ESPN insider think that

[fordman84]

Brian Orakpo = Average


...I am wrong....

Got it. I criticize the Skins more than anyone, but this is one guy who is a top caliber players in a sea of disappointment, over-hype and mediocrity.

Once again, I have a tough time taking someone serious who looks at tackle totals for an edge rusher. That alone tells me more than I need to know.

Fine, have a hard time taking me seriously. I have a hard time taking the word of anyone that A) has to ask what defense the team his team is playing this week runs, and B) thinks an average player is a beast based on what he did two years ago or in college.

His numbers this year speak for themselves. Whatever number you want to compare, Orakpo is not in the top tier of OLB's.

 

[Smart]

It's alright... my Bears have the best linebacking corp in the league, and you never hear about them. The "experts" on ESPN unfortunately only glorify teams that play a 3-4 and get a lot of sacks. Look at the Packers with Clay Matthews. He has 3 sacks all year, 0 turnovers, has more time to get a sack than anyone else (because of the Williams-Woodson secondary), and somehow he's the best linebacker in the league because he "pressures" quarterbacks. Meanwhile, the guys that make play after play but happen to do it 2-4 yards beyond the line of scrimmage are completely forgotten.

 

[Forty_Sixand2]

This isn't baseball. Numbers tell about 1/3 of the story. Sorry that I don't pay much attention to teams in the NFC West, but umm, yeah....I am not obsessive.....

 

[vancelot23]

I'm not a big fan of either team, but just looking at numbers, in football especially, is misleading. There is a lot of stuff that isn't covered by stats in the NFL. Orakpo is highly regarded in the league for a reason. So he doesn't have huge sack numbers. That doesn't include QB pressures or hurries. Carlos Dunlap hardly has a sack all year for the Bengals, but trust me, I've watched every game closely and he has a huge impact on the opposing QB.

 

[fordman84]

This isn't baseball. Numbers tell about 1/3 of the story. Sorry that I don't pay much attention to teams in the NFC West, but umm, yeah....I am not obsessive.....

Of course numbers don't tell the whole story, but a sample size of almost half of a season is enough that outliers should shake out. One or two games with nothing in the box score will happen, but Orakpo has had 1 good game this season.

I am obsessive. I know players, especially those that my team plays against. Orakpo was a big name coming out of college, had a stellar rookie year, then didn't do much after that. Blame it on what you want, defensive scheme, help on the other side, DB coverage...whatever. The bottom line is that Orakpo is a guy that is playing like a solid OLB.

But he is no beast. I'd love to have him line up on the other side of DWare, I'm no blind hater. But this year he has not done much.

 

[Forty_Sixand2]

How many holding calls has Orakpo drawn? Is there a place to look for that? There should be. He won a game last season by being held. In fact, on defense, the position where stats that are actually kept means the least is 4-3 DE and 3-4 OLB. They are schemed to move the field, not absorb the play.

 

[Forty_Sixand2]

as an example of the other side of the equation....

Rocky McIntosh has fantastic numbers this year but he is an average player. His tackle totals are way up because Haslett has schemed him more to a rover style ILB (think Timmons in Pit) as a result of an unhealthy Landry. His numbers are up but he is not great, just having guys pushed to him by Orakpo and to a lesser degree, Kerrigan.

On the subject of Landry...THAT GUY is about as overrated as anyone in the league. He hits hard....when he is not getting burned and blown through. His hits and size make people overrate him quite a bit. He is awful in coverage and a terrible tackler.

 

[fordman84]

as an example of the other side of the equation....

Rocky McIntosh has fantastic numbers this year but he is an average player. His tackle totals are way up because Haslett has schemed him more to a rover style ILB (think Timmons in Pit) as a result of an unhealthy Landry. His numbers are up but he is not great, just having guys pushed to him by Orakpo and to a lesser degree, Kerrigan.

On the subject of Landry...THAT GUY is about as overrated as anyone in the league. He hits hard....when he is not getting burned and blown through. His hits and size make people overrate him quite a bit. He is awful in coverage and a terrible tackler.

