There are a couple of things that I think people are not seeing when the look at Mario. Both good, and bad.
1) Technique. Yes, Mario is weak in technique, but so are most rookies as they come into the league. I can't think of any rookie pass rushers that have come into the league with a long list of moves they had under their belt. Jevon Kearse was a speed guy when he set the rookie sack record, the knock on him, was that if he doesn't learn other techniques, and rely solely on his speed, then he'll be quickly forgotten in this league. For the most part, I think that has been the case.
Same with Darren Howard when he set the Saints rookie single season sack record. He wasn't a technique guy, he was all power, but his power/speed allowed him the versatility to play either side of the line, and the DT position. He got the most of his sacks, playing on a stout defensive line, but also because he could come at an OL from different positions, and they kept the OL confused.
So I think we should throw this "technique" argument out the window. If he were a pass rushing sack machine, we'd know it by now.
& he's not.
But I'm fine with that. CoachK said from the get go that we were drafting Mario more for what he will be. & I've no doubt in my mind that he will be fierce in the future.
He said Mario will make an imediate impact to our defense much the way Reggie would our offense. Again, I believe that to be true as well. But our Offense is loaded with talent in comparison to our defense, so Reggie's presence would boost the performance of AJ, Eric, Owen, Walter, Carr...
Defensively, the play of Mario has got to boost the performance of Babin, TJ, CC, & Buchannon......... well, we found out that those guys aren't as good as we hoped they would be.
Now I think our defense has been playing great our last three games. If it weren't for that second half against the Cowboys, I'd say outstanding. & alot of that is because of what Mario is doing.
If you saw the Cowboys assign Crayton, Witten, & Flozelle to block Mario out of JJ's running lane, and then see Mario move that pile of Cowboy crap into the lane they were supposed to keep him out of. Not only did JJ have to alter his running lane, but re-alter it as Mario forced him to stretch the play to Lewis Sanders waiting near the sideline, and CCBrown had time to come down from his position and stop JJ for no gain..........
I can't understand how you don't believe coaches are gameplanning for Mario.