MLB future

[Roy P]

I wasn't quite sure where to post this, so Keith, if you want to put it in another forum, that's fine.

Currently, we are in some uneasy territory with our Golden Child, DeMeco Ryans. As is the case with Dunta Robinson and Owen Daniels, but I digress. Anyway, with a change in Defensive Coordinators, I am wondering about Ryans as a fit in our NEW defense. Successful, undersized, MLBs can have some issues if they are not in the correct scheme, one only has to take a look at Jonathan Vilma to see my point. So, I'm wondering what we might and should do with DeMeco.

First of all, I like what he has been able to do for this team since he got here. He seems like a great kid, who has a solid football IQ and is a leader for the team. I will admit that he wasn't what I wanted at the WILL, which is what I thought we were going to do with him when we drafted him, and I have no such inclination to move him there now.

There is a philosophical question concerning the front 7 of a defensive front that I'm hoping Frank Bush will answer this upcoming season. Is it better to have DTs making tackles by attacking gaps, or is it more efficient to have the LBs roaming freely to get to the RB? In another words, are we wanting 2-gap DTs or 1-gap penetrators? Looking at the roster, we should be sending guys like Okoye and now Shaun Cody into the backfield head hunting and creating havoc. Unfortunately, that leaves LBs exposed to stack and shed the blocks of 320lbs offensive Linemen.

This gets to my point. DeMeco, Xavier, Cato, and to some extent Zach need to roam free. These guys are too small to take on blocks and be effective. When I think about Jim Johnson's defense in Philadelphia, the DL is constantly putting pressure in the backfield and the LBs clean up what comes through. Gocong was a DE in college and has the ability to hand fight TEs and OL. Jerimiah Trotter was a tackling machine in that defense. Omar Gaither and Bradley Stewart aren't exactly small LBs either.

So, in the draft I would imagine that we would either want a big run plugger, 2-Gap NT to play beside Okoye or we will need to upsize the LB corps. Maybe Ryans' ex-agent wanted more money than the team wanted to spend for a guy who won't be fitting future plans. If we were to go get B.J. Raji, Ron Brace, Marlon Favorite, Louis Ellis, Antonio Dixon, Khalif Mitchell, Sammie Lee Hill, Terrence Knighton, Chris Baker, Myron Prior, or Dorrell Scott; then that's good for DeMeco. However, if the Texans get a guy like Rey Maualuga, James Laurainitis, Jasper Brinkley, Scott McKillop, or Antonio Appleby -- then we might want to determine what kind of trade value DeMeco might have.

That being said, other LBs to watch for include: Clay Matthews, Connor Barwin, Clint Sintim, Larry English, Jason Williams, Tyrone McKenzie, Victor Butler, Lee Robinson, Robert Francois, Julius Williams, Diyral Briggs, or Mike Rivera on the outside.

The DL would be allowed to take chances with a large safety net behind them.

I think some of the problems that we have had with our defense in the past has been the result of poor player talent and the lack of identity. The overall scheme hasn't matched the talents on the field. It isn't easy to blitz and leave your secondary exposed when you have poor blitzers and and a porous secondary. The sight of seeing Mario drop in coverage makes me cringe. When Okoye is asked to tie up 2 blockers, that diminishes the chances he has to make something happen. When I look at our current roster I see 3 LDEs and 3 DTs who should be playing the 3-Tech. You talk about an identity crisis.

While I'd hate to see DeMeco moved, it might be a good thing for the team. We shall see how the negotiation process and draft goes. I could envision a team that had Barwin, McKillop, and Matthews at the LB positions.