Quote:
Originally Posted by nunusguy
I've never seen anybody say that Laurinaitis could play any position in the NFL but MLB which leads to the only conclusion possible, which is the Texans haven't completely closed the door to the idea of moving DeMeco to OLB.
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Where have you been looking? Maybe they expect him to slide into the 2nd round, much like DeMeco did during his draft.
http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/draft/players/563624
He might be a
better fit for an outside position, as he shows a good flow to the ball, but it's unlikely he has the physical strength to match up to the more physical NFL blockers attacking from the middle (more of a pile-on tackler than one that steps up to initiate contact). He has the speed and range to cover the field coming from the outside and that quickness seems a better fit for him to apply pressure coming off the edge.
He is not effective in his backside pursuit due to getting absorbed by bigger blockers, making him a
better candidate to play on the outside, due to a combination of adequate strength and his good ability to flow to the ball when giving long distance chases.
His lack of raw strength playing inside is a bit of a concern, especially when trying to play off blocks, making me feel he is
better suited as a weak-side outside linebacker. He does play with good knee bend and keeps his hands active in attempts to shed. He is just not the type that will fill hard or stack at the point of attack, as he can be pinned and sealed by the bigger opponent and must work around blocks rather than take them on.
Lateral Pursuit/Range: Laurinaitis knows this is one of his better assets, and would be better utilized like A.J. Hawk (Packers) as a
weak-side linebacker, he will be much more productive than he can be in the middle. He struggles at time to get through traffic and maintain position at the point of attack, but plays with good effort and better production in pursuit.
http://www.thehuddlereport.com/ppSD/...aurinaitis.htm
James is a solid player who might be playing out of position at the college level and could have more of an impact at the NFL level as a
rush OLB in a 4-3 defense that uses a lot of zone coverage in defending the pass.
I could see him playing for the Garden State Giants because they have such good down linemen; James would fit that situation very well. The Giants have the luxury of playing their LB's back off the line further than most LB's in a 4-3 play. This allows less athletic LB's to have better angles and not such long drops in the passing game.