Pagano Envisions Freeney as Suggs

[Superman]

Of course you don't think there is a decline because you have openly admitted to throwing out 2009 and forward, so all this is moot.....Although I'd like to know why Mathis has stayed in line with his career averages over that same span, in the same system.....

Statistical decline is obvious. I'm talking about physical decline.

And can you answer me this: Do you think the Colts defensive scheme since the Super Bowl has hindered the ability of Freeney and Mathis to rush the passer?

[IndyTrav]

Statistical decline is obvious. I'm talking about physical decline.

And can you answer me this: Do you think the Colts defensive scheme since the Super Bowl has hindered the ability of Freeney and Mathis to rush the passer?

No. But the scores this year did.

Freeney's lone, singular, only job is, "go get that QB".....No scheme or def. alignment changes that.....Teams have always quick passed us, its nothing new. We've always allowed 10yd cushions. The only difference was we were winning......

[The Peytonator]

Also, pass rushers usually have a pretty long shelf life. Look at John Abraham. Dude's been in the league for like 30 years, and he's still producing. A pass rusher may have a down year, from a production standpoint, but I'd put that more on circumstances that have nothing to do with ability. Last year's circumstances would have been a terrible scheme combined with the fact that we were always losing and teams didn't have to throw against us late in games.

[Superman]

No. But the scores this year did.

Freeney's lone, singular, only job is, "go get that QB".....No scheme or def. alignment changes that.....Teams have always quick passed us, its nothing new. We've always allowed 10yd cushions. The only difference was we were winning......

We see that entirely differently. We've already been through the whole Freeney argument, you and I. We see that differently, too.

[Superman]

Thanks!!!!!!!!!!!!!Now I am mad! You need to stop it......NOW

What the...???

[Gonzo]

Both Freeney and Suggs contributed 29% to their respective teams total sacks last year. The Colts sucked out loud last year, it's hard to blame some of our stars for struggling.

[HarryTheCat]

The LB core is probably going to look like this:

OLB: Freeney

ILB: Angerer

ILB: Conner

OLB: Mathis

and then in a 4-3, it will probably look like this:

OLB: Conner

MLB: Angerer

OLB: Ernie Sims/Draftee/Other free agent

Now throw a big ol' beast of a Nose Tackle into the mix, add two CBs who can actually COVER, and this could turn out to be a defense that gives some offensive coordinators some sleepless nights.

[jvan1973]

Thanks!!!!!!!!!!!!!Now I am mad! You need to stop it......NOW

Medication dude

[dgambill]

I'm sorry for my walls of text. I apologize. I won't apologize of where I think Freeneys career is headed. He is not going to get better. I'm sorry. Can he do things effectively in our new defense. I am sure we can find things for him. I just don't see him being the dynamic playmaker that Suggs is. I have reservations on Mathis but I am more confident in him because over the years he has shown the ability to play the run rather well and has shown more lateral quickness while still getting just as many sacks.

I know we don't have a Suggs on on our team but that guy is all over the place and a terror. I don't think you can put Freeney back there and do the same things. I think if you don't put Freeney's hand on the ground and let him rush only he will be useless if not a risk. Someone getting paid 19 million should not be a liability in the defense. Even if he gets extended you are paying above 10-12 million per year for an aging 4-3 DE playing in a 3-4. Perhaps he has one more good year in him...maybe that is what the FO thinks or wants to see but I am all for pursuing other options but not retaining him moving forward. That money tied up into an aging player on the decline to me isn't a good investment.

This team needs to keep getting younger and look at developing talent that will be in place to compete for a division crown in 3 or 4 years. Freeney was a great part of our past Super Bowl success...but he won't be around for our next Super Bowl success so lets invest in some players that will/could. I know I my view is not going to be popular because of how many Freeney fans are on here but I've watched him and he is a step slower and is single minded and no matter what the defensive coordinator did or didn't do it doesn't affect if he can get to the quarterback. His production is slipping and players in their 30s don't typically just start turning their career around then.

