2013 FA Thread (Updates on OP) New: Merling, Brace, Pashos, Trueblood, EJBig, Tapp, White, Williams, MATTHEWS; Re-up: Rex, Hall, Davis, Paulsen, DY, RJax, Lich, Sundberg, Baker, Sav, Golston, Kehl, Polumbus; Paycuts: Carriker, Moss, BMeri, J. Wilson

[Bozman777]

this is the free agency thread, mate

EDIT: But I read the article you posted. Seems like a solid dude.

Sorry bout that. I just didnt think free agency was gonna net us a NT so I threw him in the mix.

[skins2323]

Alot of ppl are saying Nield is our future at NT, then there was a link to the guy out of BYU Fuga. While everyone can agree that Cofield had a great year and was very disruptive, peopl argue that he is undersized to play NT. Often, its the same ppl arguing that Cofield is undersized who then argue "what about Nield" or "draft Fuga or another guy".

Nield is listed at at 325, and Fuga from BYU is 315 lbs. Cofield is listed at 320. So my question is that if Cofield is "undersized" at NT, then how are these other guys upgrades? IMO, Baker has the closest to a "true NT" body as we have at 334 lbs. Also for those of you about to throw Ngata's name out there, he is not a NT. He lines up EVERYWHERE from DE and NT in a 3 man front to a DE and DT in a 4 man front. He is not a true NT either but just a gifted pass rusher and awesome defensive lineman.

The ideal NT is not necessarily a guy who rushes the passer, as much as a guy who takes on the center and guard at the same time freeing up LBs and other DL. Ideally, NTs are huge bodied men who can fill the entire A gap just with their mass. These men may not generate much pressure, but dont get pushed back either. All of the top NTs in this league are 340 lbs+. Guys like Jenkins, Hampton, Wilfork, Rogers, Raji all check in at over 340 lb.

Now if you really want a honest to God "True NT", then Baker may be your best bet at 334 lbs. If you want a NT who generates a pass rush then Cofield/Nield may be your best best, but the pass rush usually comes with a undersized nose tackle. And when you find a "true NT" who also generates a pass rush, you have a VERY special player who does not come along often.

[clskinsfan]

Even if he slides more and runs out of bounds more? I think people are overreacting to the injury. Kinda a large blanket statement to make that he won't last five years. That is a lot of assuming.

Is it? Both injuries occurred while RG3 was running the ball. Also in both incidents he was trying to protect himself. Sliding against Atlanta and getting a concussion. Diving to get down against Baltimore and losing his knee. He attempted to protect himself and was still hurt.

[DC9]

Nield is listed at at 325, and Fuga from BYU is 315 lbs. Cofield is listed at 320. So my question is that if Cofield is "undersized" at NT, then how are these other guys upgrades? IMO, Baker has the closest to a "true NT" body as we have at 334 lbs. Also for those of you about to throw Ngata's name out there, he is not a NT. He lines up EVERYWHERE from DE and NT in a 3 man front to a DE and DT in a 4 man front. He is not a true NT either but just a gifted pass rusher and awesome defensive lineman.

It's more of a technique thing to me. Neild was a NT in College at West Virginia. Baker was a NT in College at Hampton. Now, Baker is a much bigger kid than Neild or Cofield, but both Baker and Neild understand the position. Not saying that Cofield doesn't or that he didn't play well. I am just saying that he still gets run out of plays more than Baker or Neild did last season. I feel that Cofield would also be able to use more of his talents at Defensive End.

[Bozman777]

A great article on nose tackles. Notice Jay Ratliff's weight. It's more about finding a guy with relentless effort. Not easy with big guys.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/09000d...nct-skill-sets

[SkinsNoles21]

Think I remember seeing someone suggest the want Maualuga at LB:

Impending free agent MLB Rey Maualuga expressed doubt that the Bengals would want him back after a roller-coaster 2012 season.
"I felt as if the playoff game was sort of like, if I perform well they would want me," said Maualuga. "I don't know if they want me, but I do know I didn't perform well." Of the 35 inside linebackers who played 50 percent or more of their team's snaps, Maualuga graded the worst, according to Pro Football Focus. He has issues with coverage, penalties, and missed tackles.

[CrabR]

Baltimore and losing his knee. He attempted to protect himself and was still hurt.

against Baltimore he cut inside back to wards the middle of the field for an extra 5 yards. He could have cut outside and ran out of bounds. RG3 tires to get every yard he can, that is great for a running back but not a franchise QB. I am sure he was learned from these experiences and in the future he will get out of bounds or slide instead of trying for those extra few yards, unless it is for a first down and then only when the game is at stake

Having 1 concussion and a torn up knee in your first year does not bode well for a long NFL career. I am sure he change that next year

[KDawg]

Someone said they wanted Maualuga? Yikes. To me, the only ILB on free agency that I have interest in is Tavares Gooden.

