Is Paul Kruger on the team?

[LouieDaLug]

Just curious........stats says he played 61 snaps on Monday which I found shocking considering he was invisible as far as I could tell. Just nothing from the guy, me thinks its time to move on and find someone who can at set the edge and make tackles.

Comments?

[rlh445]

Yea I mean he's been in the league so long, and he's always had the bulk of the pass rushing responsibilities. Oh wait......

[Bltravens]

And replace him with who/what?

Kruger played like hot garbage, as Dion would say, Monday night but we are out of options.

[T3hRaven]

He showed something last year in limited snaps, but if he doesn't get it going quickly he'll be off the team. I think this is his last year on his contract. I believe he only had one tackle, and it wasn't anything impressive.

[BloodRaven]

Jermaine Gresham was giving Kruger lessons on how to waltz.

[T3hRaven]

[quote name='BloodRaven' timestamp='1347419368' post='1148662']
Jermaine Gresham was giving Kruger lessons on how to waltz.
[/quote]

That's what's bad. Gresham is no blocking tight end.

[RavensWin09]

upshaw should start right now. not liking kruger but upshaw showed good improvement

[D_UP]

Kruger was studder stepping all night. I hope he gets better. /side note how far behind is Kindle? on a team that needs a pass rush he was inactive

[Blex64]

[quote name='RavensWin09' timestamp='1347419447' post='1148664']
upshaw should start right now. not liking kruger but upshaw showed good improvement
[/quote]

If Upshaw starts next week (fairly likely) it won't be in place of Kruger.

Kruger hasn't been a three-down player for us. He's going to at least get more of a shot to adjust, especially when you consider what our other options are.

[Crabcakes&Football]

[quote name='T3hRaven' timestamp='1347419318' post='1148661']
He showed something last year in limited snaps, but if he doesn't get it going quickly he'll be off the team. I think this is his last year on his contract. I believe he only had one tackle, and it wasn't anything impressive.
[/quote]

Off the team? No way. He offers too much in the passing department which we desperately need. I think you said it in your first sentence: limited snaps. He's a good pass rusher, not a good edge setter and run stuffer. They wore him down with the run. I think if we use him like we did last year he'll still be an effective pass rusher.

[flynismo]

He had a bad game. It happens.

[CharmCityBullets]

i rewatched the game and watched Kruger on every play. to say he had a bad game is like saying Billy Cundiff had a bad kick in the AFC championship game. he was stonewalled by Gresham and every player that touched him. he was also blocked by the grass which he slipped on many times. i'm glad we won, because it made rewatching him humorous. he is overmatched and is not NFL quality. people have been making excuses for him since he was drafted. he sucks, time to move on.

[flynismo]

[quote name='CharmCityBullets' timestamp='1347423285' post='1148698']
i rewatched the game and watched Kruger on every play. to say he had a bad game is like saying Billy Cundiff had a bad kick in the AFC championship game. he was stonewalled by Gresham and every player that touched him. he was also blocked by the grass which he slipped on many times. i'm glad we won, because it made rewatching him humorous. he is overmatched and is not NFL quality. people have been making excuses for him since he was drafted. he sucks, time to move on.
[/quote][ please do not respond to the troll ]

[indianstick]

[quote name='T3hRaven' timestamp='1347419421' post='1148663']
That's what's bad. Gresham is no blocking tight end.
[/quote]

I wouldn't go that far and say hes not a blocking TE. No he's not solely a blocking tightend but he isn't a slouch at run blocking. He has always been exceptional at it since his college days. I'm not saying that's an excuse for kruger's play but gresham is a great run blocker.

As for kruger, I hope he fixes up his game during the short week and proves that last game was just a fluke. He needs to ball out this year if he wants to be in the team's future plans. I had high hopes for kruger this year and i still do, he showed promise in his pass rush role last year but he can't just be a one dimensional player.

