Beef Jerky Posted January 11, 2017 Share Posted January 11, 2017 I wonder how Reggie Ragland fits in a McDermott D Bye Reggie was nice having you on the IR. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John from Riverside Posted January 11, 2017 Share Posted January 11, 2017 OK....the best MLB in last years draft....see yaaaa lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FLFan Posted January 11, 2017 Share Posted January 11, 2017 Bye Reggie was nice having you on the IR. I think it is a bit early to make that conclusion. How about we actually see the guy play first? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beef Jerky Posted January 11, 2017 Share Posted January 11, 2017 I think it is a bit early to make that conclusion. How about we actually see the guy play first? What if he never plays... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John from Riverside Posted January 11, 2017 Share Posted January 11, 2017 What if he never plays... Any particular reason why u would think that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boyst Posted January 11, 2017 Author Share Posted January 11, 2017 I watch a lot of Carolina games owing to my brother being a huge fan..safe to say everyone knows that defense runs through Kuechly, his range allowed them to play some pretty subpar safeties over the last few years and it obviously gave Norman (a terrific corner in his own right, better than Gilmore but I'd hazard they're comparable) room to shine in a physical role without having to worry about having the greatest technique as far as pure footwork. I will say that Davis is the perfect complement and we're lacking anything close to that level of talent in the LB department, but those two made the careers of Lotulelei and Short IMHO, I'd say Dareus and Williams/Washington et al can more than adequately fill in their roles. I think this might rejuvenate a guy like Hughes who can really shine if used properly...heck they've gotten good use out of a marginal talent in Ealy and the corpse of Jared Allen even for a year. Their 2015 defense was really the engine of that season, they really played complementary football with regard to the limitations of the offense. I'm not the biggest X&O guy but stylistically I think McDermott was innovative in that he understood, fundamentally, how to use a fairly simplistic defensive scheme and rotation to the greatest efficiency in terms of WINNING football games...a bit of an anti-Rex in the sense of using the defense to manage games as opposed to NEEDING a dominant performance to succeed...one grumble I heard consistently (could be fanspeak, take it for what it's worth) was a lack of halftime adjustments defensively. Overall I like the hire. I second this. Nothing worthwhile to argue. I wonder how Reggie Ragland fits in a McDermott Dhe doesn't fit well at all. He's a flat head bit when we need a Philips. Nothing overly complex but he's only got one dimension to. I'm going to lost in depth on this after dinner. Some Indian chicken dish I made. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boyst Posted January 12, 2017 Author Share Posted January 12, 2017 citations: http://www.catscratchreader.com/2015/10/8/9477161/carolina-panthers-all-22-film-analysis-josh-norman-in-trap-coverage interesting read and more applicable for darby than gilmore. i'm starting post now.... see ya in an hour or two Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John from Riverside Posted January 12, 2017 Share Posted January 12, 2017 There is always a place for a LB with great intincts in any defense......no reason to be down on Ragland as of yet Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boyst Posted January 12, 2017 Author Share Posted January 12, 2017 There is always a place for a LB with great intincts in any defense......no reason to be down on Ragland as of yet no, there isn't Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uffalo Ills Posted January 12, 2017 Share Posted January 12, 2017 Correct - I read somewhere that his blitzes are the most efficient in the league. Gym Shortz 2.0? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeffismagic Posted January 12, 2017 Share Posted January 12, 2017 Ragland needs to drop weight to play the mike in this defense. or he can play strong side LB and play 2 downs. I would try to trade him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mob16151 Posted January 12, 2017 Share Posted January 12, 2017 I wonder how Reggie Ragland fits in a McDermott D Plays strong side LB. