the LBs?

[painekiller]

I was shocked this week when I read/saw the team is going to look at Diles as the WILL. From what I gathered they where looking at Cushing/Ryans/Diles.

Diles was a tackling machine, and moving him to WILL keeps a high motor guy on the field.

Also this does not place a lot of expectation on Adibi, who just could not stay on the field. He now has the guy to push him. Off season reports by Brooke Bentley have him gaining 15 lbs, which should help him take the pounding.

Wildcard is the FA former Pro Bowler Cato June.

Now add these parts together, could this be the year we have some specialist packages that actually work? I can see the Diles at WILL group being a strong against the run front.

A package that somehow utilizes Adibi and June together could be a pass coverage package that makes a difference.

Where do you this group heading?

[barrett]

I agree we have options and good depth, but LB is not a position you play a ton of guys barring injury. There are not many specialist LBs who only play on 3rd down. Most LBs who are that good in coverage and are that athletic are on the field all 3 downs. Otherwise you just go with a 5th or 6th DB who are better in coverage than even a coverage LB like June.

My guess is Demeco is on the field at all times if healthy. On 3rd down he will be paired with whoever the WLB is almost all the time. And if its a very obvious passing down, we go with Demeco and 6 DBs rather than Demeco and a replacement coverage LB.

So Demeco, Cushing (I would hope), and one of the other guys who wins the job in camp at WLB. The rest of them better be good special teamers.

[nunusguy]

Originally Posted by painekiller

I was shocked this week when I read/saw the team is going to look at Diles as the WILL. From what I gathered they where looking at Cushing/Ryans/Diles.

Diles was a tackling machine, and moving him to WILL keeps a high motor guy on the field.

I dunno what you're saying here PK ? On the one hand you're "shocked", but on the other hand you seem to be pleased by the move of getting this "high motor guy on the field" ? Do you like it or not ?

[nero THE zero]

I've seen McClain mention this. I can't imagine Diles being athletic enough for the WILL. But, I also didn't agree with keeping Mario at RDE and adding another LDE. It seems there's an emphasis being put on size here versus speed/athleticism, which is contradictory to the Tampa-2 suspicions some have been holding.

[Bigtinylittle]

So Demeco, Cushing (I would hope), and one of the other guys who wins the job in camp at WLB. The rest of them better be good special teamers.[/QUOTE]

What I'm thinking is that, concerning SLB and WLB, who will play what on which downs is totally up in the air at this point. That's probably why Diles is being tried out at WLB. They want to see if he can play it.

Right now it looks like WLB and SLB will be two of the most interesting preseason battles. CB could be very interesting too. And possibly DT and SS. Everything else seems to me to be pretty much settled, barring injuries of course.

[painekiller]

Originally Posted by nunusguy

I dunno what you're saying here PK ? On the one hand you're "shocked", but on the other hand you seem to be pleased by the move of getting this "high motor guy on the field" ? Do you like it or not ?

I'm shocked to the fact that Ryans is not fast enough to play the WILL but they now seem to think Diles is. If Diles is a canidate to play WILL now, why did we have to suffer one last year of Greenwood at the WILL?

At the same time I am asking those questions, which I believe are directed more towards the coaches, I like Diles the player. He is fun to watch, unlike dearly departed Greenwood.

So I guess I am confused by the actions of the coaches.

On another note: I see us carrying 6 guys Ryans, Cushing, Diles, Adibi, Bentley, June. One of these guys makes the PS Coley, Davis, Verdell.

Leaving Chaun Thompson on the outside.

[NBT]

I don't know who will play the WLL, but I am excited by the added athleticism and competitiveness of this whole LB group. As most of you know, I griped about Richard Smith's defenses for a couple of years. Now, I think the aggressiveness will be there that has been lacking. I am not worried in the least (except for injuries). I think the cream at WILL will rise to the top and whoever it is will be a vast improvement over the past.

[barrett]

Originally Posted by painekiller

I'm shocked to the fact that Ryans is not fast enough to play the WILL but they now seem to think Diles is. If Diles is a canidate to play WILL now, why did we have to suffer one last year of Greenwood at the WILL?

