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Witherspoon Moving Positions? (1 Viewer)
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Jene Bramel
Footballguy
Scott Linehan said before free agency began that Witherspoon wouldn't change positions (scroll down for brief note). At the time, some were speculating that the Rams might look hard at a MLB (like Patrick Willis) to allow Witherspoon to move back outside. The Rams signed Chris Draft yesterday, but the feeling is that he'll contribute depth or compete at SLB rather than bump Witherspoon from the middle.
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Pisa and Witherspoon should be locked in at WLB and MLB, IMO.
Bob Magaw
Footballguy
i think the rams tipped their hands when they re-upped with 5-0 (tino) recently... he received something similar to later contract extension signed by EJ henderson of about $25 mill (with 10+ guaranteed)... he has been injury prone past two years, so it awaits to be seen whether this was a wise move, but it appears he is in long range plans as WLB... & since it is unlikely spoon is shunted to SLB, by process of elimination, he most likely remains where he is...
draft is probably depth, but could battle chillar for starting SLB...
i've maintained pretty much from the beginning that witherspoon seems to have a lot of mike peterson in him, & if he is protected a little better (like peterson is, covered up by pro bowl tandem of stroud & hendo), he could be (if he isn't already), the proverbial sideline-to-sideline tackle engine...
draft is probably depth, but could battle chillar for starting SLB...
i've maintained pretty much from the beginning that witherspoon seems to have a lot of mike peterson in him, & if he is protected a little better (like peterson is, covered up by pro bowl tandem of stroud & hendo), he could be (if he isn't already), the proverbial sideline-to-sideline tackle engine...
Sun Tzu
Footballguy
Anyone have any thoughts on Pisa's potential numbers for the upcoming season? I know he was hurt for most of last season? Should he be considered a sleeper since he's fallen off the radar for the most part?
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Jene Bramel
Footballguy
Magaw is the resident expert on all things Ram. I'd do a search for Tino posts made by Magaw over the past year were I you. He's written a lot more on Tino than the post he made in this thread and I imagine he'll weigh in again here at some point.I tried to get excited about Tino after reading Bob's thoughts but never got fully on the bandwagon. He was a pretty solid all-around guy in 2004 and 2005, but couldn't generate enough tackles to be much more than an LB3 in those seasons. Really difficult to evaluate his play last year because of all the injuries he tried to play through. It looks like Haslett may have wanted to use him a little more aggressively in pass rush than coverage than he'd been used in the past. If he can get a couple extra sacks and inch toward 80 solos, he'd have very good value. The Rams seem to still have him in their plans given that contract. Those injuries were bad luck, not bad protoplasm last year so I'd consider him a sleeper, albeit one with limited upside.Sun Tzu said:
Bob Magaw
Footballguy
i wrote spoon & tinoisamoa excerpt below last year about this time, from the LB section of the STL defense team report for the site... i don't know if there is much i would change... there was a study i did on cumulative IDP points spanning previous three seasons (03-05 at time of writing) broken out by position, & 5-0 cracked the top 30... even though he was probably never higher than about #35 LB for a given season, he was consistently about there three years in a row, & that kind of consistency moved him up over that longer time frame... he was really banged up last year (& this has been a bit of a pattern past few seasons)... that, coupled with the fact that he lacks prototypical LB size... he probably played at hawaii at a safety like 210-215 (similar to former STL SS adam archuleta), blew up to 230 for the combine, & now reportedly struggles to stay above 220 in-season... is imo a legit concern until he can prove he is a little more robust, rugged & built to last... if he can stay healthy & were somehow better protected through DL upgrades (ex-lion hall a step in the right direction, & they will almost certainly get a DL with their upcoming first rounder... somebody like okoye, carriker?), he has good instincts, above average athleticism and is a strong open field tackler... than again, when the overall team defense is as bad as it has been in recent seasons, that is potentially an indictment on everybody (by most accounts little & spoon were teams' best defenders & acquited themselves well in the midst of a bad situation)... tino may have gone to a more high profile school than hawaii but got into legal trouble as a prep after being involved in a rumble... as it was he was drafted in mid-second round, within about 15 or so picks of top LBs drafted from his class (nick barnett & EJ henderson), after posting some of the best numbers from his position group at his combine... i agree with jene, you shouldn't bank on much better than LB3, but i do think if things ever break right for him he could have top 20, & therefor LB2 upside...
