Basis4day":17q0sypa said:
Marvin49":17q0sypa said:
Hawknballs":17q0sypa said:
wherever aldon smith is on the list he should be at least one spot behind justin smith.
Sigh.
Yup...Justin is the only reason Aldon is any good. No OLB ever had a guy as good as Justin Smith next to him. Clearly thats the case because the 33.5 sacks in his first 2 seasons is a record. ANYONE lining up to Justin Smith could do that. Right?
Everyone LOVES to say Aldon fell off at the end because Justin wasn't in there...but neglect to mention the fact that Aldon was PLAYING HURT.
First off, everyone is hurt that late in the season. We won't know what Aldon Smith can do until he takes the field healthy without Justin Smith. Maybe we'll get a chance in a year or two if Aldon can avoid getting stabbed.
It would be foolish to think that Aldon Smith doesn't benefit from the talent around him, the same as it would be foolish to think that the Seahawks' secondary doesn't benefit from a roaming Earl Thomas.
Many outside Seahawks' fandom discount Russell Wilson's achievements last year do to the talent around him, yet praise Colin Kaeperick without acknowledging the talent on the 49ers roster.
The fact is, no one plays in a vacuum.
#1: I realize that on some level everyone is playing hurt...but Aldon was REALLY hurt. He had a torn labrum which robbed him of his power. He wasn't the same guy. He had surgery this offseason to repair it and is STILL not participating in OTAs because he's recovering.
#2: I wouldn't even begin to say that playing next to Justin has NOTHING to do with his success. My issue is the notion that Justin is the SOLE reason for Aldons success. If you guys had seen him absolutely manhandle Tackles over the past few years then you would know what I mean. I've never seen a guy outside of Reggie White just completely put a tackle on his butt and sack the QB. I've seen OLB go around a tackle and I've seen them bull rush the guy backwards.....but never simply go through the tackle like he wasn't even there. I've seen Aldon do it 3 or 4 times.
Want evidense?
http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-game-high ... -Tannehill
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=odFuxadpdok
This is only 2 of his 33.5 sacks in his first 2 years. In that span Justin Smith has 10.5. Some will say its because Justin is holding on that stunt play thats become famous, but FAR, FAR more of Aldons sacks are just him abusing the Tackle. His combination of strength and some of the longest arms in the NFL (35.5 inches) make him a nightmare.
#3: As for the Kaep/Wilson thing...I wouldn't say that at all. Wilson is a HUGE part of the reason the 'hawks played so well last year. His ability to keep plays alive was critical. He throws a great deep ball and he's got every intangible you could ask for. Kaep plays for a great team...no doubt, but he was a big part of the reason the Niners got as far as they did. People will say that Alex got them almost to the same spot, but thats kinda missing the point. The 49ers got that far in 2011 with the best D in the NFL and the best special teams in the NFL. Alex was good but not great and had the best game of his career vs New Orleans. Alex for the most part tho was simply not LOSING games...he wasn't WINNING them.
In 2012, particularly late in the season, the special teams that was soooooo good in 2011 fell apart. Thats why they signed Skuta, Dahl, and Dawson and drafted Moody. The PASS defense also fell apart late mostly due to Justin and Aldon both being hurt and the pass rush evaporating. All of the sudden, the Niners needed to win on offense. THAT is the difference Kaep made. Of course he had a ton of talent around him, but he still played VERY well when it counted...and came just 5 yards short.
#4: As for the point of this topic to begin with...the more I think about Sherman at #50 it makes more and more sense. Its not that I actually think he's the 50th best player (he's far better than that), but the rankings are done by the players. Shermans mouth hasn't made him alot of friends among the people who vote on these lists. As much as I hate the guy tho, I do have to give him credit for the props he's been giving to a number of players on the countdown.
