SLB Position

Situation as it stands. Currently we have this:

[tweet]https://twitter.com/bcondotta/status/712346987585085440[/tweet]

This doesn't necessarily sound like it's thought that Clark is counted to stay in as an every down player there. They likely have some concerns with him in coverage. Best bet for him is a just in case kind of thing because he's really the future for Leo, IMO. Morgan is the holdover who's given us some valuable reps here and there. He's not 226 pounds anymore and was at about 240 last year. My own view is that I have some slight concerns with him setting the edge on a consistent basis, but he's fairly solid. Marsh took some reps at SLB last training camp and I didn't give it too much thought until I saw this just now. Marsh was a 4.8 guy when he was heavier. Him being down to 255ish now I really don't know how strait line fast he is, but he's a very well rounded athlete none the less. He scored some touchdowns at UCLA from the TE position further showing of his athleticism. He would currently be my hopeful to solidify the position given his athletic traits and his being a natural overall football player.

We also know that Wright can play there if we have some reason to move him based on getting the best players on the field.

Many of you are familiar with Josh Shirley. Athletic player who hits hard, but as far as I know he's not much of a LB, but just more of a pass rusher.

http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-game-high ... a-big-sack

Does he play a part in it? How about Ryan Robinson? Pete seemed pretty bummed when he went IR last year stating that he seemed like he was really starting to come on and was earning some reps with 1s and 2s. What does that mean now? Probably nothing, but it's something to watch.

I'm curious to see how Clark would look at SAM. It's worth noting that Clark was originally a safety in high school.

It seems like a waste of Clark's precocious talent for manhandling blockers at the line, but as long as this is only a trial balloon or an attempt to find Clark a few extra snaps, I have no problem with it.

kearly":3ri1yj22 said:

I'm curious to see how Clark would look at SAM. It's worth noting that Clark was originally a safety in high school.

It seems like a waste of Clark's precocious talent for manhandling blockers at the line, but as long as this is only a trial balloon or an attempt to find Clark a few extra snaps, I have no problem with it.

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Yeah, obviously you really do want to get him onto the field. Problem is that you don't want to take Avril off to do it. The idea is that he's going to replace Avril at some point, but in the mean time see if you can fit him in somewhere else.

Cover 3 shouldn't be an enormous problem. The SLB just has the flat 95% of the time. It's when we run man and what little bit of cover 2 that we run where he'll be out of place and spinning in circles. Theoretically anyway...but maybe not.

Hoping its Clark that wins that spot...Not really enthused about Marsh or Morgan taking over there.

I like that they're trying to get the kid on the field, and as much experience as possible in the meantime.

Everyone was going off saying Clark would be a SAM.

WRONG.

His frame and new weight is for THE LEO.

Marsh / Morgan SLB
KPL + rookie WILL

Another option he has not considered is moving K.J. Wright back to SLB.

Our Leo and SLB last year in Avril and Irvin had the exact same measurements. 6'3 260 each. Measurables just don't tell the whole story.

I don't really think that Clark is going to be THE guy at SLB, but it's certainly possible if he can show he can cover. That has more to do with understanding of general football and geometry than measurables. Hell, KJ Wright's 4.72 40 doesn't really belong covering as much as he does, but if he can get a jump on the angle or wall somebody off it works (so long as he's not in the chase or trail position in coverage).

By the sound of the tweet, Marsh and Morgan would compete for the Irvin as LB duties, whereas Clark would fill in for the Irvin as pass rusher duties.

hawknation2016":2vd16sv2 said:

Another option he has not considered is moving K.J. Wright back to SLB.

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The only reason you do that is because you want to get someone on the field at WLB. I outlined how the 2 short to middle zones in a cover 2 that are generally covered by a combination of 2 of 3 positions (WLB, MLB and SS) are some of the hardest zones to cover any just about any zone because of the sheer amount of space you have to cover directly in the middle of the field where the ball can arrive very fast.

If you move KJ, they have to be better in coverage. If that's Dansby then sure, because he's clearly better in coverage than KJ, but anyone else (that we know of) will have to prove it.

I shudder to imagine Cassius Marsh playing SLB. He has good North-South quickness, but his East-West movements are not good enough to play in space.

Clark is the new base weakside DE (not full time, share snaps with another for rest) and nickel weakside DE (full time). He's taking over Irvin's pass rush responsibilities and I think he will do well. He has the strength, moves and speed to make an impact. Irvin was a one trick pony.

