I have the game on my DVR so I took a close look at all 3 players individually. Gholston got about 15-20 plays, Westerman got around 5, and Murrell got at most 5 plays. One thing I clarified for myself that I wasn't sure about before was what position each player was competing for exactly. It seems that Gholston and Westerman are competing for the backup Rush-OLB position behind Bryan Thomas. On the official depth chart Westerman is shown as the back up to Harris but Ryan has said he wants him to know all the LB positions. I believe Murrell is strictly Calvin Pace's backup (strongside OLB) because he only got playing time after Pace sat down for the first time in the 4th quarter. Onto the good stuff: Gholston - The most glaring issue with Gholston is that he has not developed any pass rush moves whatsoever. He does not use his hands at all which is often times what makes a pass rusher great. He literally runs straight into the blocker and unsuccessfully tries to over power him. We have all seen this by now and it is really discouraging considering one would think pass rush technique can be taught. One thing that is nice though is that he is getting opportunities from all over the field both standing up and with his hand in the dirt. Gholston does have one thing going for him though. I think he grasps the system pretty well and understands his role. When he's called upon to contain he does so pretty adequately while holding blockers at the point. His awareness has improved; he stopped a would be TD after Mcgahee broke several tackles. Also, in coverage he seemed to know his zone and where he is supposed to be. He has the fake blitz/drop into coverage technique down pretty well too which seems to be used often in this defense. WESTERMAN - Right off the bat you see how much more instinctive and aggressive he is than Gholston. He actually looks like a football player out there whereas Gholston looks the opposite a lot of the time. Play #1- Gets a Tackle For Loss on his first play of the game. #2 - Would have had a TFL but there was a flag on the play. #3 - Showed a quick burst and made a tackle from behind to hold the runner to a short gain. #4 - Showed unawareness and was completely faked out on a QB option that went for a 1st down. Two other times he was dropped into coverage. He blew one assignment but was successful in the other. I like what I see out of him but he might not be ready to start. Bottom line on Gholston Vs Westerman: Although he didn't make any big plays, he didn't mess up at all and showed he is capable of filling the role. Not very encouraging really but it's better than last year. Westerman definitely flashed which was great to see but in his limited play time he made some errors and could get exposed vs. starters. For those of you that want to cut Gholston right now; that would not be the right move. I think he is the best option behind Thomas and Pace because he has some much needed experience in a complicated system. MURRELL - Looked GREAT in very limited action. Used his hands very well to shed blockers and looked a lot like Calvin Pace. Plays with aggression and even had a TFL. Pace is supposed to sit more on Saturday so I hope I'll get a better look at him. I'll post again on this topic after the Giants game.
great breakdown....thanks. hopefully at least one of these guys will be serviceable. and how did the cactus look?
Good work man, nice analysis. One point though. Out of the two positives you listed for Gholston, the second one is an illusion. That "awareness" play where he tackled McGahee downfield was his screw-up in the first place. He should have tackled him back by the LOS. He was just trying to make up for sucking. I haven't gotten to re-watch the game, but every play that I keyed on Gholston showed him getting tangled up with the OT and becoming useless. Unless he learns how to shed a block, he will continue to suck.
you're breakdowns are always very good. Its nice to see Murrell getting some love. He works his ass off. LB depth may be better than we imagine. Too bad we cant say the same for the lines.
I thought Thomas looked good. He was in on one sack and when he was lined up on the right side of the line he strung out a sweep play by occupying two blockers and forced Willis McGahee back inside where he was tackled after a short gain.
I continually hear the fact that Gholston only tries to bull rush lineman which basically has not worked for him so far.....isn't it the coaches job to point that out to him and teach him some more moves that will positively affect his pass rushing ability?
Gholston is doing a better job containing runs to the outside. He is also getting a great push on tackles. As I said in the "I still support Gholston" thread...I still support Gholston. There's no way in hell, he'll go without a sack this entire season in this system. It's just impossible. Even he can't fuck this up. Gholston is going to start getting reps with the 1st team this week and will be on the field with the #1's come Sunday.
I watched every play he was in and only once, MAYBE twice, was his push productive. He pushed the LT all the way back into the QB who was forced to move up in the pocket and got sacked. Every other time his pass rush has very little effect. I still support him but at this point I wouldn't be surprised if he ended up wit zero sacks.
If this were to happen, I would lose all hope. Within this system, I'm expecting all of our linebackers to at least walk away from this season with 1 sack under their belt. It's almost impossible to fail getting sacks in this system. During the Rams game, he was chasing down the QB all the way to the sidelines. The QB threw the ball away, but he was leading the chase. How long did we wait for that last season against the Broncos? Week 12? 13? It'll all come together soon.
Do you really think they're not trying to teach him moves? They have brought in a train of consultants to make this guy into a football player. If he can't develop any evasion moves as a freaking pass rusher soon, at some point you just have to realize he is unteachable.
I have been waiting for a quote to use in my signature. Something tells me this one will make us laugh (well, cry) as the season moves along
I'm a mark for Westermann and will be all season but I want Gholston to grow into the position and be able to use his raw abilities. Right now, relative to where he was drafted, he sucks. Sorry, but when a UDFA who missed half his senior season with an injury comes in and looks better then a 6th overall pick with a year under his belt, it becomes an issue of much more than talent.
Gholston is playing with the 1s against the Giants. Not the 2s or 3s or whatever else is has been playing with up until now. We will see if he has learned anything at all in the last 18 months. No more enablers after this week. He can either play or he can't. I hope we don't have to read how well he did taking on a block.
Westerman is a big guy too, he definitely looked the part. Fate owes us something- we need a James Harrison-ish stroke of luck.
best post on gholston i've seen. thanks. First time i've been optimistic on gholston in weeks. reason for optimism is simply that he seems to understand the system. now if he can start to apply some of his god given talent and speed he may make some plays. knowing what to do is more than half the battle if you ask me, just needs to get qucker in reacting.
thats what i'm saying....with all of this personnel not being able to teach this guy to pass rush in the NFL maybe he just doesnt have it in him to compete on this level
God, I hope your right. So far Vernon Gholston is like being in bed with an ugly woman. Even if you try to get off, you just can't because she's so butt ugly. Then it just turns limp and you wish you were dead. I am not speaking from experience either.
