Yeah I dont give a **** about off ball LBer value and whatever else. This guys a ****ing baller. I want him on my team.

Jabril Cox?!?

This. We typically don't want ANY former Mizzou players. That's how you knew Bolton was going to be good; we actually loved this guy. He WAS the Mizzou defense for a good 2 years when they had little else.

BTW, we love Luther as well. Might check into that guy.

LMAO

I think the biggest thing the defense has going for it is it has alot of talent all over it and it's all young.

Young and aggressive, with some good leaders. It's a nice set up.

Yeah - that guy's gonna go top 10. He has everything you want in a player.

Hopefully 'Bama's rocky season doesn't have them opening the NLI bag and sniping him this off-season...

Have Veach/Reid whiffed on a single Mizzou player yet? Morse was/is good. Booger did what he was supposed to do. I can assume Gabbert will do the same if not better.

Long gone are the days when we'd draft Will Franklin and get nothing.

**** it, I'll ask...WTF is an "off ball" linebacker, and is there an example of an "on ball" linebacker. Thanks, I'll hang up and listen...

"On the ball" as far as I've ever known essentially means on the LOS.

Justin Houston and Tamba Hali -- 'on ball linebackers' because they were typically lined up as rushers on the DL.

Derrick Johnson and Nick Bolton - off ball backers as they just line up behind the LOS.

Honestly, you could just say 4-3 LBer and those are all off-ball backers as far as I'm concerned. 3-4 OLBs are 'on-ball' linebackers.

But hell, I could be completely wrong. That's just how I use it.

I've been saying "off-ball" because I see other people using the term. I'm kind of part of the problem.

I saw people using the term when Darius Leonard got paid, and it hasn't gone away, so I just try to keep up with the Joneses.

I refuse to say "EDGE" though. That one is stupid. I don't care if it's a more efficient and all-encompassing term for any LB or DE who can rush off the edge. For some reason every form of draft media is now using that term, but whenever you look at a depth chart or hear commentary during games regarding those positions, they always just identify it as "Here's the DE" or "Here's the OLB." They don't say EDGE. And when players introduce themselves on SNF, you don't hear, "Micah Parsons, EDGE, Penn State." If players don't call themselves that shit, why should I do it only when they're draft prospects?

I've learned to think of linebackers these days as "off ball" and "edge", pretty much being translations of inside and outside linebackers, but with some nuance.

I think the difference between 3-4 and 4-3 formations has somewhat disappeared, because we often see even two-man lines. So now you've got a bunch of guys who are bigger and they may be on the line or they may be off the line, but their job is mostly to get into the backfield. They're pass rushers on passing downs and they stand the line on rushing downs, basically the same as an old school 4-3 DE or 3-4 OLB. They're just both nowadays.

I see "off ball" linebackers as guys who aren't as big as the edge players. They're typically behind the linemen and edge guys, and they're covering the short pass routes, getting out to the edges, and shooting gaps on running plays. Their job is to make tackles and break up passes rather than rushing the passer. They're more like a traditional old-school middle linebacker, but they're playing anywhere inside or outside.

Bolton and Gay are quintessential off-ball linebackers according to this definition. They're fast sideline to sideline players. Guys like Dee Ford and Justin Houston were edge players. Chenal is probably an edge, though he's kind of unclassifiable: 40 percent DL, 40 percent off ball, 20 percent edge.

I actually kind of like the fact that defenses aren't set formations any more. It's just the best 11 guys for the situation.

Nick Bolton is a strong man.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Nick Bolton mashed David Montgomery into a fine paste THEN got him flagged 15 yards for tripping <a href="https://t.co/DWpNn6EMH9">pic.twitter.com/DWpNn6EMH9</a></p>&mdash; Christian D&#39;Andrea (@TrainIsland) <a href="https://twitter.com/TrainIsland/status/1699974827967136229?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 8, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Still can’t get over Nick Bolton rag-dolling Penei Sewell, who is 6 inches taller and 100 pounds heavier. <a href="https://t.co/aFtyC38b8t">pic.twitter.com/aFtyC38b8t</a></p>&mdash; Adam Best (@Arrowhead_Adam) <a href="https://twitter.com/Arrowhead_Adam/status/1700254951057052028?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 8, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Sooooo.... how hurt is Bolton? Still not practicing today. When he grabbed his ankle during the game I just about threw my beer because I was SURE he blew an Achilles. Then he was just back out there. Now, thought he hasn't been practicing and they list him with an ankle. Anybody worried?

Boltons instincts are as good as I've ever seen.

Like Mahomes, he has an extra sense of what's going on. It's far more impressive to me than athleticism.