"The Freak - 2" = ?

katnip · 08-31-2010, 01:43 PM

Will we see a D-Lineman that will make such a strong impact this and/or next year, as Jevon Kearse did? I believe he had like 14 sacks his rookie year. I think Suh has a shot to make a huge impact. Not 14 sacks good though from a rookie DT.

I thought Mario Williams would've. As I remember at the draft gathering. I was the only one who liked that #1 pick by Houston.

Topic.. Discuss.

yourfavestoner · 08-31-2010, 02:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by katnip

Will we see a D-Lineman that will make such a strong impact this and/or next year, as Jevon Kearse did? I believe he had like 14 sacks his rookie year. I think Suh has a shot to make a huge impact. Not 14 sacks good though from a rookie DT.

I thought Mario Williams would've. As I remember at the draft gathering. I was the only one who liked that #1 pick by Houston.

Topic.. Discuss.

I liked the Williams pick as well, but like you said, there were very, very few of us.

What people failed to realize at the time is that Mario Williams was every bit the transcendent type of athlete that Bush was, except he played a far, far more important position. If anything, the decision should have been between Williams and Young instead of Williams and Bush.

When you factor in that Kubiak was just hired and was switching from a 3-4 to a 4-3 and didn't have a single legitimate defensive end on the roster. As far as I was concerned, it was a no-brainer.

If it wasn't for the foot injuries, I think Mario could have had a pretty damn good rookie season, too.

tjsunstein · 08-31-2010, 02:17 PM

A natural 4-3 DE is becoming harder and harder to find in the college ranks. Plus with so many teams running the 3-4, the more athletic DEs are considered great 3-4 OLB prospects. Jason Pierre-Paul and Derrick Morgan were hardly dominant in college. More of the true DL talent lately has come from the DT (Raji, Suh, McCoy). The DEs have been unimpressive. Gholston, Harvey, Maybin, Ayers, Long. Not the most promising group even this early although I like Long to become more productive.

Bucs_Rule · 08-31-2010, 02:54 PM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s8mt83ugqDI

Todd Bertuzzi · 08-31-2010, 02:59 PM

I wouldn't be surprised at all to see Graham put up double digits this year.

P-L · 08-31-2010, 03:01 PM

Mario Williams is still my favorite non-Lion, non-Wolverine player in the NFL. It's too bad he's been banged up throughout his career. He was in the discussion for best defensive end in football before he played all of last season banged up and his sack total dropped. I love that he's just so dominant against the run on top of being an excellent pass rusher. His hip has been bothering him this off-season but if he can stay healthy all year, watch out.

FUNBUNCHER · 08-31-2010, 03:40 PM

If the Lions finish top 12 in D, I think that Suh would classify as a freak and be a rookie pro-bowler.

Bengals78 · 08-31-2010, 03:50 PM

ThePudge · 08-31-2010, 04:03 PM

Brandon Graham has the best shot at 10+ sacks in my opinion. He'll be starting for the Birds from Day One & should establish himself as a force opposite Trent Cole. I think he could easily wind up the Defensive Rookie of the Year.

Ravens1991 · 08-31-2010, 04:05 PM

In Terrell Suggs rookie year he had 12 sacks and 6 FFs.

But as far as rookie doing well I see Brandon Graham at PHI doing great.

Gay Ork Wang · 08-31-2010, 04:09 PM

Mark Anderson was great his rookie season with 12 sacks. after that...

Paranoidmoonduck · 08-31-2010, 04:20 PM

No one quite on Kearse's level, although I think someone could hit double digit sacks.

What we will have is a strong group of rookie defensive lineman, I think. Guys like Graham, Houston, Suh, and Hardy figure to get a lot of snaps this year and have shown flashes of being able to get to the QB. Personally, Graham probably stands the best chance of hitting double digits if the Eagles give him enough snaps. I'm biased, but I love what I've seen from Houston, who is showing surprising edge rush ability for a guy weighting 300+. I don't expect Suh to get much over 5 sacks or so, but he'll have a huge impact on that Detroit defense. His ability to read the backfield while engaging his man was already really apparent in that preseason match against Cleveland.

BlindSite · 08-31-2010, 04:28 PM

Greg Hardy next year

yourfavestoner · 08-31-2010, 04:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BlindSite

Greg Hardy next year

How's Everett Brown looking?

tjsunstein · 08-31-2010, 04:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by yourfavestoner

How's Everett Brown looking?

Quote:

Panthers DE Everette Brown is "looking more and more like a legitimate every down lineman."
Brown had reportedly bulked up this offseason, and it's never bad when your on-field play begins to catch up to your offseason buzz. The Carolina defensive line has outperformed expectations during the preseason, and Brown will be looking to carry over his solid play into the regular season. Aug. 29 - 9:25 am et

Per rotoworld. One of my favorite prospects coming out last year. Was actually hoping we were grabbing him with the trade up instead of Clay Matthews. I'm not mad we didn't.

BlindSite · 09-01-2010, 06:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tjsunstein

Per rotoworld. One of my favorite prospects coming out last year. Was actually hoping we were grabbing him with the trade up instead of Clay Matthews. I'm not mad we didn't.

Pretty much this, it didnt show up a lot but he was great against the run and lead all rookies in QB hurries last year. Really coming on strong in every sense. It sounds odd, but the defensive line actually looks better than it did with Peppers. It's only pre-season but Hardy, Brown, Brayton, and Johnson have all played as starters and there's been no noticeable depreciation in play when they rotate in or out.

Halsey · 09-01-2010, 09:26 AM

The Freak 2? There's been like 500 guys called The Freak. Kearse just happened to be the first guy to be called that.

bsaza2358 · 09-01-2010, 11:23 AM

Kearse was called The Freak because of his size/speed/athleticism combo, plus the fact that he had a huge wingspan and massive hands. Graham is a potentially awesome pass rusher and player, but he isn't a physical freak like Kearse was. Mario Williams and Julius Peppers are probably the only 2 DE's in the league who could claim that freak label in terms of physical gifts + athleticism.

Shiver · 09-01-2010, 12:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by *** Ork Wang

Mark Anderson was great his rookie season with 12 sacks. after that...

I brought this up at the time: he had 12 and Mario Williams had 4.5 as rookies. Many people used that to argue that Williams was a bust. If you looked at their "hits" statistic, Mario Williams hit the QB more times; Anderson got the QB down at a statistically outrageous percentage in relation to how many times he got to him. Obviously now it can be seen as what it was, an outlier.

Jakey · 09-01-2010, 01:53 PM

Brandon Graham will kill a man this season.

J-Mike88 · 09-01-2010, 02:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ThePudge

Brandon Graham has the best shot at 10+ sacks in my opinion. He'll be starting for the Birds from Day One & should establish himself as a force opposite Trent Cole. I think he could easily wind up the Defensive Rookie of the Year.

^ THIS ^
I just hope he doesn't register sack #1 until week #2. If he was going against Barbre like we had starting last year week one, he'd have 4 or 5 sacks after his first game. Can anyone remember Adewale Ogunleye?
Rodgers can. Barbre sees him in his nightmares still.

J-Mike88 · 09-01-2010, 02:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bsaza2358

Kearse was called The Freak because of his size/speed/athleticism combo, plus the fact that he had a huge wingspan and massive hands. Graham is a potentially awesome pass rusher and player, but he isn't a physical freak like Kearse was. Mario Williams and Julius Peppers are probably the only 2 DE's in the league who could claim that freak label in terms of physical gifts + athleticism.

What about Jarron Gilbert? I thought last year he was considered that type of freak. Bear fan, what's he looked like so far?