Bruce Carter is a junior, so we are not sure he will leave school early, and he has is a little on the lite side for a 3-4 LB, being only 230lbs. But might be a good candidate for the WILL.

He is added above.

He has also said that he is returning for his senior season... but that can always change. As for being listed at 230... I not sure how accurate that is and maybe my eyes are off... but he seems to be playing at a heavier weight than that.

[/QUOTE]

I really like this guy. So much for being a sleeper. :rolleyes:

I really like this guy. So much for being a sleeper. :rolleyes:[/QUOTE]

He should be a Heisman finalist. And he reminds me of John Riggins, or a short Larry Csonka.

NC has him listed as 225lbs. Most colleges add weight, they don't usually subtract it. But he could have gained since the season started.

i have a man crush on Cody from Bama and Suh from Nebraska.

Well, in the unlikely event the Texans bring in Bill Cowher, we're going to need a nose tackle as we almost surely switch back to the 3-4. Mount Cody fits the bill.

Or the better bet is that The Texans sign Casey Hampton to play the NT, better because he is already a success at that position. Plus Cody IMO is over hyped and out of shape, and I question how many plays he can play in a row.

I would rather go for a big guy latter in the draft.

Looks like this upcoming draft is going to be hard for us Texan fans to scout for. We wont know for anohter few weeks whether we will be getting a new coach and scheme. You may need to add 3/4 OLB or DE's to your list.

If we do bring in Cowher one guy we need to look at is Derrick Morgan 6-4, 272 4.68 Georgia Tech. This guy will be a beast as a OLB in a 3/4.

I think we have our 3-4 OLB now, Barwin and Cushing. I play Mario as an attaching DE penetration is the key to stopping offenses.

I want a 3-4 scheme here. The only bad thing about it is that our #1 overall pick with Mario Williams would go to waste. The same thing that happened to Aaron Kampman in Green Bay will happen with Mario. Mario will have to be content with taking on blocks for other guys to make the plays.

Which is what he is doing now. I know he has a hurt shoulder and should not be playing. Hopefully when we fall out of the playoffs, he gets the surgery done so he will be ready for next season.

I dont think the transition from a 4/3 to a 3/4 will be that difficult.

#1 need - a BIG DT.
Options
Wilfork FA
Hampton FA
Mount Cody from Alabama DRAFT
There are a couple more possibilities in the draft as well.

#2 need - improve the LB's
Great thing about Cushing is that he can play inside or out. That means we can go after the best available LB whether he plays inside or out. Spikes, Rolando McLain, Micah Johnson, Sergio Kindle, Sean Weatherspoon, Eric Norwood, Greg Hardy, Derrick Morgan, Corey Wooton, Jerry Hughes, Brandon Graham are all good fits for a 3/4.

Obvioulsy the first thing to do is get center peice. Go hard after Hampton and Wilfork. Second option would be draft one like Cody.

Lets say we get Hampton who wants to join back up with Cowher. That completes our line. We now have Mario- Hampton- Smith up front. Now lets move to the secod level. There are a lot of options here. Im going to go with Brandon Spikes. He plays with an edge and thats how youre LB's have to play in a 3/4. Remember the poke in the eye incident? Wow with Mario and Hampton pushing the middle, Spikes and Smith cheap shotting people and Cushing, Demeco and Barwin flying around we might actually intimidate someone. Thats what I want a hard nosed defense that will get people out of their gameplan.

I could of gone with any of 5 players over Spikes and it looks just as good.
Rolando McLain, Micah Johnson, Derrick Morgan, Sergio Kindle, Sean Weatherspoon, Eric Norwood.

Mario - Hampton - Smith
Barwin - Ryans - Spikes - Cushing

Thats not a bad front seven to start with.

And I dont care what position we drafted Mario to play. If it makes the team better and helps us become a legit playoff team then its worth it. Besides I think he will be a better player in the 3/4. He is more than capable of dropping into coverage occasionally to confuse QB's. Lining him up between Hampton and Barwin and blitzing would mean 1 on 1 for Mario with a guard.

