Hawkscanner":13v7s1b5 said:
EverydayImRusselin":13v7s1b5 said:
Hawkscanner":13v7s1b5 said:
*Sigh* Bruce Irvin is a bit of an enigma for me right now. I mean, can you honestly as you sit here today think of any spectacular play that he made anywhere during the regular season or postseason? I can't. But at the same time, I don't know that I can really point to him as being a glaring weak link in either our run or pass coverage either. To my eye, he's been solid at best at LB -- neither a liability nor really what you'd call an asset either. Carroll brought this guy in because he could do 1 thing and do it well -- rush the passer. And that's not a bad thing nor makes him a bust by any means. If it were me, that's what I'd get back to with Irvin -- have him rush the passer and move someone else in to that WLB Position.
I know Irvin made several big plays this year. @Stl he was a monster. He had the INT on great coverage. He had that incredible FF where he chased Clemons field and stripped the ball before he could throw it. He also had a sack and 9 tackles. To me that showed what his potential is. After that game though he really dropped off the rest of the season.
Here is his line from that game. 9 tackles (8 solo) 1 sack 1 FF 1 INT. The rest of the season though 31 tackles 1 sack.
Ahhh ... I stand corrected (a bit) on that one. I'd written those comments off the top of my head, so do remember him in that Rams game now. Outside of that game though, he really didn't shine this year (when compared to the rest of Seattle's LB's that is). I mean, he did have 6 tackles in that 17-19 Loss in San Francisco, but it really didn't feel to me like he was a guy who truly made his presence known this year -- in the same way that K.J. Wright and Bobby Wagner did that is. I agree with Kip here in saying that I think Irvin would be better served doing what he does best -- Rushing the Passer on Passing Downs -- and either letting Malcolm Smith start in his place and/or bring in another LB who is extremely good at stopping the run and letting those two (Smith and LB to be determined later) split time. That's all I'm saying.
This is common with players who are learning a position. You're thinking about being in the right spot at the right time and being assignment correct, so it slows you down a bit. Irvin plays very fast, and most players comment that they feel the game slows down for them in the 2nd year. Irvin will likely play faster and more explosive next year, but Smith has played so well, how do you bench him now?
Imagine this: Smith runs a 4.4 forty. So does Irvin, but Irvin is a few inches taller and weighs about 255 lbs comapred to 226 from Smith. That's a heat seeking missile...it's dynamic plays waiting to happen.
As for Montana's post: I think you're right on both accounts. I think they like to rotate DL so they can stay fresh, they were rotating the OL because they hadn't found the guy yet and were wanting to see what the younger guys could do (also read: Carpenter and McQuistan aren't cutting it).