The topic is Pagano envisions Freeney as Suggs...and I don't see it. I don't think he can be nearly as dynamic as Suggs. Can he put his hand down and rush...more than likely...but that doesn't make him a similar fit as Suggs. Freeney should be Freeney and if they try to play him like Suggs I think will be a bad mistake.

[Superman]

I'm sorry for my walls of text. I apologize. I won't apologize of where I think Freeneys career is headed. He is not going to get better. I'm sorry. Can he do things effectively in our new defense. I am sure we can find things for him. I just don't see him being the dynamic playmaker that Suggs is. I have reservations on Mathis but I am more confident in him because over the years he has shown the ability to play the run rather well and has shown more lateral quickness while still getting just as many sacks.

I know we don't have a Suggs on on our team but that guy is all over the place and a terror. I don't think you can put Freeney back there and do the same things. I think if you don't put Freeney's hand on the ground and let him rush only he will be useless if not a risk. Someone getting paid 19 million should not be a liability in the defense. Even if he gets extended you are paying above 10-12 million per year for an aging 4-3 DE playing in a 3-4. Perhaps he has one more good year in him...maybe that is what the FO thinks or wants to see but I am all for pursuing other options but not retaining him moving forward. That money tied up into an aging player on the decline to me isn't a good investment.

This team needs to keep getting younger and look at developing talent that will be in place to compete for a division crown in 3 or 4 years. Freeney was a great part of our past Super Bowl success...but he won't be around for our next Super Bowl success so lets invest in some players that will/could. I know I my view is not going to be popular because of how many Freeney fans are on here but I've watched him and he is a step slower and is single minded and no matter what the defensive coordinator did or didn't do it doesn't affect if he can get to the quarterback. His production is slipping and players in their 30s don't typically just start turning their career around then.

The topic is Pagano envisions Freeney as Suggs...and I don't see it. I don't think he can be nearly as dynamic as Suggs. Can he put his hand down and rush...more than likely...but that doesn't make him a similar fit as Suggs. Freeney should be Freeney and if they try to play him like Suggs I think will be a bad mistake.

Let me just say, I consider myself a Freeney fan, but I think he should either be extended or traded. I like the idea of him in Pagano's defense, but I do think the best thing for the franchise is to move him, get a pick or two, and move on. I love Freeney, and over the years he's been our second most important player. But that doesn't mean I can't be objective about him.

By the way, to the bolded: What is "a Suggs"? Just a pet peeve of mine...

Anyways, my point is that this topic has sparked a lot of "Suggs is better than Freeney because he does so much more for his team and has more production" type comments, and I don't think that's a fair comparison. Suggs has a different assignment for his team than Freeney has had. But comparing the physical attributes and athleticism of both players, I don't see anything that makes me think Freeney can't physically do what Suggs does.

His numbers haven't been impressive for a couple years, but I sincerely believe that Polian, Coyer and Caldwell were off their collective rocker with the defensive scheme they employed since the Super Bowl. People (like IndyTrav) will say that the Colts have been playing the same scheme for years, and the main difference is that we were able to score more, but there was a drastic scheme change with the secondary in the Super Bowl, and it hurt the pass rush, which then hurt the coverage, and so on. Freeney is obviously older, and he can't perform at a high level forever, but I see no physical decline. I saw a coaching staff that neutralized their best weapon. The decline is coming, but I can't call his decreased production a decline, not with the scheme we were playing.

The other thing is that I think Suggs' role in coverage has been overstated. Like I said earlier, I'd love to see a breakdown of how many snaps Suggs actually dropped into coverage, vs. rushing the passer, which I think will put this whole coverage topic to bed. And then, from there, how many times he was actually in man coverage, which is probably harder to tell, but FO can do a lot with their film study. Anyways, I don't think Suggs is in coverage any considerable amount of time. Wade Phillips has said that he used Demarcus Ware in coverage less than 5% of the time, and planned to use Mario Williams in coverage even less. As a matter of fact, early last season Williams was in a three-point stance a lot more than I expected him to be, so it's very possible to run a sensible hybrid and take advantage of your best players' best attributes.