[2cents]

Is it? Both injuries occurred while RG3 was running the ball. Also in both incidents he was trying to protect himself. Sliding against Atlanta and getting a concussion. Diving to get down against Baltimore and losing his knee. He attempted to protect himself and was still hurt.

It is because if he really does run out of bounds and slides better and sooner those injuries will not reoccur and he will last more than five years. I just wonder what people will say if he ever gets hurt in the pocket like a lot of other QBs, you can get hurt on any play at any time.

[DogofWar1]

I'm very much of the opinion that RT is an utter necessity in the offseason, and is even more important if some of the top draft prospects disappear. Polumbus is a good run blocker, but he's more or less a turnstyle when it comes to pass protection.

Now, if we had a top tier WR corp that allowed us to get the ball out quickly consistently, then a weaker RT is ok, or if we had a top tier run game and didn't pass much, then a good run blocker but poor pass protector is ok, but we don't have the former, and due to injuries this year we have to move away from the latter a bit (though Helu coming back will help there). I think offensively we'll be passing more going forward, and so a good tackle is required.

Beyond that, Safety is vital as well, Meriweather helps, but we can't have someone like Williams opposite him, and I don't trust Jackson to be back as much as some do. If we don't lose any starters, re-sign most of our UFAs (Jackson, Alexander, Davis, etc.), and then add a RT and Safety, I would argue we had a very successful offseason.

Gonna have to disagree with you. When you are the number one rushing offense in the NFL you dont want to change it unless you have to. And unfortunately we have to. RG3 will not make it 5 years in the current offense.

The plan was always to evolve RGIII's game. This year, he was asked to go through numerous progressions only a few times, mainly he'd read half the field, and then checkdown or take off. The lack of an RT didn't help. His mobility and the fact that Kyle schemed to get our #1 WR open a lot allowed that offense to work very well.

That being said, RGIII was/is going to need to go through progressions more, and the offense will evolve around that. Certainly, if RGIII wasn't injured we would use his mobility more than we might now, but the plan always was to evolve RGIII's skillset between year 1 and year 2-3, and shift of offense around that.

While certainly there's an argument to be made that we had the #1 rushing and a top 5 scoring offense, and thus don't need to change things, but I don't think the FO looks at things that way. We were running concepts that NFL defenses hadn't seen before, next year they'll have a full year of tape on it. Kyle prides himself on being an offensive genius, and it would be a major oversight to not expect defenses to adjust. I think the FO probably expected RGIII's mobility to decline at some point, maybe not this fast, but you have to expect it at some point, so the offense was always going to shift around defensive adjustments and changes in RGIII's abilities.

[DC9]

Just added Ryan Harris to the OP for RT. Dukes and Skins was rapping about his +6.3 rating (from Pro Football Focus) in another thread and to me that makes him more of a low risk - high reward target this offseason.

I just can't get passed how we didn't even bring him in last year when we had the opportunity. Maybe we were worried about the injury, but I guess he's played well enough in Houston and the majority has ruled.

[doghouse4x4]

Someone said they wanted Maualuga? Yikes. To me, the only ILB on free agency that I have interest in is Tavares Gooden.

+1

Maualuga is a no go for sure.

[justice98]

Is it? Both injuries occurred while RG3 was running the ball. Also in both incidents he was trying to protect himself. Sliding against Atlanta and getting a concussion. Diving to get down against Baltimore and losing his knee. He attempted to protect himself and was still hurt.

He didn't attempt to protect himself well enough. You watch Wilson and Kaepernick running around and they avoid the direct shots that RG3 kept taking. Sliding only works if you get down sooner rather than later. I think it's clear RG3 managed to keep getting down several beats late.

[DogofWar1]

Just added Ryan Harris to the OP for RT. Dukes and Skins was rapping about his +6.3 rating (from Pro Football Focus) in another thread and to me that makes him more of a low risk - high reward target this offseason.

I just can't get passed how we didn't even bring him in last year when we had the opportunity. Maybe we were worried about the injury, but I guess he's played well enough in Houston and the majority has ruled.

If we're unable to get a true starting RT, who plays both pass protection and run blocking at a high level (in our price range that's probably Smith or Beatty), Harris as competition with Polubmus for the starting job certainly wouldn't be bad. He knows the system, and has done decently in Houston as a backup.

I'm rating him below Smith and Beatty certainly (and those two below Clady, Long, and Albert), but as a tier 3 guy we could do worse.

[deejaydana]

Someone said they wanted Maualuga? Yikes. To me, the only ILB on free agency that I have interest in is Tavares Gooden.

I thought he was going to be better coming out of college but it's telling that he's only average on a defense that stacked with other talent on that side of the ball. I guess there was a reason he slipped on draft day.