Lavar, a DE?

didn't Williams use a 3-4 scheme in Buffalo?

SC, I see what you're saying so let me clarify.

Arrington is a rare kind of player athletically speaking. He can roam sideline to sideline like only a handful of guys in the league can. Athletically speaking, he's one of the most talented players in the entire league regardless of position. My point is that locking him up with a left tackle all game long isn't taking advantage of his full range of skills.

I'm not saying DE's are less talented than LB's, each kind of player has skill sets that suit them to their own position. LaVar is better suited to playing LB and on occasion putting his hand down to rush the passer rather than vice versa.

To make a long story short I think LaVar is a much better LB than he is a DE. Playing him full-time at DE would be playing him out of position.

To make a long story short I think LaVar is a much better LB than he is a DE. Playing him full-time at DE would be playing him out of position.
Exactly. Unless he were to put on 15-20 lbs of muscle in the offseason without losing his athleticism, LaVar would wear down pretty quickly playing at DE full-time. We saw what happened to him playing DE full-time in Lewis' system. His hands turned into bags of pulp by the end of the season, which really affected his ability to fight off blockers.

His size and athleticism make him a prototypical OLB. Right now, he would be an undersized, but super-athletic, defensive end.

He would also really need to work on his pass rushing skills if we were to convert him. Anytime I've seen him rush the passer from the DE spot he doesn't seem very creative, I've never seen him use a swim move or a spin, he just tries to rush wide every time. He basically rushes the passer like a LB does.

Let's give Lavar a full healthy season under Williams before speculating as to where he should be moved. I think with him being an edge rusher from LB as well as coming up the middle on stunts, dropping into coverage and all the other things he can do he will be a beast to gameplan for next season. We all saw what Washington did and I think everyone would agree that a healthy Arrington>Washington.

The problem with Lavar and what seperates LT from Lavar is this, when an offensive linemen get's in front of Lavar, or lock's on to him the battle is over, he is not strong enough to overpower or get around that linemen so he's not a difference maker, if you get Lavar a clean shot he will clean your clock but most LB's will do the same if you get them a clean shot at a QB, the only difference between him and the other's is that he will hit the QB much harder. As much as I hate to say it Lavar is nothing special other than the fact that he may be physically more talented than other LB's but that hasen't translated into anything but a lot of hype.

Utilising LaVar more in DE could be a cheap alternative to pursing a real pass rushing DE and we with Washington, Barrow, Pierce and Marshell and Clemons have a fantastic LB core and getting Lott and Bowden back having Taylor playing a more saftey/LB role it will be a very flexible interchangable fluid defence.

maybe some guys are missing the point??? we shouldnt have to blitz as much as we did. we need a great speed rusher on the outside. and if teams want to run right at the speed rusher, we have one of the top three teams in the league at the LB position to back him. and in williams scheme, its all about filling the gap, and i think maybe a speedy guy will hit the gap better in that positon (DE). besides that point, lavar is much better using his sideline to sideline skills and open field tackles. why in the hell would be convert him to DE? seroiously.... why? we use his skills in many different ways , whether is rushing the qb or using his LB instincts. He's a great player under the LB position because he can be a DE part time and have great speed and crushing open field tackles as a LB. you put him at DE full time, and we lose all skill that ANYBODY would want in him.

its like saying , we should put sean taylor at LB. why? he has the instincts to be a FS. and once again, he's a great (well, will be great) player because he has the talents to be a LB and the instincts of a safety. we put taylor at LB and it takes away his skill of why teams wanted him in the first place, get my drift?

Matty:

10-4. That's what I thought you were saying but I wanted to clarify.

I agree with you about Arrington's physical gifts; few if any linebackers can match them.

Now we need to have him advance in the mental aspects of the game if he is ever to become one of the "all-time" linebackers.