in all honesty, i think the best players for the 4 LBs in the 3-4 defense that we have on our team would go, ROLB- Bryan Thomas, ILB- Jonathan Vilma, ILB- Victor Hobson, LOLB- Eric Barton.. i am going to explain why below: ROLB- Bryan Thomas can be an excellent rush LB because of his experience at playing DE.. he is a little undersized as a DE and is actually perfect size for the hybrid DE/ LB, hence the 3-4 OLB.. considering he will be playing the weakside (side opposite of the opposing team's TE) he will not be asked to drop back into coverage as much as the LOLB.. he will be the "rush" LB and try to put pressure on the QB and fill his gap on running plays... we have seen him excel at run defense and giving him a slight change (standing up stance not directly over the LT) might be what he needs to excel.. ILB- Jonathan Vilma is the captain of our defense.. though there is a lot of talk about using him as an OLB because of his speed and ability to rush the QB, i think he needs to be on the inside in order to use that speed to go sideline to sideline making plays.. hes the playmaker that calls out all of the plays and needs to be in that position to be most effective...also, the d- coordinator can set up schemes in which he rushes from the inside on passing downs and make him just as effective blitzing.. he also has the knack for coming up with INTs off of deflections and fumble recoveries, not to mention his ability to make tackle after tackle.. thus he needs to stay on the inside... ILB- Victor Hobson played on the inside in college and is actually better suited for that position.. he is not the fastest or most talented LB which is probably why he doesnt play the inside in the 4-3, since that position usually needs leadership, but he is huge.. he definitely has the strength to shed blocks on the inside and would work very well with vilma on the inside due to his size, (to make up for vilmas smaller size).. he could protect vilma on running plays and can fills his gaps very well and make tackles.. LOLB- Eric Barton is our second best LB on the team and needs to start, regardless of whether he is put on the inside or outside.. however, he has the talent to cover the TE on the strongside and still make plays on the QB.. we've seen his tenacity (somewhat excessive against the chargers a couple years ago) but that is a good sign from a LB.. he would fit the best as the strongside LB on our team with the size and speed needed for the position.. so this brings me to another point.. what about all the other LBs that we have brought in via FA and the draft.. where do u think they will all fit in?? are they just going to be used for depth or special teams or are we going to rotate in and out a lot?? does anyone know anything more in depth about these "unknown" players and can provide some kind of analysis?? if you do know more information, please post because i am really curious to see what we got for our LB position.. and im just mentioning the ones that have a chance to play, not just special teamers (unknown rookies) that wont play a down in the base defense.. the players i am speaking of are: matt chatham brad kassell anthony schlegel please post your thoughts if u agree or disagree with any of the discussed opinions!! jh
I think we brought in Brad Kassell to start. Hobson will be a special teamer and a backup. Kassell has racked up plenty of tackles in his days with tennessee plus he has a big body so he can keep the big guys off of vilma.
personally I think Barton is the odd man out because of his lack of dicipline. I just think that will keep him off the field. But honestly, I don't know how to figure out anything besides: vilma: ILB.
They will probably continue their experiment of using Darrell McClover as a situational pass rusher....
Hobson is too slow to play the outside in the 3-4 defense...Bryan Thomas is gonna play ROLB and he has a chance to be a great pass rusher coming off the edge.
I personally don't get how people assume we will play 3-4. If Mangini follows BBs example, then he will play whatever formation gives them the best chance against the offensive play and the opposing team. That is what made the Pats so dangerous, no one knew how to game plan, there would be different schemes all the time. I have a feeling we will be seeing the same thing. But since we are talking about LBs, I am still disappointed that they did not re-sign Kenyatta Wright. The guy was a phenomenal STs player, I love watching him lay guys out like rag dolls, and he was good for depth. I know there are only so many roster spots, but I wish they found a way to keep him.
I don't see us completely switching over to the 3-4 just yet, so I think the starters will be: Barton - Vilma - Hobson On plays where we use the 3-4, I see Kassell coming in to join Vilma in the middle for the most part. In passing sitations, I expect to see Thomas on the outside hopefully generating some sort of a pass rush. In any case, I don't think our LB's will be set in stone. I can definitely see alot of shuffling going on during the games. Hopefully, this helps our players stay fresh and have a bigger impact on the plays they are involved with.
We did a weird 34 defense in 04. We would have the 4-3 set up and then the line would shift right and Abe would stand up. He would either drop back or rush pending the play,but i bet it was putting the opposing offense through a loop.
I would love to see some schemes like this. Keep the offense on their toes and keep them guessing. Use the 4-3, 3-4, using blitzing packages that come from the LB's and the secondary. Be agressive and play with an edge. I really hope that Mangini and Sutton can pull this off.
The only definite position in my mind is Vilma playing the weak inside linebacker position, and obviously I doubt Thomas will be asked to move inside. Other than that they will be rotated or else it was retarded bringing in Kassell and Schlegel.
When? Mangini, when ask by a reporter about the 3-4, said they would play whatever scheme gives them the best chance to win that week (paraphrasing). That was the closest thing to official the FO has said about the subject. Just look at how they conducted business all off-season, do you really think they are going to officially announced their defensive scheme? Fans and the media have been assuming they are switching to the 3-4. Knowing his history with BB, this is a bad assumption. BB ran a hybrid, I think Mangini and Sutton will have something similar.
What has BT shown us that would lead you to believe he can be an excellent rush LB? His 'experience' as a DE only proves that he's a decent run stopper. He was drafted to be a pass rushing specialist, yet he has shown no ability in that area whatsoever. I'm not saying he can never be a pass rushing LB, I'm just questioning what evidence you have to believe so. BT has never lived up to his workout numbers.
You mean for that little time that he played when abe was injured a guy getting his first time to to really play, give him a decent chance
