Pete Prisco ranks the top 50 NFL players (1 Viewer)

[cacksman]

50. Devin Hester, KR, Chicago Bears: Having trouble with this one. I know he's great at what he does but does it warrant top 50?

Check the average starting field position for the Bears over the past two years. I'd argue there are only a handfull of players that have more "value" to an NFL team.

Like otherwise state, If someone were to offer Romo or Hasselbeck to the Bears for Hester, they would quickly take it. Hester does not have asmuch value as you say.

Okay Mario Williams at #6 while Patrick Kerney isnt even on the list is ubsurd. I'm not at all convinced Mario is better in any way than Kerney.

Ernie Sims over Tatupu is completely rediculous. We all can agree on that one.

Hester as a top 50 player in the league.

Youre telling me that if you were building a team that needed to be good for one season, you would take Hester over somebody like Hasselbeck, Peppers, Kerney, DeMeco Ryans, Romo? Are you kidding me?

Mario is better at run support. He is very good at tying up blockers as well, to free up Ryans to make plays.

Better in run support? On a much better defense, Kerney had MORE tackles than Mario did. Mario also had more opportunities to make tackles because he is playing on a defense that doesnt have great players at most positions. Kerney was competing for tackles with the best LB corp in the NFL. But keep trying.This is just a rediculous example of young players getting overrated by Prisco and Seahawks players(Jones aside) getting underrated.

Seattle's defense was on the field for 41 more plays and 5 more running plays than Houston's.

I meant that Mario doesnt have to contend with 3 pro bowl type LBs and other very good defensive players for tackles. Kerney also plays the strongside, which is not known for a player having a lot of sacks,but Kerney racks them up because he is a stud. He is as good or better than Williams at this point in their careers. Prisco is an idiot.

 

[Buckna]

Perhaps Mario is rated in front of Kerney because he's 31 and played in the NFL for 9 seasons. Mario is 23 and has only played 2. That's a huge age and experience gap for very similar statistics.

 

[cacksman]

Perhaps Mario is rated in front of Kerney because he's 31 and played in the NFL for 9 seasons. Mario is 23 and has only played 2. That's a huge age and experience gap for very similar statistics.

If this were a top 50 young players list, then sure. But its not. It's top 50 players in the NFL. If Mario is #6 then Lerney should be top 10.

 

[Buckna]

Perhaps Mario is rated in front of Kerney because he's 31 and played in the NFL for 9 seasons. Mario is 23 and has only played 2. That's a huge age and experience gap for very similar statistics.

If this were a top 50 young players list, then sure. But its not. It's top 50 players in the NFL. If Mario is #6 then Lerney should be top 10.

I've already said Mario is too high, I'd move him down to the 20's likely.I'm not sure I'd even put Kerney in my top 5 of DE's. Allen, Kampman, Taylor, Peppers, Umenyiora, Seymour, Freeney (even after 2 bad years), Vanden Bosch... Lots of guys could be argued.

 

[Getinthemix]

Kerney plays the LDE and Mario plays RDE

since most QBs are right-handed:LDE = strongsideRDE = weaksideI thought Mario was moved to the weakside last year, which helped explain the big increase in sacks. But, both him and Kerney could likely be successful at either spot.

Dumb. I knew that and was only half assed thinking when I posted that.

 

[FUBAR]

I meant that Mario doesnt have to contend with 3 pro bowl type LBs and other very good defensive players for tackles. Kerney also plays the strongside, which is not known for a player having a lot of sacks,but Kerney racks them up because he is a stud. He is as good or better than Williams at this point in their careers. Prisco is an idiot.

I'll put it this way. If you had to choose which DE to draft today, which would you choose?There is no doubt in my mind that I'd take Mario. DEs shouldn't be "competing" with LBs for tackles anyway.

