Quote:
Originally Posted by HC_Chief
Hope is not a strategy. He took for freaking EVAR to crack the lineup, and showed a couple of flashes, but nothing consistent. To call him a playmaker now is severely premature.
I'm not saying we use our top draft pick on a LB. Nor should we sell out for a FA LB (if we had the cap space to begin with). Simply stating that LB is where we have a glaring weakness in this defense. We scheme to cover it up by running a base nickel. We have Sorenson playing a pseudolinebacker role. Sometimes Mathieu, but his primary role is rover. Dirty Dan is the closest we have to a playmaking LB right now. Maybe Gay will be the guy to actually BE a playmaking LB, but he's not yet proven that.
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If you’re drafting a guy or signing a bargain bin free agent, that’s not hope as well?
There’s more reason for optimism with Willie Gay than those 2 options. He’s the total package in terms of size and athleticism, and he flashed every time he saw the field. LB is a very difficult position to learn in this defense, and Gay was already a bit raw coming out. When you combine that with the weird offseason and no preseason, it’s not surprising that Gay was essentially a red shirt.
They are going to unleash him next year and he’ll take a huge step.