CloakNNNdagger
Hall of Fame
The article speaks of Adibi's 20# weight gain and the LB competition. But the point that stands out most to me is:
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Adibi Fills Out and Speaks Out
- Thread starter CloakNNNdagger
- Start date
alphajoker
Veteran
Aaron
Noob
Right now I'm giving the slight edge to Adibi. Though Diles is better against the run, Xavier's speed and coverage ability makes him more of a prototypical WILL. Awhile back Kubes said that Adibi hasn't seemed to lose any speed even after putting on the weight. It will be interesting to see how it all shakes out...
dalemurphy
Hall of Fame
The best case scenario for this team is that Cato June doesn't make the team...
Hopefully, Adibi wins the job at WLB. and, Bentley, Diles, Chaun Thompson as the backups. People have forgotten about Thompson. But, he's very good on ST, is a perfect fit at SLB, can also play RDE on passing downs, and is still quite young and athletic.
NitroGSXR
Super Sic #58
Why? I don't understand? June would be the one who has the most experience. We need veterans to help our rookies get into their groove. We don't want to be TOO young do we?
I have not forgotten about Chaun Thompson. Not at all. Adibi had injury issues last season and now he's hulked up... I'll be biting my tongue hoping he doesn't tear a muscle. Then we've got Diles coming off a bad injury. As far as I know... June's body is as solid as they come.
dalemurphy
Hall of Fame
June is undersized, past his prime, and pretty poor against the run. My point is that it is better for this organization if Adibi can win the starting job at WLB.... he's young and very talented. Also, Diles is much more physical than June and has proven he can play at a pretty high level. So, it's good for the team if he's health and can be counted on. Bentley diversity and ST play is very valuable. I thought the guy played excellent football last season and he's still pretty young. Chaun Thompson weights 255 LBs, can cover or rush the passer and is 28 years old with experience with his hand down and at multiple LB positions. If he's healthy and can win a roster spot, he is an ideal fit as Cushing's backup at SLB.
I'm very happy that June is on this team. He provides excellent depth. But, I just think the ideal scenario for this team is for Adibi, Diles, and Thompson to step up and win roster spots in a very competitive preseason situation and for DRyans, Cushing, and Bentley to remain healthy through the preseason. If all that happens, then June won't make the team. It should be noted that Thompson and Bentley are both very good special team players that are also more versatile LBs. So, as backups, I think they provide better depth.
Kaiser Toro
Native Mod
Cato June is 7 months older than Chaun Thompson and one month older than Bentlley, and he played Safety in college.
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dalemurphy
Hall of Fame
Playing safety in college has little to do with his versatility in the NFL. He won't be playing safety for us. June isn't old but he's past his prime as a result of playing so many games close to the LOS at his size. Bentley and Thompson have much less wear on their bodies. Bentley can play all three LB positions and is a ST leader. Thompson is the only LB on this roster that can play SLB the way Cushing will. Also, he can line up at RDE on passing downs and also is good on ST. June, essentially, is a sure tackler and a guy that makes good drops in the passing game. If Adibi struggles, then June becomes very valuable. But, it's my hope, that Adibi stays healthy and quickly grasps the nuances of WLB... if so, that's the best scenario for this defense. If not, June is a good fallback.
Kaiser Toro
Native Mod
You are probably right, June playing Safety in College has little to do with his coverage skills at LB.
dalemurphy
Hall of Fame
What are you talking about? I am agreeing that he's good in coverage at LB. But, since he's not good at POA, he doesn't play ST, and he can't rush the passer... I'm not sure how his playing safety in college make him a versatile NFL player.
Kaiser Toro
Native Mod
What I am talking about? Read your post above about June's age and where Diles has proven he can play at a high level whereas you imply June has not. With the ST changes in regard to a three man wedge, and us possibly carrying four TEs, our extra ST stud may not need to come from the LB position and afford us the luxury to have an all-pro, strong against the pass, Super Bowl starting LB where he has played most of years with the team that has owned our division.