 

[cacksman]

I meant that Mario doesnt have to contend with 3 pro bowl type LBs and other very good defensive players for tackles. Kerney also plays the strongside, which is not known for a player having a lot of sacks,but Kerney racks them up because he is a stud. He is as good or better than Williams at this point in their careers. Prisco is an idiot.

I'll put it this way. If you had to choose which DE to draft today, which would you choose?There is no doubt in my mind that I'd take Mario.

DEs shouldn't be "competing" with LBs for tackles anyway.

Wow. Like otherwise stated, the list wasnt the best young 50 players in the league, age was not taken into account. And if age is not taken into account then Kerney should be better than or at least as good as Mario. Kerney plays on the strongside which is much harder to rack up sacks than on the weakside, which is what Mario plays. That said, Kerney had MORE sacks than Mario last year.

 

[Aaron Rudnicki]

I meant that Mario doesnt have to contend with 3 pro bowl type LBs and other very good defensive players for tackles. Kerney also plays the strongside, which is not known for a player having a lot of sacks,but Kerney racks them up because he is a stud. He is as good or better than Williams at this point in their careers. Prisco is an idiot.

I'll put it this way. If you had to choose which DE to draft today, which would you choose?There is no doubt in my mind that I'd take Mario.

DEs shouldn't be "competing" with LBs for tackles anyway.

Wow. Like otherwise stated, the list wasnt the best young 50 players in the league, age was not taken into account. And if age is not taken into account then Kerney should be better than or at least as good as Mario. Kerney plays on the strongside which is much harder to rack up sacks than on the weakside, which is what Mario plays. That said, Kerney had MORE sacks than Mario last year.

I assume that Prisco is basing his ranking on how he expects these players to play in the upcoming season. IMO, there's a good chance that Kerney will have a hard time replicating his numbers from last year while Mario Williams should improve on his.I think both are great players, but Williams was probably more consistent last year. At the midway point of the season last year, Kerney had just 18 solo tackles and 3.5 sacks. Then he went on a tear and put up 20 solos and 9 sacks in a 4-game stretch. Then he finished up with just 12 solos and 1 sack over his last 5 games, including 2 playoff games. So, his year-end numbers were great but they were mainly due to an insane stretch that lasted for about a month. The rest of the year he didn't make nearly as big of an impact and his play seemed to have fallen off a bit in 2005 and 2006 even though he often was playing across from a player like John Abraham in Atlanta.

Williams also had a slow start to the season last year with just 17 solos and 4 sacks over the first 8 games. But, after that, he went on a 6-game sack streak in which he really seemed to take his play to another level. That also came with the Texans missing their franchise corner in Dunta Robinson and having no real secondary pass rush threat. Meanwhile, Kerney's strong games came while Marcus Trufant was playing phenomenal and the Seahawks also had guys like Julian Peterson around to take some attention away from him. Seahawks were also a better team with a better offense so they were probably playing with a lead more often, which would have given Kerney more pass rush opportunities.

Based solely on their play and production from last year, I think it's close to a toss up. But, I think most people would expect Williams to continue to get better while Kerney at 31 years old is at a point in his career where he'll likely start to regress a bit going forward. I'd agree that Mario Williams is ranked too highly on this list, but a year from now he might not look out of place there.

 

[Chase Stuart]

I meant that Mario doesnt have to contend with 3 pro bowl type LBs and other very good defensive players for tackles. Kerney also plays the strongside, which is not known for a player having a lot of sacks,but Kerney racks them up because he is a stud. He is as good or better than Williams at this point in their careers. Prisco is an idiot.

I'll put it this way. If you had to choose which DE to draft today, which would you choose?There is no doubt in my mind that I'd take Mario.

DEs shouldn't be "competing" with LBs for tackles anyway.

Wow. Like otherwise stated, the list wasnt the best young 50 players in the league, age was not taken into account. And if age is not taken into account then Kerney should be better than or at least as good as Mario. Kerney plays on the strongside which is much harder to rack up sacks than on the weakside, which is what Mario plays. That said, Kerney had MORE sacks than Mario last year.

