A Couple Of Things Thats Becoming Apparent

[Pandion Haliaetus]

Not necessarily a huge deal but I think Wright either needs to be MLB or call the adjustments for the Front 7.

Wagner is awesome but Wright seems to be the more cerebral player with his best positional fit in the middle where is lack of sideline to sideline speed is masked.

Wright is Tatupu-esque just bigger and longer. Same smarts , same lack of speed but a natural leader.

Another thing is the team needs to recognize that Malcolm Smith is our best linebacker THIS season and our best seeker-destroyer in the running game.

I like what Wagner and Irvin provide but you got to utilize your best players at positions that fit their strengths.

Smiths fits best at WLB.

Wright at MLB.

That leaves Wagner at SLB. If Irvin can do it, then Wagner should be able to, Wagner is stronger , stouter, and both have similar athleticism but Wagner has much more lower body explosion.

You can easily play Wagner at Sam, Wright at Mike, Smith at Will. Then in nickel packages put Irvin and Wagner on the field.

Again regardless of any theoretics , I think Wright should take over play-calling duties no matter what LB position he is in. Allow Wagner to be an athletic monster he is. Carroll is always talking about utilizing a player's strength... well they are letting one of Wright's best, his intelligence and leadership intangibles, go to waste.

Its not a big big deal or a huge problem in the bigger picture ... but if you can make your team better... then make the adjustment, right?

 

[McGruff]

I agree that we really missed having Smith out there this game.

 

[Hawks46]

I disagree with a few things:

Wright actually might be better calling a defense now, but this is halfway through Wagner's 2nd season. It's foolish to think he's reached his ceiling in almost anything.

I disagree about Smith being our best seeker-destroyer in the run game. That would be Irvin. He fills run lans so FAST it's insane. He's a bit raw though, and he lost outside contain on 2 runs that cost us 30 yards. He'll get better.

Smith is damned good, and playing very well. I'm not taking anything from him.

I posted something a couple days ago saying that Wright would be better in the middle than on the outside, as like the OP said, it masks his lack of sideline to sideline speed. Thing is, he's not better than Wagner at it. Wagner is quicker and diagnoses plays just as quickly. You're seeing Wagner hit backs 1-2 yards in the backfield where Wright gets them at the los. There's a 2 step difference no matter where you play Wright.

The other problem with Wright is that our MLB is asked to play a larger zone and roam a bit more in coverage. That also highlights Wright's lack of speed.

As much as we love Wright, he might be the odd man out if Irvin keeps progressing. Keep in mind, this is only Irvin's 4th game at LBer in any form. I haven't read about him playing it in high school (safety) and college (DE). That's all instinct and athleticism we're seeing from Irvin. It's terribly exciting.