No it seems like your expectations are extremely high for one guy on an entire unit. Earlier in the year the two lbs that had problems were Ogletree and Dunbar but people seem to forget that olgetree was looking terrible out there but because he is athletic and makes splash plays that get overlooked because he hits and forces fumbles, but he is very inconsistent if everyone played defense as consistently as JL then we would have a top defense
Maybe. But in this defense, the MLB is the nucleus. IMO, it needs to be our strongest position on the field. With our Dline, JL should be a top 5 linebacker.
That same dLine didn't get a sack till when, to me maybe not in stats but he is a top linebacker. I don't understand what does he have to do to get the respect that he deserves. Some lbs have 1 good year he has had 6
Like I said man, if the defense plays like it did from games 7-16 (minus the shitty Giants effort) I will give him tons of praise along with the whole defense. That was elite play and exactly what we need from him and the entire defense. Unfortunately individuals like JL only get praise if the whole defense is working.
Yeah your right. But again, this thread is specifically about JL and the defenses play. And this coming season he needs to prove to be consistent. Plus, there's nothing wrong with wanting to upgrade a position. Especially one that's the core of the defense. Boy, this is starting to seem very similar to the Bradford debate. I promise I'm not trying to be a troll lol I just think we could do better then JL at such an important position.
Exactly. Im okay with JJ, Johnson and Gaines for now. But I expect McLeod to be upgraded. I love the way our secondary hits though.
This. I thought he lost a step at the beginning of last season but I think it was his preseason injury lingering. I've been hoping for more LB depth for a long time and would have no problem with the Rams drafting a guy to groom as a potential long-term replacement, but simply as a matter of pragmatic planning for the future, not because JL is any sort of present weakness.
Those are a lot of words to essentially say the same thing I said earlier in this thread. I said he was solid, and not yet a high priority in the scope of strengthening units on the team. He'll get challenged soon enough and that's evidenced by the way his contract is structured. You'll see. In the meantime, do me a couple of favors. First, don't insinuate that I have some sort of manlove for a player simply because I look at the situation from a different angle and don't view replacing him as critical at the moment. Secondly, don't presume to know that I don't watch these games and/or am not acutely aware of how he ranks in the league. I do, and I am.
Hahaha, that's a good catch. But obviously there's a difference between getting a lot of tackles and playing good D lolSo you started the thread praising his consistency but now say he needs to prove his consistency...
This seems to be a common theme with those that don't like JL, they have a hard time describing exactly what they don't like. I think it just comes down to he's not flashy enough for some, because his consistent production can't be denied.
This. I thought he lost a step at the beginning of last season but I think it was his preseason injury lingering. I've been hoping for more LB depth for a long time and would have no problem with the Rams drafting a guy to groom as a potential long-term replacement, but simply as a matter of pragmatic planning for the future, not because JL is any sort of present weakness.