Lastly, I think any team that can't contend for a division title and/or playoff berth within three years is doing something wrong. Even if you're in a division with a super power (like the Colts with 7 titles in 9 years), you should be able to get a wild card in there. If we're not considerably better record-wise in 2013, I'll be disappointed. I expect us to be better on film next year, whether that translates to wins or not. But in our division, we should be in the division mix sooner than most say.

[Gavin]

Simply put we brought in other linebackers earlier on they need their shot and we need cap room

[Andy]

By the way, to the bolded: What is "a Suggs"? Just a pet peeve of mine...

I shouldn't really be talking for dgam, but I think he means a DPOY type of OLB.

If you ask me, I think that these two should excel in the OLB spot since they are both pass rushers and that's what 3-4 OLBs do most of the time. Not saying they'll be DPOYs, but I think they'll do well in those spots. Maybe it will revive Freeney's career since he's been in a decline for the past couple of years.

BTW, the only hope right now is to get an extension as there are no teams that are talking to the COlts, and I would think no one would want him due to his cap hit.

[Superman]

I shouldn't really be talking for dgam, but I think he means a DPOY type of OLB.

Yeah, I know what it means, it's just... I don't like it. And everyone does it: sports radio, talking heads, and now fans. Like I said, just a silly little pet peeve of mine.

[Creekside]

just don't see it.....I'm with Bill Polian and dgambill on Freeney....and this: Mathis and Freeney need to be rushing at the same time. ....will be hard to do with one less player in coverage.....I hope Pagano proves me wrong, but I don't see an effective 3-4 defense with our current roster...can't just scheme your way to success...got to have the players....the Colts don't have 3-4 players right now. They just don't.

[Andy]

just don't see it.....I'm with Bill Polian and dgambill on Freeney....and this: Mathis and Freeney need to be rushing at the same time. ....will be hard to do with one less player in coverage.....I hope Pagano proves me wrong, but I don't see an effective 3-4 defense with our current roster...can't just scheme your way to success...got to have the players....the Colts don't have 3-4 players right now. They just don't.

Like this team, the 3-4 is a work in progress, the defense will not excel in it's first year with a new defense.

[chad72]

A guy like this is who I want to be playing LB in 3-4 and 4-3 alignments: Miles Burris, San Diego State - make a note of his name, folks

http://www.cbssports...99/miles-burris

http://bleacherrepor...al-of-the-draft

http://www.kffl.com/...be-draft-option

[dgambill]

Sorry about the pet peeve. When I am on this board I take some short cuts with my grammer. No excuse and I apologize for how it sounds. All mostly I was getting at was Suggs does a lot more than simply put his hand in the dirt and rush. A lot. That is how he had 2 ints and 70 tackles. I know they are in different schemes so it isn't fair to compare. Simply looking at Freeney's skills (and they are still immense) I think he belongs in a 4-3 where he has LB behind him and you can turn him loose. To also be paying him that kind of money on a team with cap problems and switching to a new scheme I would like us to retain that money and help us transition next year as well as meet requirements this year.

I love Freeney too. I just don't like his fit. I know we won't be playing a traditional 3-4 all the time. Moving forward I see it more productive for the team to take the money and use it on a young OLB and upgrade other spots in the next few years. To me Freeney still has some left in the tank but only for a year or two. Get some value out of him with picks or cap relief before we get nothing for him at the end of the year.

I know I sound negative but Freeney's play is dropping off. Will it get resurrected...guess we will find out. I hope yes but I don't have a lot of faith in that. Again. My arguement was more Freeney can't really play Suggs position...because Suggs does so much more than just rush and I guess we don't see that out of Freeney. Pagano should have said I envision him more like Ware or Williams then. That perhaps fit a little better.

