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TonyGraziani · 03-25-2012, 03:25 PM

(03-25-2012 03:19 AM)Anomaly Wrote: Well if you want to think that way. I tend to give players the benefit of the doubt until I see them on the field.

Plus being named to an all rookie team gives me some hope for him. http://www.profootballweekly.com/story/permalink/30603

He was named for being a ST ace. We need him to replace Lofton, not Snelling/Weems. Nobody was gonna say that Shann Schillinger was ready to replace DeCoud because of his ST play. Not saying Dent won't be good, because I think he will be, but I'm not head over heels for him.

The one thing that does give me hope is the fact that our rookies never really seem to see significant action their first year. So I can't write his lack of PT off as lack of talent.

FullMetalFalcon23 · 03-25-2012, 03:25 PM

We'll know by the end of April what our roster will look like. Be interesting to see if we pick up another LB. I don't think we do. I think we pick up a TE and LT with picks 2 and 3. I don't think we add another pass rusher until next year. We have 2 guys in Sidbury and Matthews who have been untapped on the field thus far. We need to use them. We then have Biermann, Edwards and Abe. I can't see us carrying 6 DEs. We will have to work with what we have a tackle for this year. We have Babs And Corey. Babs bounces back maybe he gets one more deal. If he doesn't then we upgrade the DT spot. We have Peria. Who we won't cut as he is a cap albatross. I see him gone after the season though. We have made a move to keep Vance. He is good depth and in the event of injury is a good hold over.

I think in the next draft we could go for an DEnd in the 1st and DT or LB in the second. If our ends improve under Nolan I think our attention could turn to getting a corner or DT. That being said if we don't address the LT spot in the draft this year I believe we'll address it in the 1st next year.

There is a lot of unexplored talent on the Defense. Under Nolan, it may be found that there are far less gaps on the team than we currently see their being.

Beef · 03-25-2012, 03:29 PM

(03-25-2012 03:17 PM)Radical Wrote: On the side, a few people here who complained about BVG's scheme incessantly are now questioning Lofton. I thought the problem was that our scheme was dumb for putting Lofton on receivers, his blitzes were as obvious and telegraphed as could be, and his entire scheme was unimaginative and predictable. If that's true, then how can you blame Lofton for doing poorly in pass coverage or not having good production rushing the passer? I'm not doom and gloom here, but this isn't something to be excited about. This is entirely an, "in TD I trust move," because counting on Lofa and Akeem on the surface is not a very good alternative to Lofton at all.

How is it that you're a mod with the attitude you always post with?

If BVG didn't go to Auburn, his ass was getting fired. Don't make it sound like "complaining about him" was something only idiots did. Your condescending tone about it makes it sound like you think the guy was a genius or something.

Whether BVG's scheme was bad or not, Lofton was still put in positions to make plays and he failed to make them. No matter how you spin it, everyone on the planet knows Lofton was not good at pass rush and a liability in pass coverage. BVG didn't make him miss plays that were makable.

Beef · 03-25-2012, 03:37 PM

(03-25-2012 03:20 PM)Radical Wrote: PFF grades provide context, that list does not. This is about like when Swift tried to use Ryan's grading in PFF's revised NFL QB rating stat as a knock on Ryan when their PFF grade had him in the Top 5. I guess you can get mad at PFF too for not telling you what you want to hear.

How does that link not show context? There's only 12 LB's in the league who had better pass rushing efficiency than Tatupu in 2010 and only 13 who had better from 2008 to 2010.

That's pretty damn fair context. More so than just a grade.

**Radical** · 03-25-2012, 03:39 PM

(03-25-2012 03:29 PM)Beef Wrote: How is it that you're a mod with the attitude you always post with?

If BVG didn't go to Auburn, his ass was getting fired. Don't make it sound like "complaining about him" was something only idiots did. Your condescending tone about it makes it sound like you think the guy was a genius or something.

Whether BVG's scheme was bad or not, Lofton was still put in positions to make plays and he failed to make them. No matter how you spin it, everyone on the planet knows Lofton was not good at pass rush and a liability in pass coverage. BVG didn't make him miss plays that were makable.

The, "I disagree with you," attitude?

How do you figure he was getting fired? Our defense was hardly bad. When it came down to the game that mattered, they did more than enough to keep us in versus Eli. What were all these plays he missed? What was Lofton's pass coverage grade last year's versus Lofa's in 2010? If Dent is a two down LBer defined, how can you be excited for him to see playing time?

FullMetalFalcon23 · 03-25-2012, 03:46 PM

(03-25-2012 03:17 PM)Radical Wrote: Which is why I said that we're going to have to hope that we get the Lofa from four years ago instead of the one from 2010. I just don't see how anyone can see this as a positive development.

First off, Nolan never came out and said Lofton was a two down linebacker; it was that Pen Pwhatever guy. Second of all, people said Lofton wasn't great at pass coverage. My response is that Lofa's most recent numbers say he's just as bad, if not worse than Lofton, and that every scouting report to come out on Dent is that he is strictly a two down linebacker. So where's the upgrade? Finally, people come back with the response that TD/Smith/Nolan let him go. I say that they may not have offered what he wanted, because he is a free agent after all, and another team gave that to him. It was hardly like they just cut him after bringing in his replacement.

