The hate with him is ridiculous. However, he does need to improve in certain areas. We need more out of him.
Raekwon Davis named to football writers of America all rookie team
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one of the big thing tho and im surprised none of the experts touched on it. you do NOT have to be an elite pass rusher on the interior to be a positive upgrade to passing game. If he occupies two pass blockers the entire time he can get away with not necessarily causing a massive push in the middle. when you tie up the 2nd player you allow for a stunter or blitzer to more easily get a shot at the QB. I could be wrong, im not going to pull stats on 50 guys, but wasnt this one of Bake's best interior blitzing years. In the past it seems like our LB's just ran head first into the OL like a bunch of jackasses because there was no gap to hit. You can influence the D without putting up stats.
Would it be nice to have aaron donald and a prime suh in the middle, hell yeah, but how many teams have had that. If we have our next TimBo - gardener combo to last thru the 2020's I'm happy, sure it'd be awesome if they were both 10 sack men, but once we get that great guy in the middle, it's gonna be good to keep him clean to help spy the mobile qb's we are seeing now and to clean up the running game
Would it be nice to have aaron donald and a prime suh in the middle, hell yeah, but how many teams have had that. If we have our next TimBo - gardener combo to last thru the 2020's I'm happy, sure it'd be awesome if they were both 10 sack men, but once we get that great guy in the middle, it's gonna be good to keep him clean to help spy the mobile qb's we are seeing now and to clean up the running game
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He isn't a JJ Watt. You know, can do everything like every average DT. Since he can't, he's no good.
Davis will be a key piece to the D even if he isn't a complete All-Pro
juniorseau55
Go Fins
Last year it was almost as if a red carpet was layed out and anyone just rushed over 100 easily on us. Even people who never rushed 100 in their life.
juniorseau55
Go Fins
The defense earned the Team some wins. Sadly the offense wasn't always there to execute. I can just imagine had we not had Jason Sanders, or how many field goals he would have scored had we completed the majority of our trips to the goal line.
Something wrong? Must be a typo I am sure it will be adjusted
Davis didn’t make Daniel Jeremiah’s top 25 rookie list that is the one that tells all
Davis didn’t make Daniel Jeremiah’s top 25 rookie list that is the one that tells all
juniorseau55
Go Fins
I don't know what you guys expect from a Rookie tackle. Wilkins had a very good presence in the line, and he pressured the quarterback very often. With WIlkins becoming better as the game goes on you will not see how much of an impact our rookie tackle will have. Either how, if Wilkins were to get injured, you would see him shine a lot more.
hoops
Tua time!
Yeah sorry with a top 15 pick I want more than Christian Wilkins
With a top 60 one I probably want more than Kwon too but I do think there’s value in gap control for sure. Vince wilfork did more than control one gap. That said for a rookie Davis did a good job at controlling that gap. Tackles that are downfield don’t really much matter to me. Channing crowder gave you plenty of those and he sucked.
2nd and 3rd years are big for davis. He can force guys wide will there be any finish horizontal when he does? If he starts giving you that he starts exceeding the pick value
With a top 60 one I probably want more than Kwon too but I do think there’s value in gap control for sure. Vince wilfork did more than control one gap. That said for a rookie Davis did a good job at controlling that gap. Tackles that are downfield don’t really much matter to me. Channing crowder gave you plenty of those and he sucked.
2nd and 3rd years are big for davis. He can force guys wide will there be any finish horizontal when he does? If he starts giving you that he starts exceeding the pick value
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Great point.
And I can't help but remember Jimmy Johnson's explanation of why he drafted Darryl Gardner over some more need-specific targets and some higher rated targets. See, Darryl Gardner was HUGE and unbelievably athletic for his size. Jimmy Johnson drafted Gardner in round 1 over some of those higher rated targets and justified it by (paraphrasing) something like--Do you want to settle for good, or do you want to take a chance at greatness? That's how personnel people think. That's why a lot of busts happen in round 1 despite there being more than 32 can't-miss prospects ... because teams take a chance on a JJ Watt, Robert Nkemdiche, or Byron Jones. Sure, Nkemdiche didn't work out ... and actually there are a lot of busts like him, but when your DL hits, he can look like JJ Watt.
Dallas took a chance on a CB who was phenomenally athletic and dominated the combine. That guy was also very smart, articulate, hard working, and team oriented. But he was a bit raw and came from a bit lower competition conference. That guy was Byron Jones, who blossomed into one of the best cover CB's in the NFL, the highest paid FA last year, and our rock funneling all t hose QB throws to Xavien Howard who made 10 INT's to fuel our dominating defense. Sometimes those gambles pay off, and when they do ... you have a star. Ironically, the Cowboys did not re-sign that star, in part because their other star draft picks--Dak Prescott and Zeke--also needed big slices of the pie. Likewise they took a chance on arguably the best prospect in a draft who had a debilitating injury--Jaylon Smith--and once he finally healed up, has become a star as well. Quietly, Steven Jones (Jerry Jones' son and defacto GM and future owner of the Cowboys) has become a very good NFL person, both as an owner and as a GM.
Raekwon Davis is not a bet on a reliable resource. Davis did NOT produce enough at Alabama. But he was recruited there because of his supreme tools, upside, and potential. Maybe, slowly, we're teasing that potential out of the guy? Fingers crossed.
Fins Up!
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ThePeopleShow13
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TBH Davis was a better pick than Wilkins value wise. I like both guys a lot. But I expect a lot more of an impact out of a guy drafted 13th vs a guy drafted 56th. Davis came in as a rookie and had a noticeable impact on the run defense. It’s not a particularly “sexy” area to excel in (people only care about sacks anymore), but we needed a NT for our defensive scheme to work.
So, question: Is, "Playing with range"....something that can be learned, or is it a by product of one's skill set, like arm strength, and you are limited in the ability to play with range by your skill set?, like you are limited by how hard you can throw a ball by your arm strength, if that analogy works.
Thanks.
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I'm interested in how to define "range" for a DL guy. Those guys are more short area quickness and shedding blocks
Feverdream
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You know what they mean...
They want sacks.
They'll define it a dozen different ways, but what they want... are sacks.
hoops
Tua time!
Sacks would be great but no that’s not what I’m talking about
he’s pretty straight line so most his pass rush will come from bull rush walking guys back
range is the ability to cover multiple gaps laterally. Flow down the los and not have the ball go by there cause you can’t get there. Ideally he’d give you tackle to tackle range with his flow but that’s probably not in the cards. Id settle for consistent outside shade shoulder b gap to b gap
stack and shed flow down the los meeting the ball even or close to with the los. Not the ball going by you for 14 yards at a clip.
again though I’m fully aware that an instinctual Mike can offset some of this by meeting the ball horizontal with the los outside of davis range play.
why do you think I can keep telling folks we need it and guys like parsons for example would meet the ball to the numbers even horizontally at or behind the los even.
he’s pretty straight line so most his pass rush will come from bull rush walking guys back
range is the ability to cover multiple gaps laterally. Flow down the los and not have the ball go by there cause you can’t get there. Ideally he’d give you tackle to tackle range with his flow but that’s probably not in the cards. Id settle for consistent outside shade shoulder b gap to b gap
stack and shed flow down the los meeting the ball even or close to with the los. Not the ball going by you for 14 yards at a clip.
again though I’m fully aware that an instinctual Mike can offset some of this by meeting the ball horizontal with the los outside of davis range play.
why do you think I can keep telling folks we need it and guys like parsons for example would meet the ball to the numbers even horizontally at or behind the los even.
juniorseau55
Go Fins
Sounds like we are talking about the tackle version of Jamar Fletcher.