Position Ranking: The Linebackers
by Khaled Elsayed
12/8/2009
Each unit is broken down before a cumulative set of results are provided to determine who in my opinion are the best teams heading out of last season and into this. This involves looking at the starter, and then who will be backing them up as and when this looks like becoming a factor.
After analysing each defensive line and handing the Vikings the award, the Diner moves onto looking at the linebackers of each team, trying its best to look at the 3-4 and 4-3 units and decide which ones deserve praise and which one deserve ridicule.
32. Denver Broncos
Making the move to a 3-4 unit is never easy, and the Broncos didn’t really do anything free agency or draft wise to significantly ease this transition. The inside backers aren’t bad and Andra Davis does at least bring significant experience of playing in a 3-4 with him, while DJ Williams hasn’t reached the heights of the start to his NFL career but some of that can be attributed to the personnel around him. 3-4 linebackers need to be able to rush but there is a slam dunk style outside linebacker they’ll think they can rely on. How does Dumervil react to playing with his hand off the ground?
31. Indianapolis Colts
They resigned Freddie Keiaho but the hope is he doesn’t see as much of the field as he did last year since he was pretty useless. There isn’t much to get excited about, Clint Session is coming off a year where he stood out at the best linebacker the Colts had although how much that had to do with the aforementioned Keiaho and Gary Brackett struggling I’m not sure. Who plays on the strongside? Without Dungy it seems changes will be coming over time to a bigger unit so this could be a transitional year for these linebackers. Let’s see how many of them are starting next year.
30. Detroit Lions
When Ernie Sims came out of college there were concerns over his concussion history. Turns out those concerns haven’t been nearly as worrisome as his complete inability to tackle and an ability to look completely lost in coverage. Julian Peterson is a big name but as a 4-3 linebacker it could be said that he is wasted, while Larry Foote is playing in a 4-3 after years in a 3-4. On talent this unit looks like a top 15, but on the field it probably ranks as one of the worst.
29. Atlanta Falcons
This unit will be better for getting quicker but there are still major question marks. Mike Peterson will prove an upgrade on the ineffective Brooking, and Curtis Lofton had an extremely impressive year in run support but will need to improve his coverage skills. The wild card in this mix is Stephen Nicholas who has plenty of physical tools but lacks experience, and the Falcons will be counting on him to step up.
28. New Orleans Saints
Even with Jonathan Vilma this is not a strong unit. The fact they seemed to be counting on Dan Morgan to start is a clear indication they aren’t happy with the play of Scott Shanle, nor do they seem overly committed to Scott Fujita. Other than the ageing Mark Simoneau there doesn’t seem like much competition or potential for this unit.
27. Cleveland Browns
The Browns have never seemed to get it right since moving to a 3-4 years ago. The retirement of Willie McGinest arguably sees them lose their best player, and even more pressure will fall on Kamerion Wimbley to finally step up and be the player the Browns thought he would be. D’Qwell Jackson is a tackling machine but not much more and with Andra Davis having moved on the hope has to be that Eric Barton is an upgrade on this porous defence and lacklustre pass rush.
26. St Louis Rams
The signing of James Laurinatis helps this team out immensely, bringing in a good young linebacker and allowing Will Witherspoon to move back to his favourite position. Chris Draft has always been a decent enough guy and probably warrants a starting spot even if he doesn’t have much upside. Things are definitely looking better for the Rams then they were last year.
25. New York Giants
After watching a lot of Michael Boley the past 2 years it was like watching 2 different players. He should flourish in the Giants system, but at the same time if he plays as soft as he did last year then scheme won’t really matter. Antonio Pierce is becoming an on the field liability to match his off the field indiscretions and the Giants could probably do with looking at a long term replacement to him. While Danny Clark is underrated, the real story could be how we see the Giants use Clint Sintim as the season progresses. Situational player or could he prove more?
24. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Barrett Ruud is another good young middle linebacker surrounded by question marks. Those question marks involve moving a safety to linebacker and hoping that Angelo Crowell can come back after a serious injury. If nothing else it means they’re no longer using Cato June, and that’s something to smile about.
23. Arizona Cardinals
Karlos Dansby gets a lot of praise but his performance can best be described as inconsistent. Much like a lot of Cardinals they seem to be living off their playoff reputations but in the regular season it was only really Gerald Hayes that stood out as above average. Bertrand Berry should offer some pass rush from outside, but in Chike Okeafor and Clark Haggans as the starting outside backers you worry about the balance to this team.
