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Rookie Watch, Late Bloomers

Playoffs

Playoffs

Hall of Fame
PFF Rookie Watch: Late Bloomers
Steve Palazzolo | 2012/12/21

Perhaps more than ever, rookies are stepping right into the league and having immediate success. Our Race for Rookie of the Year is littered with first-year players who have earned starting roles from their first day of training camp. However, beyond those rookies who have received the majority of the hype, there are a number of under-the-radar players who waited their turn and started to see an increase in playing time here in the second half of the season.

For some teams, the late-developing rookie could act as an added bonus or perhaps just added depth for a playoff push. For the teams out of the race, these rookies could be players to build around for the future.

Whether they were forced into action due to injury, or earned their keep by sitting and watching, here are some of the rookies who have seen the field on a more regular basis in the second half of the season.

Playoff Contenders
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DeVier Posey, WR, Houston Texans

Have the Texans found their No. 2 wide receiver to play opposite Andre Johnson? WR Kevin Walter has been entrenched in the role, but he’s never been a player who had instilled fear into opposing defenses. While Posey has taken snaps throughout the season, he had his first real chance to shine last week against the Indianapolis Colts. He hauled in all three passes thrown his way for 46 yards, including a 36 yarder on a deep post route into traffic. Posey saw a season-high 36 snaps, while Walter played a season-low 39, so this may be a sign of things to come as Houston prepares for the playoffs.

Whitney Mercilus, OLB, Houston Texans

The Texans’ first-rounder was eased into the action this season, as he didn’t play more than 17 snaps in a game until he played 71 in Week 12. He’s started the past four games, and despite the six sacks on the season, he has not been an effective pass rusher. He’s grading at -9.7 for the season with a Pass Rush Productivity (PRP) of 6.9 that ranks 24th out of the top 33 qualifiers among 3-4 outside linebackers. He’s fared better as a run defender, grading at +1.1 with six run stops. The Texans continue to search for an edge rusher to complement DE J.J. Watt.
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read more: https://www.profootballfocus.com/blog/2012/12/21/late-bloomers-pff-rookie-watch-late-bloomer/
 
badboy said:
Way to soon to project Posey after one game but all signs are better than before last Sunday. Hopefully, Mercilus, Posey, Brooks, Martin, Jones and Crick increase productivity and playing time next season.
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Playoffs said:
Yep, I'm just glad he became a blip on the radar screen this season.
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Me too.
I hope this is a sign that Kubiak is passing the #2 WR torch from Walter to Posey.
 
badboy said:
Way to soon to project Posey after one game but all signs are better than before last Sunday. Hopefully, Mercilus, Posey, Brooks, Martin, Jones and Crick increase productivity and playing time next season.
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Whoa now... Crick playing more might mean Watt is playing less...
 
srrono said:
Wow I did not think Mercilus was playing that bad.
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As a pass rusher, yes. So far, he's the clean up man........ make him step up man, but not consistent.

I didn't think he was a liability in the run like many were saying & his +1.1 as a run stopper helps support that.

Now, against Indy, Tennessee, & New England, it is possible the plan was to control the QB more than to sack the QB. They were probably supposed to shrink the pocket making sure Luck, Locker, & Brady didn't get out to extend plays. Might see some of that again this week against Ponder.

So his pass rush numbers may be suffering for that.
 
Fiddler said:
As a pass rusher, yes. So far, he's the clean up man........ make him step up man, but not consistent.

I didn't think he was a liability in the run like many were saying & his +1.1 as a run stopper helps support that.

Now, against Indy, Tennessee, & New England, it is possible the plan was to control the QB more than to sack the QB. They were probably supposed to shrink the pocket making sure Luck, Locker, & Brady didn't get out to extend plays. Might see some of that again this week against Ponder.

So his pass rush numbers may be suffering for that.
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I am just not buying this. Im pretty sure Mercilus has had plenty of calls to get to the QB over the last games. The dude was the NCAA sack leader last year... Has anyone seen him make a real play to get to the QB yet? And we are not talking clean up duty. Maybe I am wrong, but I am looking to see more of an impact from our first rounder.
 
Tailgate said:
I am just not buying this. Im pretty sure Mercilus has had plenty of calls to get to the QB over the last games. The dude was the NCAA sack leader last year... Has anyone seen him make a real play to get to the QB yet? And we are not talking clean up duty. Maybe I am wrong, but I am looking to see more of an impact from our first rounder.
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I agree that he's had opportunity. But as far as beating his man, he got to Luck the same time that Antonio & Watt did on that first sack. He beat his man as quickly as Watt & Antonio did.

I've seen him get the edge a few times, not consistent enough to get excited about.

But Luck, Brady, & Locker not getting out to improvise should be seen as a mini victory.
 
Fiddler said:
I agree that he's had opportunity. But as far as beating his man, he got to Luck the same time that Antonio & Watt did on that first sack. He beat his man as quickly as Watt & Antonio did.

I've seen him get the edge a few times, not consistent enough to get excited about.

But Luck, Brady, & Locker not getting out to improvise should be seen as a mini victory.
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Its year one, not three... So he has plenty of time. But I was just hoping to see at leadt some FLASHES of excellence at this point. Other than maybe some mini victories, I just haven't seen it yet.
 
