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Brooks Reed - signed w/Falcons

infantrycak said:
JJ is next to Reed most of the time not Crick. JJ lines up all over from outside the RT to over the RG.

This is an instance where PFR is wrong and lists JJ as RDE last season.
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Where J.J. Watt Lines Up
Code: 
Year	LDE	RDE	LDT	RDT	NT	LOLB	ROLB	Other

2011	492	45	122	69	12	0	0	Stand up tackle 1
2012	410	210	235	33	3	0	0	Stand up tackle 4
2013	515	287	88	14	2	1	2	RILB 1
2014	735	254	3	3	0	2	1	LILB 2

Just posted this earlier today in another topic.
 
]
Lambert said:
Who is JB?
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beyotch%20slap.jpg
 
Playoffs said:
Where J.J. Watt Lines Up
Code: 
Year	LDE	RDE	LDT	RDT	NT	LOLB	ROLB	Other

2011	492	45	122	69	12	0	0	Stand up tackle 1
2012	410	210	235	33	3	0	0	Stand up tackle 4
2013	515	287	88	14	2	1	2	RILB 1
2014	735	254	3	3	0	2	1	LILB 2

Just posted this earlier today in another topic.
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And most of the time Crick is at RDE
 
infantrycak said:
JJ is next to Reed most of the time not Crick. JJ lines up all over from outside the RT to over the RG.

This is an instance where PFR is wrong and lists JJ as RDE last season.
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Thanks for the clarification. This is something I've been a bit confused on for some time - that is, which sides everyone typically line up on.

But this being the case, the problem is even worse. Mercilus and Crick are both single blocked over on the right side and are not producing pressure. Potentially we have Clowney to upgrade Mercilus - and his effectiveness remains to be seen - but Crick needs to be getting 8 - 10 sacks. Crennal's system requires dominance from the DE's when single blocked.

This is why I've been looking at Preston Smith in the second round. Whereas Crick had trouble with double teams coming out of college, Smith has been producing exceptional push against double teams and dominates when single blocked, against quality opposition. A bit on the light side at 270 lbs, he'd need to gain 15 or 20 lbs. But it's also looking like he may not be there for us in the second.
 
Number19 said:
Thanks for the clarification. This is something I've been a bit confused on for some time - that is, which sides everyone typically line up on.

But this being the case, the problem is even worse. Mercilus and Crick are both single blocked over on the right side and are not producing pressure. Potentially we have Clowney to upgrade Mercilus - and his effectiveness remains to be seen - but Crick needs to be getting 8 - 10 sacks. Crennal's system requires dominance from the DE's when single blocked.
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It's definitely an issue. Has been for years. But I think it's wrong to assume anyone is getting single blocked. Unless we're blitzing, it's possible for an offense to double all four guys using TEs, HBs, FBs, & RBs... even if it's just a chip.

What we need is someone who can consistently beat a double team.

Then we need an ILB that can also threaten the passer. That used to be Cushing & him threatening to blitz up the middle kept the outside guys one on one where they were able to get more pressure. As it is, offenses don't need to pay too much attention to our ILBs. So they can assume pressure will be coming from the edges.

If Cushing isn't back to form, we need another beast inside so offenses have to guess where the rush is coming from.
 
Number19 said:
Thanks for the clarification. This is something I've been a bit confused on for some time - that is, which sides everyone typically line up on.

But this being the case, the problem is even worse. Mercilus and Crick are both single blocked over on the right side and are not producing pressure. Potentially we have Clowney to upgrade Mercilus - and his effectiveness remains to be seen - but Crick needs to be getting 8 - 10 sacks. Crennal's system requires dominance from the DE's when single blocked.

This is why I've been looking at Preston Smith in the second round. Whereas Crick had trouble with double teams coming out of college, Smith has been producing exceptional push against double teams and dominates when single blocked, against quality opposition. A bit on the light side at 270 lbs, he'd need to gain 15 or 20 lbs. But it's also looking like he may not be there for us in the second.
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I thought the knock on Crennel's system was that the DE does the grunt work while the LB's got the glory. I remember everyone wondering what would happen with JJ, with the general consensus that RC would obviously find a way to use him. I'm not sure that Crick getting 8-10 sacks AND JJ being his normal dominant self is the way this defense was supposed to be set up. That isn't what Crick was brought in to do.
 
