Demeco Ryans or Patrick Willis??

Texecutioner said:

Now both of these guys had incredible rookie seasons and won the defensive ROTY. I figured that they are pretty good comparisons after what they have both accomplished since coming into the league.

Willis had slightly better numbers than Ryans's rookie season, and I have heard from fans outside of Houston that they would rather have Willis which isn't a bad choice at all. Personally I would still take Ryans because of all of the interviews and stuff that I have heard him say over the last two years that impresses me as far as his mental abilities and maturity and that is just a non bias pick as well.

Now I'm sure that most people in here will say Ryans as well because of homerism or bias, but I was curious if anyone would rather have Willis, because if someone said yes I wouldn't blame them or say that they were wrong. They are both great LB's that will see multiple pro bowls, but I like comparing and contrasting the two because they are both are such exceptional young LB's?

Ryans or Willis?????????

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Isn't Willis an OLB? I don't know much about him but on the intelligence factor alone, I would take Ryans. In his rookie season, which he dominated, Ryans played MLB for one of the first times in his career. He played it some at Bama, but was predominately an OLB. He picked up the position and has become the leader of our defense. Pretty impressive for a guy going on his third year.

Demeco in '09!!!

Guess it really depends on what Scheme you are running. Willis is in a 3-4 while we run a 4-3.

Honestly I think both are excellent LBs and we're lucky to have one of them.

I believe both Willis and Ryans were OLB's in college until their senior season. Both are MLB's with their respective teams in the NFL (Willis plays in a 3-4 and Ryans in a 4-3). Both are incredible LB's. To answer the question I would choose to have Demeco Ryans with the 33rd overall pick over Patrick Willis with the 11th overall pick.

Demeco is a very smart football player, is a great tackler, and wonderful leader for this Defense. Patrick is an incredibly tough and physical player, much more so than Demeco. He's also a very intelligent player and has incredibly instincts- as does Demeco. (Not trying to say Demeco isn't tough though)

Willis is more of a hardnosed physical PUNISHING type of LB than Demeco is. When you think of just tough defenses like Pittsburgh, Baltimore, even Jacksonville... I see Willis as a good fit. Demeco seems more of a finess kind of LB to me. With our DL I see Demeco as the perfect fit and leader.

I would have loved to see Willis drafted last year to play MLB and have Demeco OLB. Amobi, if he grows to his potential (which sounds like he is), is an invaluable player for our team as a pass rushing DT to have along the DL, so it was a great selection over Willis and will make Demeco that much more productive.

Willis is a bigger player and built more like a MLB. Look at any website and he's going to only be like 3-5lbs heavier.. apprx the same height. Look at these two next to each other and/or on film and you can see PW is bigger. Dare I say the measurements must be off!? haha

But if a trade was proposed: Demeco for Willis straight up... paying no attention to salaries or anything... pay them both the exact same amt. and all, it's just a straight up swap... I'd keep Demeco.

But there really isn't a right answer. I see Willis being more valuable than Demeco on certain teams in different defenses... but for the Texans I LOOOVVee Demeco!

Ole Miss Texan said:

I believe both Willis and Ryans were OLB's in college until their senior season. Both are MLB's with their respective teams in the NFL (Willis plays in a 3-4 and Ryans in a 4-3). Both are incredible LB's. To answer the question I would choose to have Demeco Ryans with the 33rd overall pick over Patrick Willis with the 11th overall pick.

Demeco is a very smart football player, is a great tackler, and wonderful leader for this Defense. Patrick is an incredibly tough and physical player, much more so than Demeco. He's also a very intelligent player and has incredibly instincts- as does Demeco. (Not trying to say Demeco isn't tough though)

Willis is more of a hardnosed physical PUNISHING type of LB than Demeco is. When you think of just tought defenses like Pittsburgh, Baltimore, even Jacksonville... I see Willis as a good fit. Demeco seems more of a finess kind of LB to me. With our DL I see Demeco as the perfect fit and leader.

I would have loved to see Willis drafted last year to player MLB and have Demeco OLB. Amobi, if he grows to his potential (which sounds like he is), is an invaluable player for our team as a pass rushing DT to have along the DL, so it was a great selection over Willis.

