I like Chick, was he a 285 lb DE? Probably not, but I laugh when people talk like he was going to be a sack master at UM until he was "misused". Someone said he had 15 sacks while here, but lets be honest he should've had 15 more if he could just tackle and make a play when he got to the QB.
Someone mentioned this great pass rushing beast from the UA game. Did you watch the game? Correct me if I am wrong, but one sack was from a bad snap. One sack was a coverage sack where the QB, rightfully so, stepped up in the pocket and chose to go away from Clowney. Another sack was where he was unblocked and Clowney destroyed 2 people trying to block him had the QB wrapped up and couldn't take him to the ground, Chick was just right there for the clean up. I forgot when he got the other sack, but i'm sure Clowney had something to do with it. He looks a lot better when he has a great player opposite him like Clowney and Vernon his Freshman year.
He had a lot of sacks in HS, but stats are misleading. He had a few games against really bad team that he had like 5, 4, and 4 sack games. Not to hard to pad stats against BAD HS teams with a 195 tackle trying to block you. Against teams that have same level talent (Plant, Armwood, Hillsborough, and Brandon) he got 1 sack total and I don't think he got any QB hurries.
Like I said I like Chick, but for those that think he will be James Harrison/Kevin Greene/or any great pass rushing OLB you're not be honest. Chick looks explosive against lesser talent. He get sacks because of great coverage, hustle and effort, and by being in the right place at the right time. He has never been able to shed blocks really well and he will have a very hard time in the league if he doesn't learn how to do that. I think he is on the practice squad this year. Great pass rushing OLB, I just don't see it.
[MENTION=11362]Fawk_U Haters[/MENTION]: Not sure if you played football or not, but scheme has a lot to do w/ why Chick, along w/ many others on the D-Line, are not getting to the QB. As a DE in the 3-4 system, you need strength and bulk to hold up. Chick did just fine w/ that. However, this 3-4 scheme is a read and react philosophy vs. a read and attack like most others.
Our scheme is nothing like Quinn's Seattle 3-4 philosophy or Fangio's 49ers 3-4 philosophy; their 3-4 scheme is designed for corners to press up on receivers to re-set a QB's internal clock, and for the DE's to cause confusion between pinning their ears back and firing off the L.O.S or setting edges so the LBs can come down hill.
We've recruited pass rushers for the last several cycles (Chick, AQM, Thomas, Jackson) yet we're telling them to "hold the line" and allow the LBs to clean up the play. We've ranked in the bottom 3rd in sacks every year since Golden has been here...so no, I don't blame Chick for only having 15 sacks in his career at UM...AQM, Thomas, McCord, Jackson, Harris were all tremendous pass rushers in HS and now they are being taught to not to pin their ears back, but rather, hold the line, and neither one of them have been getting to the QB either.
That can be extremely frustrating for these types of players which is why I said Golden is a mediocre recruiter. He recruits press corners, roaming safeties, rush DE's, and yet he's constantly putting them out of position which is huring both the on-field and off-field potentials. Chick is letting the world know, as he should, that he was played out of position and misused. At the Sr. Bowl, he shined, again...just like he did at the UA all-star game. I'm sorry, that's not a coincidence.
How well these players do at the next level will be another indictment on how crappy Golden is as a coach, motivator, mentor, and leader of men (no disrespect to Genron). And I don't blame Chick for taking shots at Golden...Chick is a 3rd generation Cane; Golden is not even close to being a Cane. He's only here b/c he has no other choice (since his Alma-Mater wasn't foolin' w/ him).
