LB James Laurinaitis retires at age 30

[jap]

He'll be a coach, a la Kevin Greene. Without a doubt.

He never sniffed the Super Bowl as a player. Might as well join us as a Horn and win one as a coach.

 

[Soul Surfer]

This board is a class act.
"Act accordingly..."
View attachment 19212

Well..... my posting style seems to be somewhere between a Negative Nancy and a Sunshine Pumper.

I called a lot of mistakes being made by the Fisher regime correctly and unfortunately.

They've been doing much better since they fired him though so no complaints at the moment. : )

 

[Fatbot]

I think I'm correct that he didn't get one forced fumble in his entire career?

Probably depends on your source because the "forced" part of a FF is a judgment call, not a fact stat. Pro Football Reference's source lists JL having one FF in his career, so whatever the case it's obviously low. Of course, Bobby Wagner has just 2 FF in his career, and there's no doubt examples that might show the number meaningful or meaningless depending on what conclusion is trying to be drawn. Here, I think that if the point is that he wasn't a fumble-producing thumper, it is well agreed, no matter what the exact FF number.

When this discussion came up a few years back, however, I cautioned that JL's soft image and "only making tackles 5 yards downfield" was probably skewed by his lack of ESPN highlights, and I posted this comparison:

JAMES LAURINAITIS
2009- 3
2010- 7
2011- 9
2012- 4
2013- 5
2014- 2
6 yrs, 30 stuffs = 5 stuffs per year

ANONYMOUS "HALL OF FAME" 49ER MLB
(that received daily fellatio from Chris Berman)
2007- 7
2008- 4
2009- 5
2010- 0
2011- 3
2012- 3
2013- 2
7 yrs, 24 stuffs = 3.4 stuffs per year

And then of course there was the argument that JL was a fantastically reliable tackler -- even if he was only tackling 5 yards downfield, at least he was making the tackle and whiffing less than any other LB...

JL's last couple years -- where saying he lost a step was generous (more like he lost a full stride) -- unfortunately taint his memory, too. Obviously it got to the point where he wasn't really making any plays at all, just roaming the field almost like another free safety. But it often worked because it allowed the DL talent to be the playmaking unit and JL's role was to align the D by making the calls, and helping contain the breakdowns up front (until he was too slow to help at all).

Anyway, my opinion was always that if you accepted JL's role you could accept his production was impressive and he was an asset to the team, but if you rejected that role for a MLB and wanted a more traditional thumper MLB you'd probably never appreciate JL. But of course all these so-called stats are judgments and opinions, and the only real fact in this discussion is Chris Berman gives blowjobs to 49ers.

 

[LACHAMP46]

The only statistic where Maualuga beat JL was with forced fumbles, JL had him big time on interceptions, sacks & tackles. Even better, Iron Man James Laurinaitis never missed a game throughout his career with the Rams.

The never missed a game part....yeah....but impact on the game...on his team...leadership...naw...not even close....It's a reason that the Bengals were one of the better defensive teams while he was there...and a constant presence in the playoffs.

He was absolutely better than Maualuga lol and by a fairly decent margin, production wise and especially when you consider what he did for this team as a leader.

I don't know...Seems they were a consistently better team...defense...than us...Stats DON'T tell the whole story...

You just continue your fast jump in the deep end with your player evaluations. Though we shouldn't take anybody seriously who considers Quick a good WR I guess all your player comments are to be taken with a grain of salt

Oh yeah....and Quick is a good wr...so was Britt...so was Cook...Look at the teams that took them...Look at what Britt was paid. Offensive juggernauts Oakland and Washington...Yet they wanted OUR receivers...Why?

I still go by the eye test...JL made too many plays downfield...and he's a linebacker...not a safety. He gets a lot of credit for two good seasons...and yet no one really remembers his last 4 or 5...One year away from us, he's out the league..Not a surprise. Reminds me of Pettis & Salas...

 

[Soul Surfer]

OK, I'll be blunt here about Laurinaitis;

I thought he was incredibly overrated.
You force a fumble and get a judgement call on it when you bring your arm down hard enough in a tackle to strip the ball.
Or you can meet someone at the point of the tackle and purposely try to strip it.
I NEVER saw that out of JL.

He rarely tried to meet the ball carrier in the backfield.
To me he could be used as example of how not to win a game.

He was so intent on making the tackle that he would almost meet the guy halfway, AFTER the ball carrier had already picked up five or six yards on average.
Sharp defensive coordinator seem to notice this and would run right at him knowing it was a sure five yard pickup and then drag Laurinaitis for a couple more yards.

