Is Jesse WIlliams the guy that will replace Red Bryant?

??? I know he normally has played inside.....just wondering what others think.

I red something this morning about the plan was for him to play the 3 technique. I'm not well versed in the numbers down there, but I think that meant putting him over a guard. It would seem to make potential sense though, he's big, strong, and moves well. Maybe a season or two of seasoning and that's where he'll end up. I wouldn't be surprised but that didn't sound like what they have in mind yet.

All I know is that we have a pretty nice rotation of players. It is up to Quinn and co. to figure out when and where to use each one of them.

The great thing about Williams, is that he's played every position on our line other than LEO.

He could play 1, 3 or 5. Probably best suited for 1 or 5. Also well suited to play our base 3. Not surprised Pete said he sees him at the three. Figure he's the 1st/2nd down 3 technique. In that role, I'd expect we'll see a better result in terms of pocket collapse than we did with Branch.

I expect he'd be a flat out pass rush upgrade to Bryant should he be an injury/eventual replacement for him. That's not saying much. But the bar in that regard is set awfully low. Williams can bring everything Bryant brings in terms of setting an edge and playing stout against the run.

I'd expect the long term plan is to be Bryants successor. Mainly because getting a 5 technique in that kind of body is generally tough to find. But his versatility means he doesn't have to wait until Bryant is kicked to the curb in order to have value to the team. Realistically, Mebane and Bryant need to be able to take snaps off. They are consistently wearing down now even on years they don't suffer season ending injuries. Williams is going to bear some of that.

I really like the makeup of this DL group. So much redundancy. And the versatility puts us effectively nearly 3 deep at every position. And not just camp body 3 deep either.

I think he's a Branch replacement at 3-technique. I think Scruggs and Bennett will backup Bryant.

HawkGA":3urrvdxh said:

I red something this morning about the plan was for him to play the 3 technique. I'm not well versed in the numbers down there, but I think that meant putting him over a guard. It would seem to make potential sense though, he's big, strong, and moves well. Maybe a season or two of seasoning and that's where he'll end up. I wouldn't be surprised but that didn't sound like what they have in mind yet.

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Nose tackle is a 0. Count outwards from there on shoulders and head.

3 tech is guard shoulder on the tackle side.
5 tech is head up on the tackle.


Edit: Quoted wrong person.

I'm not a draft guru, but I got the impression that Hill was more of the 3 tech while Williams is more of a NT type guy. I could be totally wrong, but from the general draft scouting stuff I've read, that's what I get out of it.

Good to hear Williams is a bit more versatile than I'd heard (if that's the case). Brings more value to where he was drafted at. Also keep in mind that Red did a decent job of rushing the passer when he was healthy. That foot was really giving him hell last year, so I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of these guy that are suppposed to replace Bryant can't do it if he returns healthy.

Jesse Williams inspired Brock Huard haha

Personally I'm hoping its Michael Bennet so we can actually get some pass rush from that spot

The Elephant end would be good for him my opinion. Size and mobility. Slide him to 3 tech DT and watch Hill play the 5 with his agility. Why? Hill would be very active and around the ball. Many parts will be mixed and matched. I am sure nothing is set in stone. We are loads deep on paper....I would imagine it would depend upon the match up and the rookie learning curve as well. Hill and Williams. So much potential.
This is a great team and .net great fans to learn from.

I think if we took a page out of the 49ers, we see that Justin Smith's job was to get double teamed and not lose ground.
What this did, was plug the middle, allowing Aldon Smith to have field days. Notice how many sacks Aldon had without Justin? 0

It's what Jesse and Hill are going to have to do, be good enough to draw double teams, hold fast the middle(not allowing the qb to step up out of harms way) and then let the edge rushers collapse on the qb.

This is where I see Avril at SAM to be a force. You have Red manning his position, not a rusher, but a run stopper and then Avril on pass play rush the passer with Bennet on the other side rushing as well.

THey can't run
They can't pass
You can only hope to punt.

