Who is the BPA at #9

[panthers55]

no i have seen him play. teams may have game planned for him, but that sure didnt stop them from attacking him or his zone. no way possible that a team can run away from a MLB he will be in the middle of the freaking field. if your best cover LB is a decent rusher than you will see him doing both like Brown at UNC, Kendricks at Cal, and Hightower at Bama. Brown was the best coverage backer but yet seemed to blitz some. Hightower might not be better in coverage but what he brings on 3rd downs is pass rushing abilities. each LB have also played different LB spots like Luke, and all have experince in a 3-4 scheme or set.(yes i know UNC runs a 4-3, but have line up in a 3-4 look with Brown playing a rush OLB)

So we are comparing what he had do on a crappy team with what a linebacker had to do for Alabama or Carolina who had 10 times the talent around him. If you saw him play then you wouldn't have assumed he would be doing much pass rushing. But honestly I don't have to defend him to you or anyone else. He won the Butkus award as a junior and finished second to Willis last year as a sophomore. If you want to think we can get anyone like him in the second or third who really cares. And if he ends going else where and not to us (likely since they never pick my favorites) who cares again. Not worth the back and forth really. His accomplishments stand on their own. But in comparison terms there is more separation between him and the next linebacker than there is between Claiborne, Coples, Blackmon and whoever else you want to mention then the next guy at their respective positions.

[carolinanimal]

Giants also run a different scheme. Giants also have focused on their passing attack and stopping the pass. JJ 4-3 relies on LBs to provide pressure....NYGs doesn't

ok. i just think is easier to mask deficient lbs than it is a deficient dline. you can have 3 hof lbrs and it wont make much of a difference if the dline gets no pressure or push and they are getting mauled by 350lb lineman. now on the other hand if you have a hof dline, you can have average lbs and they can clean up whatever the dts miss and make them look better.

[MaineManPanther]

3 in the 2nd and 2 in the 3rd. that is still drafting at the top of drafts.

And going back to the best Ds in the league....no matter what you say about the DLs the talent at LB is still there. DLs ain't making Willis, Lewis, Urlacher, Matthews etcs careers.

Willis, Lewis, and Matthews all are 3-4 linebackers, who are better built and use to beat offensive lineman.

Even if that weren't true,, your talking about three HOF caliber players.

[panthers55]

ok. i just think is easier to mask deficient lbs than it is a deficient dline. you can have 3 hof lbrs and it wont make much of a difference if the dline gets no pressure or push and they are getting mauled by 350lb lineman. now on the other hand if you have a hof dline, you can have average lbs and they can clean up whatever the dts miss and make them look better.

That logic might work for the Giants but when your linebackers blitz on every own and account for much of the pressure on the quarterback, then average linebackers get you what we had last year. No thank you.

[x djdrew x]

I could very well be in the minority with this, but I think we need a lb or cb much more than dl.....provided Ron Edwards can actually play and our rookies from last year can progress and get better, dt at 9 seems like desperation. Coples has bust written all over him and personally, I am a hardy fan. He is serviceable. The secondary , on the other hand, outside of gamble and Godfrey is piss poor. We have no real #2 cb....with our other options being...(captain, hogan, ???) I think if Claiborne falls to us, we would be retarded not to take him. Free safety is also a huge need but we can address that in the 2nd.......that leaves linebacker.....and with the amount of injuries that our returning guys sustained along with the loss of quality depth in Connor......onatalu may be a depth signing but if we have to start him we are in for a rude awakening......lb or cb.... And in the second......safety or best available cb or lb depending on what we took in the first would really make the most sense to me....

Then again, what do I know??? :P

[CRA]

Willis, Lewis, and Matthews all are 3-4 linebackers, who are better built and use to beat offensive lineman.

Even if that weren't true,, your talking about three HOF caliber players.

Lewis has also been a 4-3 MLB. Urlacher is one as well....and Briggs a 4-3 OLB as well. My argument still stands. The top Ds still have the talent at LB regardless. Can argue LB is more important today than a couple years ago....QBs attack the middle of the field where they play bc of the new rules

[Mage]

Vontaze Burfict

[MaineManPanther]

Lewis has also been a 4-3 MLB. Urlacher is one as well....and Briggs a 4-3 OLB as well. My argument still stands. The top Ds still have the talent at LB regardless. Can argue LB is more important today than a couple years ago....QBs attack the middle of the field where they play bc of the new rules

Lewis and Urlacher are HOF players. And of course top defenses have talent at LB, most top defenses have talent thorought. That's why there at the top. They also have talent at defensive line.

[DaCityKats]

So that was 2006. How about the other 5 years since then?? I don't know what the numbers are but lets not cherry pick. But you are right our scheme is different making it is more linebacker dependent compared to Chicago meaning it is more of a priority for us. You don't need dominant linemen in the Johnson 4-3 you need a great pass rush. Linebackers are important to that as well. You need good edge rushers and a good nose tackle which we have.

each year after that, they gave up more TDs until Pep came. as well as there DL play went down each year from 2006 because of age and injuries. which proves the point your DL has to effective in order for your LBs to be effective. if Johnson 4-3 needs a great pass rush, than this team is still not there. only one guy has shown the ability to get to the QB on the regular. thats why i think we should invest in the best DL prospect at the 9 spot. which would more than likely be a DE.

[Catweisers]

Last draft I saw had Brockers slipping to the early 20's.

Poe would be a wall in the middle and is fairly mobile.

http://www.gotigersgo.com/sports/m-footbl/mtt/poe_dontari01.html

Vote Poe if he is there whith 9.

[carolinanimal]

That logic might work for the Giants but when your linebackers blitz on every own and account for much of the pressure on the quarterback, then average linebackers get you what we had last year. No thank you.

who were the lbs on jj defense?

[I am Hubby]

When you have the holes we have, it is going to create a bevy of opinions. When you are talking about upwards of 20 players, the opinions are going to very. As long as we can get both our top two picks on the field, I will be content.

Patience my friends. We are building, not tweaking. It takes a couple years. We should sniff success this year. We should fill a couple of those pesky holes as well. Which very well could put us in the position to finish building as early as next off-season.

I realize that at this point in time that sounds like an eternity. Take heart in the fact that as a lifelong Lions fan, I am still waiting for prolonged success.

We are on the verge of something special around here. Be Patient.

[OnlyPantherFaninMaine]

Vontaze Burfict

No.

[Ivan The Awesome]

What happened to the poll?