I have a feeling Tamba Hali, Glenn Dorsey, and Brian Johnston will impress us

[royr17]

I have a very strong feeling that Hali, Dorsey, and Johnston will impress of this year.

But in case Johnston dont start off at LE, Alfonso Boone will and Brian Johnston will come the bench on 3rd down.

But it looks as if Tamba Hali has a easier time at getting to the Quarterback coming from Jared old spot then the spot he has played his whole career as a Chief.

I also feel that our starting corners are going to be Flowers or Surtain/Brackenridge/Carr. Both Flowers and Carr are pretty good corners. Surtain I hope will be the nickle corner cause he dont have the speed anymore.

Hopefully opening day our defense will look like this :

LDE 97 Brian Johnston
LDT 72 Glenn Dorsey
RDT 70 Alfonso Boone
RDE 91 Tamba Hali
LLB 56 Derrick Johnson
MLB 59 Donnie Edwards
RLB 53 Demorrio Williams
CB 20 Brandon Flowers
CB 34 Tyron Brackenridge/39 Brandon Carr
FS 44 Jarrad Page
SS 49 Bernard Pollard

[royr17]

Originally Posted by recxjake

I be Nap Harris starts at middle

Don't count out tank or turk yet either

Yea Nap Harris probably does start at MLB, but I dont like the thought of that, I'd prefer seeing Donnie Edwards at the MLB cause he'd be better than Harris only problem is Edwards is too little.

[eazyb81]

I agree about Hali. He's been CP's whipping boy lately, but I have no doubt the real Hali is what we saw his rookie season, not what he did last season while dealing with nagging injuries all year. Gunther said Hali would have had as many sacks as Allen last year if he was at RDE, and I believe him.

I'm really not worried at all about Hali, but I do have questions about the left side providing a consistent pass rush.

[Delano]

Originally Posted by royr17

Only problem is, there isnt a Defensive End out there right now capable of doing that. Might be in June, but not right now.

And that is why I'm saying I am not really excited about this line right now.

Dorsey? Hell yeah that big boy eating offensive linemen alive is exciting. The rest? Not so much.

Especially your suggestion of Johnston at LDE. Isn't he just a pass rusher at this point and a liability in the run game?

With Hali, that is two weak ends in the run game.

[boogblaster]

Looks like they could be a stong DL.. time will tell.. our two second year DLmen might surprise us this year too ... GO TURK GO TANK ....

[royr17]

Originally Posted by Delano

And that is why I'm saying I am not really excited about this line right now.

Dorsey? Hell yeah that big boy eating offensive linemen alive is exciting. The rest? Not so much.

Especially your suggestion of Johnston at LDE. Isn't he just a pass rusher at this point and a liability in the run game?

With Hali, that is two weak ends in the run game.

One of the top prospects for the 2008 NFL Draft that you have probably never heard of is Brian Johnston. Yes Gardner Webb’s defensive end Brian Johnston is from a small school, but he has big time NFL talent. You don’t think those small school players can compete in the NFL? Just ask the Kansas City Chiefs defensive end Jared Allen, who was a fourth-round selection (126th overall) out of Division I-AA Idaho State from the 2004 NFL Draft. Johnston is also similar to Dallas Cowboys’ defensive end Jason Hatcher, who was selected in the 3rd round (92nd overall) of the 2006 NFL Draft from small school Grambling. Johnston has similar size (6’ 5” 280 lbs) and production to both of those guys as well as similar NFL potential.

He (Johnston) was named a first-team Associated Press All-American after the 2007 season, this was the second year in a row Johnston has received that distinction. He has also been honored as one of the top small school NFL Draft prospects by well respected talent scout Josh Buchanan. He was also named as a first-team All-American by the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA), and the Walter Camp Football Foundation and is the Gardner Webb Bulldogs’ first consensus All-America since Harold Wells did it in 2004.

This season (2007), the senior Johnston was named Big South Defensive Player of the Year two years in a row, he recorded an impressive 74 total tackles, 37 being solo, a school and conference-record 24 tackles for loss, 6 quarterback sacks and 22 quarterback hurries. He finished ranked No. 2 nationally in tackles for loss on the season, and established new Big South Conference career records for sacks (20.5) and tackles for loss. Johnston finished his career as the top tackling defensive lineman in school history with 268 total tackles.

