I've really soured on Clowney this year. I was willing to give him some slack, because he clearly has NFL on the brain and doesn't want to be there. Still, 2 sacks all year gives me pause. Motor is everything with lineman. I get Mario Williams vibes from him. He'll get his sacks, but not really dominate. Not saying he shouldn't be a top 10 pick, but I sure as hell don't view him as a must pick, all-time game changer anymore.
Clowney can play as a pure pass rush 3-4 OLB, but we still need to find a new Defensive coordinator. Wade Phillips isnt getting it done. All he does is play man to man. Any good QB will pick man to man defensive scheme apart. He has our OLB just play contain and rush from the outside. Where are the stunts and twists to get some pressure from different angles. Wade Phillips relies too much on his defensive talent rather than his defensive schemes. When ever a key player to his defense goes down, he cannot recover from it. We need a dick laveau type of defensvie coordinator. Give me some zone blitz, its the way to go.
Clowney is a pure 4-3 end IMO. Watt would have an easier time playing DT (he might even be better off there) than Clowney would 34OLB. But that doesn't matter. I want a coach that can mold the scheme to fit Clowney. You can run a 34 and still put Clowney in positions to succeed, bring him to the first level on passing downs, etc... 34, 43 - doesn't matter anymore, any coach worth a damn understands hybrid concepts. Belichick would figure it out regardless. The only downside is you'd need Clowney to have a decent football IQ. Not always a given.
Currently #1 in Passing Defense and #1 in Total Defense based on YPG. Rushing Defense is #23 and below average. If rushing was top 10 and scoring was top 10, probably would be considered elite. IMO, 1st pick has to be best player available on a roster with holes on both sides. All picks need to be good because normally you anticipate your 2nd year players to make a huge jump but our draft this year was a disaster so we've got no one to look forward to next year to make that jump. Hopkins, Swearinger, Griffin could make that leap. Maybe Trevardo but it will be his 'rookie' year. Bottom line is we really need a massive draft, so pick the best talent available every round.
I watched some tape on him from last year and he was dominant, impacting nearly every play. I watched his plays in the Tennessee and Missouri games this year. He looked real good against Tennessee. Almost always in the backfield, BIG hits on the RB, steady pressure and flushing the QB from the pocket even if he wasn't getting the sack. Then he kind of looked like just another guy against Missouri. He made some plays but got stood up at the line a lot. And on run plays, he was getting manhandled and driven way back far too often. He also let a RB slip a tackle that resulted in a TD.
That is kind of my point, he has been that way all year. How do you know whether a guy is gonna bring it, regardless of his personal circumstances. I don't care what the YPG game say, when teams need to score against us, they always do. They don't force TO's and they wet the bed in the redzone. That is a bad defense, yards don't win games.
FWIW, to break down the Texans defense per drive(which isolate it from other factors like offense, special teams, etc. Texans defensive rank on opponent drives, via footballoutsiders LOS to start the drive: 14th Yards: Rank 6th Points: Rank 21st Turnovers: Rank 30th(Int Rank 31, Fumble Rank 21) Drive Success Rate(meaning offense got a 1st down or a TD on the drive): Rank 6th Drive Success Rate, the last stat, is very indicative of the Texans defense. It forces a lot of 3-and-outs. The problem is that they don't force turnovers nor do they keep opponents out of FG/TD range. Specifically prevent TDs. It's a boom-or-bust defense to be sure, true to Phillips' design. FWIW, footballoutsiders DVOA has the Texans ranked 21st in defense. The question then becomes whether the offense lack of ball control is what prevents the defense from being fresh and giving up those big plays. Or that our defense just isn't good enough to prevent TDs regardless of the offense. I don't know. If it's the former, then it's fixable. If it's the latter, then we might as well rebuild. Because lord know our offense isn't going to carry the team.
I want no part of a guy that thinks that his best way to contribute to his draft stock has to be by sitting out...What makes you think he wouldnt do the same once he is in the NFL..a diva before getting to the NFL... Go out and play ball, and let everything else fall into place... Secondly, i really dont see him translate well as a OLB...he would be wonderful as a DE...
Meh. Playing in college is overrated. Especially when you're not getting paid for it. He should have just quit the team, hired a trainer and focused on academics. I hope to see more guys have the balls to do the same. If I was an NFL-ready RB playing in a bowl game that wasn't the national title game I wouldn't even bother playing.
I would rather have football players than players more concerned about their future. There is a reason that come people compare Clowney to Mario Williams.
Freakish double-team commandign pass rushers are among the rarest commodities in the NFL. Obsessing about 3-4/4-3 is very passe given that most teams aren't lining up in the 2 back pro set on most downs anyway. You draft him and worry about nominal base front-coverage designations later.
The ones I can think of also feature a beastly DT/NT. Hardy/Johnson have Star, and Hali/Houston have Poe. There's plenty of QBs who still do fine when their pocket collapses as long as it's from the edges. Earl Mitchell will have to be assessed and probably replaced.