[Gavin]

anyway ya look at it a 19 million or 14 million$ experiment at linebacker is insane, put someone their thats at least played linebacker before and improve the team elsewhere, common sense

[BrentMc11]

Medication dude

I know right?.....Sometimes ya just got to let it out....

[unitas-we-stand]

Its still up in the air the news is hear say and I'm sure we would all agree that keeping mathis wayne and freeney would be our best bet.luckily irsay is leaving alt of it in the hands of pagano we need to keep our vet Ds if we at gonna stand a chance this season

[John Dee]

Statistical decline is obvious. I'm talking about physical decline.

And can you answer me this: Do you think the Colts defensive scheme since the Super Bowl has hindered the ability of Freeney and Mathis to rush the passer?

Mathis played the run, D Free ........ not. Free is no Suggs. lets not even go there. Look TS's stats up against OUR 19m dolla man. It's sad.

[John Dee]

Like this team, the 3-4 is a work in progress, the defense will not excel in it's first year with a new defense.

Why? tackling and hitting are fundamental? Right?

Hit hard, block, and tackle and Indy will be better than most think.

And don't turn the ball over.... This is the key.

[mvbighead]

Why didn't you give Suggs 2011 stats?? It would seem more relevent. Suggs had 70 tackles, 7 forced fumbles, 14 sacks, and 2 ints. What did Freeney do? Oh wait he had 19 tackles and 8.5 sacks and 2 forced fumbles. Why are you cherry picking stats? Especially a year when Suggs was hurt most of the year? I don't expect us to get a Suggs in FA but I will tell you one thing. Suggs didn't just have his hand in the dirt all the time. He played back in coverage A LOT and had more ints than any of our secondary. The fact is I don't think Freeney has the skills to play in coverage..much less be disciplined in run coverage as he has never ever shown any ability to do that. He is one dimensional...and been great at pass rushing (one of the best) but he is perhaps one of the worst run defenders in the league. The whole dropping and adding weight thing is absolute crap. It hasn't helped him in run defense at all and hasn't helped him drop in coverage. His use of outside speed rush, spin move, and once in a while using a bull rush is all that has ever helped him do the ONE and ONLY thing he knows how to do and that is get after the qb.

Look that is great. That is worth a lot. There are few that can do what he has but for me I've watched the last three years his stats and affect on the game steadily decline. Maybe I'm wrong but the stats don't say so. So I apologize if I don't get excited to see if our aging lineman that is on the decline, that has never been able to run defend, never covered a TE or RB switch positions and expect him to perform at a continued high level...oh all the while eating up 19 million dollars. Sorry if I would like to invest that money in our youth and future FAs because even if we don't use it this year we can roll it over into next. Heck as of right now we will be over the salary cap by almost 3 million after we sign our draft picks.

I love the Colts. I want us to get back to being great. I want our defense to be awesome. I think it will have some excitement for the first time in years. As of now I will trust Pagano and staff to find a way to use Freeney and use him at what he is great at. I just don't see him having the production of Suggs or any elite OLB. Guess we just disagree but I'm not going to change my mind until he proves he can do things he hasn't shown he can do his whole career so forgive me if I have doubts.

You wanna know what my point is? In 4 years, Suggs did nothing special compared to Freeney. And in one season he blows it up. You're spouting off about how Freeney has only done this or that in one season. I neglected this season as most of us know Suggs was defensive MVP. But if you look at his previous 4 seasons, they were pretty ordinary and far from special.

You've gone on and on about great Suggs is, and how Freeney won't hold a candle to him. But the reality is, Suggs was no better than Freeney at all until just last year. And, in 10 seasons, Freeney has 102.5 sacks compared to Suggs' 9 seasons and 82.5 sacks. He'd need to notch 20 next year to get close to Freeney, and he hasn't shown he can do that.

And, during Suggs MVP season... who was his defensive coordinator? Pagano. If that man can get the best out of Freeney as he did with Suggs, we could all be in for a very good surprise this season.

