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Cunningham or Cole? (1 Viewer)

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With Cushing's 10-game ban, who takes over? Cole backs up Cushing on the Texans depth chart, but Cunningham was the one who played the lion's share of snaps when Cushing left with a concussion. Anyone have any intel on this one. Could be gold.

 
I know nothing about Cole but waivers run in a few hours.  Deep dynasty and I already own Cunningham in a bunch.

 
Just found this on CBS.com

"With Cushing out, the Texans are going to turn to a linebacker-by-committee to replace him with Texans rookies Dylan Cole and second-round draft pick Zach Cunningham getting most of the snaps, according to defensive coordinator Mike Vrabel. 

"Everybody's going to play,'" Vrabel said, via the Houston Chronicle. "Zach will be in there. Dylan will be in there. I'm sure Brian Peters will play in the game, too. All hands are on deck."

Hey Vrabel - C'mon, man!

Guess we'll find out for sure tomorrow.

 
What are those comments about Cunningham playing outside?
Cunningham came in for Cushing as soon as he was concussed, right ?   Was curious about that link as well, although dude does seem pretty well versed from other stuff he's reported on.  

 
Jeff Risdon @JeffRisdon

Replying to @JayArrNFL

Dylan Cole will take his spot, not Cunningham

Jeff Risdon @JeffRisdon·1h

Cunningham plays outside, Texans won't move him

Jeff Risdon @JeffRisdon·55m

His propensity to try and run around every block was bad news on the inside

 
Where I have the choice/option Im going Zach. Not buying into the report.

And Im perfectly okay with being wrong.  But Ill be wrong with my own estimations. :shiny:

 
After Cushing went out they played Cunningham and McKinney in base and short yardage with Cole replacing Cunningham in nickel. On the last JAX series they pulled McKinney and played Cunningham/Cole in base. Cole was primarily a nickel WILL but with the way McKinney lines up on the line so much Cole looks more like a dime MIKE at times.

According to PFF Cunningham played 4 snaps at edge and 24 snaps inside so I don't understand anything about this talk about him playing outside.

I am surprised that Cunningham is playing base and short yardage, and not nickel, as I thought his coverage skills was his strength as an NFL prospect. But I guess he might not be comfortable enough in the system to play nickel yet...who knows.

 
Seems like the evidence suggests starting either player will be a risk, since neither sounds like they're getting the 3 down LB endorsement at this time. Add & stash material, but to risky to plug into the starting lineup for this week. 

 
Seems like the evidence suggests starting either player will be a risk, since neither sounds like they're getting the 3 down LB endorsement at this time. Add & stash material, but to risky to plug into the starting lineup for this week. 
Yeah, Cunningham played a lot this game after Cush went out, but JAX went with a lot of heavy formations in the 2nd half which forced HOU into base. If they go up against a team that's heavy on 3WR sets Cunningham would not see nearly enough snaps to be a comfortable start if we are basing our expectations on what they did in week 1. To me the most likely scenario is a split for the first 3-5 games, but at some point I expect Cunningham to get it and pull ahead.

 
drewd_21 said:
Jeff Risdon @JeffRisdon

Replying to @JayArrNFL

Dylan Cole will take his spot, not Cunningham

Jeff Risdon @JeffRisdon·1h

Cunningham plays outside, Texans won't move him

Jeff Risdon @JeffRisdon·55m

His propensity to try and run around every block was bad news on the inside
I wonder if this guy doesn't understand the nuances of 3-4?  He sees Clowney on the edge and since Cunningham is "outside" of the other ILB and no other LB is lined up off, he calls him OLB? 

 
I wonder if this guy doesn't understand the nuances of 3-4?  He sees Clowney on the edge and since Cunningham is "outside" of the other ILB and no other LB is lined up off, he calls him OLB? 
Quite possibly true. I am only basing this on what i have read, have not witnessed it with my own eyes so can't really comment until i do.

Seems like the evidence suggests starting either player will be a risk, since neither sounds like they're getting the 3 down LB endorsement at this time. Add & stash material, but to risky to plug into the starting lineup for this week. 
^^^This sounds like the best course of action to me.....neither one is startable right now until things become clearer but both are definitely worth stashing where possible imo. I believe in Cunningham long term and invested in him everywhere i could, but i also started adding Cole everywhere i could but it won't be a great loss if this is all just fluff and amounts to nothing.

Can't find it now but i do remember reading in pre season that they were high on Cole, just never got chance to see it for myself.

 
^^^This sounds like the best course of action to me.....neither one is startable right now until things become clearer but both are definitely worth stashing where possible imo. I believe in Cunningham long term and invested in him everywhere i could, but i also started adding Cole everywhere i could but it won't be a great loss if this is all just fluff and amounts to nothing.

Can't find it now but i do remember reading in pre season that they were high on Cole, just never got chance to see it for myself.
@ChicagoArch was all over this guy and it went right past me.

 
I prefer Cole and think he looks like the more natural ILB out of the two, but the reality is that Cunningham will get a push as their second round pick. That's generally how the NFL works.

As a Cole owner in dynasty, I just want to see a little bit of involvement this week, maybe a couple of tackles.

 
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It's Cunningham an McKinney in base, Cunningham and Cole in nickel.  Mostly base.  Cole played special teams, made tackle on opening kickoff.

 
Pretty consistent from when I started tracking (3rd drive)

12 - McKinney/Cunningham

11 - McKinney/Cole

10 - Cunningham/Cole

McKinney really gets lost on passing plays.

 
Game #2:

  • Z Cunningham 43 plays 67% (started at Mike)
  • D Cole 23 plays 36%
Zach posted the games 3rd highest PFF player rating... Behind JJ Watt and Geno Atkins. :stalker:

 
And McKinney at 98.4% of snaps, up from 92.2% last week, but he's rushing A LOT. Great for big play leagues but not sure if that's a best case scenario in tackle heavy.

 
It is when he has two sacks.  That's worth 3 solos in my leagues.  Great coaching, this isn't a guy that showed much pass rush ability in college but they are getting it out of him.

 
Absolutely, but he's not going to end up with 32 sacks this year so I'm worried about those games where he'll might have 3-4 tackles and zero sacks. But we'll see how it develops. He rushed on 47% of passing snaps this week, 43% in week 1. A typical number for an ILB is 10-15%, or as high as 20-30% for off ball LBs that are considered as part time rushers (Jamie Collins rushed on 32% of plays last week), so 45% is for sure very, very high.

Edit: btw, McKinney's rush percentage last season was 29%.

 
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Absolutely, but he's not going to end up with 32 sacks this year so I'm worried about those games where he'll might have 3-4 tackles and zero sacks. But we'll see how it develops. He rushed on 47% of passing snaps this week, 43% in week 1. A typical number for an ILB is 10-15%, or as high as 20-30% for off ball LBs that are considered as part time rushers (Jamie Collins rushed on 32% of plays last week), so 45% is for sure very, very high.

Edit: btw, McKinney's rush percentage last season was 29%.
He also rushed a lot through the gut of the offensive line, which is a very good way of attacking Cincy's inept offensive line.  Russell Bodine, Cincy's center, is among the worst in the league and often abused by opposing defenses.  Fans have been calling for his head since he started 2 years ago.

 

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