We agree that he has to earn his spot and that we hope that Adibi wins out, but I just do not agree with your narrative on why he will not make the team.
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NitroGSXR
Super Sic #58
It's my understanding that June, Diles, and Adibi have been slugging it out. There is no clear cut favorite. It's probably the most exciting position battle on the team right now.
Cato June gets my nod at this point because we need fresh faces on our LBing corps. I'm not ready to jump on the Diles bandwagon once again because of his injury. Chaun Thompson does NOT have the "big game" experience that June has. June at one time was regarded the best LB in the game as per his 1st team All-Pro selection in 2005. In other words, he was an absolute leader on that team. That's somebody that I'm looking for. Our LBs were terrible last season. Terrible! Blaming it on the system or coach... I really don't buy that all that much. Sure it may be true to some degree but not to where the defense ends up near the bottom of the rankings. Talent is what we need and June HAS that talent.
It's interesting that you point out his "wear and tear" from playing so close to the line of scrimmage. It's interesting and carries some merit but it is also somewhat baseless at this point because he hasn't shown a decline. June latched onto the Colts as a result of his outstanding special teams play. In fact, he has 19 special teams tackles to go along with a forced fumble. That's a pretty good stat for such a small guy. He remained a highly intensive player on the Bucs and was an important part of getting them to have the 2nd best overall defense and the best pass defensive team in 2007. 3rd in tackles on a team with a stacked defense!
You mention is poor run defense. I don't know how to counter that outside of me wanting a smallish LB for certain plays. Especially passing plays. Maybe that'll tip our opponents off when he's in but we've got to carry a nice range of sizes in our LBing corps.
Also Cato June may have the marketablility that the Texans may be looking for in order to give him an edge in such a close battle for the starting WLB slot. He's known for his extensive charitable work. I'm psyched at the prospect of June establishing another June foundation here. His latest foundation is the June Family Foundation. He's made it a point to involve his entire family into this. I love it. I love his ideals and teaching his kid to be bigger than simply being an NFL player.
He's 29 years old. I can see him slowing down a little but he's far from being old. Since the Texans are primed for the playoffs, I've got to consider June's playoff experience. I think June is a fiery player who i'd be trying to find a slot for on my team. I love his passion. I love his agressive style of play. I'd take June over Chaun Thompson but what the hell do I know. I'm just an armchair GM.
TexansSeminole
Hall of Fame
June is vastly overrated IMO.
The LBers I see on our roster are Ryans, Cushing, Adibi, Diles, Bentley, and if there is another it will be June. I think June will be more appealing than Thompson because of his experience.
I think our lineups will look like this come week 1.
SLB:
Cushing
Bentley/Diles
MLB:
Ryans
Bentley
WLB:
Adibi
Diles/Bentley
Remember Adibi had 8 interceptions in college.
The LBers I see on our roster are Ryans, Cushing, Adibi, Diles, Bentley, and if there is another it will be June. I think June will be more appealing than Thompson because of his experience.
I think our lineups will look like this come week 1.
SLB:
Cushing
Bentley/Diles
MLB:
Ryans
Bentley
WLB:
Adibi
Diles/Bentley
Remember Adibi had 8 interceptions in college.
He was also an explosive pass rusher. Had he played OLB more at VT he would of had great sack numbers. I predict he will be top 2 or 3 on the team in sacks once he starts and the coaches see how fast he gets off the ball and how good he is at blitzing.
In my book, he was already a steal when we first drafted him.
P
Polo
Guest
I don't think June will make the team. I think Adibi will win the Job, and I think Diles will be the primary back-up for all three positions.
NitroGSXR
Super Sic #58
I just want to clarify a little bit. I think I'd like for Adibi to win the job with June backing him up. I want June's experience rather than his play.
Jeff Posey had one INT in 2002.
No Texan LB had an INT in 2003.
Kailee Wong had 3 INTS and Antwan Peek had one making 4 INTs in 2004.