Willis is a bigger player and built more like a MLB. Look at any website and he's going to only be like 3-5lbs heavier.. apprx the same height. Look at these two next to each other and/or on film and you can see PW is bigger. Dare I say the measurements must be off!? haha

But if a trade was proposed: Demeco for Willis straight up... paying no attention to salaries or anything... pay them both the exact same amt. and all, it's just a straight up swap... I'd keep Demeco.

But there really isn't a right answer. I see Willis being more valuable than Demeco on certain teams in different defenses... but for the Texans I LOOOVVee Demeco!

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Great post with superb analysis Miss Texan. You're right that there really isn't a right pick or a wrong pick on either because they are both already great and will be for a long time. I'd take Ryans as well because of the maturity and great head that he has on his shoulders.

I thought it was an interesting comparison though considering how much success both guys had in their rookie seasons.

Willis is one of the freaks of the NFL, while DeMeco has the leadership

I'd take Willis & DeMeco though.

many of us hoped to have willis paired with demeco, couldn't argue the amobi pick though. demeco or willis? if it ain't broke don't fix it, DEMECO

easy...taking demeco @ #33 > willis @ #11

Demeco hands down.... Willis is good but DWreck is bad a$$

whiskeyrbl said:

Demeco hands down.... Willis is good but DWreck is bad a$$

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Willis was also flat out nasty last season.

Willis has more potential than DeMeco, but Ryans probably has a better football IQ, so he'll be able to stay pretty even with Willis regardless. Frankly I hate this question, because I really don't want to choose, I love DeMeco Ryans, but Patrick Willis is also a straight up bad ass mofo.

Frankly this question breaks down like this........who would you rather have, Jessica Alba or Jessica Biel............who the hell cares, I'll take either home and I'd be one happy dude regardless of who I picked.

Maddict5 said:

easy...taking demeco @ #33 > willis @ #11

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This is the exact same thing I was going to say.

It should be Okoye or Willis.

Sal Rosenberg said:

It should be Okoye or Willis.

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This, and I'll probably get blasted for it, but I think a great DT is harder to find than a great LB.

I think Okoye has the makings to be a real star in the league (Not like Willis isn't, because he sure as hell is), but I want that nasty defensive line, and I think Williams and Okoye are going to be particularly brutal this year.

So I'd rather have DeMeco Ryans playing behind a filthy defensive line, than Mario getting no help at all and having two great LB's behind him.

b0ng said:

This, and I'll probably get blasted for it, but I think a great DT is harder to find than a great LB.

I think Okoye has the makings to be a real star in the league (Not like Willis isn't, because he sure as hell is), but I want that nasty defensive line, and I think Williams and Okoye are going to be particularly brutal this year.

So I'd rather have DeMeco Ryans playing behind a filthy defensive line, than Mario getting no help at all and having two great LB's behind him.

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agree

b0ng said:

This, and I'll probably get blasted for it, but I think a great DT is harder to find than a great LB.

I think Okoye has the makings to be a real star in the league (Not like Willis isn't, because he sure as hell is), but I want that nasty defensive line, and I think Williams and Okoye are going to be particularly brutal this year.

So I'd rather have DeMeco Ryans playing behind a filthy defensive line, than Mario getting no help at all and having two great LB's behind him.

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AMEN!I loved the Okoye pick!

If it were my decision, I'd take Lofa Tatupu, Patrick Willis, and Demeco Ryans, with Brian Urlacher as my reserve player.

steroids said:

Incredibly difficult question. I really really really like Patrick Willis.

I also don't think the question should be PW or DR, but instead PW or AO because both were there last year...

IMO, and I'm not trying to step on toes here, just keeping it real, I think PW and Demeco would have been a better tandem than MW and AO... I think productive DT's are easier to find than talent like PW. Just my .02$.

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Thats the guy I wanted, though AO was 2nd on my list. We would have one of the best LB corps in the NFL, but lets see how this plays out.

b0ng said:

This, and I'll probably get blasted for it, but I think a great DT is harder to find than a great LB.

I think Okoye has the makings to be a real star in the league (Not like Willis isn't, because he sure as hell is), but I want that nasty defensive line, and I think Williams and Okoye are going to be particularly brutal this year.

