I hope he prove's me wrong. Cushing replay.

[painekiller]

Today with my internet down for the count during the heat of day, I love you comcast, I watched USC v Washington ST. Now SC has a ton more talent on the field than the Cougars have ever had, but I watched Cushing and only Cushing for the 1st half. And let me tell you, he was the worse LB on the field. He was playing the WILL, and was not challenged often but when he was blocked, he was blasted. He did not seem to be able to shed the blocker. The SC defense was a swarming mob, with almost every playing gang tackling the ball carrier, but Cush always seemed to arrive late to play.

On the sweep to his side, the ball carrier beat him to sideline, Cushing had to turn his shoulders and run to get a late piece of the play. The CB was the reason that Cush came close to being involved.

Rey Rey and Matthews where both jumping out as high motor players, Cushing looked disinterested in the game.

Now the GM and HC have said they like this kid and they used our 1st round pick on him, so I know I have to be wrong in my assessment of him. Boy I hope I am.

[cloudwasher]

Im going to assume that the decision makers also saw the tape of that game. The whole front office deserves to be thrown out if they didnt do their due diligence on the kid and watch every single down he's ever played for USC. Maybe it was just a poor game for him... it happens to the best of them. Even Andre has some games where he goes 2 catches for 20 yards.

I was personally hoping for Clay Matthews. That being said, he hasn't played a single down in the NFL yet. I guess we'll start to find out here in a month or so...

[kravix]

I am not a fan of college football, so I have never seen any of his games. Cloudwasher brought up a good point that it was only one game, and against a weak opponent. My understanding is that USC likes to mix their Def up alot, and it is possible they were experimenting.

I know that one of Cush's supposed strengths was playing all 3 positions, but it may have been more from neccessity or creativity than anything else. I do know there was a period where he basically played a DE standing up becuase of injuries, that doesnt mean we are going to stick him on th line.

It was also a college game, and no player can go through college, or the pros and be dominate every single game.

[nunusguy]

I gotta agree with PKs assessment. Except I didn't watch that game, I rewatched this years Rose Bowl (Penn State vs USC) within the past couple weeks and came to the same conclusion that he did: Matthews and Rey-Rey both showed more quickness, more athleticism than Cushing. So it sounds like we are getting the least athletic of USCs top LBs from this past years team when we had the pick of the litter at #15 ? Does his size & strength justify that much of a premium over the other guys ? I dunno, but it's always been my understanding that the SAM is the least important position among the three 4-3 LB positions and a pick in the top half of the first round is a very steep price to pay for that position, unless the player is truly exceptional ?
BTW PK, I swapped Comcast for AT&Ts U-Verse a couple years ago and suggest you do the same if you get the opportunity. It's a significantly superior service/product in the opinion of most who use it, certainly for me.

[painekiller]

Originally Posted by nunusguy

BTW PK, I swapped Comcast for AT&Ts U-Verse a couple years ago and suggest you do the same if you get the opportunity. It's a significantly superior service/product in the opinion of most who use it, certainly for me.

I am trying to get AT&T, and they are doing everything in there power to keep that from happening.

[nunusguy]

Originally Posted by painekiller

I am trying to get AT&T, and they are doing everything in there power to keep that from happening.

Say what ?

[papabear]

Originally Posted by nunusguy

Does his size & strength justify that much of a premium over the other guys ? I dunno, but it's always been my understanding that the SAM is the least important position among the three 4-3 LB positions and a pick in the top half of the first round is a very steep price to pay for that position, unless the player is truly exceptional ?

While I've seen a ton of USC games over the years I can't say I've really watched one with the intent of really scouting one player...even if I did it doesn't mean I know what to look for (but I did consider Rey-Rey to be a little over-hyped, very good for sure, but over-hyped). My big problem with taking a SAM in the first is that traditionally he will likely come off the field in nickel situations, and in today's NFL teams spend a lot of time in nickel packages. I wasn't crazy about taking a player who you know off the bat isn't going to be on the field for a big chunk of plays. Kubiak seems to think that Cush could be part of our nickel package though so that may not be an issue with him. I disagree that the SAM is the least important though. It's just the least glamorous, but if you don't have a good one it can make life very hard on the rest of the defense.

As much as pass defense is talked about we were just as bad against the run last year. I saw a stat the other day (can't remember where) that showed that the Texans were among the worst in the league at giving up yards on first down. Not all of that was due to run defense....but improved run defense means more obvious passing downs....and more opportunities for Mario to cut it loose and knock the QB silly. Having a true SAM with the size and strength to mix it up and hold the edge is the second best thing we could have done to help the run defense....first would have been a true hog at NT, but there weren't any of those available. From what I've heard the SAM in this scheme isn't necessarily going to be a guy that racks up a lot of tackles, but will help to force plays to the MLB and WILL. In other words people will probably call him a bust when he's not making a lot of tackles even though the defensive scheme isn't asking him too. That's also why I have a hard time scouting players. I'm not knowledgeable enough to know, or be able to spot, what a players responsibilities are for a certain team...even if you know what type of defense a team is running and what the general responsibilities are, they can change slightly from game to game or play to play based on the call.