Troy Evans had one INT in 2005.
Morlon Greenwood and DeMeco Ryans had one INT each making 2 INTs in 2006.
Danny Clark, Greenwood and Ryans all had one INT each in 2007.
Zach Diles had one INT in 2008.
If I did this correctly... Our entire LBing corps has accmulated a total of 12 interceptions in our entire history of 7 years.
Cato June has 12 interceptions all by himself in the same 7 years. I'm really excited about June and I hope he makes the team as a backup. I think Adibi is the future of this team but June is exactly what Adibi needs to become. A ballhawking LB. I want him showing Adibi the ropes.
I really don't understand why some of you think June's overrated. He's a coaches' player. He plays for the team, not Cato June but the team.
Jeff Posey had one INT in 2002.
No Texan LB had an INT in 2003.
Kailee Wong had 3 INTS and Antwan Peek had one making 4 INTs in 2004.
Troy Evans had one INT in 2005.
Morlon Greenwood and DeMeco Ryans had one INT each making 2 INTs in 2006.
Danny Clark, Greenwood and Ryans all had one INT each in 2007.
Zach Diles had one INT in 2008.
If I did this correctly... Our entire LBing corps has accmulated a total of 12 interceptions in our entire history of 7 years.
Cato June has 12 interceptions all by himself in the same 7 years. I'm really excited about June and I hope he makes the team as a backup. I think Adibi is the future of this team but June is exactly what Adibi needs to become. A ballhawking LB. I want him showing Adibi the ropes.
I really don't understand why some of you think June's overrated. He's a coaches' player. He plays for the team, not Cato June but the team.
P
Polo
Guest
I don't think June will make it if he does not show a lot in pre-season, his past stats be damned...
If June is not a starter he will need to play special teams. If Diles is Adibi's primary back-up (which I think he will be) then June really doen't have a niche.
I know it's not the same, but Roosevelt colvin and Ahman Green, Ron Dayne, ect, ect had better stats than some of the younger guys they were competing against at their respective positions as well...
Even if June makes the team (with all his past glory) there is no guarantee that he will be able to put it to use if A) he is not a starter and B) he isn't a primary back-up.
Me putting all these factors together means June will have to have a hell of a pre-season (much better than Diles/others) if he wants to make it...JMO...
infantrycak
Hall of Fame
Couple of interesting tidbits from the newest Adibi article - Link
We knew about the weight gain, I just thought it was interesting on the Ray Wright comment. Some folks around here commented on the Wright and Bush promotions as if they meant no difference since they were already part of the team. Looks like a different philosophy.
Similar observation plus the last part is interesting.
We knew about the weight gain, I just thought it was interesting on the Ray Wright comment. Some folks around here commented on the Wright and Bush promotions as if they meant no difference since they were already part of the team. Looks like a different philosophy.
Similar observation plus the last part is interesting.
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I've been rewatching up to the MNF game, and the announcers were liking Adibi much.
It was a total different team with Adibi, Ryans, and Bentley together (instead of Greenwood and Diles).
Plus Wilson and Ferguson.
And Dunta also helped.
And Reeves and Bennett improving.
The new additions can only make it stronger.
I really think we can afford to play more agressive now.
NitroGSXR
Super Sic #58
I think he's referring to what he did back in college more than anything else. It's what he thinks he does best which is pass coverage. Adibi had 8 INTs at VA Tech. Pin my ears back and scope the field for loose passes. That's what I'm translating from his comment.
*Note: Error in my posting of June's numbers earlier in this thread. I stated that he had 12 INTs in 7 years. My bad. 12 in 6 years. June's now entering his 7th season.
I do admit that I've heard less and less of Cato June and more of Zac Diles although I'm still gunning for a Adibi/June rotation. I sure am ready for some flashy takeaways this season, I'll tell you that.