With the advent of the 34 defense in the NFL, those jumbo defensive ends like Johnston have been much sought after. Johnston has fought almost constant double teams, which is why his 6 sacks don’t look that impressive, but he has proven to be very solid against the run, despite being double teamed, his 74 tackles, 20.5 being for a loss, prove that he can fight through multiple blockers and get to the ball carrier. Very good at using his hands, strong and quick, Johnston plays the game with a non-stop motor. He will have to increase his repertoire of pass rushing moves and continue to train to get stronger and quicker in the NFL, but he has the raw talent and skills to warrant a 4th or 5th round pick in the 2008 NFL Draft.
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Update: Johnston played very well in the 2008 Hula Bowl, one of the nation’s better College Football All-Star games. He didn't get an invitation to the 2008 NFL Scouting Combine, but on 8 March 2008 he dazzled scouts at his Pro Day workout. Measuring in at 6-foot-5, 274 pounds, Johnston ran his first 40-yard dash in an eye-popping 4.66 seconds. His slowest time of the day was 4.70, which is still faster than Johnston’s best time a year ago. Johnston’s 40-yard dash time during his pro day, would have been the fourth best at the recent NFL Scouting Combine for defensive ends, and the best for any lineman weighing more than 260 pounds.

His most impressive stat from the 40-yard dash came with a very strong 1.51-second time through the first 10 yards, an important time with regards to a players quickness. By comparison, Johnston's 10-yard split was the same as Arkansas running back Darren McFadden turned in at the Combine earlier this year.

He recorded an impressive 35-inch vertical leap as well, which would have ranked second among defensive linemen at the NFL Scouting Combine – and best for a player of his size.

The most impressive result overall, however, may have been Johnston’s time in the 20-yard shuttle. He turned in a 4.18-second time, which is better than any lineman at the NFL’s Scouting Combine. In fact, the 4.18-second time was faster than any running back at the event – with Illinois’ Rashard Mendenhall the only back to match that time.

A 6.96-second time in the 3-cone, was also impressive, and would rank him third if he would have went to the combine.

“I felt really good after the workout,” Johnston said. “The few scouts who stayed behind [after San Diego State’s players finished] said that it was the best workout of the day, by far, and they were impressed. My agent [Baltimore-based Tony Agnone] told me Sunday that nearly every team in the NFL had called him after getting those results. That’s encouraging for me.”

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[GoHuge]

Originally Posted by recxjake

I be Nap Harris starts at middle

Don't count out tank or turk yet either

Yeah I didn't see shit out of them last year, but I think they are going to really work on Turk as a DE. If neither one of them get significant time and contribute that bust word is going to start sticking to them. I'm withholding any opinion on Tank and Turk until next year. Turk didn't really have alot of chances to get on the field with Hali and Allen. They never come out of the game. Turk will have every chance to win that left DE spot. If he doesn't you've got to start wondering about him.

If Tank can play this year along side of Dorsey with Turk and Hali at the ends this D-line could be pretty stout. This is the way it should be. If it isn't that way Tank and Turk might have been bad picks, but lets see what happens before we use the B-word. I've got high hopes for this D-line and it may be better without Jared Allen because of Dorsey. We gave up a premier edge rusher, but we should be causing havoc in the middle so the QB can't step up. With Hali and Allen the QB just had to step up. That won't be an option this year.

Trying to be POSITIVE

[crazycoffey]

Originally Posted by boogblaster

Looks like they could be a stong DL.. time will tell.. our two second year DLmen might surprise us this year too ... GO TURK GO TANK ....

yeah, what about Turk moving back outside, they were trying to make him fit at the tackle position perhaps he moves outside, tank next to dorsey, there's plenty of potential.

But you know the difference between potentially and reality......

[DT Fan]

Boone on running downs, Johnston on passing downs.

And hopefully last year's 2nd and 3rd rounders make a big improvement in their second year in the league.