaddu. Is he OLB or ILB?

_


38 Comments on “Updated Look at OLBs”

  1. 1 Jernst said at 9:04 AM on June 23rd, 2014:

    I think the idea of a completely mirror defense that is not “handed” in either direction w a pass rusher on one side and a coverage backer on the other. This would be ideal. Problem is it’s hard enough to find one OLB that can do both those tasks well, trying to find two is quite the white whale endeavor, if you will. That’s why most teams, and I believe ultimately ours will always favor one OLB as the rusher and one as the cover guy. But, I like the idea of having your ideal set up, going after it and then adjusting when and if you fail to meet your ideal.

  2. 2 GEAGLE said at 9:24 AM on June 23rd, 2014:

    Barwin and Marcus are our OLBs of the future and both are pretty darn well rounded… last time Barwin was really unleashed as a pass rusher he had 11 sacks and who knows how many batted balls….these past two seasons he has had to give up a lot of pass rush opportunity to do the dirty work….adding Marcus was HUGE because not only can he grow into a quality sack Artist, but you can also ask him to do all RG dirty work that we ask of Barwin…
    ..
    People talk about Marcus well rounded game! but let’s be clear, when you draft an OLB in round 1, you are drafting him because you think he can grow to devour QBa…
    ..,
    For a kid so raw, so new to the position and that side of the ball! his repertoire of pass rush moves and counters is more advanced than one would expect….kid finished second in the nation ahead of freaks like Barr… All the time Marcus was asked to drop back and he still managed to come in, second in the nation in sacks..,,if Marcus would have pinned his ears back and done nothing but rush the passer every play like Dee Ford, is there Ny doubt that the kid would have had 20 plus sacks and lead the nation?
    ..
    Marcus projects to be a nice piece in coverage that allows us to play with mirrored OLBs and enjoy the most disguise possible, but first things first, the kid is here to EAT QBs

  3. 3 Jernst said at 9:40 AM on June 23rd, 2014:

    Couldn’t agree more. This is the ideal and it’s definitely what we are shooting for. But, it’s still fairly difficult to pull off personnel-wise. I really like the Marcus Smith pick, but there’s still a lot of projection in your statement above. I wouldn’t be shocked to see 8-12 sacks a piece out of both Barwin and Smith in 2015, but I also wouldn’t be shocked if we didn’t come anywhere close to that.

    By the time Smith is hitting his peak, Barwin will start to age and fade and we’ll need to find another versatile, cover and rush OLB and those don’t grow on trees.

    The most likely outcome is one of your OLBs ends up being good at rushing the QB and one is better at coverage. If it was this easy to find two that could do both equally well, everyone would do it.

  4. 4 GEAGLE said at 10:20 AM on June 23rd, 2014:

    I expect Dion Jordan to eventually replace Barwin :)!they can’t franchise tag him forever lol

    While I can’t disagree…and yes most likely one will be better in coverage and the other will be better as a pass rusher, that doesn’t mean They have to be incompetent in other areas and can’t be well rounded OLBs..Barwin will never be your batman pass rusher but he is a pretty solid “Robin” pass rusher…..we will probably never ask Barwin to do more dirty work than we asked him to do last year, and he was still able to add some decent pass rush…the sack total won’t jump out at you, but if you add the QB hurries and all those batted passes it amounts to pretty nice production out of your “Robin” pass rusher….

    I was really really high on Marcus…even if he had been playing OLB for the past decade, I would still be impressed his play last year…but if you take into account just how raw he is, yet how much was placed on his plate it’s amazing to see him flourish as a well rounded OLB and DE, instead of just being an edge rusher who pins his ears back and rushes the passer on every play…

    Barwin may Not give you 20 sacks….but I don’t think I it’s far fetched to see him rack up 12-16 Sacks/batted passes combined…. 4 sacks would be a good,rookie year for Marcus, with him exploding and taking a giant step in 2015…hopefully Barwin can get this kid to become above average at batting down passes because it’s a very under a rated skill set that is just as good as a sack…