To me a good stud Middle Linebacker, (like All Pro Ogletree) attempts to meet the guy at the line of scrimmage or as soon as he pops through the line of scrimmage stopping him for a yard or two pick up.

I'm pretty sure that's why Williams was not interested in having Laurinaitis there.

It seems like they just released Laurinaitis outright because I can't recall them trying to renegotiate his contract.
Remember that Laurinaitis took it kind of hard because in his mind he was giving 100% effort, he just had a different technique that much less successful. JMO

 

[Soul Surfer]

.....the only real fact in this discussion is Chris Berman gives blowjobs to 49ers.

Is this true?

 

[Selassie I]

Is this true?

100% FACT and TRUE

 

[LACHAMP46]

Not really....two players....chris long signed and played for $1.5 million...he was obviously worth more...Darrell Revis, Tru Johnson signed for....whatever...I can't see a way Tru lives up to that. Neither did Revis...Your worth is dictated by what one will pay...nothing more. Kenny's worth $8.5....Quick seems to be worth 10% of that. LOL....

 

[OldSchool]

So a thread was started to thank JL55 for his years and was shared with him and some people are taking this thread and talking shit about the guy. Total lack of class.

 

[Soul Surfer]

So a thread was started to thank JL55 for his years and was shared with him and some people are taking this thread and talking crap about the guy. Total lack of class.

Actually the thread was just mentioning his retirement in the title.

I don't really even seeing it as "talking shit".

I see it as talking football and different styles and techniques in Middle Linebacking.

I simply see that there is more than tackles in manning the linebacker position.

I do agree that in Laurinaitis' mind he was leaving it all out there on the field every game which IS very important.

I just don't see him as terribly effective like a Jack "Hacksaw" Reynolds who was extremely effective in big plays in big games.

 

[Soul Surfer]

100% FACT and TRUE

So.....is Kaepernick sitting kneeling or standing?

 

[leagueofshadows]

Absolute class act, extremely tough and consistent. One of my favourite rams. Thanks for the memories and effort.

 

[RocknRam29]

 

[jjab360]

The never missed a game part....yeah....but impact on the game...on his team...leadership...naw...not even close....It's a reason that the Bengals were one of the better defensive teams while he was there...and a constant presence in the playoffs.

Dude... you're so off base here it's crazy. Maualuga had very little to do with why that defense was as good as it was... he was pretty much just their Jo-Lonn Dunbar at best. Except even JLD was more productive for us some years than he was for the Bengals.

In 8 NFL seasons, Mauaulaga had more than 100 tackles once. In 7 seasons for us JL had more than 100 tackles every. single. year. Stats don't tell the whole story but in this instance, they paint a hell of a picture.

 

[jjab360]

View attachment 19219

I wouldn't mind seeing a second cour for Baby Animal in the WWE. If I remember correctly, he was even approached by them when he was in college.

 

[Soul Surfer]

Valid points there flava.

He sure wasn't built for Williams defense.

His skills really fell off fast after he was 26 ,27 years old tho.

 

[RamDino]

JL 55 was a great teammate, leader, and role model. He made good money playing for St Louis and should be all set. No reason to risk injury at this point. Great move James. Best of luck. signed... Ram Fans

 

[Dxmissile]

16.5 sacks when he blitzed he got there 10 interceptions. James role on the team was to patrol the middle and he did a hell of a job.

 

[LACHAMP46]

Maualuga had very little to do with why that defense was as good as it was... he was pretty much just their Jo-Lonn Dunbar at best. Except even JLD was more productive for us some years than he was for the Bengals.

In 8 NFL seasons, Mauaulaga had more than 100 tackles once. In 7 seasons for us JL had more than 100 tackles every. single. year. Stats don't tell the whole story but in this instance, they paint a hell of a picture.

Same type of players to me....James has more career tackles.....Rey has more wins and playoff appearances. The Bengals look at him as a leader, even though he was a part-time player (may explain the tackle discrepancy) Neither of these guys was great,nor will they be in the HOF. They both have been consider their teams most overrated players

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/n...teams-32-players-who-are-more-name-than-game/

I saw a lot, if not most of JL55 tackles....and I'll stand by, he was an insignificant player on this defense. Did not lead by example...and was constantly making stops downfield like a safety. If you think thats cool, hey that's why we have a blog...for guys to express their opinion.