I'm not saying Orakpo is bad, I'm saying he isn't a beast. Like I said, I'd LOVE to have him on my team. But I would admit when he isn't producing. I have a lot of players on my own team that I think are good, but Ware and Witten are the only beasts. I think Lee could be a beast one day. I think Dez could be a beast one day. I think Ratliff is good but would be better on an end.

 

[CalamityX11]

It's alright... my Bears have the best linebacking corp in the league, and you never hear about them. The "experts" on ESPN unfortunately only glorify teams that play a 3-4 and get a lot of sacks. Look at the Packers with Clay Matthews. He has 3 sacks all year, 0 turnovers, has more time to get a sack than anyone else (because of the Williams-Woodson secondary), and somehow he's the best linebacker in the league because he "pressures" quarterbacks. Meanwhile, the guys that make play after play but happen to do it 2-4 yards beyond the line of scrimmage are completely forgotten.

Same LBs that got lit up by the Lions???

 

[Yadahell]

OK, so I just looked.

Orakpo and Kerrigan are significantly better than Ahmad Brooks who is garbage and Haralson, if he is still starting.

Brooks is garbage? I beg to differ. Perhaps you should watch last week's game against Cleveland to acquaint yourself with Mr. Brooks.

 

[Rvnight18]

Willis is Willis. Bowmann is as good as Fletcher right now. Brooks is playing out of his mind. 49ers have the best front 7 in the NFL.

 

[Forty_Sixand2]

I did not see Brooks last week but he has be underwhelmin his entire career to this point. He is also a terrible person, as he is a local guy for me. His numbers seem up but overall he is a distracted, me first pass rush specialist that has work ethic issues and problems with authority. Enjoy the year or two you get from him before he gets pissy and becomes a distraction. I like the rest of the LBs that the Niners have a lot though.

 

[Mozart'sGhost]

Washington has better linebackers than the niners. That the niners can't run on Fletcher and it will be up to Smith to win throwing the ball. Predicted score 21 20 San Fran winning.

49ers LBers are way better than the Redskins

Some of that is plain old ESPN east coast bias and ignorance of anything west of Dallas. But the comparison is not that far off between the respective groups of linebackers. If his prediciton that the Niners can't run on Washington does come to fruition, Smith is more than capable of shouldering more of the load as he did in Philly. I don't see Washington scoring 20 points either considering they just got shut out by the Bills, have a terrible QB and are missing their three best offensive players.

 

[SRPnVA]

If Brooks is garbage he's .5 sacks behind Orakpo with 4. And Aldon Smith has 6.5 sacks on limited snaps. Hell our DEs Justin Smith (4.5) Ray McDonald (3) might both have more sacks by the end of the year than Orakpo.

 

[Ray_Dogg]

Bowman is much better than McIntosh, but just by a little.

Much better is not a little in my book.

 

[vancelot23]

Unless you have a way to swap LB corps so they can play in the other's scheme against the other's opponents then this argument is stupid.

 

[Forty_Sixand2]

Bowman is much better than McIntosh, but just by a little.

Much better is not a little in my book.

If I said that, it was a mis-type. Bowman is much better than Mac. His numbers are very inflated this season.

 

[mem49er]

So you are an aTm grad and Cowboys fan who is hating on a Texas grad playing for the Redskins. Got it.

You have not seen him this year if you are saying he is having a pedestrian season. The fact that you brought up fucking tackle totals as an indicator of skill in an edge rusher tells me what I need to know. No need to continue this discussion.

Cheers....

This.

Just came back to the thread but that about sums it up.

 

[tzill]

OK, so I just looked.

Willis is a lot better on the inside than Fletcher but Fletcher is a very good player. Orakpo and Kerrigan are significantly better than Ahmad Brooks who is garbage and Haralson, if he is still starting. Bowman is much better than McIntosh, but just by a little. Rock is having a very good year.

The Redskins are better on the edge, and the 9ers are better in the middle. It is pretty evemnif you ask me.

None of it matters. The Redskins have zero, literally zero offense and will lose by double digits.

Stopped reading here. Your opinion is useless.

Carry on.

 

[Forty_Sixand2]

Stopped reading here. Your opinion is useless.

Carry on.

You missed out on some good knowledge then....your loss.....