So I'd rather have DeMeco Ryans playing behind a filthy defensive line, than Mario getting no help at all and having two great LB's behind him.

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Great post! The thing about Okoye and Willis is are particular team and these players potential. I think the 'new' Texans staff want to build this team from the inside out and are really making an effort to have our DL doing the damage to help out the rest of the defense.

I think Okoye has an incredible amount of upside to be a tremendous player and moreso be a HUGE asset on the DL. Mario and Okoye will really feed off each other and our DL will be dominant. With that said, I thought Willis was THE saftest pick in the entire draft. Willis was a guaranteed pro bowl LB the minute he was selected. Okoye is a risky pick but I think he will make the defense all around better than Willis would have. A talent like Okoye is really really rare.

Ole Miss Texan said:

With that said, I thought Willis was THE saftest pick in the entire draft. Willis was a guaranteed pro bowl LB the minute he was selected. Okoye is a risky pick but I think he will make the defense all around better than Willis would have. A talent like Okoye is really really rare.

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high praise indeed as I would expect but I would have taken Joe Thomas or Laron Landry ahead of Willis as the safest pick. highest reward player of course was "AD" Adrian Peterson. it was a great last year for the Texans to have a top 10 pick.

DeMeco is proof why the Texans need to hold onto their 2nd rd. picks he's a legitimate 1st rd. talent.

beerlover said:

DeMeco is proof why the Texans need to hold onto their 2nd rd. picks he's a legitimate 1st rd. talent.

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QFT! Matt Schaub MAY turn out to be worth both those 2's, but it hasn't happened yet. Let's see if he can stay healthy a full season and see what the #'s look like.

Meco & Willis are both outstanding 'backers and we're lucky to have one of 'em. I remember asking everyone who was slamming the Mario pick that if I told them before the draft that we'd end up w/ two full-time Defensive starters and one would end up DROY would they have been satisfied? Most said he** yes.

How great is it another year down the road to be looking at TWO Pro-Bowl caliber players? (Perhaps three if Okoye steps up this season?)

Boff.

b0ng said:

This, and I'll probably get blasted for it, but I think a great DT is harder to find than a great LB.

I think Okoye has the makings to be a real star in the league (Not like Willis isn't, because he sure as hell is), but I want that nasty defensive line, and I think Williams and Okoye are going to be particularly brutal this year.

So I'd rather have DeMeco Ryans playing behind a filthy defensive line, than Mario getting no help at all and having two great LB's behind him.

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That's a great point. As you move further away from the line of scrimmage the talent level of your players can drop off (within limits of course) and have less overall impact than it does with the line. You can have an excellent defensive line and behind that you can maybe not have Pro Bowl linebackers but that works. You don't have to have them if your DL is controling that initial point of contact. If you can control the line and you have just "good" linebackers then they can make plays and you can have less than spectacular defensive backs because those three or four guys up front are creating pressure.

It works the same way on offense (again, within reasonable limits). The OL that controls the line of scrimmage can turn ordinary backs into 4-5 ypc backs.

It all just reinforces what we know about building the lines first (which the Texans didn't do to begin with despite the fact that it's more or less common knowledge).

disaacks3 said:

QFT! Matt Schaub MAY turn out to be worth both those 2's, but it hasn't happened yet. Let's see if he can stay healthy a full season and see what the #'s look like.

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Truth be told, I still like the trade (after the fact and us able to see what players we could have selected). Recapping that trade: we dropped 2 spots in the 1st and still got Amobi Okoye- if we picked at #8, I'm assuming we would have still selected him. So, looking at the two 2nd round picks and players, I think there is just as much risk in those players (if not more) as there is with Schaub.