    While edge rushers are your main pass rushers, I’m really really excited about the way some of out other position as pass rushers. There is NO pressure, like pressure right up the middle in a QBs face(an interception in the making when facing Eli), but not many teams get real pass rush production out of it’s interior DL…we have some young kids who have the potential to grow into one of the best tandems of young interior pass rushers in the NFL..4 or 5 sacks is GREAT for a defensive tackle, when we go to our 4 man lines in passing situations, the Tandem of Cox/Curry can grow into one of the leagues best…
    ….
    Like I said, 4-5 sacks is a GREAT year for a defensive tackle(which are basically your 3-4DEs)..yet we have a friggn young NT who set 6 sacks as his goal for this season. The majority of teams 3-4 NT get like a sack or two per year….if Bennie can be that RARE Marcellus dareus type it would be a huge addition to our defense…..
    ..
    Blitzing will be a big part of the Billy Davis defense, not only will we have our DL doing all types of twists and stunts, but we will usually compliment the twists with blitzes. Mykal Kendricks when he is all den growing up will be a fantastic blitzing LB. He really excelled in that area at Cal and has already shown plenty of ability in that area…Our CBs are all physical and can be used on Blitzes…

    Boykin and Wolff are two young players who I def expect to blitz more this year..
    ,..
    People typically only talk about our OLBs when discussing our pass rush and Barwin and a Rookie probably won’t be one of the top pass rushing tandems these next two years, but as a defense, I think we will grow into a team that really gets after QBs and grows to force more and more turnovers….eagles defense will have a big year, and go into the 2015 as a top 10 ranked defense

  5. 5 GEAGLE said at 10:29 AM on June 23rd, 2014:

    Some of us threw around the idea of Barwin possibly sliding inside to eventually replace Demeco..curious to see what people think of this. Barwin would NEVER be able to play Kendricks role, but he is certainly physical enough to handle Meco’s thumper role….

    I don’t know what to make of this…. Initially it sounds crazy, but when I really think about it, I struggle to find reasons why Barwin wouldn’t be able to handle it…
    ..

  6. 6 Ark87 said at 10:52 AM on June 23rd, 2014:

    That would be a pretty sweet look, especially in the nickle package.

  7. 7 GEAGLE said at 12:28 PM on June 23rd, 2014:

    Right!! Then again, next years draft will bring a high impact ILB I would assume..,
    ,,,
    The depth improvement from last year to this year are staggering. It’s going to be drastically harder to make this roster than it was last year.if we continue to draft well, imagine how much deeper we will be after next years draft when we make additions like:
    1) super athletic backup to Demeco
    2) A guard/center like Oregons Hroniss Grasu
    3) Another outside CB…curious to see if Chip will pass on Ifo OLOMU who he drafted at Oregon
    4) possibly a safety if Wolff,Reynolds and Nate are all underwhelming which I doubt. I expect Wolff to fly. Earl Wolff was like 2 inches and a little more experience away from being a first round prospect and we got him in the 5th…. Athletically speaking his spider chart was insane grading out really high in all the athletic measurements..,, his body didn’t score well on the spider chart like the 5’11 height, hand size, arm length….but athletically his scores were all in the top percentile.

    5) Sure Chip will draft another weapon WR or TE..
    .
    6) RB depending on what guys like Mathew Tucker show…

    ….
    ….
    And if our coaching staff can eventually develop two practice squad guys into good players it will be a major score…more times than not we will strike put on practice squad guys.. It will be common to see us im

  8. 8 Neil said at 6:33 PM on June 23rd, 2014:

    I highly doubt Barwin has the mobility for ILB. He’s like 6’4 260-265, no? He can probably do it as a changeup and he’s certainly fine moving around in a nickel package, but I don’t think he has the mobility to play there every down.

  9. 9 Sb2bowl said at 11:32 AM on June 24th, 2014:

    Why would you think Barwin has the mobility to play OLB and not ILB (especially the position manned by DeMeco)?? Just wondering, not bashing (sad we have to say that now, as a society).