This claim, while oft repeated and grounded in solid theory, hasn't proven true when examining the sack data. I've looked at a bunch of numbers, and LDEs have only marginally lower sack numbers than RDEs. This, in spite of what I assume, would be a potentially significant sample bias (this is based on no data at all, but rather my opinion). Teams are more apt, I think, to put their best rusher at the RDE spot. So if LDEs have only slightly worse sack numbers, it's conceivable that other things being equal, it's easier to rack up sacks at the RDE spot.The biggest reason for this, of course, would be that RTs are generally weaker pass blockers than LTs.

 

[cacksman]

I meant that Mario doesnt have to contend with 3 pro bowl type LBs and other very good defensive players for tackles. Kerney also plays the strongside, which is not known for a player having a lot of sacks,but Kerney racks them up because he is a stud. He is as good or better than Williams at this point in their careers. Prisco is an idiot.

I'll put it this way. If you had to choose which DE to draft today, which would you choose?There is no doubt in my mind that I'd take Mario.

DEs shouldn't be "competing" with LBs for tackles anyway.

Wow. Like otherwise stated, the list wasnt the best young 50 players in the league, age was not taken into account. And if age is not taken into account then Kerney should be better than or at least as good as Mario. Kerney plays on the strongside which is much harder to rack up sacks than on the weakside, which is what Mario plays. That said, Kerney had MORE sacks than Mario last year.

This claim, while oft repeated and grounded in solid theory, hasn't proven true when examining the sack data. I've looked at a bunch of numbers, and LDEs have only marginally lower sack numbers than RDEs. This, in spite of what I assume, would be a potentially significant sample bias (this is based on no data at all, but rather my opinion). Teams are more apt, I think, to put their best rusher at the RDE spot. So if LDEs have only slightly worse sack numbers, it's conceivable that other things being equal, it's easier to rack up sacks at the RDE spot.The biggest reason for this, of course, would be that RTs are generally weaker pass blockers than LTs.

This post showed a valid effort but is way off base. There is a reason RTs are generally weaver pass blockers. That is because most QBs are right handed and can actually see the pass rush coming from the strongside, which also makes it MUCH easier to evade the oncoming sack. If youre still not following, that means that pass rushers on the weakside have it much easier as the QB cannot see the pass rush coming.

 

[Chase Stuart]

I meant that Mario doesnt have to contend with 3 pro bowl type LBs and other very good defensive players for tackles. Kerney also plays the strongside, which is not known for a player having a lot of sacks,but Kerney racks them up because he is a stud. He is as good or better than Williams at this point in their careers. Prisco is an idiot.

I'll put it this way. If you had to choose which DE to draft today, which would you choose?There is no doubt in my mind that I'd take Mario.

DEs shouldn't be "competing" with LBs for tackles anyway.

Wow. Like otherwise stated, the list wasnt the best young 50 players in the league, age was not taken into account. And if age is not taken into account then Kerney should be better than or at least as good as Mario. Kerney plays on the strongside which is much harder to rack up sacks than on the weakside, which is what Mario plays. That said, Kerney had MORE sacks than Mario last year.

This claim, while oft repeated and grounded in solid theory, hasn't proven true when examining the sack data. I've looked at a bunch of numbers, and LDEs have only marginally lower sack numbers than RDEs. This, in spite of what I assume, would be a potentially significant sample bias (this is based on no data at all, but rather my opinion). Teams are more apt, I think, to put their best rusher at the RDE spot. So if LDEs have only slightly worse sack numbers, it's conceivable that other things being equal, it's easier to rack up sacks at the RDE spot.The biggest reason for this, of course, would be that RTs are generally weaker pass blockers than LTs.

This post showed a valid effort but is way off base. There is a reason RTs are generally weaver pass blockers. That is because most QBs are right handed and can actually see the pass rush coming from the strongside, which also makes it MUCH easier to evade the oncoming sack. If youre still not following, that means that pass rushers on the weakside have it much easier as the QB cannot see the pass rush coming.