I actually think he is taylor made for this. He is not the speed rusher some think he is. That has been proven this year. I know he hs been hurt but too large a % of his plays are him getting rode out of the play trying to run around the OT. Those plays are a complete waste of him being on the feild. Hes being totally nuetralized by 1 player. At least in a 3/4 he would be getting one on one with a guard or tying up the OT so a LB can shoot through. We know hes good at tying up OT's. :P

Now thats fixed and we still have the rest of our draft picks to draft a safety and a couple OG's with sand in their pants. Seems simple to me. I just dont understand why some think it would be so hard switching to a 3/4.

With a good NT the rest of our defense might not be exactly what you look for in a traditional 3/4 but it does have enough talent to work. Denver had less talent then us when they switched and they are ranked #5 total defense right now.

In fact 4 out of the top five defenses right now are 3/4 and 2 out of those 4 just switched this year. Denver (#5) and Green Bay (#1). And the other 3/4 top defense (#3) is Pittsburg, who runs the exact sytem we are talking about here.

If you look at Green Bay and Denvers defensive depth chart at the beginning of this year. (beforer the draft and free agency) I bet we have fairly equal talent if not better than either of them. If they can do it and do it at that level then we should be able to too.

Here's a thought go after both Wilfork and Hampton and have a Jumbo DT pair for a short yardage package.

As for Spikes, the eye poking incedent has lowered him in my book. That is the type thing that get players suspended in the NFL.

I am leaning Rolando McLain, he plays the middle in the 3-4 now.

I have had Rolondo as my top LB all year but he has dissapointed me lately. He seemed to have lost his fire in the Auburn game. He was just blah. You can hold the eye poking incident against Spikes but you cant deny his play. That guy brings it every play. I would love to see a LB crew of

Barwin, Ryans, Spikes, Cushing.

Actually there are several really good options in the upcoming draft that would help make a switch to a 3/4 a smooth transition.

Weatherspoon, Ricky Sapp, Sergio Kindle, Micah Johnson, Joe Pawelek, Greg Hardy, George Selvie and Von Miller to name a few. Not saying I want any of these guys, just they could be used in a 3-4.

Weatherspoon is a guy I would be happy with.

You left out the best one. Derrick Morgan DE Georgia Tech he is scary good.

This post is mine from another board. It fits good here so -

This draft is loaded with LB's. Rolondo has been at the top of my list all year. I watch him every chance I get. It has been said he is good enough to play OLB but I dont think that he could in the pros. If you watch the Auburn game they kept him out of the game by going to the outside alot. Hes not the same player when chasing down plays. He is as pure an ILB as you will ever see.

Also at ILB is Brandon Spikes ILB 6'3 252 Florida, despite the eye gouging incident he is an absolute stud that will be an instant starter in the pros and Micah Johnson ILB 6'2 256 Kentucky who is a thumper type who excels at plugging the lanes and shutting down the run.

At OLB there are some really nice prospects. If we stay with Kubiak and the 4/3 Sean Weatherspoon OLB 6'1 245 Missouri would give us the best LB crew in the NFL IMO. He's not a monster hitter but he flies around and makes plays all over the feild and most importantly, he is great in pass coverage. In the last 3 years he has had 375 tackles 40 TFL 11 1/2 SK 17 PBU and still has a game to play.

There are a couple of other notworthy's as well in Sean Lee ILB 6'2 235 Penn State who is an ILB but IMO will be a good OLB in the pro's and Eric Norwood OLB 6'0 257 South Carolina.

The ones that really excite me though are the 3/4 OLB's. If we do change coaches and switch to a 3/4 there are many options available that would make the transition a smooth one. Derrick Morgan will be a great one, Sergio Kindle, Greg Hardy, Corey Wootton, Jerry Hughes, Brandon Graham, Antonio Coleman, Ricky Sapp all look like they can play.

Dan Williams is a guy I'm looking for our first round pick. He looks an awful lot like BJ Raji on the field.

Williams is the guy I would be willing to trade back into the 1st round for.

[/QUOTE]

Kyle Calloway - IOWA