Werner

[hoosierhawk]

Does anyone besides me think that the Colts need to put 25-30 lbs on Werner and have him move back to DE? I think he looks lost in space at OLB.

[theanarchist]

Does anyone besides me think that the Colts need to put 25-30 lbs on Werner and have him move back to DE? I think he looks lost in space at OLB.

I definitely don't think he's a 3-4 DE. I think the scouting report on him coming out was that he was a 4-3 end. So, hopefully he can learn to play in space better cuz I really don't see him being a 3-4 end.

[BlueCollarColts]

He played well yesterday, I think he'll be fine

[Chucklez]

I think that Werner has definitely at times looked a little lost so far this season at the OLB position, but having said that I think he is starting to find his feet. He showed some, and I mean only some, improvement in the Bengals game, which is positive. Before last Sunday I was not all that high on Werner. His batted down pass was great reactions and had he not made that play we couldve given up a lot of yardage.

I think he will still take some time to fully adjust but I think he is going to start coming good. Maybe not this season, but over the course of the off-season and OTA's I think he will start rounding into form.

Now if Adongo can continue to progress at the rate that he is seemingly progressing, hopefully by the end of next season we will have two legit pass rushers to replace #98.

[DirtyLANDRY30]

I definitely don't think he's a 3-4 DE. I think the scouting report on him coming out was that he was a 4-3 end. So, hopefully he can learn to play in space better cuz I really don't see him being a 3-4 end.

I disagree. He does not have the quickness needed to be an OLB. Beef him up and put him at DE like J.J. - see what he can do

[Luckynumber12]

ive been saying this since he came out of FSU  if he put on about 25 pounds he could be a beast 3-4 DE

[JoKeR]

He's a rookie and he's shown signs that he will be a good player , he's made some plays.

[SkyBane]

I disagree. He does not have the quickness needed to be an OLB. Beef him up and put him at DE like J.J. - see what he can do

You do realize that 34 DE and 43 DE are drastically different positions, yes? A 34 DE is there to seal of the interior and get push more akin to a tackle. Their job is not to rush/seal the outside most of the time. Watt is a freak of nature and the exception, not the rule.

Im the 34, the OLBs have the job of a 43 DE. In that regard, while it does require a transition and learninf to play in space, Werner is more suited to being an OLB than a DE in our defense. This also why Mathis was moved to OLB.

Bjoern is learning and making progress. The more time he spends and the position, the easier it will get. He is already looking more comfortable by the week. Id say he should be clicking by at least midseason next year.

[lollygagger8]

You do realize that 34 DE and 43 DE are drastically different positions, yes? A 34 DE is there to seal of the interior and get push more akin to a tackle. Their job is not to rush/seal the outside most of the time. Watt is a freak of nature and the exception, not the rule.

Im the 34, the OLBs have the job of a 43 DE. In that regard, while it does require a transition and learninf to play in space, Werner is more suited to being an OLB than a DE in our defense. This also why Mathis was moved to OLB.

Bjoern is learning and making progress. The more time he spends and the position, the easier it will get. He is already looking more comfortable by the week. Id say he should be clicking by at least midseason next year.

[SkyBane]

You do realize that 34 DE and 43 DE are drastically different positions, yes? A 34 DE is there to seal of the interior and get push more akin to a tackle. Their job is not to rush/seal the outside most of the time. Watt is a freak of nature and the exception, not the rule.

Im the 34, the OLBs have the job of a 43 DE. In that regard, while it does require a transition and learninf to play in space, Werner is more suited to being an OLB than a DE in our defense. This also why Mathis was moved to OLB.

Bjoern is learning and making progress. The more time he spends and the position, the easier it will get. He is already looking more comfortable by the week. Id say he should be clicking by at least midseason next year.

Thank you for pointing out that Im on a smartphone with no convinient way to hyphenate. Saves me having to explain it.

[hoosierhawk]

You do realize that 34 DE and 43 DE are drastically different positions, yes? A 34 DE is there to seal of the interior and get push more akin to a tackle. Their job is not to rush/seal the outside most of the time. Watt is a freak of nature and the exception, not the rule.

Im the 34, the OLBs have the job of a 43 DE. In that regard, while it does require a transition and learninf to play in space, Werner is more suited to being an OLB than a DE in our defense. This also why Mathis was moved to OLB.

Bjoern is learning and making progress. The more time he spends and the position, the easier it will get. He is already looking more comfortable by the week. Id say he should be clicking by at least midseason next year.