At the same time I am asking those questions, which I believe are directed more towards the coaches, I like Diles the player. He is fun to watch, unlike dearly departed Greenwood.

So I guess I am confused by the actions of the coaches.

On another note: I see us carrying 6 guys Ryans, Cushing, Diles, Adibi, Bentley, June. One of these guys makes the PS Coley, Davis, Verdell.

Leaving Chaun Thompson on the outside.

Who said Demeco isn't fast enough to play WLB? I may have heard it from posters on here in favor of keeping him at the MLB, but I have never heard anything from the team or any other team.

Besides, Diles situation is very different. Demeco is our best LB and will play where he has the most impact (MLB). Diles is not good enough to start over Demeco at MLB (his first position I believe), he probably (hopefully) isn't good enough to start over Cushing, so now the coaches are saying he will attempt to win a job at WLB. This is the obvious thing to do if you are his coach. You just drafted his replacement in round 1 and you are telling him to keep working and keep trying to find a spot on the field. Nothing confusing about that to me.

Now it just comes down to who wins the spot between Diles/Adibi/June.

[painekiller]

Originally Posted by barrett

Who said Demeco isn't fast enough to play WLB? I may have heard it from posters on here in favor of keeping him at the MLB, but I have never heard anything from the team or any other team.

I hate quoting other BB, but Lance Zierlein post on the TT.com BB and he is quoted

Quote:
Originally Posted by Brando
I like Rey Mealeuga also. Could we move Ryans to the outside? Ryans did play OLB in college right? Maybe we could move Rey to the outside?
LZ replies
That's the question. If they think he can play outside, Maualuge would be an awesome fit, but I've spoken with someone behind the scenes (not R. Smith) who doesn't believe he can run well enough in coverage to play outside.

So there is at least one person inside the Texans that believe Ryans is a MIKE only now.

just in case you want to read the entire thread here it is

[barrett]

Maybe someone thinks he can't play the WLB. Maybe they just like him where he is because he is a great MLB. Either way he is not going to play WLB.

But to your point, Demeco's speed has nothing to do with Diles trying to play there. Like I said, I am sure Diles is being tried there because he can't get on the field at MLB or SLB, so they'll see if he's better than Adibi, June, and anyone else we have in camp. He is not being tried there in relation to his speed compared to Demeco.

[Keith]

Not sure that Diles is quick enough to be the prototypical WLB for this defense -- looking up his pro day #s elsewhere, it looks like he has a 4.75 forty but a decent 4.22 in the shuttle and 7.16 in the cone (compared to Adibi's 4.62/4.18/6.91), but I especially like the ability he showed in racking up tackles before his injury last year. I could definitely see a rotation at the position depending on the down and distance.

Since the Texans seem to be poised to commit more to a one gap defense, I think the tackling ability of the LBs is more important now than ever before. That should play into Diles' favor. That said, if Adibi makes a sharp improvement this offseason, it ought to be really hard to keep him off the field.

For reference, here are some quotes from the Pete Carroll discussion of the 4-3 under defensive philosophy specific to the WLB. Just something to keep in mind.

This alignment leaves open the strong side B Gap and the weak side A gap which are played by the Mike and Will linebackers. The Mike linebacker is in an inside-foot to out-side foot alignment on the offensive guard on his side of the field. The Will linebacker is aligned against the offensive guard to his side of the field. He is basically a protected player in this alignment and should make a lot of tackles. He has to control his weak-side A gap and play relative to the Mike linebacker and the Free Safety. ...

The Will seems kinda like the junior Mike in this scheme. It probably helps here again that Diles is more of an ILB by trade.

The Mike Linebacker plays the first back out of the back field to the strong side. The Free Safety plays the first back out of the back field to the weak side. The Will linebacker plays the short middle. The gives us a man in the hole in the short middle area of the field. If we get a full flow by the backs to the strong side the Mike linebacker takes the first back and the Will linebacker takes the second back out of the backfield. The Free Safety becomes the short middle player.

