The House of Blue

We "may" want him to visit...his recruitment screams slow play to me.

Good skill set. Very nice closing speed and recovery speed on the ball. He isn't as big but with a redshirt would be a nice choice at SAFETY. Have we had a bunch of de-commits that haven't went public yet or something? Why aren't we hearing about OT's/WR's/CB's? Joker has threw me for a loop, i'm just going to stop trying to keep up it makes me to mad. Why wouldn't we be all over our obvious needs. Heck there's nothing wrong with asking a kid with little intrest to take a visit if they can come in and play OT or WR. It wouldn't hurt to ask a few CB's either. I was hoping so much that RIdge would play Rush-backer and Dupree would be playing SAM. Our pass-rushing would 10 times better... Defenses couldn't role protection to the weak-side to block our "RB" since Dupree is just as good or better pass-rusher at SAM. Plus Dupree is good in space he showed that off the last few games. IDK i'm just confused with some of this news the last few days. We should be looking to add those big-time players like Ervilus, Andrades, Burton right now. With all these spots filling up will they still be room if some of those guys want to be cats?

This is what the coaches get paid for. Let'em work it out. They always seem to do well by signing day. And at least one surprizes come every year as well.
I love recruiting and adding the new bluebloods. Although, I hate saying goodbye to our hard working vets.

I just hope Brown plays well. Maybe the video was dated or fresh from the knee injury. We need him to be great or close, when Winston was healthy our defense was much better. Back last spring Rick said "I want my SAM LB's to be able to flat out run". Then he said they'll be in the 210-230# range. Brown has the look I guess we will have to wait and see. If he doesn't work out I think we have plenty of true OLB types but other than Miles and incoming freshman Josh Harris we don't have many Winston types.

Another player I think could make a good "SAM" is Malcom. I know he's been playing "Will" but he played DE/OLB in HS. He was always a edge player. If Malcom has problems playing inside it may be a good move. His skill set and athleticism could make this the perfect fit.

You are right Malcom and Dupree may have some problems in coverage but you and I both know it's going to be very hard to replicate what Guy did with anyone on the team or on the way. In saying that I think it would be easier for those guys to work on their technique in coverage than it would be for Brown to be the all around player Winston was. One play he would be in man Cov on a Slot WR the next he was rushing the passer. The hustle plays like running down the Ole Miss ball carrier when it seemed like noone was going to catch him is just one example that made Guy so special. Hopefully Brown has the same type of energy and desire as Winston. If Brown has all the intangibles that alone could allow him to do well eventhough he isn't a combine killer.

I'm not questioning Brown's hitting ability or how physical he is at all, I just don't see him doing all the things Winston done because of his speed. Brown and Winston seem to be two very different creatures. The film I seen was before the knee injury too, I hope he has fully recovered. Wonder if Joker and Co did test-drive Brown any? When healthy Winston was by far the most dynamic player on our defense. Danny was and is great i'm not taking anything away from him but in the UofL and Vandy game while Winston was playing hurt our defense didn't look anything like it did against GA, TN or even LSU (the first half). For one player to thrive in GUY's old role they need to be able to be solid in man/zone coverage while also being a 1st down run-stopper, that's why I think we should use a few different players at "SAM".

Just think about this for a moment. In the games Winston wasn't 100% teams killed us with out-side zone. Remember the UofL game? I was there, they played pickel with us the entire game. When we moved Benton down in the box to help out in run-support they went with PA, when we went with a 7 man front they ran the ball. They had great results in their "wildcard" package by bringing their Te or H in motion to help set the edge. Winston was giving up anywhere from 20-35# to those guys in most cases. After they started to move the ball Rick done what any D-cord would do he moved Benton in the box. After a few first downs the stage was set, they faked the out-side zone play and threw it over our head. When I noticed we couldn't stop them with our front 7 I knew it was only a matter of time before they beat us with PA. I'm not saying all of that was WInston's fault, he was just to small. Teams done that to us all year. As good as Winston was asking him to control a 240+ pound FB/Te/H-back was to much at times. That's why I think placing a kid like Dupree or even Malcom in that role against run first teams would help. Their size and speed would make for a solid option. With a big "SAM" LB on the field it may even help us in pass coverage because we may not have to rely on bringing a safety in the box.

I'm not saying placing Dupree (or someone similar in size and strength) at "SAM" is a cure all but against teams that try to be physical it could be a fix. Then when we play teams like TN who look to throw it all over the lot a guy that is good in coverage would be a nice alternative. Our number one objective should be to take the other teams running game away. If we could take teams running game away without safety help that would be ideal. I know that is a tough task but with the talent we have returning up front (plus a couple good looking freshman) along with the talent we have at OLB that may become a reality. Since "SAM" is one of our hybrid positions why not go with multiple skill sets?