My point was that if it is much easier to evade the oncoming sack, why don't LDEs end up with many more sacks than RDEs?

 

[Aaron Rudnicki]

I meant that Mario doesnt have to contend with 3 pro bowl type LBs and other very good defensive players for tackles. Kerney also plays the strongside, which is not known for a player having a lot of sacks,but Kerney racks them up because he is a stud. He is as good or better than Williams at this point in their careers. Prisco is an idiot.

I'll put it this way. If you had to choose which DE to draft today, which would you choose?There is no doubt in my mind that I'd take Mario.

DEs shouldn't be "competing" with LBs for tackles anyway.

Wow. Like otherwise stated, the list wasnt the best young 50 players in the league, age was not taken into account. And if age is not taken into account then Kerney should be better than or at least as good as Mario. Kerney plays on the strongside which is much harder to rack up sacks than on the weakside, which is what Mario plays. That said, Kerney had MORE sacks than Mario last year.

This claim, while oft repeated and grounded in solid theory, hasn't proven true when examining the sack data. I've looked at a bunch of numbers, and LDEs have only marginally lower sack numbers than RDEs. This, in spite of what I assume, would be a potentially significant sample bias (this is based on no data at all, but rather my opinion). Teams are more apt, I think, to put their best rusher at the RDE spot. So if LDEs have only slightly worse sack numbers, it's conceivable that other things being equal, it's easier to rack up sacks at the RDE spot.The biggest reason for this, of course, would be that RTs are generally weaker pass blockers than LTs.

there are a variety of reasons, but generally the weakside DE is attacking the QB from his blindside so he has a better chance to sneak up on him and pull him down before the QB can unload the ball. all things being equal, the QB should have a better chance to see a pass rusher coming from the strong side.the RDE is usually the better pass rusher, but he also tends to face the offensive line's best pass blocker, who is protecting the QB's blind side. the RDE also usually has more freedom to attack the QB immediately while the LDE generally has to be a more responsible player who might have to wait a split second to figure out if it's a run play or pass play. then, once his keys indicate that it's a pass play, he'll probably face a weaker pass blocker at RT but he'll also probably have to deal with a chip block from TE or RB.

regardless, there have been a bunch of dominant pass rushers who have played at the LDE position and haven't had any problems finishing among the league leaders in sacks. guys like Reggie White, Michael Strahan, Julius Peppers, Aaron Kampman, Patrick Kerney, etc. But those guys were often the best pass rusher on their teams. Most of the time, the 2nd best pass rusher is playing LDE so it probably makes it seem like the position is hurting them more than it actually is. A lot will probably also depend on the specific scheme and whether the coaches move players around using stunts and what not.

 

[Fedor Emelianenko]

Pat Williams belongs

 

[Chase Stuart]

I meant that Mario doesnt have to contend with 3 pro bowl type LBs and other very good defensive players for tackles. Kerney also plays the strongside, which is not known for a player having a lot of sacks,but Kerney racks them up because he is a stud. He is as good or better than Williams at this point in their careers. Prisco is an idiot.

I'll put it this way. If you had to choose which DE to draft today, which would you choose?There is no doubt in my mind that I'd take Mario.

DEs shouldn't be "competing" with LBs for tackles anyway.

Wow. Like otherwise stated, the list wasnt the best young 50 players in the league, age was not taken into account. And if age is not taken into account then Kerney should be better than or at least as good as Mario. Kerney plays on the strongside which is much harder to rack up sacks than on the weakside, which is what Mario plays. That said, Kerney had MORE sacks than Mario last year.

