Orakpo playing LB (2 Viewers)

[Bri]

ASHBURN, Va. -- As if a new town, new teammates and a new lifestyle weren't hard enough, Washington Redskins first-round draft pick Brian Orakpo might have one more obstacle in his transition to the NFL: a new position.

Orakpo, selected by the Redskins last week as a highly touted defensive end, spent his first minicamp Friday and Saturday drilling with Washington's linebacker corps.

And while Orakpo -- who slipped to the 13th overall selection after some projected him in the top five -- still expects to be a lineman first, how well he adapts to linebacker might affect how much he plays as a rookie.

"It's all just up in the air, just seeing what can I do, and how can I stay on the field at all times," said Orakpo, a 6-foot-4, 260-pound speed end who played on both sides of the defensive line at Texas. "But they brought me here to rush the passer, and I'm not getting away from that at all. Don't even think that."

A self-described athletic "freak" with a 550-pound bench press and a 4.7-second 40-yard dash, Orakpo certainly offers flexibility to a group that finished last season with 24 team sacks, just 28th-best in the NFL. And with the addition of All-Pro defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth, who signed a seven-year, $100-million contract early in free agency, Orakpo senses the Redskins' scheme could suit him well.

"Now I can really get on the edge and not worry about the quarterback stepping in the pocket," said Orakpo, who led Texas with 11.5 sacks during his senior season. "Because you've got big Albert clogging up the middle, pushing the pocket, making the quarterback escape to where the ends are coming and leave us roaming free. It's really a lot easier for us."

Orakpo also could free up other ends such as Andre Carter, who had four sacks and 37 tackles last season, or veterans Phillip Daniels and Renaldo Wynn, who likely will play more on run downs.

That's the plan -- though it's hard to tell what will happen because they haven't played much with Orakpo.

"I saw him pass rush," said Haynesworth, who otherwise said he hadn't watched Orakpo much. "On one, he turned the corner real well and slapped a guy's hands. He's got that part down. With a rookie, you've got so many things thrown at you that it's really different, and you can't really focus on the game of football."

Added Carter: "We see a little bit of him on film. He's coming along. It's the transition of him going from being a defensive end to a linebacker. He also comes down and puts his hand in the dirt in nickel and dime packages. But he's all over the place."

Which, in the end, is what the Redskins want.

"I'm getting a sense of my role," Orakpo said. "I'm still getting more comfortable at the linebacker reads and stuff, but that just comes over time.

"In running downs, it's up in two-point stance, and when it's time to rush, well, it's, 'Get down and go.'"

http://www.nfl.com/news/story?id=09000d5d8...mp;confirm=true

 

[Zoomanji]

I can't even begin to understand why they want this guy to cover TEs and keep P. Daniels and R. Wynn on the field

 

[Biabreakable]

I wonder how Orakpo will be classified. For now he is a DE and I would think he plays a lot there. Teaching him LB skills is just part of his long term development. It will be useful at times I think to overstack by having Orakpo and Andre Carter on the same side.

If he stays classified as a DE and gets a decent amount of snaps at LB that helps out his value quite a bit.

 

[bcr8f]

I wonder how Orakpo will be classified. For now he is a DE and I would think he plays a lot there. Teaching him LB skills is just part of his long term development. It will be useful at times I think to overstack by having Orakpo and Andre Carter on the same side.If he stays classified as a DE and gets a decent amount of snaps at LB that helps out his value quite a bit.

I hope Kampman stays a DE(in class) this year.

 

[T Bell]

I can't even begin to understand why they want this guy to cover TEs and keep P. Daniels and R. Wynn on the field

The issue is how do they keep Orakpo on the field, not those other guys. The only issue with Orakpo is whether he's stout enough at the point of attack to be a good run stopper, and they're concerned that he's not. Note that they already have another undersized, speedy DE in Andre Carter, and this defense just doesn't operate very well with two such guys in the lineup at both DE spots against the run, though they've also never had a DT like Haynesworth either. This is how it breaks down at present, and I emphasize "at present" because this is experimental both for Orakpo who hasn't played much LB before, and also for the Redskins who under Blache and Williams before him (whose system Blache largely adopted, albeit and simplified) haven't done a lot of this. This could change over time, and you should monitor it.

