jlwaters1":2b12n5bz said:
jblaze":2b12n5bz said:
That's a good point. There's been talk about moving Irvin back to DE to get Smith on the field as well. DE's usually take a little while to develop and get stronger, maybe Irvin is ready. He's still pretty small though and a liability in the run game but maybe on pass downs.
That's not true. Everyone keeps saying stuff like this. His official listing as a rookie was 5 pounds short of Clemmons, and yet no one complained about Clem's size. After 2 years of development Irvin should be fine. He should be in the Von Miller type role this year. SAM Lber on base situations and rush end on nickel situations.
Frankly, I don't understand the concern. On pass rushing situations you had Clem & Avril @ ends, now you'll have Avril and Irvin (which he played as a rookie) not a big deal. You've got Bennett on the inside in those situations. YOu still have McDaniel and Mebane on running downs. Hill flashes ability in his limited work last as did Scruggs as a rookie. I think you'll see those 2 pick up the slack. We will obviously draft a player or 2 to help in this situation as well.
I'm glad we didn't sign Allen, gives us more ability to lock up Thomas and Sherman.
I'm not talking about weight, I'm talking about how he plays. He plays small at times and gets pushed around by tackles. He has no speed to power move and his bullrush is weak. His one move is speed around the edge but tackles know that so it makes him less effective. He needs to improve his lower body strength and technique.
Also we do not know if he will go back to the DE although it seems more likely now. Also I noticed someone tweeting something to him not long about about sacks and Irvin tweeted back that he misses sacks and that there will be more to come. I would assume he's alluding to him being more of a strong side LB on rush downs but rotating in a RE on obvious pass downs. I think he has the athletic ability to do both but he relies on his athletic ability too much at times. He needs to become more of a technician and develop some moves to vary his game and help his leverage.
Regardless, we'll be just fine. Last year we had an embarrassment of riches. This year the rotation will shorten a bit but we're lucky we have a guy like Irvin to move back to DE with the LB depth (Smith) to not lose a lot in that transition. Should be fun to watch, I've always liked Irvin although he was taken way too early in the draft.