Rookie Expectations

[Beastlyman2003]

I wasnt stating that he will have better "stats per play". I was saying that he will be better suited for the transition from DE to OLB. He seems to have better pass-rush skills as well. And will have a better OVERALL season.

[Vinny]

Originally Posted by Beastlyman2003

But V, what about Terrell Suggs? I think that Jason Babin is faster, and stronger than Suggs. He also had more total sacks than Suggs had in college(38-34), so it would seem logical to me that Babin SHOULD have a better season than Suggs did.

Suggs had an unusual year and was a situational pass rusher and really never played full time since he wasn't good enough to be a full time starter last year. As far as sacks go he is the exception and not the norm. Suggs didn't do too well against the run and was not good in coverage either. Babin should have a better all-round game than Suggs (because Babin was better against the run at WMU) but I would not expect him to get to the passer as much.

[Beastlyman2003]

I said that he'd have 4 ints because he will get picked on and i think that he'll suprise alot of teams. He had only 1 pick because in college teams liked to throw the other way.

[Fiddy]

Originally Posted by Beastlyman2003

He seems to have better pass-rush skills as well. And will have a better OVERALL season.

Suggs is a heck of a pass rusher, so I doubt Babin has better pass rushing skills then him but Babin is probably a better all around player b/c Suggs cant stop the run. Babin may have a better overall rookie season but Suggs' rookie season will probably be more productive considering the plays he got.....

[F-minus67]

robinson will get around 3-4 picks and maybe 40-47 tackles due to his speed and capers will blitz him often for a cornerback. babins will get 5-7 sacks and around 65-75 tackles, basiclly the same numbers as wong did but he will turn into a monster his second year.

[Mistril48]

Originally Posted by Fiddy

Suggs had the benefit of having Peter Bolware and Ray Lewis in the same LB corps. And if you are talking about total production, Suggs may have the best sack per play in league history for a single season. Suggs got 12 sacks as a limited pass rusher. The only time Suggs was on the field was in obvious passing situations. If Babin does have more sacks, I still think Suggs rookie season was more productive getting limited snaps...

Suggs had the perfect situation to get sack numbers. He had great players around him (specifically Bouleware at the other DE/OLB) plus he had the ADVANTAGE of not having to be on the field for too many plays, keeping his legs fresh. Isn't that why they rotate D-linemen? Being a situational rusher is a perfect situation if you only care about one thing - sacks.

I hope that Babin is a lot more productive than Suggs and I won't be measuring it purely on sacks.

Often sacks result from the efforts of others. For example, you need a good push from the DTs and good containment from the other from the OLB/DE. Often, a great play by one player results in a sack by someone else.

[infantrycak]

Instead of a prediction, how about a statement of what would be a good bench mark:

A great year for Robinson would be to match Terence Newman's (a guy taken 5 spots above him) performance: 66 tackles, 4 INT's & 17 passes defensed.

Most important in that line up IMO is having 15+ passes defensed. He is a rookie CB so he is going to get picked on. If he isn't getting passes defensed numbers in that range it may very well mean he is struggling. Demarcus Faggins defensed 7 passes last year playing minimal time in 7 games and starting for one half of another.

For Babin, seems to me the benchmark should be set at matching Wong's performance--he is a solid, well balanced LB effective in QB pressure, run D and coverage. Wong 2003: 62 tackles, 3 sacks, 1 forced fumble and 11 passes defensed.

What that doesn't show is how often Wong had QB hurries, which was quite often. IF the front 3 can return to even 2002 form much less better due to the addition of Smith some of those QB hurries should turn into sacks such as in 2002 when Wong had 5.5 sacks. Seems to me a great rookie season from Babin would be 60+ tackles, 6+ sacks, 1 forced fumble and 10+ passes defensed. If that happens then big predictions can be made for next year.

Give these rookies some time before predicting pro-bowl years from them.

[powda]

babin- 7 sacks 79 tackles 16 tfl

robinson- 41 tackles 2 int

and im not impressed by brown. great hitter but thats about it. hope earl becomes the starter in 2005.

hollings-105 carries 441 yards 4.2 average 2 tds
25 receptions 212 yards 2 tds
(becomes "the sweeper" and a good threat on screens)