Number19 said:
but Crick needs to be getting 8 - 10 sacks. Crennal's system requires dominance from the DE's when single blocked.
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8-10 sacks for a 3-4 DE is hero territory (Watt being a superhero). The pass rush is more supposed to come from the OLBs particularly the ROLB which was supposed to be Clowney for that purpose. When Ty Warren played opposite Seymour he got 4 or less sacks a year except for one 7.5 sack season. The great Seymour averaged 6. Or look at Pittsburgh's DE's: Keisel has been good for 3 sacks a year, Evander Hood 3 sacks, Aaron Smith 5 sacks a year. Or our own Gary Walker who made the pro bowl with 6.5 sacks.

As someone pointed out, the big concern with the Crennel hire was JJ's sacks/stats would plummet. Luckily Crennel has been smart enough to keep JJ unleashed. But Wade's penetrating style 3-4 is more conducive to DE stats than Crennel's as a general matter.
 
I agree with all of the last three comments. But the notion that the DE's do the "grunt" work is predicated on the requirement that they are capable of dominating one-on-one blocking, thereby forcing the offense to use multiple blockers on the DE, as thunderkyss explained. If they do not, then the DE should be monster enough to get those 8-10 sacks (OK, maybe this is too optimistic; let's say 6-8 sacks - enough to punish the offense). My impression is that Crick can be, and was, contained for the most part, one-on-one. I agree with thunderkyss that we need a DE opposite JJ who demands the double team; and then we need the OLB who can match up with the LT and apply pressure on a consistant basis.

What I find intriguing about Preston Smith is that Mississippi State used him much as the Texans use Watt, shifting him around to find the mismatches. Also, the fact that offenses sometimes resorted to triple teams in an effort to contain him. College performance is not indicative of future pro success, but I do find him an intriguing prospect for the Texans. I still have to look up his combine numbers, but at 6'-6" he should be able to add a few pounds without sacrificing too much athletically.
 
Number19 said:
I agree with all of the last three comments. But the notion that the DE's do the "grunt" work is predicated on the requirement that they are capable of dominating one-on-one blocking, thereby forcing the offense to use multiple blockers on the DE, as thunderkyss explained. If they do not, then the DE should be monster enough to get those 8-10 sacks (OK, maybe this is too optimistic; let's say 6-8 sacks - enough to punish the offense).
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That's not really how it typically works with 34 DE's. Not many 34 de's are going to command at least a double team on passing downs. There's not a lot of scary 34 DE's to that degree. Even in wades penetrating 34 the olb's are typically the sack artists.

34 DE's are usually like dt hybrids almost. And a lot of them could just flat out be DT's.

If you're looking to have pressure taken off of watt on passing downs, the easist and most likely position that is going to come from is the weak olb.
 
xtruroyaltyx said:
That's not really how it typically works with 34 DE's. Not many 34 de's are going to command at least a double team on passing downs. There's not a lot of scary 34 DE's to that degree. Even in wades penetrating 34 the olb's are typically the sack artists.

34 DE's are usually like dt hybrids almost. And a lot of them could just flat out be DT's.

If you're looking to have pressure taken off of watt on passing downs, the easist and most likely position that is going to come from is the weak olb.
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I agree. And this is why I find Preston Smith so intriguing. Does he really have the potential to be such a player? I've read comments that 3-4 teams may grade him as a low first round/high second round prospect, based on his film and if he puts up good numbers at the combine. 4-3 teams will not grade him quite this high because he's not a quick twitch athlete/pass rusher that is ideal for a 43 DE.
 
Got home and looked up Preston Smith's combine numbers. I also got J.J. Watt's and Jared Crick's.