The only point I am trying to make is that Suggs is not special when compared to Freeney. One great season does not make him a better player. And his one great season had two less sacks than Freeney's best. That said, he's a good player. As is Freeney.

[Tark The Shark]

It will be hard for me to say that Freeney will be a Suggs type of player where he rushes the passer mostly. With Freeney not being able to play every down like he used to, which happens to all aging players, He might not get the stats that he has had in previous years. And with a scheme change I think there will be a learning curve for everyone on the team, it will take some games before they really start to gel.

[IndyTrav]

You've gone on and on about great Suggs is, and how Freeney won't hold a candle to him. But the reality is, Suggs was no better than Freeney at all until just last year. And, in 10 seasons, Freeney has 102.5 sacks compared to Suggs' 9 seasons and 82.5 sacks. He'd need to notch 20 next year to get close to Freeney, and he hasn't shown he can do that.

20 sacks you say? Let's just ignore the 7 more INT, 2 Tds, 31PD, and 276 more tackles. No big deal.

Dwight=ONLY job. Get to QB

Suggs= Do it all.

And Suggs is "only" 20 sacks away from Dwight in a season less. Sad really.

[oldunclemark]

But is Suggs more rep and mouth than game.

can you go by sacks and not include pressuers or hits

Just asking

[Warhorse]

Yeah, I know what it means, it's just... I don't like it. And everyone does it: sports radio, talking heads, and now fans. Like I said, just a silly little pet peeve of mine.

And then they start calling our coach "Pags".

Just stop.

[KarlKuffs]

20 sacks you say? Let's just ignore the 7 more INT, 2 Tds, 31PD, and 276 more tackles. No big deal.

Dwight=ONLY job. Get to QB

Suggs= Do it all.

And Suggs is "only" 20 sacks away from Dwight in a season less. Sad really.

Tackles? What a completely irrelevant metric by which to compare the two. Freeney's job as a DE was to rush the passer & funnel tackles to the inside.

That's about as relevant as judging NT's by their sack #'s.

[IndyTrav]

Tackles? What a completely irrelevant metric by which to compare the two. Freeney's job as a DE was to rush the passer & funnel tackles to the inside.

That's about as relevant as judging NT's by their sack #'s.

It's completely relevant to the topic we were discussing. How can you cite Dwight's sack #s as a counter point to his being better than Suggs, without taking into account what else Suggs had to do?

It's like saying I ran a 5min mile on a track, while you ran a 6min mile thru the Appalachian Mountains...sure my mile was faster, but yours was a lot harder....Sure Dwight's got 20 more sacks, but he has significantly less everything else.....

[KarlKuffs]

.

[KarlKuffs]

It's completely relevant to the topic we were discussing. How can you cite Dwight's sack #s as a counter point to his being better than Suggs, without taking into account what else Suggs had to do?

It's like saying I ran a 5min mile on a track, while you ran a 6min mile thru the Appalachian Mountains...sure my mile was faster, but yours was a lot harder....Sure Dwight's got 20 more sacks, but he has significantly less everything else.....

The two haven't even played the same position. Tackles and interceptions are MUCH easier to come by for a 3-4 lb than they are a 4-3 de.

Or, to use your example, we're comparing mile times where Freeney has to run with combat boots thru the appalachian mountains, whereas Suggs is wearing .5 oz Nike running shoes while running indoors.

[IndyTrav]

The two haven't even played the same position. Tackles and interceptions are MUCH easier to come by for a 3-4 lb than they are a 4-3 de.

Or, to use your example, we're comparing mile times where Freeney has to run with combat boots thru the appalachian mountains, whereas Suggs is wearing .5 oz Nike running shoes while running indoors.

I'm not disagreeing with that at all.

But the previous poster says "well Freeney has 20 more sacks"......you can't play that game unless you want to start mentioning what I mentioned above....bc sacks are easier to come by when your only job is to sack....

[Mameluc]

20 sacks you say? Let's just ignore the 7 more INT, 2 Tds, 31PD, and 276 more tackles. No big deal.