[CharlesK]

I'm not quite ready to give up on Kruger. He didn't do anything impressive this first game though. However last year a certain DPOY also had some bad games. Still in the NFL one has to show results. If he does not show any promise soon then it may be time to move onto other options. I thought he did well in his limited role last year as a situational rusher. Maybe that is what he should remain rather than an every down player.

[Pino]

i'll have to watch the game again, but if he's setting the edge or getting pressures or taking up space in coverage, it's ok that he's not standing out. neither did jarret johnson for many many years

[jaege]

Maybe it was just a bad game, but Krugar has never impressed me. Maybe Sizzle just grabbed so much of the limelight that I never noticed the guy. I am not saying retire him or anything.

[RavenFanatic1327]

Get off his back. Cincinnati has a huge mauling type online and it was never easy stoppin their run even when they had ced Benson. I bet next week Paul Kruger shuts everyone up and has a great game

[Andrew Glass]

I agree upshaw should be starting but in replace of kruger? No way... Kruger is twice the player albert mcklendon is who had some playing time and was completely invisible as well.

[ClintLB8]

What about bringing in a guy like Matt Roth? He should be cheap and is a great edge setter. He could compete with Kruger for snaps and we could have a tandem of Roth on run downs and Kruger rushing the passer. Roth also can pass rush a little bit. I don't see why not bring him in to see. I don't see Kruger or Kindle setting the edge on a consistent basis. I'm worried Kruger's limit could be his role last year on a limited/situational basis.

[The Raven]

He's off to a rough start this year, but look at it this way. He provided the vast majority of the pass rush in the playoffs least year. He got our only sack against the Patriots. Suggs didn't do crap in the playoffs and won DPOY. Players have bad games and possibly even streaks of bad games. He'll straighten out and get it going.

[Militant X 1]

Kruger will improve. sheesh!

~Mili

[Corvus]

Its one game, and only the second start of his career at that. All of our guys struggled getting off blocks in the run game, but they did seem to be running right at Kruger quite a bit and testing him. He will get better setting the edge with more in game experience. Like I said, its one game that we won by THIRTY ONE points anyway, so in the long run all of that running right at Kruger didn't matter anyway. If we're still having this conversation after the Pats game or so, then I'll start to worry.

[GrimCoconut]

Replace Kruger? Not yet. Replace McClellan? Yes.

I see Kruger being the back-up once Suggs returns. I believe he will put it together before that, though. I have a feeling he will look a lot better by the time we play the Patriots. He could very well be just a situational pass rusher but regardless I don't see us cutting him.

[Purple Punishment]

I didn't pay full attention. To whom was on whom. Was Kruger rushing against Whitworth? That guy is a nightmare for any pass rusher including Suggs.

[PuRock]

[quote name='Purple Punishment' timestamp='1347461064' post='1148878']
I didn't pay full attention. To whom was on whom. Was Kruger rushing against Whitworth? That guy is a nightmare for any pass rusher including Suggs.
[/quote]

Whitworth even drives Suggs batty.

[BloodRaven]

[quote name='Purple Punishment' timestamp='1347461064' post='1148878']
I didn't pay full attention. To whom was on whom. Was Kruger rushing against Whitworth? That guy is a nightmare for any pass rusher including Suggs.
[/quote]

Whitworth is good, he has Suggs number but then again McPhee has his.

Anyway I'm not advocating that we bench Kruger but he really did have a bad game across the board.

[izvoodoo]

I think he'll perform better when he's not facing Wittworth. However Ryan Clady will give us nightmares.

[CharmCityBullets]

the simple fact that he was a 2nd round pick and this was his 2nd start after 4 years in the league speaks volumes. i'm not saying cut him now, but he is not starter material.

[BloodRaven]

[quote name='izvoodoo' timestamp='1347465024' post='1148918']
I think he'll perform better when he's not facing Wittworth. However Ryan Clady will give us nightmares.
[/quote]

It wasn't just Whitworth, he was getting owned by their TE Gresham. Ryan Clady on the other hand is overrated.