DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Pure Football Forum Current LB Core

I figured it's worth starting a thread on just the LB core.

I am concerned about who our starters and depth will be unless we go with a 5-2 defense or a ton of nickel defense.

Our FO seems to devalue the position compared to other units on the team.

Currently, we have 9 LB's and we will probably keep 6

likely starters
Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah (returning starter Likely WOLB)
Jordan Hicks (likely MLB starter)
Devin Bush (we took a flier on him - SOLB)

Backups
Tony Fields II (returning backup probably SOLB)
Mohamoud Diabate (probably special teams/MLB backup)
Nathaniel Watson (rookie drafted in 6th likely WOLB)


Other Backups
Caleb Johnson (likely special teams/MLB)
Charlie Thomas III (practice squad guy more of a WOLB)
Winston Reid (UFDA Probably SOLB)


What are the odds we go after another LB?

Here is a list of some of the better available LB's
Shaq Leonard
Zach Cunningham
Kwon Alexander
Josh Woods

He had a great Rookie year, but he has not been the same since he got hurt playing against the Browns.

Our LB group, IMO, has the potential to be good. Between JOK, the FA guys we signed, continued improvement of the young players from last season and Nathaniel Watson the abilities are there. What will make it better for them is that we have talented player groups both in front and behind them. I swill be interested to see how they improve.

I still think the LB group is still by far the weakest, we didn't really do much in the offseason but buy some lottery tickets and hope they can hit. I agree Bush is a wildcard, if he can get back to rookie form we may have something, but thats a big if. All the others returning outside of JOK don't really move the needle. Hoping with another year under schwartz and his aggressive mentality, we can erase the couple years they had under a tentative Woods. I think we did well on the Dline and thats going to be key for the backers as well. Its going to be fun to watch this defense in year 2 under schwartz. I don't see why they can't lead the league again. I do think we need to make sure we keep garrett healthy. He got dinged and it affected him down the stretch. The dline was alot of fun to watch last year

Much of the younger LB'er talent is unproven so I'm not sure how they will develop or perform this season. What I do feel is safe to say with confidence is that whatever talent they have Schwartz can get the most of it out of them.

I know some of us, bone being the most outspoken, promoted drafting JOK for his superior abilities and skill set. Then we witnessed Woods totally misuse those talents getting only a fraction of JOK's abilities out of him on the field. It appeared Woods had no idea how to harness JOK's abilities and put him in position to make the most of them.

Then Schwartz came in and changed all of that. He diagnosed JOK's skills right away and put him in the position to succeed. It seems that is one of the things Schwartz does best. Get the most possible out of his players. That's why I'm very hopeful this bunch will perform better than most are expecting.

But isn't the key to our defense the strength of our line? I thought our defense was such that we could afford to be a little lacking there.

Honest question.

I think we should keep an eye on Diatabe, he showed instincts and athleticism as a rookie. I recall a bunch of us liking him in the pre-season.

The Browns LBs are indeed weaker compared to traditional LBs.

That said, the group depends on the DL, mostly the DT, to occupy the OL.

The key to today's LB is speed. They serve both in coverage and gap containment.

A weak DL will expose this group.

I think fans need a better understanding of the role of today's LBs.

Don't sleep on Fields either.

I think both Fields and Diabate have the ability to show up much more with year in the Schwartz D I also like Watson, but he is a rook so it will take another year to really know how he is going to turn out.

I don't know if the group in weak....maybe more unknown, which makes people think they are weak. We also go with 2 backer sets a good deal of the time with a player like Delpit or Harrison playing more or less as a backer, so when they make plays, people credit the secondary when it might be more like a play made by a backer.

I also think the backer position has changed yet people are thinking of guys like Ray Lewis or Brian Urlacher.

No doubt injury is always a concern at any position. It's a variable I know is there, but I don't dwell on it.

On the other hand, I’d rather they stay humble and hungry. Over-confidence in one’s ability sends a lot of players back home early.

I don't think he wants, or is satisfied to be a hang on player, but I do think he understands the situation.

Not sure what caused this. Was his knee wrecked to the point it just never worked the same? Was it a mental block? I guess we will find out over the next month or two. This is a good example of why I am very cautious when thinking about Chubb. Everything is looking good but you just never know.

As Schwartz has shown, it's sometimes true that a coach simply has trouble identifying a players strengths and weaknesses so said player can be used to to their full capability on the field. None of these guys are JOK but we see the stark contrast on the field from when he wasn't used properly by Woods to how he is now used properly under Schwarz coaching.

To a lesser extent this may also hold true for Bush. We'll see. Schwartz must have seen something in Bush that his former DC didn't or I don't think he would be here.

j/c

signing JOK is very needed. I would like him to become our "green dot" guy and really stay on the field all game.

He's such a versatile and explosive guy