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ILB

thunderkyss

thunderkyss

Just win baby!!!
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Got this from another thread, thought it more appropriate to discuss this position in it's own thread.

DocBar said:
Reed is learning the position, Tuggle and Bullough ( plus he's a rookie UDFA ) may have potential, but right now are complete question marks. I certainly wouldn't be excited if they are week 1 starters.

Defensive depth chart.
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I think Tuggle is solid & should be a decent back-up to Cushing. I hope we won't need him for long, because he won't be able to "replace" Cush.

At the other spot, I like Mohammed, Tarpinian, & Bullough next to Cush. Can't have stars at every position, but we need good solid play & I think these guys are capable of that. Bullough is the most intriguing, he showed some flash the other day in the bottom of the third qtr.

It would be great to see him playing with the first team by the time the season starts, but if he's not ready, he's not ready & hopefully he'll be pushing for a starting spot at the end of the year, or going into next season.
 
thunderkyss said:
Got this from another thread, thought it more appropriate to discuss this position in it's own thread.



I think Tuggle is solid & should be a decent back-up to Cushing. I hope we won't need him for long, because he won't be able to "replace" Cush.

At the other spot, I like Mohammed, Tarpinian, & Bullough next to Cush. Can't have stars at every position, but we need good solid play & I think these guys are capable of that. Bullough is the most intriguing, he showed some flash the other day in the bottom of the third qtr.

It would be great to see him playing with the first team by the time the season starts, but if he's not ready, he's not ready & hopefully he'll be pushing for a starting spot at the end of the year, or going into next season.
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I'm very interested to see how Bullough turns out. I liked his play Sat., also. I still can't believe he went undrafted.

Of all the ILB's, I like Tarpinian the best to line up next to Cush. The guy has shown some good instincts in the run game. Not sold on coverage, though.
 
DocBar said:
I'm very interested to see how Bullough turns out. I liked his play Sat., also. I still can't believe he went undrafted.

Of all the ILB's, I like Tarpinian the best to line up next to Cush. The guy has shown some good instincts in the run game. Not sold on coverage, though.
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That's his strong suite DBAR. No?
 
If not in a complete rebuilding mode, we are, at least, in a transition mode with a high turnover in player personnel. We had, and we continue to have, a lot of holes to fill with a higher level of talent that fit our new schemes. It was/is flat out impossible for the organization to address all these needs in one off-season.

Within the broader context of the thread Thunderkyss broke this thread from, I had stated my opinion that our starting 22 represented a sufficiently high level of talent that maybe could give us the opportunity to challenge for a wild card slot in the playoffs, provided we stay healthy. I then stated my opinion that our weakness was the quality of our depth, but opined that our depth at ILB was "pretty good".

Within this context, I'm comfortable going into the new season with the ILB's currently on the roster.
 
From what I recently heard about Cushing, I'm not feeling good about our LB corps as a whole. I think we possibly have some talent inside, but still unknown at this point.
 
So who's starting next to Cush?

I thought it was Tarpinian Saturday, is that right? Do you think he's got the job?
 
kingtexan said:
Gotcha.

We will see, but I think he will be fine. I think this will be a very good year for him.
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I value your opinion, but I don't think so. I think the best case scenario is that he will go on IR again sometime this season.
 
drs23 said:
That's his strong suite DBAR. No?
Click to expand...
To be honest, Tuggle has had a good preseason. I think he'll make the squad. FWIW, I've had a change of heart about the LB corps as a whole this preseason.
 
I don't think it matters who starts next to Cushing. I believe that Crennel will rotate Mohamed, Tarp, Bullough, and Tuggle the same way we used to rotate D-linemen; to keep fresh legs in the middle. But if you want a name, Mohamed. But I wouldn't be surprised if Bullough climbs up the depth chart to be the first one off the bench or a starter by mid-season.
Dude can ball.
 
DocBar said:
To be honest, Tuggle has had a good preseason. I think he'll make the squad. FWIW, I've had a change of heart about the LB corps as a whole this preseason.
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What I like about our LB Corp is that they're all young & hungry... who knows what kinds of players they'll turn out to be playing with guys like Cushing & Watt. Being coached by Vrabel & Crennel.

As opposed to a bunch of never weres hoping they have at least a little left in their tanks.
 
I like what tuggle has done against the run. He's pretty good in that dept. bullough isn't the most athletic but he has a good feel for the LB position and a lot of times that trumps all.
 
The 2nd ILB is essentially a backup in today's NFL when you have your nickel defense on the field the majority of the game. That being said, I like Bullough's playmaking ability and upside the most to pair with Cushing.
 
TheRealJoker said:
The 2nd ILB is essentially a backup in today's NFL when you have your nickel defense on the field the majority of the game. That being said, I like Bullough's playmaking ability and upside the most to pair with Cushing.
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It depends on your personnel. If you value the play of that second ILB (say... Navarro Bowman) over your NT you're more apt to keep him on the field.
 
Between Tuggle, Tarpinian, Mohamed, Bullough and Dent I am surprised that we have managed to get this amount of potential depth along with Cushing at the ILB spot.


I am thinking however the Mohamed and Dent are on the outside looking in, although a good showing by Dent might give the Texans enough reason to risk trying to put Bullough on the practice squad.
 