  10. 10 Neil said at 3:17 PM on June 24th, 2014:

    OLBs are almost always slower than ILBs. It’s just a fact that the closer you get to the line of scrimmage, the bigger you need players to be, and the less speedy you need them to be. And size and strength usually come at the cost of speed unless you’re Reggie White. On the LOS, strength and burst are king; players are mostly fighting through the offensive line and moving through extremely small areas to stuff a run or sack a QB. Sprinting ability is practically useless until they’re chasing a completion from behind or something. ILBs on the other hand are much less frequently in such a situation, only when they blitz or defend an inside run, and the rest of the time they’re chasing RBs and TEs all over the field in coverage or pursuing RBs on outside runs.

    Barwin is speedy though for an OLB, and that’s doubly true compared to 4-3 ends. We ask him to run with a TE or RB every once in a while in coverage. I suspect he’d be exposed though if he had to do it as more than a curveball, which is all it’s supposed to be in our defense as it’s constructed now. Most of the time we just ask him to jam a receiver and then drop into a shallow zone when his responsibility is coverage.

    Demeco is getting slow. I don’t think he’s that much faster than Barwin while chasing, but he is based on my memory of watching games. And people are talking about replacing him because of it. Kempski has posted a couple of GIFs of plays that show why Demeco’s speed is a weakness. You don’t see Barwin being put in those situations where his sprinting ability gets exposed because he’s playing OLB.

    Imagine Barwin versus Kendricks in a footrace. Kendricks is as fast as you could want your ILBs to be. I do think we’re trying to make a mirrored defense, so we don’t want to replace Demeco with another slow but stout ILB.

    Agreed, it is sad, but I’m gonna pull a Chip Kelly and be happy to explain why.

  11. 11 A_T_G said at 9:13 AM on June 23rd, 2014:

    I am not sure if question from the last thread had any influence on the topic or the timing, but thanks, Tommy!

    I think we all can picture what the ideal OLB would look like in our system. He (or she, since we are talking fantasy here already) would look like LT when going forward and Charles Woodson when going backwards.

    Much like the WRs position, the question comes from the balance of those traits when Superman isn’t available. At WR, we defied conventional wisdom in desiring to stretch the field, but not putting a premium on speed above all. The staff instead seems to be saying that if they can get a group of guys who can all do a set of skills reliably well, the system will work and we will succeed. If the WRs can do those skills effectively AND have pluses in certain traits, bonus! But, without those skills, we don’t value the guy, even if public opinion thinks we are crazy.

    I think LB will end up the same way. We clearly wanted Dion, but the criticism going into the draft was that he wasn’t accomplished enough as a rusher. Ware signed quickly with Denver, but not faster than Howie can dial a phone. I think we are going to end up viewing the LB position a lot like the WR position. Some will think we are crazy for not valuing the flashy, highlight-producing rusher, but that the more balanced skill set will make the defense go.

    Or, more simply, DeSean Jackson = Demarcus Ware while Smith, Barwin = Jordan Mathews.

  12. 12 GEAGLE said at 9:38 AM on June 23rd, 2014:

    OLB is probably the most improved position on our roster. Figure we only had 1 real OLB last year and that was Barwin!. We also had BG and Cole who had never played the position (in god knows how long)…we were so weak at OLB that we had to pretend that Casey Mathews could back up Barwin smh….this is by far the most improved position on our roster….we brought in so much depth that we will be practically forced to cut Brandon Graham…..I really wanted to see what BG could do in year two and his position is so expensive that there was a chance he would sign a decent free agent contract with another team and contribute to the compensatory pick equation…..I don’t see how we,can realistically keep BG on this roster:
    Barwin/Braman
    Cole/Marcus
    ..,
    Keeping 5 OLBs is already a stretch, but as a 5th OLB, I see NO WAY that we could lose a young talent I like Travis Long who we have signed to a cheap contract for a few more years so that we can keep BG for one more season..there is a very good chance BG will leave us in free agency, and one year of BG isn’t worth losing a young talent like Travis long…

    Hopefully some contender has edge rushers that start to drop like flies and we can trade BG..we wouldn’t get much… Realistically the best we can hope for in a BG trade is:
    1) Trade him for a player that would be cut by it’s team
    2) tradeBG for a 7th
    3)’trade a 7th and BG for a 6th round pick

    Nolan Carrol, revealed some nuggets about now our sports science operate(Kapadia has the full article up)
    .,
    Basically every morning when you get to Novacare you have to do the heart rate tests, hydration tests, weigh in, and fill out a questionnaire that asks you to point out what body parts are sore

  13. 13 Ark87 said at 10:49 AM on June 23rd, 2014:

    I’m thinking CB’s would compete for the most-improved category, or secondary in general. Atleast OLB’s could rotate BG in for a few snaps. The situation behind Williams-Fletcher-Boykin was dire. We didn’t even have a dime package to put on the field. Our plan for nickle if Boykin went down was to throw Coleman in there. Roc was our primary back-up on the outside. Now we have Carroll and Watkins, and more versatility at both safety and Corner.