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Over 29 years of fanhood Posted January 12, 2017 Share Posted January 12, 2017 The biggest takeaway I get from watching McDermott's defense is the approach to using his front-4. Perhaps it's because of the talent that he had, but he loved to use Short and Lotuleilei to force things inside. This fits having Kyle and Dareus really well, but it will rely on the EDGE guys to be a bit patient on run plays and not crash so heavily. I also really like that he uses his front-4 to generate pressure in the pass game...this is where I want to see what he can do. If he can put our DTs in position to attack the pocket, I expect Hughes and Shaq to gain more than a few cleanup sacks. I really do worry about the LB and safety spots though--I don't want to be in a position where this team is forced into drafting for need. Lb should be ok right? I see Ragland at mike, Preston as the Sam, re sign Zach brown as the will... fill in behind or draft depth development prospects in 3-5 rd Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BarleyNY Posted January 12, 2017 Share Posted January 12, 2017 Yeah, that's probably true. I'd say that re-signing Zach Brown would help the LB situation. No Spikes for sure. If I thought that Preston Brown could fetch a mid-round pick, then I'd say look for a trade, but I don't see that happening. They might have to go the Jim Schwartz method of simply hiding him in zone coverage when they need to--if he plays the Will spot and is the 1st LB off the field in nickel sets, he can probably contribute. Ragland...sigh. Blokes will laser me for this, but I simply wasn't a Ragland guy. He's more athletic than he gets credit for, but I don't see a Kuechly or a Davis looking at him. Maybe he can drop down to 235ish LBs and acquit himself in coverage as you say...that would be a huge bonus. You're reading him wrong methinks...I didn't see that as an indictment so much as a question of how they approached scheming against the opponent. Agree and agree. Re-signing Zach is now a big priority, as is re-signing or replacing Gilmore. I still see Ragland as a 2 down LB. With the nickel and dime packages being played so much I don't see him as a good fit except on rushing downs. That probably won't equal longevity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boyst Posted January 12, 2017 Author Share Posted January 12, 2017 i'm very tired, been multitasking so its a bit autistic but here is some info... not as good as i would have liked. i'm lazy. When you look at the Carolina Panthers defense you want to forget 2016. You want to look at 2016. You can't do that. You also have to look at other years; 2011-2016 2011 - 27th 2012 - 18th 2013 - 2nd 2014 - 21st 2015 - 6th 2016 - 26th That's what you'd see on defensive rankings. What is that telling you? It's been up and down. But, if you listen to the Panthers than you'll see the defense was run by Ron Rivera. When you talk about how good the defensive is the Panthers fans point to Rivera. When you point to how bad it is than they blame McDermott. in the end you're left looking at the X's and O's and guessing that he will bring some of this to the Bills. The Panthers we picture are the smiling big, having fun and cocky dudes. The defense is Luke Keuchly and used to be Josh Norman. The average fan knows that. They're too busy looking at the overrated QB. But, on defense they have one of my favorite linebackers, Thomas Davis (the other is Jamie Collins). Davis is the backbone of that defense. Keuchly is the heart. Star Lorlurlirlieie is a very good DT in the 3 tech, Short is good and forgotten whilst Solei is underappreciated. AJ Klein is going to be a free agent next year and I expect him to come to Buffalo. You can never have enough Buckeyes and the Panthers led the league in Buckeyes. They also had Shaq Thompson who seems to be loved on the team but is mostly JAG, their version of Preston Brown. The safeties were Tre Boston and Kurt Coleman. Neither were household names but neither were worse than Graham and whoever wasn't Aaron Williams beside him. Their corners are what interest me. Both played well above their ability. James Bradberry from one of the Carolina schools, Daryl Worely from West Virginia combined as rookies to start most of the games for the Carolina Panthers. They both played better than I figured and I looked at both a lot last year considering I was hoping we would get a CB to replace Gilmore should he leave. In my best opinion ever, they're both better than Seymour. They're both more athletic. Bradberry is McKelvin whilst Worley is a mix of Ron Brooks and Jayson Webster. Beiniwekerke cracked the lineup a few times when they got cold and he did fairly well, but is a major