How is Ahmad Brooks?

Originally posted by NCommand:
Funny how he had an "off year" but again was tops in sacks. And at least he was consistent game-to-game and as always, had clutch plays for us that secured wins. Meanwhile, Aldon and Lynch had long stretches where they may have gotten some pressure but didn't close the deal (sacks). Lynch still needs to work on his conditioning so that he can do it every down and Aldon needs to be mentally motivated...he fell off considerably after McDonald was let go. Brooks still remains our most consistent OLB and is very reliable and still is top 3-5 in the NFL at the SAM. SAM is a very difficult role to play in our defense but that was under Fangio. We don't know what Mangini's defense will look like (i.e. more disguise, bigger beef up front, more blitzing, more drop backs in zone, etc.).

Obviously, ideally, we'll try to restructure him and keep him as a PT starter/key depth but that may be difficult. We could let him go, test the market and come back if nobody bites. Trade? I don't anyone will pick up that salary now.

Brooks had much longer stretches where he got no pressure. In fact, he got the least pressure of all our OLBs that saw significant playing time per snap and was near the bottom of the league in that respect.

Brook is not that difficult to replace. If Lynch needs to improve his conditioning what's that mean for Brooks, who was probably in the worst shape of anyone on the team that doesn't play along the line?

Hope they keep Brooks he's one of my favorites players on the team.

Originally posted by susweel:
Hope they keep Brooks he's one of my favorites players on the team.

hmm, Not sure if serious,

Originally posted by AB81Rules:

Originally posted by susweel:
Hope they keep Brooks he's one of my favorites players on the team.

hmm, Not sure if serious,

yes very serious Im a fan of Brooks he's an unsung hero.

Originally posted by 9moon:
i still dont understand why everyone is hard on this guy when he's been our most consistent pass rusher the last 5 years...

we don't even know if Lynch is ready to takeover at all..

sure Lynch had a great rookie year, but u all need to remember that no one knew of his talent and just caught the league by surprise.... maybe he needs another year or so as just a pure pass rush specialist...

The hate is strong in the Zone. Once you cross the team, death is wished upon you. Forget everything that Brooks has ever contributed, he is now an apostate worthy of hell fire, or worst, traded to the Raiders.

Originally posted by susweel:

Originally posted by AB81Rules:

Originally posted by susweel:
Hope they keep Brooks he's one of my favorites players on the team.

hmm, Not sure if serious,

yes very serious Im a fan of Brooks he's an unsung hero.

he really was passed by when he was on the Bengals

Originally posted by AB81Rules:

hmm, Not sure if serious,

I thought they need to release brooks after was it June 1st to realize full cap savings? Is that right or wrong?

Ahmad, You're Fired!

Originally posted by Oakland-Niner:
The hate is strong in the Zone. Once you cross the team, death is wished upon you. Forget everything that Brooks has ever contributed, he is now an apostate worthy of hell fire, or worst, traded to the Raiders.

I'm totally indifferent to him personally. He simply costs too much for the production he offers currently and clearly is lacking motivation. He's hardly finished. If he rededicated himself I'm sure he'd have at least a few very good years left. But who knows if he'll ever do that. He has a long history of questionable work ethic, which is why he was talked about as a #1 overall pick in college early in his career but ended up being a conditional 4th round pick...

Originally posted by ElephantHaley:


Ahmad, You're Fired!

GREAT!!

Originally posted by Evilgenius:

Originally posted by NCommand:
Funny how he had an "off year" but again was tops in sacks. And at least he was consistent game-to-game and as always, had clutch plays for us that secured wins. Meanwhile, Aldon and Lynch had long stretches where they may have gotten some pressure but didn't close the deal (sacks). Lynch still needs to work on his conditioning so that he can do it every down and Aldon needs to be mentally motivated...he fell off considerably after McDonald was let go. Brooks still remains our most consistent OLB and is very reliable and still is top 3-5 in the NFL at the SAM. SAM is a very difficult role to play in our defense but that was under Fangio. We don't know what Mangini's defense will look like (i.e. more disguise, bigger beef up front, more blitzing, more drop backs in zone, etc.).

Obviously, ideally, we'll try to restructure him and keep him as a PT starter/key depth but that may be difficult. We could let him go, test the market and come back if nobody bites. Trade? I don't anyone will pick up that salary now.

Brooks had much longer stretches where he got no pressure. In fact, he got the least pressure of all our OLBs that saw significant playing time per snap and was near the bottom of the league in that respect.

Brook is not that difficult to replace. If Lynch needs to improve his conditioning what's that mean for Brooks, who was probably in the worst shape of anyone on the team that doesn't play along the line?

If you're going by PFF stats, they don't account for responsibilities for OLB's. Typically, the WILL is your primary pass rusher from the blind side and that's his primary job. The SAM, typically rushes up field but it's on the strong side so rushing up field is not with the intent to pass rush (but counted by PFF as a pass rush attempt), but form an angle to seal the RB and keep him from bouncing outside while containing the QB as well (i.e. Wilson). Pass rushing is often times the secondary responsibility and Brooks is probably the best in the business at this role. He's also one of the better OLB's at dropping back in zones and esp. great/clutch once inside the RZ. I didn't see any motivational issues with him last year and his numbers were on par from previous years even with Lynch taking some snaps. I could see why he'd be pissed though given he's been the good soldier and he had to share snaps with Lynch while Aldon didn't have to share any despite being a dipsh!t and hurting the team.

That said, he's restructured twice for us already so I wouldn't be surprised no matter what direction this ends up being...trade, restructure, cut, etc.

Originally posted by jeepzilla:

Originally posted by AB81Rules:
hmm, Not sure if serious,

I thought they need to release brooks after was it June 1st to realize full cap savings? Is that right or wrong?

Hmmmm, didn't think about that. You may be right. That would explain the lack of movement. I'm wondering if the same applies to a restructure too.

#keepBrooks

Originally posted by Geeked:

Hmmmm, didn't think about that. You may be right. That would explain the lack of movement. I'm wondering if the same applies to a restructure too.

Maybe AB can answer these questions?

He's a good player but he's also a headcase and he's good for a penalty per game.

He does come through in the clutch though when games are on the line or in big moments. Thats one thing to consider.