DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Pure Football Forum Priority #1- The Defensive Line

I see straws in their mouths already

True that they are not NT's..but they weren't ready yet to go in DE..otherwise one would have been activated early ..

Also remember that if Phil thinks there is a player with good potential on someone's practice squad the only way he can bring them here is to add him to our active roster.

There's a chance that they like these kids but find players from time to time that are better than anyone they have on their practice squad currently.

Agreed....Divisions , Conferences and Super Bowls are won in The Trenches....It has worked with the OL and if we now focus on upgrading our DL it will work their as well ....

Anybody know anything about Jason Shirley DT Fresno State? 6'5" 330 5.10. I haven't seen him play but you need to evaluate a guy this big. Anyone see him or have a round projection? Boisebanger have you seen him?

Thanks Batdawg. All I knew about him was his size. Is this his only off field incident? Maybe Savage does his due diligence and drafts him somewhere in rounds 5-7 and we get a steal like we did with Wright last year. Especially if he really does have 2nd round talent. Then again maybe Savage finds out that this incident only scratches the surface and he gets put on our undraftable list.

So the guy has not been found guilty of anything at this point, and you already locked him up and threw away the key

Not only that.............what this guy is accused of is nothing compared to a scum bag like Wright. And we traded up to draft Wright. Savage has brought in a few guys w/questionable character. Despite what he says......I don't think it is real high on his list.

U don't think Dline is high on his list?
I disagree..I think it is high on his list...in FA...I think he is going to use the same line of philosophy he did on the Oline..get the best linemen he can in FA..then a LB.. then turn to the draft to see the best front seven guy he can bring in..then go for depth.
if U meant something else..oh well...

Pretty sure he was talking about Savage's feelings on the issue of "character."

True, but this Shirley guy was suspended multiple times in one season.....that HAS to raise a red flag.

Character...well I think from what I've seen, they'll take a chance on a guy after they've checked him out and questioned him..
Lewis...Wright..etc..
Then if hey don't like what theyget back , they won't sign him..
I think the term ''relative'' might be used instead of HIGH on his list..
In this instance relative means not absolute ..

I did not comment on whether I believe Savage should care more about a guy's character. My only point is that I wouldn't rule out anyone at this point.......because you can't get much worse than Wright. Thus, the player that was spoken of before will probably not be eliminated due to "character issues."

I think he could......character isn't something that is concrete and never changes.

We could find a multitude of examples of people who had some bad incidents early in life who made the necessary adjustments to erase the negative just as we could find examples of people who went years as the pillar of the community to have something happen later in life to mar the reputation.

I guess that is my only point.

Sure.....you look at things 2-3 times, but in the end, you have to make a gut decision.

Has the person changed or not??

Just clicking...

I hope that Savage, Crennel and Mel Tucker were watching the performance of the Giants defensive line last night against the Packers.

Not just last night either...the Giants defensive line has been playing well all season...against the run and
the pass.

I watched the Giants defensive line in the preseason and noticed they were somewhat on the smallish side but they were fast...fast to the ball on running plays and fast to the QB on passing plays.

Looking back at the Giants season, their defensive line is a major reason the Giants are headed to the Super Bowl. The Giants led the NFL in sacks with 53 and the team they are playing against in the Super Bowl was second in sacks during the regular season with 47 sacks.

Two basic football principles continue to hold true when looking at the teams playing in this years Super Bowl...

Teams that protect their QB...and...

Teams that sack and harass the opponents QB are the most successful teams.

That breaks down to the quality of a teams offensive line and defensive line determines a team's success.

I realize the Giants play a 4-3 defense vs the Browns 3-4 but the basic principle of speed on the defensive front still appears to be the major reason for the success of the best defenses in the NFL, regardless of the defensive scheme used.

Yes, the #1 priority for the Browns in this off season will be the defensive line...but the #1 priority when looking at whom to bring in to rebuild our D-line should be SPEED. ....jmho

Haven't paid much attention as to why the giants defensive line has been so successful but I agree that it is the lynchpin to there defense.

