Lorenzo Alexander impressing again
 

I have to say, this guy is my favorite current Redskin player. Correction, I love this guy!!

[B]Lorenzo Alexander is at it again.[/B]

Alexander impressed the previous two coaching staffs with his versatility on offense, defense and special teams, and Coach Mike Shanahan's crew is raving about the former lineman's work at linebacker. Alexander is making a smooth transition from a three-technique interior lineman, the position he primarily played in his first three seasons with the Redskins, to an outside linebacker in Washington's new 3-4 base front, coaches say.

Alexander also has played defensive end, as well as tight end and guard on offense, in addition to his contributions on special teams. But it seems he could be an integral part of the linebacker rotation this season. Through the first two minicamps and two sessions of organized team activities, Alexander has excelled in every facet of his new role.

"He's been awesome. The guy's awesome. The guy's unbelievable," defensive coordinator Jim Haslett said Wednesday at Redskins Park. "He's a better athlete than I would have ever guessed. If you'd told me last year he played three technique, I would have never guessed it.
"If you said he played linebacker, I would have said he played linebacker. He's 275 pounds. He's ideal size for the position. He's got good rush ability. He's unbelievably smart. He's tough as nails. I love the guy."

Alexander's ability to grasp things quickly has helped him earn an important role despite the fact that he was not drafted out of the University of California. "The transition he's made has probably taken us by surprise more than anything," Haslett said.

"He can play any position he really wants," he said.

Re: Lorenzo Alexander impressing again
 

he could be great this year for us...looking forward to watchin him play in the 3-4

Re: Lorenzo Alexander impressing again
 

Awesome...the kind of news I want to hear out of camp, not stories about HGH and impregnating strippers

Re: Lorenzo Alexander impressing again
 

Hopefully he can be our Shaun Phillips

Re: Lorenzo Alexander impressing again
 

always loved that dudee. Wasnt he scarface????

Re: Lorenzo Alexander impressing again
 

Ultimate one-man toolbox.

Re: Lorenzo Alexander impressing again
 

[quote=SirClintonPortis;704063]Ultimate one-man toolbox.[/quote]

No doubt. This is great news. Always liked Lorenzo. Blue collar bring your lunch pail kinda guy. Shit, while we're at it we might as well give him goal line carries as a RB. He's who Coach Gibbs would call a "true Redskin."

Re: Lorenzo Alexander impressing again
 

wasn't this the same quotes? either way, good looking

hopefully he can specialize where they put him

Scud, I hear you, but how about rolling him out as a TE? fake block.. goal line

Re: Lorenzo Alexander impressing again
 

[quote=tryfuhl;704071]wasn't this the same quotes? either way, good looking

hopefully he can specialize where they put him

Scud, I hear you, but how about rolling him out as a TE? fake block.. goal line[/quote]

I remember he was targeted by JC once. Play didn't work out though and he looked a tad clumsy(well, duh). I think Cooley was the first read on that play though.

Re: Lorenzo Alexander impressing again
 

He's really been a pleasant surprise. I thought he'd struggle to adjust. Of course, he hasn't had to face game-time competition yet.

I'm curious to know who was it that suggested he should play LB.

Re: Lorenzo Alexander impressing again
 

[quote=SmootSmack;704076]He's really been a pleasant surprise. I thought he'd struggle to adjust. Of course, he hasn't had to face game-time competition yet.

I'm curious to know who was it that suggested he should play LB.[/quote]


He played very well on s/t, his athleticism and ability to make plays in space made him a logical candidate to experiment with. Maybe he's not looked at as a l/b save for the switch to 3-4

Re: Lorenzo Alexander impressing again
 

Damn, sounds like he is a keeper, even if it is to fulfill the role of emergency man if we get totally banged up at some point in the season.

Re: Lorenzo Alexander impressing again
 

I predicted he'd fit in as MLB. It'll be interesting to watch his development.

