Tuck, and the defense....and Reese

[Rambo89]

How many players who are on IR would have been a starting LB other than Goff (who was arguably a "?" based on his body of work to date)?

Reese is a very good talent evaluator, and I like his overall body of work...but his consistent underestimation of the importance of the LB position is what I have always taken issue with...this BTW is not only pointed at Reese (as I've said many times) EA was equally neglectfull.

+1

And I'm not convinced Herzlich is anything more than a solid role player.  I don't think he has the range to be a 4-3 MLB.  Maybe at one point he could have been but not anymore, IMO.

[jerseyguy]

How does Strahan not knowing if he wants to play or retire mean he's not a good leader?

Yeah - hilarious, huh?

A guy contemplates retirement after 14 great years but ultimately decides to play his last year and lead his team to the amazing upset (largely because he led the pass rush) and he's a 'comical distraction' because of his indecision. 

You can't make this stuff up.

JJM

Yeah, I was wrong.  Strahan was the ultimate leader throughout his career.  He was never a distraction, never complained and always put the team first.  An amazing leader.

This is a problem on here.  Rather than debate Painter's point sarcasm is thrown out there.  The reason I came to this place is because I thought we were all adults and this stuff would be avoided.  This is BBWC child non sense.

I have been seeing a trend toward the same behavior as exists on the  NY Giants message board and isn't that the reason some of us came here, to get away from that stuff.  When I first came to this board I was very impressed by the intelligent conversation and behavior of the posters so please lets not let it get away

[andrew_nyg]

I'm hoping Herzy becomes the STUD we're all hoping for....unfortunately with everything he's been through...the odds remain long.

[PSUBeirut]

I sure am hoping that....

Greg Jones
Jacquian Williams
Mark Herzlich
Philip Dillard
Adrian Tracy
Bryan Kehl
Jonathon Goff
Zak DeOssie
Gerris Wilkinson
Nick Griesen
Wesley Mallard
Quincy Monk

....make it. 

We've seen this story before.  This is just the last ten years of drafting linebackers outside of the first two rounds.  It goes back further than this. 

It's pretty simple- if you want good linebackers in this league, you're MUCH MORE LIKELY to acquire them in the first two rounds of the NFL draft.  We can't keep hoping to find that 5-10% diamond in the rough guy if we seriously want the LB position to be upgraded.

[Jaime]

PSU, actually I believe Williams & Herzy to be a Players. Both flashed to varying degrees, time will tell. To be technical, Herzy was an UDFA. JR may have gotten lucky there. I really thought the signing was just a PR gag. The Rook has the look of a Player. Don't forget bout my man Goff, taken in the 5th rd. But still, the overall batting av. is lousy.

[PSUBeirut]

PSU, actually I believe Williams & Herzy to be a Players. Both flashed to varying degrees, time will tell. To be technical, Herzy was an UDFA. JR may have gotten lucky there. I really thought the signing was just a PR gag. The Rook has the look of a Player. Don't forget bout my man Goff, taken in the 5th rd. But still, the overall batting av. is lousy.

Totally my bad on missing Goff- not sure how.  I'm not one to cherry pick data or stats so thanks for pointing Goff out- I added him in and I think he has been a solid contributor.  I put Herzy in there just because he was a big part of the conversation.  I refrained from putting all the UDFA LB's in the list because, well, I hope it's obvious that we can't rely on those types of players to become solid, long-term starters.

And it doesn't help that the 2 highest-drafted linebackers of the past 20 years are Sintim in 2009 and Kanavis McGhee in 1991 - both in the 2nd round and both busts by any measure.  Our last 1st-round LB selection was Carl Banks in 1984!!!

While I was typing that last sentence I decided to check how each unit has been prioritized in the first two rounds of the draft, since Banks was drafted in 1984.  Here we go:

Offense
OL:  8
WR/TE:  12
QB/RB:  8

Defense
DL: 12
LB: 4 (Banks, P. Johnson, K McGhee, C Sintim)
DB: 13


So those are some more interesting stats- I even gave the benefit of the doubt to the LB's, starting in 1984- when Banks was drafted and P Johnson just a few years behind him in 1986.  I think it's pretty plain to see that our drafting philosophy for a long time has moved pretty far away from LB's.  I think we're long overdue in starting to make them a priority and I hope we do it again soon.