Robert Mathis=The New Suggs

[BProland85]

Hopefully Pagano uses Mathis like he did Suggs. Mathis is definately athletic enough to play this position.

And I think Freeney either needs to rework his contract, or be traded because he is costing us WAY too much this year.

And I really hope he gets the best out of Jerry Hughes as well. If he can we could have a crazy pass rush this year with Mathis, Hughes, Wheeler, Nevis, etc.

[Coffeedrinker]

What if he doesn't try to implement the 3-4 in Indy. He worked hard and was instrumental in transitioning the Ravens away from their 3-4 defense.

[haseo15]

Whats the chances we go after someone like mario williams or a OLB in the second round? I would love if we grabbed Zach Brown or Janoris Jenkins in the 2nd round of the draft for our defense.

[CR91]

im hoping he also uses bethea like he used reed

[Smitto]

Mathis was discussing this with jamal anderson on twitter.. he would become a LB and anderson would become the LE... from they way they sound it seems like its gonna happen.

What i also realized is that he mentioned this like a day before Chuck was confirmed to be HC.... could be that they knew before hand that Chuck would be HC.... and to think i still went ahead and picked Gray as HC in irsay's contest smh.

[tonychen]

Jerry Hughes will eventually have a chance to show he's not a bust. The guy was a 3-4 OLB but drafted by the Polians to be 'converted' into a 4-3 DE, which he has never felt comfortable with.

[tonychen]

As far as Mathis can play either OLB or DE position, how will Freeny be used is more interesting.

[CR91]

we can change up our schemes and play both 3-4 and 4-3. with the 3-4 our line is brayton nevis anderson with mathis and hughes on the outside and connor and angerer inside. with the 4-3 our line is freeney johnson nevis mathis with connor and wheeler outside and angerer in the middle.

[Coffeedrinker]

The guy was a 3-4 OLB but drafted by the Polians to be 'converted' into a 4-3 DE, which he has never felt comfortable with.

That is 100% false. Hughes was a DE in college, he never played OLB. Actually one of the reasons he was available when the Colts drafted was because many teams did not think he had the lower body agility and coverage skills to be a 3-4 OLB. He didn't even play LB in HS.

[tonychen]

we can change up our schemes and play both 3-4 and 4-3. with the 3-4 our line is brayton nevis anderson with mathis and hughes on the outside and connor and angerer inside. with the 4-3 our line is freeney johnson nevis mathis with connor and wheeler outside and angerer in the middle.

In this case how many snaps will Freeny get? I just don't see how they can use their highest paid defensive play for such little.

[CR91]

In this case how many snaps will Freeny get? I just don't see how they can use their highest paid defensive play for such little.

this would be good for freeney. give him limited snaps so he doesnt tire out and we lose our pass rush.

[Smitto]

That is 100% false. Hughes was a DE in college, he never played OLB. Actually one of the reasons he was available when the Colts drafted was because many teams did not think he had the lower body agility and coverage skills to be a 3-4 OLB. He didn't even play LB in HS.

Jerry Hughes played OLB ASWELL as DE... he has the perfect size for a 3-4 LB.. the fact that he never developed his own moves as a pass rusher indicates he isnt very comfortable playing DE imo.

[Coffeedrinker]

Jerry Hughes played OLB ASWELL as DE... he has the perfect size for a 3-4 LB.. the fact that he never developed his own moves as a pass rusher indicates he isnt very comfortable playing DE imo.

No he did not.

A high school running back who patiently waited for his opportunity to start for the Horned Frogs, Hughes didn't become a full-time starter at left defensive end until 2008.

in 2006, he was listed third on the depth chart at left defensive end

Hughes continued to play behind Chase Ortiz at left defensive end in 2007

He secured a starting position at left end

The recipient of the Hendricks Award

The Hendricks award is given to the nations top Defensive end.

If people think he would make a good OLB that is fine. But don't make up lies about him playing out of position at DE.

[Superman]

Jerry Hughes played OLB ASWELL as DE... he has the perfect size for a 3-4 LB.. the fact that he never developed his own moves as a pass rusher indicates he isnt very comfortable playing DE imo.

I'd be exaggerating if I said he never played a down at linebacker, but not by much. He was a defensive end, scouted as a potential OLB for a 3-4 team because of his size, but he's always had his hand in the ground.

[LaughingAtIrsay]

Do you guys think the Colts will resign Mathis?

[BProland85]

Whats the chances we go after someone like mario williams or a OLB in the second round? I would love if we grabbed Zach Brown or Janoris Jenkins in the 2nd round of the draft for our defense.

Id be completely happy about going after Mario Williams as long as we dont have to trade for him. This would be we are cutting or trading Freeney though but Mario is much younger and Id rather have him at this stage of both of their careers.

[Bubba_Rebel]

It would be a mistake to pay Freeney loads of money with Pagano as coach. Pagano likes the hybrid 3-4/4-3 looks, but even in those looks having small DE's is not kosher. Trade Freeney for some picks (could get a 2 and 4th rounder) and use that money saved to secure Mathis in a Pagano defense.

