You keep expecting these guys to learn a couple things about different systems and players, but they just keep saying this dumb stuff, like here: Rant Sports.
This guy predicts the opening day starters, beginning with--naturally--Johnny Manziel at QB because he makes plays that Hoyer can't. (No really--that's it. If he'd only had TWELVE starts in college--nay six--this guy would say the same thing.)
His starting wide recievers are all the old guys. That's okay, except for the slot. He's got Bennett in the slot and Hawkins on the bench. I know the real reason for this is the fact that Bennett is bigger. Period. He's also bigger than Wes Welker and Danny Amendola.
This analyst is playing piano with boxing gloves.
Anyway, now he's got Greco and Bitonio starting at guard. Bitonio sure, but why Greco? Why, because Greco played pretty good last year!
If I could pry his paw out of his 16 ounce glove, I'd try to get the guy to comprehend the difference between a zone-blocking line and a man-blocking line. Greco is a mauler not as well suited (at guard) to the zone system as to a man-blocking system. He used to have pretty good feet, and might test Schwartze at right tackle this season, but he's in the twilight of his career now.
McQuistan was a starter in Seattle's zone system, and did a solid job there. He probably has the advantage over Greco, and then there's Rodney Faulkfield. He will be given every opportunity to start, and WILL start if he's even close to the older players.
The stopped clock nailed the defensive line and OLB's, but called Kruger's contract "massive", which is bullcrap, and said he just needs to improve against the run. This will be hard to do, since he was among the best OLB's in the NFL last season against the run. Sheard, of course, no longer even exists.
ILB Dansby and Kirksey check. I was surprised to read that Dansby wasn't explosive, and was merely solid. Somebody please tell this guy that D'Qwell Jackson is no longer with the team, and Dansby is a different player. He replaced the younger Jackson BECAUSE he's an explosive big-play linebacker.
Cornerbacks check.
He's got Tashaun Gipson at "free safety", and says the Browns can't like this because Gipson is really more of a backup "type", so his tackles and interceptions last season were just a fluke. No matter what.
And look: the base here is cover two with no free or strong safety. Joe Haden let me know recently that they'll run a lot of "single high" stuff, which would put Gipson more often than Whitner in center field. Whitner is bigger and can hit harder, and Gipson is a semi-off-man cornerback, so that makes more sense...but it's cover two. No Chris Rockinses here!
I wish the guy had mentioned the slot corner, because I'll bet he'd have Skrine on the bench and the new 6'1" Desir that clocked 4.59 covering Amendola and Welker.
I keep thinking these guys have to get better, but they get worse instead.
While I've touched on mismatches here, everybody has noticed that many of the undrafted wide recievers are smurfs. I get this: The big tall guys are at a premium, so these perfectly good little guys got dissed.
And everybody wants bigger/taller cornerbacks to cover them.
Well, I just want to point out that the best Head Coaches are the innovators. The're the ONES that everybody else copies. They adapt to changing trends and get ahead of them, and lead the arms race. They don't follow. They lead. And because of it, guys like the one who wrote that article say "What the hell is he doing? Fire him!"
Well, if everybody is getting big, tall cornerbacks, the maybe Kyle will try smurfs.
The taller guys have longer limbs and a higher center of gravity. When they change directions, they're pushing more mass. They'll fatigue sooner, as well. If they can get a good bump on a smurf at the line, they can be okay, but if the little guy dodges that bump, they're overmatched in the open field. Taller corners need to crouch down low to turn quickly, and even this takes too much time--the smurf has a step and is near top speed.
Maybe these smurfs are making lemonade out of lemons.
I'm not predicting another Dolphins offense with the Marks Brothers or anything. I look foreward to Gordon's return, and think the skyscrapers are here to stay. However, I think that maybe two or even more of these smurfs might make the team, and show up situationally in games--
Whenever Kyle can force a defense to try to cover him with a big, tall cornerback.
Just sayin.
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