On running downs, Orapko is expected to play one of the OLB roles. It's not clear which OLB position he would play, and perhaps he would rotate in that regard based upon matchups or situation. They're trying him at WLB first as I understand it because it has fewer coverage responsibilities, but this necessarily entails sliding McIntosh over to SLB, which he's not played before, so they need to see if both guys can work there.

On passing downs they'd put him into a three-point stance at a traditional 4-3 DE spot, and slide Daniels inside to DT.

Phillip Daniels, believe it or not, remains a good NFL player. He's a fitness freak and is always one of the strongest dudes on the team and he's in particular still a very good run-stopping DE (Haynesworth remarked this week he couldn't believe how big Daniels was and that he was the largest DE he'd ever been around). By all accounts he's fully recovered from last year's injury. So Daniels remains in the team's plans given his versatility, playing both DT and DE. Wynn IMHO is just a warm body at this point, but his strength too is run stopping and not pass rush. Both line up at LDE.

Anyway, as far as Orakpo goes, for IDP purposes it's all about his classification as a DE or a LB. If it's the former he could be fantasy gold if he racks up tackles like a 4-3 OLB and still manages to get 10 sacks. If it's the latter then his potential tops out around "just another 4-3 OLB", unless you're in a league that richly rewards for sacks by LB's.

One final thing. Orakpo was the right pick of a very explosive, athletic player for a team that very much needed such a person rushing the passer, but it's more than a little ironic that their dilemma in how to use him is a carbon copy of that which they faced with Jason Taylor last year who, even when healthy, completed that dreaded tandem of smaller DE's that made the defense weaker against the run. By the end of the year they had started using Taylor at times as he had been used in Miami, in the "elephant" (or choose your own favorite term for it) position that allowed him to seemingly line up at will at different points along the line, in either a two or three-point stance. Orakpo is bigger and stronger than Taylor, but he may otherwise be a continuation of that experiment.

 

[Bri]

With Haynesworth around, the Redskins are going to have to be tougher on the outside, teams are not going to be running up the middle. I think they're simply trying to figure out exactly how to pull that off.

 

[Anthony Borbely]

I wonder how Orakpo will be classified. For now he is a DE and I would think he plays a lot there. Teaching him LB skills is just part of his long term development. It will be useful at times I think to overstack by having Orakpo and Andre Carter on the same side.If he stays classified as a DE and gets a decent amount of snaps at LB that helps out his value quite a bit.

I hope Kampman stays a DE(in class) this year.

Kampman is playing OLB so he should be classified as a LB in all leagues.

 

[Anthony Borbely]

I wonder how Orakpo will be classified. For now he is a DE and I would think he plays a lot there. Teaching him LB skills is just part of his long term development. It will be useful at times I think to overstack by having Orakpo and Andre Carter on the same side.If he stays classified as a DE and gets a decent amount of snaps at LB that helps out his value quite a bit.

This is the question...and right now with rookie drafts going on, it makes it tough to decide whether to draft Orakpo or not.

 

[Biabreakable]

I wonder how Orakpo will be classified. For now he is a DE and I would think he plays a lot there. Teaching him LB skills is just part of his long term development. It will be useful at times I think to overstack by having Orakpo and Andre Carter on the same side.If he stays classified as a DE and gets a decent amount of snaps at LB that helps out his value quite a bit.

This is the question...and right now with rookie drafts going on, it makes it tough to decide whether to draft Orakpo or not.

There are a few guys like this. Brown from the Bengals is another one. Brown might just be a 3rd down guy this year and they may leave him listed as DE. They are trying him out at SLB though too and that might eventualy get him on the field more.There are several others like this.

 

[Multiple Scores]

I wonder how Orakpo will be classified. For now he is a DE and I would think he plays a lot there. Teaching him LB skills is just part of his long term development. It will be useful at times I think to overstack by having Orakpo and Andre Carter on the same side.If he stays classified as a DE and gets a decent amount of snaps at LB that helps out his value quite a bit.

I hope Kampman stays a DE(in class) this year.

Kampman is playing OLB so he should be classified as a LB in all leagues.