liability. Leaving their ends for last Ealy is a favorite of mine since he is a poor mans Kyle Williams. He's not fantastic, he's a power rangers lunch box thing. Wes Horton is a not a terrible but not good. He is Chris Kelsey. Charles Johnson is worthless. Neither were tasked to run at the QB much. In fact, a both 2nd stringers/backup DE's lead the DE's on sacks. Mario Addison @ 9.5 and Kony Ealy at 5. Short had 6, Johnson had 4 along with Loutoulleieiele. Of course, Cam Newton is overrated and will never win a Super Bowl but the Panthers found a way to the QB with scheme specific packages. Of course, their QB got a lot of sacks, too beecause he dances and is not that good at the position. So, being that I am glad we do not have an overpaid terrible quarterback like Cam Newton I will move on to what we do have. Seriously, Cam Newton is overrated. No. Seriously, he has lousy mechanics, a lousy attitude, has said he has considered time away from football. Has mentioned a little bit about taking time off to relax. I bet he's out of the league sooner than people think. A coordinator who was there for role specific players achieving great stats. What is intersting is lookg at the tackles of those role players. The ends combined for 55 tackles and including assists had 96 tackles. They were no where near the top for team performers. Davis, Keuchly, Coleman, Worely, Bradberry, Thompson, Boston and finally a DL - Short - 55 combined tackles from the 3 position On our team we had Kyle Williams rack up 64 in limitted playing, with Hughes racking up 48 combined. Brown & BRown had 288 tackles to 208 for Keuchly and Davis. Their strong safety, Coleman had 95. Ours had 87. Their next guy was a CB like ours (Darby - 87) Worley 88. The more you look at the stats the more you look and think we could be a lot like Carolina. Think about it. They had a great 2013. Off year in 2014 whilst we still had a better year. 2015 we had off year a little while they excelled. This year both of us had a lousy year. If you watched them play much you saw a lot of things similar to what we experienced. They looked pretty good on defense but let up later in the game. I was at the Vikes game, it was a travesty to watch so much talent get the raw end of the deal so much. The defense did all it could and the entire downfall was upon Cameron Newton and the offense. Ineffective offense lead to the defense spending too much time on the field, horrible field position. Newton's 14 INT's might not seem like a lot but they came at bad times. Several were returned for TD's. I'm not just picking on Newton. All of this culminates in McDermott coming to a team that will look familiar. We have similar talent on this team and if we keep Gilmore we will have more. In to next year we are set to lose Douzable, L. Alexander, Gilmore, Bryant, Z. Brown, Humber, Ihedigbo, Blanton, White, Spikes, Meeks, McCray, others. In my opinion Gilmore (and Woods) are top FA targets. If I spelled anything I am not double checking it. SKIP TO THIS PART IF YOU WANT TO GET TO THE X'S AND O'S OF 2017. We can expect our ends to play specific roles and hopefully we can retain some of our talent on the line. Most notably we only have one true DE on the roster if you go by 2016; Jerely Worthy. Hughes and Lawson were called LB's. I expect Hughes, Lawson and Worthy to be the ends along with free agent entries. If you're a free agent and you want a chance to play but not good enough to start you will look to Buffalo. A good defense with limited depth on defense. In this system we will see these guys maintain something similar to what Schwartz did without the wide 9 play. They will be responsible for the outside edge and HAVE to contain. This system does not rely on the linebackers to play the run on the outside, specifically the strong side. That means our strong side end, Lawson, can't miss on the tackle and flush everything inside to our MLB. I do not know if Hughes can return to his form or if we need to be concerned. I am ready to bring in another DE to start and use him as a role player rushing the pass and splitting snaps. Hughes will be exploited by offenses on the outside run. SMcD will task Hughes with getting to the passer, potentially from the 9. In a perfect world I would work in Lawson and Hughes opposite each other depending on the down/distance/etc. I would then get a less liable DE opposite to not give up the outside plays until we solidify our LB's. If we can upgrade our LB's and they perform above expected (by me) I expect Hughes to be mediocre with the big play from time to time. I do not see SMcD customizing much around Hughes at this point. Hughes