I didn't get to watch a lot of college ball this season, and I didn't see his combine workout either.

But what little I did see, I did like his ability to cover, and the speed he seemed to posess to get around the edge when he does rush the passer.

If we're talking about a coverage linebacker Ayers might be the best guy then. Andy Studebaker ****ing sucks.

See maybe that's where I get all crazy.

Because I consider the ILBs to be the coverage backers.

This is so stupid. Like it's a bad thing for a team to have two Tamba Halis.

I think the playoff game vs the Ravens showed just how bad our linebackers were in coverage.

No one is saying it's a bad thing to have two Halis.

I even said that is what I would want.

But that's not Crennel's system.

Yeah, the defense didn't lose us that game.

Todd Heap abused the LBs over the middle in that game.

It doesn't mean they weren't horrible in coverage.

No but we made Todd Heap look all pro

Over the middle, you say?

Shit. I mean I don't know much about football, but I could have sworn we had players in the middle of the field in that linebacker range?

:D

Really, I'm not a coordinator or anything, but it would seem to me that the only time you should have an OLB play a ton of snaps in coverage is if your opponent is running 4 or 5 wide on a regular basis.

You're not getting it.

I am not talking about what I would do on defense.

I am talking about the system that Crennel runs.

He uses all his LBs in coverage.

Herzlich has substantially better coverage skills than Ayers and has shown a much greater passion for the game itself. I watched a number of Boston College games this past season and Herzlich got better every single game. In their final bowl game against Nevada, the guy was all over the field and in on nearly every play. He ended the season with four interceptions.

He ran a bad 40 at the combine, but if you watched him in the rest of the drills, he was by far and away the most polished guy out there with the best footwork and instincts.

And Milk is correct and he's saying exactly what I was inferring from the start of this thread. The LOLB in a 3-4, and specifically Crennel's 3-4 defense, is dropping a lot in zone coverage and is asked to man cover the tight end a lot. You don't want two pure pass rushers in this defense.

Like I stated, Houston isn't a good choice for this defense because we've already got the same guy in Hali, who is coming into his prime and has been a force rushing the passer. He's a proven commodity and it would be redundant to bring in another guy just like him. Neither Hali or Houston are ideal LOLBs in this system.

Heap tore the Chiefs up over the middle and the linebackers sucked in space against Rice.

I'm sorry but i'm not spending a first on Herzlich. This will likely come off as assholish but i'm not sure how much stock you can put into a guy who had cancer. I mean i'm sure the treatment had to have done a number on his body I question how long he'll be able to hold up.

Ayers would be an interesting pick but I think in this spot you go with the famous trade down option.

And I'm telling you the same thing I told DoucheMcCloud in the Lounge: you guys are all hung up on the purity of a system, you're forgetting the reality on the ground.

The Crennel system also gets a halfway decent passrush from its DEs. Which, despite the fact that we have spent Top 5s on two DEs, we don't have. Dorsey and Jackson are never going to have 7-8 sack seasons. We'll be lucky if either has a 3-sack season. And that's coming from a guy that believes in both players.

So we have to engineer those sacks from somewhere, or else trade/replace those two DEs.

So while I understand what you're saying, and agree that Ayers is definitely more of a Crennel SOLB prototype, we need the potential for double-digit sacks that Houston provides. Period.

Now, in my opening post, I said that I did not expect Pioli to pick Houston, mostly for the reason you specified.

The Baltimore coverag problems by our defense were somewhat scheme related as well...

http://www.chiefsplanet.com/BB/showt...ht=merril+hoge