One guy that really opened my eyes last year was Andre Branch. After a terrible rookie campaign and Coming into 2013 preseason, Everyone including me was demanding he give up his playbook but this man has fought himself out of the doghouse. Even when surviving cuts he was still on shaky ground but something happened mid-season.
The man rose from whatever mediocrity he was afflicted with. Was able to have a slightly decent 6 sack season despite limited play time. Even earned the high regard from his positional coaches as an exceptional worker. Not saying he will ever be a pro bowler but he can contribute just like Cecil Shorts,
I think its great to have one more reason and a reminder that its possible for players to drastically change their course of direction skill wise. I don't know about you guys but I am rooting for Andre Branch come 2014 training camp to make that next step and solidify his spot.
I think he showed enough last year to at least be a rotational guy. I know some will say some of his sacks, he didn't beat anybody. But at he took advantage of what was there.
I'm always down to give a guy at minimum 3 years to prove he can play. Some guys can play from day one but that isn't the norm. Most guys need time to develop and get used to the speed and preparation. Branch could possibly be a guy who just needed some time.
Andre will be one guy I'm very interested in watching. He seemed to have a light come on for him with Gus coaching and I am interested to see if he can continue to improve. If he can, he will be a nice piece to have on the roster. He has the ability in my opinion but he just lacked something his first year. I'm not sure if it was experience or the transition to the pros. This should be the year he takes a bigger step forward. Year 3 is a big one. If Branch can take a step forward this year that will go a long ways to helping this teams long standing pass rush problems.
I'm still excited we signed Big Red this offseason.
Quote:I think he showed enough last year to at least be a rotational guy. I know some will say some of his sacks, he didn't beat anybody. But at he took advantage of what was there.
And I'll always mention how it's better than what the norm was in Jacksonville, where 3 linemen will get back there, all three overshoot, and allow the QB to run for 20 yards.
That was probably the most frustrating thing to watch on defense.
I'm looking at you, Tyson Alualu.
Yea I am really hoping this kid keeps it up. Our defensive line has a ton of potential. It's loaded with talent.
Quote:And I'll always mention how it's better than what the norm was in Jacksonville, where 3 linemen will get back there, all three overshoot, and allow the QB to run for 20 yards.
That was probably the most frustrating thing to watch on defense.
I'm looking at you, Tyson Alualu.
Yes. That was my point. Don't fault the guy for it. It's not like we have had a plethora of guys getting "easy sacks".
I think the talent and experience upgrades along the DL will raise the bar for everyone. There's the potential for all these guys to flourish. Babin still has something in the tank and at his age he's going to be more effective as part of a rotation rather than playing as many snaps as last year. That goes for all the DL. Gus will send pressure in waves. There may even be room for a young guy like Ryan Davis in the rotation - if the Jags don't do anything stupid like draft Clowney.
Branch seemed to respond well to the new coaching staff last year and could really break out in 2014. Again, it's great that he won't be asked to do it all. He will also have the 2 Seattle guys around him who know Gus, know the system, and have played it very successfully. That's likely to be another advantage to a young player like Branch. I could see Branch getting the 2nd contract and being an effective pass rusher for a long time. I expect the team sack totals to jump significantly and for Branch to be among the sack leaders on the team.
Im really rooting for Branch as well. He has that DE look thats for sure. Good speed, finishes sacks. I like the fact that we brought in a few vets on the D-Line to help the young guys like Branch and Davis out, especially Chris Clemons. Clemons and Branch have really similar body types and speed. Clemons has that experience though and hopefully will be competing and challenging Andre every day to get better (even though Gus will be taking care of that as well).
Now if we add Clowney to the rotation as well.............. Look out
That Seattle defense, that we seem to be looking to replicate, usually only rushes 4 people at a time. They rely on their D-line to get pressure and rarely blitz. I noticed we were doing this last year. A lot of 4 man rush, with stunts, etc. If you can get consistent pressure with only the front 4, be able to drop 6 guys in coverage, and have 1 guy to spy the RB/QB, then man, you can really get a good system going.
Just talking about this is getting me extremely excited because once the draft is all said and done, we will have a really good mix of veterans and fast youngsters. People are going to be sleeping on us. Im not expecting playoffs, but I do expect a relatively close, hard fought game every week. I'll say 7-9.
He's good at stunts. Nothing wrong with that. A good coaching staff will figure out how to use all of their players to their full potential. Branch is still in the development process, and might become an all-downs player and be able to develop more moves/technique.
Hate when people say he didnt beat anyone.
Having Clowney around will help improve his game :thumbsup:.
Branch had 6 sacks last season. I highly doubt he gets cut.
The coaching staff knew how to use athleticism and length to get him sacks.
He also progressed in his overall game especially when it came down to 1 on 1 vs an OT.
I don't really see how Branch gets cut this year. We still need guys to rotate on the line for the pass rush and he's only entering his 3rd year.
I don't see Branch as any great success story to date, but he still has developmental upside. If there is a forced cut for some reason in his position, I would expect the aging Babin to be the odd man out.
He sucks, his sacks were ALL on stunt plays where the play was designed for him to run free, I don't think he has 1 single sack when he's lined up at end and actually beat his guy 1 on 1.. such a shame really
Any chance we see him making a Michael Bennett jump this year? Bennett had 7 sacks total in his first 4 years.
Quote:Any chance we see him making a Michael Bennett jump this year? Bennett had 7 sacks total in his first 4 years.
Its possible. I hope he's working hard this off-season. It would really help the team out sooo much.
Quote:Its possible. I hope he's working hard this off-season. It would really help the team out sooo much.
Same, but he's shown nothing yet to prove he can win 1 on 1 battles with O linemen, like I said all of his sacks so far have been him running free... time will tell