    It’s nice that our depth got so much better at both CB and OLB, we got lucky we were so healthy last season, this year we don’t have to be THAT lucky. We have some wiggle-room.

  14. 14 GEAGLE said at 12:14 PM on June 23rd, 2014:

    I don’t dsagree,,..we added depth everywhere except for ILB…figure hart j Krugs and Beau Allen is a brand new young line we are adding….I like that second team because Kruger and Hart can play as MIRRORED 4 techniques…
    ..
    The secondary should be drastically improved across the board, I expect every member of our secondary to look better than they did last year…the additions allow us to do so many more things on 3rd down like add a dime Package

    After the coronation of king FOles this year, the level our defense plays at will he the talk of the city

  15. 15 Sb2bowl said at 11:40 AM on June 24th, 2014:

    In response to your “section B”—-

    I think we stayed away from kids like Bryant, Moncreif, and (maybe) Latimer because of the work ethic trait, intelligence of the player (both football IQ and overall as a person), and their status in school (graduate? 4th year Junior?)– I think Chip values (and thus, Howie/scouts find) versatility, smarts, physical ability, and the drive to be (hat tip to ACViking/Vince L,) PERFECT.

    Tell me Matthews doesn’t want to be the best receiver, ever— think he wants to beat his family member, Jerry (freaking!) Rice? Who did he (J.Matth) learn from? Just like any job interview, the Eagles researched players, brought them in for specific visits (or knew as a player, previously), and made sure they knew EXACTLY what they were drafting (of course, there is a bit of projection, and not every pick works out).

    I love how this Front Office does things, and I’m SO happy that Chip decided to leave Oregon and come to Philly– I think we’ll reap the rewards/benefits of that decision for years to come!

  16. 16 austinfan said at 10:27 AM on June 23rd, 2014:

    Ford was on the board at #22. Maybe they didn’t value him that highly, but note that KC has Hali, a 6’1 DE in the role that Ford will eventually fill, and AR has a history of undersized pass rushing DEs (Douglas, Cole, Graham). So I suspect KC liked Ford better than the Eagles, and the Eagles liked Smith better than KC, not just size, but Ford is more of a pure pass rusher whereas Smith is more of a true 3-4 OLB.

  17. 17 GEAGLE said at 10:41 AM on June 23rd, 2014:

    I wouldn’t be surprised if Ford wasn’t even on our draft board…..the fact that Ford became a lock to be drafted in one, is what really got me wanting Marcus….there would have been so much projecting involved in trying to figure out how Dee would fit for us…..drafting Ford would have been one of my personal nightmare scenarios….

    Ford was a drastically more polished OLB and defender for that matter than Marcus Smith, and ford NEVER dropped in coverage which means he was attacking at all times and it means that he had significantly more pass rush opportunities than Marcus, yet the difference in their sack totals was minimal..
    ..
    As if ford didn’t have enough advantages over Marcus in terms of sack totals, on top of all that, Ford was rushing against RIGHT tackles while Marcus was usually going after the LEFT tackles…

    Dee ford was the TYPICAL Andy pick….

    MY gut says Marcus was rated much higher on our board than Dee but the eagles thought most teams would rank ford ahead of Marcus so I think whenever it was our turn to draft, if BOTH Ford and Marcus were on the board, Howie would have traded back 3 or 4 spots.