Tailgate said:
Its year one, not three... So he has plenty of time. But I was just hoping to see at leadt some FLASHES of excellence at this point. Other than maybe some mini victories, I just haven't seen it yet.
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No doubt, even in a specialist role, you'd think you would have seen something ala Aldon Smith.

However, being on the plus side as a run stopper is not where anyone expected him to be. Maybe we're just expecting the wrong thing. Playing opposite Jj Watt, next to Antonio Smith, being strong against the run may have been the thing they were waiting on to get him on the field.

Think about it, we had Barwin over there. He's more SAM than WOLB. We had Mario over there.... you don't run on Mario.

Not saying we don't need him to be strong/dominant as a pass rusher, but maybe this is a first thing's first kind of thing.
 
Fiddler said:
I agree that he's had opportunity. But as far as beating his man, he got to Luck the same time that Antonio & Watt did on that first sack. He beat his man as quickly as Watt & Antonio did.

I've seen him get the edge a few times, not consistent enough to get excited about.

But Luck, Brady, & Locker not getting out to improvise should be seen as a mini victory.
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Its year one, not three... So he has plenty of time. But I was just hoping to see at leadt some FLASHES of excellence at this point. Other than maybe some mini victories, I just haven't seen it yet.
 
Fiddler said:
I agree that he's had opportunity. But as far as beating his man, he got to Luck the same time that Antonio & Watt did on that first sack. He beat his man as quickly as Watt & Antonio did.

I've seen him get the edge a few times, not consistent enough to get excited about.

But Luck, Brady, & Locker not getting out to improvise should be seen as a mini victory.
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That was the game plan and it will probably be the same this week for double the reason.

But nobody has to buy it; they just have to go back and rewatch the game, concentrating on Merci, and they should see how he was used.
There's a certain requirement about understanding football though (and it's not a knock on anybody - the more one understands the game, the more one can appreciate it.)
 
It's not backyard flag football where everybody runs everywhere, doing whatever they want.

Each player has a certain assignment on each particular play to carry out.

The idea is really simple if you listen carefully to what Wade repeatedly said: "When you have a playmaker, you work to put him in a position to make play.)

Right now, the main playmaker for the Texans is JJ Watt.
The other guys need to play more of a supporting role, simple as that.
 
One of the schemes that Wade put in is to put the end man (or men) wide.
He could be a 9-tech or something they call a "wide-nine", where he's even further out.

This forces the protection wide, thus giving Watt more room to operate inside.

And the rest is... history... In the making.
 
Seems like expectations are whack on Mercilus. He has started 3 games and had limited playing time in the other 11. He has 6 sacks and 2 ff in maybe what would equate to half a season of work all combined.

The one concerning me is Martin. He does a pretty good job getting open and has play making potential but his hands have been suspect. He has the 2nd lowest completion % on being targeted in the NFL - it's about 34%. He needs to be living with a Juggs machine.
 
Tailgate said:
Its year one, not three... So he has plenty of time. But I was just hoping to see at leadt some FLASHES of excellence at this point. Other than maybe some mini victories, I just haven't seen it yet.
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You just contradicted yourself. You expect him to make excellent plays all the time but when you see FLASHES OF EXCELLENCE... uhhhhh YOU consider them mini victories, however that's all he can. sack the QB, pressure the qb and tackle the ball carrier. Do you want him to do a swim move around Jake Long, crawl under the runningbacks legs.. get up and sack strip TD the play?
 
76Texan said:
One of the schemes that Wade put in is to put the end man (or men) wide.
He could be a 9-tech or something they call a "wide-nine", where he's even further out.

This forces the protection wide, thus giving Watt more room to operate inside.

And the rest is... history... In the making.
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Exactly. They move him wide to for the guard one on one with the DE. And Antonio cut under to get the center. Sometimes your a decoy on pre snap. You can't get a sack every play.
 
infantrycak said:
Seems like expectations are whack on Mercilus. He has started 3 games and had limited playing time in the other 11. He has 6 sacks and 2 ff in maybe what would equate to half a season of work all combined.
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It doesn't matter that we already said before the season starts that the over-expectation is going to happen; there's just no stopping it.
 
infantrycak said:
Seems like expectations are whack on Mercilus. He has started 3 games and had limited playing time in the other 11. He has 6 sacks and 2 ff in maybe what would equate to half a season of work all combined.
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Two things.

  1. Want to see flash
    Most of the complaints I've heard is that they haven't seen so much as a "flash." Flash being very hard to define.
  2. Aldon Smith
    Going into week 16 Aldon Smith, who never started, already had 13 sacks

We're probably spoiled with the likes of Mario Williams & Jj Watt as our dominant pass rushers for the last 7 years.
 
Which rookie will shine today?

I want all of them to do well, but I must admit, I'd like to see what the thumper Brandon can do.

Hopefully, a repeat by Posier, too.
 
Fiddler said:
I agree that he's had opportunity. But as far as beating his man, he got to Luck the same time that Antonio & Watt did on that first sack. He beat his man as quickly as Watt & Antonio did.

I've seen him get the edge a few times, not consistent enough to get excited about.

But Luck, Brady, & Locker not getting out to improvise should be seen as a mini victory.
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I wouldnt throw Brady into that mini victory category :kitten: just saying
 
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