Quote:Telling me that he's good after getting 4 of his 6 sacks where nobody touched him is like saying Gabbert is good in practice when theirs no defense covering his WRs.
What the hell are you reading, man? Don't put words in my mouth. I said he doesn't suck but hasn't earned his draft status.
I never said he was "good." He's got a ways to go to earn that.
The other thing you are failing to see is that - stunt or no stunt - not just anyone can make those sacks. It's fine to give the scheme more credit than the player - but he's a young athlete with a bit of upside left to achieve. Lighten up.
Branch is an excellent finisher when it comes to sacks. He just needs to work on creating more opportunities.
The bulk of his impact plays came in the second half of the season. We are watching a player on the rise.
If you extrapolated out the second half of the season he would have ended up with 10 sacks and 6 pass defenses (swats) without any starts.
To put that into perspective J.J. Watt had 10.5 sacks and 7 pass defenses last year with 16 starts.
Not a bad place to be ending your second season especially knowing that the third season is when things typically start coming together for a football player.
Quote:The bulk of his impact plays came in the second half of the season. We are watching a player on the rise.
If you extrapolated out the second half of the season he would have ended up with 10 sacks and 6 pass defenses (swats) without any starts.
To put that into perspective J.J. Watt had 10.5 sacks and 7 pass defenses last year with 16 starts.
Not a bad place to be ending your second season especially knowing that the third season is when things typically start coming together for a football player.
And not all DEs are superstars right off the bat. Some guys need a few years to adjust to the speed of the game and develop technique against the smartest of the smart offensive linemen.
I'm just glad we finally have a guy that doesn't completely overshoot the QB every single time and allow a QB that runs a 5.0 40 yard time to dash up the wide open hole in the middle for a first down.
I'm looking at you, Tyson Alualu, Terrence Knighton, and Jeremy Mincey.
Andre branch has earned a roster spot on this team. He improved dramatically from year 1 to year 2 and that is all that anyone can ask.
People forget the DE position is one of the hardest to play on the field.
IF you want to do comparsions.
Michael Strahan: He had 1 sack his first year and 4.5 sacks his second year. A HOF single season sack leader had 5.5 sacks in his first in 2 seasons
Andre Branch: Had 1 sack his first year and 6 his second. Has 7.0 sacks in his first 2 seasons. Branch also had less starts.
I am not saying Andre Branch is going to play like Strahan but you never know. I don't understand why someone would demean a player who actually improved.
Quote:Andre branch has earned a roster spot on this team. He improved dramatically from year 1 to year 2 and that is all that anyone can ask.
People forget the DE position is one of the hardest to play on the field.
IF you want to do comparsions.
Michael Strahan: He had 1 sack his first year and 4.5 sacks his second year. A HOF single season sack leader had 5.5 sacks in his first in 2 seasons
Andre Branch: Had 1 sack his first year and 6 his second. Has 7.0 sacks in his first 2 seasons. Branch also had less starts.
I am not saying Andre Branch is going to play like Strahan but you never know. I don't understand why someone would demean a player who actually improved.
But, he didn't have 24.5 sacks his first two years...he clearly sucks and should be cut. I'm amazed you have the IQ to logon....
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The way Branch came on during the season was one of the highlights of 2013. He may not be living up to the high expectations on this message board, but something clearly clicked for him this year, and his stock is on the rise. Hopefully that continues to be the case, and we see him becoming a major contributor in Gus' defense.
He showed growth. something the majority of our cookies in the past half decade coold only dream. If he makes continuous improvement over the next couple of years, we will have a keeper. Props to the coaching staff and Andre for working hard.
Quote:He showed growth. something the majority of our cookies in the past half decade coold only dream. If he makes continuous improvement over the next couple of years, we will have a keeper. Props to the coaching staff and Andre for working hard.
I agree people on this board want to toss our cookies out the door without getting a chance to prove themselves!
Ill be the first to eat some crow and admit I was very harsh on Branch before the this past season began.
I am glad he improved on his technique this season, and could possibly grow to be an even bigger factor next season.
People would be making topics arguing about how the coaches aren't using branch right if they just had him going straight up against tackles and being ineffective but when they are they're complaining how he got them.....smh
Quote:Ill be the first to eat some crow and admit I was very harsh on Branch before the this past season began.
I am glad he improved on his technique this season, and could possibly grow to be an even bigger factor next season.
I think everyone was. I don't remember many people rushing to the aid of Branch around here.
Our expectations of Branch were too high I think. I remember when we got him I was ecstatic. A team captain in college who had 17.5 sacks and 25.5 TFL his final two seasons, it seemed like the steal of the draft. Happy to see this guy growing and hopefully he can become a great Jaguar, we are definitely due for a good pass rusher
Also, Greg Hardy only has 7 sacks combined during his first two seasons. He has since then gotten 26. Third year is the time
I remember thinking that it takes a long time for pass rushers to develop. Yes i was upset like the rest of you, but I also didn't want to burn him at the stakes. It also doesn't help that other teams knew that he was probably the biggest pass rush threat and adjusted accordingly since we had no other defensive talent around him in his first two years as well. If the Texans come out and take Clowney and pair him up with Watt, and Clowney ends up having a beast first year, It'll be because he is on one of the best D's in the NFL and they can't focus in on just Clowney, Making the team going against Huston essentially pick their poison.