SAM LB duties will be a competition and combination of the following players plus another draftee: Marsh, KPL, Pinkins, Shirley and Morgan. A couple of those guys need to bulk up a little and show the ability to hold an edge and force runs back inside which Irvin did very well. I hope KPL steps up and take the job but my instincts say it might be Pinkins.

kearly":3cbu2zu4 said:

By the sound of the tweet, Marsh and Morgan would compete for the Irvin as LB duties, whereas Clark would fill in for the Irvin as pass rusher duties.

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Other tweets show that more clearly and I was hoping that would be the case so it looks like your assertion is correct. I didn't really think there was any merrit to the Clark @ SLB stuff until the tweet above came out, but again; other reports say that Clark is just going to fill Irvin's weak side pass rusher duties.

If we don't add a really talented WLB that can cover, I think Wright stays at WLB and Marsh wins at SLB, which I'm good with.

I think Clark here is an interesting idea. In 4-3 under, which we run a heavy majority of the time, the SAM LB plays a yard or 2 off the LOS and essentially acts as a 5th lineman. Clark's stout against the run and can also get after the passer. The question is whether he'd hold up in coverage, something that Irvin acquitted himself of fairly well. For that matter, I'm not sure how well Marsh would hold up in coverage either. Morgan has at least played the spot and held up okay/well in spot action. He had a +1.3 coverage rating vs. the niners last season, which is really all I could find of him (without a PFF subscription to track every game). Maybe we play a little more nickel in the meantime?

I dont want to see Marsh anywhere. Has he ever done...anything?

I do like his tats, though.

kearly":335uly6x said:

I'm curious to see how Clark would look at SAM. It's worth noting that Clark was originally a safety in high school.

It seems like a waste of Clark's precocious talent for manhandling blockers at the line, but as long as this is only a trial balloon or an attempt to find Clark a few extra snaps, I have no problem with it.

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I'd agree. We drafted him because he looked good at DE. hell, he looks good inside as well. I can't see us drafting him to put him in space. He's got elite get off, which you don't want to waste off the line of scrimmage, and I don't think he was extremely agile.

Marsh is freaking amazing, and I'd love to see how he does at SAM. This kid played at DE, the got up to 300 lbs and played some DT, and also played some TE as someone said. He's so versatile. And I love his motor. i might just have a Pehawk man crush on him if he plays well this year.

jdemps":mkgmuxab said:

I think Clark here is an interesting idea. In 4-3 under, which we run a heavy majority of the time, the SAM LB plays a yard or 2 off the LOS and essentially acts as a 5th lineman. Clark's stout against the run and can also get after the passer. The question is whether he'd hold up in coverage, something that Irvin acquitted himself of fairly well. For that matter, I'm not sure how well Marsh would hold up in coverage either. Morgan has at least played the spot and held up okay/well in spot action. He had a +1.3 coverage rating vs. the niners last season, which is really all I could find of him (without a PFF subscription to track every game). Maybe we play a little more nickel in the meantime?

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Great post. And the first one to quell my tantrum over taking Clark off the line.

You explained it beautifully and with sound logic. The way you put it, Clark would at least match Bruce against the run. Whats lost in coverage is gained by Clark maybe being able to handle blockers better, resulting in an actual statistic from that base SLB.

Now I'm in a tantrum over losing Bruce though. Again.

The system treats LEOs and SAMs as almost interchangeable from a size perspective. SAMs have to play much more coverage however.

I would expect Frank Clark to take some snaps at SLB this season but I think the easiest fix is to move Wright back to SAM and draft a WILL. WILLs are generally much easier to fill and should not really be as highly paid as Wright.

Drafting a mid-round SAM may also fit the bill.

hawknation2016":2yt2iif3 said:

I shudder to imagine Cassius Marsh playing SLB. He has good North-South quickness, but his East-West movements are not good enough to play in space.

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Not disagreeing with you, but it is noteworthy that his 3 cone and shuttle were faster than KJs and Marsh did it at much higher weight than KJ

Marsh also became a terror on special teams playing well in space.

Smellyman":den2xwl9 said:

hawknation2016":den2xwl9 said:

I shudder to imagine Cassius Marsh playing SLB. He has good North-South quickness, but his East-West movements are not good enough to play in space.

Click to expand...

Not disagreeing with you, but it is noteworthy that his 3 cone and shuttle were faster than KJs and Marsh did it at much higher weight than KJ

Marsh also became a terror on special teams playing well in space.

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K.J. tested poorly at the combine. His times stand out like a sore thumb on this defense, which is why he fell to the 4th Round. Having better times than K.J. doesn't tell me too much. He's just a great football player.

I just don't see Marsh being successful at SLB. I don't think he is nearly as explosive as K.J. or Irvin, and he has never played much in coverage. Hope I am wrong.