will likely get 6-8 sacks next year at best. Lawson, 6+. Remaining DE's, which he rotates sohjuld tally up respectable numbers. The gut of the defense is just that. The interior DL. Kyle Williams will likely be tasked to attack up field, which is his speciality. This is what he had done in Carolina with Short and Louturolielierpickleleleii. Depth at DL will be key as he does not slouch to switch in players to keep them fresh. This could have been Rivera, mind you. Dareus will be Loutlieliee-ish. But, both of these dT's were interchangeable. I expect this to mean great news Washington who will fit in just well to everything SMcD needs. These 3 will be considered invisible by the neer do well fan; they're not going to get the stats and such. they're going to be the comics comic. they one that after the season is half over the true football folks will be hailing as amazing. this is because both kyle williams and adolpheous washington are quick de's who have done well adapting their balance, their power and their skillset to create mismatches. i am hoping that SMcD has experience enough to continue the successful stunting game we had. SMcD's defenses in Carolina used a lot of similar devices and methods to protect his linebackers. It allowed keuchly, specifically to get free and scrape up the field. if you played high school football at all with any competent coaches than you will understand a lot of what he expects of his linebackers, just multiply that by 3 for the MLB since he must be good at all 3 skillsets. with the defense occupying all of the front space and that being the objective of SMcD's defensive history we will see Ragland able to move sideline to sideline freely. It will really come down to his ability ot quickly sniff out the play. the big misnomer due to idiots on tv like jon gruden talk about how its amazing he was able to sniff out the play and get there so quicklky. that's because he would usually go untouched to the spot of the football and wait. there were many, many times a lead blocker would blow him up and i am giddy for next year to watch jerome felton light him up. anyway, ragland or our MLB will be up to his neck in work and i am not sure ragland is going to be able to cut it. of course, people will call whaley a bust for drafting this guy who was applicable toward our old defense. i can't speculate on what ragland can or can't do but i know that whoever will play there will rack up some stats and look better on paper than what he really is. on the outside we will need a linebacker on the strongside that can cover in a pinch. right now i would put Reggie Ragland in on this position for 2 downs and go nickel when its passing. ragland can't cover as well but is good enough and ideal for this position in SMcD's defense. I would look at Zach Brown as my SLB in passing. Lorenzo Alexander could fill in nicely on passing downs, as well, iof retained at Will I would have to fill a roll if Zach slides to SLB in passing, otherwise this is Zack Browns' ideal spot. He will be our Thomas Davis. On passing downs I would find a pass coverage specialist if I put Z Brown @ Sam Mike is going to have to be Preston Brown with as much as we put on him. Nigel Bradham would have been better here to allow Preston to go outside. Brandon Spikes is worth potentially keeping for goal line 34 and 44 situations, fwiw and imo. PBrown is able to read plays and fall in to coverage quite easily. in SMcD's defense the middle linebacker almost acts as a 3rd safety in a cover 2 situation. he falls to the strong side of downfield receivers and covers underneath allowing him to get picks. PBrown would be ideal and this is something he excells at - SMcD's defense is going to place playmakers all over the field and tie up lanes similarly to what we did to teams in 2014. That confusion falls back to the safety position which must work quickly to diagnos a play and split their assignents and field. SMcD's use of zone coverage I beleive will diminish in order to run more man zone. If we lose gilmore it will work to darby's strengths to be able to switch to a more prominant zone coverage scheme. ...i'm getting tired and multitasking a lot... i'll do more specifically on schemes and db's later. In the draft to address needs depends on Gilmore. Regardless, If Rueben Foster is there I would get him. If we keep Gilmore I still might. Hooker and Foster are my top two for this defense. Skip here if you want to know that I of course will mention Cam Newton is overrated. SKIP HERE IF YOU WANT TO KNOW WHO TO TARGET IN FA. DE is a thin crop but... Wes Horton (Carolina) is available as a RFA and would fit in as a backup