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Texans Pursuing LB Morlon Greenwood

Vinny

Vinny

shiny happy fan
Having solidified the defensive line, the Texans' appear ready to focus on linebackers. Kailee Wong and rookie Jason Babin started on the outside last season, while Jamie Sharper and Jay Foreman were the starting inside linebackers for the third year in a row. The Texans have made no secret of their desire to upgrade the depth at the position, but Greenwood's appearance at Reliant Stadium suggests adding a starter is not out of the question.

Greenwood played strongside outside linebacker in the Dolphins' 4-3 scheme, but seems best suited for an inside position in a 3-4 defense such as the one the Texans' run. Nevertheless, Greenwood believes versatility is one of his strengths.

"I can play inside or out," Greenwood said. "It just depends on which position they want me to play if I decide to come. I'm sure they've done a lot of research and they know where the need is and where they want to have me play. Basically, it's up to them.

"In college (Syracuse), we did different schemes. We played 4-3, 5-2, 3-4. I've experienced playing all sorts of defenses, so it won't be a problem learning it if I make a decision to come here."

Greenwood, who had a career-high 75 unassisted tackles in 2004, has not set a timetable for signing a new contract, but he said he was impressed by the Texans' first-class approach and the facilities at Reliant Park.

"There are over 12 teams that wanted me to visit (Wednesday), but my agent told me this should be my first one," Greenwood said. "He told me, 'Morlon, you're going to love it over there. It's a great place.' Basically, everything he said about Houston, I have experienced that. He was right, and I'm glad I came here for my first visit. This trip has been well worth it."
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http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/sports/3065660
 
Wow interesting. If we sign him I wonder what will happen to Foreman since we've already re-signed Polk? How big of a hit would we take to release him?
 
he sounds to me as though he is the same caliber player as Foreman and Polk.. he seems more likely to come in and compete than come in and just take the starting role.

Watching his interview on fox news.. I couldnt tell if he sounded like a dullard.. or just had an accent. that may be kinda mean to say but I calls em likes I sees em.
 
Rosusu said:
I can honestly say I have never even heard his name before..... :hmmm:
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I know who he is from playing Madden, but it is easy to se how he could be overshadowed playing alongside Junior Seau and Zach Thomas (2 of the greatest LB in the league) I haven't seem much of his play in real life, but I'm sure the Texans wouldn't go after him if they thought he wasn't worth it.
 
Rosusu said:
I can honestly say I have never even heard his name before..... :hmmm:
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I might have to agree with you on that one. I still say we scrap Foreman and go for DJ to play inside.
 
Grid said:
he sounds to me as though he is the same caliber player as Foreman and Polk.. he seems more likely to come in and compete than come in and just take the starting role.

Watching his interview on fox news.. I couldnt tell if he sounded like a dullard.. or just had an accent. that may be kinda mean to say but I calls em likes I sees em.
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Polk is special teams fodder and Foreman should be. Hopefully we can sign him to compete at one of our inside positions.
 
greenwood has been overshadowed lately playing next to seau and thomas...this guy is one of the fastest linebackers in the league...he plays the pass very well...he's a strong tackler not going for the big hits but more of a wrap up type...he can't blitz but neither can foreman...personally i would see him as a small upgrade over foreman but not wong if they moved him inside
 
Like somebody said, you won't here about this guy much because he plays alongside Zach Tomas and Junior Seau. I saw him play a little bit on the Monday Night Game against New England in a game they won, he mad some good stops, heard his name a couple of times. He is not the kind of guy that goes out and makes game changing plays everygame, he is the kind of guy that makes solid and consistent plays. You never hear him in the lockerroom or being injured, which is a good thing. A solid pick up? Yes. A great pick up? No.
 
Here is a scouting report from ESPN's the Scouts...