This claim, while oft repeated and grounded in solid theory, hasn't proven true when examining the sack data. I've looked at a bunch of numbers, and LDEs have only marginally lower sack numbers than RDEs. This, in spite of what I assume, would be a potentially significant sample bias (this is based on no data at all, but rather my opinion). Teams are more apt, I think, to put their best rusher at the RDE spot. So if LDEs have only slightly worse sack numbers, it's conceivable that other things being equal, it's easier to rack up sacks at the RDE spot.The biggest reason for this, of course, would be that RTs are generally weaker pass blockers than LTs.

there are a variety of reasons, but generally the weakside DE is attacking the QB from his blindside so he has a better chance to sneak up on him and pull him down before the QB can unload the ball. all things being equal, the QB should have a better chance to see a pass rusher coming from the strong side.the RDE is usually the better pass rusher, but he also tends to face the offensive line's best pass blocker, who is protecting the QB's blind side. the RDE also usually has more freedom to attack the QB immediately while the LDE generally has to be a more responsible player who might have to wait a split second to figure out if it's a run play or pass play. then, once he keys indicate that it's a pass play, he'll probably face a weaker pass blocker at RT but he might also have to deal with a TE or FB who is chipping him on the way into his pass route.

regardless, there have been a bunch of dominant pass rushers who have played at the LDE position and haven't had any problems finishing among the league leaders in sacks. guys like Reggie White, Michael Strahan, Julius Peppers, Aaron Kampman, Patrick Kerney, etc. But those guys were often the best pass rusher on their teams. Most of the time, the 2nd best pass rusher is playing LDE so it probably makes it seem like the position is hurting them more than it actually is. A lot will probably also depend on the specific scheme and whether the coaches move players around using stunts and what not.

Scheme matters a ton, because coaches run very different base differences. But I do think in general, weak side DEs are in general, face only a negligibly, if at all, harder battle in getting QB sacks. Strong side DEs have to go up against the best left tackles in the league, while weak side DEs don't have that hurdle.

 

[Chase Stuart]

I meant that Mario doesnt have to contend with 3 pro bowl type LBs and other very good defensive players for tackles. Kerney also plays the strongside, which is not known for a player having a lot of sacks,but Kerney racks them up because he is a stud. He is as good or better than Williams at this point in their careers. Prisco is an idiot.

I'll put it this way. If you had to choose which DE to draft today, which would you choose?There is no doubt in my mind that I'd take Mario.

DEs shouldn't be "competing" with LBs for tackles anyway.

Wow. Like otherwise stated, the list wasnt the best young 50 players in the league, age was not taken into account. And if age is not taken into account then Kerney should be better than or at least as good as Mario. Kerney plays on the strongside which is much harder to rack up sacks than on the weakside, which is what Mario plays. That said, Kerney had MORE sacks than Mario last year.

This claim, while oft repeated and grounded in solid theory, hasn't proven true when examining the sack data. I've looked at a bunch of numbers, and LDEs have only marginally lower sack numbers than RDEs. This, in spite of what I assume, would be a potentially significant sample bias (this is based on no data at all, but rather my opinion). Teams are more apt, I think, to put their best rusher at the RDE spot. So if LDEs have only slightly worse sack numbers, it's conceivable that other things being equal, it's easier to rack up sacks at the RDE spot.The biggest reason for this, of course, would be that RTs are generally weaker pass blockers than LTs.

there are a variety of reasons, but generally the weakside DE is attacking the QB from his blindside so he has a better chance to sneak up on him and pull him down before the QB can unload the ball. all things being equal, the QB should have a better chance to see a pass rusher coming from the strong side.the RDE is usually the better pass rusher, but he also tends to face the offensive line's best pass blocker, who is protecting the QB's blind side. the RDE also usually has more freedom to attack the QB immediately while the LDE generally has to be a more responsible player who might have to wait a split second to figure out if it's a run play or pass play. then, once he keys indicate that it's a pass play, he'll probably face a weaker pass blocker at RT but he might also have to deal with a TE or FB who is chipping him on the way into his pass route.

regardless, there have been a bunch of dominant pass rushers who have played at the LDE position and haven't had any problems finishing among the league leaders in sacks. guys like Reggie White, Michael Strahan, Julius Peppers, Aaron Kampman, Patrick Kerney, etc. But those guys were often the best pass rusher on their teams. Most of the time, the 2nd best pass rusher is playing LDE so it probably makes it seem like the position is hurting them more than it actually is. A lot will probably also depend on the specific scheme and whether the coaches move players around using stunts and what not.

