Quote:
Originally Posted by htismaqe
LB just isn't that much of a weakness.
We have several upcoming FA's at DB, a massive contract in Clark that isn't returning on the investment, and literally need warm bodies opposite him.
I'm really not sure why everybody is so obsessed with LB's. They're not that valuable in this day and age.
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Probably because we just watched our team get whipped by a team with three really good LBs. Those dudes swarmed and made plays. We also watched Niemann consistently suck ass all year...again. And he is our best coverage LB, if playing time and down & distance are any indication, i.e. he is the guy we bring in on "passing downs". Hitchens is supposed to be a run stuffer, but is a lower second to high third tier LB in this league at best, and wasn't particularly effective against the run (tends to flow to incorrect gaps and/or trail plays). Wilson appears to have physical talent at times, and absolutely nothing at other times. Gay made a couple of explosive straight-line plays; maybe he can be the playmaker, but jury is out due to lack of playing time. I mean, if Niemann, Wilson, and Hitchens, all three who range from mediocre to piss poor over the season were above him in the depth chart, that does not bode well for the dude's ability. It has to be mental, because he has shown physical explosiveness on a few plays.
It would be nice to be able to blitz a LB and have them actually consistently make plays. You can then run zone blitzes more effectively, and fake blitzes, dropping the LB to hot zones for INTs. Right now we have to do that with our DBs. It often works, but also leaves huge gaps when it doesn't...and we have seen many teams take advantage of that. It would also be nice to have someone that can actually cover a RB flare. FFS, we are awful at that.
We aren't going to fix the edge until Clark is gone. That won't happen until 2022. Quality edge rushers don't come cheap (see: Clark). We can get creative on the line, maybe rotate Jones outside on some plays, utilize our depth at DT, and get someone at the next level that can also make plays w/o vacating.
Or then again, maybe we just need better coaching in the LB corps?