On the side, a few people here who complained about BVG's scheme incessantly are now questioning Lofton. I thought the problem was that our scheme was dumb for putting Lofton on receivers, his blitzes were as obvious and telegraphed as could be, and his entire scheme was unimaginative and predictable. If that's true, then how can you blame Lofton for doing poorly in pass coverage or not having good production rushing the passer? I'm not doom and gloom here, but this isn't something to be excited about. This is entirely an, "in TD I trust move," because counting on Lofa and Akeem on the surface is not a very good alternative to Lofton at all.

I agree with you on the did not cut him part, but we could have made the cap moves to keep him at his price or a price acceptable to him and we didn't. We had the time to do this prior to him hitting the market. That's a pretty bold decision. And one the three of them would not have taken lightly. I'm not saying that you are. But some folks take this as your our FO say their with their thumb up their ass. When since last year they made ready for the possibility of losing Curtis. I think you may have read War Room. We went for Dent, but we actually were after Justin Houston. It would appear that getting a LB high was a priority for our FO, someone who could pass rush and cover. In an instance like this if we lost Lofton. Nich could have moved inside and Justin and Sean played the outside spots. Those are some active LBs in all 3 phases. However it didnt work out that way. We chose not to bring Curtis back and we will currently have to go with Spoon Lofa and Nicholas. I would like to think Akeem can compete but similar to Spoon and Peterson if we do see that Akeem can be out guy going ahead. We will gradually change the guard over.

As you said, this genuinely is a situation of trust and new territory for us. It's the 1st time we have done something like this under our Current structure. I don't think you can consider Dahl something of this nature as we couldn't keep him and the others we retained with the other moves we made.

FullMetalFalcon23 · 03-25-2012, 04:02 PM

(03-25-2012 03:39 PM)Radical Wrote: The, "I disagree with you," attitude?

How do you figure he was getting fired? Our defense was hardly bad. When it came down to the game that mattered, they did more than enough to keep us in versus Eli. What were all these plays he missed? What was Lofton's pass coverage grade last year's versus Lofa's in 2010? If Dent is a two down LBer defined, how can you be excited for him to see playing time?

Didn't we resign van Gorder before last season? I genuinely thought we had. Hence why I felt him leaving was a quit or closed door firing that allowed him to walk with his dignity intact?

Beef · 03-25-2012, 04:10 PM

(03-25-2012 03:39 PM)Radical Wrote: The, "I disagree with you," attitude?

How do you figure he was getting fired? Our defense was hardly bad. When it came down to the game that mattered, they did more than enough to keep us in versus Eli. What were all these plays he missed? What was Lofton's pass coverage grade last year's versus Lofa's in 2010? If Dent is a two down LBer defined, how can you be excited for him to see playing time?

No, the condescending elitest attitude you overwhelmingly exude in every contradictory post you make. And I assure you, I'm not the only one who sees it.

And yes, BVG was getting fired. Use your head. If his job was secure and he had nothing to worry about, then why did he line up a new job in "college" within days of the season ending?? Are you going to sit here and try to tell us that it was 100% his decision and had nothing to do with him feeling the heat?

Our defense was middle of the road or slightly below average because of him, and I don't mean in a good way. His schemes sucked balls and everyone knows this. Our defense would have likely been so much better in a different scheme with the quality of players we have. Luckily we'll get to see what I'm referring to this year with Nolan.

And Dent was a tackling machine in college just as much as Lofton was, especially if you factor in that he played in the SEC on top of that.

Dent: 4.74 40, 24 bench reps, 37.5 vert leap, 123" broad jump
Lofton: 4.79, 23 bench reps, 24.5 vert leap, 105 broad jump

AsylumGuido · 03-25-2012, 04:26 PM

All I can say is if Lofton can still tackle a rusher he'll be a huge upgrade.

FullMetalFalcon23 · 03-25-2012, 04:37 PM

(03-25-2012 04:10 PM)Beef Wrote: No, the condescending elitest attitude you overwhelmingly exude in every contradictory post you make. And I assure you, I'm not the only one who sees it.

And yes, BVG was getting fired. Use your head. If his job was secure and he had nothing to worry about, then why did he line up a new job in "college" within days of the season ending?? Are you going to sit here and try to tell us that it was 100% his decision and had nothing to do with him feeling the heat?

Our defense was middle of the road or slightly below average because of him, and I don't mean in a good way. His schemes sucked balls and everyone knows this. Our defense would have likely been so much better in a different scheme with the quality of players we have. Luckily we'll get to see what I'm referring to this year with Nolan.

And Dent was a tackling machine in college just as much as Lofton was, especially if you factor in that he played in the SEC on top of that.

Dent: 4.74 40, 24 bench reps, 37.5 vert leap, 123" broad jump
Lofton: 4.79, 23 bench reps, 24.5 vert leap, 105 broad jump

Physically Dent is the superior player however because he seemed to be slow in reading and reacting to plays at times, I can see why people have some worry about him in place of Lofton who when once he committed seemed to know where he was going. All this being said Dent is no slouch.