One comment on your post though. In preseason the giants were without strahan. Their D didn'y really start performing until strahan got back in and got into shape.

Please LB is probably another FEW threads and some will have to be moved to keep it clean. LB needs addressed. I think NOT a first for a NT. If Roye stays for another campaign, he will see less duty, either because of age or injuries. Has been limited what for two now. He is a warrior, first class, but you can't play well forever and think he could be crucial as a situation player. FA is advised; I prefer a real known commodity.
Grantham hardly developed a hard corps core of absolute headhunters. Though I like him not sure the Fraze can be kept. Question in my mind was how much was lousy scheme/talent/ sideline coach and how much was talent on the field? As a coach, I believed ballplayers made plays, period. It is an ugly place to set the bar, and there can be exceptions, but get those who do. Coming up big when needed is allowed in the NFL. We need more people who are career poised to do just that consistently. Rush harder and tackle.
Get out from under the NFL in eight and we are better in a number of games.

Da BRowns! May the Elf be with us!

I'm glad You and Shep pointed that out as I didn't know it. You won't see me giving a lot of imput on college players, as I never get to see any college games

What in the hell did you just say?

Puff, puff, pass

Quote:

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Whoa!-Vers-i dont have any problems with Eric Wright! Whatever happened in this country to innocent until proven guilty? All charges were dropped, no other trouble, no probs with Browns-i think Savage made a good call with him.

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Did I ask you to have a problem w/him? Did I ask you to agree w/me? Nope. I simply stated my opinion of him. You don't have to be a genius to figure out what he did and why he got away w/it.

I don't care if he is a Brown. I will never root for that guy.

Okay............and that is fine.

Do a search on him sometime. Read the articles closely. PM me afterwards and we'll talk.

For anyone who has no idea, a woman claimed that at a party Wright gave her a blue pill and told her it was Ecstacy. She took it, and claims she was raped by Wright. When the police hit the scene they found about 130 pills in his apartment. Insufficient evidence caused the charges to be dropped as a key witness (I believe the woman) refused to testify.

I don't know if the kid did it, I don't know if the kid didn't do it...I have my opinions, but those are the facts.

Nice, quick summary. The insufficient evidence was due to Wright saying the pills were his roommates and the roommate saying they were Wrights.

Now.......a girl claims she is raped by a guy who gave her ecstasy and the dude has 136 hits of it in his room. LOL...............come on. And the girl wasn't a gold digger. Wright was a freshman in college. She wanted to disappear. Perhaps she had a past, but it is no excuse to rape someone. Furthermore, USC's coach and AD wanted no part of Wright after the charges were dropped. They knew the score. I'm pretty sure I do too.

Too often, female rape victims are the ones who go on trial. It's BS. I don't care where a girl goes or what clothes she wears.........when she says no............it means no. And to drug someone is especially lame. And can anyone tell me why anyone would have 136 hits of the stuff if they weren't selling?

I don't care what the dude does on the field.........I wish he wasn't a Brown. Then again............not asking you all to agree w/me. I brought it up because I am not so sure that Savage cares as much about character as he says. And even here.....I am not saying that is a bad thing. I just wouldn't dismiss anyone from his list.

Hmmmm.......the plot thickens...........

Dad......if you are indeed.....just understand this is a message board. Things are said. What sounds like a personal comment shouldn't be taken in a personal way.

I don't know what is and isn't true about your son in regard to his experience at USC...no matter what, he has risen above that and I along with many others am glad he is here.

Whether we say scumbag or a guy sucks....I don't know that it can be taken in a literal context...no matter who it is.....it is just fans on a message board my man.

I know you are proud of your kid, just as I am about mine.....but somewhere along the way you need to be able to separate yourself from the comments.

Remember what I said about Draconian justice Vers.

I have a strong belief in redemption....even if everything you say is the truth, people can and do change for one...and there is the fact everything was dismissed.

I doubt USC has so much pull they can get a rape charge dropped or dismissed unless it was pretty sketchy to begin with.