No argument here but I am compelled to ask if Kampman is listed at LB then Terrell Suggs must be too? Suggs has been listed as a LB on the Ravens official depth chart for a couple years and MFL has not moved him from DL.

 

[Aaron Rudnicki]

I wonder how Orakpo will be classified. For now he is a DE and I would think he plays a lot there. Teaching him LB skills is just part of his long term development. It will be useful at times I think to overstack by having Orakpo and Andre Carter on the same side.If he stays classified as a DE and gets a decent amount of snaps at LB that helps out his value quite a bit.

I hope Kampman stays a DE(in class) this year.

Kampman is playing OLB so he should be classified as a LB in all leagues.

No argument here but I am compelled to ask if Kampman is listed at LB then Terrell Suggs must be too? Suggs has been listed as a LB on the Ravens official depth chart for a couple years and MFL has not moved him from DL.

this is an excellent point.

 

[obxlegends]

I wonder how Orakpo will be classified. For now he is a DE and I would think he plays a lot there. Teaching him LB skills is just part of his long term development. It will be useful at times I think to overstack by having Orakpo and Andre Carter on the same side.If he stays classified as a DE and gets a decent amount of snaps at LB that helps out his value quite a bit.

I hope Kampman stays a DE(in class) this year.

Kampman is playing OLB so he should be classified as a LB in all leagues.

No argument here but I am compelled to ask if Kampman is listed at LB then Terrell Suggs must be too? Suggs has been listed as a LB on the Ravens official depth chart for a couple years and MFL has not moved him from DL.

this is an excellent point.

Much like Justin Smith last year MFL bowed to the mass amount of complaints after Suggs original move to LBer and moved him back and kept him there ever since.

 

[Multiple Scores]

If Kampman is moved and Suggs isn't I will be sending mass complaints, matter of a fact all Kampman owners should join me in demanding he stays at DL or Suggs gets moved, can't have it both ways.

 

[mightyeskimo]

Anyone know how many snaps Washington is giving Orakpo at LB and how many at DE? Would like some good camp info.

 

[Jene Bramel]

Anyone know how many snaps Washington is giving Orakpo at LB and how many at DE? Would like some good camp info.

The plan still appears to be to play him at SLB on base defensive downs and move him around as a pass rusher on passing downs. Generally speaking, that's a 60-40 split in favor of base defensive downs (SLB) over the course of a full season.

 

[T Bell]

He's getting some pretty rave reviews from camp. This is definitely a guy to roster and hold. He's going to be on the field for a lot of snaps given his athleticism and apparent playmaking ability, and he may eventually be moved to DE where he sounds like he could excel. He and Haynesworth may really change that defense, especially on third downs.

 

[Birdie048]

He's getting some pretty rave reviews from camp. This is definitely a guy to roster and hold. He's going to be on the field for a lot of snaps given his athleticism and apparent playmaking ability, and he may eventually be moved to DE where he sounds like he could excel. He and Haynesworth may really change that defense, especially on third downs.

That's what I like to hear!! Some projections have the Wash Defense bumped up a few spots into the Top 12 now.

 

[Tenacious]

Yahoo still has him classified as a DE. Where do you guys think he ranks as a DE this year?

 

[T Bell]

Yahoo still has him classified as a DE. Where do you guys think he ranks as a DE this year?

That's very tough to project. He doesn't figure to get sacks on run downs from his LB position, but he'll get more tackles than most DE's because of this. He's also a hybrid player who is in a pretty traditional 4-3 scheme that doesn't have much history to go off of here. I will point out that Chris Clemons and Marcus Washington put up respectable sack numbers in that defense as part-time pass rushers, but that's a very rough guide. I'd probably project him for 8 sacks and 50 tackles, which should be a very solid finish for a guy listed as a DE. Athletically, he's the real deal. He's one of those guys who simply looks faster, quicker and stronger on the field than his teammates, apparently, so they're going to do everything they can to keep him on the field and allow him to make plays.

 

[T Bell]

This is typical of the reports that have come out of camp about Orakpo:

Biggs: Orakpo moves up to first team

by Brad Biggs

August 11, 02009

Print This

Brian Orakpo must have some special moves because Washington defensive coordinator Greg Blache is rarely impressed with rookies, especially at this stage of training camp.