I definitely agree in the fact we need to hang on to our draft picks (especially the early ones) because these last 3 drafts are absolutely awesome. But I do think Smith and Kubiak have a really great eye for players already in the league and how they fit what we're trying to do.

the funny thing is despite Matt Schaubs lack of production so far, this trade has yet to work out for Atlanta more so than the Texans. like you said if Houston had the #8th pick they'd have taken Amobi anyway. meanwhile Atlanta took Jamaal Anderson (still a project?) Justin Blalock, Guard from Texas in 07 (aquired pick #39 Houston) & Fred Davis, TE USC (aquired pick #48, traded to Washington, used to trade up for Sam Baker).

the trade for Schaub happened before the story broke concerning Michael Vick who was still listed on the Atlanta roster pre 07 draft. if it had surfaced earlier I'm almost positive the deal would have been nixed. then Houston would have been faced to find someone else to fit in @ QB. Kevin Kolb was picked #36 by Philly three spots ahead of where the Texans would have selected. Trent Edwards (who was on the board #92) seems like a Kubiack system QB type similar to Schaub but a couple years away in development capared to Matt, so the Texans where happy to pay for that known quantity.

to summarize the Texans trading away 2nd rd. picks (Schaub deal) was a neccessary course of action to right the ship so to speak, from a #1 overall selection gone terribly wrong. I don't expect this regime will have to make such drastic corrections in the future & use those valueable picks to build & re-tool a competitive, playoff, NFL roster

beerlover said:

the funny thing is despite Matt Schaubs lack of production so far, this trade has yet to work out for Atlanta more so than the Texans. like you said if Houston had the #8th pick they'd have taken Amobi anyway. meanwhile Atlanta took Jamaal Anderson (still a project?) Justin Blalock, Guard from Texas in 07 (aquired pick #39 Houston) & Fred Davis, TE USC (aquired pick #48, traded to Washington, used to trade up for Sam Baker).

the trade for Schaub happened before the story broke concerning Michael Vick who was still listed on the Atlanta roster pre 07 draft. if it had surfaced earlier I'm almost positive the deal would have been nixed. then Houston would have been faced to find someone else to fit in @ QB. Kevin Kolb was picked #36 by Philly three spots ahead of where the Texans would have selected. Trent Edwards (who was on the board #92) seems like a Kubiack system QB type similar to Schaub but a couple years away in development capared to Matt, so the Texans where happy to pay for that known quantity.

to summarize the Texans trading away 2nd rd. picks (Schaub deal) was a neccessary course of action to right the ship so to speak, from a #1 overall selection gone terribly wrong. I don't expect this regime will have to make such drastic corrections in the future & use those valueable picks to build & re-tool a competitive, playoff, NFL roster

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Last year was Schaub's first at the helm so honestly I know the lack of production stigma is there but not many first time QBs step into an offense and it takes off. Considering we were going after a QB I'd say the total cost was just one #2.

I know it isn't popular here but Brady Quinn was a possibility. I don't think too terribly many people saw him dropping like that including our staff.

Goldensilence said:

Last year was Schaub's first at the helm so honestly I know the lack of production stigma is there but not many first time QBs step into an offense and it takes off. Considering we were going after a QB I'd say the total cost was just one #2.

I know it isn't popular here but Brady Quinn was a possibility. I don't think too terribly many people saw him dropping like that including our staff.

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That's a good point. With Quinn dropping, what if WE were the ones that traded up for him. We'd have to give up at least our '07 and '08 2nd round picks. We could have groomed him behind Sage for a year or two (Sage- another solid addition). So in essence, would we want Brady Quinn or Matt Schaub?

Moot point, I say! We got Schaub. All the what ifs in the world will not change that. So let's go with what we got and hope that he turns out to be what we were looking for.

NBT said:

Moot point, I say! We got Schaub. All the what ifs in the world will not change that. So let's go with what we got and hope that he turns out to be what we were looking for.

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I look at it differently.

I'm not a big Matt Schuab fan. I voted for the other guy. But, I think he was clearly worth two 2nd round picks. We got a QB, who was able to start week 1, and look extremely competant(sp).

Quin wouldn't have been there in the second, and we'd have been stuck with a project QB who might not ever see the playing field, had we taken a QB in the second.

If we'd have used our first on a QB, (Quinn maybe), whether he played in '07 or not, our QB's development would have been the name of the game in '08.

This year, it's not really that way(even though some folks want to think it is). This year, if our running game can do what it's supposed to do, our QB will carry this team far.


Yes, there are still questions to be asked, but nothing like you'd have with a rookie QB..... or like they are discussing in Arizona, or Tennessee, or Washington, or Minnesota.