LB Corps Set...or sumtin

[Brown Warrior]

Homan weighed in at the Combine at 240. Good on him if he runs well, too. He could move solidly into round 3 with Foster, Wilson, Matthews, et al. Nice set of 4-3 types for the Browns. Good value in that round, a popular one for starting WSLBs.

Good thing about Foster or Homan with their size is the versatility factor.

[TheBestPlayersPlay]

Originally Posted by Brown Warrior

he's never played 4-3 MLB before

Heckert on Chris Gocong: Chris played very well for us. When I was in Philadelphia, we moved him inside there. It wasn't a big transition.

Gocong isn't very good in a 4-3 ....we need an upgrade, and hopefully we can get it in round 3 or 4.

[YtownBacker]

Originally Posted by Brown Warrior

Homan weighed in at the Combine at 240. Good on him if he runs well, too. He could move solidly into round 3 with Foster, Wilson, Matthews, et al. Nice set of 4-3 types for the Browns. Good value in that round, a popular one for starting WSLBs.

Good thing about Foster or Homan with their size is the versatility factor.

I would think that Homan projects as a Will backer in the 4-3 and we have Jackson, Gocong and Maiava that can play there. Maiava was a square peg in the 3-4 I really want to see him at the Will. I'd rather see us go after someone like Mathews who projects as a MLB.

[Brown Warrior]

I wouldn't draw any conclusions about Gocong based on the Eagles. He played very well at ILB last year... and the only thing that would prevent a 3-4 ILB from being a 4-3 MLB is mobility. And Gocong is really athletic. I think he'll be good.

He played OLB in Philly. If/when he moved inside, he was never listed there.

[YtownBacker]

Originally Posted by Brown Warrior

I wouldn't draw any conclusions about Gocong based on the Eagles. He played very well at ILB last year... and the only thing that would prevent a 3-4 ILB from being a 4-3 MLB is mobility. And Gocong is really athletic. I think he'll be good.

He played OLB in Philly. If/when he moved inside, he was never listed there.

IMO there is a whole lot of difference between a 3-4 ILB and a 4-3 MLB. Gocong may be athletic enough to play the position and able to drop into coverage but he isn't a banger that will come up and punish runners. Don't get me wrong, he most likely can play the position. As I said before, he will be solid but you aren't going to see him in Hawaii or mistake him for Urlacher.

Personally, I think Jackson would be better on the inside, but that's just me. I'm willing to take a look but I still would like to have Mathews or someone else from the draft pushing whomever is playing there for playing time.

[Sez.EJ]

The 4-3 IMO needs enforcers in the middle.. I don't see those guys on the roster..I see guys who can do the job..but not the kind of enforcers that a truly great 4-3 needs.

[YtownBacker]

Originally Posted by Sez.EJ

The 4-3 IMO needs enforcers in the middle.. I don't see those guys on the roster..I see guys who can do the job..but not the kind of enforcers that a truly great 4-3 needs.

Absolutely....................................we are on the same page.

Saying we are fine at LB is like telling Shep that we have 4 WRs so we are okay at WR. If Gocong is the answer at MLB then he should have no trouble with MoMass as our outside thread. Gocong is a LB and MoMass is a WR and both handle their positions with the same type of skill sets.

[Riffer X]

According to Shep, all positions on the team are fine with who we have or are not even signed yet if it isn't a position he wants.

[Brown Warrior]

Not really, guys. I think we need a lot of everything on the front seven. I do think we'll need to repurpose some of what we have, though. I just happen to like Fujita, Gocong, and DQJ individually, as football players. Not sure if they'll all start... but it's something to build on.

I feel the same about Rubin, Shaefering, Mitchell, Benard, and maybe Roth. But I think we'll do more work there, too.

[Enigmatic Evil]

This might be a situation like last year with WR's where we take a wait-and-see approach with the Linebackers and work on other areas of the team. I think we have a decent core there, not the best, but not the worst either. I don't let Gocong's presence from Philly tarnish his reputation because I kind of felt like he was coming into his own with his play last season. Does that mean he's 4-3 MLB material? I'm not really the guy to answer that question. Let's draft Casey Matthews and if we need to get another LB during the season then okay, hopefully we'll actually use him instead of letting them sit on the bench... like the WR's we picked up last year when our WR depth got land mined.

[Brown Warrior]

It's all shits and giggles now, but I really think we'll draft WR and DL, probably DE, in the first two rounds in some order. I know it's the scratch, conventional thinking, but it's what we need most. Like Sobo said, there's a reason 3-4 rush 'backers and 4-3 RDEs get the money and glory... it's because pressuring the quarterback is the key to combatting the high powered passing offenses that dominate the league these days. You really can't cover your way out of it.

Witness: The Jets get torched two Januaries in a row by Manning and Roethlisberger. When the shit went down, the passing games won. The Jets aren't an elite pass rushing team.

But how did the Saints beat the favored Vikings in 2009? With heat. They went after Favre.

I agree with Holmgren's "home run hitters" analogy... and that means a scary WR and a scary pass rusher. In my ever so humble opinion.

As for round 3, I think there's going to be great value at 4-3 LB. I'd look for a guy with versatility.

[BernietheKid]

Browns | Chris Gocong to play in the middle
Fri, 25 Feb 2011 22:38:59 -0800
Cleveland Browns general manager Tom Heckert said Friday, Feb. 25, that LB Chris Gocong is projected as a middle linebacker in the team's new 4-3 defensive alignment, reports Tony Grossi, of the Cleveland Plain Dealer.
Source: The Cleveland Plain Dealer - Tony Grossi

Read more: KFFL - Cleveland Browns News and Notes