But the Redskins released their first depth chart of the summer and the first-round pick from Texas is listed as the starter at strong-side linebacker, a much greater sign of how he’s progressed than a lack of depth at the position. And the cupboard is bare behind Orakpo.

Brian OrakpoAPBrian Orakpo

“Rookies are fine and dandy, and I'm glad to see them progressing,” Blache said last summer. “But I don't fall in love with rookies. You're better to fall in love with a stripper than a rookie, because they'll break your heart. They really will. We will give them some time and let them prove themselves if they are worthy of it.”

Blache is notoriously hard on first-year players. The Bears’ Brian Urlacher didn’t start until Week 3 as a rookie in 2000, and he went on to be defensive rookie of the year. In 2002, Blache had Alex Brown, a fourth-round pick of the Bears, convinced he would be gone before the final cutdown to the 53-man roster.

Urlacher was making a position change from playing safety in college, and it took an injury to Barry Minter to get him into the lineup. Orakpo is making a transition from defensive end at Texas to linebacker. He’s reportedly handled his coverage assignments well, and ultimately the Redskins are expecting him to make his biggest impact playing with his hand down. He’ll line up at right end in the sub packages with Andre Carter flipping to the left side. Orakpo will get his first action Thursday when Washington visits neighbor Baltimore at M&T Bank Stadium.

The Redskins badly need an edge rusher after failing last year with Jason Taylor in that role. Blache’s unit ranked fourth in total defense a year ago but didn’t produce the big play. That wasn’t enough to prop up an offense that staggered at different points.

 

[Birdie048]

Recent blurb on Orakpo at camp.

Fredericksburg paper references the Was vs Balt game tonight

Page 3 blurb on Redskins

ROOKIE MONSTER

Rookie DE/LB Brian Orakpo could be one of the steals of the draft. He has beaten Pro Bowl LT Chris Samuels on occasion and has little trouble with lesser players. However, he remains a work in progress at the LB position. Watch to see how comfortable and effective he is on first and second downs, when he has to make reads away from the line of scrimmage. On third downs, watch him do what he does best.

 

[T Bell]

Recent blurb on Orakpo at camp.

Fredericksburg paper references the Was vs Balt game tonight

Page 3 blurb on Redskins

ROOKIE MONSTER

Rookie DE/LB Brian Orakpo could be one of the steals of the draft. He has beaten Pro Bowl LT Chris Samuels on occasion and has little trouble with lesser players. However, he remains a work in progress at the LB position. Watch to see how comfortable and effective he is on first and second downs, when he has to make reads away from the line of scrimmage. On third downs, watch him do what he does best.

I don't think anyone's said this officially, but I would expect Orakpo to get a lot of reps tonight from the LB position just to give him experience and better recognition ability. I'd figure he'll be on the field longer than almost any of the other starters.

 

[mightyeskimo]

So far he's been a dud huh?

 

[Maroney=Sped]

So far he's been a dud huh?

Pretty much. He's transitioning. His actual NFL talent is unmistakable, but it's pretty obvious that he's not going to make an instant impact. I think you bench him and wait him out if you have the roster space, otherwise cut him and try to pick him back up once he starts to improve.

 

[Tenacious]

I think we're due for a re-evaluation at this point. Orakpo is being touted again by some after his week 4 performance. Anyone see him play last week?

 

[Maroney=Sped]

I think we're due for a re-evaluation at this point. Orakpo is being touted again by some after his week 4 performance. Anyone see him play last week?

Rookie Orakpo Tackles Dual Role

By Rick Maese

Washington Post Staff Writer

Saturday, October 10, 2009

One day after his NFL debut, Brian Orakpo was at Redskins Park studying film of his team's season-opening loss to the New York Giants. He was shocked by what he saw. The footage was humbling, to say the least.

"I looked like a chicken with his head cut off," said Orakpo, the Washington Redskins rookie who is splitting time at strong-side linebacker and defensive end.

According to Orakpo, he went to linebackers coach Kirk Olivadotti and said, "We got a lot of learning to do, don't we?"

