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- Oct 21, 2011
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There have already been a few threads about James Williams playing a more "hybrid" role this upcoming season. Many have mentioned he's likely to show more versatility and play closer to the LOS - Guidry supposedly convincing him to show all his skills to the NFL. Some have said he'll basically be more of an OLB.
A handful of posters have naturally mentioned how he needed to be more physical to play at the LOS. However, even if he doesn't quite evolve into a thumper, the point of this stand alone thread is that I think there's a key place for him in certain sub-packages and down and distance scenarios:
the skill emphasis I'd like to see most is blitzing from the Edge, out wide (and all the possibilities that come with that) - even beyond 9tech - and involved in Guidry's more exotic looks where he drops a DL into coverage.
Dating back to his True Frosh year, one of the attributes that stood out to me most was Williams' ability to close on the QB. The times we saw Diaz blitz him, he looked exceptional - almost like a giant spider - closing on the QB.
As I go back through last year's torturous games and individual players' HLs, I'm currently wondering who's going to help us make a significant leap in two categories:
3rd down conversion %: from 100th in the country to hopefully something above the 40th ranking.
Yards per play allowed: from 80th in the country to hopefully something like 35th (closer to ~5ypp).
To do this, I believe we need more efficient pressure on the QB (not just sacks) and we need to limit the big plays we consistently allowed. Not earth-shattering insight, I realize. A lot of those big plays last year were from complete breakdowns on the backend OR horrific angles from LBs and DBs. To this end, Williams struggled with some angles.
Getting him closer to the LOS and downhill chasing the QB is one way to use his talents and possibly reduce what we had previously seen as a flaw.
Of course, we still need to find a Safety or two to complement Kam, but that's another thread and topic.
A handful of posters have naturally mentioned how he needed to be more physical to play at the LOS. However, even if he doesn't quite evolve into a thumper, the point of this stand alone thread is that I think there's a key place for him in certain sub-packages and down and distance scenarios:
the skill emphasis I'd like to see most is blitzing from the Edge, out wide (and all the possibilities that come with that) - even beyond 9tech - and involved in Guidry's more exotic looks where he drops a DL into coverage.
Dating back to his True Frosh year, one of the attributes that stood out to me most was Williams' ability to close on the QB. The times we saw Diaz blitz him, he looked exceptional - almost like a giant spider - closing on the QB.
As I go back through last year's torturous games and individual players' HLs, I'm currently wondering who's going to help us make a significant leap in two categories:
3rd down conversion %: from 100th in the country to hopefully something above the 40th ranking.
Yards per play allowed: from 80th in the country to hopefully something like 35th (closer to ~5ypp).
To do this, I believe we need more efficient pressure on the QB (not just sacks) and we need to limit the big plays we consistently allowed. Not earth-shattering insight, I realize. A lot of those big plays last year were from complete breakdowns on the backend OR horrific angles from LBs and DBs. To this end, Williams struggled with some angles.
Getting him closer to the LOS and downhill chasing the QB is one way to use his talents and possibly reduce what we had previously seen as a flaw.
Of course, we still need to find a Safety or two to complement Kam, but that's another thread and topic.