TimeKiller
Guest
I think June is good to go for the season, as a backup but also a plan B as Adibi didn't prove beyond doubt he is capable of playing all 16 games. I expect Bentley and Diles to round out depth, Chaun Thompson unfortunately doesn't make the cut unless they have room for him to be a special teams guy.
NitroGSXR
Super Sic #58
What do you think he did best in college? Seems to me like he was a jack of all trades for a LB. A blitzing, intercepting machine. Not even going to put in his tackles into the equation. He had a ton for a loss but let's stick with what I know for now and that's 16.5 sacks/10 and 8 INTs for Xavier Adibi at VA Tech.
Once again, I think he really is better suited for pass coverage. Other LBs pressure the line while he backs out ready to hawk a poorly thrown pass caused by the front 8. Front 8 does sound like a bit much though. We've got 4 at the line and 3 in the middle. I'm thinking the safeties stay out back in a zone scheme and the corners blitz along with everyone else with Adibi/June scanning the skies for a brown turd floating.
I really like turnovers caused by the defense. You can be a really bad team but if you're causing turnovers your chances of being a cinderella playoff team significantly go up. Look at the Bears and Ravens when they went to the SB.
We do have an 8-man front even from the KC game of the previous year. When Jason Simmons was still healthy, they would bring him up to the line to set one edge, or to key on the RB or the TE, or to threaten blitz.
Sometimes even with 3 WRs on the line plus the TE.
(That means one-on-one all around for the DBs.)
We did that some with Ferguson last year.
Once in a long while, we'll bring Wilson up for a change.
We even have 9 men in the box once in a while.
My thinking is that they will continue to use Adibi as they did last year.
Blitz some, fill the gaps some, drop into coverage some.
He's good at all those things last year and also in college.
NitroGSXR
Super Sic #58
He was a joy to watch back during his days at VA Tech. He had such knack for finding the ball and stopping its movement. He was all over the field. Such a joy to watch!
The 3 backup LB's are Diles,Bentley and June. IMO
I value ST alot and the best 3 ST LB's are Thompson, Diles and Bentley. In that order.
This is why I would play Quin some at SS and see if he can handle it.
If he can I would carry Ferguson,Wilson Barber and Quin since Quin can play CB-S.
This would allow an extra roster spot to carry 7 LB's (Thompson) and have a great ST core. The ST would look something like this
Bentley, Casey, Caldwell, Del.Robinson, Hill, Thompson, Dressen
Diles,Barber, Molden and Anderson
This would make one of the best ST coverage units in the NFL. IMO
It's entirely possible Kubes goes this way because he places a high value on ST. (See Harry Williams)
I value ST alot and the best 3 ST LB's are Thompson, Diles and Bentley. In that order.
This is why I would play Quin some at SS and see if he can handle it.
If he can I would carry Ferguson,Wilson Barber and Quin since Quin can play CB-S.
This would allow an extra roster spot to carry 7 LB's (Thompson) and have a great ST core. The ST would look something like this
Bentley, Casey, Caldwell, Del.Robinson, Hill, Thompson, Dressen
Diles,Barber, Molden and Anderson
This would make one of the best ST coverage units in the NFL. IMO
It's entirely possible Kubes goes this way because he places a high value on ST. (See Harry Williams)
How did we normally line up on ST, I wonder?
infantrycak
Hall of Fame
I don't see where this college interpretation comes from. His statement starts, "we are going to be..." We today would be the Texans and "are going to be" is a future statement not a past reference.
TexansSeminole
Hall of Fame
I see where the interpretation comes from. I heard it the same way barrett did.
Adibi "We are going to be playing alot faster than we were in the past."
Brooke: "How does this suit your game, your a pretty fast player."
Adibi: "It suits my game a whole lot, that's how I was in college. That's the way our defense was in college. You know, we were going to be an 8 man front, you know, force the offense to do what we wanted them to do, which is just go to the air, then we could just pin our ears back, blitz and just do what we do best."
He is talking about what they did in college for sure. "We were going to" is a past reference, not a future statement.
