Going in to Camp, positional concerns

[jammerhawk]

With TC now on the radar soon what are your positional concerns?

For me:

- How will the OLine perform The line seems very young and most haven't played together?
- Will the team have a capable pass rush?
- Does the team have sufficient depth or enough talent at ILB?

I genuinely have no concerns (in no particular order) about :

- the WR group,
- The RBs
- the QBs ( who will be adequate,
- the TEs
- the interior DLine
- the CBs
- the safety group (both FAs are better than many appreciate)
- the starters on S (P, PK, LS) however I'm curious as to who will be returning kicks and punts.

What players may be available for help?

 

[Bear-Hawk]

I agree 100%. If this offensive line holds up, there shouldn’t be any big issue with the rest of the offense.

On defense, job #1 is stop the run. Murphy will help on this, as well as pass rush, but I’m still “wait and see” on how the front-7 performs.

 

[Glasgow Seahawk]

Linebacker. We have zero depth right now and the perceived starters were hurt during OTA's. I think we grab some more vets there

 

[Appyhawk]

By biggest concern, far and away, is the linebackers. I also think theirs is among the most important positions in football. If they suck we have little chance of having a good year.

 

[LeveeBreak]

I like the Jenkens and Dodson FA pickups. If they perform to expecations, they will strengthen the D. Even with Dodson, LB is still thin and my biggest concern on that side of the ball.

Clearly our o-line has the biggest ???. if Cross can improve his play to top tier level, If Tomlinson can solidify LG, if Olu/Harris can solidify C, If one of Bradford/Curtis/Haynes/Lamea can competenly fill the RG , If Lucas can get/stay healthy and/or Fant fill the void otherwise.

And can the group play as a unit together considering all the new blood.

Other position groups:
Safety - Solid
CB - Spoon is elite! Riq to get coached. MJ is the biggest ? of the Dbacks.
DLine - Best potential than we've had in 5+ years.
Ends - Some injury concerns, but great potential

WR - Stacked
RB - Stacked (like to see what Mcintosh can do this year)
QB - High ceiling with Grubb IF O-line can perform
TE - Decent with high potential

Lots of IF's...cannot wait until the season is here and hoping I didn't f this all up.

 

[GemCity]

By biggest concern, far and away, is the linebackers. I also think theirs is among the most important positions in football. If they suck we have little chance of having a good year.

Definitely agree. LB is questionable but, I trust MM has a way to compliment the entire D.

 

[Glasgow Seahawk]

Definitely agree. LB is questionable but, I trust MM has a way to compliment the entire D.

I'm hoping MM is a linebacker guru similar to how Pete was with DB's in his early years

 

[Appyhawk]

I'm hoping MM is a linebacker guru similar to how Pete was with DB's in his early years

I have a hope the lights will come on for Hall so he comes to life in a big way. Not sure what to think about our LB small school pick Kelsie (?). I also like our FA additions but neither of them has yet to take part in a practice and won't until TC at the earliest. Nothing about that has feel good moment to lean on. Yet.

 

[DeSeahawk]

Linebacker is my biggest concern as well. Some of that concern might be held over from years past, as it's been a constant issue for me. They've tried, but aside from Brooks, the draft picks have pretty much been misses for years. Maybe now with the new scheme, things will work out.

I think the d line and secondary will be fine, but I'd really like to see a competent lb crew similar to the Legion days.

 

[chrispy]

Lots of unknowns with OL and CB but there's plenty of depth so it should work itself out one way or another. DL has lots of rotational players and talent so ... same... should be ok even if we don't know how it all fits yet. So, yah, concerns, but there is a plan b and c and safety net in place.

The LB group is different. There's a big ? and also no depth. If the 2 new FAs play well (come up to speed somehow with little practice...), it could be a really fun D to watch. I have confidence in MM from his LB background, but they still need time to practice. If the center of the D lags because they have had no practice, new system, new coaches... it might just be a place-holder for a year while the team learns the system and MM picks up LBs to train next off season.

Realistically though, the D can't be worse than 23. Any concern in comparison to '23's D is not causing any panic. We lived through '23 so it'll be ok and might even be really good.

