Keeping 8 LB's?

[DavidSeven]

Remember when everyone was all mad because LB was the only position of need we didnt draft for back in April?

Fun times.

 

[DeletedAccount]

I don't like keeping Lotulelei at the expense of DT depth.

Agreed, but I think first and foremost it was a decision to keep prioritize special teams over DT depth. Still not sure I agree, though.

 

[chris98251]

Morgan I think is the guy that can play all three positions which is his value, not outstanding at any but adequete at all as a back up.

 

[olyfan63]

we have to have the SMALLEST backup LB group the league has seen in years. Ruskell would be proud

I'm concerned about that too. Last season our weakness was interior pass rush.
Our LBs overall seem like a smallish group. Lots of 5-11ish 220-ish guys. So we do have a couple exceptions, with KJ and now Bruce Irvin, in the 240-ish plus range.

Our weak spot thus far appears like it could be stopping teams with big OL's and big backs that basically out-smashmouth our fast-but-small defense. That said, our secondary is bigger than average and is a lot like having extra LB's on the field. Kam and Browner come immediately to mind.
I still have horrifying flashbacks of Christian Okoye smashing through Seahawks linebackers and safeties, and those big KC offensive lines just manhandling the Seahawks defense.
[youtube]hadj9itKjD4[/youtube]

 

[Lynch Mob]

London Fletcher(5'10,242) is good and has been for a while so i don't think you can count someone out becuase of their height. I think instincts and speed are what this team is looking for in LB's.

 

[Mick063]

This is a Colt's type defense of the Manning era built for maintaining a two score second half lead. Instead of Mathis and Freeney, Seattle has Clemmons, Irvin, and Avril. They will be hell for teams trying to make a big comeback. On the other hand, if the opponent has a lead and goes into their fourth quarter, four minute offense.................

 

[rideaducati]

we have to have the SMALLEST backup LB group the league has seen in years. Ruskell would be proud

I'm concerned about that too. Last season our weakness was interior pass rush.
Our LBs overall seem like a smallish group. Lots of 5-11ish 220-ish guys. So we do have a couple exceptions, with KJ and now Bruce Irvin, in the 240-ish plus range.

Our weak spot thus far appears like it could be stopping teams with big OL's and big backs that basically out-smashmouth our fast-but-small defense. That said, our secondary is bigger than average and is a lot like having extra LB's on the field. Kam and Browner come immediately to mind.
I still have horrifying flashbacks of Christian Okoye smashing through Seahawks linebackers and safeties, and those big KC offensive lines just manhandling the Seahawks defense.
[youtube]hadj9itKjD4[/youtube]

I only see two power run teams on the Seahawk schedule this year and no running back near Okoye's 6-1 260 lbs. The Seahawk defenses back then were nowhere near as good as what Pete and John have put together here.

 

[olyfan63]

London Fletcher(5'10,242) is good and has been for a while so i don't think you can count someone out becuase of their height. I think instincts and speed are what this team is looking for in LB's.

Not their height, more overall weight, "mass". If you're 220 and trying to deal with shedding the block of an oncoming 320-lb offensive tackle, and then tackle a 240-lb running back, it strikes me as quite a physical disadvantage. I'm thinking of guys like Malcolm Smith, who I think is 6'0ish 220-ish, but does have freakish speed. I also neglected to mention Bobby Wagner earlier, who is 6'0 and 240-ish, also with freakish speed and quickness, and great mental quickness for diagnosing plays, "instincts" if you will, which KJ also has going for him.

That's my pre-season worry, about our D being vulnerable up the middle to teams with big OL's and big backs, and with a lot of smallish linebackers. (Cam Newton is also a "big back", lol) We're probably OK with Mebane and Bryant and McDaniel, among others, providing that stoutness at the point of attack.

 

[olyfan63]

I only see two power run teams on the Seahawk schedule this year and no running back near Okoye's 6-1 260 lbs. The Seahawk defenses back then were nowhere near as good as what Pete and John have put together here.

I think the power-run teams you are thinking of would be Houston and SF, true? An argument could also be made for Carolina in that category.

Agreed that the Pete Carroll Seattle defense is vastly superior across the board. We did get exposed in a weak area, overall (especially interior) pass rush, by Detroit, Miami, and Atlanta in those late game defensive meltdowns. Hoping that being vulnerable to power running teams won't be a huge problem for our D. San Fran is probably the biggest threat that way on our schedule.

 

[rideaducati]

I only see two power run teams on the Seahawk schedule this year and no running back near Okoye's 6-1 260 lbs. The Seahawk defenses back then were nowhere near as good as what Pete and John have put together here.

I think the power-run teams you are thinking of would be Houston and SF, true? An argument could also be made for Carolina in that category.

