Mychal Kendricks, Philadelphia Eagle

[Dillen]

I agree with igy that it seems like this dude would be a lot better off playing the weakside. Put your good players in a position where they can be the most successful. Unfortunately, the majority of this board would be just as good on the strongside as anyone else the Eagles will run out there, so that's where it looks like they'll try to play him

[Eagaholic]

FF and Phreak are correct in that there is a trend toward there not being (or needing to be) much difference between SAM and WILL, especially depending on the scheme.

With NEs success with Gronk and Hernandez, 2 TE sets are a hot trend. In a balanced formation there isn't a lot of difference between the 2 LBs. Same with the 4 wide spread sets and such.

More important is the scheme. Basically Washburn is the architect of the D and Juan seems to be incorporating more cover-2 principles into it. I looked back at Washburn's LBs at Tenn, (according to profootballreference)

Stephen Tulloch MLB from '08 - '10 listed at 230 pounds 
David Thornton LLB from '06 to '09 @ 230 pounds
Keith Bulluck RLB tipping the scales at 235 pounds. (although in fairness I think they used the NFL 1st year weights and some players add weight over time).

When Jim Schwartz, Fisher's DC, left Tenn and took the wide 9 to Det, he also took Bulluck with him, and had along side him Justin Durant LLB 230 - 240 pounds (depending on source and year) and Andre DeLevy RLB @ 230  - 238 pounds.

The weights are a pretty constant 230 - 240# although to IGY's point the heights differ by a good bit, from 5' 11" to 6-3.

So bottom line, even if a little short Kendricks does seem to fit the prototypical wide 9 LB mold even as SAM, and I think the trend in general is for strong and weak LBs to become more similar, though it still depends on scheme and how a team prioritizes stopping the pass first vs stopping the run first in a 4-3.

In any case though, with the smaller guys they will be heavily dependent on a swarming gang tackling defense or they will be hopeless. I don't have a problem with the LB size in and of itself, but add in undersized players at SS (if Coleman stays), and nickel CB (where 3 safety big nickel packages are becoming a trend elsewhere) and I have reservations, especially since Nate Allen isn't exactly Brian Dawkins 2.0

They will need to count on the press CBs, who can add a lot more to run support than off the line zone guys like Asante, and those CBs will need to pull their weight and tackle well for the scheme to work. To me Juan seems to be developing a cover-2 back 7 to match with the wide 9 front, but usually those successful cover-2 teams have at least one big crunching guy at a key position, like John Lynch or Urlacherz (though Bob Sanders was a small crunching guy, but still they need at least a player or two to step up and be that tough physical presence). 

As I looked into it more, converting to a wide 9 can be a major overhaul that takes a year or two. I wouldn't have thought, but it may be just a notch below changing from a 3-4 to a 4-3 or vice versa, depending on the personnel already on hand.

[Don Ho]

I read in some draft publication at the local drug store last night that one of his attributes is "violent player".  I have nothing to contribute.

[ice grillin you]

you can only be violent if you make it to the ball....and his major weakness is taking on and getting off blocks...which is fairly important in general but particularly at the SAM spot...to a certain extent you can teach technique in improving in that area but at some point its simply comes down to size...certainly will be one of the interesting things to watch this summer

lets also realize theres no guarantee this guy even wins the SAM job or for that matter the WIL...hes gotta come in and beat out the incumbents...lets be honest that isnt exactly a tall order but would it shock anyone if jamar chaney is the starting SAM against cleveland?

[shorebird]

Another small speed guy at 6'-0" 240lbs. and at 4.47 at the combine. Same ole' same ole'.

Shore, have you read anything on this guy? Have you realized that the LB position is trending towards the smaller speed guys around the league?

It was a trend with the Eagles before it was a trend around the league. Is he going to be able to take on fullbacks and stuff the run? Because imo, thats the kind of backer the Eagles need. Kuechly is lighter but @ 6'3" with a bigger frame he can put on more weight, plus he's a textbook tackler. I knew it wasn't gonna' happen but if the Eagles were ever to get serious about the LB position, they'd have traded up for him.

[ice grillin you]

cookly is a mlb and they just traded for meeko

[shorebird]

I know this, and supposedly 'meeko' is fully recovered from his achilles injury, but would you have rather had Kuechly when Meeko blows his achilles out again or be forced to rely on Chaney?

Cox should help stop the run, but they still seem to have no linebackers that can do it consistantly. 'Meeko' was a beast the first 4 years of his career, and maybe he can come back, but it still isn't a sure thing. I'm sick of seeing things like Marshawn Lynch rushing 22 times for 148 yards and 2 touchdowns, with a mind-boggling 6.7 avg.

[reese125]

If Kendricks can overcome his measurables and become a stud LB god bless him and great for the eagles for scooping him up.

But it's pretty easy to say that when youre a stout 5-10 player you have alligator arms in general and will have a difficult time shedding blocks and getting blanketed up by rolling OT's even the better TE's.  It will always be a mismatch. Sure they might be quicker and can go sideline to sideline, pop off a zone to get to the ball, and have speed to stay with the TE's now, but they are still at a mismatch on the higher thrown ball and 1st and 2nd run downs.

These coordinators are still trying to implement this swarming type, quick to the ball off zone coverage type guys, but keep forgetting to replay all the running downs from last year. Those gaps that were wide open last year were there for a reason....and while one big piece of that was due to lack of talent the other was due to a huge size disadvantage.

Got to bank on the dline holding stout or it's an exact replay of last year.

[shorebird]

You quite literally almost never have even the slightest clue what you're talking about.

Philly fans are going hard 24/7 Last night A random guy thought I was a Giants fan, he was ready to fight. It was do tight. #angry birds

Well...if this wasn't you quoting yourself or Kendricks from twitter, maybe you should put an author to the quote so someone would know, or maybe you should have put it in your Twitter thread. 90% of the crap you post from there contributes nothing. Philly fans wanting to fight! Sooo interesting!

Sorry, I'm not a twitter nut like you.

[shorebird]

Got to bank on the dline holding stout or it's an exact replay of last year.

Exactly, and imo, they have made what looks to be a big improvments there with Cox, but linebackers are still looking to be a weakness...again.

[PoopyfaceMcGee]

Sorry, I'm not a twitter nut like you.

You don't get it. And by "it" I mean absolutely everything ever.

[SunMo]

this guy reminds me of london fletcher with his size and speed

[PoopyfaceMcGee]

this guy reminds me of london fletcher with his size and speed

Fletcher was pretty much always a middle backer, right?

[SunMo]

yeah, i believe so

[PoopyfaceMcGee]

Well, I'd rather have two athletic, playmaking MLBs on the field at once than losers who can't shed blocks or cover.

Speaking of which, Casey Matthews might find a niche on special teams this year!