Chiefs sign Zach Thomas

[chiefzilla1501]

Originally Posted by Just Passin' By

Hey, just out of curiosity, since you're so brilliant, how much did Jason Taylor weigh when he was playing a 4-3 DE in Miami?

Moron.

And you're the moron that thinks that Suggs could play OLB in a 4-3 in Detroit. Tell me how many 260+ pounders are playing OLB in a 4-3.

Actually, when I referred to "Hybrid", I was referring to the hybridized way in which the Suggs grievance was resolved. He was paid as a DE/LB, which is the hybrid. Again, had you actually bothered to read the posts, you'd have known that.

You keep referring to Suggs and Hawk as playing the same position, even though it couldn't be further from the truth. All 3-4 OLBs play the hybrid position. It is what they call a "tweener"--a DE that scouts thought was too small to play DE in a 4-3, but too big to play LB.

Terrell Suggs is a DE who was asked to play "tweener". As was Merriman, Ware, and every 3-4 OLB/DE "tweener" in the NFL (16 in total)
AJ Hawk is an OLB who was asked to play OLB

I didn't say they were the same, other than both being linebackers. Seriously, reading comprehension would go a long way for you, I think.

And again, you are suggesting that 4-3 LBs and 3-4 LBs are both "linebackers." They're not!

3-4 OLBs are asked to take on much more DE responsibility. Therefore, they carry much higher draft value than a LB. DEs are one of the most highly sought after prospects in any given draft. LBs are usually taken toward the middle of the first round. Consistently.

Now, the only reason 3-4 OLBs tend to drop lower in the draft is because only a handful of teams actually run a 3-4 defense (8 teams). So let's sum it up. Patrick Willis fell to #11 because no NFL team wanted to reach for a LB in the top 10. Terrell Suggs dropped to #6 because you have to run a 3-4 to get value from him.