22. Jacksonville Jaguars
The Jags lost Mike Peterson after Coach Del Rio decided to get tough last year and it leaves them relatively thin at linebacker if one of their main 3 guys go down. Justin Durant is probably the pick of the group and has seamlessly moved into Peterson’s middle linebacker spot, while Daryl Smith and Clint Ingram are both solid players. They aren’t a particularly strong group of playmakers but they are solid, perhaps indicative of the Jags as a whole.
21. Houston Texans
DeMeco Ryans has been a revelation since being drafted and remains one of the better young linebackers in the league, but the Texans will need more from the players around him. Morlan Greenwood was understandably let go and Brian Cushing was drafted to replace him. First round linebackers tend to make an immediate impact so the Texans will be looking for Cushing to have a very good year. Who starts at weakside will be an interesting battle, Zach Diles and Xavier Adibi were nothing special last year but they’re young and developing in an interesting defence.
20. Green Bay Packers
Does the 3-4 move benefit the Packers linebackers? AJ Hawk has been a disappointment at large and there’s nothing to suggest he’ll be any more productive in a new alignment especially if Nick Barnett’s injury lingers into the season. Aaron Kampmann doesn’t seem best pleased about the move to outside linebacker and it’s asking a lot of rookie Clay Matthews to make an immediate impact. As with any change there are some big question marks over certain players that need answers.
19. Washington Redskins
As a spectator it’s extremely interesting to see how Brian Orakpo makes the conversion to strongside linebacker. How the Redskins use him is something use him provides some good and bad match ups and how he deals with being left in coverage could be the kind of car crash television that gets hard to watch. London Fletcher doesn’t show any signs of being any less productive while Rocky McIntosh is a ringing endorsement of why Snyder should keep giving up draft picks rather than wasting them. Will HB Blades be running with the first team this year?
18. Buffalo Bills
The Bills looked like having a great groups of linebackers but never seemed to recover from the loss of Angelo Crowell. Kawika Mitchell needs to play like the player he was for the Giants rather than what he has been for the Bills so far while Keith Ellison just needs to get better (or bigger?). On the plus side Paul Posluszny looked every bit the steal he was when the Bills drafted him in his first full year. He looks like he could hold this unit together for years to come.
17. Kansas City Chiefs
The Chiefs have made a fair whack at moving to a 3-4 defence, and brought in some veterans who may not have long left but should be serviceable for a year or two in Mike Vrabel and Zach Thomas. Derrick Thomas is a very good if not great player who you would think should have little problem moving into the role of inside backer, so the big question is if Tamba Hali can adjust to being an outside linebacker.
16. Cincinnati Bengals
The Bengals have gone about rectifying a massive problem with their defence in the past two drafts. Though his season was cut short Keith Rivers (right) looked every bit the top ten draft pick and with the addition of Rey Maualuga who should work his way into the starting line up eventually it should only get better. Dhani Jones is more than just a colourful character with a career in the media set up for when he retires.
15. Carolina Panthers
Jon Beason went to the Pro Bowl on the back of big hits over consistent production and the Panthers will need for him to continue to get better, especially with injuries they’ve already picked up. Thomas Davis has never materialised into the impact player the Panthers had hoped for and Na’il Diggs can be considered nothing more than a stop gap until someone steps up. You feel this line up should be better and perhaps it will be, but they need improved performance all round.
14. Chicago Bears
Brian Urlacher has apparently added some weight to try and get back to his pre-2008 form and that would be a big boost to this unit. Lance Briggs remains their star linebacker and one of the best in the league, and it’s nice not having to deal with his contract issues this off season. Nick Roach looks to have lost his spot to Pisa Tinoisamoa, although whether this represents an upgrade is less obvious.
13. Miami Dolphins
The Dolphins got good production out of their outside backers, with Joey Porter at least producing good sack numbers while Matt Roth was a pleasant surprise as a converted defensive end. The real success of this unit was the excellent value they got in bringing in Akin Ayodele and pairing him with the superb Channing Crowder. Rex Ryan may not know who he is but he’s likely to find out soon.
12. Philadelphia Eagles
Losing Stewart Bradley for the year probably doesn’t hurt the Eagles as much as it would other teams. They look pretty set on the outside with Chris Gocong and Akeem Jordan who demonstrated an ability to work in the Eagles complex system. Who steps up to replace Bradley is one of the things to watch out with indications being it could come down to the impressive Omar Gaither or untested Joe Mays. Be higher with Bradley but if any team can cope with losses it’s the Eagles.