Of course J.J. was dominate across the board in his combine performances. What I found out about Crick is that he has short 32" arms. This probably explains why his on-field performance comes up short - he simply has trouble with long armed OG's and OT's.

Smith had a good combine, with one exception. He was a combine "top performer" in four categories: 40 yd dash, broad jump, 3-cone and 60 yd shuttle. In the 40 yd dash he is a full .10 sec faster than Watt and matches Watt in explosion with a broad jump 1" longer. The one area where he comes up really short is in the number of reps. His on-field functional strength is superb but it doesn't show up in his bench press.

J.J. Watt:........(40 yd) 4.84 (Reps) 34 (Vertical) 37 (Broad) 120 (3-Cone) 6.88 (20 yd Shuttle) 4.21

Jared Crick:.....(40 yd) 4.99 (Reps) 26 (Vertical) 31 (Broad) 104 (3-Cone) 7.47 (20 yd Shuttle) 4.40

Preston Smith: (40 yd) 4.74 (Reps) 24 (Vertical) 34 (Broad) 121 (3-Cone) 7.07 (20 yd Shuttle) 4.28

At 6'-4 3/4", Smith does not have Crick's arm length limitation with his arms matching Watt's 34" and has good hand size at 10 5/8". His 271 lbs is light, but he should easily be able to add at least 15 lbs.
 
Number19 said:
Got home and looked up Preston Smith's combine numbers. I also got J.J. Watt's and Jared Crick's.

Of course J.J. was dominate across the board in his combine performances. What I found out about Crick is that he has short 32" arms. This probably explains why his on-field performance comes up short - he simply has trouble with long armed OG's and OT's.

Smith had a good combine, with one exception. He was a combine "top performer" in four categories: 40 yd dash, broad jump, 3-cone and 60 yd shuttle. In the 40 yd dash he is a full .10 sec faster than Watt and matches Watt in explosion with a broad jump 1" longer. The one area where he comes up really short is in the number of reps. His on-field functional strength is superb but it doesn't show up in his bench press.

J.J. Watt:........(40 yd) 4.84 (Reps) 34 (Vertical) 37 (Broad) 120 (3-Cone) 6.88 (20 yd Shuttle) 4.21

Jared Crick:.....(40 yd) 4.99 (Reps) 26 (Vertical) 31 (Broad) 104 (3-Cone) 7.47 (20 yd Shuttle) 4.40

Preston Smith: (40 yd) 4.74 (Reps) 24 (Vertical) 34 (Broad) 121 (3-Cone) 7.07 (20 yd Shuttle) 4.28

At 6'-4 3/4", Smith does not have Crick's arm length limitation with his arms matching Watt's 34" and has good hand size at 10 5/8". His 271 lbs is light, but he should easily be able to add at least 15 lbs.
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ok, but you should really be posting about him in the draft threads, not the one about Brooks Reed...j/s
 
HOU-TEX said:
Translation: The Texans haven't even made an offer
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That's exactly what it means.

So the Texans either:

A) think Clowney will be back this season
B) think they will get some really good in the draft or via FA or
C) think John Simon is the answer.

Hopefully it's "A" and the Texans can allocate financial resources elsewhere.
 
ung14 said:
That's exactly what it means.

So the Texans either:

A) think Clowney will be back this season
B) think they will get some really good in the draft or via FA or
C) think John Simon is the answer.

Hopefully it's "A" and the Texans can allocate financial resources elsewhere.
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D) Brooks Reed has not played well enough.
 
I've been a proud member of the Brooke Reed sucks club and have had many textual fisticuffs with Lambert over how good or terrible he is. All I can say is that Brooke is indeed quite awful and we will be just fine without him. Chalk up another blown second rounder to Rick Smith. It's obvious that the coaches expect more out of a OLB than just covering, and it's also obvious that Reed can't rush the passer and is easily blocked by a WR or anyone that really needs or cares to block him. Goodbye Brooke and farewell Lambert.
 
infantrycak said:
In desperation maybe but neither is suited to SOLB.
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Given how much time are in spread formations passing the ball, a classic 3-4 OLB is not priority over having a better pass rusher on the field. The base 3-4 is today's football is the 'sub" package versus the so-called nickle and dime package which are on the field 60-65% of the time. a team's best two outside pass rushers being on the field together should be commonplace not desperation.
 