 

[chris98251]

This team is not set, there still will be cuts made from other teams, LB's are typically a larger volume cut for pay or because of scheme fits, lots of coaching turnover this last year so we could see guys picked up that didn't fit one scheme but will ours.

 

[NoGain]

O-Line is my biggest concern. If our OL can become a coherent, effective, top half of the league O-Line by the start of the 2nd half of the season, like others around here, I think our overall offense is poised to become a potentially dangerous one. What else are we really lacking? Our RB corp is near top of the league. Our receiving corp is not far off the pace.

If Geno has a good supporting running game, gets reasonable protection, and Grubb's offense is as innovative as I think it might become, it wouldn't completely surprise me if we sneak into the playoffs in this expanded edition of it. We're probably going to be among a group of teams including the likes of the Rams, Tampa Bay, Atlanta, Green Bay, and Dallas all competing for the final three playoff spots beyond the division winners. If I had to guess the division winners now (a bit of a mug's game), I would go with Philly, the 49ers, the Lions, and either Tampa Bay or Atlanta.

I might be drinking the Kool-Aid, but I'm high on MacDonald as a defensive coach. I mostly like our defensive line and our CB unit, and MacDonald really showed me the last few seasons that he really knows how to get the most out of his players by putting them into positions to succeed, and, like BB, knows how to game-plan for specific teams. No doubt the LB corp is a weak spot headed into the season, though, and there is a cause for concern at the safety position as well.

I could be off base, but we'll see.

 

[CouchLogic]

Linebacker, simply because...who are they? Can't wait to find out (keeping expectations low for now).

 

[Rat]

The interior line has been a disaster the past two seasons and I'm not convinced it has been adequately addressed. We lost our best OG in Lewis (although I'm happy we're not paying him what Carolina is), I have very little faith in Tomlinson, and we're relying mostly on young mid-round picks to keep Geno upright. I really hope Olu, Wilkins, and Bradford are ready to go, because the margin of error is narrow.

 

[sutz]

The interior line has been a disaster the past two seasons and I'm not convinced it has been adequately addressed. We lost our best OG in Lewis (although I'm happy we're not paying him what Carolina is), I have very little faith in Tomlinson, and we're relying mostly on young mid-round picks to keep Geno upright. I really hope Olu, Wilkins, and Bradford are ready to go, because the margin of error is narrow.

I have some faith in our new OL coach and OC to help this out, not to mention the hew head coach. I was a Pete fan, but I really don't mind that we completely overhauled our coaching staff.

 

[IndyHawk]

This team is not set, there still will be cuts made from other teams, LB's are typically a larger volume cut for pay or because of scheme fits, lots of coaching turnover this last year so we could see guys picked up that didn't fit one scheme but will ours.

This was my thought as well, let's see who gets cut or traded during
camp by other teams before worrying too much about LBs.

 

[AROS]

Linebackers, Linebackers, Linebackers.

 

[James in PA]

Mike "The Linebacker Whisperer" Macdonald got this.

 

[CPHawk]

Linebackers, Linebackers, Linebackers.

Only right answer. We have two guys who are supposed to be starting, that are on IR right now. And Rhattigan was awful last year. If he starts, we are in for a long season.

 

[Scout]

The interior line has been a disaster the past two seasons and I'm not convinced it has been adequately addressed. We lost our best OG in Lewis (although I'm happy we're not paying him what Carolina is), I have very little faith in Tomlinson, and we're relying mostly on young mid-round picks to keep Geno upright. I really hope Olu, Wilkins, and Bradford are ready to go, because the margin of error is narrow.

I feel that the interior OL is a bigger issues that interior LBs. At ILB you have two proven vets at the top of the depth chart, a promising rookie, and two vets rounding out the depth. The interior OL features Bradford and Tomlinson who in theory should be capable of NFL average as vets. But don't be surprised if they are eclipsed by rookies like Haynes and Laumea. Nick Harris has experience and Olu rounds out the interior.

I feel that the ILB group starts off with a higher ceiling and they have less hurdles to overcome schematically. Interior OL in the NFL is not easy and that is true if one or two rookie are starting next to Olu.

For that reason I believe that at least one vet will start within one of the three interior OL positions as insurance.