  18. 18 Sb2bowl said at 11:42 AM on June 24th, 2014:

    Great point about “undersized DE’s”……….. I sure don’t miss “FASTBALLS”

  19. 19 bill said at 10:41 AM on June 23rd, 2014:

    I’m one of the people who felt that we didn’t know, before the draft, which trait was prioritized when looking at “less than perfect.” I’ll agree that we still don’t have certainty, but the evidence seems to be pointing towards well-rounded over pass-rush specialist. Trading back and taking Smith over the other options that were available at 21 is evidence in favor of well-rounded, although it certainly isn’t “case closed.” Furthermore, Smith’s tutelage so far seems to suggest that they want him to develop into a “well-rounded” type as opposed to a pass-rush specialist.
    Again, we have very limited data, and I bet Kelly is the kind of coach whose preferences will evolve year-to-year in reaction to the data he receives, but I’m leaning toward the hypothesis that, in the less than perfect world, they prefer versatility over specialization, even at a crucial skill like pass rush, at least for their starters.

  20. 20 GEAGLE said at 12:50 PM on June 23rd, 2014:

    I can play devils advocate and argue that we wanted to sign Jason Worlids who is all pass rush, no coverage skill…

  21. 21 RobNE said at 2:00 PM on June 23rd, 2014:

    if true then we should see a lot of no huddle very fast play against Seattle when we play, once Seattle moves into a situation that Chip likes (e.g., once he thinks they are not versatile).

  22. 22 OregonDucker said at 2:49 PM on June 23rd, 2014:

    Chip’s no huddle killed Pete in college. Carrol could not make the substitutions he wanted and the complexity of the offense attack confused him – what looked like Chip tendencies were traps!

    The Seattle game is a must see this year. It will be close and fun. We will learn a lot about the 2014 Eagles in this game.

  23. 23 Anders said at 5:13 PM on June 23rd, 2014:

    Problem is Kelly also killed Monte Kiffin in college, yet two of the worst offensive games with Foles at QB was against him

  24. 24 Insomniac said at 5:56 PM on June 23rd, 2014:

    Yup. Another example of what happened in college stays in college.

  25. 25 Maggie said at 6:51 PM on June 23rd, 2014:

    I was thinking more of an example of no plan, no scheme matters a damn if there is no execution.

  26. 26 Anders said at 10:44 PM on June 23rd, 2014:

    100% this. First game Foles was just plain bad and second game, Hatcher destroyed interior of the OL

  27. 27 Sb2bowl said at 11:45 AM on June 24th, 2014:

    IMO– Monte was a better “pro’s” coach than he was with “college” players. I specifically saw this on display regarding the DL of Dallas, and our OL. There were so many times in both Dallas games (and subsequently, the playoff game against N.O.) that the DL would grab and hold our OL, thus keeping them off/out of the second level blocks, negating our ability to clear room for Shady.

    I expect to see some of the same things when we face Seattle; it’ll be a fun game to watch!

  28. 28 Mac said at 2:08 AM on June 24th, 2014:

    I hope that Seattle can win their division again this year, and the Eagles take the NFC East crown so we can play them again the following season. It would be great for this team to develop a rivalry with another a team from another conference like the Colts/Pats rivalry.

  29. 29 mtn_green said at 3:19 PM on June 23rd, 2014:

    And we will see many Seattle defense player injured for only one play *cough**ankle* “is the clock stopped? Good I can walk to sidelines now.”

    Unfortunately it is a legitimate strategy. Although there may be rules against it, they would be impossible to enforce. Is the league gonna tell a player they didn’t have pain in their ankle that play? Every player has pain all over.

  30. 30 anon said at 5:10 PM on June 23rd, 2014:

    So is calling a timeout mid-drive which is what NOLA did to us. Took all momentum.

  31. 31 Tumtum said at 11:56 AM on June 23rd, 2014:

    Vinny Curry loves Funions… this explains a lot Tommy.

  32. 32 GEAGLE said at 1:18 PM on June 23rd, 2014:

    Out of curiousity why do you think Adding Barwin has anything to do with whether we added RJF or not? Is there anything that points you to this conclusion or just that RJF is who we went after when free agent started and the Barwin signing didn’t happen til a few days later? I would assume that we had spoken to Barwins reps during that 3 day window when you are allowed to talk to free agents but not sign them yet…
    ..
    I really don’t get how you connect Barwin to RJF???
    .,.
    We had two 4-3DEs in Cole and BG and we had one 4-3MLB Casey Mathews that we had moonlighting as a backup Jack…OLB is the most important position in the defense and we didn’t have ANY OLBs, so why do you think that Barwin was some consolation prize that we only got because RJF said Not to us?