Olivadotti agreed, but says since a slow start, his star pupil has made tremendous strides. The numbers bear that out, too. Orakpo had two tackles against the Giants and none a week later against St. Louis. In fact, Orakpo was the only defensive starter who didn't play a role in a single tackle against the Rams.

But Orakpo says compared with the first two games, his comfort level the past two weeks "is like night and day." Orakpo was credited with four tackles against Detroit and a season-high seven last week against Tampa Bay. He also notched a sack in each of the past two games, the first Redskins rookie since Andre Collins in 1990 to register a sack in consecutive games.

"From Week 1 to this past game, it's just a vast improvement," Orakpo said, "just being productive, being more active, making more plays for this defense."

According to the team's statistics, compiled from video review of the games, Orakpo is tied for ninth on the team with 15 tackles -- 11 of which are solo. Only Andre Carter and Albert Haynesworth have more than Orakpo's three quarterback hurries.

Drafted out of the University of Texas as a defensive end, coaches asked Orakpo to not only make the adjustment to the pace and speed of the NFL but to also learn a new position. While he got the basics down during offseason workouts and the preseason, it wasn't until the regular season started that Orakpo really began to understand the demands of the new position, which might help explain why his growth has accelerated.

"He's understanding how offenses are going to try to attack him, put him in situations where he may not be as comfortable, try to get him in space as much as possible," middle linebacker London Fletcher said. "He's continuing to learn. I think his explosiveness is improving each and every week, his suddenness is improving each and every week. And his hesitancy from not knowing what to do, that's going away each and every week."

During games, Orakpo plays linebacker about 75 percent of the time and lines up as a defensive end the other 25 percent. During practice, he typically spends Wednesdays working with the linebackers, Thursdays with the defensive linemen and Fridays shuttling back and forth.

"Right now I'm just really enjoying this new position, playing in space," Orakpo said. "A defensive end's dream is always to play in space and have an opportunity to do all kinds of stuff, so I get to do that and at the same time, I get to rush on third downs or different pass situations. So that gives me a lot of opportunities to make plays."

On Sundays thus far, Orakpo has looked more comfortable lining up at defensive end -- usually on third downs and pass-rush situations -- than he has dropping back in coverage or attacking the run as a linebacker.

Both of Orakpo's sacks have come from him rushing off the edge -- both on third down and both with the opposing team in Redskins territory. Last weekend against Tampa Bay, the Buccaneers were driving in the final seconds of the first half, threatening to put the game out of reach. On third and six from the Redskins 18-yard line, Orakpo sacked quarterback Josh Johnson, and Tampa Bay had to settle for a field goal.

"Plus, we got the win on top of that," Orakpo said. "My first sack, we lost, so I couldn't enjoy that one as much."

Redskins Coach Jim Zorn said coaches haven't considered shifting Orakpo full-time to defensive end and have been encouraged by his progress at linebacker in recent weeks.

"He's learning how to come, not just off the edge, but he's learning how to come as a linebacker," Zorn said. "He's learning how to turn and run as a linebacker. I've been very impressed with the suddenness of his movements, in practice and in games.

"We're confident that he's the best linebacker [we have] in that position. And we're confident that he's improving as he's playing," he added. "There's some things that he still has to learn. But that's why we have coaches."

Orakpo says both Fletcher and Olivadotti, the linebackers coach, have taken a special interest in his development. Olivadotti said one of Orakpo's best attributes is his ability to learn and quickly adjust. Orakpo doesn't wait for film study on Mondays to make adjustments, and Olivadotti says he can see his young linebacker improving through the course of a game. Four weeks into the season, Olivadotti says he'd like to see Orakpo better use his eyes to react and follow the ball.

"It's still probably not as perfect as he or I would like it," Olivadotti said of Orakpo's overall game. "But right now, it's little tweaks and not really big chunks that we're dealing with. The more he plays, I think, the better he's going to get."

LinkI love this guy's attitude. It's only a matter of time IMHO before he breaks out, at least as an NFL player if not as an IDP.

 

[Maroney=Sped]

I couldn't watch the game but the reports I've read indicate that Orakpo got schooled in coverage yesterday on the Jeff King TD pass, on a double move. I'm not surprised, and frankly am only surprised that opposing teams have not done more of this sort of thing to test him.