I don't know about you, But when I watched that play, and he covered the tackle, then started going out, at first I thought he was just getting a wider stance, Then he sprinted off and looked like he was covering calvin johnson. They cut out then all the sudden i see this #90 fellow pick off the ball and somewhat startled say holy [BLEEP].... its andre branch.
He had some good pressures but needs to work on being able to cut back to the inside of the lineman and I think he'll have that 10+ sack mark this year.
Still though, the fact that he can drop back in coverage and is that quick, something I didn't expect really seemed promising.
They dropped him in coverage last year too...and his rookie season but I think that was before it started to "click" for him and he could actually utilize hid athletic ability without overthinking
I was floored. It was an amazing play. Goes to show how creative this D is under Gus.
Most shocking moment of the preseason yet for me lol
Maybe try him at DB? Because the whole DE thing isn't really working for him.
I'll be totally honest -
That Branch INT might be the best INT I have ever seen from a DE in all my 30+ years of watching football.
Usually when DE's record INT's they are resulting from a tipped pass at the LOS, or the DE stepping in front of a shovel/ short pass near the LOS. Branch's INT showed range and smooth athletic ability.
I thought he played well last night.
Quote:I'll be totally honest -
That Branch INT might be the best INT I have ever seen from a DE in all my 30+ years of watching football.
Usually when DE's record INT's they are resulting from a tipped pass at the LOS, or the DE stepping in front of a shovel/ short pass near the LOS. Branch's INT showed range and smooth athletic ability.
man I keep forgetting you're 40 something.
You know that saying about lemons and lemonade? I think thats what Gus Bradley and Bob Babich are doing with Branch. I don't really see him being that DE who consistently wins one-on-one matchups but he seems to have value as a Bill Belichick style Swiss-Army-Knife-with-athletic-ability kinda guy.
That play made me think that maybe he should be playing TE. He's got a nice set of hands.
Great play. Glad to see him making plays.
Quote:I'll be totally honest -
That Branch INT might be the best INT I have ever seen from a DE in all my 30+ years of watching football.
Usually when DE's record INT's they are resulting from a tipped pass at the LOS, or the DE stepping in front of a shovel/ short pass near the LOS. Branch's INT showed range and smooth athletic ability.
Clyed the Glide in the Bills playoff game.
It was such a smooth catch and run. He played it like a tight end.
Quote:Most shocking moment of the preseason yet for me lol
It's safe to assume that it was also the most shocking moment of the pre-season for Matthew Stafford!
Sensational play by Andre Branch and call by the Jaguars coaches. While it looked like early in the game Stafford was trying to force the ball to Calvin Johnson too much, in Megatron's first pre-season action this summer, the play Branch made is one of the pre-season ages. If this was a regular season game, it would have easily been a top candidate for NFL Defensive Play of the Week.
To Branch's credit, earlier in the game on a 3rd Down on the Lions second set of downs of the game, he got inside pressure that forced Matthew Stafford to check down to Joique Bell. That resulted in a punting situation.
Quote:It was such a smooth catch and run. He played it like a tight end.
He can be like JJ watt in the prow bowl playing TE. Hell if he ends up good at it he could be our answer to M. Lewis ha
pff we could only be so lucky
They were talking about the pick last week on one of the radio programs, and I believe it was Lageman said that on the interception, Branch was actually on the wrong side of the field. His mistake ended up being a great play.
Quote:I hope that Andre is paying attention to this:
http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000...-extension
He could be in that same situation after a good year this season. Here's hoping...
Im all for keeping branch at a realistic rate. He isn't worth overpaying for at all however.
Gimme a 10 sack season or 7-8 with a couple ints sprinkled in and then we'll talk some serious numbers.
Quote:Im all for keeping branch at a realistic rate. He isn't worth overpaying for at all however.
Gimme a 10 sack season or 7-8 with a couple ints sprinkled in and then we'll talk some serious numbers.
I agree. I was just hoping he might be inspired by a guy who didn't "break-out" till his fourth year, then got paid.