Im curious what handful of players you could see being serious contenders for defensive rookie of the year this year ? I really dont see a ton of guys out there who were put in in the position where they can be immediate significant contributors. Some of the better players in this years draft were corners, which have a slower learning curve, and get poor respect from the nfl in general (unless they get big time INTS in which case people pretend that makes them good) The guys I see in the biggest position to be competitive for it are Luke Kuechly Michael Brockers Quinton Coples Melvin Ingram and possibly Dont'a Hightower depending on whose healthy on the Pats (this guy could be a machine if Mayo is banged up)
unless we play a lot more 4-3(which we are rumored to be doing) and less 3-4 coples wont win, these awards seemed to be all stat based and coples wont get the big stats(tackles and sacks) in a 3-4 like he would in a 4-3. even though he would have just a big a role. but its so early to even tell this. there is always that 4-6 round pick on some team that turns out to be a gem that competes for the award
The kid is not subject to only play one posistion on the field being our Pass rusher now he will be all over the line. And I would not doubt to see him stand up in some formations as well
I completely overlooked this because I forgot about Suggs injury. I guess a huge part of this depends on how early Suggs can come back though. He definitely has his chance to shine
I look at it the other way. Without Suggs to draw the majority of the attention, Upshaw can be a main focus for the protections. Also his pass rushing abilities are not his strong suit. Rightfully or wrongfully, guys who rack up tackles/sacks/turnovers get the credit, and Upshaw isn't likely to lead his team in sacks in my opinion.
If the Ravens don't have someone to step up, they will be in huge trouble in the pass-rush department. Ngata is a beast and can push the pocket - but they need someone from the outside to produce. Luke Kuechly is my pick, he's going to make a lot of plays in the next level
Not to rain on your parade, but when is the last time a CB won DROY? I think Gilmore will be a good CB for the Bills, but unless he pulls in 8-10 INT's (like Byrd did his rookie year) I don't think he ends up in the conversation, regardless of how well he plays as a cover corner.
The only reason McCourty didn't win DRoY is because Suh had such an incredible season for a rookie DT. No reason that a CB can't win it. I'll admit it isn't likely, but you can't rule out any position because they don't win it as often. I will admit that sacks get more credit for some reason, even though an interception is a guaranteed stop while a sack just adds a few yards.
Thats not the only reason that Gilmore isnt likely to win it The guy is very rough around the edges, and needs a significant amount of work on his technique. That combined with the fact that corners are unlikely to get it in general, I STRONGLY doubt hes a contender. If any corner has a good shot this year my best guess would be Clairborne. And I still really doubt he gets it
Kuechly would be my guess, but I do want to make a case for Chandler Jones. Now, I'm completely comfortable admitting I don't know if he's gonna be a good player or not. But, Bill Belichick liked him enough to give up a 1st and a 3rd for him, so let's just say for the sake of the argument the kid can play. DROY is decided by production, and IF Jones can play, he's gonna be put in a favorable position to make plays. The Pats are gonna play around 70% of their snaps in sub-packages, and the offense is gonna score a ton of points, forcing the other team to pass a lot. Jones is gonna have plenty of snaps where he can just pin his ears back and get after the QB. If he gets double digit sacks and forces a few turnovers that might be enough to get him the award. For the record, I don't expect it to happen.
Jones is a project, drafted for his long term potential The guy only has 10 sacks in 3 years of his college career. Not expecting him to come anywhere near matching that. I would expect that they drafted him because they expect him to be a stud in a year or 2, or 3. Cuz right now id be SHOCKED if hes anywhere near the conversation for DPOTY I would think that if any Pat has a legit shot it would be Donta
At this time last year a lot of people were saying a lot of the same things about Muhammed Wilkerson. He was an excellent talent but very raw and would take some time to develop. Then he went out and immediately looked like he belonged in the NFL. Remember how everyone thought Cam Newton would be take a few years? I'm not saying I expect Jones to come out and dominate, I'm saying I've seen Tully Banta-Cain get 10 sacks in this defense, so Jones has a shot at putting up some good numbers. As for Hightower, I'm really intrigued to see how Belichick uses him, because I really have no idea what the plan is. It seems like he would be a nice fit playing next to Mayo in the 3-4, but I seriously doubt he's gonna take away too many snaps from Brandon Spikes. Plus, as I stated earlier, we're gonna be in sub-packages most of the time anyway, and what's he gonna do in those? It'll be really interesting to see which rookie gets the most playing time for the Patriots.
When we drafted Mo Wilk everyone was saying he was going to be an immediate contributor... And Cam Newton was pretty much a lock for OROTY before the season started. Jones is a guy whose stock shot up A TON at the very end, and quite frankly I have no idea why. Not to mention Syracuse isnt exactly known for producing quality guys (this is their first, first rounder in over a decade?). Im not saying Jones is going to be a bust (even though I think he will be). Just that the odds of him being a beast early, especially his rookie year is just really doubtful to me.
The thing about Jones is who is on the other end rushing as well they lost their pass rusher didnt they?
Ummmm....Not quite Here's what Wes Bunting said Greg Gabriel Even The Jets Blog Wrong again Don Banks Kurt Warner NFL Draft Profile This is a load of shit. You have no idea what any teams thought of him a week before the draft, or a month before the draft, or at any point. Your just buying into media hype and trying to pass it off as fact. That has absolutely no relevance to Chandler Jones You're missing my point though. He doesn't necessarily need to be a beast to be productive (hence the Tully Banta-Cain reference.) If he's a pretty good player on day one, he'll have the opportunity to put up the kind of stats that gets you into DROY discussions.
That's a good point. Mark Anderson signed with the Bills and there is no guarantee Andre Carter is coming back (he was our best pass rusher last year.) There is no way Jones is gonna put up double digit sacks unless there is a pretty decent pass rush coming from the other side.
Ehh, I'd call Anderson the better pass rusher, same sacks in 1/3 of the snaps I believe. Carter was a better overall player, but Anderson got to the QB a lot better in our system. Ninkovich has been playing DE in sub packages quite a bit during minicamp I believe. He's been solid, but I hope he's part of a rotation with Bequette or Scott.
