Fairley vs. Dareus

[MHS831]

FAIRLEY

Pass rush: Explosive initial burst off the snap. Good flexibility and balance to "get skinny" and penetrate gaps. Uses his hands well to slap away blockers' attempts to get their hands on him. Possesses a rare combination of long arms and quick feet, helping him avoid cut blocks. Good swim move. Locates the ball quickly and has the lateral agility to redirect. Good short-area closing burst. Good effort in pursuit. Surprising speed for a man of his size.

Run defense: Relies on his quickness to penetrate gaps and make plays behind the line of scrimmage more than his strength to hold up at the point of attack. Long, relatively thin limbed for the position and can be knocked off the ball due to his lack of an ideal anchor. Good flexibility to twist through double-teams. Locates the ball quickly and pursues well laterally.

Explosion: Quick burst to penetrate gaps. Can shock his opponent with his quickness, strong initial punch and quick hands to disengage. Has an explosive burst to close when he sees a playmaking opportunity and can make the eye-popping collision without needing much space to gather momentum.

Strength: Good, but not elite strength, especially in his lower body. Has a tendency to come up at the snap and can be pushed back because of it. Possesses very good natural strength, however, including in his core as he can twist through double teams. Very good hand strength to rip through blocks. Good strength for the pull-down and trip-up tackle.

Tackling: Possesses a good closing burst and brings his hips to supply the big hit. Good strength for the drag tackle. Willing to lay out and has good hand-eye coordination to trip up the ballcarrier running away from him.

Intangibles: Former high school basketball player who shows surprisingly quick feet. An ascending talent, but is nonetheless labeled as a player with some true bust potential, as there are concerns about his work ethic. Carries a little bit of extra weight around his middle and is more "country" strong than weight-room defined. Has developed a reputation as a dirty player; repeatedly flagged in 2010 for late hits and there have been instances when he has speared ballcarriers with his helmet, banged into their lower legs purposely and pushed off downed players to lift himself up.

DAREUS

Pass rush: Good initial quickness off the snap. Doesn't possess the burst upfield to cross the tackle's face and turn the corner. Quick enough, however, to split the gap and collapse the pocket from the interior. Explosive hands to disengage from blocks. Needs a clear lane to close, but shows a late burst toward the ball when he has it. Flashes some legitimate pass-rush technique, including a swim move and good inside rip. Possesses surprising lateral agility and balance to track down elusive quarterbacks.

Run defense: Stout at the point of attack. Plays with good leverage and can anchor to create a pile. Cognizant defender who works hard to keep containment. Good lateral agility and balance to slide while fighting blockers. Long arms and good strength to lock-out. Explosive hands to disengage. Won't shed the block until he reads where the ballcarrier is going. Good effort laterally and downfield in pursuit. Surprising speed for a man his size.

Explosion: Can provide an explosive initial punch to jar the offensive lineman back onto his heels. Powerful and quick hands to shed blocks. Flashes some explosiveness as a hitter, needing little momentum to rock the ballcarrier.

Strength: Thick lower body, which helps him anchor well against the run. Powerful bull rusher with good hand strength to disengage quickly. Good upper-body strength to pull down ballcarriers while occupied with a blocker.

Tackling: Shows surprising lateral agility and balance to break down against elusive athletes. Isn't always capable of making the tackle in the open field himself, but often does a good enough job of forcing elusive ballcarriers to dance in an effort to elude him that secondary defenders are able to get there and help make the play. Good strength for the pull down tackle inside. Good effort laterally and downfield in pursuit. Will lay out for the diving tackle, showing good hand-eye coordination to trip up the ballcarrier. Flashes some explosiveness as a hitter.

Intangibles: Suspended by the NCAA for the first two games of the 2010 season when it was discovered that he'd accepted inappropriate benefits from an agent. Endured a troubled childhood. Father died when Dareus was six, leaving mother to support six children. Dareus has lived with others throughout much of his life, including an assistant coach in high school and a sponsor family while in college.

--Rob Rang

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/draft

Are you Fairley Fans are sniffing the right jock? Seems like Dareus is the better fit for us. Both are awesome, but Dareus is solid in 2 phases of the game. Our D could use some gap control.

[nosuchthingasapanther]

dareus has been a projected top 10 pick almost his entire college career.

[MHS831]

dareus has been a projected top 10 pick almost his entire college career.

Yup. It is easy to fall for the "flavor of the month," but be careful.

[R0CKnR0LLA]

F**k it, I can dream...

[Carl Spackler]

Dareus is a better fit for the 3-4. Fairley, again, is not out of shape. Like Peppers he was a standout basketball player in HS and can still dunk. He is so much more athletic than Dareus.

[MHS831]

Dareus is a better fit for the 3-4. Fairley, again, is not out of shape. Like Peppers he was a standout basketball player in HS and can still dunk. He is so much more athletic than Dareus.

I don't know that Dareus is better for the 3-4-as what? A DE or NT? I see him as a perfect 1 technique in the 4-3. The article didn't come out and say he was out of shape--I think the inference was that he doesn't have a body that shows he adheres to a strict training program. Country strong won't get it in the NFL.

My biggest concern with Fairley is his gap shooting. Landri does it, and so did Damione Lewis. Dareus's stats are not as good as Fairley's, but he can hold 2 gaps on the line, give inside pass rush/colapse the pocket. That is what we need here. To me--no brainer. Dareus if you go DT. I bet Dareus goes before Fairley in the draft.

[nosuchthingasapanther]

Dareus is a better fit for the 3-4. Fairley, again, is not out of shape. Like Peppers he was a standout basketball player in HS and can still dunk. He is so much more athletic than Dareus.

dareus is better suited to play inside as a dt in a 4-3 than fairley.

fairley may be more athletic, but dareus is smarter. he plays like a vet, and has been doing it for quite some time.

[MHS831]

dareus is better suited to play inside as a dt in a 4-3 than fairley.

fairley may be more athletic, but dareus is smarter. he plays like a vet, and has been doing it for quite some time.

Correct. No question that Dareus will be the better pro. Fairley will need the right system, but I see bust all over him when he gets paid and stuck in a 2-gap control defensive scheme. SHoot the gap and they will simply trap him or run misdirection plays underneath his penetration all day.

[ZedLeppelin]

Saban has not produced one good pro in all his years coaching college ball, Dareus will not break the trend.

[Mother Grabber]

dareus is better suited to play inside as a dt in a 4-3 than fairley.

fairley may be more athletic, but dareus is smarter. he plays like a vet, and has been doing it for quite some time.

My biggest concern with Fairley is his 10c head. That scares me.

[MHS831]

My biggest concern with Fairley is his 10c head. That scares me.

I agree. His self-discipline and his intelligence scare you a bit. I would rather have a DT that can collapse the pocket (both can) and who can plug the middle (dareus can). For every tackle in the backfield Fairley gets by shooting gaps in the NFL, there will be 4 big gainers because he didn't maintain gap discipline.

[nosuchthingasapanther]

Saban has not produced one good pro in all his years coaching college ball, Dareus will not break the trend.

saban also almost never let rookies/underclassmen have more playing time than his vets...

...dareus was an exception.

[MHS831]

Saban has not produced one good pro in all his years coaching college ball, Dareus will not break the trend.

I think there is value later in the draft at DT. These guys have risks and are not elite in last year's draft. Trade down a few spots and take Green or Peterson for a second rounder. Then get a solid DT: I like Paea, Luigit (excuse spelling), and the kid from Temple, Muhammad something.

[Brooklyn Bully]

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