This years LB class
 

There are a couple of lbs in this draft that would fit our scheme pretty well.

Would either Burfict or Hightower be a significant upgrade over Belcher?

I like Belcher alot but if you could upgrade I think you have to try.

If we could trade back in the draft, come out of the first two rounds with Poe, Hightower and the best RT available, I think it would be very successful.

Thougths?

I'm not sure KC has a vocal D leader to get Burfict under control.

That could be true Chiefnj, but I think DJ and Tamba are becoming those guys.

I really think Hightower would be a perfect thumper next to DJ in this d, but Burfict would be too. I wouldn't mind to have a little nastiness at LB, if Burfict could keep it under control.

DJ and Tamba are very quiet. Different type of leader than a Ray Lewis.

They are more lead by example kinda guys.


I hoped Berry would be that guy on D, but I'm not sure he is.

Maybe B. would be Ray Lewis? He could dance around and make an ass out of himself, but I would draw the line at murder. That's too far.

I just think Burfict got a little bad rap this year, he had some issues no doubt but officials seemed to single him out a few times for his rep.


Plus he didnt' get along with the HC, which considering who the coach was is understandable.

If he was around in the second or even third round, it would be hard not to take him.

I hope we can use our 2nd on him or Hightower honestly. I doubt we would be using it on a QB or NT, we avoid those positions here in KC.

IMO the best NT we can bring in is Soliai thru free agency. Hell give the guy a 1 year deal, make him prove himself if you want.


Bring in Soliai, draft Hightower or Burfict, sign Carr, get Berry back, get depth everywhere.

This defense is a top unit next year.

Never watched him (burfict) play, really. But i'm not too interested in a guy who plays with reckless abandon and doesn't maintain his responsibilities.

Good call Detoxing, I really like Hightower tho.

Burfict definitely has more potential..but Hightower is the safer pick. This reminds me of last year in the Hankerson vs Baldwin thread. sometimes the risk is worth it, but I dont think thats the case here

I'm also not sure the defense has that one crazy MFer that will take it to the next level.

The best defenses all have one "kill first, ask questions later" guy that is going to create headaches for his own team on occasion. However, the other 85% of the time he'll provide an emotional lightning rod and dynamic 'violent' presence on the field that makes opponents take pause.

I don't think you need a vocal leader to keep Burfict 'under control', you just need to make sure that you don't have more than one Burfict on the field.

The NFL isn't for the weak of heart and NFL defenses damn sure aren't. I think you want a guy out there that's just a little bit unhinged. If the rest of your team plays smart, calculated football, you can easily make up for the penalty here or broken coverage there that the lunatic provides. At the same time, the lunatic will provide a spark to that defense that can't truly be measured.

I still don't want him in the 1st because I don't think we need to be using a 1st round pick on a secondary ILB, but if he fell to the 2nd I'd absolutely jump at him.

Nice take Dj.


I think Hightower can bring that same thing tho and be more disciplined.

Really either one of them would upgrade the defense, and I really like Belcher but if there is someone better. .......

A defense of

Jackson, Soliai, Dorsey
Houston, Johnson, Hightower, Hali
Carr Berry Lewis Flowers

Could be really nasty.

Having some situational pass rushers and Belcher to play some subpackages and goal line stuff.

If everyone else on the defense maintains their responsibility, Burfict won't see a need to freelance.

The best way to handle one freelancer is to make sure he has no reason to go off the rails. When Houston, Berry, DJ and Hali are doing their jobs, I think Burfict will see that there's no reason leave the reservation and he'll do his job as well.

There's no way to truly contain crazy, but you can take the crazy and use it to your advantage. By surrounding Burfict with smart, positionally sound defenders (and we have a bunch of those), I think you can get him to direct that energy to blowing the holy !@#$ out of people that are unfortunate enough to wander into his part of the world.

He'd be a great player for us, IMO.

If Burfict makes it to us in the second we definately should take him and probably will look at him pretty hard.


Like Houston last year.

