New look Defensive Line

[Scott Pennock 2,036]

With the loss of Turay for the rest of the year and Sheard coming back healthy I think we'll still be okay going forward.

 

While neither are wotld beaters I do like the recent signings of Trevon Coley and Carl Davis. They add both starting experience (Coley) and depth (Davis) as well as the obvious - SIZE.

 

Stewart has already supplanted Hunt as the starter at DT, which allows Hunt to work in as a UT or at DE - which is good for goalline and short down and distance downs.

 

Sheard and Houston are both +/- 270 lbs, and Coley, Stewart and Davis are all 310-320 lbs.

 

That leaves Hunt at 295 and Autry at 285 as the 'little guys'.

 

This added size should help shut down the run a bit better, but now we're going to need Lewis to get healthy and add some pass rush, Muhammad to continue to grow and for Banogu to add a little as well in Turay's absence.

 

The most interesting thing is we saw both Coley and Davis up close and personal in both the scrimmages and the preseason game versus the Browns - so Ballard obviously saw something useful in them!

 

Conley really intrigues me as he has played a lot and posted pretty darn good stats for a nose tackle in the Browns system. He 'could' supplant Stewart as a starter at some point? 

 

Thoughts?

 

 

[indyagent17 1,367]

I agree Hunt is much better inside and we need some kids to "grow up" like Banagu and Lewis. 

[jchandler7 259]

I like the interior DL depth we have collected over the last couple weeks. Really glad they are trying to build up the DL to stop the run. However, I am not overly excited about our situation at DE as far as pass rushers.  We now have 6 interior DL and only 4 DE's. Muhammad and Benagu are going to have to step up. Unless the coaches believe that Lewis is the answer on the outside, I'd really like to see them drop Franklin, Adam's or Milligan and grab someone like Shane Ray or trade for a situational pass rusher. 

[MarquisJ 409]

 

[krunk 11,959]

Might as well go ahead and pick up Shane Ray.

[EastStreet 2,035]

2 hours ago, MarquisJ said:

 

 

Vanderdoesn't was such a huge talent going into college. Huge bust IMO. Still has a lot of talent if he can get his head straight and be consistent. 

 

Without Turay, Banogu will need to grow up faster.

[Scott Pennock 2,036]

Ray is a DE that everyone keeps trying to play at OLB.

 

Perhaps a change of pace back to DE would help him regain his pass rushing prowess - even if he is just a situational player. 

[Perfect_Clark 3,701]

We're gonna have to lean heavily on our veterans to contain Watson and hopefully get to him a lot on Sunday.

[holeymoley99 71]

Coley and Davis give us some beef, wouldnt mind seeing Ray brought in if Bangou isnt showing improvement (Branch either not big on Vanderdoes). Guess they feel Gerri Green isnt ready yet, figured he would be brought up last week.   We need to maul Texans weak O line which is now down a starting RT Tytus Howard. Starting to fear Hunt isnt in a slump but is regressing as a player, hope I am wrong.

[CurBeatElite 427]

Personally, I thought Lewis was a couple steps slow last year in terms of being an edge pass rusher.  Could be due to the face he was coming off an injury and didn't really see his first action until ~1/2 through the year.  Seemed to me like he was best suited to either play in running situations on the edge, or help push the pocket back in the middle on passing situations.  

 

Until he can show he can stay healthy, I have very little faith in him being a savior for this team, especially as a pass rusher.  I think with the speed with have at LB (mainly Leonard, Okerere, and Speed), our best bet at helping Houston get to the QB is to have some schematic blitzes with some of the bigger guys we just picked up hopefully eating blockers to free up our LBs.  Hopefully Banangu steps up sooner rather than later as well.

[MB-ColtsFan 1,818]

I still have hopes that Muhammad steps up and shines.  He has shown flashes.  Just needs to continue to progress.  He did okay against KC.

[BleedBlu8792 1,436]

3 hours ago, CurBeatElite said:

Personally, I thought Lewis was a couple steps slow last year in terms of being an edge pass rusher.  Could be due to the face he was coming off an injury and didn't really see his first action until ~1/2 through the year.  Seemed to me like he was best suited to either play in running situations on the edge, or help push the pocket back in the middle on passing situations.  

 

Until he can show he can stay healthy, I have very little faith in him being a savior for this team, especially as a pass rusher.  I think with the speed with have at LB (mainly Leonard, Okerere, and Speed), our best bet at helping Houston get to the QB is to have some schematic blitzes with some of the bigger guys we just picked up hopefully eating blockers to free up our LBs.  Hopefully Banangu steps up sooner rather than later as well.

 

He needs to be back down at his college weight of 255-260 and left alone playing behind Sheard. Trying to add weight to him and plugging him inside obviously isn't working. 