Really....you and a few others seem to cling to that....somewhere along the way people who I would assume have a few more facts....like a DA, Grand Jury, possibly a judge looked in to the matter and were satisfied there wasn't enough to proceed and dropped it or dismissed it.

In my world, that is good enough.

Browns eyeing front seven prospects
Zac Jackson, Staff Writer
01.22.2008

MOBILE, Ala. -- The Browns are far from having one player picked out, but they have zeroed in on the defensive front seven.

And after a season of scouting the top prospects for the 2008 NFL Draft in a variety of different environments and two days of watching many of them work together at the Senior Bowl this week, they like the ones they'll be choosing from come April.

"Ideally, if you got to just go hand pick the players, yes, we'd like to get one of these front seven guys," Browns general manager Phil Savage said Tuesday. "But it's very early. If we get to the middle of the second round and there's a guy we really like at a different position, I don't know that we would pass him up.

"If they're all ranked about the same, though, then we'll try to do something with the front seven. There are some good players here that could end up being part of our plans."

Savage and his scouts have been watching most of these players for months. Head Coach Romeo Crennel, new defensive coordinator Mel Tucker and the rest of the coaches are getting their first up-close exposure this week and Crennel, a former defensive lineman and defensive line coach, is enjoying watching the big boys do battle.

"There are a couple guys out here you notice," Crennel said. "We'll see how they do the rest of the week and throughout the process. When somebody here grabs your attention you follow up on it to see if he's the real deal or if he's just a flash.

"But I think there's enough talent here that we can get somebody that can help us. We feel like we have some good depth in the (defensive) backfield and we need to get some help in the front seven. That's primarily what we're looking at. We'll see how these guys can fit."

The Browns are in a unique situation as they don't have a first-round pick -- they traded it during last year's draft to get Brady Quinn -- and won't pick until53rd overall, in the bottom half of the second round.

That means the guys that really jump out at the Senior Bowl, like USC defensive lineman Sedrick Ellis and linebacker Keith Rivers, Penn State linebacker Dan Connor and North Carolina defensive lineman Kentwan Balmer (who left after one Senior Bowl practice due to injury), might be long gone by the time the Browns get to pick.

But you never know exactly how a draft is going to unfold, or how much the Browns might end up liking a group of players they'd target in a possible trade scenario. After two days in Mobile, it looks like they could still get a good player -- like Maryland defensive tackle Dre Moore, USC defensive end Lawrence Jackson, Virginia Tech linebacker Xavier Adibi, Michigan linebacker Shawn Crable or UCLA defensive end/linebacker Bruce Davis -- if nothing happens and they stay at 53.

"I think the Senior Bowl traditionally has been a first to third round kind of game," Savage said. "If we're picking in the second round, there's a really good chance the player we're going to pick would come from this game. There are some interesting players that we're going to look at and keep looking at."

With all the scouts and coaches in attendance, the Browns certainly have the Senior Bowl covered. And Savage feels confident that in the fourth offseason with he and Crennel working together to develop plans and acquire players, and most of the coaches and scouts having prior experience working together to attempt to fill the Browns' needs,

"Not to take anything for granted, but you can focus on practice and the players here because the guys on the staff know our needs and they know each other," Savage said. "Everyone speaks the same language in the scouting system. We can say, 'hey, this guy is a 6.8,' and everyone knows what that means.

"That part of it has gone extremely well. The staff really knows what they're looking for in interviews and when we try to fit guys into our schemes."

That's part of the reason the Browns moved so quickly two weeks ago to promote Tucker, whom Savage called "a great communicator with outstanding credentials."

"Anytime you get a new group together and try to build a program, continuity is important," Crennel said. "So once you get quality people in place, you want to try to keep those guys in place because they can grow together and get better together, and I think that's what's happening here."

The scouts and coaches will meet in Berea next month before attending the NFL Scouting Combine in late February and pro day workouts throughout March. They'll meet again to finalize the team's draft plans in April, when there's a very good possibility they'll zero in on some players they're watching this week. link


Reading this article ...Looks like the Priority of the D-line may still be #1......