 

I don't think there is a greater change going from a 4-3 DE to a 3-4 DE than going from 4-3 DE to 3-4 OLB. Both take different skill sets so one has to determine is he athletic enough to switch to OLB or strong and big enough to switch to 3-4 DE. Matter of opinion I guess. Hopefully he is capable of one or the other.

[theanarchist]

I disagree. He does not have the quickness needed to be an OLB. Beef him up and put him at DE like J.J. - see what he can do

I don't think he's a 2 gap player, which is what 3-4 ends basically are. JMO.

[Jason_]

I disagree. He does not have the quickness needed to be an OLB. Beef him up and put him at DE like J.J. - see what he can do

To do that we would also have to switch from a primarily 2 gap team to a 1 gap scheme like the Texans run.

[Jason_]

I don't think there is a greater change going from a 4-3 DE to a 3-4 DE than going from 4-3 DE to 3-4 OLB. Both take different skill sets so one has to determine is he athletic enough to switch to OLB or strong and big enough to switch to 3-4 DE. Matter of opinion I guess. Hopefully he is capable of one or the other.

I highly disagree because the number of 4-3 DE that could switch to 3-4 DE (especially in a two gap scheme) without a major change to their physique is very very few.

[Kyle]

we new he was raw when we drafted him.  he is an OLB and i think he will end up being a pretty darn good one for us 

[Balzer40]

I'd rather see Werner drop about 10 lbs. to gain some speed and agility. If they packed 25-30 lbs on him, he would still be kind of undersized for a 2 gap 3-4 DE and he would be so slow, he would look like he was in reverse.

[dudeski]

Thank you for pointing out that Im on a smartphone with no convinient way to hyphenate. Saves me having to explain it.

no big deal

 

lots of people call it a 34 or a 43

 

hyphenation not required

[Manning1887]

I actually feel he has some promise. I think he will be much better next year.

[krunk]

I think he'll be fine.  Just needs to continue to grow in the position, however I also would like to see Adongo get a few opportunities

in certain spots of the game as a situational pass rusher. My gut is telling me he has something to bring to the table if we let him 

get his feet wet.  

[GoColts8818]

He's coming around.  I am starting to notice him when he's in the game.  Granted he's not a game changer or anything like that right now but this is the time of the year most rookies start to get it and I think he's starting to get it. 

[southwest1]

I think he'll be fine.  Just needs to continue to grow in the position, however I also would like to see Adongo get a few opportunities

in certain spots of the game as a situational pass rusher. My gut is telling me he has something to bring to the table if we let him 

get his feet wet.  

Couldn't agree with you more krunk. I ran out of likes. Here are 4 thumbs up 4U instead:       

 

     You made me spit pop all over my computer screen lollygager. I like you SkyBane, but even you have to admit that lollygager's presentation was shall we say impossible to miss...Thanks for taking it all in stride & being cool about the whole situation. 

[NagelHausForge]

I haven't seen anything in Werner to make me think he isn't "getting it".  He is a rookie and had to sit out a few weeks with an injury.  From what I have seen he looks better each game and had a few good plays this past sunday.

 

I would say it would be a mistake to use him as a 3-4 DT... He would get mauled.  But if we have those situations where we switch to a 4-3 for a play or two then absolutely put him at DE opposite Mathis.  Remember, we are considered a hybrid 3-4, which means we have the ability to switch to a 4-3 from time to time. 

 

Either way, I can see that next year the game will slow down for him and he could be a very good player for us.

[DallasClarkrules]

I personally think Bjoern has looked pretty good in recent weeks. Yes the production isn't quite there yet, but he is a rookie learning a new position. He was a physical talent coming out of college, still raw as people have said. Added to that, he's learning a new position where he's had to develop pass coverage skills and change his base position.

 

The injury to Sidbury didn't help his development, as he's effectively had to learn both OLB spots, as opposed to just working as a rush LB, which I'm sure would've been the plan early on when he was drafted.

 

So the suggestion to add 30 LBs of muscle and have him learn another new position for next year? That's asking a lot of a young guy, and then we'd have people complaining when he doesn't adapt quickly to being a 2 gap Lineman.

 

I'm sure Werner is still working his butt off in the weight room building up his strength as an OLB. I would like to see him given a chance, his play is promising, especially in recent weeks. 

[IndyD4U]

He's played okay, lately. Is it me or does he look like he runs around tipy-toed most of the time?

 

He'll be fine and this is good experience for him