Brandon Lloyd Christmas Posted February 20, 2007 Share Posted February 20, 2007 why he is not our middle linebacker? hes 6'3 250, the ideal size for a MLB, and hes our best linebacker. why doesnt he switch to the middle? we could have rocky on the outside, and somebody else on the outside (they could come internally or through draft/FA, and i know all of us would love to see that Trucks kid get a shot, just so we could come up with catchy phrases that involved people getting "trucked"). but honestly, why isnt washington in the middle? im sure this has been discussed, but i didnt see a thread in the search and i forget why hes not starting so im all ears if anyone knows. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LiveStrongSkins Posted February 20, 2007 Share Posted February 20, 2007 Because he is too valuable in coverage and does a good job against the good tight ends in the division. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CBass1724 Posted February 20, 2007 Share Posted February 20, 2007 Isn't Lemar Marshall supposed to be good in coverage? It seems like it wouldn't be bad to have Marcus in the middle with Rocky and Marshall on the outside. Preferably an upgrade over Marshall. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
#98QBKiller Posted February 20, 2007 Share Posted February 20, 2007 Because he is too valuable in coverage and does a good job against the good tight ends in the division. ^------- What he said. And if we get a great DT & DE in the offseason, Marshall's job should be a lot easier next year and we can focus on a long-term MLB for the future in the 2008 offseason instead of trying temporary solutions like London Fletcher or moving Marcus to the middle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LiveStrongSkins Posted February 20, 2007 Share Posted February 20, 2007 It's two different positions. Marcus excels as a pass rusher and does a great job in strong side run support. It is hard to get two people on him since he plays outside. He would be alot less effective at MLB because it would be alot easier to get a double team on him and run right at an undersized outside linebacker. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HailSkinz1 Posted February 20, 2007 Share Posted February 20, 2007 Because he is too valuable in coverage and does a good job against the good tight ends in the division. There's your answer. MW is too athletic to put in the middle. You need a hitter and a stuffer there, not a guy with speed and coverage skills. Hail, H Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandon Lloyd Christmas Posted February 20, 2007 Author Share Posted February 20, 2007 good info, thanks guys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dead Money Posted February 20, 2007 Share Posted February 20, 2007 There's your answer. MW is too athletic to put in the middle. You need a hitter and a stuffer there, not a guy with speed and coverage skills. Hail, H However, our defense has been playing more Cover 2 more and more. Isn't the MLB in a Cover Two Scenario responsible for the deeper portion of the middle of the field when safeties are proving help over the top? Don't get me wrong, I don't want to see MW in the middle, I think he's great on the strong side. So Our MLB position is more suited to a MLB with great coverage skills? Lemar would be fine if the line was playing better. I still think the answer is beefing up the DL. When our line stuffed the run we were awesome. A huge DT will change things considerably IMHO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth Tater Posted February 20, 2007 Share Posted February 20, 2007 Isn't Lemar Marshall supposed to be good in coverage? It seems like it wouldn't be bad to have Marcus in the middle with Rocky and Marshall on the outside. Preferably an upgrade over Marshall. Our MIKES primary responsibilities are coverage (in some defensive calls, he has safety responsibility), sideline to sideline clean-up and shutting down cut-backs. When he has to make a play at the point of attack, the DTs are responsible for keeping him clean. The SAM must be able to cover the flats and take on power plays at the point of attack while staying clean enough to make the play. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth Tater Posted February 20, 2007 Share Posted February 20, 2007 However, our defense has been playing more Cover 2 more and more. Isn't the MLB in a Cover Two Scenario responsible for the deeper portion of the middle of the field when safeties are proving help over the top? Don't get me wrong, I don't want to see MW in the middle, I think he's great on the strong side. So Our MLB position is more suited to a MLB with great coverage skills? Lemar would be fine if the line was playing better. I still think the answer is beefing up the DL. When our line stuffed the run we were awesome. A huge DT will change things considerably IMHO. Cover-2 has been our primary defense since at least 2004! We actually used it less last year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pjfootballer Posted February 20, 2007 Share Posted February 20, 2007 I think we should keep him there as he is more effective and has shown to be a pro-bowler at that position. I thought about it earlier in another thread about 2 months ago, but I've changed my mind and want him to stay at SSLB. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skinstzar Posted February 20, 2007 Share Posted February 20, 2007 We had a good MLB who has made the pro bowl a time or two but he didn't fit here, now he plays for Philly, it was his fault though. We had a good MLB who has made the pro bowl a time or two but he didn't fit here, he now plays for NY. He should have taken the money though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G-Prime Posted February 20, 2007 Share Posted February 20, 2007 Wonder how smart Rocky is.. Washington, McIntosh, Marshall. He's a shade bigger then Marshall and a shade smaller then washington. Maybe if he bulked up a bit.. Despite Marshall's problems last year, he's a Redskins guy. I'd like to keep him on the field somehow because he's all heart. I just think he was severely over matched in run support. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D-Day Posted February 20, 2007 Share Posted February 20, 2007 If we had a better option at slb then I could and would love to see him move inside. As of right now he is our best option. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