behind Hughes. Antonio Smith is a 35 yr old DE from Houston who would be ideal as an edge setter behind Lawson who can also rush the passer sufficiently. Andre Branch would be a higher end target to bring in who underachieved in Jacksonville. JPP Chandler Jones At DT I would kick the tires on Nick Fairley in a heartbeat, ideal as a 3tech DT to work in with our guys. Otherwise, just find depth At LB there are many, many options... ILB Daryl Smith, the perenial old timer who I wanted 5 years ago. Tulloch out of Phili is a pretty consistent depth player who could crack the lineup. Sean Spence is also similar to above. Donta Hightower OLB James Harrison Paul Kruger Chad Greenway is my faovrite of hte lot Junior Galette CB Dre Kirkpatrick - undisciplined and raw - similar to ron brooks and mckelvin jerraud Powers is worthy of depth player if we want to roll with Seymour Kyle Wilson, see above. etc etc... I like Kirkpatrick off this list. Strong Safety Matt Elam is young enough and stout Tony Jefferson and DJ Swearinger out of Arizona aren't amazing but both could come in and be sufficient behind a draft pick. John Cyprien from Jacksonville is not an awful choice here. --Tony Jefferson tops the list and would be my chioce being that we may not and likely will not have sufficient MLB coverage we will need should we not be able to utilize Ragland. FS Chris Conte is someone I'd eye because he can play both FS and SS sufficiently. Nate Allen is also a decent option Ragland needs to drop weight to play the mike in this defense. or he can play strong side LB and play 2 downs. I would try to trade him. yes. plain and simple. and imagine having zach brown back as 3rd down sam? i like that. Plays strong side LB. again yes. The biggest takeaway I get from watching McDermott's defense is the approach to using his front-4. Perhaps it's because of the talent that he had, but he loved to use Short and Lotuleilei to force things inside. This fits having Kyle and Dareus really well, but it will rely on the EDGE guys to be a bit patient on run plays and not crash so heavily. I also really like that he uses his front-4 to generate pressure in the pass game...this is where I want to see what he can do. If he can put our DTs in position to attack the pocket, I expect Hughes and Shaq to gain more than a few cleanup sacks. I really do worry about the LB and safety spots though--I don't want to be in a position where this team is forced into drafting for need. i think i missed this and wish i would have saw it because i would have got to the biggest point of the day. everyone asking about ragland fitting in as MLB. he won't. he's going to be a SLB. if we get foster at MLB then we're set. i think we can skimp by with average Safeties. everyone is butthurt because ragland might not play MLB... it's funny. 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Coach Tuesday Posted January 12, 2017 Share Posted January 12, 2017 Chad Greenway retired I think Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeffismagic Posted January 12, 2017 Share Posted January 12, 2017 i think i missed this and wish i would have saw it because i would have got to the biggest point of the day. everyone asking about ragland fitting in as MLB. he won't. he's going to be a SLB. if we get foster at MLB then we're set. i think we can skimp by with average Safeties. everyone is butthurt because ragland might not play MLB... it's funny. I like the idea of Ragland ultimately realizing he needs to drop weight and playing the mike. The system does work well with a high football IQ player like Ragland. If he can't do that then here is a player the Bills could target with a 2nd or 3rd round pick that would work as a mike in the McD D. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tCGyy5bWd-E Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coach Tuesday Posted January 12, 2017 Share Posted January 12, 2017 Curious why you think Preston can drop back like a safety and cover the deep zones? To me he seems stiff-hipped, uninstinctive, slow... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dubs Posted January 12, 2017 Share Posted January 12, 2017 Anytime you can hire a head coach who's unit got beat by EJ Manuel for a game winning drive, you gotta do it. j/k Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coach Tuesday Posted January 12, 2017 Share Posted January 12, 2017 Anytime you can hire a head coach who's unit got beat by EJ Manuel for a game winning drive, you gotta do it. j/k You're saying we Manually beat his unit? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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