If it is a full flow weak side play the Free Safety has the first back and the Will linebacker has the second man to the weak side. ...

Need a tackler for sure.

The Will linebacker can be a smaller player. He is generally protected in the defensive schemes and will not see as many blocks. All you want him to do most plays is flow and chase the football. We want our fastest linebacker at this position.

I think Diles showed some last year that he flows to the football, he just isn't the fastest option. So take him off the field in obvious passing downs (or maybe when Chris Johnson is in the backfield for the Titans instead of FatDale?). His ILB instincts should really help him be effective at the Will though and account for whatever speed he may be missing. Plus, it isn't like Diles was some hulking Sam... I think before last year a lot of us considered him to be quite small by normal Sam standards.

More from Diles from the official:

6. Is it going to be difficult to switch to the WILL? You've already played a couple of linebacker positions on this team.

"Yeah, I’ve been all throughout the defense, so why not play WILL this year? I played MIKE my first year, SAM last year, so not really. SAM and WILL pretty much correlate with each other; it’s just on the other side of the ball. I mean, it’s the same drop, same read, pretty much. It’s just on the other side of the ball and I just don’t have to be up on the tight end any more."

Again, it sounds like Diles' experience as an ILB will be an asset to him in this scheme.

[Roy P]

I really think that Cato June will be the Will this season as a stop gap. Cushing and Ryans are pretty much locks, I'd imagine at Sam and Mike. Adibi has to step up because he's a WILL only and if he's not the starter, he may find himself expendable. If he can't unseat June as the starter by December, I imagine we'll be drafting a WILL next season (Weatherspoon, please?).

As for Diles, he's a backup LB at perhaps all 3 positions. That's valuable to the team because injuries do happen. It is fair to give him a shot at the WILL since that is position that is up in the air. I just don't imagine that he'll beat out June. However, he could cause Adibi's departure to happen sooner. That would allow Chaun Thompson to stay on the roster as a pass-rushing LB.

[nunusguy]

Originally Posted by Roy P

we'll be drafting a WILL next season (Weatherspoon, please?).

I'm a huge Weatherspoon fan. I think he and not McClin was Mizzous best player and would have been the first Mizzou guy drafted this year had he
come out. He and not Cushing almost surely would have been the second 4-3 LB drafted this year and he may regret not coming out, especially given how weak the Draft was in '09.

[papabear]

Originally Posted by Roy P

I really think that Cato June will be the Will this season as a stop gap. Cushing and Ryans are pretty much locks, I'd imagine at Sam and Mike. Adibi has to step up because he's a WILL only and if he's not the starter, he may find himself expendable. If he can't unseat June as the starter by December, I imagine we'll be drafting a WILL next season (Weatherspoon, please?).

As for Diles, he's a backup LB at perhaps all 3 positions. That's valuable to the team because injuries do happen. It is fair to give him a shot at the WILL since that is position that is up in the air. I just don't imagine that he'll beat out June. However, he could cause Adibi's departure to happen sooner. That would allow Chaun Thompson to stay on the roster as a pass-rushing LB.

I think it's June who will have to unseat Adibi. That very well could happen, but you would have to think the Texans preference is for Adibi to be able to win that job. I would think that Adibi is penciled in as the starter right now.

[Roy P]

Originally Posted by papabear

you would have to think the Texans preference is for Adibi to be able to win that job. I would think that Adibi is penciled in as the starter right now.

I don't argue that the Texans would prefer Adibi to be able to win that job. It would be nice if he were able to do just that and make the Cato June signing a moot point. However, I don't think the Texans have penciled him in at the starter, it's up to Adibi's offseason performance to show he deserves that position. June has proven what he can do in this league, and Xavier has not.

[NBT]

June can hold his weight a little better than Xavier, but he is 29 going on long in the tooth. Xavier on the other hand, has a tough time holding his weight above 220 during the year. Diles has probably improved his 40 speed, but I still think it is between June & Adibi for the starter position at the WILL.