Atradees":215omtt8 said:

This is a great team and .net great fans to learn from.

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I know right? I can't wait until my 3 year old is old enough to play ball so I can coach. I'll have those little bastards running the 4-3 under just like Coach Pete!

I'm not so sure about "replace" Bryant, more of "push" him.

Bryant had a down year by his new contract standards. So Pete and John made a concerted effort to go out and draft high motor players that'll push Red to get back to the form we need him. But if Red can't get back to form? Then yes we're talking about potential replacement.

Sgt. Largent":qur6pw4p said:

I'm not so sure about "replace" Bryant, more of "push" him.

Bryant had a down year by his new contract standards. So Pete and John made a concerted effort to go out and draft high motor players that'll push Red to get back to the form we need him. But if Red can't get back to form? Then yes we're talking about potential replacement.

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pretty much, yeah. But if Red can't do what he's supposed to do for whatever reason, it'll be good to have a replacement Red on board.

Also, Red's contract gets really expensive ($7m) around the same time Richard Sherman and Russell Wilson's contracts come due (2015 & 2016 respectively). It'll be a lot easier to cut him or demand he restructure with a suitable replacement waiting in the wings...

I think so. He's got amazing speed for a D-Lineman. He can chase runners down or cut them off and shut down the run on his side of the field.

Ideally, if Bennett plays well and we can find a way to keep him after this season, we would have Bennett at LEO and Williams at run-stuffing DE. People would be totally unable to run on our team with that package in the game. Sub in Avril on third down at LEO and move Bennett inside...I'm drooling.

Sgt. Largent":1823va1m said:

I'm not so sure about "replace" Bryant, more of "push" him.

Bryant had a down year by his new contract standards. So Pete and John made a concerted effort to go out and draft high motor players that'll push Red to get back to the form we need him. But if Red can't get back to form? Then yes we're talking about potential replacement.

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Red needs no push, IMO. His health determines if he 'returns to form.' Jesse is for rational purposes and insurance against Red coming up lame. The rotation might reduce Red's reps enough to where his foot issues are less likely to flare up.

Yes. This is the year where PC/JS selected players for the future. If it's this year, great, but me thinks it's next year when the Hawks need to sign ET, Shern, etc. Cutting players with big contracts with players on first contracts make sense.

Williams is projected to replace Red
JHill is projected to replace Mebane
Harper is projected to replace Rice
Simon is projected to replace Browner
Ware is projected to replace RealRob
The slew of OLinemen will replace whomever

Atradees":132xb2o1 said:

The Elephant end would be good for him my opinion. Size and mobility. Slide him to 3 tech DT and watch Hill play the 5 with his agility. Why? Hill would be very active and around the ball. Many parts will be mixed and matched. I am sure nothing is set in stone. We are loads deep on paper....I would imagine it would depend upon the match up and the rookie learning curve as well. Hill and Williams. So much potential.
This is a great team and .net great fans to learn from.

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Elephant is LEO . . . Clemons, Avril, Irvin. Not sure Williams fits that role.

I don't think they would value red's position that much over where he is at now so I don't see his contract going up much cuz other teams won't pay more for him
They know that coaches and players who get better are going to be picked up by other teams so they actually encourage that and bring in new talent to compete
They will almost never pay more than the market value for a player unless he has some specific qualities they covet
The harvin trade surprised me but with this draft it made sense , so tear up last years play book this oughta be fun

McGruff":19k82gjm said:

Atradees":19k82gjm said:

The Elephant end would be good for him my opinion. Size and mobility. Slide him to 3 tech DT and watch Hill play the 5 with his agility. Why? Hill would be very active and around the ball. Many parts will be mixed and matched. I am sure nothing is set in stone. We are loads deep on paper....I would imagine it would depend upon the match up and the rookie learning curve as well. Hill and Williams. So much potential.
This is a great team and .net great fans to learn from.

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Elephant is LEO . . . Clemons, Avril, Irvin. Not sure Williams fits that role.

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RDE. Reds 5 tech. My bad.