Philip Merling practices at OLB
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thejetssuck
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CK's prediction is coming to fruition.
i think this is why we drafted him in the first place. i don't know why it took us so long to put him there, but that is where we need him to be. makes far more sense than putting roth out there to get burned.
FinAtic8480
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Parcells did it in Dallas with Ware, why not down here with Merling. When we drafted him I thought he was gonna play OLB so no surprise here.
FinAtic8480
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I dont think they expected Langford to be ready this fast. Roth has looked pretty good at OLB, sorry can't agree with you there.
Phinja
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I had a feeling this would happen. Merling is a physical freak, and we need him to be on the field as much as possible.
Now the other thing to remember is that occasionally in a 3-4 a DE will drop in coverage to accomidate a zone blitz.
Now the other thing to remember is that occasionally in a 3-4 a DE will drop in coverage to accomidate a zone blitz.
it's all gravy. but is it langford being ready so fast or is it our plentiful depth on the line versus our lack thereof at LB? either way, we need him at LB - for next year at least.
regarding roth, i just don't trust his speed against anyone in coverage 1 on 1. putting him at ILB just makes more sense to me.
FinAtic8480
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Roth is losing weight to regain speed, he has lost five pounds and plans on losing alot more. Granted he is an experiment. Could be a bit of both, we have plenty of depth in the DL, but so much at OLB.
lol the things u guys assume is hilarious. first merling was not drafted to play OLB at 294 lbs, second merling and ware are not simliar at all. how can u do that? ware has speed that merling doesnt. and langford has ntn to do with merling bro merling is a RE langford is a LE.
100% agree, could be a very good run stuffer. I believe Merling was Clemson's do-all defensive player last year, dropping back quite often.
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RoninFin4
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He definitely was at Clemson. I think the hernia surgery definitely set him back as far as his weight goes, bulking up to 290. I'd reckon that with Holliday now healthy, Merling will see time at DE and some at OLB in certain situations where he can get after the passer. After 2008, if he can convert his weight to muscle and drop back to 276, which was his listed college weight, I think he could end up as our SOLB in 2009.
It doesn't hurt that we have a few young guys who could step in to fill that DE role (I have a suspicion that Holliday will be gone after this year) next year like Rod Wright, Randy Starks, possibly Lionel Dotson etc.