909997 Posted February 20, 2007 Share Posted February 20, 2007 NO we are not putting sean taylor or marcus washington in for MLB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandon Lloyd Christmas Posted February 20, 2007 Author Share Posted February 20, 2007 NO we are not putting sean taylor or marcus washington in for MLB no one in this thread sean taylor for MLB to my knowledge. that would be dumb dumb dumb. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SHYSTER411 Posted February 20, 2007 Share Posted February 20, 2007 no one in this thread sean taylor for MLB to my knowledge. that would be dumb dumb dumb. Not in this thread, but Im pretty sure there was a thread started about this a little while ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cmorina69 Posted February 20, 2007 Share Posted February 20, 2007 NO we are not putting sean taylor or marcus washington in for MLB Agreed keep MW where he is, he fell of a little last year but he is still our best LB we don't need to mess with anything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CBass1724 Posted February 20, 2007 Share Posted February 20, 2007 I really think Rocky could be the MLB of the future here. In college he played everywhere and one of the reasons we drafted him was that he was versatile enough for all 3 positions. I know Lemar was injured some last year, but I just think he doesn't shed blocks quickly enough and plays too small for the middle. Sean Taylor at MLB would be interesting, but I think he is more dangerous at safety and should stay there forever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Troy Fakeman Posted February 20, 2007 Share Posted February 20, 2007 HURT-ing............ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chump Bailey Posted February 20, 2007 Share Posted February 20, 2007 It's two different positions. Marcus excels as a pass rusher and does a great job in strong side run support. It is hard to get two people on him since he plays outside. He would be alot less effective at MLB because it would be alot easier to get a double team on him and run right at an undersized outside linebacker. I agree with this much more so than the 'value in coverage' answer... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Friend of the Devil Posted February 20, 2007 Share Posted February 20, 2007 Isn't Lemar Marshall supposed to be good in coverage? It seems like it wouldn't be bad to have Marcus in the middle with Rocky and Marshall on the outside. Preferably an upgrade over Marshall. Lemar wasn't good at much this year. Coverage didn't seem to be one of his strong points. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cali Boi Posted February 20, 2007 Share Posted February 20, 2007 the reason Marcus is outside is cause of speed. ML have to cover the whole field. Big, stout lb's like Marcus are best suited to be sam backs who take on te and run stoppers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tastes Like Chicken Posted February 20, 2007 Share Posted February 20, 2007 I would imagine that if they were going to try MW at the Mike, they would've done it a while back. MW's great in his current role, and I'd be hesitant to mess with that, plus try to find a new Sam. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FS36 Posted February 21, 2007 Share Posted February 21, 2007 I would imagine that if they were going to try MW at the Mike, they would've done it a while back. MW's great in his current role, and I'd be hesitant to mess with that, plus try to find a new Sam. Yup, screwing with MW's position leads to who's going to fill the strong side now? Also, it's not all about size. Marcus is good at what he does on the strong side, i.e. shadow TE's, outside pass rush, but middle linebacker is a whole different skill set. The most important thing for a middle linebacker is his ability to shed blockers and read the gaps. They have to have a nose for getting to the ball carrier by sifting through the big bodies on the line. Here's a list of decent-good MLB's that all weigh about the same as Lemar Marshall. The criteria for this list was they had to weigh under 240. Nick Barnett (GB), Gary Brackett (IND), Will Witherspoon (STL), Chris Draft (CAR), Donnie Edwards (SD, ILB, not a true middle, but relevant), Larry Foote (PIT, ILB), Mike Peterson (JAX), Antonio Pierce (NYG), Shelton Quarles (TB), DeMeco Ryans (HOU, DROY), Lofa Tatupu (SEA), Zach Thomas (MIA), Jonathan Vilma (NYJ). So you can see there are plenty of good MIKE LB's out there that weigh about the same as Marshall. If you include people right at 240 you get people like Al Wilson. Some of the people on this list weigh far less than Marshall. Donnie Edwards is 227, Zach Thomas is 228, and Jonathan Vilma is 230. It's not how big the guy is, it's how fast can he get thru the O-line and to the ball carrier. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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