Quote:
Originally Posted by DJ's left nut
That's my frustration - the lack of value on the 'now' from folks celebrating this deal.
All anyone wants to talk about is that we turned a potential 2021 comp pick into a 2020 2nd rounder. Okay...but we lost our best pass-rusher and probably the best pure pass rusher in the league last season.
This 'he's a speed rusher' stuff is ridiculous. Ford came into the league as a speed rusher but he was absolutely capable of beating guys in several ways as he developed. He started using that lever/stiff-arm that Houston was so good with last season. He developed a true rip move that would allow him to get inside guys. Shit, he demonstrated a bull rush on several occasions. His footwork was great and his hand skills were improved to the point of very good, if not elite.
Ford was a straight up, bad-ass pass-rusher last season. He wasn't Bruce Irvin needing to line up wide and run fast around lead-footed tackles to succeed. He was able to convert speed to power and use the threat of speed to get inside guys. He was a genuinely dynamic, elite pass-rusher.
That has a TON of value, if only for a single season. And no, he wasn't a disaster against the run either. He was below average if you ran straight at him but he was outstanding as a pursuit defender which made running away from him a trick. He had a clear weakness - he wasn't outstanding at setting the edges on runs to his side, but now you're in a 4-3 where that weakness could be obviated somewhat by having a Will right behind him to clean up or fill.
But it's done. And our GM has demonstrated a pattern of extremely questionable FA acquisitions. And the market is pretty much barren at this point.
So do I want to trust our pass-rush to Chris Jones in a new role and some late-round rookie? No - but it's the best of bad options now that we've dealt our best pass-rusher for a middling return.
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Those are good observations on the evolution of his rushing ability. He’s still a one-dimensional player whose skills are situational.
Yes, the scheme might hide some or cover up for some of his weakness against the run by positioning that LB “over” him, but good teams are going to scheme to run right at him, and moving him to DE is only going to exacerbate that. IMO. Not the type of talent to bet on long-term or build around, and if you’re not doing that, it’s ok to move on from him.
On the return, I hoped for more... but the fact he was so good as a pass-rusher last year but had so little trade interest just shows what the rest of the league thinks of hill (some combination of one-trick pony and major injury risk).
If Veach’s plan is to nab one of Sweat or Ferrell or Omenihu, etc. and add a bit of pass rush ability while improving base run D, and add a cheap situational pass rusher, I’m on board with that. I think that makes the defense as a whole better.
Especially if the plan includes using some of the freed-up dollars to extend a key piece or trade for a CB or sign a few more pieces.
Lot of paths to improving the D now.