The position monikers in the back 7 of the 'Skins, with the possible exception of MLB, mean very little. Everyone is expected to play essentially ambidextrously, as either the strong or weak side version of their position. The thing that immediately jumped out at me about McIntosh in reading about him is that he's a smart guy who has an all-around good game. That's why the team targeted him.
He's a good IDP pickup in a dynasty league. He figures to beat out Holdman (who's just a warm body in there now) and Clemons (who's best attribute is his pass rush) for the bulk of the playing time.
Hey Redman,Do you have any links that discuss the general theory of Gregg Williams defenses?
And the Skins continue to mortgage their future for some of these guys. They gave up next year's second to get McIntosh so he'll play. Thanks for the info.
I'll try to find you a link, but basically Williams likes to run a pressure defense wherein anyone at any time can be blitzing. Obviously, if you blitz a CB, though, you need to have other guys who can fill in on pass coverage in the event that the blitz itself doesn't stop the play. This means that Williams needs guys who are assignment sound and who have good fundamental skills (tackling, pass coverage, etc.) more than he needs guys who are phenomenal athletes. On any given play, an OLB may be rushing the passer, in a shallow zone, in man coverage on a TE or RB, or just reading and reacting. For these reasons the "left" and "right" or "strong" and "weak" designations just don't mean much in this defense.
He also has defensive audibles that are called and that adjust what they're doing based upon the offense. Again, this means that smarts are more important that athletic skill.
Lavar Arrington's refusal to play within the scheme made him a lot less valuable to that defense than guys like Lemar Marshall or Antonio Pierce who aren't nearly the athlete he is but who are heady, disciplined players. On the flip side, Sean Taylor's continuing development into a great safety shows you what a discplined player with great athletic talent can do in the scheme.