Question to the Board re: OLB

[Mitch]

Somers reported today that Clark Haggans would be signed as a backup...to Schofield and Acho. Of the two, who plays SOLB and who plays WOLB?

I am very interested in your thoughts.

My question is...Schofield does not strike me physically as a SOLB type...and both were used pretty much on the weak side last year. Acho seemed to thrive as the backside rusher. Your thoughts?

 

[52brandon]

it'll take camp to really get a good feel for it, but I think Acho will play SOLB and Scho at WOLB. I think they are very capable of making it work. BUT, with Haggans rotating in, maybe they put Scho/Haggans at SOLB and Acho at WOLB all game...

 

[Duckjake]

Somers reported today that Clark Haggans would be signed as a backup...to Schofield and Acho. Of the two, who plays SOLB and who plays WOLB?

I am very interested in your thoughts.

My question is...Schofield does not strike me physically as a SOLB type...and both were used pretty much on the weak side last year. Acho seemed to thrive as the backside rusher. Your thoughts?

Acho at 6'2" 262 vs O'scho 6'2 238? There's no question who would be better suited for the strong side. Acho played on the right side at Texas but if you are going to take any player on the Cardinals roster and ask him to grasp the intricacies of playing a new position it would be the Campbell Award winner who was voted one of the 20 smartest athletes in America by the Sporting News in 2010.

 

[Shane]

Acho at 6'2" 262 vs O'scho 6'2 238? There's no question who would be better suited for the strong side. Acho played on the right side at Texas but if you are going to take any player on the Cardinals roster and ask him to grasp the intricacies of playing a new position it would be the Campbell Award winner who was voted one of the 20 smartest athletes in America by the Sporting News in 2010.

Sorry Duck but there is no way in heck Schofield is 238 anymore. Thats the listed weight he has had with the Cardinals when he was first signed and rehabbing. There was an article during that process somewhere that he stated he was playing somewhere around 250 in college IIRC correctly and that he wanted to play at 255 or so. This is 2 1/2 seasons since. You can't tell me he hasn't packed on weight. Just based on this pic alone I would say there is no way that Acho is 25 pounds heavier than Schofield. He's bigger but not 25 pounds bigger. In fact based on that pic Im betting Acho is closer to 6 feet than 6'2" not that I care as long as the kid keeps producing.

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[WildBB]

Acho at 6'2" 262 vs O'scho 6'2 238? There's no question who would be better suited for the strong side. Acho played on the right side at Texas but if you are going to take any player on the Cardinals roster and ask him to grasp the intricacies of playing a new position it would be the Campbell Award winner who was voted one of the 20 smartest athletes in America by the Sporting News in 2010.

These are official listings for Cardinals players:

94 Acho, Sam OLB 6-3 257 23 2 Texas

50 Schofield, O'Brien OLB 6-3 242 25 3 Wisconsin

I'd agree that Acho fits there better. Schofield might be better coming off the weak side. He's a bit quicker.

 

[juza76]

These are official listings for Cardinals players:

94 Acho, Sam OLB 6-3 257 23 2 Texas

50 Schofield, O'Brien OLB 6-3 242 25 3 Wisconsin

I'd agree that Acho fits there better. Schofield might be better coming off the weak side. He's a bit quicker.

Are official wrong . At combine official measurents acho 6-1 5/8 schofield 6-2

 

[Snakester]

That's an easy one Mitch. Schofield at weak and Acho at strong. Acho has the size 260 and Schofield has the speed for weak.

 

[Duckjake]

These are official listings for Cardinals players:

94 Acho, Sam OLB 6-3 257 23 2 Texas

50 Schofield, O'Brien OLB 6-3 242 25 3 Wisconsin

I'd agree that Acho fits there better. Schofield might be better coming off the weak side. He's a bit quicker.

What's official? You can go to nine different sources and get 9 different measurements. The Cards site has Acho with your numbers. NFL.com has him at 6'2" 257. profootball-reference has him at 6'2" 262.

And since these guys are in their early 20's you can't even go by the combine measurements because they may have grown some more since then.

