Frank Clark

[MizzouHawkGal]

Dare I say, our poor mans JJ Watt?

Give it a few years, Clark could probably add 15-20 more pounds on his frame and retain much of his athleticism. Add experience and polished technique, Clark could become just as dominant.

That's Reggie White size. :th2thumbs:

 

[Scottemojo]

Frank Clark was my guy from the start! as LONG LONG time Michigan fan I followed Clark through college. I knew what we were getting when we drafted him and was STOKED! The off field issues were a little concerning but I think going forward the kid is going to show just who he really is as a person and athlete on and off the field.

Frank can be an anchor for this D-Line for years to come and I am super excited to see him excel!

GO BIG BLUE!!

As a huge Wolverine fan, I concur. I have two things I say during football season. GoBlue! GoHawks!
-btw, how do you feel about Harbaugh being HC? As a diehard Seahawk fan and Whiner hater, it's still going to take some time to get used to it. lol

Football is so weird.
I hated USC, but thought Pete would be awesome in Seattle immediately. I really disliked Harbaugh at first, and I know his weirdnesses will create haters every where he goes, but grew to respect him and his program over his time at SF. I have always detested Michigan, but kind of want them to do well with Harbaugh.

I can't explain any of it.

 

[RiverDog]

Lockett and Clark are day one starters (if you count returner as a starter). Great draft class on those two alone.

I'm not sure if either one of them is going to start on Day 1, but that's not the point. If the first preseason game is any indication, both are set to make immediate contributions, especially Lockett on special teams. Initial results does indicate that we hit big time on those picks, but we'll see.

This was just a preseason game and the first preseason game at that, so we need to wait and see how this all pans out. I noticed that our other KO returner, can't remember his name, came within a fingernail of breaking another KO for a TD, which leads me to believe that a good deal of Lockett's success might be due to the Broncos kick coverage problems. Nevertheless, Lockett is going to demand perfect kick coverage. It's a lot better than watching guys like Turbin and Walters return kicks.

 

[RiverDog]

it's funny to think back on the draft day threads on him and the outrage versus what you see now.

My outrage was never about his (Clark's) selection. It was about how we, or rather John Schneider, rationalized the DV issue.

 

[onanygivensunday]

It's only one game, but Denver's OL is top 1/3 of the league and Clark dominated them on average.

My understanding is Denver is re-vamping their O-line... retaining only one starter (Vasquez) from last year.

 

[titan3131]

for anyone who missed it, here is some of clarks highlights in GIF form.

http://www.fieldgulls.com/football-brea ... ts-broncos

 

[c_hawkbob]

Great push, great swim move, excellent penetration splitting blockers, he chases the play with great speed and he disengages blocks instantly. Very impressive. Hope it carries through as the opposition graduates to the regular season.

 

[12thbrah]

for anyone who missed it, here is some of clarks highlights in GIF form.

http://www.fieldgulls.com/football-brea ... ts-broncos

Nice breakdown. Frank is gonna learn a lot from our guys on the d-line. He's just gonna get better and better.

 

[Sgt. Largent]

Can't remember when I've been this impressed with a rookie's first pre-season game. Clark looked like a men amongst boys for the entire game.

Which is exciting, if this line can stay healthy it means back to our awesome 2013 D-line type rotation keeping everyone fresh the entire year. THIS is what excites me more than Clark individually.

 

[Attyla the Hawk]

I'd also add, that hitting on a player for the role Clark is playing is just huge. Getting quality interior pass rushers is extremely difficult to get in the draft, usually require a first round pick in draft stock and generally have a pretty high bust rate even in R1.

It's a hugely impactful role. If Clark continues on this path and continues to improve, he could actually be the highest impact player we added in the offseason. Including Graham.