RipTraxx said:
After tonight i think we start Bullough next to Cush.
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You could be right and I really like him long term, regardless I am not concerned as much about LB depth although still very concerned about Cushing. Interesting if we start Clowney, X, Nix, Fiedo, Savage, Prosh and Bullough this season . Blue and Pagan could easily add to that. 9 starters from one draft? Ric Smith would giggle at that.
 
With Merci turning it on the last 2 weeks, maybe it's ok to move Reed inside and have Merci and JDC as the OLB's?
 
RipTraxx said:
After tonight i think we start Bullough next to Cush.
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No way. I was a huge fan of Bullough when we brought him in and still hope he'll stick. But, no way he's ready to start. He doesn't shed blocks quick enough, he's easily washed out of the running lane, he's not quick enough, he doesn't make reads quick enough, etc

To me, Tuggle should won the spot. To the coaches, I'd guess it's between Tuggle and Mohamed.
 
Thorn said:
Merci did good against their scrubs. So did Clowney. Let's see what they do next week.
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He's been starting with JDC out and looking good against 1's, too. It would be great if he's finally figured it out.
 
RipTraxx said:
After tonight i think we start Bullough next to Cush.
Click to expand...

I'm a huge Bullough fan but I haven't been loving him so far. I think he's going to develop into a great ILB but he's not there, yet. He's been taking bad angles and getting caught up in the wash. He's been making tackles on the wrong side of the line of scrimmage. Instead of attacking the plays, he's been letting the plays come to him too much.

I'm hoping we don't waive and stash on the PS.
 
The Pencil Neck said:
I'm a huge Bullough fan but I haven't been loving him so far. I think he's going to develop into a great ILB but he's not there, yet. He's been taking bad angles and getting caught up in the wash. He's been making tackles on the wrong side of the line of scrimmage. Instead of attacking the plays, he's been letting the plays come to him too much.

I'm hoping we don't waive and stash on the PS.
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We'd be insane not to.....
 
The Pencil Neck said:
I wrote that before he'd been waived. I was saying that I didn't want him waived. Now that he's waived, I want him stashed.

But I wanted him to make the 53.
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I wonder if he's an NFL athlete .... Mentally he has the tools , physically he's limited.
I was high on him coming out (~5th round or later). Now its easy to see why he wasn't drafted.
 
Disappointed we couldn't keep Bullough, but perhaps we take a look at recently waived Skov, who I originally had my pegged for us in the late rounds..
 
I think I like our current LB corp.
Unless a good vet is available through waiver (which I haven't been following closely enough), it's hard to see an upgrade.

I hope the Texans can put Bullough on the PS.
He's been firming up, looking more fit during PS than he was his last year in college.
I'd rather have him than either Shane Skov or Chase Thomas on the PS.

Tuggle had only two years on defense in college; if he keeps improving, I think he may have a shot at becoming at least a part-time starter.

Akeem Dent has had many starts; he just need to keep getting better in coverage. Again, he can also be a spot starter.

Unless Cushing goes down again, IMO, the Texans will be OK at ILB.
Mohamed and Tarpinian are at capable back-ups with some upside as both are still fairly young.
 
DocBar said:
Or they've enjoyed his sack...
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10624604_623591517753534_3333589059230354065_n.jpg
 
B2RXVaMIUAEdVeO.jpg

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/B2RXVaMIUAEdVeO.jpg

Max Bullough to make NFL debut Sunday against Browns
Ryan Mallett’s first NFL start is understandably getting most of the attention this week, but rookie linebacker Max Bullough will be... active for the first time when the Texans play the Browns.

“It’s great,” Bullough said. “It’s something you work for ever since you’re a little kid. You work hard for it and it’s a great feeling. I’ll be excited. It’s time to go to work, take care of your job and do things you do best.”
...
“I’ve learned a lot from the older guys,” Bullough said, “(like) what to do, how to work, how to carry yourself, how the NFL works. What coverages work, what don’t. What fronts work, what don’t. It’s completely different from college, especially because the defense I played was college-oriented. For me, that’s been the steepest learning curve.”

Bullough says signing with the Texans was the right decision for him and nothing has happened to change his opinion.

“It’s been a great place for me,” he said, “a great home for me.”
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Thanks for posting as I was hoping to see him soon. I followed hi in college and was stunned he was not drafted.
 
Nothing against Cushing, but at his impairment level I hope Bullough gets some real playing time in his place.


Deepi Sidhu ‏@DeepSlant
Romeo Crennel on LB Max Bullough: Max is a football junkie. Has gotten better at understanding scheme & playing multiple positions. #Texans
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Playoffs said:
Nothing against Cushing, but at his impairment level I hope Bullough gets some real playing time in his place.
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agreed, when I saw that we had signed Bullough I thought "safety net" for Cush. This is hopefully how we develop depth.
 
Wolf6151 said:
I love this move and hope he gets some meaningful defensive snaps and not just special teams work. He was good in preseason and I thought he should have made the active 53 to begin the season. I'm liking our depth at ILB with Mohamed, Tarpinian, Tuggle, and now Bullough.
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I was banging the table for us to draft him starting around the 4th or 5th round, so I was very excited when we picked him up as a UDFA. But I didn't think he played that well in the preseason. He was around the ball but he also took some bad angles and got himself out of position a lot; he didn't play nearly as heady as I expected him to.

I'm glad to see him back but I hope the game is starting to slow down for him and he's starting to figure things out more. I'm a little leery about seeing him on the field at this point on anything except ST.
 
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