YOUNG DET DE's (1 Viewer)

[jgb95]

Hey guys

been wondering which one of these guys has more potential?

I see that Avril is 6'3" - 245 and Alama-Francis is 6'5" - 280.

I see Avril more of a situational pass rusher and Alama Francis as a 3 down end.

Just wondering what your thoughts are.

Thanks

 

[Anthony Borbely]

Hey guysbeen wondering which one of these guys has more potential?I see that Avril is 6'3" - 245 and Alama-Francis is 6'5" - 280.I see Avril more of a situational pass rusher and Alama Francis as a 3 down end.Just wondering what your thoughts are.Thanks

Those are my thoughts right now as well. I just don't see Avril being big enough to be an every down DE and being able to maintain run support while playing every down. I am high on Alama-Francis and he should get plenty of playing time this year. My gut says Alama-Francis wins the starting DE spot opposite of White, and Avril will be used as a situational pass rusher.

 

[jgb95]

i have IAF on my PS and just wondering what you guys thought of him.

 

[onionsack]

Some comments from Marinelli here and here.

Excerpts:

• Defensive end Ikaika Alama-Francis looks stronger entering his second year.

“Oh, yeah,” Marinelli said. “He’s spent a year in the weight room.”

Marinelli said Alama-Francis wasn’t much heavier, though, and hadn’t lost any speed.

“I call it man-strength,” Marinelli said. “He’s starting to fill out a little bit. His quickness is very good. I mean, he’s running extremely well right now.”

Alama-Francis was a second-round pick last year, a raw project out of Hawaii. He didn’t contribute as much as hoped. Marinelli blamed a lot of that on a pulled hamstring suffered in the middle of the season.

“He was making great progress in practice, and it was his time,” Marinell said. “And he pulled a hammy and it nailed him for about four weeks and slowed him up a little bit.”

YOUTH MOVEMENT The Lions list 10-year veteran Jared DeVries as the starter at left defensive end, but you can expect a big push from second-year man Ikaika Alama-Francis for the starting job before the end of training camp.

With Kalimba Edwards gone, the Lions need the six-foot-five, 280-pound Alama-Francis to step up and provide a fresh, new force.

"He's just getting bigger and he's more physical and he works," Marinelli said. "He has no problem working and that's all I ask."

I remember watching video of him before he came out in the draft, and he was tossing linemen around like ragdolls. He's still very raw (never even played HS football) but his work ethic is becoming legendary, and if he can stay healthy I like his chances to claim a starting spot and make an impact this year.

 

[Jene Bramel]

It'll be interesting to see. The Lions seem serious about keeping Dewayne White on the weak side, which dents Avril's value quite a bit. The key to what happens with this group is how IAF progresses obviously. If they can get two players who can both play the run and rush the QB, that's obviously ideal. But the Tampa-2 requires that the ends get to the QB, the run defense is secondary. If IAF can't get to the quarterback, it wouldn't be surprising to see White flipped back to the strong side and Avril inserted at RDE (assuming he shows he can rush).

As always, IDP scoring system matters. Avril may be a better long term option in big play leagues -- for now he's kind of a John Abraham/Mark Anderson projection. IAF could be KVB or he could be Jamaal Anderson v2007. Bigger and faster is nice, but it's technique and understanding of how to play end on Sundays that will get him on the field and produce.

 

[jgb95]

good info

thanks