Jeff Ireland..strategically speaking.

I agree, getting Jeff Ireland was a great move for the organization. The Cowboys were dealt a serious blow when they lost him to us. Last years draft was a good indicator of what kind of talent evaluator he is. Jake Long was a immediate impact player who will be with us for 10-15 more years. Phillip Merling was a guy who was drafted to be a contributor in 2009. He got his feet wet last season and I expect him to be even better this season. Chad Henne is our quarterback of the future, and has a lot of the traits you look for in a field general. And how can anyone forget the small school product in Kendall Langford? B-E-A-S-T from day one. I also really liked this years draft. We picked a lot of guys who will step in and immediately contribute. Guys like Davis, Smith, White and Turner will all see significant amounts of field time this upcoming season, and that's what you want in your rookies.

It's safe to say, I'm so glad Ireland is the general manager.

 

I love the way Ireland and the rest of FO have put the team together. With the two drafts they have been in charge of, they utilized their picks where the draft was the strongest. In 08, OT was arguably the strongest and deepest positions in that class. We ended up taking the best one right off the bat. Phillip Merling was in the top 5 of DE's. Henne was probably the third best QB. I just thought they did a real good job of taking the top talent regardless of position. In 09, they did the same thing. DB was probably the most talented position in a weak draft and we took two of the top 5 corners. I just love how they draft.

This year I expect them to go LB heavy. To many good OLB rushing prospects. They seem to use three draft picks at a position and next year I believe LB will be it with probably 2 OLB's and 1 ILB depending on how the year goes.

 

we're right on the mark in the process

 

Nice work Andrew, I enjoyed the read.

I agree with this and would add that we are really early in the potential relationship. Further, Coach said we he will have some tough decisions at WR, and LBer, that having to make these sort of decisions means the team is beginning to be where they want to be.. lots of tough decisions. Soon, everyone will be combing through our scrap heap like we have all been doing to NE for years. It keeps them in talent, depth and future picks, I can see the Ireland/Parcell plan coming to fruition in a like manner given two more drafts.

 

Regarding the lack of linebacker picks in this years past draft, I think they weren't satisfied with the talent that they saw on the board. I, among others, was a fan of Clint Sintim but they apparently were not, which surprises me because he's an ideal strong side linebacker. I think the acquisition of Jason Taylor was a stop gap one. I agree with PerfectTeam's post below.

I agree. Here's to hoping they go with a strong side (or weak side) rusher that we're fans of. Personally, I wouldn't mind seeing a guy like Corey Wootton here, provided that he's healthy from the knee injury he suffered in the bowl game. Others I wouldn't mind seeing is Brandon Lang of Troy or Jerry Hughes of TCU. James Ruffin of Northern Iowa, who I want to see more of, could be an option late. All in all, I agree with you that we will double up on the position though.

 

We are older at the OLB position and we could very well be short on depth and talent at the position depending on how Wake does. Porter will be 33. JT is only on a one year contract. Roth could very well leave. With 3-4 OLB's being fairly deep next year I just think thats the next spot they look to add youth and talent too. We have added DL, OL, DB's, WR's, a QB. OLB and ILB really is the only position it seems that they havent touched yet with a higher draft pick.

 

Corey Wootton would be great. That height would be a terror in the passing lane. He would play the SOLB right? Brandon Lang and Jerry Hughes I like. I also like Antonio Coleman and Ricky Sapp. Have you seen any tape of Willie Young or Auston English? Both guys have the right measurables but I haven't seen them live.

 

I know it ain't the PoFo cause I agree with Paddy.

The only thing I'd add, is that when you draft/acquire two at a time, there's less holes you can fill in a given offseason. We had holes on the OL, WR, D Backfield, ILBs and pass rusher. I think they knew coming in, they'd only be able to solve a couple of those, and they let the draft and market dictate which they'd fill. Which is brilliant.

I may be wrong, but I have a quiet theory, that if they only draft one player at a position, then those are the players with the biggest boom or bust factor. I say that because, it means if they draft 2 for need, then when they draft one, its because of a high potential ceiling.

 

I really think that all the descisions that are made will show its roots later.

 

That sounds like it came out of a fortune cookie!

But you're probably right.

 

JT could and so could JP but with their advanced age, how long do you count on them? Eventually we need to start thinking about having their replacement groomed depending on how the season goes. Having someone like Lang or Coleman sitting behind Porter for a year or two and learning isn't such a bad thing. Will they pick a LB next year as of right now? I have no idea. I'm just looking at the senior talent available next year and that seems to be one of the deeper positions right now and they just happen to love stock piling at that position.

 

It will be a grand day when the talking heads mention the NFL's reigning genius, it will be Ireland and not Bellicheat.

 

That's the question. Do we sign Roth? What about Jason Taylor? He's not young either. Cameron Wake hasn't proven anything (yet). Who knows if he pans out? Whose going to replace Joey Porter in a couple years?

Good call on Sapp, I like him too. I haven't seen any of Coleman though. I've seen Willie Young tape and he's real inconsistent from what I've seen but that's speaking off of two games or so games. Every time I want to watch English he's injured so I miss out on him lol.

 

Well then Im guessing English may not be on the radar if he is injured a lot lol. My mention of Willie Young is strictly just based off his height/weight/speed.

 

Lol. And to answer your question earlier that I missed, sorry about that by the way, Corey Wootton would be a strong side 'backer for us. Another name that always intrigued me was Arizona State's Dexter Davis at strong side linebacker. He struggles with body control when getting under the pads of blockers if I remember correctly but he's not a bad player somewhere in the mid-rounds.

 

"Depending on how he does this season".