11. Oakland Raiders
The combination of Thomas Howard and Kirk Morrison make this unit look very useful, although it will be interesting to see if the Raiders follow through on the rumours that see them moving Morrison outside. The last spot would appear to be between Ricky Brown and Jon Alston, both limited players but who would seem suited to playing in the middle more than outside.
10. Tennessee Titans
Keith Bulluck remains one of the best linebackers in the game and he seems to make the players around him better. Stephen Tulloch and David Thornton are pencilled in as the other starters and while Thornton has never been one of the better linebackers in the league there are plenty worse. Tulloch looked good after coming in for Ryan Fowler last year and if he can play like he did last year then this group looks very good.
9. New England Patriots
Losing Mike Vrabel shouldn’t prove insurmountable but how the Pats use their linebackers this year will prove extremely interesting. You’d expect Jerod Mayo to build on his defensive rookie of the year performance but whether Tedy Bruschi has much left you have to wonder, so we could see more of Gary Guyton than we did last year. Adalius Thomas is probably the biggest playmaker on this defence and a big year from him is a must for this unit to function effectively.
8. San Francisco 49ers
Led by the formidable duo of Patrick Willis and Takeo Spikes the 49ers have got about as good an inside linebacker pairing as there is. Why the Niners aren’t higher is primarily down to the question marks over who will be playing OLB, with neither Parys Haralson or Manny Lawson filling you with much confidence. Solid but extremely unspectacular players, Lawson especially is going to need to step up.
7. San Diego Chargers
Last year the Chargers linebackers were missing something ... namely Shawne Merriman. Now with him back and Larry English drafted you have to like what they could potentially do rushing the passer. Inside Stephen Cooper is serviceable, but they’ll need Kevin Burnett to be a lot better than Matt Wilhelm was when he sees the field. Plenty of depth with players like Jyles Tucker and Antwan Applewhite likely to see plenty of snaps from various places.
6. Dallas Cowboys
Demarcus Ware is perhaps the most complete outside linebacker in the league, big sack count and excellent run defence. Letting Ellis go should see us get a prolonged look at Anthony Spencer. He looked solid in the limited action he saw last year, although he possibly didn’t display the dynamism rushing the passer that was expected. Inside if Keith Brooking beats out Bobby Carpenter then it’s about time to give up on him. Whoever partners Bradie James will round out a very strong linebacking group.
5. New York Jets
The signing of Bart Scott to go with David Harris gives Rex Ryan at excellent look in the middle to his linebackers with both players excellent fits in the 3-4. Bryan Thomas played well last year and is a solid outside linebacker, but they’re going to need Gholston to put more effort in especially with the suspension to Calvin Pace.
4. Baltimore Ravens
Even losing Bart Scott this is still a formidable grouping. Rey Lewis may be showing the first signs of years of punishment, but he’s still an extremely effective and productive linebacker who brings with him a certain set of intangibles that seems to make the players around him better. One of the negatives of Lewis is that he can take attention away from the performances of others, but Jarrett Johnson has made it so the Ravens have managed to survive rather comfortably without Adalius Thomas these past two years. Can Tavares Gooden have the same effect replacing Bart Scott?
3. Seattle Seahawks
It almost seems like a wasted pick bringing in Aaron Curry but what it does do is give the Seahawks 3 potential pro bowl type players. Curry is the reason they are not higher because there are still some question marks over him even if he is the most NFL ready player, but in Leroy Hill and Lofa Tatupu they have 2 players who are fantastic already and only seem to be getting better. What they do when teams go to 3 wide receivers is going to be interesting, in particular for how they may use Curry.
2. Minnesota Vikings
The Vikings have a pretty intimidating group of linebackers to complete an imposing front 7. In EJ Henderson and Chad Greenway they have 2 of the best run defending linebackers in the league, and while Ben Leber isn’t quite in their class he would be the best linebacker on a number of teams. Sometimes you look at the collective Vikings front 7 and wonder how teams score on them at all.
1. Pittsburgh Steelers
Led by Defensive Player of the Year James Harrison, and flanked by Lamarr Woodley, James Farrior and Lawrence Timmons the Steelers have done fantastic job of finding the right guys to fit their scheme over the years. There simply isn’t a flaw to this unit unless one of the starters suffers a serious injury.
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