Does anyone else feel we should move Lamarr Houston to Defensive Tackle?

[Wounded Bear]

.....and have Willie Young be our starting LDE?

I mean, Lamarr would have to put on some weight (he's listed at 300, but I think he's at 270), but I'm not seeing him show up as a defensive end.

After all of the hype surrounding his acquisition, I think the team would be better served if he gained 20 pounds and rotated him in at defensive tackle, especially on 3rd and longs....if we have injuries at defensive end, he could rotate in at that position without any sacrifice to his performance.

Kind of what Izzy did as well as Henry Melton did his first few years....


Just spit ballin'.

 

[NCChiFan]

yes

 

[leomaz]

It seemed like he played a lot of DT

 

[beardown07]

I thought that was the eventual plan?

I know they kick him inside on passing downs now, but with the way Willie Young is playing I could definitely see it happening more often. Young has earned more time, that's for sure.

 

[Biggix]

I don't think Houston has the length in his arms to play DE he should slide into the middle imo

 

[Da Coach]

Houston moves down to DT in nickel, which we're in more often than not. I think we need to keep it as-is for now because Houston beats up on the RT and that allows Willie Young to come in and use his speed, which provides a different look and makes him more effective IMO. We also lack another DE to come in and provide the rest that's needed for a consistent pass rush.

 

[Peter Gozintite]

There is no excuse to not have Young on the field for as many snaps as possible.

 

[noonthirtyjoe]

I'm not ready for change after only 2 games. Houston may need a few games to get going. Leave him at DE and rotate so him and Young are fresh late in games.

 

[anotheridiot]

I don't think Houston has the length in his arms to play DE he should slide into the middle imo

He played DT in Oakland when he was at 305. He is trying to play at 268 this season to stay at end more. If its not working he is gonna need to bulk up to play more tackle.

 

[richig07]

He played DT in Oakland when he was at 305. He is trying to play at 268 this season to stay at end more. If its not working he is gonna need to bulk up to play more tackle.

If his weight is the only thing that he has changed over the off-season, maybe somebody should feed this guy some cheeseburgers.

 

[thunderspirit]

I don't think Houston has the length in his arms to play DE he should slide into the middle imo

Dude's got 33 inch arms. Plenty long enough to play DE. He's a fine base end, just not a sack machine.

Rotating Houston inside and letting Young play RE on passing downs is the plan, and I think they'll stick with it.

 

[cubzzzfanincali]

I've heard he is playing both. Anyone have a rough snap count where he is lining up?

 

[NCChiFan]

THE problem is, the DT position isn't the position we picked him up to play. We have two kids plus two great Vet's playing DT, we really need a 5th? He has under performed for what we are paying him. I'm disappointed, while Young has over performed and I am happy.

 

[anotheridiot]

THE problem is, the DT position isn't the position we picked him up to play. We have two kids plus two great Vet's playing DT, we really need a 5th? He has under performed for what we are paying him. I'm disappointed, while Young has over performed and I am happy.

I think the plan was move him inside on passing downs to get more rush. But he was signed before we got the best pass rush DT in the draft this year.

If Ratliff is out with concussion symptons, he is not gonna be cleared to play, unless the extra day makes that much of a difference. I have really liked what I have seen from Sutton and Ferguson though. Just because we are paying Lamar alot does not mean one of the rookies should be sidelined.

 

[yutch]

THE problem is, the DT position isn't the position we picked him up to play. We have two kids plus two great Vet's playing DT, we really need a 5th? He has under performed for what we are paying him. I'm disappointed, while Young has over performed and I am happy.

Unless Stephen Paea is a terrific veterinarian, I don't know where you get "two great vets". And Ratliff's both football-old and injury-prone.

Besides, who cares what position we picked him up to play? We picked Young up to be insurance and to push Bassington, and he's our best DE (for that matter, we didn't pick up Jared Allen to be completely overshadowed by Willie Young). We signed the guys we did, which was mostly an executive function. We're playing them where they fit, which is a coaching function. Two different things.

 

[yutch]

I don't have a snap-count chart or anything, but I know that we played Houston at LE and Young at RE on Fuller's first interception. The highlights and my memory agree that Houston didn't play much DT if any in our base sets; he played the equivalent of a DE on Fuller's second interception and on the final fourth-down play with Young outside him in a wide-nine-ish role. Figure the first time it was a new look, and the second it was part of a very nicely designed package to keep Kaepernick from rolling to his right with any sort of comfort.

 

[yutch]

I'm not ready for change after only 2 games. Houston may need a few games to get going. Leave him at DE and rotate so him and Young are fresh late in games.

Bingo. Let's at least see how he does against the next two RTs on our schedule, who've both been J'Marcusing all over themselves this season.