Re: Lorenzo Alexander impressing again
 

Always the player who stands out on game tape on a unit that doesn't always sport the most athletic guys. I don't know if he'll ever have the chance to settle in at just one position, but who really does these days?

I think he could play 40-60 at ROLB w/Carter. I think he has 8.0-9.0 sack potential with regular playing time.

Re: Lorenzo Alexander impressing again
 

All this mini camp OTA stuff sounds great but it really doesn't matter til the pads come on. But Alexander is the type of guy you need on your team. I remember Gibbs loved the guy and it's no surprise that he has stuck around this long.

Re: Lorenzo Alexander impressing again
 

He's 275? Wow, he lost a lot of weight! I just hope this isn't another case of false advertising. Show me the goods.

Re: Lorenzo Alexander impressing again
 

For the defensive transition to be a success it seems critical that a guy like Zoe shine. Our marque players from the 4-3 i.e. Albert, Carter, London and Rak aren't versed in the 3-4. We don't really know how well the transition will go for these dudes, so it seems necessary for some other guys to make strides.

Whoever said Zoe would seem a good fit at ILB...my thoughts exactly. We seem pretty undersized at the position w/ our current crop. London and Blades are about 250 lbs. Rocky is what 230 soaked in his uniform. Who else is there? A rookie?

Re: Lorenzo Alexander impressing again
 

While I'm glad to hear progress from a guy like 'Zo, there is a pattern that I'm seeing on this team that bothers me a bit. The whole concept of taking guys and experiment them at a new position. It happened last season with Orakpo as a 4-3 OLB and Landry as a FS. Now we're taking guys like Alexander and Wilson and turn them into 3-4 OLBs, we have small guys as ILBs as Goat mentioned, and our true NT is a bit of a question mark health-wise.

While I Shanahan and Co. are making much better decisions than the previous FO/Coaching staff; it still puzzles me this whole change in defensive philosophy. Out of all the major changes and decisions made by this team, this change is defensive is one that it's hard to get excited about until we see results on the field. While I truly hope this works out, I just see this as an unnecessary change.

Re: Lorenzo Alexander impressing again
 

Here is a potential problem I see with Rak and Zo as OLB. Pass coverage. Rak plays the run and can rush the passer buthe struggles in coverage. Zo can't be any better there.

That is why some of us saw him more of a thumper inside playing lb. not out in space.

Re: Lorenzo Alexander impressing again
 

Here is a name from ancient history that might have great significance to this subject:


Babe - - - Laufenberg


For those too young to remember the Babe's annual exploits with the
Redskins, he was always a "Hall of Fame Quarterback in the making" every summer.

As soon as autumn arrived - - and real NFL games began - - Babe disappeared. Wake me when Lorenzo Alexander stops "impressing" folks in the offseason and starts playing like a real stud on Sundays when it counts.

Re: Lorenzo Alexander impressing again
 

Not at all like Babe Laufenberg. Alexander has played regular season games and played quite admirably at multiple positions. It remains to be seen how effective he can be at LB, but he has already shown he can play effectively at the NFL level during the regular season against top competition

Re: Lorenzo Alexander impressing again
 

[quote=sportscurmudgeon;704124]Here is a name from ancient history that might have great significance to this subject:


[B]Babe - - - Laufenberg[/B]


For those too young to remember the Babe's annual exploits with the
Redskins, he was always a "Hall of Fame Quarterback in the making" every summer.

As soon as autumn arrived - - and real NFL games began - - Babe disappeared. Wake me when Lorenzo Alexander stops "impressing" folks in the offseason and starts playing like a real stud on Sundays when it counts.[/quote]

Sounds more like Colt Brennan.

Re: Lorenzo Alexander impressing again
 

[quote=sportscurmudgeon;704124]Here is a name from ancient history that might have great significance to this subject:


Babe - - - Laufenberg


For those too young to remember the Babe's annual exploits with the
Redskins, he was always a "Hall of Fame Quarterback in the making" every summer.

