(06-24-2021, 02:38 PM)Bullseye Wrote:

(06-23-2021, 10:14 PM)flsprtsgod Wrote: I still think they wanted to go 34 last year but the loss of Woods and Gunter prevented that move. Adding RRH, Ward, and big man Malcolm Brown plus the scheme change makes this a better unit overall and I like what they've done there, but it's weird to think that the loss of Alualu might actually be the difference between very good and just good next season. I think the LBs will be a much improved unit with last year's ends playing OLB and Schobert with less ground to cover in the middle. Safety will definitely be better this season while CB most likely will be. Overall I think this unit could be top 18 or so and improvement on both sides of the ball will drive that upward movement.

I agree the intent was to go 3-4 last year, but I'm not yet prepared to say the additions of the DL or the switch to a 3-4 will make this defense perform at a higher level than last year.  To me, for the most part, the DLs are largely unknown quantities. I see the DL more as the foundation of implementing the scheme, not so much as an absolute upgrade to dominance over last year's unit. I believe Josh Allen and Chaisson may be able to perform better in the 3-4 than they did last year, but to me, the ILBs are worrisome-Jack in particular-because I'm unsure if they can hold up against opposing guards.

Though it's hard to imagine the defense being any worse than it was last year, I hope we see the improvement you describe.

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(06-24-2021, 12:13 PM)Dewboy01 Wrote: We may be the same team in terms of wins and losses, but that's not what I'm looking for this year.  Sure, winning more would be nice - but the biggest thing for me this season will be the development of Lawrence and trying to determine if he is in fact going to be a true franchise QB.  A quality TE would certainly help Lawrence along in his development and give us a better picture of him as a QB than if we didn't have that quality TE.  

I think James O' is an average/good receiving TE, but after that we have 2 blocking TEs and 1 that has never played the position before.  I'd prefer to give Lawrence as many receiving options as possible, including a proven quality TE - even if it's a 1 year deal and we find someone else at the position next year.  That would help to set our new QB up for success, rather than having to wonder - "well what if he had a good TE to throw to in addition to the WRs and RBs"?

I agree with this generally.

The one caveat I have is I am unsure how much the TE will be featured in the offense-assuming the offense is mostly Meyer's.

I don't think the DL will be dominant, I just think they'll be a solid NFL-quality unit instead of the mess we had last year. I think Shaq Quarterman could be the fit at ILB, a thumper in the Levon Kirkland mold. He's a few pounds lighter right now than Kirkland his second year, but otherwise his measurables are similar. LK bulked up to over 270 by the end of his career though and I don't know that Quarterman can do that. I do think that we have too many 43 LBs though, we need to make a few changes there before next season if the 34 is going to stick.

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