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"Prized new MLB Witherspoon was a gift in free agency (where some bad contracts precluded the team from being active players in recent seasons... and which saw talent flowing in the wrong direction and departing more often than joining, a state of affairs not helped by some questionable draft picks in the Martz era). He was one of the most coveted FAs from the defensive side of the ball (along with fellow LBs Julian Peterson and LaVar Arrington, but he is younger and without injury questions). He finally fills the gaping hole that was left in the wake of London Fletcher's departure several years ago. He is the consumate three down LB and can run, hit and cover. While most recently playing the Will or weak side LB role in CAR, he has the athleticism and versatility to have play the MIKE (MLB) earlier in his career with the Panthers, performing very well in one of Dan Morgan's annual injury absences. Expect Spoon to make this transition smoothly... he has similar physical traits and skill set to the Jaguars Mike Peterson, one of the top MLBs in the NFL after beginning his career as a WLB with the Colts. Tinoisamoa (Hawaii 5-0) was identified early on by Linehan and the incoming staff as one of the Rams best incumbents on defense, along with Little. He has led the Rams in tackles three years in a row. After a sensational debut in which he made a lot of All Rookie lists (with multiple sacks, INTs & FFs), he had a rough sophomore season in which he reportedly separated his shoulder more than a half dozen times... Tino had surgery prior to the 2005 campaign to clean the shoulder up and didn't appear to have a problem with it during the season. He is a gifted athlete who is only player in San Diego county history to be awarded CIF Player of the Year on both sides of the ball. He had DB like 40 splits and agility drill times at his combine, and is an explosive tackler in the open field. Like Little, he has additional motivation of a contract year."
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"Prized new MLB Witherspoon was a gift in free agency (where some bad contracts precluded the team from being active players in recent seasons... and which saw talent flowing in the wrong direction and departing more often than joining, a state of affairs not helped by some questionable draft picks in the Martz era). He was one of the most coveted FAs from the defensive side of the ball (along with fellow LBs Julian Peterson and LaVar Arrington, but he is younger and without injury questions). He finally fills the gaping hole that was left in the wake of London Fletcher's departure several years ago. He is the consumate three down LB and can run, hit and cover. While most recently playing the Will or weak side LB role in CAR, he has the athleticism and versatility to have play the MIKE (MLB) earlier in his career with the Panthers, performing very well in one of Dan Morgan's annual injury absences. Expect Spoon to make this transition smoothly... he has similar physical traits and skill set to the Jaguars Mike Peterson, one of the top MLBs in the NFL after beginning his career as a WLB with the Colts. Tinoisamoa (Hawaii 5-0) was identified early on by Linehan and the incoming staff as one of the Rams best incumbents on defense, along with Little. He has led the Rams in tackles three years in a row. After a sensational debut in which he made a lot of All Rookie lists (with multiple sacks, INTs & FFs), he had a rough sophomore season in which he reportedly separated his shoulder more than a half dozen times... Tino had surgery prior to the 2005 campaign to clean the shoulder up and didn't appear to have a problem with it during the season. He is a gifted athlete who is only player in San Diego county history to be awarded CIF Player of the Year on both sides of the ball. He had DB like 40 splits and agility drill times at his combine, and is an explosive tackler in the open field. Like Little, he has additional motivation of a contract year."
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Sun Tzu
Footballguy
Bob, thank you very much. That was great information on Tino.
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Jene Bramel
Footballguy
Linehan reaffirmed yesterday that Witherspoon is locked in at MLB.
Rams coach Scott Linehan issued a ceasefire on offseason speculation that Will Witherspoon might be moved from the middle linebacker spot in 2007.
"He's going to play there," Linehan said Wednesday. "(Linebacker coach) Rick Venturi showed me a study on Will from the middle linebacker spot, and he's one of the top 10 linebackers in the league from there in tackles.
"One thing about putting him in the middle, he's able to be a more productive tackler for us, and play sideline to sideline from there. He's got one full year of playing (middle) linebacker full-time. It'd be hard for me to believe he's not going to be a lot better next year."
Rams coach Scott Linehan issued a ceasefire on offseason speculation that Will Witherspoon might be moved from the middle linebacker spot in 2007.
"He's going to play there," Linehan said Wednesday. "(Linebacker coach) Rick Venturi showed me a study on Will from the middle linebacker spot, and he's one of the top 10 linebackers in the league from there in tackles.
"One thing about putting him in the middle, he's able to be a more productive tackler for us, and play sideline to sideline from there. He's got one full year of playing (middle) linebacker full-time. It'd be hard for me to believe he's not going to be a lot better next year."
The Sandman
Footballguy
My take if Willis is on the board, Spoon will be moving positions. This may be a smokescreen to say they are not interested in Willis.
But I seriously doubt Willis will be there when STL picks, so yeah, Spoon is our MLB.
edit to change Carolina to STL.
But I seriously doubt Willis will be there when STL picks, so yeah, Spoon is our MLB.
edit to change Carolina to STL.
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-OZ-
Footballguy
bcr8f
Footballguy
Or SF does. Miami, SF, Buffalo or St Louis could before Carolina does. Someone may be moving up.My take if Willis is on the board, Spoon will be moving positions. This may be a smokescreen to say they are not interested in Willis. But I seriously doubt Willis will be there when Carolina picks, so yeah, Spoon is our MLB.Willis probably won't be there for Carolina if St. Louis drafts him.
The Sandman
Footballguy
yep, STl is who I was referring to.My take if Willis is on the board, Spoon will be moving positions. This may be a smokescreen to say they are not interested in Willis. But I seriously doubt Willis will be there when Carolina picks, so yeah, Spoon is our MLB.
Willis probably won't be there for Carolina if St. Louis drafts him.
