DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Pure Football Forum lessons learned from Jabaal Sheard's departure

On lessons learned from Jabaal Sheard's departure and how they might apply to Cleveland Browns' Emmanuel Ogbah

BEREA, Ohio -- Jabaal Sheard turned 27 on Wednesday. It's hard to imagine him receiving a better gift than the one Bill Belichick presented him last year.

The Patriots signed the former Browns edge rusher in free agency, gave him a chance to play in the postseason and, most importantly, found a way to maximize his diverse talent.

The point here is not to criticize past Browns regimes for letting Sheard walk, but searching for lessons that can be gleaned from his success in New England. Especially as the club welcomes rookie Emmanuel Ogbah, who like Sheard was a high second-round pick.

Is the 6-foot-4, 273-pound Oklahoma State product an outside linebacker? Is he a defensive end? Is the edge rusher, who covers 40 yards in an impressive 4.63, something of a hybrid? The Browns will start supplying answers this weekend as rookie minicamp opens Friday.

Ogbah like Sheard played as a defensive end in college. Coach Hue Jackson considers the youngster a three-down outside linebacker.

"I think it all takes care of itself if you draft really good players that have versatility and that can play in either (the 3-4 or 4-3) scheme," the coach added.

Sheard didn't need to make the transition to outside linebacker until his third year in the league so the Ogbah comparison is hardly apples to apples. He registered 15.5 sacks in his first two seasons, but just seven over his final two campaigns as he dealt with a position change in a 3-4 base defense and a nagging foot injury in 2014.

The 6-2, 254-pounder probably was never fully appreciated for setting the edge against the run, playing through pain and generating pressure on the quarterback even if it didn't result in a sack. The Browns attempted to replace Sheard with Scott Solomon.

I'll just leave that right there.

The Patriots signed Sheard to a two-year, $11 million deal with $5.5 million guaranteed. It proved to be a shrewd acquisition as the Pitt product collected eight sacks and 58 pressures last season. He also finished third among edge rushers, according to PFF, against the run. The analytics website ranked him as its 59th best player in 2015.

The Patriots rotated Sheard at defensive end with Chandler Jones and Rob Ninkovich, while also deploying him as an interior rusher in sub packages.

Belichick addressed Sheard's value and versatility late last season.

"We put Chandler inside some in the past and we've done that some this year, but Jabaal has actually played in there more," Belichick said. "That's something that, as I said, in Cleveland, he primarily played on the left side. ... He was on right end, too, but primarily on the end of the line. You rarely, if ever, saw him inside, and this year when we put him in there early in the season and in training camp he had some very productive plays ...

"Jabaal in particular has been able to do some things he hasn't done before like playing inside and playing some pass-coverage responsibilities. He's done very well in picking that up and giving us a lot of production."

Finding creative ways to use skilled defenders is more important than ever in a league where 63.4 percent of all plays last season featured sub packages. That figure was 43.4 percent in 2008, according to PFF.

"For us, we are ever-evolving," Browns defensive coordinator Ray Horton said prior to the draft. "The league evolves. I don't know if there is a real difference, other than maybe (the) philosophy of how you call the game. I go back to our players. If our big guys will run for us and our little guys will hit, we'll be OK."

Ogbah definitely qualifies as a big man who can run. But can a player his size drop into coverage? Last season, former defensive coordinator Jim O'Neil attempted to use Paul Kruger more in coverage and the results were not good for anyone involved. The edge rusher's sack totals plummeted from a career-high 11 in 2014 to just 2.5 a year ago.

Sometimes, the best schemes and intentions aren't enough to spur more production. We've seen that in some ways with Barkevious Mingo. Still, the Browns must get more from their edge rushers who include Kruger, Nate Orchard, Mingo and Ogbah. It's unclear whether rookie linebacker Joe Shobert will play inside or outside.

The development of Ogbah, who recorded 22.5 sacks over his final two seasons at Oklahoma State, will be fascinating to watch. His detractors question his consistency and ability to stop the run.

The Browns never quite figured out how to maximize Sheard's talent in a 3-4 scheme -- some blame falls on the players around him -- then watched the edge rusher leave as he reached the prime of his career.

There are lessons to be learned here. Some might even apply to Ogbah.

http://www.cleveland.com/browns/index.ss...art_river_index

I like Sheard, but setting the edge in the running game was not a strength. In fact, that part of his game was what used to bother me about him.




I like Ogbah and had him on my short list at 32, but I ain't feeling it as a 3-down OLBer.




I think that is true, especially since teams are playing nickel almost 2/3 of the time.

I don't think it's wise to try to scheme-fit him into an OLB ... if his natural strength is DE I'd rather have hm stay there and be as effective/productive as possible

I don't know....I am just a old guy. My attitude is get after it, follow the football, and kill whoever has it.

I do agree, I don't see this guy covering people anytime soon, if ever. At 4.6 he might be able to run with a TE or a slower back in a straight line, but that doesn't mean he knows how to cover a player. Speed alone doesn't make a good cover man.

Quickness is a key factor, and when you as a defender are reacting to what the O player is doing, you have to be quick in your reaction. Quick and big generally don't go together. It's body control.

Agreed speed alone doesn't mean you can cover, but it does give you some value in a coverage drop in a zone blitz.

Re: Jabaal
I saw him frequently string plays out and / or turn the play back inside while w/ the Browns

I thought he was strong on the edge (we were horrible in support).

I didn't get to watch a ton of him in New England - this article seems to point to their use of him on the inside

The point seems to be that New England coaches are better at finding and utilizing player strengths than (former) Browns coaches

No **** Sherlock :-)

Let's hope our talent level increase and our coaching and scheming ability increases so there are fewer of these "the one we let get away"