Scheme matters a ton, because coaches run very different base differences. But I do think in general, weak side DEs are in general, face only a negligibly, if at all, harder battle in getting QB sacks. Strong side DEs have to go up against the best left tackles in the league, while weak side DEs don't have that hurdle.

Gastineau, who has two of the top 8 sack seasons of all time, also played his whole career at LDE.

 

[FUBAR]

I meant that Mario doesnt have to contend with 3 pro bowl type LBs and other very good defensive players for tackles. Kerney also plays the strongside, which is not known for a player having a lot of sacks,but Kerney racks them up because he is a stud. He is as good or better than Williams at this point in their careers. Prisco is an idiot.

I'll put it this way. If you had to choose which DE to draft today, which would you choose?There is no doubt in my mind that I'd take Mario.

DEs shouldn't be "competing" with LBs for tackles anyway.

Wow. Like otherwise stated, the list wasnt the best young 50 players in the league, age was not taken into account. And if age is not taken into account then Kerney should be better than or at least as good as Mario. Kerney plays on the strongside which is much harder to rack up sacks than on the weakside, which is what Mario plays. That said, Kerney had MORE sacks than Mario last year.

by a whopping half a sack.9 of Kerney's sacks came against Chicago, St. Louis and Arizona, 2 of those teams allowed over 40. Mario's big games were against Tennessee and Denver, teams above average against the pass rush. (in fairness, he got two against a bad OL in week 1 too)

Kerney should be higher than he is, but IMHO Mario is already better.

 

[cacksman]

I meant that Mario doesnt have to contend with 3 pro bowl type LBs and other very good defensive players for tackles. Kerney also plays the strongside, which is not known for a player having a lot of sacks,but Kerney racks them up because he is a stud. He is as good or better than Williams at this point in their careers. Prisco is an idiot.

I'll put it this way. If you had to choose which DE to draft today, which would you choose?There is no doubt in my mind that I'd take Mario.

DEs shouldn't be "competing" with LBs for tackles anyway.

Wow. Like otherwise stated, the list wasnt the best young 50 players in the league, age was not taken into account. And if age is not taken into account then Kerney should be better than or at least as good as Mario. Kerney plays on the strongside which is much harder to rack up sacks than on the weakside, which is what Mario plays. That said, Kerney had MORE sacks than Mario last year.

by a whopping half a sack.9 of Kerney's sacks came against Chicago, St. Louis and Arizona, 2 of those teams allowed over 40. Mario's big games were against Tennessee and Denver, teams above average against the pass rush. (in fairness, he got two against a bad OL in week 1 too)

Kerney should be higher than he is, but IMHO Mario is already better.

So 9 of Kerney's sacks came in his 5 best games? Cool! I guess you didnt understand when I said Kerney racks up sacks while rushing from the strong side when the QB can see his pressure coming and has time to avoid it, all the while there is usually a TE that chips him while getting off his route.

 

[FUBAR]

I meant that Mario doesnt have to contend with 3 pro bowl type LBs and other very good defensive players for tackles. Kerney also plays the strongside, which is not known for a player having a lot of sacks,but Kerney racks them up because he is a stud. He is as good or better than Williams at this point in their careers. Prisco is an idiot.

I'll put it this way. If you had to choose which DE to draft today, which would you choose?There is no doubt in my mind that I'd take Mario.

DEs shouldn't be "competing" with LBs for tackles anyway.