[Jdubu 1,087]

On 10/14/2019 at 5:22 PM, Scott Pennock said:

With the loss of Turay for the rest of the year and Sheard coming back healthy I think we'll still be okay going forward.

 

While neither are wotld beaters I do like the recent signings of Trevon Coley and Carl Davis. They add both starting experience (Coley) and depth (Davis) as well as the obvious - SIZE.

 

Stewart has already supplanted Hunt as the starter at DT, which allows Hunt to work in as a UT or at DE - which is good for goalline and short down and distance downs.

 

Sheard and Houston are both +/- 270 lbs, and Coley, Stewart and Davis are all 310-320 lbs.

 

That leaves Hunt at 295 and Autry at 285 as the 'little guys'.

 

This added size should help shut down the run a bit better, but now we're going to need Lewis to get healthy and add some pass rush, Muhammad to continue to grow and for Banogu to add a little as well in Turay's absence.

 

The most interesting thing is we saw both Coley and Davis up close and personal in both the scrimmages and the preseason game versus the Browns - so Ballard obviously saw something useful in them!

 

Conley really intrigues me as he has played a lot and posted pretty darn good stats for a nose tackle in the Browns system. He 'could' supplant Stewart as a starter at some point? 

 

Thoughts?

 

 

I’d have concerns that either of these late pick ups will do anything more than average work. Hope I’m wrong 

 

On 10/14/2019 at 5:35 PM, indyagent17 said:

I agree Hunt is much better inside and we need some kids to "grow up" like Banagu and Lewis. 

exactly. If the young rushers can’t get their trade to cross over into the NFL, we are stuck. 
 

On 10/14/2019 at 5:48 PM, jchandler7 said:

I like the interior DL depth we have collected over the last couple weeks. Really glad they are trying to build up the DL to stop the run. However, I am not overly excited about our situation at DE as far as pass rushers.  We now have 6 interior DL and only 4 DE's. Muhammad and Benagu are going to have to step up. Unless the coaches believe that Lewis is the answer on the outside, I'd really like to see them drop Franklin, Adam's or Milligan and grab someone like Shane Ray or trade for a situational pass rusher. 

I would definitely take a Shane Ray over a Milligan everyday. He was an undersized kid coming into the league and sort of that tweener but he has surely added nfl muscle and has real nfl experience. He could be an asset at pass rusher. Not sure what he would provide if the run came at him. He is surely worthy of a try. 

[Imgrandojji 965]

Davis may wind up being a big help.  He adds some meat to an undersized line and may wind up being a big asset against the run

[CurBeatElite 427]

15 hours ago, BleedBlu8792 said:

 

He needs to be back down at his college weight of 255-260 and left alone playing behind Sheard. Trying to add weight to him and plugging him inside obviously isn't working. 

 

Maybe.... but I still think he's a little slow to be an above average pass rusher, and at his college weight, he may be a little small to be an above average run defender.  Maybe weight gain is leading to his injuries though?  It seems like his injury last year was a foot injury and this year is a knee (both parts of the body which become more prone to injury if you're carrying too much weight).

[BleedBlu8792 1,436]

3 hours ago, CurBeatElite said:

 

Maybe.... but I still think he's a little slow to be an above average pass rusher, and at his college weight, he may be a little small to be an above average run defender.  Maybe weight gain is leading to his injuries though?  It seems like his injury last year was a foot injury and this year is a knee (both parts of the body which become more prone to injury if you're carrying too much weight).

 

I said a variation of this in another thread. I watched Tyquan his whole time at Ohio State. He's not a guy who will "wow" with athletic ability. So I never understood the whole "add weight and make him a pass rusher on the inside" mentality. He was a decent pass rusher, in college, but at best he was going to be a strong side DE at this level. He can set/play the edge well, but as you said, he was never going to be a high profile guy on the outside. I still believe he could be a decent stop gap for Sheard if they decide to move on from him next year, but I'm not so sure that the team doesn't move on from Lewis first.

[CurBeatElite 427]

On 10/16/2019 at 4:12 PM, BleedBlu8792 said:

 

I said a variation of this in another thread. I watched Tyquan his whole time at Ohio State. He's not a guy who will "wow" with athletic ability. So I never understood the whole "add weight and make him a pass rusher on the inside" mentality. He was a decent pass rusher, in college, but at best he was going to be a strong side DE at this level. He can set/play the edge well, but as you said, he was never going to be a high profile guy on the outside. I still believe he could be a decent stop gap for Sheard if they decide to move on from him next year, but I'm not so sure that the team doesn't move on from Lewis first.

 

Lewis is hurt/injured way too much so far.  I root for him because he's a Colts' player, but if he can't stay on the field, we have to move on from him.