ArlingtonTexan said:
Given how much time are in spread formations passing the ball, a classic 3-4 OLB is not priority over having a better pass rusher on the field. The base 3-4 is today's football is the 'sub" package versus the so-called nickle and dime package which are on the field 60-65% of the time. a team's best two outside pass rushers being on the field together should be commonplace not desperation.
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It is a priority just not in the way you think. It's more complicated than just being able to rush the passer.

The problem with that personnel grouping is that you are basically playing a 5-2 up front. Mercilus and Clowney are basically stand up DEs playing outside of three DTs.

You lose your ability to be versatile in what you call on defense. Neither can play in coverage so they pretty much have to rush to be useful. It makes the pre snap reads way too easy for the QB.

Most of the time you're going to send 4 or 5 guys at the QB. You need that fifth guy to be multiple, so that you can disguise what you want to do. He has to be able to rush when the offense isn't expecting it, but he also needs to be able to cover in space when necessary. That's why the SOLB requires a different type of athlete than the JACK position.
 
bah007 said:
It is a priority just not in the way you think. It's more complicated than just being able to rush the passer.

The problem with that personnel grouping is that you are basically playing a 5-2 up front. Mercilus and Clowney are basically stand up DEs playing outside of three DTs.

You lose your ability to be versatile in what you call on defense. Neither can play in coverage so they pretty much have to rush to be useful. It makes the pre snap reads way too easy for the QB.

Most of the time you're going to send 4 or 5 guys at the QB. You need that fifth guy to be multiple, so that you can disguise what you want to do. He has to be able to rush when the offense isn't expecting it, but he also needs to be able to cover in space when necessary. That's why the SOLB requires a different type of athlete than the JACK position.
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didn't Wade Phillips run a 5-2?
 
bah007 said:
Most of the time you're going to send 4 or 5 guys at the QB. You need that fifth guy to be multiple, so that you can disguise what you want to do. He has to be able to rush when the offense isn't expecting it, but he also needs to be able to cover in space when necessary. That's why the SOLB requires a different type of athlete than the JACK position.
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Agreed. I think Wade & his system pretty much stunted Mercilus' ability to show what he can do. Looks like Vrabel & Crennel had to go back to square 1 & start teaching Mercilus how to be an OLB, not just an edge rusher.

I think he looked good too. He's way more athletic & natural than Brooks Reed dropping back & changing directions. Not near as strong, granted. But I'd have liked to have seen three years with that kind of coaching & playing experience. He may very well turn out to be an excellent 3-4 OLB in the traditional sense.

No way he was ever going to fill a "Demarcus Ware" type role.
 
badboy said:
didn't Wade Phillips run a 5-2?
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Effectively. But that was also part of the problem with that defense. By going 5-2, he was forced to play a lot of man coverage and/or go 5-1 and bring in another safety or corner.

With the right personnel in the right situations, that defense of Wade's can do some damage. OTOH, it can be taken advantage of. It's not a very complicated defense which is why all the QBs were saying it was so easy to read.
 
The Pencil Neck said:
Effectively. But that was also part of the problem with that defense. By going 5-2, he was forced to play a lot of man coverage and/or go 5-1 and bring in another safety or corner.

With the right personnel in the right situations, that defense of Wade's can do some damage. OTOH, it can be taken advantage of. It's not a very complicated defense which is why all the QBs were saying it was so easy to read.
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Yes, we routinely got crushed in the red zone because Wade refused to switch up coverage.
 
bah007 said:
It is a priority just not in the way you think. It's more complicated than just being able to rush the passer.

The problem with that personnel grouping is that you are basically playing a 5-2 up front. Mercilus and Clowney are basically stand up DEs playing outside of three DTs.

You lose your ability to be versatile in what you call on defense. Neither can play in coverage so they pretty much have to rush to be useful. It makes the pre snap reads way too easy for the QB.