Dwight=ONLY job. Get to QB

Suggs= Do it all.

And Suggs is "only" 20 sacks away from Dwight in a season less. Sad really.

i mean thats good, it shows what kind of all around suggs is...but honestly, do you want your pressure guy, the guy who is supposed to make the sacks have sacks or pass deffenses? quite honestly i dont care if my pass rusher has 0 interceptions, as long as teams are worried of him.

[KarlKuffs]

I'm not disagreeing with that at all.

But the previous poster says "well Freeney has 20 more sacks"......you can't play that game unless you want to start mentioning what I mentioned above....bc sacks are easier to come by when your only job is to sack....

True. Where Suggs is put in position to accumulate alot of tackes, so is Freeney in regards to sacks. I don't even think you can really compare the two.

I will say that I have a hard time believing that Freeney will match Suggs' production when playing 3-4 lb this year. I don't think he'll even be very close. Suggs is a more complete player, no doubt.

[IndyTrav]

i mean thats good, it shows what kind of all around suggs is...but honestly, do you want your pressure guy, the guy who is supposed to make the sacks have sacks or pass deffenses? quite honestly i dont care if my pass rusher has 0 interceptions, as long as teams are worried of him.

I want both from a 3-4 OLB. And in Suggs case last year they were prob worried about Sacks and him tipping the ball/intercepting it. Or smashing the RB.....I truly hope Freeney is capable of all of that. I just have my doubts.

[Gavin]

Simply put this argument can go on and on forever, fact is Suggs is an all around player but the positions require different things be done, cant compare the two but if I had to pick one Ill go Suggs, why?

1.Freeny is 32, Suggs is 29

2. Freeny never played in 3-4

3.Freeny is do to make ALOT more this season regardless of where he plays than Suggs is

4.Suggs is the complete player at this point in his career

5.Double team Freeny and he is useless ya have to know if Suggs is dropping back or rushing, so far with Freeny you dont, you know what hes going to do

Was and is Freeny more valuable to the Colts then Suggs, of course Freeny is, if the Ravens didnt have Suggs the Ravens still could function, IN THE PAST before Mathis, it was double team Freeny and the rest of the defense was >>>ed the good teams figured that out

[mvbighead]

It's completely relevant to the topic we were discussing. How can you cite Dwight's sack #s as a counter point to his being better than Suggs, without taking into account what else Suggs had to do?

It's like saying I ran a 5min mile on a track, while you ran a 6min mile thru the Appalachian Mountains...sure my mile was faster, but yours was a lot harder....Sure Dwight's got 20 more sacks, but he has significantly less everything else.....

Yeah, cus he hasn't had to do it... yet. Getting to the QB is one of the toughest things in the NFL. They don't pay guys like Jake Long and Joe Thomas 10/million a season because their job is easy. Getting tackles is another story. Cato June had a high number of tackles in one of his seasons. This was largely due to him chasing people down from behind.

So let me ask, what is better? Tackling a guy after he makes a five yard gain or forcing a guy to re-direct his path and get tackled by someone else for a 1 yard gain.

Not to say one can easily figure out how effective a player is, but tackles are one of the most misleading stats in football.

[dgambill]

Simply put this argument can go on and on forever, fact is Suggs is an all around player but the positions require different things be done, cant compare the two but if I had to pick one Ill go Suggs, why? 1.Freeny is 32, Suggs is 29 2. Freeny never played in 3-4 3.Freeny is do to make ALOT more this season regardless of where he plays than Suggs is 4.Suggs is the complete player at this point in his career 5.Double team Freeny and he is useless ya have to know if Suggs is dropping back or rushing, so far with Freeny you dont, you know what hes going to do Was and is Freeny more valuable to the Colts then Suggs, of course Freeny is, if the Ravens didnt have Suggs the Ravens still could function, IN THE PAST before Mathis, it was double team Freeny and the rest of the defense was >>>ed the good teams figured that out

See this is the thing. Freeney is one dimensional. I firmly believe this until proven otherwise. If the offense knows what Freeney is doing you just account for him and pick him up (not as easy done). Fact is Suggs is unpredictable. He may come..he may fall back..he may play the run. That is what he does. That is why I don't think Pagano envisioning Freeney as Suggs is anything more than talk.