As soon as autumn arrived - - and real NFL games began - - Babe disappeared. Wake me when Lorenzo Alexander stops "impressing" folks in the offseason and starts playing like a real stud on Sundays when it counts.[/quote]

Sorry, I don't recall Lorenzo ever being Reggie White-awesome in preseason. Colt, on the other hand....

Also, he actually registered a sack against Hasselbeck when we sorely needed one at that time in the game.

Re: Lorenzo Alexander impressing again
 

I don't think anyone has any illusions that Lorenzo is an All-Pro just waiting to be recognized. He plays well at a variety of positions and always seems to be giving it 100%. He's the kind of solid player that every good team has at least one or two of.

Re: Lorenzo Alexander impressing again
 

I didn't think he would make a smooth transition right away to LB either but the guy has shown a lot of versatility in the past so perhaps we shouldn't be too surprised.

Re: Lorenzo Alexander impressing again
 

[quote=Ruhskins;704111]While I'm glad to hear progress from a guy like 'Zo, there is a pattern that I'm seeing on this team that bothers me a bit. The whole concept of taking guys and experiment them at a new position. It happened last season with Orakpo as a 4-3 OLB and Landry as a FS. [B]Now we're taking guys like Alexander and Wilson and turn them into 3-4 OLBs,[/B] we have small guys as ILBs as Goat mentioned, and our true NT is a bit of a question mark health-wise.

While I Shanahan and Co. are making much better decisions than the previous FO/Coaching staff; it still puzzles me this whole change in defensive philosophy. Out of all the major changes and decisions made by this team, this change is defensive is one that it's hard to get excited about until we see results on the field. While I truly hope this works out, I just see this as an unnecessary change.[/quote]

Although GB's scheme was very solid it didn't get enough turnovers and seemed to be predictable. It didn't create havoc. Don't you think these could be great fits for these guys? OLB in a 3-4 seems like the perfect fit for Wilson. Alexander seems like a better fit at end in a 3-4. And of course Orakpo could take off in this defense. To me some of these changes seem like positive changes IMO. We'll see when the real bullets start flying.

Re: Lorenzo Alexander impressing again
 

Zo is a football player and he is hungry. I don't hink Haslett would false advertise but then again I don't know Haslett. Haslett has never really impressed me.

Re: Lorenzo Alexander impressing again
 

Lorenzo's strength is diversity, he can play multiple positions and be above average at it. That to me is very impressive, eventually he will find one position were he will be great and this could be it.

Re: Lorenzo Alexander impressing again
 

I was really surprised when they said they were moving him to OLB. It seemed he would be a natural 3-4 DE given his size & he's played both DT & DE in the 4-3. On one hand, I hope they let the guy grown into a position that he can excel in, but on the other, it would be cool if he played the rest of his career like he has as a utility guy w/the skins. Someone that's always able to fill in where the coaches need him.

Re: Lorenzo Alexander impressing again
 

If LA can contribute as a " rush " OLB , the dude is awesome . I still think DE is his best position , but either way looks like we have a damn good football player ! Maybe he could be a " gunner " on K.O. coverage , like Dexter Manley ?

Re: Lorenzo Alexander impressing again
 

[url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xRRh7y2Ru0Q&NR=1]YouTube - Lorenzo Alexander hit[/url]

Re: Lorenzo Alexander impressing again
 

[quote=Mattyk;704159][URL="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xRRh7y2Ru0Q&NR=1"]YouTube - Lorenzo Alexander hit[/URL][/quote]
nice.. lol look at that little dive Tryon took

Re: Lorenzo Alexander impressing again
 

[yt]D5OVXRuqKdE[/yt]

lol @ fan commentary

Re: Lorenzo Alexander impressing again
 

close-up of the one matty posted

[yt]gRRXFiQhr20[/yt]

Re: Lorenzo Alexander impressing again
 

[quote=Mattyk;704159][URL="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xRRh7y2Ru0Q&NR=1"]YouTube - Lorenzo Alexander hit[/URL][/quote]
That was awesome , hard to beleive that Bronco got right up , good stuff .... Romo ... you are next :)