Quote:I think the Texans would've been better of drafting Bortles rather than trying to force Clowney into a scheme that doesn't fit his once in a generation type skill set.
Clowney matches up very, very well if you evaluate his athleticism with 3-4 OLB Demarcus Ware.
Quote:So why didnt they draft Bortles with the 1st overall?
Maybe their GM sold the story that Gene did to the owner - we are couple pieces away from winning in the playoffs. If that is your business plan then Clowney makes sense over Bortles.
Quote:Clowney matches up very, very well if you evaluate his athleticism with 3-4 OLB Demarcus Ware.
I disagree. Clowney may have a great year this year, with 10 plus sacks, but I'd bet against him putting up 10 plus for 3 seasons in a row.
Ware had 8 in his rookie year followed by 11.5, 14, 20, 11, 15.5, 19.5, 11.5, and 6.0 in his injury riddled season last year. Clowney has a LONG way to match that production for 7 plus years.
Sure he has a long way to go to prove he can be at a Demarcus Ware level. But my point was that from a weight, height, speed perspective he isn't solely limited to a 4-3 DE. I think that comment would apply if he were a 295lb DE like Mario Williams (though he looked pretty good there prior to injury.) My point is that if you look at Clowney's combine numbers they are very very similar to Demarcus Ware:
Clowney 6'5" 261lbs 4.53 40-time
Ware 6'4" 251lbs 4.56 40-time
Quote:Clowney matches up very, very well if you evaluate his athleticism with 3-4 OLB Demarcus Ware.
Some guys get it, some guys don't.
Clowney is a guy that isn't very bright, but has mastered his position at 4-3 DE before even arriving in the pros. That is what got everyone out of their seats.
You move him to the 3-4 OLB position and now he has to learn a new trick. It's practically Reggie Nelson 2: Electric Defensive Endboogaloo
He looks terrible coming off the end from the 3-4 LB spot and it's a sad sight to see.
Chris Jones ended up with New England and had an AFC 2013 rookie high 6 sacks. Which was only behind Ziggy Ansah's 8 rookie sacks in the entire league. Not only did the Texans give up on Jones, the Bucs also gave up on him after Week # 1 of the regular season. Considering the Patriots injury situation at DT last season, Jones' contribution went along way in them getting to the AFC Championship game. On the other side of the coin, the Texans and Bucs combined for 6 wins. That speaks volumes.
Quote:He looks terrible coming off the end from the 3-4 LB spot and it's a sad sight to see.
Yes, so terrible:
http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/eye-on-foot...e-in-debut
NFL Writers analysis of Clowney's first preseason game:
Quote:a. His stab move is NFL-ready today
b. On J.J. Watt's sack on the first drive, he nearly drove LT Jared Veldheer, Arizona's top offseason acquisition right into Palmer's lap.
c. He dropped into coverage on a first down play and when QB Carson Palmer dumped it off to a back, Clowney made a strong open field stop. That isn't easy, even though he made it look that way.
d. He did get beat on the TE wheel route for a touchdown that got called back. He was in good initial position but when TE John Carlson turned up the sideline, he looked back for the ball and lost him.
e. He knifed into the backfield, whipping one of the Cardinal tight ends to register a tackle for loss.
f. He faced double teams at least three times on his pass rush after he nearly dumped Veldheer earlier in the game. In fact, the Cardinals chose to double Clowney and left their RG one-on-one with Watt for one play.
g. On a "smoke" draw on the first drive, Clowney beat Veldheer inside but he was too upright and the Cardinals' tackle got just enough push on him to knock him off his path. If Clowney rips through with a stronger base, Veldheer's push wouldn't have knocked him off balance.