It's too bad they mis-interpreted his statement in the article and wrote it as "we are" rather than "we were" because it will confuse alot of people, especially people who can't listen to the video like Nitro. Brooke Bentley didn't do a very good job of reporting here. She even highlighted the misinterpretation.
The past tense is compounded in the next sentence when he says "force the offense to do what we wanted them to do". If he was making a future statement he wouldn't be saying wanted, he would have said want. He then says "we could do..." in the sentence after that one. Again he would have said "can", not "could", if he was talking about the future.
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infantrycak
Hall of Fame
Where are you getting this transcription from? If it is from listening to the video on the the same page then I beg to differ and he said "are" there as well. The whole exchange makes no sense as y'all are interpreting it as a response to that series of questions for which the underlying purpose was to describe what Frank Bush's new defense is going to be like.
The basic exchange is:
What is Frank Bush's defense going to be like?
It (that would be Bush's new defense) is going to be an attacking defense.
How does that (that would still be Bush's new defense) suit your game.
Great because that's how I played in college. We (that would be the Texans) are (in the future)...
Interpreting that admittedly not 100% clear are/were soundbite, although I think it sounds like are, as are also doesn't fit with the next sentence. There is no doubt in the next sentence he says can not could as you have inserted. Were makes zero sense with the can in the next sentence while are makes perfect sense with the next sentence and the topic of the conversation.
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TexansSeminole
Hall of Fame
From watching the video. The quote as Brooke Bentley wrote it is incorrect.
Go back and watch the video, it's pretty easy to hear what he said.
Here's the article, with the video.
NitroGSXR
Super Sic #58
I didn't misunderstand the article though. I've dealt with shoddy transcriptions over the course of my lifetime. One eventually learns to catch what could be incorrect. Especially Brooke's articles. I'm kinda glad she moved on elsewhere. I wouldn't think it'd be too hard to transcribe fluff pieces and that's mainly what she did. Her consistent inaccuracy in her transcriptions reeked of laziness to me.
Don't misunderstand. I appreciate the transcriptions though. I'll take it any way I can get it.
infantrycak
Hall of Fame
See edited version above and it's pretty clear to me he said are, although I can see disputing that, and zero doubt he said can not could.
TexansSeminole
Hall of Fame
I've listened to it enough times this morning to know that he said "we were", "wanted", and "could", I don't need to look at a poor transcription.
infantrycak
Hall of Fame
Well we will just have to agree to disagree then because I listened to it a bunch of times and think it is very clearly correctly transcribed.
TexansSeminole
Hall of Fame
Guess so. It would be interesting to see how others heard it, because I am 100% certain of what I heard, you seem to be as well.
It's a pretty big difference and worth figuring out.
NitroGSXR
Super Sic #58
Not really. It was just a fluff piece. The offseason's slow.
TexansSeminole
Hall of Fame
Well if we are going to line up in 8 man fronts pretty often next season I think that is pretty significant when you look at the limited information we have about our new defensive approach. All I know is that we look to be more aggressive and attacking while keeping practically the same scheme.
I heard what IFC heard.
Again, we were doing it (the 8-man front) quite a bit when we had the right personnel (or we thought we did).
I had brought up Jason Simmons as an example the year before.
With Simmons, we played mostly single safety.
What I think Adibi saw was that Indy game in which both teams were so concerned about the other's ability to strike deep that both played more conservative with two-deep safeties.
Again, we were doing it (the 8-man front) quite a bit when we had the right personnel (or we thought we did).
I had brought up Jason Simmons as an example the year before.
With Simmons, we played mostly single safety.
What I think Adibi saw was that Indy game in which both teams were so concerned about the other's ability to strike deep that both played more conservative with two-deep safeties.
I think last year when the coaches began to feel comfortable with Adibi and Dunta (and his health status), we played more attacking 8-man front with LBs shooting the gaps.
I saw that in the Browns game and the second Jags game (which I've just started to re-review.)