Best to just go with Acho at 6'2" 260 and Ocho at 6'2" 240.

 

[Vermont Maverick]

Best to just go with Acho at 6'2" 260 and Ocho at 6'2" 240.

Oh, no! We signed Chad Johnson?

 

[Duckjake]

Oh, no! We signed Chad Johnson?

No but we did draft one bad MF.

 

[WarnerHOF]

I don't think Schofield is all that good. The only time he made any contribution on the field was when matched against RBs.

 

[Buckybird]

Until we draft a dominant OLB who can make a OC worry about that 1 guy, our D will never be dominant IMO. We played great down the stretch last year against mediocre offenses & I'm still skeptical how good this D can be without that dominant edge rusher against the better offenses of the NFL.

 

[52brandon]

Until we draft a dominant OLB who can make a OC worry about that 1 guy, our D will never be dominant IMO. We played great down the stretch last year against mediocre offenses & I'm still skeptical how good this D can be without that dominant edge rusher against the better offenses of the NFL.

I disagree. Our D will be dominant this year

 

[Duckjake]

Until we draft a dominant OLB who can make a OC worry about that 1 guy, our D will never be dominant IMO. We played great down the stretch last year against mediocre offenses & I'm still skeptical how good this D can be without that dominant edge rusher against the better offenses of the NFL.

I have the same concern. We were 1-5 vs playoff teams last season. However, we have a lot of young players on D and the Cards had more come from behind victories last season than in probably any season since 1998. The young guys don't have the old Cardinal ways instilled in them. All they know is that they can win if they keep the game close.

Horton is our dominant player on Defense. He's the guy opposing OC's have to worry about.

 

[JeffGollin]

Are we lining up strong-side/weak-side? I seem to recall our adopting a left-side/right-side approach instead.

If so, we'd probably want more of a symmetrical approach to our OLBs (with perhaps a bit of size-bias to counter any lopsided tendencies in the NFL to line up their TE on the left side or right).

That said, I'd expect us to line up Schofield on the right (usually the QBs blindside) and Acho on the left, with Bradley or Haggans brought in to replace Schofield when more size was needed on the right and, conversely, someone like Nash or Benn spotting Acho when Horton feels he needs more edge speed (instead of bulk) off the left side.

All of which is just a guess on my part, but that's how I think it might come down.

 

[Shane]

I don't think Schofield is all that good. The only time he made any contribution on the field was when matched against RBs.

Interesting. I dont recall the back to back sacks and game winning FF being against RB's??

 

[RugbyMuffin]

Interesting. I dont recall the back to back sacks and game winning FF being against RB's??

+1

Schofield is going to be really good for us this year. He will be a situational pass rusher, but he will be a good one.

Acho is a very good player, and will play well this year.

I am very comfortable with Acho and Schofield as our pass rushing OLB'ers.

If you add Haggans and Bradley as the rotational guys, then we are fine at OLB for 2012, IMO.

 

[Chopper0080]

I will be happier when Haggens contract is signed, but still am very worried about our depth.

I think this year we will see our defense ranked better, and better overall, but still not dominant.

 

[RugbyMuffin]

I will be happier when Haggens contract is signed, but still am very worried about our depth.

Then you will be worried for a while. The Cardinals are obviously taking a wait and see approach to the post-draft offseason. Not that it is a bad thing, just nerve racking. Are they planning or just doing there usual Cardinals thing ?

We will see.

I think this year we will see our defense ranked better, and better overall, but still not dominant.

IMHO, I think the defense will be ranked worse, and the beginning of this season the defense will struggle mightily. It will be worth it though. A lot of good young talent is getting infused into the 2ndary of this defense, and there will be blown coverages, missed assignments, rookie moments, etc., etc.

So, in a nutshell I would say the defense will start the season being worse, but be better than last years by the end of the season.

 

[Arizona's Finest]

Horton is our dominant player on Defense. He's the guy opposing OC's have to worry about.

Agreed

Interesting. I dont recall the back to back sacks and game winning FF being against RB's??