Dude is actually the perfect specimen to play the thumper next to DJ. Get Soliai in front of those two and it would be pretty ****ing crazy.

A) I don't think Hightower has the ceiling Burfict does. Burfict has no-shit Ray Lewis kind of athletic ability. Hightower doesn't.

B) Like I said, disciplined is good, but a team full of robots isn't. I'm not entirely certain that I would want a more disciplined version of Burfict. Show me those moments of Jerome Harrison type berserker rage and I'll show you a defense that teams do not want to play against.

I'm not arguing with you DJ, I really like Burfict. I think he got alot of undeserved shit at ASU, that wasn't totally his fault.

I know we probably can't get a game changer at qb in this draft, but if Pioli drafts like he has the last couple years this draft could really bolster the back end of this roster.


It's time to start upgrading positions that potentially have guys that could be solid starters to guys that could be legit game changers.

Burfict is that kind of specimen.

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This is very long, but shows positives and negatives

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A bunch of times I've seen ASU use Burfict to rush the passer and even step out in coverage on a TE or RB. I know it's a different defensive scheme they play, but that really smacks of a 3-4 OLB in this particular scheme. Are you guys sure we'd want Burfict to play inside if we drafted him?

He's the prototypical thumper that can cover from the mlb spot. I think he's built pretty perfectly to play that role, with his size and all.

I like the kid from Nevada as a 3rd/4th round ILB prospect.

I don't think he can replace Belcher. He's more of a project guy IMO. And I'd be surprised if he went as early as the 4th.

If Burfict, Kuechly, and Hightower are gone, I'd like us to look at Jerry Franklin from Arkansas around rnd 4.

I think he has the tools to play as well against the run as Belcher does, while being better in coverage.

Burfict is a very tempting pick.

As far as the leadership goes that would keep him in line, thats a very interesting question. Berry to me will be or already is the emotional guy on the defense.

When I saw him go stare down the Ravens team before the playoff game for jumping all over the place in the endzone, I was in love. I love a guy like that and that was cool as hell to me. Does that translate into actual vocal leadership, it certainly can. I am just not positive one way or another if Berry would be vocal enough to do so. Also doesn't help him that he has played one season. Reason tells you Berry is a star, but people who need to be kept in line don't always think reasonably.

Overall, I think there is enough leadership on the defense to keep him in line. On top of that, Crennel is the type that can get through to him. I don't really believe that being a hard-ass or being respecful is an either or, one works the other doesn't. To me, its about being smart enough to get a guy to play the right way and respect his teammates. Like life, its a grey process. I am willing to take my chances that Romeo and the D-Leaders could do just that.

FWIW, the kid from Nevada was given a 4th round grade from cbssportsline.

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/draft/p...s/TSX/2012_ILB

Yeah I've seen him listed 4-6, I just think it will be more like 5 or 6. I would prefer that 4th be spent on a guy that's not going to need as much development. This is the area we should be looking for guys that can contribute as rookies in a limited role ie blocking/second TE, RB, rotational dline. jmo

We haven't seen enough of Berry to know this yet IMO. Your first yr you are just trying to get your feet underneath you to get not only your D system down but also more importantly get used to the speed of the NFL game. Your 2nd and 3rd yrs are where you really start to come into your own with a helluva a lot more confidence. Berry hasn't even had a 2nd yr so I say we wait-n-see:thumb:

As much as it pains me to agree with a mizzou fan, DJ made a really strong point.


Skill wise, this defense is pretty tough. They need a James harrison type crazy ass. Someone who just looks to knock people the **** out. I think Belcher has the attitude but not the overall skill.

Burfict has the skill oozing out every hole. Dude is a monster.

I've said it many times, but put Soliai in front of DJ and Burfict and see what happens.

Plus Belcher is a fantastic player to bring in on short yardage and goal line stuff.

Quite frankly, Belcher has taken steps in each of his three seasons, and hasn't yet reached his ceiling.

I'd rather spend that second round pick on a RT or TE and let Belcher continue to grow into his position.

I agree. The only concern is whether he ranks as a high enough priority in the teams FA dealings.