Amplus' Top Ten - Series 2 - The Department of Defense

[Yatagarasu]

[quote name='gabefergy' timestamp='1366005814' post='1433912']
Wake is a top 5 defensive player in the league, so maybe that means top 10 overall? I guess not.
[/quote]

Red is for top ten teams
Blue is labeled for the best player on the team
Green is 2nd Best
Purple is 3rd Best

I'm doing top ten D-line units, not players.

I boosted the status of Miami's D-line to top ten due to the fact that they have a very deep D-line to help out the age of their starters. Cameron Wake is a top five pass rusher.

[-Truth-]

[quote name='gabefergy' timestamp='1366005814' post='1433912']
Wake is a top 5 defensive player in the league, so maybe that means top 10 overall? I guess not.
[/quote]

You've missed the point entirely. Look at the first post. It states, "Red = Top Ten Teams." The red color only applies to the team's units as a whole. Notice that there isn't a single player whose name is highlighted in red. Cameron Wake by himself is not his entire team.

[gabefergy]

Overall I think the Dolphins have one of the most well-rounded Defenses to be found. The only weakness may be at the CB position, but with a great pass-rush, big physical corners like Cason and Smith should be able to play a lot of press man allowing the rush to get home. With Weddle and Jones providing support over the top or in underneath coverage, I believe it will be hard for any team to consistently move the ball against this group.

[gabefergy]

[quote name='Corvus Amplus' timestamp='1366006257' post='1433915']
Red is for top ten teams
Blue is labeled for the best player on the team
Green is 2nd Best
Purple is 3rd Best

I'm doing top ten D-line units, not players.

I boosted the status of Miami's D-line to top ten due to the fact that they have a very deep D-line to help out the age of their starters. Cameron Wake is a top five pass rusher.
[/quote]

I see, thanks for the clarification.

[gabefergy]

So does every team have a blue guy even if they are weak at that position?

[arnie_uk]

I just added more depth to my dline in David bass. Huge potential

[gabefergy]

Just curious as to how Carlos Dunlap is considered a LB? At 6'6, 280 I'm not sure how he can be expected to do anything other than rush the passer or play at the line of scrimmage.

[Guest nflfan123]

After adding DB Terrell Thomas to my secondary, i upgraded the safety position, so now I should be in the top 10 secondary

[-Truth-]

[quote name='gabefergy' timestamp='1366053279' post='1434216']
Just curious as to how Carlos Dunlap is considered a LB? At 6'6, 280 I'm not sure how he can be expected to do anything other than rush the passer or play at the line of scrimmage.
[/quote]

Size alone shouldn't predicate his position, as he's an exceptional athlete. Ed_Reed20 showed me several clips wherein he played in a two point stance in Florida, and was effective doing so. He'll likely rush the passer on the majority of his snaps, playing a similar role to that of DeMarcus Ware. But Dunlap is far from a one trick pony, as he's fared very well in run support and coverage as well. In fact, he graded out as the best Defensive Linemen in coverage, and would've finished 3rd among 3-4 OLBs in this facet.

[gabefergy]

[quote name='-Truth-' timestamp='1366055512' post='1434238']

Size alone shouldn't predicate his position, as he's an exceptional athlete. Ed_Reed20 showed me several clips wherein he played in a two point stance in Florida, and was effective doing so. He'll likely rush the passer on the majority of his snaps, playing a similar role to that of DeMarcus Ware. But Dunlap is far from a one trick pony, as he's fared very well in run support and coverage as well. In fact, he graded out as the best Defensive Linemen in coverage, and would've finished 3rd among 3-4 OLBs in this facet.
[/quote]

Demarcus Ware is much more athletic than Dunlap though, and isnt as big. I doubt Dunlap was asked to drop into coverage very frequently and even if he was effective in those few drops, that does not mean he will be able to man up much quicker TEs that OLBs are expected to match up with.