[Superman]

It would be a mistake to pay Freeney loads of money with Pagano as coach. Pagano likes the hybrid 3-4/4-3 looks, but even in those looks having small DE's is not kosher. Trade Freeney for some picks (could get a 2 and 4th rounder) and use that money saved to secure Mathis in a Pagano defense.

I believe Pagano could get a lot of use out of Freeney and Mathis, even more than we've seen in the peak years.

But I do agree that it's probably a good idea to allow his agent to talk to some other teams about a contract extension, and get a couple picks for him. But only after you make an effort to work out a deal with him first.

[BlueShoe]

Hopefully Pagano uses Mathis like he did Suggs. Mathis is definately athletic enough to play this position.

And I think Freeney either needs to rework his contract, or be traded because he is costing us WAY too much this year.

And I really hope he gets the best out of Jerry Hughes as well. If he can we could have a crazy pass rush this year with Mathis, Hughes, Wheeler, Nevis, etc.

I don't think Mathis is Re-Signed.

Doesn't really fit now, in my opinion.

JUST MY OPINION.

[BProland85]

we can change up our schemes and play both 3-4 and 4-3. with the 3-4 our line is brayton nevis anderson with mathis and hughes on the outside and connor and angerer inside. with the 4-3 our line is freeney johnson nevis mathis with connor and wheeler outside and angerer in the middle.

I could see us target a NT early in this draft since we need our poor man's version of Haloti Ngata. I want Dontari Poe in the 2nd! He then could man the NT spot for us allowing others to be more freed up.

[LaughingAtIrsay]

Id be completely happy about going after Mario Williams as long as we dont have to trade for him. This would be we are cutting or trading Freeney though but Mario is much younger and Id rather have him at this stage of both of their careers.

We wouldnt have to trade for Mario because he's a free agent & cutting Freeney and signing a younger, bigger DE may be a good Idea. Or even keep Freeney and let Mathis walk and sign Mario to play OLB in 3-4 or DE in 4-3.

[MSColtsFan]

I could see us target a NT early in this draft since we need our poor man's version of Haloti Ngata. I want Dontari Poe in the 2nd! He then could man the NT spot for us allowing others to be more freed up.

Josh Chapman from Alabama in the third maybe? 3-4 NT.

[Superman]

We wouldnt have to trade for Mario because he's a free agent & cutting Freeney and signing a younger, bigger DE may be a good Idea. Or even keep Freeney and let Mathis walk and sign Mario to play OLB in 3-4 or DE in 4-3.

If Mario Williams isn't franchise tagged by the Texans, he'll be prohibitively expensive. No thank you.

[Smitto]

I'd be exaggerating if I said he never played a down at linebacker, but not by much. He was a defensive end, scouted as a potential OLB for a 3-4 team because of his size, but he's always had his hand in the ground.

No he did not.

The Hendricks award is given to the nations top Defensive end.

If people think he would make a good OLB that is fine. But don't make up lies about him playing out of position at DE.

Which is what im saying, Jerry Hughes played OLB ASWELL as DE... its not like he never played OLB before he played that on some plays in college

[JoKeR]

What if he doesn't try to implement the 3-4 in Indy. He worked hard and was instrumental in transitioning the Ravens away from their 3-4 defense.

Im also thinking he's going with a 4-3 but just calling it a 4-3 isn't descriptive enough.

[GatorColts]

I am just excited to see what he does with the D! Excited to see what players they try and bring in and who they draft!

[JoKeR]

As far as Mathis can play either OLB or DE position, how will Freeny be used is more interesting.

I think Freeney is going to be a casualty of change.

For one his production has fallen through the floor, it seems he's not close to his prime anymore. If that's Grigs point of view, then were paying him for the past and his salary is a huge cap hit next year. But who knows.

[Case]

Which is what im saying, Jerry Hughes played OLB ASWELL as DE... its not like he never played OLB before he played that on some plays in college

Ur right he did play olb as well don't listen to that guy up there. He was good at playing the position too.

[Superman]

Which is what im saying, Jerry Hughes played OLB ASWELL as DE... its not like he never played OLB before he played that on some plays in college

Except he really didn't play linebacker. He may have dropped into coverage a few times, or been used as a stand-up rusher a few times, but it wasn't very often. It's like calling Raheem Brock a linebacker because he played the "joker" role for us situationally. Jerry Hughes was an end in college.

Don't mean to split hairs, but there's this prevailing belief (as you can see from reading some of the comments in this thread) that he played outside linebacker in college, and Polian drafted him with the objective of turning him into an end. That's absolutely not accurate. He was always an end. The transition would have been him getting drafted by the Packers (who were looking at him) and using him as a stand-up pass rusher at OLB (like Clay Mathews). I personally think he'd excel in that role. He's got great leverage, he's fast and quick, and you can move him around. But that's not who or what he was in college.