Wow. Like otherwise stated, the list wasnt the best young 50 players in the league, age was not taken into account. And if age is not taken into account then Kerney should be better than or at least as good as Mario. Kerney plays on the strongside which is much harder to rack up sacks than on the weakside, which is what Mario plays. That said, Kerney had MORE sacks than Mario last year.

by a whopping half a sack.9 of Kerney's sacks came against Chicago, St. Louis and Arizona, 2 of those teams allowed over 40. Mario's big games were against Tennessee and Denver, teams above average against the pass rush. (in fairness, he got two against a bad OL in week 1 too)

Kerney should be higher than he is, but IMHO Mario is already better.

So 9 of Kerney's sacks came in his 5 best games? Cool! I guess you didnt understand when I said Kerney racks up sacks while rushing from the strong side when the QB can see his pressure coming and has time to avoid it, all the while there is usually a TE that chips him while getting off his route.

9 in 3 games (you might want to check the game logs before responding next time). But you make a decent point. he played the worst pass protection twice, and the 6th worst twice. You'd think he would have gotten more sacks.

I guess you don't understand what Aaron and Chase have been saying.

 

[cacksman]

I meant that Mario doesnt have to contend with 3 pro bowl type LBs and other very good defensive players for tackles. Kerney also plays the strongside, which is not known for a player having a lot of sacks,but Kerney racks them up because he is a stud. He is as good or better than Williams at this point in their careers. Prisco is an idiot.

I'll put it this way. If you had to choose which DE to draft today, which would you choose?There is no doubt in my mind that I'd take Mario.

DEs shouldn't be "competing" with LBs for tackles anyway.

Wow. Like otherwise stated, the list wasnt the best young 50 players in the league, age was not taken into account. And if age is not taken into account then Kerney should be better than or at least as good as Mario. Kerney plays on the strongside which is much harder to rack up sacks than on the weakside, which is what Mario plays. That said, Kerney had MORE sacks than Mario last year.

by a whopping half a sack.9 of Kerney's sacks came against Chicago, St. Louis and Arizona, 2 of those teams allowed over 40. Mario's big games were against Tennessee and Denver, teams above average against the pass rush. (in fairness, he got two against a bad OL in week 1 too)

Kerney should be higher than he is, but IMHO Mario is already better.

So 9 of Kerney's sacks came in his 5 best games? Cool! I guess you didnt understand when I said Kerney racks up sacks while rushing from the strong side when the QB can see his pressure coming and has time to avoid it, all the while there is usually a TE that chips him while getting off his route.

9 in 3 games (you might want to check the game logs before responding next time). But you make a decent point. he played the worst pass protection twice, and the 6th worst twice. You'd think he would have gotten more sacks.

I guess you don't understand what Aaron and Chase have been saying.

It is much easier for a QB to avoid a sack when the rush is coming from the strong side, because he can actually see it! All a weak side pass rusher has to do is beat his guy once and he has a sack. Even if a weakside end fight off the TE and beats his man, the QB still usually has the presence to sidestep and get out of the way, making it much harder for them to accumulate sacks.

 

[FUBAR]

I meant that Mario doesnt have to contend with 3 pro bowl type LBs and other very good defensive players for tackles. Kerney also plays the strongside, which is not known for a player having a lot of sacks,but Kerney racks them up because he is a stud. He is as good or better than Williams at this point in their careers. Prisco is an idiot.

I'll put it this way. If you had to choose which DE to draft today, which would you choose?There is no doubt in my mind that I'd take Mario.

DEs shouldn't be "competing" with LBs for tackles anyway.

Wow. Like otherwise stated, the list wasnt the best young 50 players in the league, age was not taken into account. And if age is not taken into account then Kerney should be better than or at least as good as Mario. Kerney plays on the strongside which is much harder to rack up sacks than on the weakside, which is what Mario plays. That said, Kerney had MORE sacks than Mario last year.

by a whopping half a sack.9 of Kerney's sacks came against Chicago, St. Louis and Arizona, 2 of those teams allowed over 40. Mario's big games were against Tennessee and Denver, teams above average against the pass rush. (in fairness, he got two against a bad OL in week 1 too)

Kerney should be higher than he is, but IMHO Mario is already better.