Diles was the SAM last year for the sole reason of getting the three best LB on the field, and there's nothing wrong with that. He had earned it too, but he did not have the size/strength for an ideal SAM...especially if we are going to be running a lot of 4-3 under like has been hinted at where the SAM plays a lot of 9-technique and is almost another d-lineman in some ways. They have talked about Cushings ability in pass coverage and I will take their word for it until I see otherwise, but he should also be able to harass the TE's and keep them from getting an easy release off the line better than we have done in the past as well.

If PK says that Cush was getting blasted on the film then that makes me worry a little, but I understand why they went with a player like Cush. I have no doubt that every play of Cushing's career was reviewed at some point by someone before he was picked though. He might not be the right guy, and we won't know for sure for a few years. He's here, as soon as they get the contract done that is, so we'll just have to watch and see. If I happen to see an old USC game I 'll try and watch a little myself too.

[mussop]

Originally Posted by nunusguy

I gotta agree with PKs assessment. Except I didn't watch that game, I rewatched this years Rose Bowl (Penn State vs USC) within the past couple weeks and came to the same conclusion that he did: Matthews and Rey-Rey both showed more quickness, more athleticism than Cushing. So it sounds like we are getting the least athletic of USCs top LBs from this past years team when we had the pick of the litter at #15 ? Does his size & strength justify that much of a premium over the other guys ? I dunno, but it's always been my understanding that the SAM is the least important position among the three 4-3 LB positions and a pick in the top half of the first round is a very steep price to pay for that position, unless the player is truly exceptional ?
BTW PK, I swapped Comcast for AT&Ts U-Verse a couple years ago and suggest you do the same if you get the opportunity. It's a significantly superior service/product in the opinion of most who use it, certainly for me.

This scares me because I watched a USC game the other day and came to the same conclusion. It was a 2005 game replay vs Fresno State on classic. Anyway Cushing was not impressive at all but he did recover a fumble late in the game to save a victory. Of course he was just a freshman in that game but talk about a MIA. Hope not drafting Mathews doesnt turn out to be a mistake. I sure thought he was the better LB in that draft.

[NBT]

I was for the Mathews kid too. We have been wrong before PK, so let it work it's way out. We may both be surprised.

[nunusguy]

Originally Posted by mussop

Hope not drafting Mathews doesnt turn out to be a mistake. I sure thought he was the better LB in that draft.

I think Matthews was thought to be more of a WIL in a 4-3 which is a position we were not needing as much help at as strongside I beleive ? Of course it looks like he's gonna be a 3-4 OLB for Dom Capers in GB.
I really think I would have taken MacLin instead of Cushing even though WR may be our strongest position but inexplicably Smith & Kubiak didn't seek my advice ?

[painekiller]

Originally Posted by kravix

I am not a fan of college football, so I have never seen any of his games. Cloudwasher brought up a good point that it was only one game, and against a weak opponent. My understanding is that USC likes to mix their Def up alot, and it is possible they were experimenting.

I know that one of Cush's supposed strengths was playing all 3 positions, but it may have been more from neccessity or creativity than anything else. I do know there was a period where he basically played a DE standing up becuase of injuries, that doesnt mean we are going to stick him on th line.

It was also a college game, and no player can go through college, or the pros and be dominate every single game.

Because USC is on TV virtually ever week, I've seen more than one game. Early in the season Rey Rey was on my must watch list, so I've seen the team and watched the LBs play.

I have not just watched Cush play on every play before. And IMO he has never jump out at me as a must watch player. Much less the 15th pick. Rey Rey jumps out, but he his flaws do too, IMO Rey Rey will be the better pro, I think Rick and Gary pulled a TJ*. A good player, but not a standout player.

And again, I hope he proves me wrong.


* IMO they pulled a TJ on Okoye and missed out on Willis, the best LB since Ray Lewis, I don't care if he played MIKE, one of the two could play the SAM.

[Bigtinylittle]

Originally Posted by painekiller

* IMO they pulled a TJ on Okoye and missed out on Willis, the best LB since Ray Lewis, I don't care if he played MIKE, one of the two could play the SAM.

This kind of thing often happens to teams in the first round. No matter how much they say they are going to go BPA, almost all teams draft for need in the first round. The Texans didn't need a Mike when they drafted Okoye, so they passed on Willis.

Going exclusively for need in the first is a mistake in the long run, but with coaches and GMs under tremendous pressure to produce immediate results, the 'long run' almost always takes a back seat.

Of course, sometimes GMs get lucky and the BPA happens to be someone who plays where they need help.

[Nconroe]

I'm gonna stay positive for now, not let any doubts creep in till atleast we see a few practice games, and maybe give the rookies a while to develop.