Grade 73
Insider Analysis Greenwood has improved his recognition skills, he doesn't take as many false steps as he did earlier in his career and the numbers of tackles he has made has steadily increased over the past three seasons. He takes good angles to the ball, he has the range to make plays from sideline-to-sideline and he excels in pursuit. He can change directions quickly, he show good burst out of his cuts and he has the man-to-man cover skills to stay with most backs as well as tight ends. He doesn't have great lower body strength and blockers will have some success driving him back when he doesn't play with good leverage. Greenwood doesn't uses his hands well, he lacks the upper body strength to maintain separation from blockers and he takes too long to shed the block once he's reached. Overall, he is a good starter that gives good effort on every snap.
Position Linebacker
'04 Team Miami Dolphins
'05 Team
Exp. 4 Years


They grade him as the 6th highest LB free agent prospect this season behind Julian Peterson, Jerimiah Trotter, Kendrell Bell, Edgerton Hartwell, and Ian Gold. He sounds like he would be an upgrade over Foreman and would definatly start for us.
 
Morlon Greenwood #52 | Linebacker | Miami Dolphins
Height: 6-0 Weight: 238 Born: Jul 17, 1978 - Freeport, Jamaica College: Syracuse
Draft: 2001 - 3rd round (26th pick) by the Miami Dolphins


So Grid...that was an accent, I found out about that some months back...I thought he was just str8 up american, not jamaican.


Stats...

A Career high 108 tackles this past year....but no sacks this past year..

http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/players/5536/career
 
ahh that explains it then.. well that makes me feel better about him. It was odd though.. didnt sound like jamaican.

that scouting report does make him sound better. though the part about his troubles against blockers makes me wonder about how good he will be as an ILB. his speed could help in coverage though.

he may be a good grab for us.
 
I have to say the wording of having solidified the dl is kind of deceiving. We now have the exact same starting dl that we had last year and they didn't get the job done. Add to that Payne got injured at the end of the season so now we are expecting him to come back from the latest injury when he didn't return to form yet from the other injury. I really like Payne but after the previous 2 years performance and his current age we over paid. I hope I'm wrong and he plays like a man on fire but we are taking chances again with injuries and big $.
 
The good thing is that he should come fairly cheap. I don't think you guys are at the point of being one or two players away from Super Bowl contention where you can make a big splash and pay some stud vet a huge wad of cash to come in and take you to the promised land. Young, relatively unknown guys such as this (read inexpensive), who came from a solid defensive (or offensive as the case may be) system could be a real boon for you. He has only been in the league, what like four years, he is just starting to hit his potential. You guys still have more pressing needs like OOOOOO friggin line. The Seahawks Pork Chop Womack is out there, and his is in like his third or fourth year I think. Would come relatively cheap, played great in spot duty, huge upside...those are the kind of guys you need to target. Young free agents who are cheap with upside.....and continue to stock pile picks and build through the draft. I think you are only three years away from serious contention if you continue to grow.
 
I am sure the plan is for two more years. :) But your right. We a guy named Foreman who I think Greenwood could share time with and eventually take over the spot. The Seahwaks managed to keep alot of there top players, but I see that hurting them in the long run. In a few years those contracts will escalate. By then the players will be older and might restructure.
 
rittenhouserobz said:
I am sure the plan is for two more years. :) But your right. We a guy named Foreman who I think Greenwood could share time with and eventually take over the spot. The Seahwaks managed to keep alot of there top players, but I see that hurting them in the long run. In a few years those contracts will escalate. By then the players will be older and might restructure.
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Yeah, the Seahawks are going to get bit in the butt on this. They are acting like they are only a few players away, but they have some issues on both sides of the ball. The Texans are right on course, building from within (draft, etc.) and young cheap vets with upside. From watching your games last year, Foreman never really stood out to me, maybe replacing him would be a good thing hehe. You guys REALLY need to address the O-line or you are going to get Carr and DD killed, two excellent young players with tremendous upside.
 
Eyeguy said:
Any stats on this guy?
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Last year sounds very good. However The Houston Chronicle said he avg 11 games starting over last 4 years.That's not starting over 31%. Was he injured? Or did he just not start his first year bringing average down? He went 15 of 16 last season. Anyway, he sure sounds good on paper & is still young.

What if we sign him and DJ is available @ 13? Does this effect anything?
 
Meloy said:
Last year sounds very good. However The Houston Chronicle said he avg 11 games starting over last 4 years.That's not starting over 31%. Was he injured? Or did he just not start his first year bringing average down? He went 15 of 16 last season. Anyway, he sure sounds good on paper & is still young.