People first and foremost think of Suggs/Freeney as pass rushers...but upon closer inspection you see all the things Suggs does that makes him special..and what makes him dangerous because the opposing offense doesn't know what he is going to do. If Pagano would have said he will use Freeney like Mario Williams last year or like Dallas uses Ware then that would be a much more plausible comment. Freeney is great at what he does but to think he is going to have the same impact on a game as Suggs does I think is quite a reach. Personally, I would rather use that money and future cap space on a true 3-4 olb or to upgrade other areas. Some of us just don't agree. Some see Freeney's last 3 years and see him on the decline..and see his huge contract and see the change in defense and see a change in roster as necessary. Some want to hold on to Freeney returning to dominance. We shall see I guess.

[Superman]

Mathis played the run, D Free ........ not. Free is no Suggs. lets not even go there. Look TS's stats up against OUR 19m dolla man. It's sad.

They played two different positions. Like I said earlier, comparing stats between Suggs and Freeney is like comparing stats between Eric Weddle and Nnamdi Asomugha. I'm not trying to downplay Suggs' stats, or upplay (?) Freeney's, I just don't think it's a straight-across comparison.

[Superman]

Sorry about the pet peeve. When I am on this board I take some short cuts with my grammer. No excuse and I apologize for how it sounds.

No problem. I wasn't trying to be a jerk. You can say whatever you want.

All mostly I was getting at was Suggs does a lot more than simply put his hand in the dirt and rush. A lot. That is how he had 2 ints and 70 tackles. I know they are in different schemes so it isn't fair to compare.

Yes, he has different responsibilities than Freeney, which explains the 70 tackles and two interceptions. But he's not dropping into coverage any considerable amount of time. The two picks are impressive, but those didn't come from superb man coverage up the seam. Those two picks don't make Suggs a good cover man. He's not.

Simply looking at Freeney's skills (and they are still immense) I think he belongs in a 4-3 where he has LB behind him and you can turn him loose. To also be paying him that kind of money on a team with cap problems and switching to a new scheme I would like us to retain that money and help us transition next year as well as meet requirements this year.

I love Freeney too. I just don't like his fit. I know we won't be playing a traditional 3-4 all the time. Moving forward I see it more productive for the team to take the money and use it on a young OLB and upgrade other spots in the next few years. To me Freeney still has some left in the tank but only for a year or two. Get some value out of him with picks or cap relief before we get nothing for him at the end of the year.

Based on the $19 million cap hit, I agree. And I also agree that Freeney's best position is 4-3 end. But I think he has the physical tools to play that other position. It's a matter of whether he can adjust, not whether he's athletic enough. And I get kind of excited at the thought of him having a more involved position on the defense, because he's too good of an athlete to be used so one-dimensional.

I know I sound negative but Freeney's play is dropping off. Will it get resurrected...guess we will find out. I hope yes but I don't have a lot of faith in that. Again. My arguement was more Freeney can't really play Suggs position...because Suggs does so much more than just rush and I guess we don't see that out of Freeney. Pagano should have said I envision him more like Ware or Williams then. That perhaps fit a little better.

Pagano has never coached Ware or Williams. He was comparing him to the player he's coached.

And like I keep saying, I don't think Freeney's play is dropping off. I think the coaches have diminished his role with nonsensical schemes. When I watch him play, I still see a player that can't be blocked one on one, that teams gameplan for and double-team, and who still gets past blockers regularly. That's why I say I don't see a physical decline so far. I'm sure it's coming, but that's not the reason for so little statistical impact these past couple years. The primary reason, if you ask me, has been the poor defensive schemes.