    Wouldn’t it make MORE Sense that RJF turning us down made us turn to Sopoaga? Is there a piece of info I’m missing that connects RJF turning us down to us signing Barwin? So of RJF would have signed with us we would have gone into a season converting to a 3-4 with NO 3-4 OLBs on the roster?
    ..
    I’m confused, please clarify

  33. 33 Sb2bowl said at 11:48 AM on June 24th, 2014:

    I think there was some question as to the position RJF was going to play….. he was a 3-4 DE/OLB tweener, and perhaps if he came here, he would have slimmed down to play OLB. Hard to say, but I don’t think we specifically went after Soap because RJF turned us down and got massively overpaid by Indy (and Soap was strictly a NT, not DE).

  34. 34 mtn_green said at 2:49 PM on June 23rd, 2014:

    I think eagles want an army of Barwin clones. Rush, set edge, pass coverage, well but not great.

  35. 35 mtn_green said at 3:36 PM on June 23rd, 2014:

    Marcus smith was the best OLB available. Only Mack and Barr were better in draft but by eagles pick not available. My worry is that he faced weak competition, and must of his sacks were where the scheme left him unblocked. (Waiting for the Jimmy Bama animated Gif analysis of every sack)

    His schedule was pretty weak.

    2013 Louisville Cardinals Football Schedule
    Final Record: 12-1, 7-1 (AAC)
    Date Opponent Time/TV Tickets
    Sunday
    Sept. 1 Ohio Bobcats
    Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium, Louisville, KY Won 49-7 —
    Saturday
    Sept. 7 Eastern Kentucky Colonels
    Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium, Louisville, KY Won 44-7 —
    Saturday
    Sept. 14 at Kentucky Wildcats
    Commonwealth Stadium, Lexington, KY Won 27-13 —
    Saturday
    Sept. 21 FIU Golden Panthers
    Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium, Louisville, KY Won 72-0 —
    Saturday
    Sept. 28 — Open Date — —
    Saturday
    Oct. 5 at Temple Owls
    Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia, PA Won 30-7 —
    Thursday
    Oct. 10 Rutgers Scarlet Knights
    Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium, Louisville, KY Won 24-10 —
    Friday
    Oct. 18 UCF Knights (HC)
    Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium, Louisville, KY Lost 38-35 —
    Saturday
    Oct. 26 at USF Bulls
    Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, FL Won 34-3 —
    Saturday
    Nov. 2 — Open Date — —
    Friday
    Nov. 8 at Connecticut Huskies
    Rentschler Field, East Hartford, CT Won 31-10 —
    Saturday
    Nov. 16 Houston Cougars
    Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium, Louisville, KY Won 20-13 —
    Saturday
    Nov. 23 Memphis Tigers
    Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium, Louisville, KY Won 24-17 —
    Saturday
    Nov. 30 — Open Date — —
    Thursday
    Dec. 5 at Cincinnati Bearcats
    Nippert Stadium, Cincinnati, OH Won 31-24 —
    2013 Russell Athletic Bowl
    Saturday
    Dec. 28 Miami (FL) Hurricanes
    Florida Citrus Bowl, Orlando, FL Won 36-9 —

  36. 36 HazletonEagle said at 4:14 PM on June 23rd, 2014:

    Josh Kaddu ILB or OLB? I think he Kaddu anything. He can play both.

  37. 37 Kalhan Koul said at 5:38 PM on June 23rd, 2014:

    Since there is nowhere to really post it, figured I’d just post it here. Really cool, interactive, and detailed breakdown of plays by team. You can check out the Philly stats (offense and defense) specifically by selecting their bubble in one of the top two charts: http://www.machete.io/board/view/all_42973_plays_in_nfl_2013_season/da8344b7-6afb-4c7a-89ca-058b3f97ac43

  38. 38 hrtak said at 6:35 PM on June 23rd, 2014:

    One more time – just for sure – thanks Ricky 🙂