Our DL has got to show more depth than what we showed last year. Nolan can be the perfect coordinatory for what we need. The LB investment must and will pay off. Apparently the FO has a lot of faith in Clemons. We have the best tandem of young corners in the game and along with Allen can more than hold their own in this pass happy league.
On O its about balance. Now with Marshall we have it in being able to stretch the field, with actually catching the ball and not avoiding contact as first priority like somebody else use to do. Hartline is about to explode or at the least become a dependable number three.
I see 10-6 or 11-5. Bring on the Green Puke and Evil Empire. The dead bison heads are like what they are named after... a near extinct species. Add LT and unproven Joe Mc Knight and colore me not impressed with the paper airplanes. I want to see if gerbil boy Sanchez can handle the pressure of a sophomore slump.
The only weakness on our defensive line was Nose Tackle after Fergy got hurt, which still wasn't terrible with Soliai filling in. As for the two end spots, Langford plays with incredible leverage, Starks stayed disciplined, Merling played up to par in the rotation, McDaniels made several big plays and never caused any lingering issue, and Dotson is still on the team after several years. If there is one thing we are fine at, it is depth. It is more of finding our identity for the defensive line. With the addition of Odrick and the move of Starks to nose tackle, Soliai has less pressure to be the only guy able to anchor the defensive line, while we continue a strong rotation and keep guys fresh through the second half. A lot of the issue was inconsistent gap control by our linebackers, and poor decision making as to letting the play develop too much and allowing a big gain. Crowder was over-shooting a lot of the time while Ayodele let the play come to him instead of hawking to the ball.
When I think of best young tandem I think of the Jets to be honest with you. Cromartie and Revis are young, but seasoned. Now if you would have put potential in that sentence I would 100% agree with you. Potentially, we have a great combination of corners for the next decade. Smith is going to take a little longer to develop than Davis, who still has a few areas he needs to focus on to solidify his game. Smith wasn't very good when the ball was in the air, and Davis was a bit inconsistent with body control. Some plays Davis would box out like a basketball player in the paint (Interception while covering Moss in the endzone), and other plays he would be less physical, letting guys get a superior position on him. They may be good now, but their potential greatness has yet to be seen. Hopefully we see flashes this year.
Hartline last year showed everything to be a dependable number two receiver. Whether it was inside, outside, in the redzone, or backed up in our own territory, Hartline made plays. The only reason I point this out is because I would say Bess is our dependable third/slot receiver. In pointing this out, the number doesn't really matter as we will be running more three receiver sets with the Marshall acquisition. I just see Hartline as a guy that can be more than suitable to play across from Marshall. He is a hard worker and against a lot of odds last season he produced. He is a Camarillo type player, just a little more flashy in a sense of speed, quickness, acceleration, and threatening the end zone.