Most of the time you're going to send 4 or 5 guys at the QB. You need that fifth guy to be multiple, so that you can disguise what you want to do. He has to be able to rush when the offense isn't expecting it, but he also needs to be able to cover in space when necessary. That's why the SOLB requires a different type of athlete than the JACK position.
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I am more contending that teams would not have 5th guy versus more of pure 4-2-5 or 4-1-6 as nickel/dime packages.

If i am reading you correctly, we are still talking about a guy who is on the field i.e. base defense = sub-package 35% versus pass defense = 65% of snaps. IF a on roster you have the stud WOLB, a classic SOLB, and pass rush specialist, my contention that given that defense line-up in its pass defense more than it so-called base defense then the pass rush specialist will be on the field a lot if not more with the stud WOLB. We never really had enough healthy snaps from all three to determine how the Crennel Texans would play it, so I am okay if I am looking at this wrongly.
 
I say let Brooks Reed walk, i was encouraged his first season, but since he has not improved any IMO. I believe Mercilus is better than Reed, I would let that ride with him and Clowney if need be.
 
I'll never understand what happened with Brooks Reed. He just sputtered out. Maybe there was an injury that was kept secret. His plateau was well below his peak. I remember him getting to Flacco consistently during that playoff game, but then he never showed that same ability in following years. His 10 yard split was among the fastest in the draft, and he possesses mongoloid strength. He had all the tools.
 
Brisco_County said:
I'll never understand what happened with Brooks Reed. He just sputtered out. Maybe there was an injury that was kept secret. His plateau was well below his peak. I remember him getting to Flacco consistently during that playoff game, but then he never showed that same ability in following years. His 10 yard split was among the fastest in the draft, and he possesses mongoloid strength. He had all the tools.
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I believe he's dealt with groin issues since the Thanksgiving game against Detroit. I don't think he ever fully recovered mentally or physically from it

Texans OLB Brooks Reed was forced from Houston's Thanksgiving game against the Lions with a groin injury, and will not return.
Sprinting up the sideline as he covered Joique Bell, Reed pulled up like he had been snipered. It's extremely bad news for a Texans team that's come out flat four days after outlasting Jacksonville in overtime. First-round pick Whitney Mercilus is now in the game at outside linebacker. Reed has 10 days to get healthy for Week 13, but it had the looks of a fairly significant injury.
Source: Nick Scurfield on Twitter Thu, Nov 22, 2012 01:22:00 PM
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link
 
Ian Rapoport ‏@RapSheet
The #Falcons are signing LB Brooks Reed on a 5-year deal for $22M
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Good spot for him to excel, big numbers.

Adam Schefter ‏@AdamSchefter
Falcons adding LBs: Former Texans LB Brooks Reed is expected to sign with Atlanta as is former Cowboys LB Justin Durant, per sources.
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Brisco_County said:
I'll never understand what happened with Brooks Reed. He just sputtered out. Maybe there was an injury that was kept secret. His plateau was well below his peak. I remember him getting to Flacco consistently during that playoff game, but then he never showed that same ability in following years. His 10 yard split was among the fastest in the draft, and he possesses mongoloid strength. He had all the tools.
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Yep, I agree. In the first game in 2015 he was an absolute monster...and that was his highlight game. At the end of the day, he's just a guy. Solid fundamentals, good against the run, and managed his assignments = JAG.
 
I am going to miss Brooks Reed. I miss our Bulls on Parade defense of 2011. Brooks, JJ, JJo, Cush, and Connor were a defense that I absolutely loved. Too bad we only got a season of it.
 
Brisco_County said:
I'll never understand what happened with Brooks Reed. He just sputtered out. Maybe there was an injury that was kept secret. His plateau was well below his peak. I remember him getting to Flacco consistently during that playoff game, but then he never showed that same ability in following years. His 10 yard split was among the fastest in the draft, and he possesses mongoloid strength. He had all the tools.
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Brooks fell into a support role for JJ.
 
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