What if we sign him and DJ is available @ 13? Does this effect anything?
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You'd have to think that regardless of whether you need him or not, no one could argue him being a top 5 pick. If he slipped to 13 then you go best player available and take him. Furthermore, 3-4 D calls for good LB depth, and this kid looked like one of the, if not THE best, player at the combine. I'd take him top 5, so heck yeah if he fell to #13 you select him.
 
This would be a very good pickup IMO. He did start in Miami for like the past three years, but his play was overshadowed by Zach Thomas.
And the reason he doesn't have that many sacks is because the Dolphins usually don't blitz their LB's that much with the exception of Junior Seau and a occasional blitz from Zach Thomas. I hope the front office makes this happen :thumbup
 
Chawky1 said:
Yeah, the Seahawks are going to get bit in the butt on this. They are acting like they are only a few players away, but they have some issues on both sides of the ball. The Texans are right on course, building from within (draft, etc.) and young cheap vets with upside. From watching your games last year, Foreman never really stood out to me, maybe replacing him would be a good thing hehe. You guys REALLY need to address the O-line or you are going to get Carr and DD killed, two excellent young players with tremendous upside.
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I think Casserly and the Coaches are depending on the current guys to develop and learn together. Wand will be in his 3rd year (but hardly played his first) and Pitts is in his 4th, if Weigert and Wade are full strength then hopefully both sides will be adequate. The middle though, all I can hope is Baas falls to our 2nd or we trade up a little to replace McKinney. McKinney vs Stroud/Henderson = Detrimental to Carr's health.
 
Texans | Greenwood Signed to Five-Year Deal - from www.KFFL.com
Thu, 3 Mar 2005 11:36:49 -0800

ESPN.com's Len Pasquarelli reports the Houston Texans have signed free agent LB Morlon Greenwood (Dolphins) to a five-year, $22.5 million contract including a $7 million signing bonus. Greenwood will earn salaries of $540,000 (for 2005), $2.56 million (2006), $3.4 million (2007), $4 million (2008) and $5 million (2009). Those salaries include $100,000 workout bonuses for some seasons.
 
SESupergenius said:
Someones going to get cut. Foreman, Peek or Wong.
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Pasquie's article says the Texans have already told Wong he's moving inside. Remember, though - Wong's a FA after this year.
 
ok that makes sense to move Wong inside, because Greenwood is just too small to play the ILB.

Where was Kendral Bell? If we are paying Greenwood that much, then Bell certainly would in that ballpark.
 
SESupergenius said:
ok that makes sense to move Wong inside, because Greenwood is just too small to play the ILB.

Where was Kendral Bell? If we are paying Greenwood that much, then Bell certainly would in that ballpark.
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Too small for the Inside? the outside LBs in a 3-4 need to be larger than the ILBs... I'm sure he'll be playing next to Sharper on the inside.
 
I don't see Greenwood being on the outside just for the simple fact that he excells in coverage, and he's not that good of a blitzer. However, he may end up being a lot like Wong, and be able to do enough of both to give us some added flexability.
 
texasguy346 said:
and he's not that good of a blitzer.
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Are you sure or was he in a 4-3 system that asks their DE's to sack the qb and the linebackers to run and chase? Junior Seau had one sack last year in that system and the most sacks he has had in the last 7 years is 3.5. Seau has pass rushing skills too. It's just that he was not in a system designed to ask the linebackers to sack the QB. It is like when Walker went to the Pro Bowl here...he had 6 sacks. People criticized his selection based on his lack of sacks, but that was myopic. Our system doesn't get the sacks from the two gap tackles.
 
That might be the case then. I've only been able to read reports about this guy, and those reports might not be taking into account the system he's playing in. From all accounts he has plenty of speed and agility, but if turns out to be equally adept at rushing the QB and covering a TE or RB then it just makes the deal even sweeter. He'll be similar to Wong in the way that he can play inside or outside, and give us some flexability. In my dream scenario we'd pickup a young guy for depth at OLB like Goddard/Merriman/Ware/etc. and then also have Charlie Anderson still as depth. How many days till training camp starts? :heh:
 
SESupergenius said:
Someones going to get cut. Foreman, Peek or Wong.
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Well, I would prefer to see Troy Evans cut than any of those 3, but if it is necessary to cut one of them, Foreman would be my choice.
 
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