Agreed that the Pete Carroll Seattle defense is vastly superior across the board. We did get exposed in a weak area, overall (especially interior) pass rush, by Detroit, Miami, and Atlanta in those late game defensive meltdowns. Hoping that being vulnerable to power running teams won't be a huge problem for our D. San Fran is probably the biggest threat that way on our schedule.

Actually, I was thinking Minnesota and Frisco. Personally, I think the Seahawks are going to be ahead in most games which will take the opponent's run game out. The two teams I listed are the only two on the schedule that run more than they pass. Given that their secondaries aren't very good, I think Russ will tear them up this year.

 

[firebee]

All I know is I'm happy as hell to have Bradford. That guy is a beast and he might be one of the best tacklers on our team. I don't think I've seen anybody break one of his tackles this preseason.

 

[Pandion Haliaetus]

Edit because used phone to type this message:

Seahawks linebackers aren't "small" and I wouldn't necessarily trust the weight charts at this point.

Bruce Irvin is 6-3 and was about 245-250 last year but underwent a growth transformation and now is pushing an intimidating 255-260.

KJ Wright is more 6'3 then he is 6'4 but played around 246 since entering the NFL but I would speculate that he's around 240 since his conversion to WLB. Still a pretty big WLB by average standards. Hill came in at 229 and bulked up to only 238 over the years. I actually think a nice playing weight for Wright would be around 235. Losing 10 pounds, while adding more strength and athleticism training, would make him such a deadly WILL. More or less getting him to top out with high 4.5 speed/ low 4.6 speed would be beneficial for him in coverage, and a seek and destroy role.

Bobby Wagner is 6-1 and played 241 last year I think he could max out to 250 and still keep his 4.4 speed. I'd put him around 245 now. On a side note, people want talk about how great Luke Kuechley was last year but Wagner was more productive in less defensive snaps plus was a 2nd round pick. #Value

As for your backups.

Morgan is listed at 6-3, 226 pounds but is really 241 pounds after gaining 15 pounds. However this discovery was made weeks ago and as a SAM/LEO hybrid I would suspect his target weight would be in the 245-250 area. I also don't understand the negativity surrounding Morgan, he's had the most to overcome, imo, out of all the LBers putting on 15-20 pounds and learning a relatively new role. You'd could argue Irvin but his athleticism could almost translate to a lot of position if Irvin had the knowledge and mental savvy to play those position but he doesn't. However, he did look optimistically natural playing at SAM and at least show me he was better in coverage and at tackling than I originally projected him to be. I still think he tallies 8-12 sacks this year.

Bradford is 5'10.7 inches and is listed at the 235 he played at last season but he came into the league at 242. I see him being around 240. He's a tank and one of the strongest dudes on the team.

Malcolm Smith is 6'0 and listed at 226 but I project him closer to 235. No way he doesn't bulk up switching to the Strong-side with more of prominent role near the line of scrimmage with a chance to become the starter. And while being our smallest LB, he likely is the second strongest overall in terms of having the whole athletic package, 2nd to Bobby Wagner who posted insane Vert and Broad Jumps for someone his size.

Clemons and Avril are both 6-3 and likely will push 260 coming off injuries.

Schoefield and Mayowa are both listed at 6-3 and 6-2 and both are listed at 241. However, Pete said when Schoefield signed he was around 250 and Mayowa playing LEO likely put on five to ten pounds since being signed as UDFA as a tryout in the rookie camp.

Which leaves a 6 foot 235 Heath Farwell and a 5-11 233 pound Lotulelei. Lotulelei is a player who will always look smaller than he is with that big Lion's mane trailing his body. But Im in the camp that would like to see Lotu be developed as a big safety. If Lotulelei dropped 15 pounds he'd weigh as much as Winston Guy and posess about the same athleticism with Lotu bringing much more power to the table and a slight upgrade to football intelligence.

So there you have it... don't necessarily see the size factors people are unsure about: And even if my weight projections are wrong, Malcolm Smith would be the only one to be categorized as the dimunitive linebacker type but like I said in terms of overall strength Smith woulld rank 2nd out of the LBer/LEO group. You could argue Lotu but he's about the weight you'd expect from a WLB in his first year.

 

[hox]

I don't like keeping Lotulelei at the expense of DT depth.

Agreed, but I think first and foremost it was a decision to keep prioritize special teams over DT depth. Still not sure I agree, though.

I think they are actually prioritizing pash rush. Hope that doesn't hurt our run D though. We are pretty thin there and our DTs are banged up right now.

 

[LudwigsDrummer]

Remember when everyone was all mad because LB was the only position of need we didnt draft for back in April?

Fun times.

An astute observation