So 9 of Kerney's sacks came in his 5 best games? Cool! I guess you didnt understand when I said Kerney racks up sacks while rushing from the strong side when the QB can see his pressure coming and has time to avoid it, all the while there is usually a TE that chips him while getting off his route.

9 in 3 games (you might want to check the game logs before responding next time). But you make a decent point. he played the worst pass protection twice, and the 6th worst twice. You'd think he would have gotten more sacks.

I guess you don't understand what Aaron and Chase have been saying.

It is much easier for a QB to avoid a sack when the rush is coming from the strong side, because he can actually see it! All a weak side pass rusher has to do is beat his guy once and he has a sack. Even if a weakside end fight off the TE and beats his man, the QB still usually has the presence to sidestep and get out of the way, making it much harder for them to accumulate sacks.

 

[cacksman]

 

[carlos1984]

23. Ed Reed, S, Baltimore Ravens: He is the prototype modern safety: rangy and can still tackle. He is what safeties like Roy Williams wish they could be.



There's just NO way Ed Reed is a top 50.

 

[Tecmo]

- I like Bob Sanders, but #7 is quite the stretch- Please remove Ed Reed from this list, 2004 was a while ago- Tony Gonzalez at #46 I'm done looking at this list at this point

Disagree on all 3Sanders is the biggest impact player on any defense in the league.Reed is still top notch, and has Gonzo even lost a step?

Sanders is a great tackler in the box, but only has 4 ints in 4 yrs. I guess I expect more big play, game winning TD, kind of plays from a lofty #7 ranking. Polamalu is more of a game-changer than him when talking safetiesEd Reed on the otherhand is a risk-taking gambler who gets INTs, but isn't much for run support. Constantly misses tacklesI have a very high regard for Tony G. He's been consistently the best for a very long time and I have a hard time ignoring his past production and complete game. He's a hall-of-famer and it just looks ######ed looking at a list with a HoF at #46.

 

[FUBAR]

- I like Bob Sanders, but #7 is quite the stretch

Sanders is the biggest impact player on any defense in the league.

Sanders is a great tackler in the box, but only has 4 ints in 4 yrs. I guess I expect more big play, game winning TD, kind of plays from a lofty #7 ranking. Polamalu is more of a game-changer than him when talking safeties

You really need to watch more Colts games. Sanders is certainly a game-changer. He just won't do it in one play.

 

[Stewy]

I haven't seen this mentioned yet, but Mario played RDE in run situations and LDE in pass situations (ND Kalu would come in at RDE.) So, it's not really accurate to piegon-hole him at either position.

 

[TitusIII]

50. Devin Hester, KR, Chicago Bears: Having trouble with this one. I know he's great at what he does but does it warrant top 50?

Check the average starting field position for the Bears over the past two years. I'd argue there are only a handfull of players that have more "value" to an NFL team.

Like otherwise state, If someone were to offer Romo or Hasselbeck to the Bears for Hester, they would quickly take it. Hester does not have asmuch value as you say.

No doubt, a capable QB has more value than any other position. I'd place the elite DT/DE's and OT's right behind the QB. After that small group of players, you'd be hard pressed to find a player who single-handedly has more of a positive effect on field position(which is the name of the game) than Devin Hester. If the Bears can acquire a capable offense during Hester's prime(which will probably be very short in duration, and I guess you can say this lowers his overall value), I think his importance will become obvious. It's a fun argument, either way...EDIT: Hester's contract negotiations will be interesting, to say the least. I'm not sure what Rosenhaus is going to shoot for, but I'd expect the figure to boggle some minds. If Hester steps into the role of #1/#2 WR this year, I'm almost certain his contract demands will be ridiculous and on par with the elite WR's in the NFL.