I mentioned in the monster Ndamakong Suh UFA thread that I felt Suh's presence at the 3 would elevate our defense to an entirely different level. If Clark can provide the kind of production we saw last week and grow at the rate one would expect during a rookie campaign -- we can still achieve that kind of benefit but via the draft. Not saying Clark is Suh's equal. But I don't think you have to improve the DL to that degree to achieve that level of improvement.

An effective/impactful Clark makes Avril and Bennett a great deal better. An OL can really only double up one of those three. Leaving 2 players to win 1 on 1 matchups. Those are great odds for generating consistent pressure. Being capable of generating in your face pressure is the very best kind of pressure a defense can apply. There is very little ability for QBs to climb the pocket like they do to avoid edge pressure. The collapsed pocket forces QBs to move off their spot laterally -- which is much harder to deliver passes accurately. And in this case often times forces QBs to evade interior push by moving right into the rush lane of a DE.

Bennett and Avril should both benefit from a lot of clean up sacks and pressures courtesy of Clark's work inside.

 

[SeaWolv]

As I stated before this kid could be beast.

 

[scutterhawk]

I remember some of ya'll getting upset and talking trash about Clark. Funny how one game changes everything. Lol

LOL, Yup, it didn't take a bunch of 'em long to put their holier than thou robes back in the closet.

 

[titan3131]

As captain of the USS CLARK HYPE-BATTLESHIP. I demand all you suckas APOLOGIZE FOR DISRESPECTING MY MAN.

 

[hawknation2015]

Carroll said Clark had a little bit of trouble when he was playing the run at the three technique, so that kind of dashes by hopes of Clark taking reps there in the base defense.

 

[Hawks46]

Carroll also said that Clark was playing with a tweaked ankle, an ankle he tweaked last week in practice.

So Clark did all that damage and he wasn't even 100%. That should be encouraging for us and scary for opposing offenses.

 

[c_hawkbob]

Carroll said Clark had a little bit of trouble when he was playing the run at the three technique, so that kind of dashes by hopes of Clark taking reps there in the base defense.

Because he had a little bit of trouble in the first game of his NFL career?

Trust me; NO hopes were dashed last Friday! if anything Carroll felt as though he had to give him something he needed to work on.

 

[swagcity21]

Frank Clark was my guy from the start! as LONG LONG time Michigan fan I followed Clark through college. I knew what we were getting when we drafted him and was STOKED! The off field issues were a little concerning but I think going forward the kid is going to show just who he really is as a person and athlete on and off the field.

Frank can be an anchor for this D-Line for years to come and I am super excited to see him excel!

GO BIG BLUE!!

As a huge Wolverine fan, I concur. I have two things I say during football season. GoBlue! GoHawks!
-btw, how do you feel about Harbaugh being HC? As a diehard Seahawk fan and Whiner hater, it's still going to take some time to get used to it. lol

I'm still getting used to it. While I absolutely hated harbaugh as the whiners coach, I have to take a step back and see what he does. I will probably never put him on even Lloyd Carr status, but if he brings us back to prominence AND dominance I will be ok with that.

However, If he keeps us were Rich Rod and Hoke have taken us I will the lead the charge for someone else. As a Diehard 12 I kind of have to, LOL

 

[Chawker]

His chances on him having a better game this weekend just went up when Eric Fisher was carted off the field today in KC. MRI to follow, first reports are his ankle.

 

[Hawks46]

Carroll said Clark had a little bit of trouble when he was playing the run at the three technique, so that kind of dashes by hopes of Clark taking reps there in the base defense.

Because he had a little bit of trouble in the first game of his NFL career?

Trust me; NO hopes were dashed last Friday! if anything Carroll felt as though he had to give him something he needed to work on.

Yea that's a good point as well. Carroll has no problem complimenting rookies, but notice he always mentions something they need to work on.

 

[titan3131]

His chances on him having a better game this weekend just went up when Eric Fisher was carted off the field today in KC. MRI to follow, first reports are his ankle.

yes, but keep in mind he is primarily lining up on the inside. Fisher is a LT right? he faces avril/irvin