[-Truth-]

[quote name='gabefergy' timestamp='1366057939' post='1434276']
Demarcus Ware is much more athletic than Dunlap though, and isnt as big. I doubt Dunlap was asked to drop into coverage very frequently and even if he was effective in those few drops, that does not mean he will be able to man up much quicker TEs that OLBs are expected to match up with.
[/quote]

Ware is definitely the better athlete, but it's not by the widest of margins. I see Dunlap as being among the more, if not most physically gifted pass rushers in the NFL. He has outstanding agility for his position, and for a player capable of running a 4.6 40 on wet grass, the concerns about his size should be pacified by his freakish athletic ability. Dunlap wasn't asked to drop into coverage often, from what I recall, although given that he's done very well while doing so, we can't outwardly assume that he'd be inept in this facet, especially since he'll have similar responsibilities. And while I'd argue that there are few 3-4 OLBs in football who are able to play man coverage against TEs effectively on a consistent basis, the point itself wouldn't even apply, as Dunlap will likely rush on the majority of his snaps. It'd be a similar situation to that of John Abraham, who at 34, played a higher percentage of snaps as a 3-4 OLB than he did as a 4-3 DE in 2012, and was terrific in his new role as his responsibilities remained the same from the years before. Given that I have more than enough pieces on the back end to cover in the passing game, asking Dunlap to drop into coverage more often would only be under-utilizing his strengths.

[gabefergy]

[quote name='-Truth-' timestamp='1366062959' post='1434319']
Ware is definitely the better athlete, but it's not by the widest of margins. I see Dunlap as being among the more, if not most physically gifted pass rushers in the NFL. He has outstanding agility for his position, and for a player capable of running a 4.6 40 on wet grass, the concerns about his size should be pacified by his freakish athletic ability. Dunlap wasn't asked to drop into coverage often, from what I recall, although given that he's done very well while doing so, we can't outwardly assume that he'd be inept in this facet, especially since he'll have similar responsibilities. And while I'd argue that there are few 3-4 OLBs in football who are able to play man coverage against TEs effectively on a consistent basis, the point itself wouldn't even apply, as Dunlap will likely rush on the majority of his snaps. It'd be a similar situation to that of John Abraham, who at 34, played a higher percentage of snaps as a 3-4 OLB than he did as a 4-3 DE in 2012, and was terrific in his new role as his responsibilities remained the same from the years before. Given that I have more than enough pieces on the back end to cover in the passing game, asking Dunlap to drop into coverage more often would only be under-utilizing his strengths.
[/quote]

Who exactly are your pieces to cover on the back end? Malcom Jenkins? the worst safety in the NFL. Brandon Graham your other OLB who has never played OLB? Erin Henderson, your 2 down LB who was routinely taken off the field in passing situations? I'm not saying Dunlap should be utilized frequently in that role, I am just questioning who on your roster is capable. Also it seems a stretch to call someone of his size a freak athlete who is capable of performing the requisite duties of a 3-4 OLB. His agility splits were not very impressive and do not indicate he would be capable of anything more than a basic zone drop.

[ravensdan]

[quote name='Corvus Amplus' timestamp='1365811669' post='1432131']


You can try throw mud at the 49ers, but you can't deny the three All-Pro players.

I think the Steelers are placed fairly at the bottom of the top ten until further notice. If you can find a viable replacement for Sean Spence, then your ranking will definitely will go up.
[/quote]

Additional will linebacker added. Michael clay. Extremely quick. Very good in coverage. Has better instincts than his running mate Alonso. Also despite his smaller size he held up very well against the power running of Wisconsin. Also added 15 lbs of muscle w/o sacrificing his quickness for his pro day.

[GrimCoconut]

[quote name='ravensdan' timestamp='1366071447' post='1434476']
Additional will linebacker added. Michael clay. Extremely quick. Very good in coverage. Has [b]better instincts than his running mate Alonso[/b]. Also despite his smaller size he held up very well against the power running of Wisconsin. Also added 15 lbs of muscle w/o sacrificing his quickness for his pro day.
[/quote]
I really disagree here, being a person who has scouted the entire Oregon team, lol. He's very good, but I think Alonso's are better.

[ravensdan]

[quote name='GrimCoconut' timestamp='1366071498' post='1434479']

I really disagree here, being a person who has scouted the entire Oregon team, lol. He's very good, but I think Alonso's are better.
[/quote]

I said his instincts were better than Alonso, not necessarily overall as Alonso is a lb I like as well.