Agreed

I will be happier when Haggens contract is signed, but still am very worried about our depth.

I think this year we will see our defense ranked better, and better overall, but still not dominant.

Agreed

 

[john h]

Are official wrong . At combine official measurents acho 6-1 5/8 schofield 6-2

But who has the longer arms? Who can jump higher? Who is meaner?

 

[john h]

What's official? You can go to nine different sources and get 9 different measurements. The Cards site has Acho with your numbers. NFL.com has him at 6'2" 257. profootball-reference has him at 6'2" 262.

And since these guys are in their early 20's you can't even go by the combine measurements because they may have grown some more since then.

Best to just go with Acho at 6'2" 260 and Ocho at 6'2" 240.

The time of day the measurment is taken can change your height by 1/8". What if you have real thick hair? Go to a chriopractor and get on one of those body stretchers for an hour before they measure you at the combine. Beyond 1" and 10 lbs of body weight there are factors that far exceed those. Probably what goes on in the brain for one. I have no idea which one of these guys is better at what position but it sure want come down to 3/8" or 10 lbs.

 

[Chopper0080]

Then you will be worried for a while. The Cardinals are obviously taking a wait and see approach to the post-draft offseason. Not that it is a bad thing, just nerve racking. Are they planning or just doing there usual Cardinals thing ?

We will see.



IMHO, I think the defense will be ranked worse, and the beginning of this season the defense will struggle mightily. It will be worth it though. A lot of good young talent is getting infused into the 2ndary of this defense, and there will be blown coverages, missed assignments, rookie moments, etc., etc.

So, in a nutshell I would say the defense will start the season being worse, but be better than last years by the end of the season.

I agree we have talented young players in our secondary, but which do you believe will be contributing early? I fully expect Toler and William Gay to battle for the #2 and #3 CB spots in camp, and both have experience in Horton's scheme (Toler studying it last year, and Gay playing in it in Pitt.) Our safeties are both experienced in the defense and have shown to be solid. If we are young at any position it would be at OLB where we are projecting to start Acho and Schfield.

Flemming may work his way into the 2nd or 3rd CB spot as the season goes along, but he won't do so until he demonstrates he can avoid making those types of mistakes. Same goes for Bethel whom I believe has a much steeper learning curve.

 

[Duckjake]

I agree we have talented young players in our secondary, but which do you believe will be contributing early? I fully expect Toler and William Gay to battle for the #2 and #3 CB spots in camp, and both have experience in Horton's scheme (Toler studying it last year, and Gay playing in it in Pitt.) Our safeties are both experienced in the defense and have shown to be solid. If we are young at any position it would be at OLB where we are projecting to start Acho and Schfield.

Flemming may work his way into the 2nd or 3rd CB spot as the season goes along, but he won't do so until he demonstrates he can avoid making those types of mistakes. Same goes for Bethel whom I believe has a much steeper learning curve.

Interesting side note: William Gay is one day older than Toler. Yet this will be his 6th NFL season while Toler, due to missing last year, will only be in his 3rd.

 

[Krangodnzr]

LOL I can't log into my Profootballfocus account, but one of the things they noted in the analysis of our OLB is that Schofield is already more productive than Acho.

Acho had like 3 times as many pass rush opportunities but only netted 2.5 more sacks. Also compare their tackle numbers; Acho didn't have that many more tackles. I think that the difference between the two is the unseen things, such as blowing assignments, being out of position, etc. that coaching staffs judge players on and fans/outside analysts won't know.

I know Joeshmo and a few other posters have stated before that you can only have so many young 3-4 OLBers on a roster. It takes them 3-4 years until they can be productive starters, unless they are ridiculous athletes like Demarcus Ware. The Cardinals were in a position that if they didn't draft Melvin Ingram or one of the other OLBs, then it wouldn't be worth taking one later since the other guys generally will take more time to be productive.

On a sidenote, my brother had lunch with a South Carolina sports radio personality this past weekend and he got to pick his brain a bit on recruits in the area. He said that he knows Ingram personally and that he is a really smart kid.