Quote:
Originally Posted by Roy P
Okay, on 5 March 2009, it appears that there is growing consensus that the Texans should pick OLB Clay Matthews. I know that I'm warming to the idea.
However, I wanted to revisit the Vontae Davis idea again. The Texans put the Franchise Tag on Dunta Robinson, which is not the same as agreeing upon a long term deal. They also signed a DE in Antonio Smith, which may make drafting a 1st round DE less likely.
I understand that our secondary has many players including Robinson, Reeves, Bennett, Molden, Wilson, and Barber. However, Davis could be good enough to make Robinson tradable or Reeves expendable. At worst, he may be a better option than Eugene Wilson at FS. I suppose what I'm trying to say is that Vontae Davis is very talented and versatile.
On the flip side, Clay Matthews could be either the WLB or SLB. I'm not sure which would have the larger impact. Matthews did have the benefit of playing at USC where he was surrounded by talent. Some "experts" thought that Cushing and Maualuga were even better prospects. So, there is a possibility that Matthews was just in a good situation. I keep wondering why a kid with such talent and blood lines that we keep hearing about was not even recruited to play football, but had to walk-on. Also, some folks around here have mentioned the lack of impact a LB has on defense compared to a DB.
Any opinions on who we would be better off with if the decision came down to Davis vs. Matthews?
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I have no idea who would have the biggest impact. CB's are more of a priority than LB's, just look at salaries. That doesn't mean that LB's can't play a huge role in upgrading a D. It's a team game, so having solid play from every position is important. I would like to see us add one more impact LB at some point. I think Adibi could be very good. It will be interesting to see if he's added any weight strength in the offseason. We don't know if he's going to be able to stand up to the pounding in the NFL at this point though. I'm fine with Diles and Adibi outside. be don't know if Diles will be back at 100%. Bentley filled in fine for him last year though. Either way I would be hesitant to pick a SLB in the first round because they are off the field so much in nickel packages. I think the general rule would be that CB>LB>S. General rules don't always work when comparing specific players. The fact that Davis has the versatility to play S increases his value, but I guarantee his agent will want him at CB.
One thing that always bugs me about guys from the top schools. USC, Texas, Florida, and even Ohio State. It's hard to say if a guy is great or if he just benefits from being on a team that is vastly superior athletically to 90% of the teams they face. Look at USC's LBs. Are any of them great, or are they all just benefiting from the guys in front of or around them? Another possibility is that one of them is truly special and makes the rest of them seem better than they are. It's hard to figure out which one is actually taking place. You see the same thing with free agents from successful teams that fail badly on lesser teams.
I would be happy with Matthews or Davis. Matthews would make for a better story with his family history, but that's not a reason to draft him over another player. Assuming they are both there it could come down to how bad the Dunta situation really is.