I'm not saying ship him out but he's not young and linebackers have fallen off at the age of thirty-five I believe but I could be wrong.

I agree with all of that, except the CFL comment. That doesn't mean much to me personally. Its the CFL, no disrespect to the players over there but that's where all the draft busts go. However, my point was that you don't know if he's going to pan out and if he struggles this upcoming season, you may need to look for a guy who can push him.

Joey Porter has had back and knee troubles in the past, its no secret. You, I or they don't know how long he will hold up. Further, if you are an early pick, you will play and have expectations but that doesn't mean you have to be a starter from the beginning. If your rookie is playing just as well as your veteran, in this case Porter, and he's cheaper, the vets on a short leash.

 

Correct. "If".

Yes. If the guy is aging and is hindering the development of young guys, he'll be out of here. Remember that statement from Jeff Ireland? That's how they will do soon after this season.

He's still getting up there in age. He's not going to last forever and considering how much they have stated that they want to get the younger guys playing time, that doesn't bode well for Jason, especially considering his age and possible poor play.

How many quality OT's has Cameron Wake played against? I mean come on dude, I know you like him a lot but he's done nothing more than what Sintim or any other defensive end/outside linebacker in this past draft class has done. Wake's been in one training camp and got cut form it. That's it.

I'm not following you here. What's your point? They acquire more picks? They've always done that.

They do play on day one but they don't necessarily start. I don't understand the rest of your comment and how it relates to this.

Wake is a rookie.

 

Well I believe Vonnie was let go due to his increasing age, production that did not match his salary and the fact that we have talent behind him. Yeremiah Bell's play matches up to his contract and we had no depth behind him. To be honest, I could see Bell gone in two years depending on how Clemons does.

As for Roth, a lot is going to come down to what he wants to be paid. The guy is a monster at setting the edge but he needs to provide more consistent pass rush in order to justify spending a great deal on him.

 

Vonnie was going to be paid $5.75 million this year. We paid Jason $1.5.

 

I think we have time for a learning curve. If we didn't, we wouldn't have signed Cameron Wake to play linebacker.

I think the reason we passed on Clay Matthews was because of his lack of time on the field over a four year span at USC. His bust potential was much higher than any one else in the first round in my opinion. I think that there actually is a place for Clay on this team. I think he could have been a strong side linebacker. While he doesn't have a great first step, he uses his hands really well and can set the edge well because of his good strength. I also think that his ability on special teams is something that had to be tempting as well as his ability to play inside linebacker. In my opinion, Matthews could have played ILB pretty well. He doesn't struggle much in coverage, which is impressive considering how little he's played in real time and considering he was a rotational player at a position in which he was asked to go downhill a lot. He mirrors well when covering tight ends and has good lateral speed. On opening day though, he could have been a rotational linebacker, a special teams player, and a substitute at inside linebacker. Who knows if Vontae even starts?

Wake can contribute faster than Matthews based of off what? He's done just as much as Matthews in the NFL.

 

He's still a rookie.

We went with Vontae because he was probably at the top of the draft board and was a good cover corner at Ilinois. Also because of Matthews history, which I pointed out in my post.

From everything I've read, Wake started only his senior season at Penn State. The coaching staff does have a better look at Cameron Wake based off of what the CFL tapes showed, I'm not arguing that. My argument is that he hasn't done **** in the NFL, just like Clay Matthews.

Did I not say that we passed on Matthews because of his lack of playing time on the field?

I don't know how you can make that statement with a straight face.

 

Matthews could have replaced Akin Ayodele. Also, he doesn't have to be the starter. According to your post, he wouldn't have "sniffed" the field. Do you honestly believe that he wouldn't have even gotten in from a rotational standpoint at OLB or ILB? Not even special teams?

And I don't know if he would have the same impact as Davis. Its possible.

 

JT also plays a position where we dont have depth like we do at DE. JT doesn't necessarily impede Wake's progress either.

 

I think this speaks more of 'the plan'....This regime has a defined, logical plan of how to improve and build the talent base on this team. In 2007, aside from the coaching and organizational issues we had, the one thing that stood out to most was the dearth of talent on this team. We had a few bona fide players and two of them were aging D players (ZT and JT). Look at where we are now...we have a young but strong looking secondary, strong enough that our #1 pick from a couple of years ago doesn't look to have a spot. We have a DL strong enough for them to let go one of the stalwarts, another aging player in Holliday. We have an OL that despite injuries to 2 of 5 starters last year, was vastly improved and looks even stronger this year, looking even stronger even having dumped one of the 'stalwarts' (Satele) of the 2008 campaign. The QB position is vastly improved. I think if Penny got hurt and Henne flopped last season, there'd have been mass hysteria and fans jumping off of skyscrapers if we'd have had to put Beck in. Now, Penny could still get hurt and still lacks some in physicality of the position, but would anyone be committing suicide if he does get hurt ?? All that Henne and/or White are lacking is experience at this level, but Henne has a history of being the man wherever he's been and White is proving more and more that he may just be more than simply a WC guy. He has the 'it' factor, like Henne that QBs need at this level if not the classic dropback style. The WRs position looks to be stronger than in past years. I still think that Cammy may have some issues and it might be a 'wise' move by Ireland to put him on the PUP given our other options in Turner, Hartline and London to give those guys a chance to develop further, provided Cammy isn't 100% which may yet be the case. Ironically the weak link on the O might yet be TE and even that doesn't look too weak. Defensively, all the areas have been addressed. Now, this is June and the pads haven't come on yet. We won't know about how some of these guys progress until later but overall, this team has a significant amount of talent compared to the last 5 seasons....