[-Truth-]

[quote name='gabefergy' timestamp='1366063362' post='1434325']
Who exactly are your pieces to cover on the back end? Malcom Jenkins? the worst safety in the NFL. Brandon Graham your other OLB who has never played OLB? Erin Henderson, your 2 down LB who was routinely taken off the field in passing situations? I'm not saying Dunlap should be utilized frequently in that role, I am just questioning who on your roster is capable. Also it seems a stretch to call someone of his size a freak athlete who is capable of performing the requisite duties of a 3-4 OLB. His agility splits were not very impressive and do not indicate he would be capable of anything more than a basic zone drop.
[/quote]

In adhering to the concept that Malcolm Jenkins is not the only player on my back end, let's walk through this portion of the roster. Had Kenny Phillips remained healthy in 2012, he would've graded out as 3rd best cover Safety in the NFL, after finishing 5th the year before. Isa Abdul-Quddus finished 12th in this facet, despite playing a limited amount of snaps, and Duke Williams was a standout in coverage over the course of his duration in Nevada. Between the neglected remainder of my Safety corps, they were targeted a combined 99 times last season. They allowed 26 receptions for 273 yards, 0 TDs, 3 INTs with 16 PDs and a QB rating of 27.0. You then have Devin McCourty, who finished with the 5th highest coverage grade of any DB, allowing 33 receptions on 68 targets for 451 yards, 4 TDs, 5 INTs with 7 PDs and a QB rating of 59.1. Nevermind the fact that Donald Butler and David Hawthorne are far better in coverage than Erin Henderson. Or that I could easily plug in McCourty at FS in my base fronts, a position he thrived in during last season, with Jabari Greer on the outside, no longer being forced to cover #1 WRs, effectively taking Jenkins out of the equation. My roster is more than capable of excelling in coverage when its best back end players are actually accounted for. And the stretch would be to look at a player who's been a standout in pass rushing, run defense and coverage thus far, and cap his ceiling at being less than merely capable because of a single drill, after he's shown off his physical attributes on countless occasions. Like I've said before, he'll be asked to rush the passer and defend the run for the majority of his snaps. That's his requisite. And it'll be one that should be very feasible when I decide to allow players other than Jenkins, Graham and Henderson to defend the pass.

[gabefergy]

[quote name='-Truth-' timestamp='1366084201' post='1434680']


In adhering to the concept that Malcolm Jenkins is not the only player on my back end, let's walk through this portion of the roster. Had Kenny Phillips remained healthy in 2012, he would've graded out as 3rd best cover Safety in the NFL, after finishing 5th the year before. Isa Abdul-Quddus finished 12th in this facet, despite playing a limited amount of snaps, and Duke Williams was a standout in coverage over the course of his duration in Nevada. Between the neglected remainder of my Safety corps, they were targeted a combined 99 times last season. They allowed 26 receptions for 273 yards, 0 TDs, 3 INTs with 16 PDs and a QB rating of 27.0. You then have Devin McCourty, who finished with the 5th highest coverage grade of any DB, allowing 33 receptions on 68 targets for 451 yards, 4 TDs, 5 INTs with 7 PDs and a QB rating of 59.1. Nevermind the fact that Donald Butler and David Hawthorne are far better in coverage than Erin Henderson. Or that I could easily plug in McCourty at FS in my base fronts, a position he thrived in during last season, with Jabari Greer on the outside, no longer being forced to cover #1 WRs, effectively taking Jenkins out of the equation. My roster is more than capable of excelling in coverage when its best back end players are actually accounted for. And the stretch would be to look at a player who's been a standout in pass rushing, run defense and coverage thus far, and cap his ceiling at being less than merely capable because of a single drill, after he's shown off his physical attributes on countless occasions. Like I've said before, he'll be asked to rush the passer and defend the run for the majority of his snaps. That's his requisite. And it'll be one that should be very feasible when I decide to allow players other than Jenkins, Graham and Henderson to defend the pass.
[/quote]
Too many numbers dude.