By the way, there was talk in Indy of converting Robert Mathis to a linebacker back in his first couple years. He's become one heck of an end in the meantime. I will never like the Jerry Hughes pick, but I do think he can be a good player, if used correctly.

[ACollie17]

Uhhhh....we don't know Pagano is going to switch to a 3-4. He might just transform our current 4-3. Who said just because he ran the 3-4 in Baltimore means we have to run that here? He's worked with 4-3s before. Just saying.

[Coffeedrinker]

Ur right he did play olb as well don't listen to that guy up there. He was good at playing the position too.

Really, when? Please show one thing that shows he played LB. A news report, video clip, something.

[JoKeR]

If Hughes played OLB at all, you will find footage here.

[Coffeedrinker]

Im also thinking he's going with a 4-3 but just calling it a 4-3 isn't descriptive enough.

I don't think it's descriptive enough either. I only watched a few Ravens games this year and I really liked the D he implemented.

If he tries to implement a D like that in Indy, Bethea, Angerer, Wheeler, Conner, Nevis, Moala, Rucker, Powers, KT, Anderson, and perhaps even Caldwell should all be able to do well in that type of D. Mookie, Freeney, Mathis, Hughes, Lacey, Sims, Brackett could all see their roles diminished if not outright released.

Also remember it took Dungy 4 years to completely overhaul the defense. The only defensive player Dungy kept was Rob Morris. But I also think the new HC has more to work with defensively than Dungy had.

[Superman]

I don't think it's descriptive enough either. I only watched a few Ravens games this year and I really liked the D he implemented.

If he tries to implement a D like that in Indy, Bethea, Angerer, Wheeler, Conner, Nevis, Moala, Rucker, Powers, KT, Anderson, and perhaps even Caldwell should all be able to do well in that type of D. Mookie, Freeney, Mathis, Hughes, Lacey, Sims, Brackett could all see their roles diminished if not outright released.

Also remember it took Dungy 4 years to completely overhaul the defense. The only defensive player Dungy kept was Rob Morris. But I also think the new HC has more to work with defensively than Dungy had.

I don't see why Mathis and Hughes wouldn't fit.

[Coffeedrinker]

If Hughes played OLB at all, you will find footage here.

Thanks.

Looks like he played DE.

[Coffeedrinker]

I don't see why Mathis and Hughes wouldn't fit.

They may be able to. But the big knock on Hughes coming out of college was scouts didn't think he skills would translate to a 3-4 OLB. Same with Mathis. Mathis is very athletic for a DE but he doesn't have the agility to effectively change direction during a bootleg play, he's not going to be able to cover a TE or RB in coverage.

[Case]

Hughes was a de at tcu but on occasion tcu would put him standing up with 3 down lineman with only 3 "lb" and either rush him or drop him in coverage. That's pretty much playing olb. Not saying that was his position but he did play the role of an olb several times. Coming out of college on some scouting reports he was even listed as a de/olb because he could of easily played both according to some people.

[Smitto]

Except he really didn't play linebacker. He may have dropped into coverage a few times, or been used as a stand-up rusher a few times, but it wasn't very often. It's like calling Raheem Brock a linebacker because he played the "joker" role for us situationally. Jerry Hughes was an end in college.

Don't mean to split hairs, but there's this prevailing belief (as you can see from reading some of the comments in this thread) that he played outside linebacker in college, and Polian drafted him with the objective of turning him into an end. That's absolutely not accurate. He was always an end. The transition would have been him getting drafted by the Packers (who were looking at him) and using him as a stand-up pass rusher at OLB (like Clay Mathews). I personally think he'd excel in that role. He's got great leverage, he's fast and quick, and you can move him around. But that's not who or what he was in college.

By the way, there was talk in Indy of converting Robert Mathis to a linebacker back in his first couple years. He's become one heck of an end in the meantime. I will never like the Jerry Hughes pick, but I do think he can be a good player, if used correctly.

I agree with most of this, but then again what constitutes being a OLB? would you consider mario williams a OLB? all he does is blitz.... jerry has reat size and speed for the 3-4 which is why i think ppl pegged him more of a OLB not to mention he doesnt really have any signature moves in pass rushing which i think is critical if your gonna be a DE

[GwinnettColt]

I could see us target a NT early in this draft since we need our poor man's version of Haloti Ngata. I want Dontari Poe in the 2nd! He then could man the NT spot for us allowing others to be more freed up.

I love the Ravens' DT philosophy, a 340 lbs. guy who would get double teamed while an LB comes around the end and nails the RB or QB.

[ColtJ82]

Don't be disappointed when we don't switch to a 3-4. If anything, it would have to be a multiple year transition. They Patriots play a hybrid, but use more 4-3 sets. Wouldnt be surpprised to see something like this given that we have some personnel that fits. Our secondary would get destroyed if we switched to a 3-4.